Chapter 36 Black or Red
In the merchant's house, Malachor, the governor of the Tiger Party of Volantis, has said goodbye and left. The west bank of the Rhoyne River is not a place for him to stay for long.
"Lady, will the Dothraki really attack our Volantis?"
The guard saw that the widow by the water did not refuse the governor, and couldn't help but ask.
"The human heart is like the sea, it is difficult to measure, and the Dothraki are the same." The old woman frowned tightly, and the scars on her face were squeezed into a ball, hideous and terrifying. She couldn't accept the deliberate deception of her old friend for a while: "The governor of the Tiger Party has never been a person who is content with his duty and does not fight with the world."
The widow by the water, who has a huge intelligence network, naturally knows that the Golden Group once rejected Malachor's mission to eliminate Benero, the Supreme Priest of R'hllor, and his supporters.
The governor of the Tiger Party did not dare to send the guards "Tiger Robe Army" to carry out the mission, because most of the guards were followers of R'hllor.
She also knew the number of Volantis soldiers. These troops, with the support of the Black Wall defense, were enough to resist the Dothraki attack.
But if Malachor wanted to take the initiative to lead the troops to attack, he would be slightly outnumbered.
"According to the sailors of Volantis, the Golden Group is heading west, and they have signed a contract with Myr."
The widow by the water nodded calmly after hearing the reminder from the guard, then slowly stood up and said:
"A captain of Lys told me that they tried to persuade the Golden Group to tear up the contract, promising twice the reward of the Myr people, plus one slave for each soldier in the legion, ten slaves for each commander, and one hundred beauties for the leader of the Golden Group, Harry Strickland. Harry did not reject it sternly, but told the Lys people that he would consider this proposal carefully.
Perhaps because of the promise made, the widow by the water was willing to sincerely help Malachor to facilitate this mercenary contract.
At this time, the candlelight that changed from light to dark enveloped her body, and the shadows in the corners exuded a faint mysterious atmosphere, deeply reflecting the indelible memory of a lifetime.
She seemed to really see the man who chanted the oath in a low voice one afternoon.
"It seems that the mercenary group that speaks like gold is no longer reliable and is about to decline. They actually let a financial officer serve as the leader. "
Hearing that the Golden Group did not reject the Lys people's inducement, the guards could not help but sneer.
Harry Strickland, the current leader of the Golden Group, is not a brave warrior. Before he was promoted to the leader, he served as the group's financial officer.
The widow by the water ignored the guard's sarcasm, took a pen and paper, and took advantage of the candlelight, leaning on the desk with a solemn expression, and carefully wrote two identical letters.
She sat quietly and waited for the ink to dry. After sealing it, she opened her mouth and ordered the guards in the room:
"Go to the dock immediately and take the fastest ship. Go to Pentos by the Rhoyne River and the sea separately, and give my letter to Governor Illyrio Mopatis. "
The two guards stepped forward to take the wax-sealed letters respectively, bowed respectfully to the old woman, and then quickly left the room.
"Governor Pentos can help us convince the Golden Group? "
The widow by the water gently patted the arm of the guard who asked the question. These were all her loyal sons. Then she smiled patiently and said:
"There is a dragon resting in his governor's garden."
Hearing her words, the other guards couldn't help but talk about it.
"Beggar King?"
"Even with a crown, he is still a beggar. Even if he is the most dazzling beggar in the world, he is still a beggar after all."
"I heard from the sailors of Pentos that the Beggar King once hosted a banquet for the commander of the Golden Group, hoping that they would help him regain the throne, but after enjoying the banquet, they laughed at him mercilessly."
"Of course, he can only be regarded as a red dragon at best, and the Golden Group is the descendant of the black dragon."
The guards' discussions did not affect the decision of the widow by the water. She smiled, and the light of wisdom and love flashed in her dark eyes. She looked at her sons and whispered softly:
"Black or red, a dragon is a dragon. "
Viserys Targaryen, a prince in exile, is a descendant of Aegon the Conqueror, who conquered Westeros on a dragon. He calls himself Viserys III, the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne, and is known as the Beggar King.
Because the Targaryen family's three hundred years of rule on the Iron Throne ended with the rebellion they called the War of the Usurper.
The Targaryen family's emblem is a single three-headed fire-breathing dragon with a black background and red, known as the Red Dragon.
A century ago, the Targaryen family had a famous "Blackfyre Rebellion", and the rebel was named Daemon Blackfyre.
The Blackfyre family's emblem is a single three-headed fire-breathing dragon with a red background and black, known as the Black Dragon.
Daemon Blackfyre is the daughter of Aegon the Fourth Targaryen, the "Mean King", and his cousin Diana Targaryen. Princess An's illegitimate son.
In order to ensure the orthodoxy of their bloodline, the Targaryen family has always adhered to the tradition of maintaining intermarriage within the family.
In this sense, Daemon Blackfyre's bloodline is extremely pure, but it is not legal.
But when his father Aegon IV was dying, he made up for all the deficiencies of Daemon Blackfyre, and Aegon IV legalized all illegitimate children.
This is one of the important reasons why the Blackfyre family was able to stir up chaos, they are legal and have pure blood.
Before the War of the Usurper, the "Red Dragon" Targaryen family and the "Black Dragon" Blackfyre family, although of the same bloodline, all claimed to be the legitimate heirs to the throne.
The brutal fight between them lasted for nearly seventy years, until the last Blackfyre male heir who coveted the Iron Throne died in battle, and the Targaryen family's hatred and anger towards Blackfyre ended completely.
But the Golden Company was founded by the "noble bastard" Aegor Rivers, who was also the legalized bastard of "the mediocre king" Aegon Targaryen IV, and chose to stand on the side of his brother Daemon Blackfyre, who was also a bastard, in the "Blackfyre Rebellion".
The purpose of his founding the mercenary group was to gather forces to support the Blackfyre family. The members of the Golden Company were all exiles who supported the Blackfyre family or their descendants.
Just as the messenger of the widow by the water took a boat to Pentos.
Dusk was approaching at the source of the Valanna River.
Norhat led a team of cavalry under the guidance of the sunlight and found the scout camp where the tribe stayed to guard.
Fortunately, they did not encounter the enemy's pursuit along the way, but they were exhausted after traveling day and night, and even two horses were exhausted.
After a short rest, Norhat lay on the grass, looking at the river flowing not far away, with a worried look.
As a leader among the scout cavalry, he could not help but imagine a complete topography in his mind.
The enemy's route seemed to be slightly off, but if their destination was not the Saiheru River near the wasteland, it would be as accurate as predicting the future.
After thinking all this clearly, Nohat no longer planned to stay in the camp to rest.
He immediately stood up, woke up the entire team of scout cavalry, took the water bags and food supplies prepared by the scouts in the camp, and hung them on the spare horses in the camp. Then, the whole team silently got on the horses and continued to go west.
But Nohat did not know that at this time, Mungo Khal had led 30,000 cavalry to bypass the Valanna River and head south to approach Volantis.