Chapter 116: Iron Gold Treasury doubles the price
"The Morn family who replaced the Taglis are not native to Pentos. They began as pirates on the Summer Sea."
"Is that Magister Cecito Morn? The cheesemonger who gave me the invitation mentioned that most of the slave trade in Pentos is his business." Ian was already familiar with the surname Morn.
"Yes. Cecito Morn first established his connections with many of the great families by providing them a slave transport route that could evade the patrols of the Braavosi purple fleet. With this leverage, he gained citizenship in Pentos and quickly secured a place for himself in the upper echelons of society."
"Cecito Morn was exceptionally generous. His days in Pentos were a near-constant whirl of banquets, horse races, hunts, and jousts, which made one wonder if the wealth he accrued from the secret slave trade was truly enough for him to squander so lavishly. This mystery persisted until a seat for Magister of Pentos became vacant, and Cecito Morn suddenly announced his candidacy with great fanfare."
"And that was when you discovered he was actually sponsored by Volantis?" Ian guessed.
"Oh?" Mills glanced at Ian, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "Yes. Cecito Morn ran for the office and proceeded to bribe more than half the members of the Great Council with enormous sums of money. He won an indisputable number of votes and became one of the Seven Magisters of Pentos."
"Then, he revealed his purpose quite clearly. He began to advocate for breaking the shackles Braavos has placed upon us and restoring the ancient and glorious slave trade."
"Are you joking?" Ian almost blurted out. "Is he assuming the purple fleet of Braavos simply doesn't exist?"
*To challenge Braavos, the undisputed master of the Narrow Sea… how much wine must a man drink to say such a thing?*
"Ninety-one years have passed since our last war with Braavos, Sir Ian. That is a very long time," Steward Mills said with a bitter smile, shaking his head.
"Most of Pentos has forgotten the terror the Braavosi fleet once brought us. Now, they feel only that the treaty signed with Braavos has brought shame upon our city. As Cecito Morn says, the Braavosi have placed a yoke over our heads, and the people of Pentos wish to break it."
*How similar this is to the Carthaginians after the Second Punic War,* Ian thought.
The Romans, after suffering greatly to defeat Hannibal, had generously spared Carthage, allowing it to retain its autonomy. They had only restricted its navy and demanded it not declare war without Roman consent.
But the Carthaginians played with fire until they were burned. They attacked Rome's ally, Numidia, and defied the Roman Senate's envoys. Their repeated provocations finally ignited Rome's fury, bringing ruin upon Carthage.
But the situation in Pentos was different. Carthage had brought about its own destruction, whereas Pentos had the backing of Volantis, the most powerful city-state in Essos.
*This is closer to some foolish, modern proxy war,* Ian mused. *Were the Magisters of Pentos also comedians before they took office?*
"I understand that common folk are easily incited, but in Pentos, I assume the commons have no say in the matter, correct?" Ian raised his doubt.
"Of course. The only bodies with the power to make decisions in Pentos are the Magisters' Council and the Great Council. From the very beginning, Cecito had already secured two other Magisters for his cause," Mills explained.
"Through the slave trade?"
"The slave trade, and the gold of Volantis," the steward answered, then continued. "Cecito Morn has bound Godin Hauket and Guerrero Tetrus to him through profit. With the support of those two Magisters, and that of the old Magister Passi Rotalus, who was already dissatisfied with the state of affairs in Pentos, the war faction's voice in the council surpassed our own for the first time."
"Truly?" Ian was now a little confused. "Isn't the Hauket family the so-called 'Braavos Party'? Weren't they the ones supposedly leading this investigation into the slave trade?"
"This is why I told you at the start that there were three factions in Pentos."
Ian said nothing, waiting for Mills to continue.
"The Tetrus and Hauket families have always been close allies. In this generation, the son and daughter of the two Magisters even have a marriage contract. After the slaver Magister Cecito Morn revealed his true purpose, both families fell in line with him. Through their efforts, the Magisters' Council once approved a proposal to rebuild the fleet and submitted a motion to the Great Council to declare war on Braavos."
"But it didn't succeed?" Ian asked, curious. If it had, the war would have begun long ago, instead of simmering as a mere political struggle.
"On the day the Great Council of forty families voted, Magister Godin Hauket and the families aligned with him turned against the alliance and voted against the motion to declare war."
"Why?"
"Because the Iron Gold Treasury offered double the price."
"Pfft." Ian nearly laughed out loud. That sounded exactly like something the Braavosi would do.
The Lannisters of Westeros and the Iron Gold Treasury of Braavos. The ultimate move of both powers was simply to 'add money.'
*Whatever you offer, I will pay double.*
It was the height of arrogance.
"Then why didn't the Tetrus family simply accept Braavos's money as well? With a higher profit, they'd have no reason to continue supporting Volantis."
"Because Braavos did not give them any," Mills said, and he couldn't help but chuckle himself. "Instead of sending money to the Tetrus family, Braavos suppressed several of their businesses."
"Because of this, the Tetrus family has become the most resolute anti-Braavos party. They have proposed declaring war to the council time and time again, only to be vetoed by Lord Illyrio and the Hauket family each time. This was the reason for their final falling out with the Haukets."
*Play one side against the other… the Braavosi are a dirty lot,* Ian chuckled to himself.
He had been wondering why Braavos didn't just send a fleet to quell this potential rebellion in Pentos. Now he understood. Why start a war when you could trap the Pentoshi in endless internal conflict with an amount of money that was insignificant to the Iron Gold Treasury?
"So," the steward continued, seeing that Ian had no other questions, "the Hauket and Tetrus families turned on each other, and the Braavosi ambassador sponsored the prince's son, Hazan Moharis, to speak for Braavos in the Magisters' Council."
"And that created the situation you see today. In addition to our trade faction, the Volantis Party and the Braavos Party appeared in Pentos."
"So, when I begin my investigation," Ian said, his tone growing more serious, "Prince Hazan Moharis, or one of the four Magisters belonging to those two parties, will become the enemy I must face directly?"
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