While the rugged King Robert kept Queen Cerseiunder his thumb, Greene Kleber needed to find a way to rise.
A direct audience with the arrogant Cersei Lannisterwould likely not impress her, as the Kleber Familywas often referred to as "half-barbarians."
The raven was just a prelude; the key was to seize the opportunity to demonstrate his ability and strength.
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Most of the land on Crab Claw Peninsula is barren and infertile, primarily consisting of swamps, forests, and valleys.
Every dark valley on Crab Claw Peninsula has its own lord, and their lords and people trust no outsiders.
Crab Claw Peninsula is mostly inhabited by descendants of the First Men. When the Andals tried to conquer Crab Claw Peninsula, they met with setbacks everywhere.
When the residents of Crab Claw Peninsula were not fighting external enemies, they would engage in internal infighting, with family blood feuds as dark and deep as the mountain swamps.
Sometimes a hero would bring temporary peace to Crab Claw Peninsula, such as the legendary hero of the Kleber Family, Clarence Clebber, but once he died, everything returned to its original state.
During the War of Conquest, Aegon sent his sister Visenya Targaryen to Crab Claw Peninsula to secure their allegiance, making them direct vassals. Since then, Crab Claw Peninsula has remained loyal to House Targaryen.
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Greene Kleber handed the written letter to his butler, Herschel.
After a moment of silence, Greene Kleber's slender fingers massaged his ink-black, medium-length, slightly curly hair.
About 100 miles east and slightly north of Whispering City, there is a large expanse of land suitable for cultivation, relative to Crab Claw Peninsula.
This land once belonged to the sphere of influence of Kleber's ancestral castle—Lightly. According to the grand steward Herschel, with that land, the former House Clebber supplied a thousand elite Clan Soldiers and maintained House Clebber's absolute rule over the surrounding region.
After the War of the Usurper, under internal and external pressure, Greene Kleber's mother led the remaining retainers to migrate to what was then a relatively safe military fortress, which was renamed Whispering City.
More than a decade passed, the ancestral land Lightlybecame ruins, and House Clebber had long lost its dominion over that land.
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"Surana, my mother, it must have been difficult for her back then."
"My young master, even now, when I recall it, I still tremble with fear. In the beginning, my lady had to sleep with two swords under her pillow; the longsword was for the Mountain Barbarians who might attack at any time, and the shortsword was for herself."
Greene Kleber chuckled softly, "She was indeed formidable."
Surana, accustomed to maintaining a stern face, also showed a hint of a smile: "My lady passed away peacefully, my master. You were her greatest pride."
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After chatting with his housekeeper Surana for a while, and after Surana left, Greene Kleber reflected on Surana's last few veiled words.
As the harvest season approached, the nearby Mountain Barbarian lords tacitly set their sights on the Kleber Family, who had just lost Lady Kleber.
Everyone was poor, but by comparison, the Kleber Family's farm always attracted attention.
An excellent opportunity.
At this time, the lord of Klaeb Territory was just a young boy who had long been protected under his mother's wing. The Mountain Barbarians, united for once, thought, 'If we don't plunder him, who will? The advantage is ours!'
Surana was not worried about the war in Klaeb Territory.
The Kleber Family had two hereditary sworn knights, Pel Perri and Mason Baker.
These were the most reliable vassals in this world, cultivated over hundreds of years since the inception of the Kleber Family.
Under the perilous special environment of Crab Claw Peninsula, Kleber's standing army numbered over two hundred, all seasoned veterans.
Among them, twenty were clad in full plate armor, capable of fighting ten unarmored Mountain Barbarians each.
Surana had participated in many campaigns with Greene's mother, was agile, and was rumored to have few rivals with a short sword.
What Surana truly worried about was Greene's youthful impetuousness; it was his first time leading troops into battle alone, and in a moment of hot-bloodedness, he might charge to the front and accidentally perish outside.
The Kleber Family had only one heir left. If Greene met with an accident, everything under the Kleberbanner would collapse in a short time, and the Kleber Family would also become history.
Greene actually wanted to tell Surana directly, "I'm very cautious; I won't be reckless."
For the sake of a lord's dignity, one should always show courage, so it could not be said.
Since his transmigration and the completion of the fusion, every time Greene woke up, he could feel his physical qualities improving significantly in all aspects.
Greene's sword was already thirsting for action.
Greene, with a mature psychological age, constantly cautioned himself that this was just one of the ten great illusions produced by physical enhancement.
You are the lord, you have soldiers, stay steady, don't be reckless!
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Aside from a cousin who was three years older than him and had been married for four years, the Kleber Family only had him as a single heir, which was very dangerous for a long-established noble family.
Klaeb Territory was not a peaceful place; the lord had to frequently lead his subordinates in battles, big and small.
With Lady Kleber gone, Greene Kleber, as the lord of Crab Claw Peninsula, would live his future life much like his ancestors: fighting, fighting, and more fighting.
Being a lord on Crab Claw Peninsula was a high-risk profession.
What if the last Kleber met with an accident?
Anyone with even a little insight would feel a sense of crisis, and people's morale would become unstable.
The Kleber Family's title was hereditary Baron.
Consistent with the Kleber Family's awkward position in the kingdom at this time, Greene's marriage was indeed a problem—neither high enough nor low enough.
Normally, a fifteen-year-old Greene should at least have a fiancée.
Surana understood that a lord's marriage was not simple romance; the cause and outcome of the War of the Usurper constantly warned nobles not to be blinded by love.
Therefore, Surana felt that even a bastard child would be good; Greene needed to leave an heir, regardless of noble traditions and laws.
It wasn't a curse on Greene, but rather to stabilize the loyalty of the people.
With an heir, the lord's marriage would then be more flexible.
Surana had one son and one daughter; her eldest son, 16, was already married and studying with the grand steward Herschel.
Her youngest daughter, Kalaiya, was thirteen, and had her first menstruation a month ago.
Healthy, beautiful, and most importantly, reliable.
Surana watched Greene grow up and knew that Greene was not a harsh or ungrateful person.
Although giving birth to a bastard child was not glorious, for Klaeb Territory at this time, it was a meritorious deed.
Unable to inherit the Kleber surname, only able to use the bastard surname "Waters," but carrying the Kleberbloodline.
At this time, giving birth to a child with Kleber blood would at least earn a farm and a lifetime of security, free from want.
She would live better than most women, which was enough for a lifetime.
Everyone would be fine.
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When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Greene only rejoiced that he had integrated the original body's memories.
With the integrated memories, Greene's usual words and actions would not be too out of line; changes would happen gradually and naturally.
As a loyal subject of a former dragon family, he could not leave behind too obvious a handle.
Under the Faith of the Seven, being too unconventional could easily lead to being labeled a heretic, and followers of the Seven Gods were everywhere in Westeros.
Thirteen years old... Greene leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling for a long while.
The conflict with his inner beliefs was too great; it needed to be discussed again later.
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After several days of quiet statistics, Greene's direct subjects totaled about two thousand people, with their production methods primarily farming and hunting.
About a thousand people were gathered near Whispering City, with the rest distributed among ten villages of varying sizes.
One of these villages, located south of Whispering City and by the sea, had a population of over 200 people who lived by fishing.
Named Fishing Village, this name was not good and needed to be changed.
At least the word "Village" should be changed to "Port."
After this busy period, he needed to visit in person, conduct an on-site inspection, and then plan.
The lord was very poor and needed many golden dragons.
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The sworn knight Mason Baker, who had departed three days ago, was currently inspecting and cataloging all blacksmiths, carpenters, and other artisans within the territory, according to Greene's orders.
Grand Steward Herschel had already begun arranging for people to clear out empty rooms.
He planned to centralize all the forces within the territory, concentrate production, collaborate through division of labor, and train skilled workers to prepare for establishing a cold weapon factory.
Klaeb Territory had many excellent yew forests; if they could train everyone into longbowmen early, the advantage would be theirs.
Elite longbowmen required not just archery skills, but also strong discipline, and Greene understood that all of this would take time to accumulate.
Greene's first priority was to maximize overall mobilization based on the current strength of the territory, gather all forces to rapidly expand his army, first flatten the nearby Mountain Barbarians, and bring a relatively stable development environment to the territory.
The main reason was still that he was too poor. Greene planned to temporarily change the family motto to "Plunder is better than hard farming."
He would change it back once he had money.