Under the black and red dragon banner, victors and vanquished sat together on the ground, surrounding the walls of Viserys's castle.
"Get some food," Viserys commanded.
Ser Roland Lake had already arranged for some servants and soldiers to bake bread, and the fragrant loaves were slowly coming out of the oven, wafting a delightful aroma.
There was no time to prepare fresh roasted meat yet, only the strips of salted meat they had brought from Braavos.
"Eat, fragrant bread."
"And local Andas wine."
Hot bread with salted meat, and the local tart red wine of Andas, tasted quite good. After the battle, people became hungry even faster.
The soldiers who performed best on Viserys's side, and the wounded soldiers, ate the best.
Those who performed averagely ate a bit less. Following them were the newly surrendered Andal captives.
The Westerosi, having been taught by Viserys, didn't show much rebellious sentiment, as they needed young, strong manpower to establish themselves here.
The Andals on both banks were originally one people; aside from the North and Dorne, Andal culture had effectively assimilated Westeros.
Now, the soldiers all shared the Faith of the Seven, and Viserys's veterans naturally showed less discrimination towards the integration of the Andals.
Even so, the Andal captives were somewhat overwhelmed, as captives in this era had no human rights whatsoever.
Mistreating captives or mass killings were very common.
And the Andals, fighting among themselves, also secretly harbored the desire to plunder people and sell them into slavery for profit.
However, on the surface, due to the existence of the Faith of the Seven, this behavior was still kept hidden.
"Long live Viserys!"
"Viserys!" the Andal captives cheered, eating and calling out Viserys's name.
With Viserys's combination of leniency and strictness, coupled with the persuasive power of religious faith, these Andal captives would quickly assimilate into new warriors.
"You are indeed a true knight, Your Majesty," Bishop Umu said with a sigh of relief. The King possessed both the fearlessness of a warrior and a kind heart.
He no longer had to worry about this batch of Andal captives being sold off.
"Treating the followers of the Seven Gods well is what good men and women should do. Selling slaves will be scorned by all decent people," Ser Roland Lake said, looking at the earnest Bishop Umu of Andas.
Andals and Rhoynar, regardless of their faith, opposed human slavery.
Within this framework, they were naturally excellent candidates for recruitment and soldiers.
"It seems the local Andals used to engage in selling their own kind, didn't they?" Viserys asked.
Bishop Umu nodded awkwardly, "All decent Andal men and women despise the slave trade, but some desperate individuals, for profit, would still secretly sell captives to slave traders. Not only that, Dothraki bandits and Tyroshi slave traders would also come here to raid and sell people."
After hearing this, Viserys truly felt that the local Andals were suffering greatly.
Catching slaves all over the mountains and plains was indeed consistent with the customs of the Tyroshi.
The slave trade in Tyrosh was very prosperous, and the slave masters there were known for their belligerence. They would even sail beyond the Wall to capture wildlings as slaves.
"You will be the King's subjects, not slaves," Viserys assured Bishop Umu. "Followers of the Seven Gods, Andals shall not be slaves."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Bishop Umu nodded excitedly. "The Andals should unite, and the Seven Gods bless us to return to glory."
These Andal villages would provide Viserys with people and taxes, and in return, Viserys would provide military protection.
"It seems I am destined for a war with the slave masters," Viserys thought, but he hadn't expected it to come so quickly.
Because he wanted to develop the land of Andas, he was bound to clash with those human traffickers, slave masters, and Dothraki Horse Riders bandit gangs.
The Seven Kingdoms had been without slaves for thousands of years. Both the Old Gods and the New Gods viewed slavery as a hateful monster and an embodiment of evil.
Even if Viserys wanted to capture a group of Unsullied or dothraki, he would first need to free them, which would inevitably challenge the institution of slavery.
The strategy of prohibiting slavery was also destined to be Viserys's choice, whether out of maintaining the sentiments of the followers of the Old and New Gods, protecting the Andals, or the need to gain an army for free.
"What kind of work do you priests do?" Viserys asked curiously.
"It's simple, but also tedious," Bishop Umu replied. "We can serve as monks if we can recite 'The Seven-Pointed Star' and various prayers. Ordinary monks typically officiate weddings and confessions for villagers, and the villagers provide them with food and lodging.
For example, I perform sacraments for commoners in several nearby villages, so I am familiar with the villages and manors, small villages without names, hills and ridges, streams and caves, and every rugged path not on the map."
"You are true ascetics," Viserys said, still very impressed with Bishop Umu. He spoke very lightly, but it was actually very tiring work.
Religion served to fill the gaps in classical political jurisdiction.
Many wealthy upper-class monks nowadays had long since become corrupt and degenerate, but there were still such ascetic monks who comforted the people, which maintained the dignity of the faith.
"These true priests are excellent people, and I want these devout individuals," Viserys said. "I also greatly need their help."
These popular priests could, firstly, add a halo of faith to Viserys, and secondly, they were living maps of the Velvet Hills and relevant cultural figures.
"After I return, I will first contact my people, as well as those priests and village elders. I will have them fight under Your Majesty's banner. The Andals have fallen for too long; they cannot sink again," Bishop Umu said.
"Good," Viserys said, looking at the smooth yet devout Bishop Umu, and nodded with satisfaction. "I believe Bishop Umu can bring me the answer I seek."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will spread the gospel of the Seven Gods throughout the Velvet Hills and have the Andals follow your guidance," Bishop Umu promised.
Now, seeing the treatment and promises from Viserys's side, Umu would have more confidence in recruiting people upon his return.
The immediate task was to return and find suitable villages and manpower for King Viserys, and then continue to expand.
Viserys would arrange for a small group of captives to return with Bishop Umu.
As for the other captives, they would immediately begin repairing Viserys's castle under Viserys's arrangements.
These captives had no intention of leaving; even as captives, they had pledged allegiance to their new warrior leader, and there was food and drink here.
In the early morning sunlight, Viserys looked again at the damaged castle gate and the stone walls with gaps.
Viserys already had a new idea for fortification.
The best defense was double walls, and Viserys also wanted to transform the wooden defensive towers into stone ones.
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