The next day, early morning.
Aegon finally finalized the action plan named 'Disputed Gale'.
The plan was simple: Hugh would ride Sheepstealer, leading twenty warships, ten cargo ships, and two thousand marines directly to the Tyrosh port.
First, Sheepstealer would secure air superiority, destroying all military forces at the Tyrosh port.
Then, the marines would land and, with Sheepstealer's support, push deep inland.
They would raid and then leave, turning towards Tyrosh's port in the Disputed Lands.
Tyrosh's port in the Disputed Lands was still untouched territory.
One-third of the support from Lys and Myr had been sent there.
"The 'Disputed Gale' plan is set for 7 AM on july 7th, 120 AC."
Hearing Aegon's decision, the expressions of the people present were subtle.
"july 7th, the day of your engagement?" Alec's mouth twitched slightly.
"Your Highness, I think Ser Hugh should prioritize serving you. Your engagement banquet and Rhaenyra's wedding are on the same day."
"Four adult dragons and one sub-adult dragon are enough to handle any unexpected situation, including the issue of Ser Hugh's identity."
Aegon had never publicly announced that Hugh had tamed Sheepstealer.
Dragonstone was also under Aegon's control.
It wasn't hard to deduce from Alicent's letter that King's Landing probably didn't know Hugh had tamed Sheepstealer yet.
"Listen to me, everyone.
Tomorrow, announce the news of Helena and my engagement banquet in King's Landing on july 7th, along with the news of Dragonstone's port opening.
The Tyroshi's attention will surely be drawn to the news of Helena and my engagement banquet in King's Landing.
Helena and I returning to King's Landing means Aemond and Daeron will most likely also return to King's Landing.
The Tyroshi are a cunning and treacherous bunch of rats; they will definitely cause trouble that day.
They might even gather their naval fleet and attack Dragonstone directly after I leave.
I will have Sunfyre feign departure, then secretly return and ambush them on Dragonstone.
This way, it provides cover for the 'Disputed Gale' plan and might even allow us to ambush Tyrosh.
So, I am not planning to have Hugh return to King's Landing.
A bastard taming a dragon is unprecedented; I might even have to fight with my father, and an engagement banquet is clearly not a good time."
However, Aegon's final joke was not funny.
The atmosphere became somewhat stagnant for a moment.
A moment later, Kraken was the first to speak.
"Identity is not an issue; we can first restore his surname, confirm his legitimacy, and then announce the news of Ser Hugh taming Sheepstealer."
A bastard taming a dragon would certainly impact the royal family.
It would also stir up bastards with Targaryen blood.
But what's done is done.
Hugh has already tamed Sheepstealer, so Aegon cannot abandon Hugh, and even less can he abandon Sheepstealer!
A powerful male dragon, nearly seventy years old, is worth dozens of armies on the battlefield.
That extreme sense of oppression and air superiority is enough to crush the morale of any army.
Kraken continued:
"Your Highness, your ancestors settled on Dragonstone with five dragons.
Now, you have settled on Dragonstone, and it is time for five dragons to follow you!"
Hugh, hearing this, exchanged a grateful look with Kraken.
Kraken returned a smile.
Aegon naturally understood Kraken's little scheme, which was nothing more than to win over Hugh and form a faction of interest.
Hugh was only Aegon's vassal, not Aegon's brother.
This provided the most basic condition for forming a faction.
It was not about royal power, but merely an alliance between vassals.
Kraken was convinced that Aegon would defeat Rhaenyra, ascend the Iron Throne, and become the king who ruled King's Landing.
He didn't even need to wait long.
Viserys's body was weaker by the day; how much longer could he last?
Ten years?
Or fifteen years?
How old would Aegon be then, not yet thirty, in the prime of his life, with five dragons under him.
Tessarion would also be an adult in ten years; with five adult dragons, Kraken didn't know how Aegon could lose.
As one of the first ministers to follow Aegon, Kraken had to find allies in advance.
Alec was excluded first, a Royal Guard, likely to be Aegon's Royal Guard Captain in the future.
Loren, needless to say, was from the Lannister Family.
He would certainly strive for the Lannister Family's interests in the future.
Then there was Hugh.
He currently had no fiefdom, no high noble title, but he was a dragonrider, deeply trusted by Aegon.
"Regarding Hugh's identity, I have my own considerations," Aegon said.
Although he had never thought of having Hugh tame a dragon before, Hugh unexpectedly tamed Sheepstealer.
There was no reason for Aegon to refuse a free adult dragon with combat capabilities.
Anyway, Rhaenyra would eventually recruit bastards to tame dragons through 'Blood and Seed', so it was better to act first.
Now, Aegon only considered how to fight the Black Party.
As for the consequences of a bastard taming a dragon, that was not something he needed to consider now.
He had to first sit on the Iron Throne, and then he would be qualified to consider how to sit firmly on the Iron Throne!
"Effective immediately, Dragonstone will implement the Round Table Council System, in the name of the Protector of the Stepstones.
Ser Hugh is appointed as the Military and Political Councillor, Ser Kraken Hightower as the Financial Councillor, and Ser Loren House Lannister as the Legal Councillor.
Ser Alec Cargyll, you will have to work a bit harder and simultaneously serve as the Land Councillor and the Infrastructure Councillor."
Hearing that he would simultaneously hold the positions of Land Councillor and Infrastructure Councillor, Alec's face changed dramatically.
"Your Highness, I..."
Alec was cut off by Aegon's raised hand before he could finish speaking.
"Ser Alec, please bear with it for a while; I will find someone to help you share the burden as soon as possible."
After speaking, Aegon looked at the others.
"My lords, you understand the Round Table Council System no less than I do.
You should know how many official positions you have at your disposal; arrange them yourselves, I will not interfere.
I have only one requirement: the people must be capable; don't bring in any fools, or don't blame me for being merciless."
Aegon had not yet established a complete talent pipeline, so he could only let them arrange it themselves for now.
Needless to say, Kraken and Loren would certainly have their families support them with personnel to gain more say in the Round Table Council.
Besides the official positions they held, the positions held by Hugh and Alec would most likely also be targeted.
After all, Hugh and Alec did not have family support behind them.
"Your Highness, if Dragonstone implements the Round Table Council System, what about Grey Gallows Isle?"
Kraken suddenly remembered Grey Gallows Isle.
"Grey Gallows Isle will be arranged according to our initial discussion results, continuing to implement the Feudal System."
When discussing the feasibility of the Round Table Council System initially, Kraken had proposed a relatively feasible possibility.
That was to implement both systems simultaneously, without interfering with each other.
Aegon would directly control the most important and richest areas within the fiefdom through the Round Table Council.
And those less important or less rich lands would be enfeoffed, entrusted to vassals to manage.
Grey Gallows Isle was an example; although the island area was not small, there was no place to build a large port, so its potential was limited.
If Grey Gallows Isle were enfeoffed, it could solve both the land reclamation problem on the island and the garrison problem for the island.
It was killing two birds with one stone, saving worry and effort!