Daenerys's first Small Council meeting got off to a good start, thanks to her excellent eloquence and King Jaehaerys's favor.
Recommending Lady Cold Emerald for the position of Minister of Law on the Small Council was just Daenerys's first attempt.
If Daenerys wanted to leverage and change this world, she would face immense pressure on her own, so she planned to first allow more female characters to emerge on a larger stage in Westeros.
After all, there are countless lords, big and small, in the Seven Kingdoms, and in this world full of violence and depravity, various natural and man-made disasters and territorial disputes are constant, so it is quite common for male heirs to die out.
Therefore, some powerful noblewomen did have the opportunity to take charge of their families, but often their power would return to the male heirs once their children came of age.
What Daenerys was going to do next was to provide the widest possible stage for women in the Seven Kingdoms.
When Daenerys accompanied King Jaehaerys back to his room, she was surprised to find her personal maids, Besani and Laila, as well as her personal guard, Harold Darklyn, had arrived.
"Greetings, Your Majesty, greetings, Princess!"
After bowing, they respectfully retreated to the side.
"Why did you come all the way from Dragonstone?"
Daenerys was very surprised by their arrival, so she asked.
Because King Jaehaerys was present, even the usually aloof and sharp-tongued Laila spoke more like a lady now.
"Princess! Prince Viserys and Queen Aemma were worried that the Princess might be unaccustomed without her usual attendants, so they asked us to come quickly!"
Daenerys knew that things were not so simple, so she deliberately spoke with a hint of disdain on the surface, but with great satisfaction inwardly:
"With Great-grandfather taking care of me in the Red Keep, how could I be unaccustomed? You worry too much!"
Jaehaerys then spoke:
"Today's Small Council meeting gave me a bit of a headache, and I'm feeling tired now, so I'll go rest for a bit. Daenerys, you go attend to your own matters for now!"
"Yes, Great-grandfather!"
Daenerys bowed respectfully and instructed Audrey, who was beside her:
"Audrey, light the incense I gave you when Great-grandfather rests. Don't let him sleep too long, about half an hour is enough, otherwise, he'll be more uncomfortable in the afternoon."
"Yes, Princess!"
Jaehaerys finally affectionately stroked Daenerys's head, then returned to his bedroom, attended by Audrey and several maids.
Daenerys then led Laila and the others back to her own room, and as soon as the door was closed, she eagerly asked,
"What happened?"
Besani, who always liked to show off, immediately rushed to answer,
"Princess, we discovered an Assistant Scholar at Dragonstone who was using the convenience of raising ravens to send messages to the Citadel."
"Was Tigris Scholar involved?"
Daenerys had never had much of a good impression of the Archmaesters of the Citadel, especially since they were backed by the ambitious Hightower Family, and Daenerys had never dared to fully trust them.
So, ever since she moved into Dragonstone three years ago, she had been constantly wary of them.
Sure enough, as soon as Otto Hightower took office as Hand of the King, their intelligence network spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms began to activate.
Although the Hightower Family appeared to be detached from worldly affairs, they used the Archmaesters of the Citadel and the septons of the Seven Gods Church to spread their pawns and informants throughout the various large and small territories of the Seven Kingdoms.
Perhaps in many territories, these backup plans of theirs might never be activated in a lifetime. But at critical moments, they could play a huge role.
Daenerys had always firmly believed that the demise of the Targaryen Family's dragons in history was inseparable from the conspiracies of the Hightower Family and the Citadel.
"Based on the evidence I currently have, Tigris appears to be completely unaware. It was just that Assistant Scholar's personal action, and he has now been taken to White Sheep Town and imprisoned."
"After Cameron and Dax's interrogation, he has confessed almost everything."
"The Citadel's main task for him was to investigate the methods for making dragon porcelain and Dragonstone, as well as information about the group of people who disturbed the Glutton."
"No wonder Otto Hightower brought up the Glutton in the Small Council! It seems those people from Volantis were already being watched by those with ulterior motives after entering Westeros."
Thinking that Princess Xenia had escaped from Oldtown, Daenerys always felt that there must have been collusion between the Hightower Family and Princess Xenia.
"Princess, our fleet, which was refitted in Braavos, has returned. Besides the ten three-masted ships originally brought from Storm's End, we brought enough gold dragons to buy twenty-five more of the most advanced three-masted ships."
"And you were right, there are indeed many elderly and infirm shipbuilders in Braavos who are living in great hardship. This time, Captain Worford brought back a total of three to five hundred people, including those masters' families."
"They have all been settled in White Sheep Town now."
"This time, it was also thanks to their guidance that we were able to catch many of the purple conchs you mentioned in the harbors near Braavos."
"They have now been put into Hulu Bay for breeding. Their condition is quite good, so it seems they should be successfully bred."
The reason Daenerys concluded that there would be many retired shipbuilders in Braavos was because the shipbuilding technology and scale there were simply too vast, so the required manpower was naturally enormous.
In Braavos, the shipyards were their largest industry, almost supporting half of Braavos's commoners. With more people working, talent would no longer be so valued. The elderly and infirm would certainly be replaced by the strong and robust.
Although they could not compare to the young and strong in terms of physical strength, their knowledge and skills had not deteriorated. However, due to the constraints of the era's Concept, they rarely thought of seeking a livelihood elsewhere.
So, once the money saved from work was spent, they would naturally fall into financial difficulties.
The reason for gathering them to Dragonstone New Island was to rely on their technology to cultivate a group of her own shipbuilders.
Although Daenerys did not understand shipbuilding, she had seen the general shapes of famous ocean-going ships in history.
As they slowly researched, Daenerys was confident that she would eventually develop the most advanced ships in this world.
After all, the Targaryen Family had already mastered air superiority, and if they could make breakthroughs in dominating the seas as well, even if they couldn't recreate the glory of Valyria, Daenerys at least had great hope of establishing her own kingdom with this.
As for the purple conchs, they could produce purple dye, which was also one of Braavos's important economic sources.
Few people in this world, except for Braavosis and Tyroshis, knew this secret. But Braavos made a lot of money from purple dye, while Tyrosh used it all to dye their hair and beards to show their uniqueness.
If these purple conchs could successfully reproduce on Dragonstone New Island, then it would also add another good source of income for Daenerys.
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