King's Landing, Small Council.
"I have summoned you all today to ask you to devise a solution for me. How can we expand our military recruitment and improve the defenses of King's Landing?"
In truth, Joffrey Baratheon already had a rough direction in mind, but he still wanted to hear the suggestions of these ministers.
"Your Majesty, this old servant believes that the three thousand Gold Cloaks in King's Landing are already sufficient. There is no need to expand further, otherwise our expenses will not be able to support so many people."
Unexpectedly to Joffrey, Grand Maester Pycelle, who was always drowsy, was actually the first to speak this time. His words sounded very polished, truly making it seem as if he were thinking for the sake of the iron throne.
However, Joffrey knew clearly in his heart that this old thing, Grand Maester Pycelle, was a loyal lackey of his good grandfather, Tywin Lannister.
It was likely that Joffrey's recent purging of Lannister personnel from the palace had made Grand Maester Pycelle feel a sense of crisis.
Joffrey first glanced at Varys beside him, then smiled and said to Grand Maester Pycelle:
"Grand Maester Pycelle, you are an old servant who has served many kings; your contributions are truly great."
"This old servant dares not claim credit." Grand Maester Pycelle replied humbly.
However, those who knew Joffrey could see that His Majesty the King, Joffrey, was waiting for his skill cooldown to reset; he was about to taunt!
Varys silently sighed for Grand Maester Pycelle, while Petyr Baelish looked at Grand Maester Pycelle with a smile, with a hint of schadenfreude.
Sure enough, the next moment Joffrey Baratheon spoke again.
"Our Grand Maester Pycelle is not only hardworking and meritorious, but also still vigorous in his old age. Moreover, he serves not just the King, but also certain people at the bottom of society who are suffering from hunger and cold."
Hearing this, Grand Maester Pycelle sensed something was wrong. He looked at Joffrey's playful eyes, feeling some panic in his heart.
"What, does Grand Maester Pycelle think there is something wrong with what I said?" Joffrey's green eyes stared fixedly at Grand Maester Pycelle, and that kind smile made Grand Maester Pycelle feel panicked inside.
Fortunately, Grand Maester Pycelle was also an old fox who had lived for so many years, so he hurriedly remedied the situation and explained:
"Actually, it is not impossible for Your Majesty to want to expand recruitment. After all, your mother's House Lannister has plenty of money. This old servant believes we can send ravens to various houses to see if anyone is willing to come; we can attract them with heavy rewards."
Grand Maester Pycelle's attitude satisfied Joffrey Baratheon. Although the advice wasn't great, at least he knew not to pick the wrong side.
However, Joffrey certainly wouldn't adopt his suggestion, because those nobles had their own calculations, and the number of people would be too small while the expenses would be high.
Joffrey mainly wanted to select some capable talents from among the commoners.
At this moment, Varys, who had just been glanced at by Joffrey, immediately understood and spoke up, saying:
"Your Majesty, I believe that recruitment should not be limited to the noble class, but should also look to the commoners. We can have the Gold Cloaks post notices in the city for publicity, and then screen out those who meet the criteria from the commoners. After a period of training, these people should be competent."
Varys's vision was very broad, and his suggestion was very much in line with Joffrey's political demands.
Although noble knights generally had higher abilities, their loyalty was also a big problem. It was very likely they would be influenced by the interests of their families and waver between various forces.
Joffrey needed to promote some commoners to become his own support, because commoners had no families and were politically isolated. Moreover, commoners had no family property and were economically distressed.
For such people, as long as he provided them with political and economic needs, they would be loyal to him, at least more loyal than those nobles.
"Not bad, Lord Varys's suggestion is very good. Let it be so. Ser Jeslyn Beesbury, you will organize this matter."
Seeing Joffrey finally reveal a smile, Varys breathed a sigh of relief. His Majesty the King liked to play dumb, especially liking to let certain things be said from the mouths of others.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Ser Jeslyn Beesbury nodded and replied.
"Lord Baelish, how is the matter I asked you to do the other day going?"
"Your Majesty, I have already completed it. The overall process of implementing the state monopoly on salt and iron has been quite smooth. The common people do not have too many opinions, it is just that a few merchants linked to certain nobles have some minor complaints." Petyr Baelish replied.
"Very good." Joffrey nodded in satisfaction.
The current situation was quite severe, because Stannis Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, and Robb Stark had successively declared themselves kings, and the iron throne was in jeopardy.
Although House Tyrell, out of consideration for the hostage in Joffrey's hands, the "Knight of Flowers" Loras Tyrell, did not cut off the supplies to King's Landing as in the original work, the military strength of the iron throne was still insufficient.
Damn it, who exactly killed Eddard Stark! This war was about to end, but suddenly this happened.
Joffrey felt irritable in his heart; it was truly headache-inducing.
At the same time, Joffrey cast his gaze toward Petyr Baelish on the side. He always felt that this guy Petyr Baelish had the greatest suspicion, but he had no evidence.
Moreover, this guy was still very useful for his adjustment of the economic policy of King's Landing, so he couldn't be killed easily.
Petyr Baelish felt his scalp tingle under Joffrey Baratheon's aggressive gaze. He didn't know what bad idea his moody His Majesty the King was thinking of again.
...
King's Landing, inside The Red Keep.
"Brother!"
As soon as Joffrey Baratheon entered, he heard his younger brother Tommen Baratheon and Myrcella Baratheon calling him, and he hurriedly smiled and answered.
Younger brother Tommen was eating while using a spoon to feed the little yellow-striped cat in his arms.
Younger sister Myrcella was sitting upright, very elegantly using the knife and fork in her hand to move the dessert into her mouth bit by bit.
Joffrey walked in, first patted Tommen's little head, and then hugged his beautiful sister Myrcella.
"Joffrey, you should come back more often to accompany your brother and sister. Don't just be busy handling state affairs and neglect your own family." Cersei Lannister said.
After she finished speaking, she let a maid bring over the lemon candies from Yi Ti that Joffrey liked to eat. Joffrey casually popped a few into his mouth.
The sweet and sour taste impacted Joffrey's taste buds. He liked this kind of candy very much; this taste reminded him of several flavors he liked in his previous life.
"Mother, I know. I will come to see my family more often."
Whether good or bad, Joffrey truly felt the feeling of family with Cersei Lannister and his brother and sister. This warmth relieved the intense sense of crisis he had been holding onto.
"As long as you know." Cersei replied with a smile.
Her son Joffrey being handsome and capable was what she, as a mother, hoped to see, but the fact that Joffrey didn't give her power was something she held a grudge about.
However, Cersei had also come to terms with it during this time. After all, Joffrey was her son. If he didn't give her power, what could she do? She couldn't kill her own son.
"Didn't Sansa come?" Joffrey was a little confused.
"No, who knows what she is doing."
As soon as she heard her son mention that girl from House Stark again, Cersei immediately got angry. She felt that her precious son was going to be snatched away from her by that girl, and she absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen.
Cersei's desire for control was very strong. She did not allow her son Joffrey to deviate even a little bit from the path she had set for him.
Joffrey smiled awkwardly. He touched his nose. Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts were indeed a traditional contradiction since ancient times; it was the same all over the world.
It was still his sister Myrcella who was sensible. After eating, she said to her brother Joffrey: "Brother, sister-in-law has been crying in her room all morning. She cried so sadly, you should go and see her."
Myrcella was probably the person in all of King's Landing who had the best relationship with Sansa Stark. Her mind was pure, she was loving, and she also liked knights' ballads, which matched well with Sansa Stark.
"Who told you to call her sister-in-law! She is not your sister-in-law!" Hearing that her daughter Myrcella was actually speaking for an outsider, Cersei became even angrier.
"I'm done eating!"
Myrcella stuck her tongue out at Joffrey with a smile and hurriedly ran out.
Finally, it was younger brother Tommen who said he wanted his brother to teach him swordsmanship, and Cersei finally calmed down.
"Alright, alright, alright. I will teach you when I have time."
Joffrey gave his younger brother Tommen a mental thumbs-up, stood up and patted his head, and then casually patted the head of the little cat in his brother's arms. This cat was quite cute.
Hmm, as cute as younger brother Tommen.
"Mother, then I will go out first."
Joffrey first bid farewell to his mother Cersei, and then walked out quickly as if fleeing.
Cersei sighed helplessly. Her son had been captured by that woman from House Stark.
Cersei looked at her younger son Tommen again. Watching Tommen holding the cat and having a "meow meow meow" conversation with the little cat in his arms, she once again revealed a gentle smile.
...
Inside The Red Keep.
"Sansa, are you... alright?"
Joffrey walked forward with his hands behind his back. To be honest, he didn't know how to comfort others.
But he could empathize. He understood the pain of losing a father; that suffocating feeling of loss and despair was extremely disgusting.
Sansa Stark turned her head to look at Joffrey without speaking, just sitting on the bed and sobbing softly with tears streaming down her face like rain.
"Sansa, this is a camellia I bought for you from a merchant from Yi Ti. Do you think it's beautiful?"
After speaking, Joffrey smiled and took out a pot of white flowers from behind him.
Sansa wiped away her tears and looked at this flower, which was as white as snow, with red eyes.
The leaves of the camellia were dark green, shiny, and oval or elliptical in shape, neatly arranged on the branches. The flowers were large and full, appearing in a double-petal form. The flower shape was strange, a bit like a rose and a bit like a peony.
The flower color was as white as snow, emitting a faint, lingering fragrance. The stamens were bright, making the whole flower full of vitality and life.
Looking at this white camellia, Sansa remembered the beautiful snow-flower her father, Eddard Stark, had brought back for her from the Wall when she was young. Her father's kind face appeared before her eyes again.
Seeing that Sansa Stark was touched by the scene and was about to shed tears again, Joffrey hurriedly put the camellia behind his back.
"I'm sorry, Sansa. I shouldn't have given you this. Are you starting to feel sad again?" Joffrey was a bit flustered.
"It's okay, Joffrey. Thank you, I really like the flower you gave me."
Looking at Joffrey's clumsy appearance, Sansa's sad mood improved a lot.
"Joffrey, I just miss home. I miss my mother, my brothers and sisters. Can I go home?"
"I..." Joffrey fell silent.
He didn't know how to explain it to Sansa.
Should he tell her that Winterfell was about to be occupied by Theon Greyjoy, who grew up with her?
How could she believe that?
You know, Theon Greyjoy was still by the side of the young wolf Robb Stark right now.
Joffrey was silent for a long time, lowering his head and not daring to face Sansa. He said: "Sansa, I will let you go home, but not now. We have to wait a little longer."
Just as Joffrey Baratheon was thinking about how to explain it to Sansa Stark, a pair of warm hands cupped his face and gently turned his face around.
Then what Joffrey saw was Sansa's smiling face. She said: "Joffrey, thank you." Then she kissed Joffrey on the cheek.
Joffrey was stunned. It turned out he had overthought it.
He didn't need any explanation at all; Sansa Stark would believe him without reservation.
"You really are a silly girl."