Chapter 205: The Meereenese Knot, The Meereenese Solution
"I didn't leave behind an army or a means of livelihood," Daenerys admitted frankly. "But shouldn't those problems be solved by the council and the liberated freedmen themselves?"
"You shatter the chains of the slaves and overturn the production and operational models that these slave cities have used for thousands of years, yet you simply promote a few people and expect them to solve everything on their own? If it were truly that simple, why do you think tens of thousands of sla—freedmen—didn't stay to live stable lives in Astapor and Yunkai, but instead chose to follow you to Meereen?" Petyr gave a soft chuckle. "I suspect you believe it is because of their love for you?"
Was it not? Daenerys opened her mouth; she had nearly uttered the word.
"I was once a small man, so I understand the mindset of those at the bottom. Let me tell you—as long as they can survive, people will never leave their homes in droves to follow... even someone a hundred times more noble and beautiful than you into a dangerous venture in a strange land. The freedmen following in your footsteps are clever; they saw that staying meant they could never live in peace. The moment you leave, Astapor will fall into chaos and Yunkai will immediately restore slavery. That is why they crossed the wasteland at any cost, insisting on following you and your army!"
"That is merely your assessment. As far as I know, Astapor and Yunkai are doing fine for now. Besides, what does this have to do with Meereen?"
"These three sister slave cities—how could it not have anything to do with it? Your order just now to nail one hundred and sixty-three leaders of the Great Masters to stakes has already pushed this city to the brink of destruction!" Petyr looked at Daenerys and spoke in a low, heavy voice: "Permit me to ask, Your Majesty, do you truly believe that the order to nail those one hundred and sixty-three slave children to the roadside was passed unanimously after a meeting of every single slave master in Meereen?"
Daenerys shifted her gaze, staring at Petyr for a moment, suddenly realizing she had never considered this question. In her subconscious, a slave master was a slave master; what difference could there be between them?
"I only need to provide an example for Your Majesty to understand what a massive error that hasty decision was. You must have heard of Lord Tywin of House Lannister... after exterminating the Reynes and the Tarbecks, he became the noble with the strongest control over his vassals in all of Westeros. At the time, there were many houses in the West disrespectful to their liege lord. Why did Tywin only destroy two, rather than punishing everyone who was disrespectful? Because he wanted to make an example of them; he wanted fear, not hatred." Petyr stared back at Daenerys without flinching. He had intended to say that the Mad King lost the Iron Throne and his life precisely because he didn't understand the difference between fear and hatred... but in a flash of inspiration at the last second, he decided not to court death by using Daenerys's father as an example. Instead, he used Tywin as a successful case study.
"You want to kill, you want revenge for those one hundred and sixty-three children—no problem. But please, create fear, not hatred! Imagine if Tywin hadn't exterminated two families, but had instead picked out the head of every disrespectful family in the West and beheaded them... would he still have the chance to be written into 'The Rains of Castamere' and be feared by all of Westeros? No! He would have been overthrown by a coalition of his vassals within days and dragged out of Casterly Rock to be hanged!"
"I understand what you mean. The ones who ordered those one hundred and sixty-three children nailed to the stakes were not all the slave masters of Meereen, but a few powerful families, or even just a few individuals," Daenerys said with a frown. "But I don't think anyone will step forward to admit it."
"You don't need anyone to admit it. You only need to investigate which Great Master has the most slaves and lives in the tallest pyramid, and the answer will reveal itself." Petyr shook his head. "That is easy. What I find more strange now is—Your Majesty... even after sitting down to calm yourself, are you still only thinking about tracking down the Great Masters who ordered the children nailed? Are you here for revenge, or for liberation?"
"Is there a contradiction between liberation and revenge?"
"There doesn't have to be," Petyr said. "If I were you, there are at least three strategies to ensure control after occupying Meereen. Ranked from worst to best for yourself, they can be divided into Low, Middle, and High. I understand that Your Majesty suspects me of being a liar. So, I will only speak of the methods—whether they are feasible is for you to judge."
Facing the daughter of the Mad King, Petyr didn't dare play games like keeping her in suspense. He took a breath and went straight to offering counsel: "The Low strategy is what I said publicly—kill every slave master in Meereen, then take complete control of the city and establish a new rule, just as you did in Astapor."
"But this worst plan faces three problems: First, you do not have enough talent around you to assist in managing the city. Sellswords and Unsullied can fight for you, but they cannot devise strategies or produce food. Among the freedmen, there are doctors, scholars, technicians, clerks, craftsmen, and teachers, but they are servants, not a ruling class! The only usable man was Jorah Mormont, but unfortunately, he was King Robert's spy. If you kill off the slave masters who constitute the ruling class, this city will collapse into immediate chaos!" Petyr paused and then continued: "The second point: a city-state supported by the slave trade suddenly has all its 'cargo' turn into free men... how will you feed these free men? You can order everyone to farm, but what will they eat before the first crop matures? What if foreign enemies invade before the first harvest? Does Your Majesty have a mature solution? The third problem—letting liberated slaves become the masters; do they have the ability and quality for self-management? The original Great Masters were loathsome, but thousands of years of experience taught them that everything must have a 'limit'... the liberated slaves have no such concept. People who have never touched wealth or power will suddenly possess both, and their 'table manners' will be far uglier than the slave masters. Whether you admit it or not, someone in this world must be oppressed and enslaved to feed the rest! There must be nobles and slave masters in fine silks to handle thought, culture, and art to build a civilization!"
"Enough, say no more." Daenerys frowned in disgust. Petyr might be right, but she simply disliked his way of speaking. "I will not adopt your Low strategy. Speak of the other two ideas."
"Fine," Littlefinger agreed immediately. "The Middle strategy is—kill none of them. You rule this city and all the Great Masters as the Queen of Meereen, becoming the greatest slave master of all."
"That is impossible. I came to liberate, not to join them."
"Exactly. Even if you adopted that strategy, there would still be trouble to face." Petyr nodded in agreement. "As an outsider, you have no roots here. Until your dragons grow up, your power comes primarily from the Unsullied and the freedmen you liberated. If you choose to be the Great Slaver, you lose your greatest support and can be easily overthrown. Once ousted, the city would quickly return to its old way of life, as if you had never come. Therefore, we have the final High strategy."
"You've proposed two methods I couldn't possibly adopt, grandly naming them Middle and Low strategies, likely just to lead into this High one." Daenerys narrowed her eyes, speaking with displeasure: "Stop prattling with explanations. Summarize it."
"If Your Majesty wants a summary, I will speak simply." Petyr wasn't sure if this Targaryen girl was mad, but she at least wasn't stupid, which made him feel slightly more at ease. "Expel the most powerful Great Masters and let the middle-tier nobles they once suppressed take their place. To summarize: originally the tigers and wolves were one family, but the lion arrived and joined with the wolves to drive out the tigers. The invader—Your Majesty—is the lion. After driving away the tigers, use the wolves to rule and manage the freedmen and the city you liberated."
"Expel? What of the debt for those one hundred and sixty-three children? On whom shall I vent my rage?"
"You can kill some of the heads of the great families. One, two, ten, twenty... as you please." Petyr shrugged. "But you cannot kill them all. You must have checks and balances. You must ensure that the newly ascended 'elite class' and your people will not betray you. How do you guarantee this? Simple: make them feel they always owe you something, that they need you. Expel the tiger, but let it live. This way, the new nobles you promote to managers—the wolves—will fear their old boss bringing foreign aid to return, reclaim their pyramids, and cast them back to their original state. And the sheep—your people—will cling to your legs for fear of being eaten by the wolves... Thus, you only need to sit on high, controlling the method and speed of eating the sheep, soothing both sides between your new nobles and your people, accepting their worship and submission, and responding appropriately to their needs—food, security... you won't have to worry about a thing. The wolves will take the initiative to handle it for you; this is their home, and they know it intimately."
It sounded so logical, yet the tone was so unpleasant. Could this be what they call 'honest advice is hard on the ear'? Daenerys remained silent, but Daario, standing beside her, gave a cold snort: "Her Majesty is a True Dragon, not a lion. Her people love the Queen; they could never betray her!"
"Haha, I would love to believe that, but unfortunately, true or false, those are the words of a fool." Petyr laughed. "If there is one thing a ruler must remember, it is this: human nature is inherently evil. Your Majesty's freedmen will call you 'Mhysa,' 'Mother,' and 'Dragon Queen' at the top of their lungs when you break their chains and rescue them from oppression, their mouths full of gratitude as if they were ready to die for you at any moment. You can enjoy this adoration, but do not become intoxicated by it—because the moment danger strikes, or they aren't fed or clothed well enough, grumbling, complaints, and betrayal will follow. Some might even turn to spit on, despise, slander, or even harm you. Being loved is more conducive to ruling than being feared, but remember one thing: the cost of being loved is very high, yet its cost-performance ratio is extremely low. It cannot be forced, and certainly do not pin your hopes on it. You must always maintain this mindset: your people are bad people, the new nobles under you are bad people, the guards by your side are bad people... even I, who am speaking to you now, am a bad person." Petyr had once won Eddard Stark's trust by speaking in opposites, though that trust was quickly and thoroughly destroyed by a single note. This time, would the young Queen before him fall for it? He curled his lips. "Always anticipate people's motives with the greatest malice and keep means to deal with them; only then can rule be long and stable!"
"Tch..." The handsome sellsword standing behind Daenerys could no longer endure Littlefinger's grandstanding. "Utter nonsense! There are thousands upon thousands of people by the Queen's side willing to give everything for her. Only a devious villain would habitually suspect others with malice!"
"I say 'everyone is a bad person' because I hope Your Majesty maintains such vigilance, not because I believe it is a fact! Perhaps you are right, and the majority of those around the Queen love her, but no amount of adorers can stop a single enemy who comes up behind Her Majesty before drawing a knife." Petyr glanced at the handsome sellsword, then continued looking at Daenerys with a slightly reproachful gaze: "Either kill them all, kill none, or kill the right ones. You used the Low strategy in Astapor and the Middle strategy in Yunkai. I had hoped you would become wiser in Meereen... who would have thought you intended to use a move I wouldn't even consider... a 'Bottom' strategy that would be an understatement to call 'stupid'?"
Daring to call the Queen stupid? The sellsword flew into a rage. "Show some respect, you little dwarf! Do you want to taste my arakh?"
How did a sellsword dare to constantly interrupt his conversation with the Queen in such a tone? Petyr looked up at the speaker again, couldn't help but suspect the man was Daenerys's lover, but it didn't matter. If Daenerys favored a sellsword who could only swing a blade over a sincere and talented advisor, then she would never return to Westeros and would not be worth following. He could just leave this room and immediately start planning his escape.
Daenerys's expression gradually became solemn. She sat up straight on the sofa, uncrossed her legs, and lowered her head in deep thought. Human nature is inherently evil, anticipate anyone around you with the greatest malice... What harsh nonsense, yet having endured so many hardships and two betrayals, she realized Petyr was right. Perhaps this thin man from Westeros with questionable character was exactly the follower she needed?
The Queen took a deep breath and looked up: "Daario, go fetch a chair for Ser Petyr. Missandei, go get something to drink. I have many questions that need asking. This conversation—it may last for a while."
...
Petyr breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
The Targaryen girl before him was no madwoman; she had listened to his words.
This should have been good news, but why did his heart ache so much? Ah, yes... how many methods of governing and playing the games of power and politics had he mastered through observation, practice, reading history, and diligent thought? He had intended to display his full skills only on the day he sat upon the Iron Throne... who could have predicted that life would be so unpredictable? Having a belly full of political talent, yet forced to run to Slaver's Bay ten thousand miles away, having to exhaust his every trick just to win a chance to play the role of loyal minister assisting an exiled princess in reclaiming her kingdom... it was truly pathetic.
Before helping Daenerys retake the Iron Throne, any ambition was out of the question. And even if they successfully restored the Targaryen dynasty, it would merely be a return to the starting point. Just thinking about it made him feel a little weary.
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