Chapter 409: The Long River, Who is the True Player?
Has it started snowing even this far south...?
Having finished his inspection of the military camp, Jon Connington slowly raised his head, watching the snowflakes that had suddenly begun to flutter across the sky, and let out a long sigh.
He was old. His many years of exile and the life of wandering and fighting with the Golden Company had caused irreversible damage to his body. Having ridden for only a short while and now lifting his gaze, his entire frame felt as though it were falling apart with soreness.
Summer was no more, and youth was gone. Winter should have been the season for everyone to return to their homes, to huddle together with stored grain and wait for spring's arrival. However—if the Usurpers were not yet destroyed, how could he have a home? As long as the Baratheon rebels sat upon the Iron Throne for a single day, and Rhaegar's son had not reclaimed the Seven Kingdoms for half a moment, he could not rest!
Daenerys's counterattack on the Seven Kingdoms had come quite timely. Had it been ten days or half a month later, the Golden Company holding Storm's End would have run out of food and been forced to surrender. He would likely have had to lead the Prince in a pathetic retreat into Dorne for refuge, living under someone else's roof and at their mercy. Fortunately, that grim ending did not occur. Once the news spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms that Daenerys had captured Dragonstone and was pressing toward King's Landing, and Stannis had swiftly withdrawn his troops from Storm's End to contract his defensive lines, the Golden Company—loyal to Prince Aegon—had gathered their remaining forces under the command of the Hand of the Prince, Jon Connington, and set out on their final northern campaign.
With the Golden Company's remaining strength at just over half, attacking King's Landing alone was impossible. But sieging the city was not the goal of this long march: as long as they reached the battlefield before Daenerys captured King's Landing and the fate of the Iron Throne was settled, and allowed the Prince to meet and reconcile with his aunt, they would have a share of the credit for their hard work. Even without credit, they would be present for the spoils; they were bound to get a spoonful of the Seven Kingdoms' soup.
...
Due to repeated tactical failures against Stannis, the morale of the Golden Company was not high, and coupled with the urgency of time... Connington led Prince Aegon on a march that bypassed all unnecessary combat, only rooting out a few small castles that had to be taken along the route. They finally crossed the Stormlands and the Kingswood before the fall of King's Landing, successfully arriving at the south bank of the Blackwater River, just across the water from the center of political power in the Seven Kingdoms, facing the majestic capital and the Red Keep.
With this, the Golden Company plugged the last gap in the encirclement formed by Daenerys's army. King's Landing was now surrounded on all sides—East, South, West, and North—by the land and sea forces of House Targaryen flying the red dragon banners, turning it into a lone city.
However, although King's Landing appeared to be in a precarious state, the situation had actually eased slightly with the arrival of the Golden Company. Stannis had long ago stockpiled enough grain in the city to ignore the consumption of a siege. Meanwhile, the armies outside appeared to be one family, but in reality, they were loyal to two different Targaryens. Until the two monarchs reached an agreement, neither army would permit the other to unilaterally seize King's Landing and claim the legal advantage, leaving themselves in an awkward position.
Although Young Aegon's Golden Company lacked the strength to attack King's Landing independently, they posed enough of a threat to the Unsullied's flanks and rear to prevent the latter from acting rashly or committing fully to a siege. Furthermore... the armies of the Reach and Dorne were also on their way to join the fray. Soon, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms would fall into a state even more complex than a three-way stalemate.
Daenerys's hesitation had caused her to miss the opportunity to take King's Landing for herself. Before the various factions could reach a profit-sharing agreement or fight to determine a victor, the pressure Stannis faced was actually much less than when he only faced the threat of the Unsullied and three dragons.
Of course—a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Jon Connington's mouth. He was one of the few people in the world who knew that Varys's true loyalty lay with Prince Aegon. Since the eunuch had already worked his way into the Queen's presence and begun influencing her thoughts and decisions, there was a very high probability that Daenerys would agree to marry her nephew, the two Targaryens would successfully unite through marriage, and together they would resist the common enemy and rule the Seven Kingdoms.
As long as he could see the son of his beloved Silver Prince sit upon the Iron Throne and rule the Seven Kingdoms with his own eyes before he died, Connington would be satisfied even if he were to pass away immediately.
Speak of Varys, and Varys appears. Before Connington had even dismounted, a soldier ran up to report: "Lord Hand, a messenger claiming to be from the Queen has arrived at the camp. He says his name is Varys and is currently waiting for you in the main tent."
"Oh?" News from the Queen! Connington's spirits rose. "Help me down. Guard the tent door; no one is to disturb us unless there is urgent military intelligence!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The old Hand hurried into the central command tent. Sure enough, he saw the familiar bald head standing in the middle of the tent waiting for him. He quickly dismissed his attendants, approached, and asked with both expectation and tension, "How goes your persuasion with the Queen?"
"It's hard to say," Varys whispered helplessly. His current identity was that of the Queen's counselor, and he had come accompanied by the Unsullied. If someone were to hear how familiar and close he was with Prince Aegon's Hand, a charge of espionage would be catastrophic. "Although I presented a great gift in the form of the Crownlands troop distribution map, I haven't spent as much time with the Queen as Littlefinger. His weight and influence with her are greater than mine, and he is vehemently opposed to the marriage proposal I put forward. While the Queen hasn't made an explicit statement, after being misled and having her ambitions stoked by Petyr, she clearly leans toward being Queen in her own right... rather than marrying down to become a Queen Consort."
"Hmph, being Queen herself. Sounds easy, but it's not that simple. She's a young woman; where does she get such a lust for power? Haven't you done anything?"
"Don't be anxious. The Queen has no desire to be an enemy to her last living blood relative. I am considering... if she truly cannot bear to be subordinate as a Queen Consort, we could settle for the next best thing: persuade her to name Prince Aegon as her heir, achieving cooperation in that form." Varys sighed. "This is why I kept advising you 'not to let Prince Aegon overemphasize his status.' If he is used to emphasizing his kingship to everyone he meets, there will be too much embarrassment on the day he truly has to temporarily sit beneath the Dragon Queen."
"An heir... that is indeed a way. But if I remember correctly, Daenerys is even younger than Young Aegon! She is still young and will eventually seek a man... if Prince Aegon is named heir and then she has children of her own, what then? The Prince might wait his entire life and never get the chance to sit on the Iron Throne!"
"That will depend on the Prince's own abilities. If Daenerys refuses to marry him and insists on being Queen herself, she will likely not marry anyone else either, but rule the Seven Kingdoms as a single woman for the time being. If Young Aegon can show her his reliable and capable side and gain her favor before she looks to other men, becoming Dany's 'husband who is not king' or her trusted Hand, he will still have a chance to sit on the Iron Throne eventually."
...
The above was merely a perfunctory explanation. The true plan that Varys and Illyrio had secretly agreed upon was: if Daenerys refused to marry, they would first settle for the heir plan. Once Young Aegon became the heir to the Iron Throne... they would find a way to manufacture an accident to cause Daenerys's death. Naturally, they would then achieve the ultimate goal of having Young Aegon rule the Seven Kingdoms through a roundabout succession.
However, this plan could absolutely never be revealed to Jon Connington or Prince Aegon. Both the old Hand and the young Prince firmly believed the latter was the true Aegon Targaryen. And the environment that he and Illyrio had custom-built for his upbringing had successfully molded Aegon Targaryen into a loyal, upright, brave, and wise perfect monarch.
Such a Prince would never participate in a despicable conspiracy like murdering his own sovereign and the last relative in the world for the sake of the throne.
The dirty work could be left to low-born people like the Spider and the Magister. Young Aegon Targaryen's task was to decently and unconsciously be the cuckoo occupying the nest, becoming the most legendary king in the history of the Seven Kingdoms after his namesake Conqueror, and the common ancestor of all future Targaryens.
"Alas, if the Queen's ambition has truly expanded to such an extent, without going to war with her, I suppose we can only agree to let Aegon endure being the heir." Jon Connington let out a long sigh with a furrowed brow. As someone who had witnessed every day of Aegon's growth, he was more certain than anyone that his young Prince would be a more ideal and excellent Great King than anyone else. Unfortunately, as men living between heaven and earth, one must occasionally make compromises with reality.
"Stop sighing. Things are already much better than the worst-case scenario. Do you know? Petyr had originally successfully convinced the Queen to take King's Landing herself before the other armies arrived. If Stannis hadn't held his own with a dense formation of dragon-hunting scorpions, making the Queen afraid to recklessly lead a dragon assault, and if that Red Priest named Moqorro hadn't kept urging her to go north to participate in some 'Endless War' nonsense, you might have seen King's Landing with red dragon banners flying on the walls when you arrived."
Had Daenerys truly captured King's Landing alone, then by the time the Prince arrived with the Golden Company, there would have been no leverage left for negotiations. They would have had no choice but to kneel and declare themselves subjects... whether his Targaryen blood would even be recognized would have depended entirely on the Queen's mood.
(It's not bad that things have come this far.) Thinking this, Connington's mood instantly lightened, but he soon spoke of another troubling matter: "After hearing the news of Daenerys's counterattack on the Seven Kingdoms, the attitudes of the Reach and Dorne toward the Prince have also become ambiguous. I invited the Tyrells and Martells to lead their armies here together; it was predictable that the Martells wouldn't accept, but even the Tyrells haven't replied!"
"Hmph. Both houses have unmarried male members of the direct line. Seeing that the Queen is unwed, they've all developed their own little schemes." Varys narrowed his eyes, a glint of contempt and coldness flashing in them. "Everyone seems to feel that Daenerys, a young woman, will surely be easier to control than a Prince advised by you... unfortunately, the Queen is much harder to fool than they imagine. Don't worry about those things; let's do something meaningful instead... here is a complete set of blueprints for the dragon-hunting scorpion. My little birds in King's Landing stole them for me. Your army must have blacksmiths capable of building them; find time to build a few and train a group of soldiers who know how to use them."
"Hmm?" Connington instinctively took the large roll of blueprints Varys pulled from his robes, his eyes widening. "Didn't you say we wouldn't go to war with Daenerys? Why do we need these?"
"Though we have no intention to harm, we cannot be without the intention to protect. Besides, once the scorpions are built, if they aren't shooting dragons, they can be used to shoot men or city walls. Being fully prepared can't be a mistake. Remember to do this in secret; do not let word leak out!"
The eunuch made sense. Connington nodded and tucked away the blueprints. "Very well, I will arrange it."
Aegon and Daenerys would certainly not go to war, but when the day of the Queen's accidental passing arrived, they would have to find a way to deal with three dragons that couldn't understand human speech. Rather than scrambling to find a solution then, it was best to prepare early.
"The Queen has gone north to visit the Wall and will return in two days. Have the Prince ready—as soon as Daenerys returns, you must visit her immediately. It would be best if she takes a liking to Aegon and is willing to marry him; if not, do not linger, and decisively acknowledge her as the legitimate sovereign. Regardless, join forces to deal with Stannis first and take King's Landing! I have said enough; you must weigh the stakes yourself."
"I understand. I will relay this to the Prince."
"Mm. It's not convenient to talk longer; I still have to head west to find the Tyrells. Take care."
Walking out of the tent and inhaling a breath of the cool, dry winter air, Varys suppressed the surging emotions in his chest. After planning, lurking, and pushing for over twenty years, he had finally succeeded in bringing House Targaryen to ruin, leaving only the very last one. Now, as long as he squeezed the last bit of utility out of this final person, this grand play would come to a close!
That fool Littlefinger actually thought that his sudden move to Daenerys's side was to compete for the Queen's favor and steal his credit. Little did he know that even the Queen herself was merely a piece on this grand chessboard.
Since the piece refused to obediently accept the be a Queen Consort arrangement the player had set for her, then she must disappear!
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!