Game of Thrones: The Impaler of the Blue Fork

Chapter 105: The Sealing of Tents in Early Winter and the Fragments of a Distant Land

When the first snow of 290 AC covered the messy refugee shacks on the outskirts of Bluefork Valley with a thin layer of white, this miniature empire, which had forcibly risen from the mud, finally ushered in its shortest but most bountiful period of rest.

In the lord's study at the top of the stone tower, the hardwood charcoal in the fireplace crackled and popped.

Steward Pollif knelt before the large mahogany table and solemnly pushed the two-inch-thick internal affairs ledger, which recorded six months of blood, sweat, and exorbitant profits, in front of Otto Hohenzollern.

"My lord, this is the first annual account without a deficit since the city was founded."

Otto sat in a high-backed chair, his left hand stroking the rough iron ring.

He merely gestured for Pollifer to continue with a cold look in his eyes.

"The ships from Seagull Town have made ten round trips in the past six months. We traded three thousand gold dragons from Loso for white salt and crudely refined raw silver."

"Plus, the Brecken family's 'Red Flag' operation there sells stolen goods, and we take 30% of the 'bridging fee'..."

"There are now 5,400 gold dragons stacked in the secret chamber. This does not include the 100 sets of half-new Seagull Town plate armor and the 50 Mil crossbows."

"As for the territory's population, it has exceeded 1,800. The Iron Oath Legion is at full strength with 100 men, and crossbowmen and mounted infantry are also fully equipped."

Five thousand four hundred gold dragons.

In Westeros, this money, if used to recruit mercenaries, would be enough to raise an army of thousands.

Maria Frey, sitting on the other side of the mahogany table, gently picked up her wine glass and took a sip of red wine.

This girl, who was once timid and submissive in the Twin Towers, has now completely taken control of all the foreign trade waterways along the Blue Fork River.

She exuded a cold-blooded and capable aura that would make even old Walder Frey wary.

"But half of these five thousand gold dragons were made with the lives of refugees."

Maria put down her glass, her tone as calm as if she were discussing the weather.

"The compensation money for the laborers who died in the flood control canals and acid mud pits in order to meet the deadline was deducted by Pollifer and used to buy tree bark."

"My lord, this is a vault built with human bones."

"Bone is the cheapest building block."

Otto finally spoke.

He looked at the thick ledger in front of him, but there was not a trace of smugness in his eyes.

He was all too aware of the weakness beneath this facade of prosperity.

"Five thousand gold dragons is a huge number, but that money is dead money. Eighty percent of our grain comes from looted goods seized by the Red Horse Banner and smuggled in through smuggling channels."

Otto struck the cover of the ledger heavily with a charcoal stick.

"Once Blackwood and Brecken cease hostilities, or if the ships from Seagull Town arrive a month late due to storms, these 1,800 mouths will devour the territory within ten days."

"Before agriculture became self-sufficient, this territory was like a fat man hanging on the edge of a cliff, about to fall and shatter at any moment because he was too heavy."

Otto's rational analysis extinguished Pollifer's fervor like a bucket of ice water.

"So, we're going to use this money to buy the road."

Maria took out a detailed hydrological map of the river valley from her sleeve and spread it on the mahogany table.

"My lord, I need to use a thousand golden dragons."

Maria's grey-brown eyes gleamed with the poisonous light of the Blackwater Queen.

"I'm going to bribe the port tax collectors of the four barons along the Red Fork River and the Green Fork River."

"I not only want our boats to have unimpeded passage at night, but I also want their patrols to take out those unruly pirates for us."

Otto looked at Maria.

He knew that this was not just about buying passage; it was about using gold to corrupt the official system of the River Valley.

"Approve it to her."

Otto gave the order to Pollive without hesitation.

Just as this efficient "year-end spoils distribution" was coming to an end.

There were two soft knocks on the heavy oak door of the study.

Thirteen-year-old William Charlton pushed open the door, bringing in a gust of early winter wind.

William walked over to Oto without saying a word.

He simply took out a small bamboo tube sealed with black sealing wax from his pocket and placed it next to Otto.

"This was urgently transmitted back through our newly planted informant in Seagull Town, at great expense."

William lowered his voice, a hint of seriousness in his gray eyes.

Otto picked up the bamboo tube, crushed the sealing wax, and pulled out the tightly rolled parchment scroll inside.

He unrolled the paper and quickly scanned it with his eyes.

One breath, two breaths.

Both Pollifer and Maria keenly noticed that the air in the study seemed to have been sucked out.

Otto held the parchment in his left hand, the veins on the back of his hand bulging noticeably.

The scroll didn't contain any earth-shattering military information; it only contained two brief paragraphs.

The first paragraph is intelligence:

"The Red Keep of King's Landing. First Lord of the Sea, Stannis Baratheon, is frantically investigating offshore smuggling accounts."

"Someone 'accidentally' left behind a few incomplete rubbings from the Braavos Iron Treasury on the table at the Imperial Council meeting. They vaguely pointed to a silver transaction somewhere in the Riverlands."

"King's Landing may need to send someone to investigate thoroughly."

The second paragraph is a "friendly" reminder left by Loso, the white-gloved merchant from Seagull Town:

"Winter is coming, and bandits are rampant."

"In order to protect the Baron's vast assets in Blue Fork River, Lord Petyr proposes that Seagull Town is willing to 'uncompensatedly' send fifty experienced heavy armored guards to Blue Fork River for long-term defense, to ensure its safety."

After reading the letter, Otto slowly brought the parchment closer to the oil lamp on the table.

The orange flames engulfed the pages, burning the words that could have caused annihilation to ashes.

"My lord... what happened?" Pollifer asked cautiously.

"Someone in King's Landing is going to expose our true colors. And our 'good partner' in Seagull Town is ready to take advantage of our misfortune."

Otto stared at the ashes in the brazier, his voice as cold as if it came from the icy hell of the far north.

As a keen chess player, Otto saw through Littlefinger's vicious "tail-cutting and swallowing" strategy.

Littlefinger must have also noticed Stannis's investigation.

He knew that if he continued to help Lan Chahe smuggle silver on a large scale at this time, he would easily get himself into trouble.

Therefore, he not only planned to cut off the shipping route, but also to use those "fifty guards" as a Trojan horse to directly occupy the Blue Fork River before cutting it off.

Littlefinger is trying to forcibly take over Otto's army and silver mines before the storm hits, turning Otto from a partner into a puppet who will take the blame for him!

"As for the person who placed the Iron Bank fragments on Stannis's desk..."

Otto frowned, a rare look of seriousness in his eyes.

He couldn't guess who it was.

Is it Earl Jason of Seafront in King's Landing's inner circle?

Is this a last resort left by Tytos Blackwood, who was still determined to succeed?

Or is it some powerful figure in King's Landing who wants to use Stannis to strike at his political enemies?

In this information black hole filled with mist, Otto felt only a deep chill.

He plotted against Tethos and old Walder in the mud.

But the five thousand golden dragons he had painstakingly accumulated were nothing more than a piece of fat meat that could be cut and devoured at any time in the eyes of the giants in King's Landing who controlled the fate of the entire Westeros.

He didn't even know who the real person who wanted to destroy him was.

But the noose, strong enough to snap his neck, was already firmly in place.

"Losso is sending people?" Maria's eyes turned dangerous.

"He's not here to help defend; he's here to take over. If I don't agree, Stannis's search warrant will be sent to Seafront City tomorrow."

Otto turned his head and looked at the snowflakes falling outside the window.

Dark clouds, seemingly gathering in the heart of early winter, have quietly crept across the sky.

"Tell John Mudd to halt all leave. The Iron Oath Regiment is to go on high alert."