Chapter 64
The Advantage Lies With Me
Five countries versus three countries.
Everyone here feels they have a great advantage.
"Then why did Stannis and Renly rebel?" Eddard racked his brains, unable to understand. "Where did they get their confidence from?"
Varys gently shook his finger, his voice as soft and melodious as ever.
"My lord, just as I said before, it's all because of intelligence."
"Lord Stannis believed that King Robert was dead."
"If that terrible magic had succeeded that night, His Majesty would have died too."
"Of course, I was saying if." He bowed his head to Joffrey in respect.
"Lord Renly sees it differently."
"He knew King Robert was not dead, but he thought His Majesty was dead."
"That's why he doesn't dare call himself king," Ed continued. "He only said he came to King's Landing to avenge His Majesty."
"But that's Renly's motive, so why should Tyrell follow him?"
The little devil was sitting on the chair, kicking his short legs listlessly.
Upon hearing this, he turned his head.
There was a hint of pity in his eyes.
"Lord Ed, you sit here enjoying your power, yet you ask them why they are not satisfied."
"Look at the River Bend, it's populous, militarily strong, and incredibly wealthy." He pointed to the map on the table. "But do we have a single one of their people here?"
"Robert is kind-hearted; he didn't hold it against us latecomers after the War of the Usurper ended."
"Those who sided with the Targaryens didn't care."
The little devil's lips curled into a smile.
"Lord Stannis is different. It's said that he was trapped in Storm's End by the Reach forces and ate... well, suspicious meat for a year."
"So whether it's us or someone else sitting here, it won't benefit them."
He shook his finger again.
"And Lord Renly is quite shrewd too."
"He used the pretext of avenging his nephew to win people's hearts without bearing the stigma of being a traitor."
"Therefore, the lords of the river bend were willing to take the gamble."
Cersei frowned. "Aren't they afraid Robert will come back?"
The little devil laughed.
"Good sister, Renly may have told them that Robert is not dead, he just went to Essos."
"But what if?"
"In case Robert comes back late."
"Or perhaps, he won't come back?"
He nudged Cersei's arm.
"If, and I mean if..."
"If our Xiao Qiao were really murdered, what would you do?"
Cersei brushed his hand away and did not respond.
The imp turned to Ed, his smile now carrying a hint of triumphant mischief.
"There's a lot of bloodshed in the Red Keep, at least one prime minister certainly won't survive."
"What will the Prime Minister's son do?"
Ed turned his face away as well.
The little devil persisted, counting on his fingers and listing them one by one.
"If your eldest son is a little smarter than he seems, the best course of action is to remain inactive."
"We could also use our mother's name to lead the army south."
"The Riverlands are Lady Catelyn's homeland. Will Lord Edmure side with his sister? What about the lords of the Vale? My brother, the Warden of the East, can mobilize them when the Iron Throne is unified. If Joffrey dies, King's Landing will fall to Tommen, which is essentially Lannister power. Who will listen to him then…?"
"So all Stannis really needs to deal with is the Royal Country and the Westerlands. He just needs to take King's Landing before my father's reinforcements arrive, cut off the beautiful heads of my brother, sister, and nephew, and my ugly head, hang them on the city gates, and his great mission will be accomplished..."
The little devil raised his hand and made a swift decapitation motion.
His eyes gleamed with an almost fanatical light; he was completely absorbed in the reasoning and couldn't extricate himself.
"I see. No wonder they dared to raise an army under such circumstances."
"How did Stannis come up with this idea? It's brilliant! Someone must have given him the idea!"
"Spider, could you ask around for me later... Ouch!"
Joffrey threw a cup at him.
"I'm not dead yet! What's the point of analyzing this!"
The little devil was startled.
Then, he reluctantly put the cup that had fallen into his arms back on the table.
Then he cleared his throat and suppressed his smile.
"Yes, yes, thankfully His Majesty is wise and mighty, nothing happened."
"This thwarted the plots of these treacherous villains."
He adopted a more serious expression, jumped onto a chair, and pointed at the map on the table.
"Please forgive me, gentlemen, I got a little carried away."
"But I still have to pour some cold water on it."
"Although His Majesty has half of Westeros at his disposal, the situation is still not optimistic for us."
"Currently, our military strength consists only of the garrison of King's Landing and the two thousand or so men sent by our loyal subjects."
"There's absolutely no reaction at Cape Marseille and the Crab Claw Peninsula."
"The problem now is, our people are all here, here, and here."
The Imp clicked on the purple Royal Territory, the red Western Frontier, and the blue Riverlands in turn.
He stood on tiptoe, trying to reach the northern swamp.
But he gave up after stretching it twice.
"As for the Northern army, they're still playing in the mud, while our Warden of the East is idly counting crows in the Red Keep."
"And Stannis's navy is on Dragonstone, ready to attack at any time."
Everyone present started rubbing their heads.
Everyone has seen the strength of the capital's garrison.
Joffrey never dared to have too high expectations for this team's fighting ability.
He personally led a hundred people.
When they went to bully the crab farmers, they wielded their big sticks with great force.
But when they encounter proper knights and armies, or those vicious pirates, their morale is not much different from that of ordinary conscripts.
Moreover, these individuals are theoretically under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Justice.
After Renly ran away, Cersei readily took his place.
The first order issued was to replace the commander in the golden robe.
On the night Joffrey was assassinated, martial law was declared in King's Landing.
Genos let dozens of people escape.
That is, Renly, Loras, and the knights who are on good terms with them.
Cersei investigated and found that the guy had skipped work and was sleeping at home, and almost half of the guards at the city gates had also deserted.
Enraged, she took these people directly to the bottom of the Red Castle, providing them lodging but not food.
Joffrey had previously given the former commander half a jug of good wine, waiting for him to voluntarily retire and return to his hometown.
There's no need to wait any longer.
"Recruit, expand the ranks," Joffrey ordered. "Increase the number of Gold Robes to five thousand."
"That would require quite a few gold dragons, wouldn't it?" the little devil said. "The national treasury has no money left; everything is in IOUs."
Cersei glared at him.
"What's money? Can't we just have Father send some?"
"Five thousand people is a bit few. If we're going to expand, let's expand to ten thousand."
Joffrey smiled.
"No money is needed."
"I only need a few words to get them to willingly go out and risk their lives."