Mortgaging the Kingdom

The former pirate prince, Salladhor Saan Sun, was living a very comfortable life.

Although almost all of the ships he lent to Stannis perished in the fire Battle of the Blackwater, Stannis ultimately obtained the Iron Throne thanks to Jon's support. After acquiring the Iron Throne, Stannis entrusted almost all of his foreign trade to Salladhor Saan.

Using power to plunder is far more efficient than using violence to plunder.

Salladhor Saan, under the guise of making up for his own losses, was essentially "double-dipping" in favor of Free Cities like Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr, claiming to represent the Iron Throne and driving down prices on goods.

As for the Crownlands, the Stormlands, and even trading ports like White Harbor in the far North, people had no choice but to accept his exploitation.

This allowed his wealth to expand rapidly. Not only did he restore the size of his fleet in just over a year, but he also became famous worldwide due to his accurate investment in Stannis.

Now, war is about to break out, and Stannis summons Salladhor Saan, asking him for help.

"Salladhor Saan, the Iron Throne now faces a challenge from ambitious men, and I need your loyalty."

"Your Majesty, Salladhor Saan will always be your most loyal servant."

Before the Iron Throne, Salladhor Saan, dressed in purple silk robes, knelt respectfully before Stannis and spoke.

Salladhor Saan naturally also learned that Jon had given birth to a silver-haired son and that he had revealed his true identity. Jon's mysterious identity had become a topic of conversation even among the upper echelons of the Free Cities.

However, due to their limited understanding of the situation, and given that betrayal was commonplace in the Free Cities, they mostly believed that Jon was driven by ambition and was trying to seize the Iron Throne by using his son's appearance.

But Salladhor Saan didn't think so; he suspected that Jon, this Targaryen, might actually be real.

Even if Jon is real, he will do everything in his power to protect Stannis.

After all, the position of "Minister of Foreign Trade" on the Iron Throne is more useful than a cash cow.

If Jon wins and gains the Iron Throne, he will definitely lose his current status.

"The Iron Throne now needs a large number of weapons, food, and various supplies. I need you to travel to the Free Cities to procure them for me."

"It is my honor, Your Majesty." Salladhor Saan remained respectful, though inwardly he was secretly delighted.

The larger the scale of his purchases, the more profit he can make.

Salladhor Saan holds Jon in high regard, not long ago he accomplished what the House Lannister had not achieved in a thousand years—the annexation of the Iron Islands.

He believed that Stannis would also take this once-sharpest sword, now his most powerful enemy, very seriously.

This would require an enormous amount of supplies to be purchased, which would allow his net worth to double or even triple.

But Stannis's next words left him stunned.

Stannis said that Salladhor Saan should first go to the Free Cities's bank to get a loan for himself, and then use the loan to purchase supplies.

Using a loan is certainly not as satisfying as simply throwing away gold coins, but the loan is made in the name of the Iron Throne; it just requires some effort in the process. Salladhor Saan accepted the task nonetheless.

However, this also forced him to reassess Stannis's strength.

If one is too weak, it is impossible to put all one's eggs in one basket.

Salladhor Saan left Stannis's place, intending to stay at his manor in King's Landing for a day or two before setting off again, when Davos suddenly appeared from nowhere.

"Sir Salladhor Saan."

"Ah, Davos."

The two greeted each other like old friends upon meeting.

Back when the Battle of the Blackwater took place, Salladhor Saan's decision to support Stannis was entirely due to Davos.

Back when Davos was a smuggler, his goods came from Salladhor Saan.

After the defeat at Blackwater, Salladhor Saan was heartbroken and wanted nothing more than to kill Davos, but now that his life was becoming more and more comfortable, he found Davos more agreeable.

Davos revealed his purpose: he wanted to know whether the Three Daughters Kingdoms viewed Stannis favorably, or rather, what their opinion was on the war.

The so-called Three Daughters Kingdoms refers to three kingdoms in the Free Cities that are geographically close and have even once ruled jointly: Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh.

Although the Three Daughters Kingdoms is not part of Westeros, it has been involved in many of the wars within Westeros.

For example, during the Dance of the Dragons period, the Three Daughters Kingdoms once sent a fleet to fight.

A later king, recorded as Viserys II, married a woman from Free Cities.

The Free Cities also played a role in a series of famous wars, such as the Blackfyre Rebellion and the War of the Ninepenny Kings.

Salladhor Saan thought for a moment and said, "That Jon who claimed to be Targaryen only went there not long ago. After all, there's a Narrow Sea between us, so news doesn't travel that fast. But I think they're more supportive of our King Stannis."

Salladhor Saan stated that the reason was simple: Jon's annexation of the Iron Islands made the Sunset Sea route incredibly safe, and exchanges between the Sunset Sea lords would become more frequent and closer.

What's even more obvious is that Jon's base of operations is entirely in the Sunset Sea, and he will focus more on developing the western part of Westeros in the future. This will reduce trade demand in the east, and consequently, reduce business for the Free Cities.

Therefore, at least in terms of their own interests, they hope that the East will dominate the West in Westeros, rather than the other way around, and the Three Daughters Kingdoms is even very likely to send a fleet.

The fact that Jon was Targaryen was so unexpected that almost no one in Westeros could have predicted it.

Even if some people saw that there might be some rift between Jon and Stannis, the war came too quickly. After all, who could have imagined that a black-haired man and a brown-haired man could give birth to a silver-haired, purple-eyed Targaryen baby?

The Free Cities are not centralized like Westeros, so if war were to break out, it would require rounds of discussions. However, the final outcome is predictable: they would most likely side with Stannis.

Hearing this, Davos felt a little relieved. After all, Stannis's Royal Fleet was at a disadvantage and could only contend with Jon's fleet with the help of the Free Cities.

Suddenly remembering something, Salladhor Saan asked, "Did His Majesty hire any Faceless Men to kill Jon?"

"The Faceless Men?"

"You don't know the Faceless Men?" Salladhor Saan asked in surprise.

"Of course I know," Davos said, frowning. He just didn't like this method of achieving victory through assassination.

However, he did not say that hiring Faceless Men was immoral, after all, Stannis had killed his own brothers using Melisandre's magic.

Davos's stated reason was that the kingdom's treasury was empty, and hiring the Faceless Men to kill Jon would likely cost a fortune, which the Iron Throne could not afford.

However, Salladhor Saan said, "It's okay if you can't pay; you can always use it as collateral!"

"Mortgage?!"

Salladhor Saan indicated that he could mortgage the Crownlands tax revenue for the next ten or even several decades to obtain a loan.

This would immediately resolve Stannis's economic predicament and provide him with ample resources for the war effort.

"Look, Baratheon's fiefdom is the Stormlands, while the Crownlands is actually Targaryen territory. It's like someone else's woman is with you now; of course, you can do whatever you want with her, and discard her when you're tired of her—" Salladhor Saan used a very vulgar analogy.

After all, purchasing supplies through loans requires a lot of favors, but if it's secured by collateral, it's much better, giving him more room to maneuver and profit for himself.

"If His Majesty mortgages the future Crownlands taxes, how will the banks collect them?" Davos asked Salladhor Saan.

"Well—when you're doing business, you definitely need to break even, so the taxes you collect will definitely be a bit higher than those for the Iron Throne," Salladhor Saan chuckled, but Davos wouldn't let it go, continuing to press for how much higher.

When he learned that the taxes could potentially be two or three times higher than those currently collected by the Iron Throne, or even more, Davos decided that he absolutely could not allow Stannis to mortgage the Crownlands taxes.

Even Crownlands's life matters!

In his mind, Stannis was the Protector of the Realm, and the Crownlands was the land of Westeros.

Of course, this was partly due to Davos' upbringing in King's Landing 'Flea Bottom. He knew how difficult it was for ordinary people to survive. To be honest, from commoner to smuggler to nobleman, he had never met a single lord who cared about the common people. All he had were lords who treated the common people as their private property.

No, Jon.

Davos suddenly remembered that on their journey to Riverrun to persuade Jon to give up Robb title of king, Jon had discussed with him the hardships of common life.

In this light, Jon seems to be the only one who cares about the lives of ordinary people.

Salladhor Saan, on the other hand, was completely different. He had dealt with Davos for over a decade and could tell that Davos did not want to mortgage the Crownlands tax revenue.

In that case, I'll tell Stannis myself.

He's a businessman; businessmen are all about making money.

Moreover, he wasn't even a Westeros, so selling a "Westeros" wouldn't be a burden for him at all.

Furthermore, he didn't want to see Jon eventually seize power in Westeros. The man was too young and too shrewd, only seventeen years old, and if nothing unexpected happened, he might continue to rule for another fifty years!

If it were someone like Jaehaerys, the Old King known as "The Arbitrator," Westeros, with its sheer size, would suffocate the Free Cities.

Salladhor Saan has realized that he can make a fortune through war, so he should oppose Jon Snow, both in the short and long term.