The Little Rose's Unfulfilled Desires
After the Stormlands were captured, the war with Stannis, or rather Baratheon, was truly over.
Jon assigned Randyll Tarly to guard Storm's End, while Storm's End and Dragonstone each had a fleet stationed there.
In addition, Edmure was stationed at Harrenhal to block the army in the Vale.
Dragonstone Crownlands the east, Storm's End to the south, and Harrenhal to the west together form a U-shaped encirclement.
Although Jon did not conquer King's Landing royal domains or advance on Crownlands, it was practically in his grasp.
Although he did not send troops to garrison the area, he did send Davos in with a shipment of supplies in an attempt to take control of King's Landing's underworld.
After consolidating his victory, Jon returned to Casterly Rock.
During this time, Mace never left Casterly Rock, calling himself "Commander of the Casterly Rock" to protect the safety of his daughter and grandson.
Besides the love and care from his elders, a large part of the reason also stemmed from his vanity, but in any case, he genuinely liked his grandson Mace, who was given the name Aegon.
In the months since Jon went to war, besides keeping an eye on the battles at the front, he weighed his grandson every ten days or so. Because he often played with his grandson, he also smelled of milk.
While doting on his grandson, Mace also remembered his elderly mother who was staying at home. He found an artist from the Reach to paint a portrait of his grandson and send it to Highgarden.
To date, at least a dozen copies have been sent over.
Olenna, upon receiving the portrait, said, "Give me some more."
"Jon is good in every way, except he's too prone to taking risky tactics in war," Mace commented sharply beside her daughter.
Margaery also thought Jon was taking too much of a risk, daring to bet tens of thousands of men on a mere two or three thousand.
just in case----
She truly didn't even dare to think about it.
"I'll tell him when he gets back," Margaery said, holding her increasingly heavy son.
"He's king now, and king of Seven Kingdoms that. Dangerous tasks can be left to others; otherwise, why keep them around?" Mace picked up the Dragon Egg in his grandson's cradle and examined it closely. Just looking wasn't enough; he even pressed his face against the Dragon Egg, as if trying to hear some sound. "I wonder when it will hatch into a baby dragon. How can the Targaryen function without dragons?"
"The dragons are all in the hands of the Dragon Queen in Slaver's Bay now, and we can only wait for Aegon to hatch them," Margaery said with a hint of helplessness.
Hatching Dragon Egg isn't something to rush, but it's always better to do it as soon as possible.
Although Jon now commands an army of 100,000, maintaining such an army is extremely costly.
On the other hand, the dragons will only grow stronger over time. Eventually, the dragon queen's dragons will grow strong enough to close the gap in military strength. If they haven't obtained the dragons by then, the situation will be quite bad.
"The Battle of the Battle of the Field of Fire during the Wars of the Conquerors," where the Targaryen led two thousand men against the combined forces of the Gardener King and the Rock King, numbering forty thousand.
The reason they were able to achieve a great victory despite a twenty-fold disparity in troop strength lies in those three giant dragons. And this is far from the dragons' limit.
Mace, holding the Dragon Egg egg, seemed to have thought of something. He carefully put the Dragon Egg down, then turned to look at it warily before leaning closer to his daughter and saying, "Margaery, do you know what I'm most worried about right now?"
"What?"
Mace, about to explain, looked troubled, Margaery spoke up to comfort her, "It's alright, Father. Tell me, what is it that I can't accept?"
"Alright, you should accept it now." Mace nodded and said, "My only worry now is that Jon will marry that Daenerys!"
"What?"
"Tsk, the House Targaryen loves endogamy. If he were to marry Daenerys, wouldn't he have everything? Of course, I'm just saying, in case Jon isn't that kind of person."
"Jon is definitely not like that." Margaery realized her tone was a bit agitated and quickly calmed herself down. "Jon is certainly not that kind of person. Aegon will definitely hatch a dragon."
Despite her calm tone and expression, a hint of panic still showed in Margaery's eyes.
From childhood, she believed herself to be the most outstanding noblewoman in Westeros.
She is top-notch in beauty, intelligence, status, and family background.
She believed she was born to be queen and thought marrying Jon was hopeless, but her son brought about such a dramatic turn of events.
But if one day she really had to compete with that Dragon Queen, she truly had no confidence whatsoever.
The Targaryen were already known for their beauty, and the Dragon Queen personally conquered Slaver's Bay, a land that had been passed down for thousands of years. The House Tyrell rose to power only two or three hundred years after the Targaryen landed.
What she found most unattainable was her dragon.
Margaery knew perfectly well that this was the most fundamental difference between the two of them.
Although she still acted nonchalantly, she couldn't help but hug her son tightly.
Just as she was feeling uneasy, Sola informed her that Jon had arrived at Casterly Rock.
When Mace saw Jon again, he thought he might still be able to maintain his "father-in-law" dignity.
However, when he thought of Jon's current power, his momentum weakened considerably.
However, Jon didn't seem to notice his thoughts. He exchanged a few words briefly, thanking Highgarden for their efforts and Loras and Garlan for their bravery.
Since Tyrell is now an absolute partner of the Targaryen, any rewards would be somewhat inappropriate.
Jon thought for a moment; the main currencies in Westeros were Gold Dragon, Silver Stag, and Copper Star.
Baratheon has now lost even Stormlands, and its male line has been completely wiped out. Jon tells Mace that from now on, the silver coins will no longer feature stags, but instead roses, meaning they will become Gold Dragon and Silver Flower.
This reward suited Mace's temperament perfectly, and he accepted it with a smile.
"Joan, cough cough, now there's only one Vale left, you probably don't need to go there yourself, right?" Mace asked, carefully choosing her words.
"Okay, let's hold off on attacking the Vale for now."
Upon hearing Jon's words, Mace and Margaery both breathed a sigh of relief.
The Vale was already treacherous, and they worried that Jon might come up with some even more dangerous tricks to deal with it.
Then Jon's next sentence put them on the edge of their seats again.
"I'm planning to go to the Wall in a while and see if I can capture some White Walkers."
"Oh, ah!!? What are you grabbing!"
Mace' eyes widened, thinking she had misheard.
"You're going to catch White Walkers!" Margaery was also a bit exasperated. She thought Jon would finally have some peace and quiet, but why was he going out again!
And if it were for fighting a war, that would be one thing, but capturing White Walkers?
To Margaery, this was as if Jon were saying, "I'm going to fight aliens."
Jon had to patiently explain that he went to capture the White Walkers in order to better unite the others in preparation for winter.
"You want to use White Walkers to threaten the governors of Free Cities who are unwilling to provide you with supplies, and then throw the White Walkers into their homes if they refuse? You call that unity?"
"Yes, there are two ways to unite: compromise and struggle. I simply chose the former."
"Isn't that a threat?" Mace muttered under his breath, but as a local lord, he also understood that Jon's approach was the best solution.
However, he still didn't want Jon to take any risks.
Jon's journey to where he is today has been one of constant danger and hardship.
I might be able to persuade him, but it's unlikely I will.
In the end, Mace had no choice but to entrust the task of persuading Jon to Margaery.
After Mace left, they had some time alone together, and she took out two identical books to show Jon.
"Look at this page, here, and here—even the ink is the same."
"The printing press was a success?" Jon asked, looking at the books whose print quality was acceptable.
The success of the printing press signifies that we have an inexhaustible gold mine at our disposal for the next ten to twenty years, or even thirty to fifty years.
In Westeros and indeed throughout the world, book production still relies on the inefficient method of hand-copying.
Take the Citadel as an example. Those who eventually become PhDs can compile their notes into books, but in the end, they are all handwritten copies, and the number does not exceed one hundred.
Tyrion, who was known for his love of reading, didn't have many books to read, and he even wore out a book before throwing it away.
Books are not easy to preserve; Casterly Rock's collection of books doesn't even exceed a thousand.
A scribe can only copy a dozen or so books a year, while the printing press is as efficient as a thousand scribes.
Shortly after the Targaryen moved to Dragonstone, the powerful Valyrian Freehold presented them with a precious gift: a set of books that recorded thousands of years of Valyria history.
Titled "Fire of the Freehold," this book was presented as a gift by the most powerful empire, highlighting its immense value.
Even without resorting to dumping tactics, the Targaryen will gradually devour the entire world's book market over time.
"Yes, it's a success," Margaery said proudly. "I plan to print some maps first, marking Lannisport as Margaeryport."
"No problem."
"Maps can make us a lot of money, and we can also do book business in the future. And do you know those scribes in the Free Cities? They'll definitely be out of work in the future. We can bring them all to Westeros and have them serve the royal family. Didn't you want to promote Valyrian so that more people can read and write it? And there are scriptures from different faiths; we can add some things related to Targaryen to them—"
Margaery counted on her fingers like a money-grubber, calculating how much profit the printing press would bring in the future. And it was clear she possessed more than just a business mind; she wanted to use public opinion to add a touch of divinity to her descendants.
"This way, we can easily double our income, Margaery. It's so good to have you," Jon said earnestly, looking at his wife sitting on his lap.
"Then, can you skip the Wall?"
"Don't worry, I've fought the White Walkers before. They can be destroyed with Dragonglass weapons. Besides, I'll be mostly at Castle Black this time, so I won't be leading the charge—"
Do you think I would believe that?
Jon: "----I'll try."
After struggling internally for a while, Margaery had no choice but to accept this reality.
"Once we capture the White Walkers, you won't have to personally lead the attack on the Vale, will you?"
"That's natural, but we need to get through the Long Night before we Vale."
"Then you won't go anywhere after we get through the Long Night, right?" Margaery asked cautiously, her head lowered and her eyes raised.
"Of course, once the Long Night is over, I'll focus entirely on having children with you, aiming for two in three years and three in five."
Margaery thought about Daenerys, opened her mouth but didn't know where to begin.
"What's wrong?"
"I want to have a child with you right now."
"Now? Didn't we agree that Aegon would be four or five years older than his younger siblings? That way, we could leave the younger ones to him to raise, and we'd have more time to have more children."
"Oh dear, you haven't touched me for over a year since I got pregnant. I've been drinking moon tea."
"What an insatiable little vixen! Then come on—"
The next day, Margaery experienced the long-lost soreness, but her spirits were noticeably higher.
In the end, the two still couldn't reach an agreement on whether or not to go to the Wall, but she had no choice but to accept this unchangeable fact.
He could only console himself that Jon's survival after so many dangers and his victories must be due to divine protection.
Although the war against Stannis has ended, a war with Young Griff. is still brewing.
Overall, this is not the end of the war, but rather a halftime break.
So Jon, upon returning to Casterly Rock, did not rest much, but instead began a new scheme.
A black can the size of a ball was thrown out by the cannon, becoming a tiny black dot in everyone's sight.
The small black dot slammed into a spot where pigs and sheep were tied up, exploding into a burst of green flame.
The pigs and sheep used as targets emitted unsettling roars and cries from afar, which even the whistling sea breeze on the island could not suppress.
Upon seeing the Wildfire in the distance, Sandor retreated repeatedly, trembling all over.
"Take Ser Clegane away to rest," Jon said.
So much time has passed that I'd almost forgotten Sandor had fire phobia.
Qyburn, who was standing to the side, was surprised by what had happened, but still took the greasy green blob in his hand and walked to a spot five steps away from Jon.
"Your Majesty, this oily substance is our improved Wildfire. It can be transported on a large scale, has better stability, and is perfectly capable of being used in the face of battle as it is now."
"Okay, pack three hundred of these jars for me, and then get some small bottles, about the size of a palm, a thousand of them. Try to get them done within a week."
"Yes, sir."
Jon arrived at Oak Island in the Iron Islands. Oak Island is small and surrounded by the other islands of the Iron Islands, making it extremely difficult for anyone to reach.
As the population of Casterly Rock and the surrounding towns increased, some secret experiments had to be moved to more distant locations.
For example, regarding the improvement of Wildfire, Jon recruited a large number of Pyromancer and asked them to improve Wildfire, making it easier to transport and store.
"Mad Scholar" Qyburn is the head of this place, and this mad scientist really likes this kind of place.
However, in order to better control the Iron Islands, Jon has forbidden the planting of any trees that can be used for shipbuilding. All the oak trees on Oak Island have been marked, and the whereabouts of each tree must be recorded.
After all, we're going to the Wall to face the White Walkers head-on, so we'll definitely be well-prepared with our weapons.
Besides Dragonglass, fire is what White Walkers fear most.
In order to cause some trouble for Young Griff, Jon sent someone from the Citadel to meet with Maester Aemon.
Aemon immediately declared Jon the rightful heir to the Targaryen and, as an elder, expressed his hope that Jon would lead the Seven Kingdoms through the coming winter and the Long Night.
This was tantamount to putting pressure on the Young Griff. Aemon's increased pressure forced them to consider reclaiming the Crownlands and taking on this heavy burden.
Meanwhile, Jon could travel to the Wall to capture White Walkers, which he could then use to blackmail the governors of the Free Cities.