Duskendale is located north of King's Landing, about a day's journey away.
In the main hall of the castle, Rivere Earl Lych was sitting on a carved wooden chair, leisurely sipping a glass of red wine from his own vineyard. It seemed that the death of the king had no impact on him at all.
The hall door was gently pushed open, and the butler reported in a low voice, "Sir, the visitor has arrived."
"Let him in."
Hearing this, the steward stepped back.
Not long after, a figure walked into the main hall.
The visitor was wrapped in a heavy traveling cloak, with the hood pulled low, covering most of his face.
He walked with a limp, and his leg was obviously injured. After entering the main hall, he stopped ten steps away from Rivere and bowed slightly, although it was not a standard one.
"Sir Lake." The man's voice was hoarse and harsh, as if his vocal cords had been damaged.
Glancing at him, Rivere put down his wine glass, tapped his fingers on the armrest and said lightly, "Take off your hat, no one in my castle needs to hide their face."
After a brief hesitation, the person raised his hand and lifted the hood.
Under the candlelight, an unforgettable face was revealed. There was no nose, the right eye was a circle smaller than the left eye, the eyelids drooped unnaturally, and the face was covered with black hair, making it look very ugly.
But Riverey did not show any surprise or disgust. His expression was calm as usual, and he even nodded slightly. "We have met, Rorge, right?"
Rorge nodded without denying it.
Rivery looked at him and said in a playful tone, "Lord Tywin has offered a reward of one hundred Gold Dragon to catch you. Do you know that if you walk into my castle now, I can exchange you for gold at any time."
As soon as these words came out, Rorge's body visibly stiffened, but he did not flinch. "I know the risks, sir."
"But I know better that the Lake family never takes sides easily."
"Not taking sides does not mean that you will protect fugitives." Riverey stood up slowly, walked around the table and walked to the fireplace. The flames danced on his face, casting swaying shadows. "Especially at this time, the king has just died, the king's land is under martial law, and Duke Tywin is arresting Black Hand remnants all over the world."
"If I hand you over, not only can I get the bounty, but I can also sell Lannister a favor. This is a very good deal."
"Of course, you can do that." Rorge gritted his teeth and his voice became hoarse. "But Ser Corleone once said that your son Herb·Lake is his friend. He said that if one day I am desperate, I can come to the Lake family."
"Not because they will help me, but because they will at least listen to what I have to say before making a decision."
Hearing the name "Corleone", Riverey's fingers paused slightly.
He turned around and looked at Rorge again. "Vito·Corleone is dead, or in other words, everyone thought he was dead."
"The Redwyne fleet rebelled, Paxter Earl was killed, and Corleone shouted before jumping into the sea that he was ordered by Tywin. These news spread throughout King's Landing three days ago. What do you mean by mentioning a dead man now?"
"He's not dead!" Rorge took a step forward excitedly and said loudly, "I know he will never die like this, and I believe this!"
"I want to use the power of Lake family, please help find him."
"Now King's Landing is out of control. The Prime Minister sent people to clean out Flea Bottom, arrest our people, and rob the order we established. Only Ser Corleone can come back to reverse the situation. Only he can lead us to fight...
"What can you do?" With a sneer, Ray Foley interrupted, "Rorge, you are too naive."
"Vito·Corleone may be a little clever, but he is facing Tywin Lannister, and no one can defeat Tywin Lannister."
"He can!"
Hearing this, Rorge became more and more excited, and his ugly face became even more distorted due to his emotional fluctuations. "Back then, he wiped out the Warriors alone."
"After coming to King's Landing, he led us to start from scratch, establish order in Flea Bottom, and later defeated the Mountain when no one expected it!"
His voice echoed in the hall, with an almost fanatical emotion. "Ser Corleone is different!"
"He is not one of those aloof nobles, he understands us people, whether we are street gangsters, prostitutes, beggars, or Sailor, workers!"
"He knows what we need, and he gives us fairness and dignity!"
With that said, Rorge took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "Sir Lake, I know you have no obligation to help me, but I guarantee that as long as you can find Ser Corleone and bring him back to King's Landing, Black Hand Mafia will definitely give a price that is enough to make anyone tempted!"
Listening to Rorge's narration, Ray Foley fell silent.
He walked back to his seat and picked up the wine glass again, but did not drink it. He just watched the crimson liquid in the glass swirl.
After a long time, Rivere finally said, "Prove it."
Rorge was stunned. "What do you prove?"
Rivery did not speak directly, but put down his wine glass and clapped his hands.
The side door opened, and an attendant came in carrying a wooden tray. On the tray was a machete, the kind Butcher used to cut livestock. The blade was thick and the blade shone with cold light.
The attendant placed the tray on the table in front of Rorge, and then silently withdrew.
"If you really believe in Corleone and are really willing to do anything for him, then prove it to me."
"Cut off your right hand!" Ray Foley stared at Rorge, the corner of his mouth raised slightly. "It's just a hand, in exchange for the help of the Lake family, this business is very fair, and you even make a lot of money."
Hearing this, Rorge stared at the machete, breathing heavily, and his noseless face became even more distorted in shock.
He looked at the knife, then at Riveri, and then at his right hand, which could only eat and hold the knife!
"You... you are kidding." Rorge swallowed and said hoarsely.
"I never joke." Riverey leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands on his abdomen. "Either chop or leave, choose one."
There was another long silence.
Cold sweat oozed from Rorge's forehead, flowing along the scar. His left hand was shaking, and his right hand was clenched into a fist, with his knuckles turning white.
Finally, he reached out his hand and grasped the handle of the machete.
The knife is very heavy.
He raised the knife in front of him, looked at the sharp blade, and then looked at his right wrist.
"Ser Corleone said." Rorge murmured to himself, more like convincing himself. "If one day you need to sacrifice, the sacrifice must be worth it."
After saying that, Rorge gritted his teeth and raised the ax high above his head.
"For Black Hand Mafia!" He growled, closed his eyes, and tensed his arm muscles.
Just then.
"That's enough."
A voice came from the side corridor of the hall.
Very familiar.
Rorge opened his eyes suddenly, and the machete stopped in mid-air.
He turned his head and looked at the source of the sound.
I saw two people walking out of the shadows of the side corridor.
The leader is Herb·Lake, the second son of Ray Foley Earl, whom Rorge recognizes.
And standing next to Herb...
With a "clang" sound, the machete in Rorge's hand fell to the ground. He opened his mouth wide and looked at everything in front of him in disbelief.
Under the firelight, I saw a well-proportioned man with messy black hair and a face that was tired from a long journey, but his eyes were still bright and sharp.
Wearing ordinary traveling clothes and a dark cloak, he looked like an ordinary businessman or scholar, not the once-famous "Founder of Black Hand Mafia".
"Ser Corleone???" Rorge screamed in shock.
However, Corleone just smiled and walked towards the center of the main hall with a calm voice, "I have said before that Rorge is a trustworthy person. Mr. Riverey, your test is completely unnecessary."
"Necessary testing is always necessary, Ser Corleone." Riveri took a sip of wine indifferently and poured another glass for Corleone: "Especially at this time."
Seeing the two people sitting together, looking very familiar to each other, Rorge was still in shock.
He looked at Corleone, then at Herb, then at Ray Foley, and it took him a long time to recover.
"Ser..." Rorge's voice choked up. "You are still alive... We all thought...
"Thought I was dead?"
Corleone walked up to him and patted his shoulder. This simple action made Rorge almost cry, "It's just a jump into the sea. It's not so easy to die. But you, Rorge, you don't seem to be doing well."
Rorge looked down at his ragged clothes and scars all over his body, and smiled bitterly, "King's Landing has changed, Ser, everything has changed since you left."
"On the third day after you left King's Landing, Tywin took action. He sent Adam Malbrandt to personally lead the team. Hundreds of gold robes rushed into Flea Bottom, occupied House of Order, and sealed all casinos, taverns, and warehouses."
"They... said Black Hand Mafia is an illegal organization."
Speaking of this, Rorge clenched his fists and showed an angry look on his ugly face.
Corleone listened quietly without any expression on his face. Riverey and Herb exchanged a look and continued to listen without speaking.
"They arrested a lot of us."
Rorge continued, "Old Wes, Moss... all the people who were in charge of Flea Bottom were either caught or escaped."
He paused and said in a lower voice, "Yego is trying to protect House of Order. You know, that kid is not afraid of death at all."
"He guarded House of Order by himself and chopped down six golden robes with his sword, but there were too many people. They covered him with fishing nets and stabbed his legs with spears."
"When he was finally dragged away, he was still cursing in Dothraki."
Corleone's eyelids twitched slightly.
"Where is Yego now?"
"Red Keep Dungeons." Rorge said, "I asked and Tywin didn't kill him immediately. I don't know why."
"Tywin Lannister never does meaningless things." Corleone nodded. "Continue."
Suddenly, Rorge took a deep breath and grinned. "They took over everything, but those guys don't know how to run it at all.
"They ruined everything, Ser."
"After you left, Flea Bottom's business was all over."
Hearing this, Corleone frowned. "Be specific."
Rorge opened his stubby fingers and counted them one by one. "Let's talk about the casino first."
"In the past, we could collect three hundred Gold Dragon a month, but now, it's less than one hundred. Why?"
Before Corleone could continue to ask questions, he asked and answered himself, "Jinpaozi has changed all the rules. The casino is full of crooks. Nine out of ten gamblers lose. When they lose, they get into fights and make trouble. Three lives have been lost in the past few days. Who dares to go there?"
"With fewer gamblers, the rake is less. If the rake is less, they will increase taxes. Now each table has to pay five Silver Stag in security fees every day."
"As a result, the casinos can no longer make any money, three of them have closed down, and the rest are half-dead."
"Let's talk about brothels. In the past, twenty brothels could turn in two hundred Gold Dragon every month. Now there are only five brothels left, and they can't even collect one hundred Gold Dragon every week."
"Those girls are sick and run away. Golden Robe still thinks the commission is not enough and says that every girl has to pay a body tax every month. Damn it, body tax!"
"Half of the money the girls receive for picking up customers is taken away by the brothel, and the other half has to be paid in taxes. I have a few Copper Penny left. The pretty ones all ran back to Silk Street. The ones left in Flea Bottom are all old, weak, sick and disabled, and customers don't like to come."
Hearing this, Herb·Lake snorted softly, shook the wine glass in his hand, and said disdainfully, "This is how underground business is, ups and downs, there is nothing strange about it."
But Rorge just glanced at him and continued without further words, "There is also bread and grain."
"We have negotiated prices with the grain merchants in King's Landing before and buy grain from them every month. It is cheap and although it is not very fresh, we will never starve to death."
"We set up four food selling points in Flea Bottom. We sold them at low prices and made no money, just to let the common people have food to eat. But after Jinpao took over, they said this was "disrupting the market" and closed all our food points."
"Now Flea Bottom's food is monopolized by a few merchants, the price has tripled, and it's often out of stock!"
When Rorge said this, he laughed twice, and the laughter was full of sarcasm. "Ser, do you know what is the funniest thing? Because food is expensive, people have no money to buy it, so they steal it when they can't stand it."
"When public security gets worse, Golden Robe will send more manpower. If more manpower is added, taxes will be raised. If taxes are raised, food will be more expensive. Damn it, these gentlemen have created a trap and trapped themselves in it!"
As soon as these words came out, Herb·Lake finally couldn't help but said, "What's the use of saying this?"
"Lord Tywin cleans up Flea Bottom, not to run those underground businesses. How much money can he make from those untouchables?"
He took a sip of wine and said with the carelessness typical of a noble child, "Besides, King's Landing is so big, businesses open and close every day, some people get rich, and some people starve to death. This is normal. We have always done this."
Hearing this, Rorge was silent at first, staring at Herb for a long time, then slowly opened his mouth, showing his uneven yellow teeth. "Master Lake is right, it's normal."
"This is wrong." Just as Rorge finished speaking, Corleone raised his head.
The firelight illuminated his face, half bright and half hidden in shadow.
His eyes shone with a cold light in the shadows, without any emotion.
"Herb."
"You said, this is normal?"
Hearing his question, Herb was a little uncomfortable being looked at by Corleone, but he still nodded. "Yes...
Yes!"
"This is how managing a territory is, there are always people who are doing well and there are always people who are not doing well."
"Haha..." Corleone slowly stood up.
He stood up steadily, but the atmosphere in the entire hall changed instantly.
The air seemed to have solidified, the flames in the fireplace seemed to be shorter, the light dimmed, leaving only the figure of Corleone standing in the center of the hall.
"Okay, let me ask you." Corleone walked towards Herb, taking every step very steadily. "If all the farmers in Mugu Town starve to death, who will grow food for you?"
Herb was stunned. "This...
"If all the craftsmen in Duskendale go bankrupt, who will make your tools, weave your cloth, and build your house?"
"If all the merchants in Duskendale run away, who will pay your taxes? Who will make your port prosperous?"
Corleone stopped in front of Herb and looked down at the young nobleman sitting on the chair. "This is not management, this is plunder, the most stupid and short-sighted plunder."
"Tywin Lannister thinks he rules?"
"Let me tell you what domination is, Herb. Domination is not about standing on a high place and throwing stones down to kill everyone who comes forward. Domination is about building roads, paving bridges, digging wells, allowing trade to flow, and allowing the humblest people to earn a meal through labor!"
"Ruling is to establish order, but it is not an order established with fear, but an order established with hope, letting everyone know that as long as I work hard and follow the rules, I can live with dignity!"
With that said, Corleone suddenly turned around, swept his own light across everyone, and said the words that would be repeated by countless people for many years to come, "Tywin Lannister doesn't understand this at all. He thinks that rule means control, plunder, and taking away all valuable things."
"From this day forward, I will let everyone know that he, Tywin Lannister, will not rule at all."
"He's just a stinky digger!"