There is no room for luck or omission in intelligence work.
There is a reason why the Velaryon family has been able to dominate the seas for several generations. Learn your lesson well."
"Yes, Master. There will never be a next time." Mysaria felt shocked and quickly promised.
Redd said no more and waved her hand to ask her to leave. Mysaria's figure quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Standing alone in the corridor, the calmness on Redd's face finally faded, and he frowned slightly.
Tormund Velaryon's timely intervention was indeed an accident.
This man known as the "Lord of the Tide" is more iron-blooded and lawless than his brother Corlys, and has almost absolute authority on the sea.
Provoking him is more troublesome than provoking Corlys.
"It seems that the difficulty of directly clearing the obstacles has increased."
Redd thought to himself, "Maybe... we really need to consider more radical methods?
For example, detonate the inheritance crisis in advance, create even greater chaos, and then intervene as a 'pacifier'?"
He cast his gaze in the direction of the throne room. How long can Viserys last? After Alicent's child is born, the conflict will inevitably become public.
At that time, what will Daemon do? How will the Tarth family promote it? How will Vale, the North, and Westerlands take sides?
A storm was gathering. And his dragon was already hungry and thirsty.
Perhaps, it is time for everyone to remember again that there are more original and powerful rules of power on top of the Game of Thrones.
The plan needs to be adjusted, but the goal never changes. Westeros will eventually fall into his control.
It's just that the path may need to become more... direct and violent.
He needs to have another good talk with Rhaenyra. This time, he may have to show her what "no choice" means.
Redd has always looked down upon the pirate forces in the Narrow Sea, but this time a good thing was ruined by this group of rabble!
What's even more shocking is that, according to Mesalia, the leader of these pirates is named Tormund.
And this person seems to be inextricably related to Corlys, and can even be said to be related to the entire House Velaryon.
This discovery is really intriguing. It is unexpected that Master of Ships from the dignified kingdom secretly colluded with the pirate leader.
However, if Redd knew the true identity of Tormund, I'm afraid he wouldn't be so surprised--
It turns out that this infamous pirate leader is Corlys Earl's brother who has been dead for many years!
Faced with such a complicated situation, Redd made a prompt decision and decided to filter the information provided by Mesalia, omit some of the details and then convey it to Rhaenyra.
He only needs to reveal to her that there is indeed some kind of involvement between Tormund and Corlys. As for other more secretive information, it should not be revealed too early.
Next, with the help of Rhaenyra, this important clue must be passed to the ears of King Viserys.
I believe that Viserys will be furious once he learns that his subordinate Master of Ships is colluding with the number one pirate Narrow Sea.
Once such violent news comes out, it will surely cause an uproar and shock the government and the public.
More importantly, the scale of the Driftmark fleet has always made King Viserys doubtful and fearful.
You know, the seaport of King's Landing is located on the shore of Blackwater Bay.
This huge fleet only needs to pass through the narrow chokepoint to easily sail into Blackwater Bay, and directly disembark from the port to launch an attack on King's Landing.
As a result, if Master of Ships, who has tens of thousands of elite sailors, colludes with the vicious pirates again, what is his purpose?
When King Viserys heard the news, even if he himself did not think in that direction, others would naturally mention that possibility to him.
By then, I am afraid that the existing harmonious relationship between House Targaryen and House Velaryon will face severe tests and may even fall apart.
Plans cannot keep up with changes, but unexpected setbacks can also be transformed into new opportunities.
Redd quickly clarified his thoughts.
Since "accidents" are temporarily difficult to create, use the existing intelligence to ignite another fire at the core of King's Landing's power - the flame of suspicion and distrust.
He summoned Mysaria again and gave detailed instructions.
Soon after, Rhaenyra was invited to Redd's study.
Rhaenyra still looks a little tired and worried, and the lack of progress on Laena's side obviously makes her feel even more stressed.
Seeing Redd's solemn expression (of course it was deliberately shown), she couldn't help but feel nervous.
"What happened?"
"I just got some interesting news," Redd motioned her to sit down and pushed a brief report in front of her.
"Our merchant fleet in the East heard some rumors near Stepstones.
About your cousin, Corlys Velaryon Earl."
Rhaenyra picked up the report in confusion and browsed it quickly.
The above only said that according to "reliable but not completely confirmed" maritime information, Driftmark's fleet seems to be related to a powerful pirate force operating in the Narrow Sea, and the leader of that pirate group is named Tormund.
The report suggested that Corlys Earl may have some kind of "connection" with the pirate leader,
It may even be some kind of "cooperation" to maintain House Velaryon's absolute superiority at sea and fight against commercial opponents.
"Is this... is this true?" Rhaenyra looked shocked after reading it.
Master of Ships Colluded with pirates? This crime is too big!"Corlys Earl He... how dare he? Moreover, is the source of this information reliable?"
"Businessmen's rumors are mostly based on rumors, but they are often not groundless." Redd spoke calmly, as if stating an objective fact,
"You also know that House Velaryon has a monopoly on the royal navy and most of the maritime trade. Their fleet is so large that it is... unreasonable.
Maintaining such a fleet requires huge amounts of money, and relying solely on Driftmark taxes and royal appropriations may not be enough.
'Cooperating' with pirates, attacking competitors, plundering merchant ships to share profits, or collecting protection fees... are all ways to quickly accumulate wealth."
He paused, looked at Rhaenyra's changing expression, and continued:
"More importantly, think about it, a naval commander with a heavy army and connections to lawless pirates is stationed at Driftmark, which is only a few days' sail away from King's Landing.
His Majesty the King... can he really sit back and relax?"
This sentence was like a cold dagger, stabbing Rhaenyra, and also pointed out the most lethal part of this information.
She recalled the complicated expression of dependence and vague fear when her father Viserys occasionally mentioned the Driftmark fleet.
House Velaryon's "Seahorse" flag is indeed powerful, but because it is too powerful, it has become a thorn in the royal family's side.