He was not particularly tall, but standing in front of the two envoys whose legs were weak from fear, he looked like an insurmountable mountain.
"But you didn't. You chose to wait. Wait for Daemon to win, wait for Tormund to win, wait for Citadel to win, wait for everyone except me to win.
You placed your bet on others, and now that you have lost, come to me and kneel down and say, 'I surrender.'"
He paused, stretched out his hand, and patted the Tyrosh messenger on the shoulder. The force was not heavy, but the fat man's body trembled violently and he almost fell to his knees.
"I'm not a rag collector."
Tyrosh The messenger's face changed from pale to gray, and then from gray to purple. His whole figure seemed to have had all its strength drained away and was crumbling.
Myr's messenger stood firm. His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
Because he knew that at this distance and in front of this person, any excuse, any begging for mercy, any attempt to save the situation would be in vain.
Redd turned around, walked back to the main seat, and sat down again.
He looked at the two people who were kneeling on the ground shivering, and there was an unquestionable pressure in his voice, like a sentence: "Go back and tell your governor that I will take away all the power and wealth."
Not a single copper coin will be left, not a single official position will be left. I will send people to supervise the financial handover and power handover.
On the day when the handover is completed -" the corners of his mouth raised slightly, revealing a biting smile, "They can go and die."
The two messengers' bodies froze at the same time.
They didn't speak anymore, because they knew that if they said one more word, they might stay on this island and become King Ghidorah's next snack.
They kowtowed and exited the hall. The moment they walked out of the Dragonstone castle gate, their legs were weak. They supported each other and stumbled towards the port, like two mice that had been toyed with by a cat for a long time and finally escaped from the gap between their claws.
In the hall, Jasont, Siora, Marcus, and Dawg las looked at each other in confusion.
They understood what Redd meant - not only did they want to take away the power and wealth of those governors, but they also wanted their lives.
When the handover is completed, those governors who have no use value will be thrown away like used rags.
This approach is a bit harsh, but no one thinks it should be done.
Those governors are indeed just grassroots, and they act according to the prevailing situation. If they surrender early, Redd will not treat them badly; but they have to wait until Lys is destroyed before they start to kneel down, so don't blame Redd for being unkind.
Sciorra was the first to speak, with a calm voice as if he was analyzing the market. "Your Highness, after Tyrosh and Myr surrender, all nine Free Cities will be yours.
From Braavos to Volantis, the entire Essos west coast trade line is all in your hands.
The annual fiscal revenue is at least this amount -" She wrote a number on the paper and pushed it in front of Redd.
Redd glanced at it, said nothing, and just nodded slightly.
"But," Sciora's tone changed, "these city-states have just surrendered and their hearts are unstable. Although the governors and princes want to kill them, the middle-level officials of the city-states, the leaders of the chamber of commerce, and the commanders of the fleets cannot be killed together.
Kill them, and who will govern for you? Who will collect taxes for you? Who will maintain trade order for you?"
Redd tapped his fingers on the table twice, which was his habitual action when thinking. He looked at Jasont, then at Dawg Russ, and finally at Marcus.
"So I want to set up a parliament." His voice was calm and calm, as if he was announcing a decision that had been considered for a long time, "It will be composed of the four of you."
The air in the hall solidified at this moment.
Different expressions appeared on the faces of the four people at the same time - Jasonte was calm with a hint of surprise, Siola was calm with a hint of contemplation, Marcus was excited with a hint of nervousness, and Dawg Russ was tired with a hint of disbelief.
"The Parliament is responsible for the daily affairs of the nine city-states, mainly supervising the governors and members of the Governor's Council.
All their important decisions need to be reviewed by you.
If you don't nod, they can't do anything."
Redd's eyes swept across the faces of the four people one by one, "You are only responsible for me. Your power was given to me and can only be taken back by me."
The four people stood up at the same time, bowed and saluted, and said in unison, "As ordered."
Redd waved his hand and motioned for them to sit down.
He continued, with something more serious and like a military order in his tone, "I divide the command authority of the army into four parts.
Jasont is responsible for the fleets and garrisons of Braavos, Lorath, and Norvos; Dawg Russ is responsible for the fleets and garrisons of Tyrosh, Myr, and Lus. Garrison; Theora is responsible for Pentos, Lys, Tyrosh--no, Tyrosh is given to Dawg las--in short, you can go back and divide the remaining city-states yourself.
Marcus is in charge of Dragonstone's Guards and Mobile Forces, supporting everywhere at any time."
His eyes stayed on the four of them for a moment, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly, revealing a meaningful smile, "You have great power, powerful enough to control the wind and rain in your respective jurisdictions.
So-" His tone suddenly turned cold, "I also resorted to some tricks."
The expressions of the four people froze at the same time.
"Messalia's intelligence network has been deployed in nine trading city-states."
Redd's voice was as calm as saying that the weather is nice today, but every word was like a nail driven into the ears of the four of them, "Your whereabouts, your conversations, every banquet, every secret meeting, every private contact of yours - as long as I want to know, I will know."
He leaned back on the chair, folded his hands on his abdomen, and glanced at the faces of the four people one by one.
"I will not send people to monitor your homes, interfere in your private lives, or eavesdrop on your sleep talk when you are drunk.
But if--if any of you did something you shouldn't have done, said something you shouldn't have said, or planned something you shouldn't have planned--"
He paused, and the smile at the corner of his mouth deepened, "The people from Mesalia will come and tell me. Then, I will handle it."
The hall was quiet for a long time.
Jason was the first to speak, his voice as steady and calm as ever. "Your Highness, I understand. This is what it should be."
Dawg Russ followed closely, with a hoarse voice filled with a feeling of joy and loyalty for the rest of his life. "Your Highness, this life is given to me by you. I will live how you want me to live. I will never have second thoughts."