Chapter 226 Reminder

In order to rush back to Highgarden as soon as possible, Samwell handed over the army to Todd Flowers to lead, and he only led the cavalry squad one step ahead.

When he arrived at High Court, he found that many lord troops had gathered here.

In fact, when Samwell set off to Starfall City to meet Prince Doran, the Duke of Mace, at the request of Lady Olenna, the "Queen of Thorns", had already publicly reprimanded Cersei and her younger brother's evil seed for not having the right to inherit the Iron Throne.

Interestingly, this public statement did not explicitly support Stannis Baratheon on the Iron Throne.

At the same time, the Duke of Metz also issued a call-up order.

But it did not clearly state who the target of the crusade was.

Of course, this ambiguous statement was discussed between Samwell and Mrs. Olenna, so that there is room for no matter what you do in the future.

Samwell hurriedly washed away the dust all the way, changed his clothes, and went to see Mrs. Olenna.

"Sam." Madam Olenna waved her hand, signaling the maids around to step back first, then looked at her grandson-in-law, and asked, "What did you talk to Doran about? Why did Sunspear City send an envoy to Gao Tribunal, what did you say to renegotiate the tariffs between the two places?"

Samwell came to the seat in front of the old lady and sat down. He poured himself a cup of tea and drank it. After sipping his thirst, he calmly described the situation when he met Prince Doran. Tell it again.

Mrs. Olenna listened quietly, sneered, and said:

"He actually wants you to learn from Aegon the Conqueror? Oh! There must be no good intentions. Aegon had three adult dragons back then, and your dragon..."

As she spoke, Mrs. Olenna looked up and saw the white dragon Cleopatra hovering over the courtyard, making sharp hissing sounds from time to time.

"It grows very fast." Mrs. Olenna sighed, and then fell into doubt, "Do dragons grow so fast?"

Really fast. The dragon Samwell was the size of a kitten when it first hatched, but after just over two months, it has the size of an adult falcon.

"Eating a lot." Samwell chuckled and made an excuse.

I was secretly excited, it seemed that dragon bone soup could indeed speed up the growth of dragons.

This also made him let go of his worries. After all, he was not raising a dragon for his grandson's grandson.

Madam Olenna didn't know whether she believed this reason, but she didn't bother, and continued:

"Anyway, you were right in not agreeing to Daoran's alliance conditions. He looks gentle, even a little weak, but if you think he is easy to bully, you will definitely suffer a lot. They all grew out of Dorn's poisonous snake nest Yes, how could Doran be a harmless sheep?

It's just that compared with his flamboyant younger brother, Doran knows how to hide his fangs better, but such a poisonous snake is also more deadly. "

"I understand." Samwell put on an air of humility.

In fact, one of the more important reasons why he rejected Prince Doran was that he didn't want to offend the Tyrell family. This side has just entered into a marriage contract and is about to marry a second wife. Can Madam Olenna bear this kind of humiliation?

There is also the attitude of the nobles of the Riverbend that must also be considered.

The thousand-year feud between Hewan and Dorne is not casual. Samwell knows very well that he can only get the support of one side for the time being, and Hewan is obviously much more suitable than Dorne.

"Okay, now let's talk about the business tax. What are your plans?"

Samwell leaned forward slightly, and said softly:

"I have thought of a plan to conquer Dorne. Don't worry, it is not by force, but by food."

"Oh? Food?" Mrs. Olenna became interested, "Tell me."

"You also know that brandy is produced in my territory, so I need a lot of fresh mountain grapes as raw materials for wine making. In order to strengthen the connection with the Dane family, I deliberately chose Starfall City as a grape supply base.

When I met with Prince Doran this time, I also took a look at the grape plantation in Starfall City, and found that the local Dornish people were happy to plant grapes for Eagle Mouth Islet.

The reason is very simple, to grow grapes to make money.

The land in Dorne is barren, and the yields of crops such as barley and wheat are not high. I asked specifically, if the same planting area is replaced by mountain grapes, the farmers can earn almost twice as much.

So, now the large tracts of farmland on the outskirts of Starfall City have been converted into grape plantations.

Moreover, the owners of the grape plantations and the farmers working in them are all very friendly to Yingzui Islet, which is understandable, after all, they rely on Yingzui Islet to make money.

Think about it, the two places were fighting to death a year ago, but now, because of trade and interests, they have become like one family.

Now if you go to Starfall City to ask, I am afraid not many people are willing to be enemies with Yingzui Island or even Hewan.

Think about it, if this model is promoted, it should be impossible to make the entire farmland of Dorne, of course, but as long as a considerable part of the farmland is converted into grape plantations, or other crops that are more expensive and more suitable for planting in dry areas commercial crops like olives, cotton, sugar beets...then

"Then Dorn's grain production will be greatly reduced." Mrs. Olenna seemed to have understood Samwell's thoughts, and her small eyes were shining with excitement and cold light.

"That's right!" Samwell continued, "In order to make the people of Dorn more willing to grow other cash crops, then we must provide a large amount of food, and it is low-priced food, which will impact the grain market of Dorn and let farmers discover how to grow food. With no money at all and no need to grow their own food because of the plentiful supply of cheap food, the Dornish people will become more and more dependent on food from the Bend.

And as long as you control Dorne's food supply..."

"You can control Dorne." Mrs. Olenna followed Samwell's words and came to a conclusion.

"Yes. That's why I want to renegotiate the tariffs with Prince Doran, in order to strengthen the commercial exchanges between the two places and reduce the difficulty of implementing this plan."

"It is indeed an excellent idea." Madam Olenna was not stingy in her praise, "Conquering Dorne with swords will only arouse hatred and resistance, while using food will make the Dorne people more and more inseparable from the river. Perhaps one day in the future, even if the Martell family issues a war order against the Reach, the Dornishmen will find that they cannot become enemies with the Reach at all."

After thinking about it, she added: "The only thing to worry about is that the Martell family noticed the problem and issued an order to force farmers to grow food."

Samwell said with a smile: "That's a way to cut people's money. The Martell family is about to be prepared to bear the wrath of the farmers in Dorne. My plan is actually to create enough 'pro-river' inside Dorne." Wan Pai', as long as there are more Dornish people like this, the less likely Dornish will be our enemy, and even be gradually controlled by us."

Mrs. Olenna smiled and nodded: "What you said is also reasonable. Even if the Martell family realizes that it is wrong, they may not dare to issue such an order that is destined to offend the peasants of Dorne, and even the nobles of Dorne. Moreover, Doran is not thinking about it now. If you want to show us your sincerity, you can't just sign the tariff agreement and then regret it later.

"So, you agree with the plan?"

"Agreed. There is no shortage of food in the Reach, even if you sell it to Dorne at a loss. As long as your plan can be implemented smoothly, maybe we can achieve what the Targaryen family has failed to achieve for hundreds of years."

Samwell looked happy and got up to help Mrs. Olenna add a cup of tea.

I have to admit that after receiving the support of the Tyrell family, the means and power he can use are far from comparable to before. Even Dorne, the toughest bone in the Seven Kingdoms, dared to make a move.

Of course, this "agricultural invasion" plan is destined to be a long-term plan. It may take several years or even ten years to slowly transform Dorne's agriculture. The best way for him to increase his strength is to swallow the storm.

Thinking of this, Samwell asked: "How is the army gathering?"

"Most of the lords of the Reach have already dispatched troops. At present, nearly 30,000 people have assembled in High Court, and it is estimated that there will be 40,000 troops in the end."

"Enough." Samwell nodded with satisfaction.

Most of the troops in the Stormlands have been trapped in Dorne, and now they can gather another 20,000 troops to support the sky. What's more, the **** duke appointed by the Iron Throne has no such appeal.

"It is estimated that the army will be fully assembled next week. At that time, I will let Mace officially declare war on the illegitimate duke. I will not participate in the specific battle plan. You should discuss it with your father and Matus Rowan. "

"Okay." Samwell nodded, and then asked again, "Will Lord Mace go to the storm this time?"

"He will stay in Highgarden." Madam Olenna snorted softly, "Garland will follow the army on behalf of House Tyrell."

"Okay." Samwell nodded with satisfaction. As long as the inflatable fish doesn't cause trouble for itself.

Just as he was about to say goodbye and leave, he suddenly remembered something, hesitated for a moment, and said to Mrs. Olenna:

"A witch who served the Red God R'hllor once told me a prophecy. She said she saw the withering of roses..."

"Prophecy?" Madam Olenna sneered, "I have never believed in any **** prophecy in my life. The reason why the Targaryen family always produces some lunatics is not all because of the so-called prophecy. What 'the dragon has three heads', what 'A Song of Ice and Fire'... They are obsessed with prophecy, so they do all kinds of unreasonable things, and finally bring destruction to the family."

Samwell shrugged: "Actually, I don't really believe in prophecies. However, it's always good to be careful."

"Don't worry, the River Bend is not that vulnerable, even if an army of 40,000 is dispatched, there will still be enough defensive power."

"Okay." Samwell didn't say much anymore, got up and saluted, and then left.

(end of this chapter)