Aegon had no idea Illyrio’s inner monologue was so rich, and continued, “As for the horses needed for the Racetrack, we can naturally use the warhorses of the cavalry unit.”
Although the plan seemed viable, Illyrio still refused to easily relent on the surface.
“Don’t you dare threaten me with auditing the military pay.
I can completely announce your withdrawal from the army.
As your father, this is my right!”
Illyrio was actually trying to scare Aegon; in reality, it wasn’t nearly that simple, but he could still manage to get Aegon out of the army through bribery, though it would take a lot of effort in the middle.
“Alright, I promise this is the last time.” As Aegon said this, he personally poured him a cup of tea.
Seeing Aegon’s attitude soften, Illyrio slowed his tone and reasoned with him: “Actually, I recently contacted a merchant from the Shadow Lands, and the other party has dragon eggs ready for sale.
You know very well that a large part of my business relies on dragonbone-related goods, and dragon eggs are much more valuable than dragonbone!”
“Dragon eggs?” Aegon displayed an appropriately astonished expression.
“The kind of Targaryen dragon eggs that can hatch dragons?”
Of course he knew in his heart that these dragon eggs were precisely the fossilized dragon eggs that would later be given to the Dragon Mother.
He also knew the importance of the dragon eggs; without them, the Dragon Mother would have died directly in the Red Waste, and how would she ever have had the chance to run to Slavers Bay and stir up the world?
Even the “ice zombies”, Others, and White Walkers north of the Wall would most likely need dragons to counter them.
Realizing that he had transmigrated, Aegon had previously probed around regarding the movements of the dragon eggs.
He had thought Illyrio was already prepared long ago, but he didn’t expect him to still be preparing.
Before determining the whereabouts of the dragon eggs, Aegon didn’t want to fall out with Illyrio either.
After all, as one of the core elements of the Game of Thrones world, dragons were simply too important.
“They’re just fossilized dragon eggs with no way to hatch them.
If they could be hatched, they wouldn’t have fallen into my hands.”
Seeing Aegon’s amazed look, Illyrio was quite pleased and contentedly took a sip of tea.
Aegon of course knew that those dragon eggs were merely fossils, impossible to hatch in the hands of ordinary people.
But Aegon had also thought that perhaps Daenerys hatching the dragon eggs wasn’t just because of her Targaryen bloodline.
In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, “King’s Blood” was also a substance with powerful magic.
At that time, Daenerys burned herself to death in despair because of Drogon’s death.
As the most powerful Khal of the Dothraki, Drogon’s blood should also be “King’s Blood”.
In addition, there was Daenerys’s stillborn baby.
If it had been born successfully, that stillborn baby would have been Drogon’s heir, and could also be considered to have King’s Blood.
She was in the Eastern Continent, yet she was able to run to The Citadel in Westeros of the Western Continent to study knowledge, and her identity and background were definitely extraordinary.
Aegon guessed, perhaps one portion of King’s Blood corresponded to one dragon egg?
The Dragon Mother stepping into the flames was just a surface phenomenon, and three portions of King’s Blood were the true secret to hatching dragons?
Complex thoughts flashed through Aegon’s mind, but he still encouraged Illyrio to get his hands on these three dragon eggs no matter what.
After all, an important prerequisite for hatching dragon eggs is that you must first have dragon eggs to hatch.
“These dragon eggs must have cost you quite a lot of money, right?”
“Yes, this batch of dragon eggs cost me a huge sum of money, so right now I really can’t spare much surplus funds.”
“Three thousand Pentoshi gold coins, and I assure you that within this year I will never reach out to you for money again.
Next year, I might even be able to subsidize money back home.
You should be able to imagine that my Racetrack will soon be profitable!”
In the end, this pair of fake father and son reached an agreement.
…
…
Pentos welcomed a rare rainy day, the rainwater bringing a rare coolness to this scorching land.
In the month or so since Aegon took over this cavalry unit, the camp had undergone tremendous changes.
First, all the damaged roofs were repaired, the weeds in the training ground were cleared away, and the ground was re-leveled and tidied up.
Afterward, a shed specially used for training was built.
When it rained or the temperature was too high to go outside to practice Riding and military formations, the soldiers could carry out physical training inside the shed.
The soldiers were drilling enthusiastically inside the shed, and a rich aroma of meat drifted in the air.
Aegon specially invited a cook to grill fish for everyone, paired with corn, and held a simple barbecue party.
According to the recruitment requirements previously issued by Aegon, after soldiers took leave to return home to recruit personnel, the total number of cavalrymen had grown to two hundred and ten.
Besides locals of Pentos, Aegon also saw Andals and even Dothraki Horse Lords in the team.
Those few Dothraki were particularly eye-catching, with almond-shaped eyes and brown skin, distinguishable at a glance.
Among them, a Dothraki named Mago was especially conspicuous.
His bare chest looked exceptionally broad, and his Riding was quite superb, allowing him to fight three opponents at once without losing the upper hand in sparring. Follow the newest chapters on NovelPing.
This Dothraki aroused Aegon’s interest.
By holding this dinner party, he also wanted to use the sumptuous food to show the newly enlisted soldiers the camp’s generous treatment, allowing them to put their hearts into training.
Aegon brought up the quest panel to check the progress.
At this time, the progress of the military construction side quest had reached fifty-eight percent.
Recruiting a few more soldiers and then outfitting them with new equipment should be about enough to reach the minimum rating.
“Do you think this lord will really help us pay off a year’s worth of debt?”
“Of course, the veterans who came in before all enjoyed it.
Just train hard and you won’t go wrong.”
Although the veteran who dragged him into the group swore oaths, the newly arrived soldiers still felt uneasy in their hearts.
The reputation of Pentoshi officers had always stunk to high heaven.
It was already rare for successive commanders not to dock or exploit their soldiers; who would be willing to pay out of their own pockets to subsidize the soldiers underneath?
The sun gradually shifted westward, and the whole day’s training officially ended.
The soldiers pounded their sore arms and waists and legs one after another.
The rich aroma of meat and cooked rice in the air drilled into their nasal cavities, and everyone’s stomachs growled with hunger, sounding like muffled thunder.
The soldiers came under the rain shelter, and Aegon stood on a high platform built from boxes, looking down at the more than two hundred soldiers below as he spoke:
“Now our team has expanded quite a bit, and many of you should have heard of my style of doing things.
I assure you all here that as long as you train solidly and seriously, I will shoulder half a year of the debts incurred during the training period for you, and military pay will also be distributed in full and on time, not delayed by a single coin.”
A distinction had to be made between veterans and recruits.
Although the one-year debt became half a year, these recruits were still full of gratitude.
Having said that, Aegon motioned for his subordinates to carry over a large wooden chest.
When the lid was lifted, a full chest of shiny silver coins caught everyone’s eyes.
“This month’s military pay is being distributed in advance.
Everyone come forward in turn to collect it.”
Where had the soldiers ever seen such a generous commander?
Under Roget’s arrangement, everyone formed several long queues, stepping forward in turn to collect that month’s military pay.
The soldiers who received the silver coins held the coins in the palms of their hands, turning them over and over to inspect them, as if the silver coins carried a scalding temperature.
The complaints brought by the previous heavy training were all thrown to the winds at this moment.
They no longer doubted what their fellow townsmen said when recruiting them, and deep down they only thought of staying here to serve well.