Talvey stood on high, looking down at the common folk below.
Even though he was already accustomed to all of this, he still inevitably felt a touch of emotion.
These people’s demands were actually very simple: to survive.
As for the so-called dignity and freedom, they did not care about them at all.
Even if their wives were defiled by the lord, even if they constantly faced the lord’s lashes, and even if they ate food mixed with sand, they had never thought of rebelling.
In their worldview, all of this was taken for granted.
Their greatest wish was simply to survive; as for any other things like dignity?
They did not care in the least.
Talvey silently watched the crowd below and instructed, “Azel, continue to follow my previous instructions and treat these common folk well. However, you must pay attention to hygiene issues. Defecating and urinating everywhere in the living area is strictly prohibited. Whoever fails to comply with the rules will be punished by going without food for a day to teach them a lesson.”
“Yes, My Lord. I arrange for soldiers to check the hygiene every day,” Azel replied, instinctively standing straight.
Talvey nodded with satisfaction and glanced back at the common folk who were successively starting to work.
Naturally, he would not teach them what freedom and democracy were, but he could make them live more like human beings, and that was enough.
“Lord Talvey!” A messenger ran over in a hurry, saluted, and said, “The envoys from Lys and Myr have arrived and are waiting for you in the council chamber!”
Talvey thought to himself, “Myr and Lys couldn’t hold back after all!”
…
A moment later, Talvey arrived at the council chamber.
At this time, two richly dressed nobles stood in the middle of the hall.
“Respected Lord Talvey, Lord of Bloodstone, I am Miso Bazzan from Lys.” This middle-aged noble had silver-gold hair and blue eyes, because the bloodline of the Freehold of Valyria was still strong in them, as Lys had always been an original colony of Valyria and had never experienced a war of conquest.
“… I am Thorn Narin from Myr.” This Myrman was very similar to the Dornishmen, also having olive skin, black hair and black eyes.
To be more precise, he was similar to the rhoynar, and they had once been vassals of Valyria as well.
“Please take a seat, My Lords. Welcome to visit Bloodstone. The conditions are simple, so please forgive us, My Lords!” Talvey gestured for them to be seated, his words carrying an apologetic tone.
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing.” The two archons respectfully sat in the chairs on the lower left side of Talvey.
After they were settled, Talvey asked with puzzlement, “I wonder what brings the two archons to Bloodstone?”
Archon Miso and Archon Thorn exchanged glances, and finally Archon Thorn deliberated and said, “Lord Talvey, we heard that you have reached an agreement with the Tyroshi?”
Thorn and Miso looked at each other in dismay, and finally smiled awkwardly at Talvey.
Seeing this, Miso did not continue to beat around the bush and confessed, “Lord Talvey is right. The Triarchy is still closely connected, but due to ancestral issues between us, there is indeed a tiny little misunderstanding. Therefore, coming to Bloodstone this time is mainly to ask you, My Lord, whether you intend to meddle in the Disputed Lands.”
“I see.” Talvey first wore an expression of sudden realization, and then explained, “The two archons have misunderstood. I have only reached a trade agreement with Tyrosh, and I have no interest whatsoever in the Disputed Lands and the continent of Essos. This attack on The Stepstones was merely to ensure unobstructed sea routes. As the two archons know, the toll I collect in The Stepstones can be said to be very low, and I haven’t imposed heavy taxes on Myr and Lys because of the previous war. Reaching cooperation with Tyrosh this time is also to ease relations with the Triarchy. I didn’t expect that there are even more complex relationships between you. It seems I still don’t know enough.”
Hearing them speak of a ‘tiny little misunderstanding’, Talvey sneered inwardly.
Did they really think he didn’t know about the rifts within the Triarchy?
What little misunderstanding—clearly, they had been beating each other’s brains out just before.
Hearing that Talvey had only reached a trade agreement with Tyrosh and had no interest whatsoever in the Disputed Lands, the two archons secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and their hanging hearts finally dropped.
Thorn bowed slightly in salute and said gratefully, “Thank you, Lord Talvey, for your magnanimity and for letting bygones be bygones regarding Myr. On behalf of Myr, I express my gratitude to you. At the same time, Myr also hopes to reach a trade agreement with you. I wonder what your opinion is, My Lord?”
Miso also expressed the same thought.
Talvey was full of smiles and said magnanimously, “Bloodstone is a free and open land, welcoming any friendly collaborators and deeply cherishing the friendship of every collaborator. Rest assured, two archons, I accept your proposal.”
The two archons were even more relieved this time.
They stood up with smiles and bowed to Talvey with their hands on their chests.
Miso said, “Lys is willing to reach a trade agreement with Lord Talvey.”
At this time, Thorn smiled modestly, looking entirely in control: “I heard that the Archon of Tyrosh gave My Lord a dragon egg. As it happens, Myr also still retains a living dragon egg. As soon as I return to Myr, I will immediately send someone to bring the dragon egg and present it to My Lord.”
Talvey feigned joy and said, “How could I be so embarrassed as to let Archon Thorn go to such expense.”
“A small gift, as long as My Lord does not disdain it. Compared to Tyrosh, Myr is richer and more powerful. Besides the dragon egg, Myr has other treasures to present to My Lord.” Thorn slightly raised his chin, his words carrying pride and contempt for Tyrosh.
Miso naturally didn’t want to fall behind and said with a modest smile, “Although Lys does not have a dragon egg, Lys can present Lord Talvey with Valyrian steel weapons: a spear, a single-handed sword, and a dagger, one of each. I hope My Lord likes them.”
This time Talvey was genuinely pleasantly surprised.
Lys truly lived up to being the resort of the ancient Valyrian dragonlords; it indeed had quite a few good things in hand.
A complete set of Valyrian steel weapons—although House Valthorn had a full set of Valyrian steel armor and two Valyrian steel weapons, they truly didn’t have a matching set of weapons.
And it was indeed much more precious than a dragon egg, because dragon eggs were truly not lacking for House Valthorn now.
House Targaryen was also not lacking in dragon eggs; what they lacked was simply the direct royal bloodline to ride dragons.
“Thank you both archons for your generosity. The friendship of Myr and Lys makes me look even more forward to the future of The Stepstones!” Talvey’s smile was as warm as a spring breeze. Find the original chapter at NovelPing.
The two archons exchanged smiles and bowed to Talvey.
Their purpose for today had already been achieved; as long as they confirmed that Talvey had no intention of forming an alliance with Tyrosh, they could rest easy.
They did not linger on Bloodstone.
Firstly, they were in a hurry to go back and report the good news; secondly, Bloodstone was currently too crude for them, and they certainly didn’t want to stay another day.
After bidding farewell to Talvey, they hurriedly boarded a ship and returned to Myr and Lys.
From then on, The Stepstones could be considered to be completely and thoroughly free of any future troubles.
Over the following three months, common folk from Dorne and all over Westeros arrived on Bloodstone one after another, totaling more than 50,000 people, with about 26,000 strong-bodied laborers.
The entire Bloodstone presented a scene of bustling activity.
The common folk from Stormlands and Dorne worked diligently, drenched in sweat.
Although it was hard work, their eyes were filled with hope.
Because working on Bloodstone allowed them to eat three meals a day and even get a silver stag every month—a life they had never dared to luxury-hope for.
As for the hard work?
Their strength was inexhaustible; after a night’s sleep, they would be immediately full of energy the next day.
This was the simple thought of all the common folk working hard on Bloodstone.
Therefore, the amount of food consumed daily on Bloodstone rose sharply.
When the high lords everywhere learned that Bloodstone needed food, they began frantically dumping their food inventories onto Bloodstone, especially the lords of The Reach.
Talvey naturally took as much as was available.
At this time, the climate of the continent of Westeros had summers that were long and the other three seasons short, lasting for many years.
Food production was very high; only the common folk went hungry, while the lords had plenty of grain in storage.
(The climate of the continent of Westeros does not simply rotate through the four seasons; sometimes there is a summer lasting for many years, and sometimes a winter lasting for many years.)
As time passed, the news that The Stepstones had stabilized spread widely, and fleets from all over began choosing to pass through The Stepstones, with tolls increasing month by month.
From then on, Bloodstone began to enter a stage of rapid development, with various facilities springing up one after another.
At this time, Talvey was finally able to spare some time to return to The Arbor.