Asking for an exorbitant price?
Aegor could do that too, and he asked even more fiercely.
"Unconditionally open the gates and await disposition" was naturally nonsense. There was no surrender like that. Even the so-called "unconditional surrender" in the modern world of Earth was not truly without conditions, but merely meant that "the surrendering party is not allowed to propose conditions." Leaving aside everything else, at least outward decency and human rights had to be guaranteed. If they acted like good dogs after surrendering, they might even get to continue drinking soup and eating meat.
Aegor's original plan was quite standard: rest for a night, then tomorrow during the day, have the artillery fire the last barrel of gunpowder at long intervals, one shot at a time, mixing in ultimatums and calls to surrender, ordering the defenders to send representatives out of the city for peace talks... If that did not scare them, then the day after tomorrow, he would bite the bullet and launch a frontal assault.
It was obvious that if Highgarden sent negotiators as requested after he issued the ultimatum, even if Aegor was arrogant and aggressive, he would never be too outrageous.
After all, that was what he hoped for and demanded.
But now, before he even started scaring them, the queen opposite had voluntarily come out of her nest and delivered herself to his doorstep.
Coming uninvited exposed their own guilt and weakness completely. Aegor was worried that the siege would be difficult after the gunpowder ran out, but House Tyrell was even more afraid that he would strike with lightning speed and leave no one alive!
No matter how calm and composed Margaery appeared, or how logically she argued, how eloquent she was, or how fluently she spoke during the negotiations, it could not hide the fact that they were already scared witless.
If not now, when?
...
Shaking all over, hands and feet ice-cold, her mind a jumbled mess. Margaery had always been good at negotiation and winning people over, but she had never learned how to deal with a madman who did not play by the rules. She did not consider herself evil and had never held hostility toward the Night's Watch before her, yet for some reason, this bastard was as if he had a grudge against her from a previous life. Ever since their first meeting as strangers, he had consistently made her unable to use any of her skills, as if she had encountered a natural predator that completely suppressed her.
The last time she felt mocked at the Long Night Industry Park, she could confidently turn around and leave. If they did not want to talk, they did not have to. But now, the lives and fortunes of all the residents inside the castle, plus her father and brothers who had gone out to fight and were now somewhere unknown but possibly still alive, were all hanging on this negotiation tonight. How could she dare, or how could she possibly just walk away?
"Lord Commander!" The flame of the oil lamp flickered in Margaery's brown eyes as she stared directly at Aegor, like anger about to erupt. She forcefully suppressed the urge to slam the table and stand up, gritting her teeth and squeezing out a sentence, using the wrong address in her annoyance. "I hope... Lord Commander... can... propose some more feasible and sincere suggestions, so that this negotiation can continue!"
Although she was furious, she ultimately could not say anything harsh like "a scholar can be killed but not humiliated."
For one, she was not a scholar, and for another... she was terrified.
Life was so beautiful, the world was so colorful, why always talk about life and death?
"Calm down, Lady Margaery, I have no intention of humiliating you." Opportunities to see the graceful Highgarden Flower momentarily lose her composure were rare, but ultimately, Aegor also wanted to reach an agreement and end the war. After pausing for a few seconds without haste, he slowly offered a way down. "However, at this moment, both Highgarden and the Reach are already in Daenerys's pocket, within easy reach. What reason do I have to accept your surrender... instead of taking it myself? You want me to be sincere. You have to give me a reason, right?"
A cliché but effective pressure tactic. Translated, it meant, "You want my sincerity, what about yours?" Margaery instantly understood, and her raised heart suddenly dropped. This was him telling her to quickly show her chips and benefits. As long as the price was right, a peace treaty was not impossible.
She had lost the first round of psychological confrontation, and it was a complete defeat. This feeling was unfamiliar, but whose fault was it that her men had not won on the battlefield? As long as the other party had the confidence to walk away from the table and she did not, her performance at the negotiating table was meaningless.
Her ability to think quickly returned. Margaery composed her angry expression, narrowed her eyes, and quickly retrieved the speech she had prepared earlier, deciding to rally her spirits and face the upcoming second round of confrontation properly.
"Your Grace has won the war, and the Reachmen are convinced. But you still occupy less than a third of the Reach's territory. The remaining majority, no matter how the Hand of the Queen divides his troops or how the lords surrender at the sight of your forces, will take at least another month to fully take control of. However, the spring planting has already been severely delayed, and now is close to the last opportunity. If it is delayed further, the first harvest will be greatly affected..."
It was a fact, but an old argument, and not very threatening. Aegor shrugged slightly, noncommittal.
"Furthermore." Margaery slightly raised her chin. "As far as I know, the alliance of slave masters across the Narrow Sea has also reorganized and started to exert force, and the eastern coast of Westeros is facing unprecedented harassment and threats."
Speaking of which, there had once been calls within the Reach Army, demanding that House Tyrell also throw Highgarden out as bait and continue scorching the earth and retreating, waiting until Daenerys was simultaneously bogged down in war on both the eastern and western fronts before launching a counterattack... But this suggestion was dismissed as nonsense by most nobles and came to nothing. Now it seemed this foolish idea was actually...
"It's understandable that Daenerys must want to end the Reach war as soon as possible and transfer you, this victorious general, back to King's Landing or Storm's End to oversee the Narrow Sea defenses, am I wrong?" She stopped her pointless complaining and presented her conclusion. "Only if the entire Reach surrenders in an orderly manner and changes allegiance under the leadership of House Tyrell can the war be concluded in the shortest time, both avoiding large-scale famine during the lean period and saving time for Lord to deal with that group of slave masters across the Narrow Sea!"
This line of thinking was quite clear.
If you did not have many bargaining chips yourself, then start with the opponent's difficulties. Margaery not only revealed the challenges Daenerys's government was facing, but also subtly showcased her own soft power. See, even with continuous fighting on the front lines, my Tyrell family's intelligence network is still operating as usual, well-informed, and can quickly grasp variables even far away.
But she clearly exaggerated the threat that a loose alliance of slave masters could pose to a newly emerging centralized dynasty that had fought its way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Aegor made no attempt to hide his contempt and asked calmly, "Anything else?"
What a tone!
Margaery gritted her silver teeth and continued to lay out her chips. "House Tyrell has been rooted in the Reach for a long time, operating here for many years, and is extremely clear about the military strength, family culture, temperament of the lords, and even the type and distribution of assets of the local forces. We know which families still have the power to resist, and which families can accept what kind of surrender terms without being driven to fight to the death. As long as Your Grace guarantees House Tyrell's titles and status, we are willing to provide this information to help Daenerys smoothly and successfully achieve the greatest benefits!"
Hey.
Was this preparing to sell out teammates as a pledge of allegiance? Or planning to use the Hand of the Queen to eliminate defiant troublemakers?
Good terms, but it could be a trap. He needed to be careful.
Aegor showed an expression of interest. This shamelessness of House Tyrell truly perfectly echoed their house words, "Growing Strong." For survival, everything was permissible.
He nodded slightly, gesturing for Margaery to continue.
"While the Hand of the Queen led the Gift Army and its people in a fierce battle against the White Walkers and the dead, the Reach, unfortunately, could not contribute, being a thousand miles away in the south. To express our apology and show our respect for the Night's Watch, we voluntarily agree to bear all of the Night's Watch's external debts, and on top of that, donate an additional hundred thousand gold dragons to help the Gift with post-war reconstruction!"
Paying the debts for the Gift was helping Aegor build his power, and donating a hundred thousand gold dragons was practically a polite way of saying bribery.
These two points were tangible benefits, and Margaery cleverly chose a way that would absolutely not offend Aegor... or rather, would not give him any leverage.
Honestly, he was quite pleased.
Aegor's expression improved, not out of stinginess, but he still said nothing, staring at Margaery's face, telling her with his eyes: It's fine, but not enough.
Their eyes met, and they remained in this stalemate for several seconds before Margaery finally spoke again under the silent pressure, biting the bullet and continuing.
"I can see that the Hand of the Queen's ambitions are not small. He intends to assist Daenerys in strengthening royal power and achieving great things." And the Reach just happened to become the target for this. Margaery did not voice this bitter next sentence. "But as far as I know, Lord has never visited or understood the Reach before this western campaign. Information such as population, output, and ownership can still be obtained through public channels, but what about more details beyond that? Do you know how many villages and farms there are in the entire Reach? How many dialects do they speak? And which of the Seven Gods do they respectively revere and worship the most?"
"I guess the Hand of the Queen would not be able to say, but that is not anyone's fault. What I want to remind you is this: what the Reachmen need are local rulers who share the same culture and language, who can understand their complaints in dialect, issue commands in a way they can understand and accept, and are willing to be close to and care about them, rather than a Dragon Queen who is far away. No matter who sits on the throne, the best way to quickly control the Reach and incorporate it into their rule is to let the Reachmen govern the Reach, not through large-scale killing, exile, and blood changes!"
Having said that, as if to avoid Aegor continuing to exert pressure with silence, she took a deep breath after a brief pause and emphatically added her concluding remarks.
"House Tyrell has offered you all its sincerity, Hand of the Queen. Now, it is your turn."
(To be continued.)
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