Now this is what I call negotiating.
Aegor secretly savored the delightful wine called "Alliance Beneath the City Walls," sat up slightly, and began to grade the little queen's homework.
"Lady Margaery, you have said so much, you must be parched. Have a drink of water to wet your throat first." He picked up the kettle, poured a cup for his guest, placed it in front of her, and only after drawing back his hand did he slowly begin. "First, I must admit that a timely donation can greatly ease the financial difficulties the newly added lands face during postwar reconstruction. However." He paused for a moment, then abruptly changed his tone. "That being said, the Night's Watch's war against the White Walkers is meant to protect all mankind, which naturally includes the Reach. Supporting us is an obligation every living person should fulfill. In terms of courtesy, I will represent the Night's Watch and the people of the newly added lands in thanking House Tyrell for its goodwill and donation. But in terms of reason, I cannot acknowledge it as one of the terms of negotiation."
Margaery felt her face tighten.
Of course, she had left room for negotiation when listing her terms and had prepared herself for some haggling. But she had never expected her opponent to draw a dragon-slaying sword and, with his very first strike, cut straight down so ruthlessly that he even dug out the roots.
Yet she absolutely did not dare say something like, "Since it is not considered a negotiation term, then we will not donate." After all, the charge of crimes against humanity still hung over the nobles of the Reach, ready to be used as grounds for reckoning at any time.
This silent loss was pure and undiluted. After forcing it down, her mouth instantly felt dry, and she could not help picking up the cup of water Aegor had just poured. Looking on the bright side, the other party had not rejected her proposal to donate, which at least showed the bare minimum of acceptance. The worst-case scenario would not happen.
"After removing that invalid item, I have taken the liberty of summarizing the rest for you. You claim that if Daenerys accepts the surrender now and concludes a peace treaty with the Reach under House Tyrell's leadership, first, it can save time for recovery and allow our forces to focus on countering the anti-liberation alliance's offensive. Second, it can allow us to extract the best compensation terms with precision and drain the wealth of the Reach nobles. Third, having Reachmen govern the Reach can restore stable rule the fastest."
He nodded, pausing for a moment. Margaery's sudden visit, frankly, had caught him off guard as well. Who could experience an epic battle of a hundred thousand men during the day and be ready to negotiate with the enemy that evening?
But unlike when he had been in a low position and had to rack his brains in advance to prepare speeches for fooling those lofty figures, this time he was the one in control of everything. Had he not thought of how to bargain? No problem. He could think slowly. She would not dare be impatient.
Under such relaxed and comfortable conditions, he quickly worked out the details of the next few cuts.
"The slave masters across the Narrow Sea are indeed coming with great momentum, but they come from different city-states, each with schemes of their own. They are divided and fighting across the Narrow Sea, so they can only manage this first fierce wave. These people have neither the intent nor the ability to threaten the foundation of the realm. Daenerys did urge me to speed up, but she also emphasized that I can only march back to reinforce her after completely resolving the Reach conflict." He spoke half in truth and half in falsehood. "This means either the situation on the eastern front is still under control, or Her Grace believes that resolving the great trailing problem of the Reach once and for all is more important than the security of the eastern border and cross-sea trade. Having the original rulers continue to govern the Reach is indeed the fastest and most stable method, but what makes you think that quickly but roughly restoring rule is all Daenerys wants?"
This second cut was slightly lighter than the first, but it still made one's scalp prickle.
But what Margaery did not know was that before she could fully digest and judge the truth of these words, the speaker had temporarily changed his mind.
Aegor no longer wanted to haggle.
His original plan had been to refute each of Margaery's proposed terms one by one while raising his demands. But then he thought, this was not a debating contest or a maester's thesis, where balanced phrasing and grand momentum mattered. Why unnecessarily follow a rigid, point-by-point approach?
What he needed was not a knife, but a shovel. He wanted to dig up the entire foundation of negotiation Margaery had laid out and start anew!
...
"Lady Margaery, you are very intelligent. Intelligent enough to see that Daenerys wants to accomplish something extraordinary."
Aegor picked up the kettle again and began pouring water into the cup in front of him.
"However, your upbringing and environment have limited your perspective. You cannot even imagine what kind of great undertaking can truly be called extraordinary. Weakening the Reach and strengthening royal power, in your eyes, is probably already a grand undertaking enough to make people gasp. But what would you think if I told you that the full name of the undertaking Daenerys truly wants, and is currently advancing, is the Great King's Landing Plan?"
Since they were planning to boil the frog slowly and systematically dismantle the Reach completely, he naturally did not dare show Margaery the schematic diagram of the Great King's Landing Plan right away. If he did, no matter how difficult, challenging, or dangerous it might be, the remaining two-thirds of the Reach lords, including the Hightowers of Oldtown, would likely grit their teeth and organize the next wave of counterattack. Fortunately, the term "Great King's Landing" itself was straightforward enough that anyone who heard it would immediately understand one thing, what Daenerys wanted to do was far more than merely strengthen royal power.
"Please forget that this is a surrender and peace negotiation, Lady Margaery. Concentrate. What I say next is purely a friendly reminder between old acquaintances, and I will only say it once." Aegor snapped his fingers crisply at Margaery, then raised one finger under her gaze. "Daenerys is not merely pursuing the restoration of the Targaryen Dynasty. In fact, she already declared her intentions to the Seven Kingdoms months ago by melting the Iron Throne. What she wants to do is create a brand-new era, an era that has no place for old powers!"
"The legal advantages and vast amount of valuable information House Tyrell possesses as Lords Paramount of the Reach, as well as the personal friendship between you and me. Of course, plus a little of your own sharp intuition and swift action. All of this makes you different tonight from the other Reach nobles who are about to face great misfortune. You have the chance to sit here and make the following choice. In this coming new era, will you turn into dust and become the ashes of history, or will you open your arms and embrace it?"
Although it was called a choice, there was actually no choice at all.
What Aegor needed to worry about was not whether Margaery would reject his terms, but how to prevent House Tyrell from feigning compliance while secretly playing tricks.
"The rise of House Tyrell was accidental and special. Aegon the Conqueror, for reasons such as humiliating the lords of the Reach and weakening the cohesion of that fertile land, raised you from mere stewards to Lords Paramount of the Reach. The history of more than three hundred years from the Conquest to today is House Tyrell's history of struggle and tears, its effort to shed that identity and rise from pawns of the dragonlords to true masters of the Reach. After more than two hundred years of obedience, caution, and neutrality, you nearly achieved your goal, lacking only the final step of entering the center of power to prove your worth."
"After approaching that goal, you clearly became anxious. Whether it was watching from the sidelines during the War of the Usurper instead of going all out, sending you to compete for the position of Robert's second queen consort, or later supporting Renly and Aegor, two kings who rebelled against the throne during the ensuing war of the Seven Kingdoms, all of these were desperate gambles to take that final step." Aegor spoke words that pierced Margaery's heart in a sincere tone, sighing deeply. "It is regrettable that this series of desperate attempts ultimately ended in failure, and I, unfortunately, became the greatest culprit in crushing the dream of you, my old friend."
This analysis seemed reasonable, but it was actually all nonsense.
The victor is always right. However, if Renly Baratheon had not been assassinated by the Red Priestess's sorcery, or if the Reach-Golden Company army had won the battle during the day, would a man of the Night's Watch like you be sitting here commenting on and accusing House Tyrell of being desperate?
Margaery scoffed inwardly, instinctively wanting to put on a docile expression of deep emotion and even remorse, but ultimately restrained the impulse.
Her past dealings with this fellow had already made her understand one thing. Acting was useless in front of this scoundrel.
Aegor did not press forward, but stopped, slowly drinking the water in his own cup under Margaery's emotionless gaze before returning to the conversation.
"I sympathize and regret this, but I will not apologize, nor am I willing to hide my contempt. You are so firmly limited by your noble status and ingrained ideas. You possess vast resources and the legitimate identity of the paramount lord, yet all you think of is playing within the rules set by your predecessors, following conventional procedures to shed the label of upjumped stewards and gain the recognition of those ancient families." Aegor let out a long breath and shook his head regretfully. This disdain needed no pretense. "Have you ever thought that even if everything went smoothly, House Tyrell would only barely edge half a head above those great nobles, winning the respect that should have belonged to you as the Lords Paramount of the Reach in the first place?"
"And now, an opportunity far surpassing those old families, an opportunity to look down on them and even trample them underfoot, has been placed before House Tyrell!" After a string of time-wasting nonsense, Aegor finally finished formulating his new terms in his mind. "Now, listen to my thoughts."
(To be continued.)