"Move?" Baelor's heart trembled. He had only just touched the seat with his backside and did not dare to sit down completely, stiffening his body and shaking his head with a bewildered look. "I do not understand what you mean, Hand of the Queen."
"I think you should understand," Aegor glanced sideways at the man pretending to be foolish. "But let us just say Lord Tyrell was negligent, or House Hightower is out of touch. Daenerys intends to invite all the great Reach lords to stay in King's Landing for two years, to increase mutual understanding and cultivate the relationship between ruler and subject. This is Her Grace's decision. There is no room for negotiation."
Stay? Two years?
Baelor's mouth twitched, and he asked with a forced smile, "But is this not... the treatment prepared for the families who surrendered? House Hightower never openly resisted Daenerys, nor did they lift a single sword or knife against the Hand of the Queen's Western Expeditionary Army. We actively submitted. How can we be lumped together with those families who passively surrendered?"
"Active submission and passive surrender?" This was an interesting point of debate. Aegor lowered his arms, lightly gripped the armrests of the chair, and comfortably tapped his fingers. "You think not raising troops against the Western Expedition is submission, but I believe publicly swearing allegiance to Daenerys before the decisive battle at Highgarden broke out, restraining the formation and assembly of the Reach allied army, or leading troops to attack from the rear during the great battle and cooperating with my army to launch a pincer attack, that is called submission, not choosing a side after the outcome has been decided."
"Of course, considering that in both of these scenarios, you would be stabbing your direct liege in the back and being disloyal to the Reach, I believe Daenerys will not make things difficult for people, or truly expect House Hightower to meet such a standard." Aegor glanced with a faint smile at Lord Mace Tyrell, who was seated in the second seat with a face like he had swallowed a fly, not wanting to waste more time arguing with Baelor. "However, I personally think this discussion is unnecessary. Daenerys's meaning is very clear: all Reach lords on the list must be invited. Whether it is surrender or submission is not important."
Baelor was a little stunned by Aegor's direct and straightforward request.
In House Hightower's view, they had neither sent troops to resist, and their posture of surrendering by offering up the city and the Hightower was so proper and obedient. Even if Daenerys and her Hand were dissatisfied, they should, due to public opinion and general perception, give them relatively gentle treatment... How was it that this black-clad Hand before them was acting as if he had a deep-seated hatred, like avenging his father's death or reclaiming his wife, stubbornly refusing to let them go?
There were rumors in the markets that Aegor West was a petty person. Could it be... that his resentment over their failure to actively buy his Night's Watch bonds back then was this deep?
"Failing to firmly support Daenerys at the beginning of the war was indeed due to House Hightower's lack of resolve." It was easy to get into this situation and hard to get out. Now that Aegor and his troops had entered the Hightower, it was impossible to go back on their word and expel the guests. Baelor knew he would have to pay a heavy price, so he could only grit his teeth and say, "House Hightower is willing to bear appropriate military compensation for this..."
"One thing at a time," Aegor interrupted directly. "I will only say it once more: as for reparations and compensation, Daenerys may ask for them, or she may not. This requires you to speak with Her Grace face to face. But moving to King's Landing has no room for negotiation. I will give you one week to prepare. If you are still not ready by then, I will simply escort you back east along the way!"
"This is not right, Hand of the Queen." The fat High Septon frowned and spoke. The Faith had always been protected by House Hightower, and he personally had received who knew how many benefits from House Hightower. At this moment, of course, he had to speak up righteously to fight for his friends' interests. "Since Her Grace is inviting them, does House Hightower, which has always been loyal to House Targaryen, not even have the right to decide whether or not to accept the invitation?"
"How dare you even utter the word loyal!" Mace Tyrell roared in a low voice. "House Hightower dared to refuse and defy the call and command of its direct liege, yet they have the audacity to speak of loyalty to Her Grace! Bah, I do not see loyalty. I see disgust!"
Although Mace Tyrell and Baelor Hightower were not only lord and vassal but also brothers-in-law, at this moment, the former's mind was filled only with rage, not kinship. Ruling the most prosperous and powerful lordship in the Reach, House Hightower could muster around ten thousand soldiers to participate in the war. With such a number of elite troops, the war could have taken a different turn...
But this group of cowards living in the high tower, instead of learning the good things, chose to imitate their ancestors from three hundred years ago, ignoring their liege's summons!
It was also fortunate that House Tyrell was blessed with great fortune and had some connection with Aegor, and that girl Margaery was clever and quickly defected to Daenerys and became a guide, only then did they avoid the fate of the last Kings of the Reach, House Gardener in the Field of Fire.
Otherwise, who knew which family would have taken advantage of the situation and sat on the seat of the next Lord of the Reach?
Unwilling to fight alongside us, then let us suffer misfortune together. No one can escape unscathed!
"Lord Tyrell, you have misunderstood," the High Septon continued to explain, quite righteously taking the blame as agreed. "Lord Leyton Hightower did not act on his own initiative to defy Highgarden's command. It was I who received divine inspiration after fasting and praying in the Starry Sept for seven days and seven nights, learning that Queen Daenerys is the chosen monarch of the Seven Kingdoms, and that her enemies would face utter destruction. Only then did I rush to the Hightower and persuade the devout Lord Leyton not to participate in the war..."
"Shut up, you fat pig full of lies!" The High Septon did not have the prestige and power of the Pope in another world's Christianity, and Mace cursed him without reservation. "An old and tired charlatan's trick, too lazy to even change it, and you expect to fool people three hundred years later?"
...
Aegor was happy to see the open and secret struggles among the Reachmen, but for the sake of appearances, he decided against letting them continue.
"Enough!" Aegor, whose eyes and ears were bothered by the noise, reached out and patted the table, stopping the quarrel. Then his tone softened. "Lord Baelor, since House Hightower is so loyal, why would you refuse Daenerys's gracious invitation for your family to be guests? Your titles and lands will not be stripped or reduced in any way. This is just a simple and pure trip and temporary stay."
The High Septon closed his mouth, but Archmaester Perestan, the rotating administrator of the Citadel, took over and spoke. "It is just that Oldtown, as the second-largest city in the Seven Kingdoms, is also a thousand miles away from King's Landing. Its management and ruling difficulty is by no means comparable to castles or villages where one sees only farmers at a glance. Only House Hightower, which has always been based here for thousands of years, has enough experience, prestige, connections, and ability to maintain its normal operation, ensuring a smooth transition of order during a change of dynasty. Abruptly moving the master of the Hightower to King's Landing, I fear something might go wrong in the city."
After a pause, the white-haired old maester concluded earnestly, "I personally believe that continuing to guard the kingdom's southwest coastline for Daenerys is the best way for House Hightower to be useful and demonstrate loyalty!"
Elderly, learned. Adorned with these two halos, Archmaester Perestan's words immediately drew a chorus of nods and agreement.
But Aegor's face visibly darkened.
Afraid something might go wrong in the city?
If these words were spoken to the Aegor who was a young man from Earth before coming to this world, he would probably think the old maester was truly considering the overall situation. But hearing them now, as the Hand, this was already a nearly naked threat.
Being afraid something might go wrong was false. Someone would cause trouble was true!
The status of House Hightower in the Reach was somewhat similar to that of House Bolton in the North. The difference was that in this corresponding relationship, House Gardener, which "matched" House Stark, had already been annihilated by the Conqueror.
That is to say, there was currently no power in the Reach with more seniority or greater influence than House Hightower.
As one of the most prestigious great houses in Westeros, the history of House Hightower was so long that it could be traced back to the Dawn Age, and their bloodline was so ancient and proud that they rarely even needed to use "descendants of Garth Greenhand" to gild their reputation, because their ancestors "intermarried with Greenhand" rather than "descended from the Greenhand line."
They, who once claimed kingship, relied on the fresh trick of "submission and cooperation" and survived the invasion of the Andals, the changes of successive Reach kings, and the Targaryen era. At the cost of relinquishing their royal title, they had always been able to preserve a privileged status almost equivalent to that of the "King of Oldtown."
Their power in Oldtown was so deep and solid, far exceeding Aegor's power in Crown Town. Perhaps even House Stark's control over Winterfell and its surroundings could not compare. After all, the population in the heartland of the North was simply too sparse, and there were simply no self-contained secondary powers like the Faith, Citadel, merchant guilds, and banks, which themselves possessed energy and influence.
At present, the heads of various industries in the city who were participating in receiving Aegor were, without exception, speaking for House Hightower, which was the most direct manifestation of this deep-rooted influence.
For rulers who were slightly weaker in character or more afraid of trouble, this situation and these difficulties were enough to make them retreat and choose a conciliatory strategy. But for Aegor, who was used to biting hard bones, the phenomenon of all walks of life in Oldtown speaking for House Hightower had precisely become the reason why he had to relocate House Hightower!
(To be continued.)