In the original story, after Tywin's death, he was appointed as the master of coin for Tommen Baratheon by Cersei.
Furthermore, at that time, all the grain in King's Landing was supplied by Rosby Castle and Stokeworth. Considering King's Landing had half a million people, this meant that Rosby Castle must be very wealthy, at least for now.
Additionally, Stokeworth was not far from Rosby Castle. He could conveniently solve the army's provisions problem here; after all, he couldn't actually rely on The Reach to provide everything in the end.
After all, he had already secured Margaery. If he let The Reach fully provide the army's grain, how should he deal with Margaery next? Viserys did not fully trust her; she was a very ambitious woman.
His previous conquest of her was nothing more than a momentary lapse due to her beauty.
After Lord Gyles finally managed to calm his inner shock, he took the lead in kneeling before Viserys, and the minor nobles behind him followed suit.
"Respected His Majesty Viserys." He looked up, his voice sounding breathless and somewhat trembling, accompanied by bouts of coughing.
"I am the Lord of Rosby Castle, Gyles Rosby. I... I am willing to surrender, willing to pledge my fealty to you, only asking that you spare my family and my castle."
Tyrion had considered him a man "too sickly to run, too cowardly to fight." One could see the truth in that now; from his appearance, he looked like a gravely ill old man. No wonder Lollys was so eager to prove herself.
However, even so, as long as no accidents occurred later, Gyles could likely live for at least another seven or eight years without issue.
In the original story, he died from coughing up blood after his illness worsened due to having to face the mountain of debt left by the Baratheon royalty and the constant harassment from the angry envoys of the Iron Bank of Braavos, coupled with a series of unacceptable demands issued by Cersei.
Viserys looked at him, remaining silent for a moment until Gyles was drenched in sweat, before finally speaking. "Rise, Lord Gyles. You are very clever. I can give the word to guarantee the safety of your family."
Viserys decided to rest and reorganize here, solving the provisions problem before continuing the march. After all, Rosby Castle was the last major castle before they reached King's Landing.
Hearing that Viserys intended to stay, Lord Gyles hurriedly ordered his people to prepare the best rooms and offered the finest wine and food in the castle.
That evening, he held a banquet in the great hall to entertain Viserys and the generals of the Imperial Army.
At the banquet, Gyles sat below Viserys, carefully maintaining a forced smile. He could see that the young Dragon King seemed to be in a good mood, which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty," he asked tentatively, "will you be heading to King's Landing next?"
Viserys looked at him, shook his head, and said, "No, I will stay here for a few days to resolve the army's logistical supply issues."
Hearing this, Gyles quickly spoke up, "Your Majesty, our House Rosby has not experienced the fires of war for over a decade. We have plenty of grain stored in the castle right now that can provide supplies for Your Majesty's army."
Viserys appeared to be deep in thought, then spoke, "Can House Rosby alone support the supplies for an army of a hundred thousand and over ten thousand warhorses?"
Gyles froze for a moment, not expecting there to be so many people.
He hesitated for a while, then said, "Your Majesty, I have a very good relationship with Lady Tanda of Stokeworth. Furthermore, House Stokeworth, like House Rosby, has plenty of stored grain. I can act as a lobbyist for Your Majesty to persuade them to pledge fealty and provide grain supplies. I can also try with several other great lords of the Crownlands."
Hearing this, Viserys nodded and toasted Gyles with a cup of wine. "Good, Lord Gyles. If you can accomplish this, I guarantee that the future House Rosby will certainly see its status elevated within the Seven Kingdoms."
Lord Gyles appeared very pleased and knelt down tremblingly once more, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will certainly not fail your expectations."
In the Tower of the Hand at Red Keep, it had been a day and a night since Tyrion arrived at King's Landing, but he hadn't closed his eyes at all. He urgently needed to know all the information within the city to facilitate his next moves.
While Tyrion was still flipping through ledgers in his study, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," he said, taking a sip from the wine cup beside him without looking up.
The door opened, and Varys walked in. The eunuch was wearing a simple grey robe today, with his habitual smile still hanging on his face.
"Lord Tyrion, still busy at this late hour?"
Tyrion looked up at him. "Lord Varys, surely you didn't come just to keep me company and chat? I don't have time for you right now."
Varys stood still across from him and said, "Of course not. I came because I want to tell you something very important."
"What is it?" Tyrion looked up with some curiosity, rubbing his brow as he watched Varys.
"This is news sent back by my 'little birds'." As he spoke, Varys pulled a letter from his sleeve, and Tyrion took it and unfolded it. There were only a few lines on the letter, but the content was enough to shock him.
Stannis's fleet encountered the Targaryen navy in the waters off Massey's Hook and was completely wiped out. Stannis himself died under the flames of the three-headed dragon.
"Stannis is dead," Tyrion stood up and murmured to himself, turning the letter over and over to read it several more times.
Varys nodded and replied, "Yes, Viserys only took fifteen minutes to annihilate the Dragonstone fleet. Those thousands of men under Stannis couldn't even make it to the shore."
Tyrion was silent for a moment, then asked, "What about Renly's side? What was their reaction?"
"Renly had already withdrawn his troops to Storms End earlier," Varys said. "Dorne sent troops from three directions simultaneously, threatening the rear of the Stormlands and The Reach. His army of fifty thousand is now pinned down."
He paused and continued, "I estimate he might not know this news yet; currently, only the two of us in King's Landing know. And even if he did know, there's nothing he could do."
Tyrion leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes. After a long time, he finally spoke. "Eunuch, tell me, if we proactively surrender to Viserys, is it possible he would spare us?"
Varys looked at him, something flashing in his eyes for an instant. "Does My Lord truly want me to speak on this?"
"Speak," Tyrion said in an indifferent tone. "There are only the two of us here anyway; no outsider will know what is said. Even if you're worried I might use this to threaten you later, you can completely deny it."
Varys thought for a moment and offered his perspective. "Judging by Viserys's actions in Essos, he does not seem like a man who kills the innocent indiscriminately. But the Lannisters are different. The Lannisters are the primary culprits of the rebellion, the killers of his father, sister-in-law, and nephew. He will certainly punish the Lannisters severely, but others..."
"Others might live," Tyrion finished the sentence.
Varys did not deny it.
Tyrion opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling, and murmured, "Is that so? Only the Lannisters will be severely punished."
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