"Since you were living happily running a snack stall in Volantis, why did you join the allied army and become an elephant rider in the campaign against Slaver's Bay?" Dany asked in confusion.
She clearly remembered that when Cadillac was still a slave charioteer, he had admired "Mhysa," the liberator of slaves, with extraordinary fervor.
Because of that admiration, he had won the favor of the Dragon Queen, who had been traveling incognito at the time, and she had decided to give him a chance to change his fate.
Could it be that once a person's identity changed, their thoughts changed immediately as well?
Dick Tywin said helplessly, "I just got married. Of course I didn't want to go to war, and I certainly didn't want to serve slave masters.
"But Dana's mother lost her status as a free citizen because she tried to blackmail a senior officer of the allied army. As a cook who was now a slave, she had to accompany the army on its campaign to Slaver's Bay.
"Dana was worried about her mother and cried every day. So I went to ask the allied officers about Kelly's situation, and by chance I ran into the Long-Nosed King recruiting elephant riders.
"My story of going from slave to free citizen had given me a bit of fame in Volantis. Gradually, people came to know and recognize my skill with elephants.
"The Long-Nosed King had heard about it. After personally testing my ability, he immediately recruited me as his guard and promised to arrange a good position for Kelly.
"If I achieved merit on the battlefield, I could even use my achievements to buy her freedom."
Dany frowned and thought for a moment before asking, "This Kelly… does she run a meat pie shop in western Volantis?
"It's along the Valyria Avenue. She mainly sells carrot-and-lamb pies, and she has a cousin who used to be the owner of your carriage business."
The long-faced young man widened his eyes in disbelief. "Your Majesty, you know Kelly?"
That plump woman had even slaughtered her for five gold honors!
"What did she do to be punished and turned into a slave?" Dany asked curiously.
"The allied army often travels along Valyria Avenue when marching toward Slaver's Bay, and Kelly's lamb pie shop sits right beside the road. Mercenaries and officers from all over the world frequently stop by her shop.
"For some reason, Kelly, who had always been shrewd and experienced, suddenly became extremely greedy. Whenever she realized the customers were outsiders, she would charge outrageous prices.
"Two trained horses, two meat pies, four bottles of Arbor wine, and a packet of snacks, and she dared to demand seven gold honors!
"The wine was even fake.
"The customers were from the famous Windblown Company. They immediately arrested her and sent her to the army's enforcement officer, who reduced her to slavery according to the law."
"Heh." Dany laughed rather unkindly.
After laughing for a while under the puzzled gazes of the others, she finally asked about the main matter.
"Can you find Prince Leo inside the worm tunnels? Or did Prince Leo make any arrangements that would allow you to locate him?"
"Your Majesty, I am skilled at handling elephants and know them very well. I can track the herd by their droppings, footprints, and scent.
"Where the herd is, that is where Prince Leo will be. After the Long-Nosed King died, he became the commander of the elephant riders."
When he said the last sentence, Dick Tywin's expression became somewhat strange.
"That method is quite good," Dany praised him, then asked, "How long would it take to find the herd?"
"It mainly depends on how far I am from them. If they're about twenty kilometers away, even without counting the time spent searching, it would still take two or three days just to walk there," the long-faced young man said helplessly.
"The village south of the city that was attacked by dragon worms should have found the worm tunnels by now, right?" Dany looked at Layla.
"I've also arranged for people to bury water jars nearby to listen for movements underground," the lord of Meereen replied with a nod.
Dany stood up abruptly, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
"Set out immediately. We will eliminate the last hidden danger in Slaver's Bay."
"Your Majesty, there are too many uncertainties in the worm tunnels. If you run into an ambush, no matter how strong you are, you would not be a match for the dragon worms in such a narrow space," old Aemon hurriedly advised.
"That is not wrong. Before, I certainly would not have dared to enter the worm tunnels personally. But things are different now. I have a way to protect myself," Dany said with a smile.
Seeing her full of confidence, old Aemon felt half relieved but continued to persuade her.
"Even if you are confident, there is no need to be in such a hurry.
"Don't forget that tomorrow you are scheduled to go outside the city to inspect the living conditions of ordinary citizens, and the day after tomorrow you have a speech to give in the square."
"It is not as if entering the worm tunnels means finding Jenny in a single attempt. Tomorrow I can ride a dragon back. Or we can simply move the inspection location to a village near the worm tunnels."
Dany acted swiftly. She fitted Little Silver Horse with a special saddle and had Big Black carry it as they flew seventy kilometers away to "Cuckoo Village."
Layla Amber and fifteen other wyvern riders each brought three armored knights.
Including Dany and Dick Tywin, there were sixty-two people in total.
"Ah, Khaleesi! I didn't expect you to come in person!"
As soon as the dragon landed on the estate's threshing ground, an old horseman with a gray-streaked braid hurried over.
The old man was short and thin. His reddish-brown face looked like a shriveled orange drained of water, and his toothless mouth split into an ugly, fawning smile.
Aside from replacing his worn Dothraki vest with a brand-new and tidy sheepskin coat, the scene was almost exactly the same as before.
Dany felt momentarily dazed. Scenes from several years ago in the Red Waste flashed quickly through her mind.
"Avanti…" After thinking for a moment, she suddenly realized. "I remember now. Cuckoo Village is your fief."
Even Count Broken Chains had been granted land, so the Dragon Queen certainly would not neglect those old retainers who had followed her out of the wasteland.
The three cities of Slaver's Bay were all directly administered territories of the Queen. South of HLJ, especially in Meereen and Astapor, a full county system had been implemented.
From Meereen northwest to the edge of the northern grasslands, and west to the border of Mantarys, the great nobles under her command were allowed by the Dragon Queen to freely choose between the county system and the feudal system.
Even the garrison system of the Great Ming dynasty had hereditary offices and land. The Dragon Queen also had her own direct knights, and they all needed land to support themselves and to pass down their family lines.
In the HLJ river basin, she divided the land into many small knightly domains, one of which belonged to Afanti.
Horsemen, slaves, and foreign knights formed the three main components of the Dragon Queen's forces. Maintaining a certain balance among the three would be more beneficial for her rule. No, that is not quite right. It would be beneficial for the rule of Simba's descendants.
The Great Ancestor did not need to play with schemes and intrigues. Everything was done for the sake of future generations.
"Yes, yes, my fief is right here in this area. Sigh, those damned Valyrians. The sun is already gone, so why are they still stirring up trouble?"
"By the way, Khaleesi, do you know when the sun will come out again? I do not have many years left. I only hope to see the summer sun one last time before I die," the old horseman sighed.
Your ambition really is not small. You actually want to live until the next summer. How many years would that take?
In any case, she had absolutely no confidence that she could summon the sun within ten years.
"You are still strong in your old age. Living another twenty years would be no problem. In twenty years, the Long Night will surely be over," Dany said casually, comforting her old subordinate.
When they arrived at the entrance of the manor, three horsewomen in their forties or fifties greeted the Dragon Queen with cheerful smiles.
"Khaleesi, it truly makes us happy that you can come to our home."
Beside them were two small horse-children about two or three years old, one boy and one girl.
They looked nothing like Afanti's children, yet they very seriously followed the customs of the horse people and addressed her as "Khaleesi."
Afanti waved his hand and ordered his wives, "Go to the stables and bring sixty-one fine horses. Khaleesi is not here as a guest. If the dragon worms are not dealt with, this land will not have peace for even a single day."
The feudal system in Slaver's Bay was also different from that of Westeros. Every feudal lord held one or more positions in service to the monarch.
Take Afanti for example. As the feudal lord of this land, in addition to traditional obligations such as serving in the army with his own provisions and paying taxes to the king, he also had to manage a ranch for the Dragon Queen.
The ranch was located within his fief. The cost of pasture, labor, and other production expenses were all provided by him. However, when the nearby relay stations needed warhorses or trained mounts, Afanti had to supply them free of charge.
Another example was Count Broken Chains. Even though he was considered a "great noble" in Slaver's Bay, though quite ordinary by Westerosi standards, he still had to repair and protect the highway running from Meereen to the Dothraki Sea within his territory. However, he was not allowed to set up checkpoints on the road to collect tolls.
The highway belonged to the kingdom.
To put it plainly, those nobles carried the title of feudal lords in name, but in reality they were more like hereditary county magistrates or prefects. A large portion of the production from their lands had to be contributed to the kingdom. In essence, they served the state rather than the king.
To a certain extent, Slaver's Bay had achieved a centralized system of "strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches."
Before long, Afanti's three wives and more than twenty horseman couriers led over a group of sturdy horses fitted with saddles and bridles.
The Dragon Queen planned to explore the worm tunnels on horseback. Her own mount had been brought over by Big Black, while the other sixty-one warhorses had to be supplied by the relay station.
The relay station system in Slaver's Bay began in Astapor. At that time, in order to ensure effective control over the villages outside the city, one of the measures taken was to connect all the villages through horseman relay stations.
Later, when Yunkai and Meereen came under control and the Battle of Meereen ended in a great victory, the aging horseman warriors gradually retired and became couriers in Slaver's Bay.
In addition to delivering packages and letters, conveying the queen's orders to the countryside, and helping village chiefs send reports to their superiors or even directly to the queen, they also assisted village militias in capturing bandits and thieves.
"Khaleesi, I know this area very well. Let me go with you," Afanti said, patting his chest as he volunteered.
"You may know the surface, but we are going underground. There will definitely be fighting. You should stay home and watch the children," Dany said with a wave of her hand.
She then led sixty fully armed knights away from Afanti's home.
The worm tunnel was located in the center of the village, within the ruins of collapsed brick houses. The houses had caved in when the dragon worms attacked.
The village militia had already cleared a path there.
The tunnel was about three meters wide on average, so walking inside it did not feel cramped.
"Caw, caw, caw." A series of dark shadows flew out from Dany's purple eyes and transformed into eighty-one large crows.
"Go. Search for passages where the fire element is more concentrated and the temperature is highest. Also pay attention to smells in the air. If you find excrement or traces of human or animal activity, notify me immediately."
"Caw, caw, caw." Seventy-nine of the large crows cried out once and silently disappeared into the dark tunnel ahead.
"Boom!" The remaining two turned into fireballs the size of plates. One floated among the cavalry in the middle of the formation, and the other hovered at the very front.
"Hurry up!" Dany frowned as she urged Dick Tywin, who had frozen in place.
"Ah, yes." The long-faced young man cast an awed glance at the Dragon Queen and quickly spurred his horse forward.
"Your Majesty, did you go to the continent of Sothoryos again? You actually picked up so many little sprites. Are there really that many there?" Layla exclaimed repeatedly as she looked at the baby-faced little suns floating above.
"There are many. They come in groups, just like radishes in a field. I picked up two thousand of them at once. My pockets could not hold any more, so I came back," Dany said expressionlessly.
(End of chapter)
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