The Mountain said, "Lord Petyr Baelish, all the nobles in the Westerlands have suggested to the Duke that he kill the Mountain, but the Duke did not do so. Instead, he made me the general of his five hundred guards cavalry. The Duke also used me for border patrols, quelling noble disputes, and foreign affairs exchanges, regarding me as his most trusted subordinate."
"The Martell family of Dorne once sent an envoy to demand that the Duke cut off my head and send it to Dorne. Then Dorne went to negotiate a peace with the Westerlands. The Duke ignored the Martell family's request. To protect me, the Duke has been at odds with the Martell family for sixteen years, and this will continue."
"I am one of the two types of people the Duke will not kill: loyal! I am absolutely loyal to the Duke. If you want the Duke's forgiveness, then offer him your loyalty."
Littlefinger Petyr immediately knelt on one knee and swore allegiance to Lord Tywin Lannister in the name of his family and the Seven.
Lord Tywin Lannister looked at Petyr Littlefinger and said calmly, "Lord Petyr Baelish, I will protect anyone who is loyal to me to the end, just like Gregor Clegane."
"Yes, Your Grace, I will follow you from this day forward, be loyal to you, and be willing to give my life if necessary!" Littlefinger declared emphatically. This was not the time to be reserved.
Lord Tywin Lannister remained expressionless; no one knew what he truly thought about Littlefinger's oath of allegiance, or how much trust he actually had.
The Mountain said, "There is another type of person Your Grace will not kill: those who are useful."
"Ser Gregor Clegane is of great use to me," Tywin said. "Lord Petyr Baelish, are you of any use to me other than your loyalty?"
"I believe I am of great use to His Excellency the Duke. From now on, His Excellency will have me as a retainer among the most important courtiers in King's Landing," Littlefinger said.
"Lord Petyr Baelish, from now on you must wholeheartedly complete the tasks I have assigned you, and I will give you the castle and fiefdom you desire. For example, Lady Tanda's territory and castle, if you want them, I can give them to you."
"..." Little Finger was speechless.
"Although Loris is mentally challenged and two years older than you, it would be a very worthwhile deal to marry her and gain Stokeworth's castle and lands."
"Your Grace, the heir to Stokeworth Castle is Faris Stokeworth, Loris's sister, and her husband is Sir Balmain Bage. They have been married for ten years and have been living in Stokeworth Castle. With the passing of their mother Tanda, Faris is the rightful heir to the castle and the estate."
"Faris and Sir Balman have no children," Duke Tywin said unhurriedly.
"But they are both very young, and they could also adopt a child."
"No, Ser Petyr, you're overthinking it," Duke Tywin said calmly. "If you want it, I can give it to you. Once you have your castle and territory, I don't believe Lord Petyr can't handle this problem with a simpleton like Loris."
Duke Tywin is trying to bribe me!
Littlefinger's heart skipped a beat, but a chill ran through him. The Duke was offering him Stokworth Castle and lands, which meant he would kill Loris and her husband without leaving a trace. The Duke's cruelty sent a shiver down Littlefinger's spine. That was the King's lands, and Countess Tanta was a courtier of the royal family. The Duke was demonstrating his power and issuing a warning to Littlefinger: "Your Grace, I am willing to marry Loris."
Lord Tywin nodded slightly, ceasing the conversation about House Tanda: "Lord Petyr, you must either be loyal to me or be useful to me. I need you to prove your loyalty or your usefulness. After you return to King's Landing, I want you to keep a close eye on Varys. I want to know if there are any other noble forces behind him."
Lord Tywin has determined that Varys is not loyal to King Robert. He is also clearly not loyal to the Lannisters in the Westerlands, so to whom is he loyal? Or is he, like Littlefinger, loyal only to himself?
"Yes, Your Grace." Littlefinger secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought Tywin had ordered him to poison King Robert. Being a kingslayer was a stain and infamy for life, and the chances of being held accountable afterward were too high. Jaime Lannister, the kingslayer, was merely an exception.
"Can you bribe Genos Slynt, the commander-in-chief of King's Landing's garrison?"
"Without any effort, Your Grace."
"Why wasn't the corrupt Genos dismissed by the honest and shrewd Prime Minister Jon Arryn? I heard that the Prime Minister tried very hard to get Genos dismissed, but in the end he failed."
"King Robert profits from Genos's corruption," Littlefinger said. "More than half of the money Genos makes from buying and selling official positions goes secretly into King Robert's hands."
This is a secret that even Prime Minister Jon Snow didn't know during his lifetime, but Littlefinger does.
Tywin knew immediately that Littlefinger was telling the truth.
"What about the other officers in the garrison?"
"Burying them all is a piece of cake." Littlefinger flashed his signature mischievous smile.
Lord Tywin Lannister stared at Littlefinger for a long while before slowly saying, "The Mountain, have Maester Potter take Lord Petyr Baelish to dinner, and have the maester provide Lord Petyr with a knife and fork."
"Yes, Your Grace."
*
In the study, there were the Mountain and Lord Tywin Lannister.
"Sir Gregor, I need you to send men to the Riverlands to cause some serious damage. What's your idea? But we can't let Duke Horst of the Riverlands know that it was us."
Lord Tywin Lannister believed that the Mountain possessed an innate talent for doing bad things and subduing villains.
"In half a month, the rice on the plains of the Riverlands will ripen. If we set fire to the plains, we will burn down Duke Horst's grain reserves for the year and deal a heavy blow to his people on the plains."
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Lord Tywin Lannister remained expressionless, but inwardly he felt quite pleased.
War is about to break out, and burning the enemy's food supplies is the best way to strike them in peacetime. No wonder Tywin Lannister is considered the most wicked man in the Seven Kingdoms; whenever he's made to do something bad, he always manages to please Lord Tywin.
"In half a month, the king and prime minister's army will arrive at the Green Fork River in the Reach. You will set it on fire. Your distinctive size will make you easy to spot."
"No, Your Grace. I will take the finest wines and delicacies from the Westerlands to Green Fork to present to King Robert and Chancellor Eddard. The King enjoys gambling, so I will also present him with a bag of our minted gold coins to express the Westerlands' respect and affection for the King."
"When will you set fire to the grain?"
"I will find a tall soldier to impersonate me and lead the brothers to set fire to the grain on the plains, but they will leave traces of being soldiers under the banner of Tyrell in the Reach. Their retreat route will also lead them entirely into the territory of Tyrell in the Reach."
Lord Tywin Lannister's face hardened: "Sir Gregor, your idea is excellent! However, I must remind you that while training the troops, you should also accelerate the minting of coins. I've thought it over. Since the Seven Kingdoms are about to fall into chaos, the gold mines in our western territories that we hand over to King's Landing will decrease every day. We need to secretly add another mint."
"Yes, Your Grace."
In peacetime, the Mountain was made the scapegoat for minting coins; but since peace was bound to end and civil war was about to begin, the Duke decided to take matters into his own hands and refused to let the Mountain manage the minting anymore. He decided that the Mountain could mint his own small amount of gold coins, and the Duke secretly decided to open a larger and more complete mint for his gold mine.
To hand over the gold mines in the West to the state, all that's needed is a letter to the Treasurer, Petyr Baelish, stating that the gold mines in the West have drastically decreased, and everything will fall into place. Besides, Lord Petyr Baelish is dining in this very restaurant!
Well, after Littlefinger finished eating, the Duke decided to take Littlefinger and the Mountain back to Clegane Village. He wanted to hear the witch's advice first and hoped to use her prophecy to plan his next move, which was very important!
"Sir Gregor, go and inform my treasurer to prepare a thousand gold dragons and bring them to the hall."
"Yes, Your Grace."
A thousand gold dragons—a huge sum—but for Lord Tywin Lannister, with the gold mines in the Westerlands nearly exhausted, a thousand gold dragons was still insignificant.