A few days later.
Myr, Dancing Street.
Situated in the western district of the city-state, the area was small and cramped, favoring the convergence of the largest number of slave groups.
As far as the eye could see, the grayish-white rotten buildings were densely packed, resembling a messy beehive.
"Keep order, don't cut in line!"
Near noon, hundreds of Unsullied soldiers split into two lines to maintain a long queue of slaves.
The number of slaves stretched far into the distance, all lined up in rags, many dragging their families along.
Thanks to the loose layout of this slum, several similar lines extended outward, each guarded by specialized Unsullied soldiers.
At first glance, it looked like a distribution of free porridge.
In reality, it was not.
At the front of the line, a dark-skinned slave held a four-sided stone plaque in his hand, dancing with excitement.
"Plaque, I have a plaque!"
The shout was so loud that he wished for everyone to hear it.
The slaves around him didn't reject it but instead cast envious and expectant eyes.
"Next, what's in hand?"
A stone table was set up at the end, and an elderly slave in coarse linen clothes buried his head, asking the next slave in line his usual question.
The man was thin, his skin darkened from the sun, and he cowered under the questioning.
Humbly, he spoke, "Stonemason, I used to repair palaces for slave owners."
The elderly slave raised his eyes and pulled out a triangular stone tablet from a basket at his feet with his large, dry hand, asking for details of his name and age.
The skinny slave told the truth and was also careful to name his hometown before being trafficked.
"That doesn't need to be known, from now on you are all citizens of Myr."
The elderly slave's voice was raspy as he used a special dye to write down the information on the stone tablet.
The stone tablet was then handed to a group of neighboring craftsmen.
Someone took the stone tablet, picked up a chisel and carving knife, and marked it according to the dye.
After a few moments, the stone tablet was formally handed over to the skinny slave.
Seeing the other person's excited expression, the elderly slave raised his eyebrows and asked, "The stonemason trade is short of people, two meals and half a copper star a day, do you want to do it?"
"Yes!" The skinny slave agreed in one breath, carrying the triangular stone tablet, and joined the team of craftsmen carving stone tablets on the spot.
The elderly slave was used to this and continued to ask the next slave for information.
The stonemasons stayed behind to work, the literate ones stayed with the healers, and the old, weak, women, and children returned the way they came.
The stone tags issued varied.
Common slaves were given squares, various types of craftsmen were given triangles, and healers were given circles.
Each stone tablet served as a piece of identification, recording name, age, and craftsmanship.
Holding it was the only way to completely get rid of slavery and become a full-fledged citizen of Myr.
...
The former site of the Magister's Mansion.
The large hole in the site of the Dragonlord has been completely sealed off, and the ruins have attracted a large number of workers freed from slavery to take care of the cleanup.
In a garden building, a white stone loft.
Rhaegar leaned against the wide floor-to-ceiling windows, holding a stone in one hand and carving with a knife in the other.
His hands, white as jade, moved deftly, sending shards of stone falling like snow as he carved a simple four-sided stone tablet.
Thud!
Casually tossed, the plaque fell into a nearby basket.
Rhaegar's expression remained unchanged as he continued to carve the next piece of stone.
He seemed like an emotionless stone carving machine.
Knock knock...
Across the lavishly decorated room, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in!"
Rhaegar's hand was a little sore, and he casually greeted the visitor.
Creak—
The door to the room pushed open, revealing Grey Worm in black armor.
Grey Worm tilted his head, straightened his non-existent collar for the sake of solemnity, and strutted into the bedroom.
Since the event a few days ago, the bloated, rusty machine that was Myr had been back up and running, and everything was thriving.
In particular, the entire city-state was in a positive mood as the former slave population had left slavery and moved closer to the Iron Throne as commoners.
Capturing the city-states, freeing the slaves, and establishing a new order...
Grey Worm, who was born as a slave, felt honored and glad that he had made the right decision and followed the right person.
Seeing that Grey Worm did not speak for half a day, Rhaegar dropped the engraved stone plaque and said, "Say something, or get to work."
A bit of awareness, I'm working and you come to stand around?
Although carving wasn't just about filling in gaps, it was also about sharpening one's skills.
"Ahem..."
Grey Worm's face reddened slightly with embarrassment. He coughed lightly twice to hide it and said, "Prince, there is a letter from Gulltown, from Lady Jeyne of Eyrie."
"Jeyne?"
Rhaegar was surprised and put down his carving knife.
Clang!
When the carving knife touched the marble floor, it made a crisp, pleasant sound, slicing through the marble like iron.
Rhaegar let out a "tsk," momentarily forgetting the sharpness of this tool again.
After several days of use, it had no special effect but was incredibly efficient.
Grey Worm stole a glance and pulled out a letter while gently suggesting, "The city has recruited enough stonemasons; you don't need to do this yourself."
The policy of identity stone tags had been proposed by the Prince, and was initially seen as a pie-in-the-sky, time-consuming, and tedious endeavor.
There was a saying in Tyrosh: for every word from a slave owner, a slave must be prepared to have his legs cut off.
Unexpectedly, the introduction of the identity stone plaques caused a great response, especially among the slave community. Everyone fought for it.
Even if Myr's slavery system was overthrown, the slaves who couldn't feed themselves still had doubts in their hearts, and they couldn't shake off the shadow of being enslaved for decades.
It was impossible to get rid of the lowly status they once had.
Rhaegar, familiar with history books, understood the importance of a sense of belonging.
Through fragmented images in his dreams, the concept of identity stone tags came to mind.
By issuing identity stone tags in the name of the Iron Throne, slaves who obtained them would no longer be slaves and could loudly proclaim themselves as legitimate citizens.
Although the essence was just a simple stone, it could fill the inferiority in a slave's heart.
At the same time, it created unimaginable cohesion through the stone tablet.
The effect was similar to the unified coinage system of Westeros, where one knew the origin of the coin as soon as it was used.
Slaves holding the stone tablets were very happy to shout that they from Myr.
Because they were no longer slaves.
Rhaegar listened to Grey Worm's admonition, acknowledged it, and murmured, "Instruct the stonemasons to speed up the progress and strive to carve stone tags that satisfy everyone. Increase the reward from half a copper to one."
The stone tags were important but only for a short period of time.
To maintain the effect, people still had to be sustained.
Myr was in a state of flux, and creating jobs allowed the poor to earn a living.
The food provided by the Iron Throne went back into their pockets.
Either way, this not only fueled the city-state's economy, but also increased the motivation of the former slaves.
Having seen the power of the prince's policies, Grey Worm had nothing to disobey and immediately said, "I will inform them."
"Remember to recycle the scattered coins and uniformly issue the new copper coins," Rhaegar reminded as he took the letter.
This was one downside of free trade city-states: the coinage system was scattered, and the coins introduced within the city-states did not circulate well.
As a trading city-state that traveled in all directions, there was no excuse for this.
But, during reconstruction, using the currency of Westeros as much as possible would help increase the sense of identity among the people.
When the harbor is redeveloped, one can consider starting a small bank solely owned by the Iron Throne to ease the pressure from the Iron Bank.
It was difficult to keep getting stuck with Braavos on the economic front.
Gray Worm nodded quickly, making a mental note to remember Rhaegar's instructions.
Rhaegar smiled and opened the letter sealed with red wax, saying, "No need to be nervous, the current atmosphere is just fine."
As a child witnessing the chaos in King's Landing, Rhaegar had longed to implement measures to establish order.
At the very least, he didn't want the displaced people from all over to flood into the city, causing overcrowding and a rise in crime.
Unfortunately, Westeros was rife with prejudice and resistance to change, giving him little opportunity to act.
Myr, however, was a different story. Here, he had the freedom to implement his ideas.
The introduction of identity stone tablets provided the people with status symbols, effectively discouraging outsiders.
The information on the stone tablets was also crucial, mapping out the identities of craftsman, healers, religious figures, and so on.
These people were hidden talents, essential for forming the new system.
Grey Worm, relieved but maintaining his serious demeanor, reported on recent affairs in the city, both large and small.
Rhaegar intended to use this period to establish a new system in Myr, with the initial goal of strengthening centralization.
Westeros operated under a feudal system, with power scattered like a bowl of rotten porridge.
In contrast, Myr had only one city-state, providing an opportunity for the unification of governmental orders.
Rhaegar listened attentively to Grey Worm's report while reading Jeyne's letter with a good mood.
The last time he saw Jeyne was in Gulltown.
The general process included burning the Braavos fleet, disciplining Aegon, and reorganizing defenses.
They even found time to get intimate.
As he read the letter, Rhaegar's expression changed several times.
[Braavos has hired a fleet for the second time, and it has joined with Qohor to buy off the Dothraki cavalry; they are preparing to attack Pentos].
"Braavos is still relentless," Rhaegar muttered, furrowing his brows.
Since their failed surprise attack, Braavos had shifted from overt actions to covert ones, providing Dorn with food and weapons, inciting riots in Myr, and hiring mercenaries to provoke conflicts in the Stepstones Islands.
All these actions made it increasingly difficult to bring the war to a close.
" If you dare come, you will die!" Rhaegar said coldly, his attention returning briefly to the letter as he continued to study it.
At the end of the letter, a handwritten note from Jeyne contained only a few sentences. Rhaegar's gaze intensified as he absorbed each word, his expression changing subtly with each line.
Meanwhile, Grey Worm continued his report, unaware of Rhaegar's growing distraction. "The repairs to the harbor are complete, and Lady Karl has rebuilt the dye factory. She has also applied for port trade development."
In Myr, three temporary representatives had been appointed to represent the slaves, the commoners, and the old nobility. Karl, from the servile faction of the old nobility, focused on Myr's specialty in textiles, especially cloth and lace.
As Grey Worm spoke, he noticed Rhaegar's wavering attention and lowered his voice, "Prince, are you alright?"
Rhaegar, snapping out of his reverie, lifted the letter with a grin. "Good, very good!" he exclaimed. The sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows illuminated the letter, making the thin pages nearly transparent and the words almost indistinct.
Flipping the letter back and forth, Rhaegar's smile grew wider, barely containable.
Observing this, Grey Worm ventured cautiously, "Something good?"
"Nonsense," Rhaegar replied with a grin that contradicted his dismissive words. "Go down, contact Pentos first, then send a message to Tyrosh."
Braavos' intention to attack Pentos, an ally under the Iron Throne, was problematic, but Rhaegar was not eager for a confrontation. Recent reports indicated that Daemon had finally subdued the Tyrosh rebels and was preparing to bolster their defenses.
Don't think that you can have a free city and not make a contribution to the cause.
Grey Worm, his face a mask of dutiful solemnity, nodded and exited.
(Word count: 2,109)