Chapter 242
In fact, Cersei didn't think about pacifying the country before fighting against foreign enemies. She just wanted the gold and food in Highgarden.
Yes, the Iron Throne's finances are broken.
The most fatal thing is that the gold mines in the West have also run out of money, which means that the Lannister family can no longer relieve the pressure on the Iron Throne. Now the Iron Throne can't even afford to support the capital garrison.
At this point, Cersei has only two options.
First, raise a free army to help him deal with Jack Poseidon.
Second, take over High Court, borrow money from the Iron Bank, gather troops, use diplomacy and hire mercenaries to fight against Jack Poseidon.
But given that Poseidon's family has four dragons, oh no, now there are only three, so Cersei decided to merge the two paths and go at the same time.
"I think we can start with Highgarden. The Tyrell family is fickle and has no credibility at all."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at the current Sea Lord Euron Greyjoy.
Everyone was disdainful in their hearts. Everyone had the right to say this, except Euron. How could you, Euron, say that others were fickle?
However, they did not dare to speak out their thoughts. After all, the iron fleet in Euron's hands was not a threat.
What's more, Euron is mentally ill and cruel by nature, so they naturally dare not provoke Euron.
Euron wanted to take action against the Tyrells, of course not because the Tyrells were really fickle, nor was it for Cersei's sake. He simply wanted to seize the ships of the Arbor fleet and the vast wealth of Highgarden.
Now Cersei has the final say in the entire private meeting. Since she has already made up her mind, there will naturally be no accidents. Finally, after the private meeting, it was decided to put forward conditions to Highgarden first. If they do not agree, then go to war directly.
At this time, Euron's Iron Fleet was stationed on Dragonstone. He was originally planning to directly attack White Harbor after going to war with the Poseidon family. After all, it was impossible to take down Moat Cailin.
But now I'm afraid I have to go to the River Bend to get a piece of the pie.
After the royal meeting, Cersei came to the slums of King's Landing with a team of guards.
Looking at the feces, garbage and barefoot and naked refugees everywhere, Cersei showed an extremely disgusted look on her face.
Covering her mouth and nose, Cersei quickened her pace and found the target person of this trip, the High Sparrow, in a building.
The High Sparrow, a tall, thin, hard-eyed, grey-haired man with prominent wrinkles on his face.
Unlike his predecessors, he wore no ornate robes, exquisite crystal crowns, or gold thread, but only a plain, plain woolen knee-length tunic.
He is extremely devout in his faith and his will is as strong as steel.
According to Maester Koben's report, after the previous archbishop was killed, the archbishops entered the election process. As a result, during the election, the Sparrows rushed into the meeting place with axes raised and the High Sparrow on their shoulders. The frightened archbishops surrendered and chose the High Sparrow as the new archbishop.
After taking office, the High Sparrow began to sell off the church's property, including the golden tiara, the archbishop's crystal crown, fine clothing and gold.
All the money he earned was used to buy food for the sparrows and the poor, while he himself wore a simple woolen robe and required other monks to wear the same.
When Cersei arrived, the High Sparrow was carrying a wooden barrel and distributing porridge to the poor and sparrows. Everyone who received the porridge had gratitude and enthusiasm in their eyes.
"Well, Your Majesty, why are you in the dirty slums?" The High Sparrow had already noticed Cersei.
To be exact, he knew when Cersei entered the slums that the entire slums were his sparrows.
The High Sparrow also had some guesses about the purpose of Cersei's visit. If nothing unexpected happened, the opportunity for the church to rise again would come.
In the past, Jaehaerys I used his powerful family power and dragons to force the church to disband its armed forces. Now it's time to take them back!
"Are you the High Sparrow? I have something to ask you, but this place is too disgusting."
Cersei frowned slightly. Unlike in the original drama, Cersei did not have to rely on the High Sparrow to provide her with military strength at this time. She just wanted to set up a free "Capital Guard".
"High Sparrow? What a funny name, just as ridiculous as Master Duck and King Turtle. It's really..." The High Sparrow shook his head.
"We can never get rid of the names or nicknames given to us by others. High Sparrow, what a common name. Some people can never understand that everyone is equal in front of the Seven Gods and belittle me."
"May the Seven Gods bless you, why are you not wearing shoes?" Then Cersei discovered that the High Sparrow was not wearing shoes either.
"May the Seven Gods bless you, my dear. I do not think the High Sparrow is derogatory." As he spoke, the High Sparrow served another person a bowl of porridge. "I gave my shoes to those in need. We all do this. Only in this way can we remember who we really are."
"Do you know why I came to you?" Cersei looked at the High Sparrow, and a proud look returned to her face.
"I don't know, and I dare not speculate." The High Sparrow looked at the arrogant Cersei, and had already begun to think about how to control King's Landing.
"Royalty and divine authority are the two pillars that support the world. If either of them collapses, the world will cease to exist."
The High Sparrow said nothing, but handed out pieces of hard black bread while waiting for Cersei to continue.
Cersei felt that she had taken control of the situation, so she continued, "How much do you know about the situation in the North?"
"Not much. I arrived in King's Landing very early. I heard that dragons have returned to Westeros?"
An inexplicable light flashed in the High Sparrow's eyes. He didn't know much about the North. The only places he knew about were churches and slums.
"The current dragon-riding family is no longer Targaryen, but Poseidon. The Poseidon family now has three dragons, and they brought the belief in the sea god. The people in the North no longer believe in the old gods. Do you understand what I mean?"
The High Sparrow's face changed slightly. He didn't expect that the Poseidon family actually brought another belief and eliminated the old god belief in the North!
"Are you sure that the people in the North no longer believe in the old gods?" The High Sparrow couldn't believe it.
In his impression, the people of the North have believed in the old gods for thousands of years. How could they change their beliefs in just a few years?
Cersei sneered, pointed at the black bread in the High Sparrow's hand and said:
"The North has experienced three major wars, and there are many more refugees there than in King's Landing. You can make them grateful by just giving them some black bread and porridge, but do you know what Jack Poseidon did?"
"What did he do?" The High Sparrow's face began to look unhappy.
"After arriving in the North, Jack Poseidon quickly lowered the price of food, and then promised that as long as you listen to the missionary's sermon for an hour, you can get a piece of bread, a black bread without sand and bran.
Later, he simply built many churches in the north, and each church had a Guild of Divine Mercy.
The God's Mercy Guild sells a variety of food, but the price is less than half of the normal price, and only believers who are familiar with the church's philosophy can buy from this God's Mercy Guild."
(End of this chapter)