Apart from this dilapidated fishing village and the castle where the lord lives, the only other place on Dragonstone is the military port where the royal fleet is parked, and the royal fleet is also nominally owned by King Robert.

This means that after the end of the Reaver War, all Stannis "gained" was a castle inherited by the Targaryen family for three hundred years and a small fishing village.

The meager amount of fish caught by the fishermen on the island can provide almost zero tax revenue for the Duke of Dragonstone. This is even difficult for an ordinary knight to support, let alone a dignified Duke of the Seven Kingdoms.

From this we can imagine how difficult life is for Stannis's family on Dragonstone Island.

Although Stannis serves as the Lord of the Sea in the Royal Council, all the princes in the Strait are theoretically under his jurisdiction. But the problem is that not all the "lords of the Strait" in this Strait will obey.

His orders from Stannis.

Coastal lords with a little bit of strength tend to choose to be loyal to the great lords on land. For example, the Tarth family on Tarth Island, their allegiance is to the Duke of Storm's End in the Stormlands; and Seagull Town in the Vale.

The Grafson family is currently loyal to the Duke of the Eagle's Nest in the Erin Valley, that is, Gao Yuan himself.

Therefore, those who are really under the rule of Stannis are just small island owners scattered along the strait. The total population of these scattered islands is probably not more than 30,000.

How is it possible that this could provide Stannis with a significant amount of troops, taxes, and resources?

Even the troops and funds for the royal fleet are provided by the king and the Royal Council. With Stannis's current taxes and resources, they are simply not enough to support such a large fleet.

After the Reaver War, Robert authorized Stannis to establish a royal navy to conquer Dragonstone, the last stronghold and stronghold of the Targaryen family.

When Stannis led the Royal Navy to conquer Dragonstone, Robert granted the desert island to Stannis, but handed over the richer original family fief of Storm's End to their minors at the time.

Third brother - Renly Baratheon.

According to Bronze Yohn, Robert Baratheon became disheartened after losing his beloved Anna Stark, and planned to remain unmarried for the rest of his life and pass his throne to his younger brother Stannis.

If the rumors are true, then there may be no problem for Robert to follow the Targaryen tradition and make the heir to the throne the Duke of Dragonstone.

But the actual situation is that under Jon Arryn's strong persuasion and arrangement, Robert later married Cersei of the Lannister family. And after the marriage, the two gave birth to a child with a higher height.

The priority heirs of the Baratheon family, the two princes Joffrey and Tommen.

Originally, Stannis was bitter about Robert's sequestration of him to Dragonstone. When Robert's "son" Joffrey was born, the Duke of Dragonstone, who knew he could not inherit the throne, did not care at all.

To hide his dissatisfaction with Robert.

Since then, Stannis has asked his brother for his rights to the Stormlands more than once. From the perspective of the succession order of Storm's End, this is undoubtedly a reasonable and reasonable request. As the Baratheon family

Robert, the eldest son, became the king, and Stannis, the second son, should inherit the title of Duke of Storm's End.

But Robert ignored these reasonable demands of his. Although he also appointed Stannis as the sea minister in the royal council and handed over the entire large and powerful royal fleet to his management, this

Still considered an insult by Stannis.

During the Reaver War, Renly Baratheon, who was only five years old and had no merit at all, finally became the heir to Storm's End and the Baratheon family, and ruled the family's traditional territory of the Stormlands.

On the other hand, Stannis is well-known for his stubbornness and perseverance. He was still a minor during the War of the Reavers, but he led his family's vassals to defend Storm's End and held back Highgarden, the main force of the royal party.

The army lasted for a year. At the end of the war, he also led the newly formed Royal Navy to conquer Dragonstone, the last stronghold of the Targaryen family.

When it comes to his contribution to the victory of that war, he is probably no less than Eddard Stark who led the army to sweep away the royalists. But what did Stannis get in the end? Not only did he lose the family he was supposed to inherit.

The territory of Storm's End was even "sent" by Robert to the barren Dragonstone Island.

Although Stannis has always served his brother loyally, Robert has not given him a reward that is worthy of his merits. Far from being grateful, Robert has withstood Tyrell's attack on Wind Breath under extremely difficult conditions.

The siege of the fort held back the main force of the royal party for a year.

Instead, he went to thank Eddard Stark for leading his troops to relieve the siege of Storm's End.

Robert didn't even acknowledge his contribution to conquering Dragonstone. Instead, he blamed him for letting go of the two remnants of the Targaryen family - Viserys and Daenerys. Even though Stannis's new warship had just arrived at that time.

It had just been built, and the two Targaryens had escaped long before he conquered Dragonstone.

Although Stannis did his best to help Jon Arryn govern the country, his efforts were ignored by the king himself. No matter how broad-minded and loyal a person is, he will inevitably feel resentful and intolerable.

.

The sailboat carrying Gao Yuan and others slowly docked in a port full of warships. Before they could get off the ship and set foot on Dragonstone Island, there were already people waiting for them on the dock.

Gao Yuan was not surprised by this. He must have sent the letter via raven from King's Landing to the Lord Stannis here, so he sent someone to wait at the port early to greet them.

people.

"Welcome to Dragonstone Island, Lord Gao Yuan!" The person responsible for welcoming Gao Yuan walked towards him. His footsteps were a little heavy, and every time he set foot, he would make a creaking sound on the decaying wooden pier.

The person who came here is quite thin and his appearance is quite mediocre. His humble background makes him have a very different temperament from Bronze John and others who were born into nobles.

Hanging from his shoulders was a green cloak that had been corroded by sea salt and had long since faded from its original color due to long-term exposure to the sun.

Under the cloak are two brown linen coats and trousers, which match his brown eyes and hair. There is also a small shabby leather bag hanging on a belt around his neck. His beard is already covered with white silk, and he is disabled.

He wore a leather glove on his left hand, which looked obviously half shorter than an ordinary person's.

The visitor stopped in front of Gao Yuan and stretched out his left hand to him. Looking at the other person and his own stretched out left hand, Gao Yuan noticed that the last knuckles of the four fingers on the other person's left hand had been amputated. Seeing this, he

He immediately knew the identity of the man in front of him. It was the Onion Knight who saved Lord Stannis by smuggling food during the siege of Storm's End - Ser Davos Sears.

"My lord, I thought you would come earlier." Sir Davos saluted him briefly, "I forgot to introduce myself to you, my lords. I am Sir Davos from the Sis family in Cape Wrath.

, my Lord Stannis sent me to come to the dock to greet you."

"Nice to meet you, Sir Davos!" Gao Yuan generously stretched out his hand to hold the other party's disabled left hand, "Our ship suddenly encountered a strange Gulf Stream last night, so it was delayed for some time on the way. Since Shi

Lord Tanis is already waiting for us in the castle, so Sir Davos, please lead the way for us."

"Please follow me, Lord Gao Yuan!" Sir Davos nodded towards everyone, and then walked in front to lead Gao Yuan and the others to Stannis's castle.

"I didn't expect you, my lords, would encounter the dangerous Gulf Stream in Blackwater Bay. I really don't know if you are lucky or unlucky. You must know that this is not Shipbreaker Bay where the Gulf Stream is everywhere. Gulf Streams are very rare in this Blackwater Bay. Many people go out to sea.

I'm afraid I'll never meet fishermen and sailors like this once in my life..." On the way to the castle, Sir Davos took the initiative to chat with them.

It is said that "Shortfinger" Davos's ability to sail at night is unparalleled in the world. Before Lord Stannis knighted him, he was the most notorious and unpredictable smuggler in the Seven Kingdoms. He

It was even able to deliver food to the besieged Storm's End despite the heavy blockade of Highgarden's army.

"Listening to what you said, Sir Davos, you must have encountered the Gulf Stream many times at sea, right?" Bronze Yohn followed behind Gao Yuan and asked.

"Before following Lord Stannis to Dragonstone, I had been active on the sea in Shipwreck Bay. I think no one on this continent knows better than me the gulf currents that rage under the calm sea of ​​Shipwreck Bay.

"Ser Davos turned his head and told him, "You might as well tell your lord that before that, I had been engaged in smuggling business near Shipwreck Bay, but since Lord Stannis chopped off the end knuckles of the four fingers of my left hand.

, I have also changed my career and no longer engage in smuggling.”

"Ser Davos, Lord Stannis cut off the four end knuckles of yours. Why do you not only have no resentment against him, but you continue to stay by his side and work for him..." The youngest among them

Sir Anda asked.

But when he was halfway there, he suddenly realized that he should not sow discord between Ser Davos and his family in front of him.

"Resentment? How is this possible!" Sir Davos showed the leather bag hanging on his chest to everyone, "I regard this left hand that has lost the end knuckles as my own medal of honor, and I regard them as being able to protect my family.

Lucky charm.”

"And Lord Stannis has done me a big favor by doing this. The loss of four fingers also saved me a lot of time in trimming my nails..."

Under the leadership of Sir Davos, Gao Yuan and others soon arrived in front of the castle on Dragonstone Island. The castle on Dragonstone Island was made of black stone, and its towers were carved in the shape of dragons. It was rumored that this castle

It was built using advanced Valyrian masonry technology. This technology was now lost in the Doomsday, making it unique among the many castles in Westeros.

Entering the castle, they walked slowly along the corridor, passing through a row of tall arched windows. The broad field of vision allowed Gao Yuan to have a panoramic view of the outer courtyard of the castle, the fishing village below, the military port crowded with ships, and the military barracks.

The archers in the yard were under the command of the captain, bending their bows and shooting arrows in unison at the target. The sound of their tail feathers swishing through the air was like the seabirds spreading their wings and fluttering that Gao Yuan heard when he was at the beach. On the passage of the city wall

, the guards with serious expressions were patrolling alternately.

Sir Davos climbed up the spiral staircase of the "Stone Drum Tower", followed closely by Gao Yuan and others who were visiting the castle for the first time. The Stone Drum Tower is the main castle of Dragonstone Island. Whenever a storm comes, its

A thunderous and drum-like roar can be heard from inside the ancient wall, hence the name of the Stone Drum Tower.

According to the Onion Knight, Duke Stannis is waiting for their arrival in the Round Table Hall on the "Stone Drum Tower". But to get there, they have to go through a long corridor and pass through the stone statue.

The black iron gate guarded by ghosts can be reached by passing through the two inner city walls and then climbing up the stairs.

When they finally came to the door of the Round Table Hall at the top, Bronze Yohn and others kept complaining behind Gao Yuan that this castle was really unfriendly to weak and invading enemies. Everywhere in the castle was narrow.

Corridors and steep stairs. Since they stepped into the gate of the castle, they have climbed at least nearly a thousand stairs.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Duke Gao Yuan, please come in." Sir Davos, who had just entered the round table hall and was reporting to Stannis, came to Gao Yuan and politely told him

. Then he looked at Bronze Yoen and others who were following Gao Yuan, "Other adults, please wait outside the door. My master said he only wants to talk to Mr. Gao Yuan."

"Sir Davos, what does your lord mean by this?" Count Yohn frowned and took a step forward and asked.

"I'm sorry, Lord Yorn..." Davos apologized to him sincerely.

Gao Yuan turned his head and gave Bronze Yohn a reassuring look, and then told the people following him: "You guys wait here... Lord Stannis has no ill intentions towards me."

Ser Davos led Gao Yuan and pushed the door open and walked into Lord Stannis Baratheon's hall. The hall was a wide circular room with walls made of black market. There were no other special or gorgeous decorations on the surrounding walls.

There are four tall narrow windows in the hall facing the southeast, northwest and four directions respectively.

There is a huge wooden table in the center of the hall, with an extremely detailed map of Westeros engraved on it. This is why the Round Table Hall is named. During the war of conquest, the conqueror Yin Geng used it to formulate the entire conquest plan.

A battle plan for a continent.

The "Map Table" is more than sixteen meters long, with the widest point about half of the length and the narrowest point only about one meter. The conqueror Yin Geng carved a map according to the topography of Westeros.

There are vivid bays and peninsulas, and no part of the entire table is straight.

The seven kingdoms of that era, all the mountains, rivers, towns and fortresses, lakes and forests of the seven kingdoms are described in great detail on the tabletop... You can see them all at a glance on the tabletop, glowing with the oily luster of nearly three hundred years of accumulation.
To be continued...