The more than two thousand years of feudal dynasty history in China and countless power games have verified a truth: in the game of power, everything can be conceded, except for the military power and the purse strings, which must be firmly grasped.
Leonor would not agree to a Tyrell becoming a High Knight, as that would mean two Tyrells in his Small Council. Their power would greatly increase, giving them direct command over their armies, which would be equivalent to handing over military power.
He could not tolerate someone else holding the military power, but in the current situation, he could allow the Tyrells to hold a bit of the gun's tail, provided they handed over the purse strings to him.
"Five regiments are too few," Olenna said, dissatisfied.
"Then how many do you want?" Leonor asked Olenna how many she wanted.
"At least give us twenty-five regiments," Olenna once again made an exorbitant demand. If they couldn't get the position of High Knight, then controlling the military strength of twenty-five regiments wouldn't be bad either.
"I only have thirty regiments at hand right now," Leonor rolled his eyes. Giving the Tyrells twenty-five regiments would be no different from handing over all military power.
"Then how many can you give us?" Olenna threw the question back. Since her words didn't count, then he should give a number himself!
"If you are willing to hand over your territory to me and allow me to send officials and bishops to govern the territory, I can give you five regiments," Leonor said, seeing Olenna's eyes rolling upward in the darkness, and quickly interrupted, "Don't rush to refuse. I'm giving you five regiments of troops."
"If you can hand over the territory and finances, then I can reserve ten regiments for you in the army I establish later."
Fifteen regiments. Olenna, hearing Leonor's allocation method, pondered for a moment and then offered new conditions:
"The Reach, except for the territories belonging to House Tyrell and House Redwyne, can all be handed over. Give us ten regiments of the existing army, and reserve twenty regiments for us in the future army."
"Only five from the existing army, and fifteen for the future. Highgarden and Arbor must all be given to me. You can keep the land tax, but the officials and bishops must be sent by me," Leonor directly shook his head.
"Ten regiments from the existing army, fifteen regiments for the future. We will be responsible for tax collection, and Your Majesty can send personnel to station as bishops," Olenna re-demanded.
"If House Tyrell has no sincerity, then let's forget about this matter!" Leonor immediately rejected. He was joking; handing over the territory but retaining the power to collect taxes was no different from not handing it over at all.
"Your Majesty, our family has thousands of people. If we hand over all the territory, what will we do in the future?" Olenna argued with Leonor, saying that they also needed to eat.
"I allow you to keep the land tax, so there will be no problem with eating. Your family members can serve as officers in the army later, or they can get stipends. Those who can be soldiers will have stipends, and those who don't can go farming!"
"We are nobles."
"Your family motto is 'Growing Strong,' doesn't that refer to crops? The Greyjoys are the ones who 'Do Not Sow,' and the Greyjoys didn't have a good ending," Leonor warned with a sneer.
"…"
So strong!
Olenna, facing the king whose attitude suddenly became tough, didn't know what to do.
"Madam, if you are tired, you should go back and rest first!" Leonor said, seeing Olenna not speaking, and decided to put the matter aside for now, to give the other party some pressure and himself some buffer.
Although he had gained the upper hand in the negotiation, Leonor did not dare to be careless. The two sides were still in the consultation stage, and the Tyrells had only expressed their intention to offer the territory. No one knew if this was true or false. Even if the two sides finally reached an agreement, without completing the final stage, this transaction could not be counted.
Success or failure was uncertain, but the Tyrells proposing this kind of transaction itself had a certain significance and must have been seeking something.
If the Tyrells had no sincere intention of trading, then their proposal of this transaction meant that they were testing him, testing whether he had the ambition to unify Westeros. However, their daring to test him in this way represented that they were not repulsed by such ambition, at least having the preparation to pretend to be obedient.
Conversely, if the Tyrells sincerely wanted to complete the transaction, then they must also be seeking something, and this request was nothing more than feigned obedience, waiting to pluck the fruit from his hands in the end.
After thinking about both sides of the matter, Leonor overturned this idea again, imagining that the Tyrells did not want to cooperate with him, and all cooperation was an illusion. Well, this was an inevitable ending, but he didn't know to what extent the Tyrells would go.
Currently, Olenna herself and Mace were in King's Landing, and Margaery had been living in the Red Keep. Speaking of which, the Tyrells had always been cautious, and they never allowed all family members to appear in one place, to avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop. However, as the family's backbone, Olenna personally came to King's Landing to meet with him, which showed some sincerity.
But if that was the case, then what were the Tyrells cooperating with him for? Plucking the fruit was a long-term goal, and they must have a short-term goal as well.
Leonor thought back and forth, and suddenly remembered that before this meeting, the Tyrells had just ended their conquest of the Hightower of Oldtown.
That conquest took the Tyrells two full years, which represented what? It represented that the Tyrells also realized that their combat form was not keeping up with the times. Did the Tyrells also realize this?
It was precisely because of this that Olenna was so determined to have control of the army. No, the Tyrells' transaction was false, and the demand for military power was also false. Obtaining the model of his army to further improve their army was the truth.
Leonor suddenly understood. This should be the Tyrells' real purpose.
Just as Leonor was thinking clearly, in the Tower of the Hand in the Red Keep, Olenna returned to Mace with a bad look on her face.
"Mother, what did you and His Majesty talk about?" Mace asked, concerned, facing his mother's gloomy face.
"Shut your mouth and don't bother me," Olenna scolded directly.
"If you don't feel comfortable talking to me, perhaps you can talk to Margaery. She has always been smart and is close to His Majesty the King," Mace was not annoyed by his mother's scolding. This was his own mother, and he couldn't get angry.
"It is precisely because of this that I cannot go to her, as that would embarrass her," Olenna flatly denied. She didn't want to embarrass Margaery, and at the same time, she no longer trusted Margaery, because she had now married into the royal family and had her own interests, and would no longer fully consider the family.
"But she is still one of our family after all," Mace sighed.
"…" Olenna glanced at her chubby eldest son, rolled her eyes slightly, and just shook her head in silence.
Leonor would not agree to a Tyrell becoming a High Knight, as that would mean two Tyrells in his Small Council. Their power would greatly increase, giving them direct command over their armies, which would be equivalent to handing over military power.
He could not tolerate someone else holding the military power, but in the current situation, he could allow the Tyrells to hold a bit of the gun's tail, provided they handed over the purse strings to him.
"Five regiments are too few," Olenna said, dissatisfied.
"Then how many do you want?" Leonor asked Olenna how many she wanted.
"At least give us twenty-five regiments," Olenna once again made an exorbitant demand. If they couldn't get the position of High Knight, then controlling the military strength of twenty-five regiments wouldn't be bad either.
"I only have thirty regiments at hand right now," Leonor rolled his eyes. Giving the Tyrells twenty-five regiments would be no different from handing over all military power.
"Then how many can you give us?" Olenna threw the question back. Since her words didn't count, then he should give a number himself!
"If you are willing to hand over your territory to me and allow me to send officials and bishops to govern the territory, I can give you five regiments," Leonor said, seeing Olenna's eyes rolling upward in the darkness, and quickly interrupted, "Don't rush to refuse. I'm giving you five regiments of troops."
"If you can hand over the territory and finances, then I can reserve ten regiments for you in the army I establish later."
Fifteen regiments. Olenna, hearing Leonor's allocation method, pondered for a moment and then offered new conditions:
"The Reach, except for the territories belonging to House Tyrell and House Redwyne, can all be handed over. Give us ten regiments of the existing army, and reserve twenty regiments for us in the future army."
"Only five from the existing army, and fifteen for the future. Highgarden and Arbor must all be given to me. You can keep the land tax, but the officials and bishops must be sent by me," Leonor directly shook his head.
"Ten regiments from the existing army, fifteen regiments for the future. We will be responsible for tax collection, and Your Majesty can send personnel to station as bishops," Olenna re-demanded.
"If House Tyrell has no sincerity, then let's forget about this matter!" Leonor immediately rejected. He was joking; handing over the territory but retaining the power to collect taxes was no different from not handing it over at all.
"Your Majesty, our family has thousands of people. If we hand over all the territory, what will we do in the future?" Olenna argued with Leonor, saying that they also needed to eat.
"I allow you to keep the land tax, so there will be no problem with eating. Your family members can serve as officers in the army later, or they can get stipends. Those who can be soldiers will have stipends, and those who don't can go farming!"
"We are nobles."
"Your family motto is 'Growing Strong,' doesn't that refer to crops? The Greyjoys are the ones who 'Do Not Sow,' and the Greyjoys didn't have a good ending," Leonor warned with a sneer.
"…"
So strong!
Olenna, facing the king whose attitude suddenly became tough, didn't know what to do.
"Madam, if you are tired, you should go back and rest first!" Leonor said, seeing Olenna not speaking, and decided to put the matter aside for now, to give the other party some pressure and himself some buffer.
Although he had gained the upper hand in the negotiation, Leonor did not dare to be careless. The two sides were still in the consultation stage, and the Tyrells had only expressed their intention to offer the territory. No one knew if this was true or false. Even if the two sides finally reached an agreement, without completing the final stage, this transaction could not be counted.
Success or failure was uncertain, but the Tyrells proposing this kind of transaction itself had a certain significance and must have been seeking something.
If the Tyrells had no sincere intention of trading, then their proposal of this transaction meant that they were testing him, testing whether he had the ambition to unify Westeros. However, their daring to test him in this way represented that they were not repulsed by such ambition, at least having the preparation to pretend to be obedient.
Conversely, if the Tyrells sincerely wanted to complete the transaction, then they must also be seeking something, and this request was nothing more than feigned obedience, waiting to pluck the fruit from his hands in the end.
After thinking about both sides of the matter, Leonor overturned this idea again, imagining that the Tyrells did not want to cooperate with him, and all cooperation was an illusion. Well, this was an inevitable ending, but he didn't know to what extent the Tyrells would go.
Currently, Olenna herself and Mace were in King's Landing, and Margaery had been living in the Red Keep. Speaking of which, the Tyrells had always been cautious, and they never allowed all family members to appear in one place, to avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop. However, as the family's backbone, Olenna personally came to King's Landing to meet with him, which showed some sincerity.
But if that was the case, then what were the Tyrells cooperating with him for? Plucking the fruit was a long-term goal, and they must have a short-term goal as well.
Leonor thought back and forth, and suddenly remembered that before this meeting, the Tyrells had just ended their conquest of the Hightower of Oldtown.
That conquest took the Tyrells two full years, which represented what? It represented that the Tyrells also realized that their combat form was not keeping up with the times. Did the Tyrells also realize this?
It was precisely because of this that Olenna was so determined to have control of the army. No, the Tyrells' transaction was false, and the demand for military power was also false. Obtaining the model of his army to further improve their army was the truth.
Leonor suddenly understood. This should be the Tyrells' real purpose.
Just as Leonor was thinking clearly, in the Tower of the Hand in the Red Keep, Olenna returned to Mace with a bad look on her face.
"Mother, what did you and His Majesty talk about?" Mace asked, concerned, facing his mother's gloomy face.
"Shut your mouth and don't bother me," Olenna scolded directly.
"If you don't feel comfortable talking to me, perhaps you can talk to Margaery. She has always been smart and is close to His Majesty the King," Mace was not annoyed by his mother's scolding. This was his own mother, and he couldn't get angry.
"It is precisely because of this that I cannot go to her, as that would embarrass her," Olenna flatly denied. She didn't want to embarrass Margaery, and at the same time, she no longer trusted Margaery, because she had now married into the royal family and had her own interests, and would no longer fully consider the family.
"But she is still one of our family after all," Mace sighed.
"…" Olenna glanced at her chubby eldest son, rolled her eyes slightly, and just shook her head in silence.
