Game of Thrones: Rise of the Supreme Dragon Queen

Recruiting the enemy's sailors was not a difficult task. Daenerys was the Mother of Dragons, the Liberator of Slaves—any enslaved sailor with a shred of sense would readily surrender.

She simply flew once over the docks on Drogon's back, and the ten thousand sailors who had lost their ships immediately capitulated.

Of course, their surrender came with conditions.

Slaves were granted freedom, but as for the non-enslaved sailors, Daenerys could not force them to join her cause.

It was clear that a ship's crew consisted of more than just enslaved rowers and warrior slaves—there were also captains, first mates, and second mates, all of whom were free men. Many of them came from well-off backgrounds and had no interest in joining Daenerys in what they saw as a dangerous rebellion.

Wealthy people had access to education, and educated individuals tended to have a broader perspective.

Like the northern descendants of House Tyrell's army, these experienced high-ranking sailors believed that Daenerys' abolition of slavery was an act of defiance against the entire world.

And an individual fighting against the world was doomed to fail.

Thus, they demanded the right to ransom themselves according to tradition.

Daenerys valued the talents of these elite seafarers but understood that forced loyalty was meaningless. She agreed to their demand but imposed one condition: they could buy their freedom, but since they had fought against her, they would have to serve five years in the fields of Astapor.

Of course, the ransom price varied between noblemen and ordinary sailors, as did their living conditions—better food and accommodations for those who could afford it.

Daenerys did not extort them; she merely followed traditional ransom rates for prisoners.

She didn't even discriminate against the Ghiscari—they all received the same treatment.

Her generosity left the sailors with no choice but to surrender immediately.

Little did they know, autumn was ending, and the Long Night was approaching.

In total, she recruited eight thousand strong slave soldiers, while the remaining three thousand real sailors were sent to work the fields.

After handling the sailors in the morning, Daenerys rode Drogon back to Poplar Hill in the afternoon, leading five thousand infantry. After burning the corpses of the ten thousand fallen Ghiscari soldiers, she began a large-scale reorganization of her army the next day.

She formed a supply train of twenty thousand laborers and militia, five thousand Unsullied, ten thousand Free Wings (a mixed force of infantry, cavalry, and archers), and fifteen thousand Queen's Guards—selected from the seventy thousand slave soldiers.

Daenerys granted the Queen's Guards a yellow banner with a white dragon, officially establishing them as a new military unit.

Here, she employed the cunning tactics of an imperial ruler, deliberately dividing the newly freed soldiers from different city-states into separate units to prevent any single faction from growing too powerful.

"The Mother of Dragons is Preparing for War!"

By nightfall, the Wise Masters of Yunkai had received terrifying news.

Black ravens carried dark omens.

There was no avoiding it—thousands of merchants and courtesans who had served the Ghiscari army had been captured, and among them were surely Yunkai spies or opportunists willing to report back in exchange for golden honors.

"Is it true?"

"Can the reports be trusted?"

"With dozens of identical messages from the ravens, there's no doubt! That woman even wrote a manifesto and had merchants spread it across the world—The Seven Crimes of the Wise Masters of Yunkai Against the Peoples of the World."

"Damn it, not this again. Last year, before attacking Astapor, she wrote The Seven Great Grievances. Looks like she's determined to fight us to the bitter end."

"Twenty thousand troops... and we have no time to recruit more mercenaries. Why won't she just die? The slave trade is the foundation of global commerce—both Qarth and Volantis want her dead. Why hasn't some assassin rid us of her already? The gods are blind!"

"Yes, the heavens are unjust, the gods have no eyes! We have kept to ourselves, conducting honest business in Slaver's Bay, following simple, time-honored traditions that have lasted for millennia. We treat people with integrity and provide quality service to the world—why must that woman come to disrupt the peace of honest men like us?!"

"Say what you will, but it all comes down to those useless warlocks from Qarth! They infiltrated the Great Pyramid, stole dragon eggs, and still failed to kill her. And we lost thirty great warships for nothing!"

"We need a more professional assassin. Let's pool our gold and hire the Faceless Men."

"The Faceless Men? That would cost millions of golden honors."

"Given the current circumstances, no less than two million. It might be the most expensive contract in history. But if we involve the Great Masters of Meereen, a million per house should be enough."

"That won't solve our immediate problem. We can hire the Faceless Men, but we must also repel this invasion. I still don't understand—Astapor may have defeated our coalition army, but surely they suffered losses as well. Don't they need time to recover?"

Inside the grand palace at the top of Yunkai's Great Pyramid, the Wise Masters sat around a round table, their faces filled with unease as they debated the crisis.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Grand Wise Master knocked on the table, silencing the rising voices of the council. His gaunt face was stern, his sharp gaze falling on the yellow-cloaked general seated below.

"General Zhakaro, the enemy claims to have two hundred thousand troops. What's the real number?"

The Grand Wise Master was from House Daznak. He wore a long tokar robe embroidered with golden crystal tassels, a mark of the highest nobility. Though nearly fifty, his thin face exuded an air of authority.

To conceal his thinning hairline, his black and red hair was styled forward in a manner resembling the prow of a ship.

"Master Mourinho, that woman has at least fifty thousand soldiers," replied the pot-bellied Ghiscari general.

Fifty thousand. The Grand Wise Master's black eyes narrowed slightly as he tapped the table gently. After a long pause, he asked, "Kezai is smaller than Astapor, but its walls are higher and stronger. If we have ten thousand defenders, can we withstand an attack?"

"Honored Master, under normal circumstances, Kezai's ten-meter-high walls—especially with our access to naval supplies—would allow five thousand elite troops to hold off an army of a hundred thousand for ten years. But that woman has three dragons," the rotund general hesitated before answering.

"We don't need ten years. Within six months, we will have the Faceless Men eliminate her," Mourinho said calmly.

"You truly intend to hire the Faceless Men? We all know that behind the House of Black and White lurk the shadows of the Iron Bank and the Sea Lord's Palace. The Braavosi will undoubtedly use this as leverage to make a series of political demands," the general said in shock.

"Those Braavosi only intervene financially in other nations. Here in Slaver's Bay, we have no financial institutions—only the slave trade."

"Then..." The rotund general gritted his teeth. "I will need more soldiers and an unlimited supply of anti-dragon ballistae—enough to fill the walls."

"Agreed," the Grand Wise Master's dry lips curled into a smile. "We have over eighty warships and five hundred large vessels. Within half a month, we can transport Meereen's troops and ballistae to Kezai."

"Will the Great Masters of Meereen agree?" another Wise Master asked uncertainly.

"They will," Mourinho said confidently. "Surely they understand that if we fall, they will be next. Besides, the battle will be fought in Kezai—only Kezai will suffer from the flames of war. The Meereenese can sit safely in their city and enjoy the fruits of victory. Why wouldn't they agree?"

Kezai had spies in Astapor, and within two days, Daenerys received a raven carrying an urgent message: The Great Masters of Meereen and the Wise Masters of Kezai are gathering their armies for a decisive battle against the Dragon Queen.

At that moment, Daenerys was making final preparations to set out with her army.

Fifty thousand soldiers. Hundreds of thousands of cattle and horses. Every soldier was assigned two mounts—whether warhorses, pack horses, oxen, mules, or donkeys.

Her plan had been to march fifty thousand troops and their animals on a ten-day, rapid assault on Astapor, covering fifty kilometers per day with enough rations for half a month.

"We may not be able to take Kezai in a short time," Barristan Selmy said gravely.

Dressed once more in full battle armor, Daenerys gritted her teeth and said fiercely, "Then we lay siege to the city. The three dragons will bombard Kezai's walls day and night—I want to see how long they can hold out."

"I fear we may break before they do," Jon Bolton frowned.

"Oh? Explain," Daenerys asked, looking at him.

"I worry they will employ a scorched-earth strategy," the Queensguard commander said slowly.

Daenerys had kept her word—her newly formed Queensguard was led by former members of the Rose Mercenaries. The former leader of the Rose Company had been naturally chosen as the commander.

Eight hundred elite mercenaries served as the backbone of fifteen thousand newly freed slave soldiers, forging them into a capable fighting force in mere days.

This wasn't an exaggeration. In Westeros, the standard army composition was a ratio of one knight per hundred peasants—one or two hundred knights leading ten or twenty thousand freshly conscripted farmers.

Simply put, this was a world where military standards were poor across the board. The only question was who was less incompetent.

Roughly speaking, the ranking of military units was as follows:

Slave soldiers < Peasant levies < Newly freed soldiers with combat experience (selected from former slaves) < Top-tier mercenaries < Unsullied < Faith-driven, well-trained knightly orders (including elite mercenary knights and religious militant orders).

That was why Daenerys brought the Queensguard with her on this campaign.

Would the Queensguard fall under the influence of the Rose Company and Jon Bolton?

Without a doubt, yes.

But Daenerys had done this deliberately—not only to balance the growing power of the freedmen but also to introduce the newly liberated slaves to a more structured and advanced military system: a Westerosi-style feudal knighthood with some modifications.

Currently, Astapor was governed under a centralized county system that benefited Daenerys' authority. But as she expanded her rule over Kezai, Meereen, and eventually all of Slaver's Bay, a more flexible feudal system was inevitable.

After all, Westerosi feudal lords had sustained their rule for over eight thousand years. Compared to the three-hundred-year dynastic cycles of the old empires, their system seemed almost... immortal.

Yes, vitality. The ability to endure.

From a governance perspective, feudalism was far less effective than centralized rule.

Daenerys would not fully replicate the imperial model, even if centralization could bring two or three generations of unprecedented prosperity—the so-called Golden Age of Daenerys.

Because she was a queen, not a commoner. A Daenerys I Golden Age would inevitably be followed by the Daenerys N Last Dynasty.

Simply put, she wanted her own dynasty to rule for ten thousand years. Whether the realm prospered or decayed mattered to her, but not as much as ensuring her bloodline's survival.

Besides, even in a weakened state, her descendants would still be royalty.

Feudalism also had another advantage: feudal vassals were far more loyal to their liege lord than grand generals, marshals, or regional governors were to an emperor.

For example, House Stark had ruled as Kings in the North for eight thousand years.

The Kings of Winter maintained only a small personal army. Most of their military strength came from their vassal lords—just like Daenerys and Jon Bolton now.

(End of Chapter)

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