Varys's heart leaped. This little girl, why was she not playing by the rules? If Stannis were truly burned to death by a blast of dragonflame in the Red Keep, what business would Aegon and the Golden Company have with Daenerys sitting on the Iron Throne?
They could not carry out this plan.
"A good plan, unfortunately it is merely wishful thinking." Varys's tone was flat, but his words were unsparing. "On a moonless, windy night, the King's Landing defenders certainly would not see dragons flying over the sea, but could Your Majesty cross Blackwater Bay in pitch darkness and accurately find the Red Keep? What is more, from the day Your Majesty returned to Westeros and captured Dragonstone, Stannis and his Hands have already quietly left the Red Keep and are scattered and hidden in various temporary command posts within King's Landing. My little birds can rely on various traces to find and mark most of these locations on a map, but it is impossible to predict which one Stannis will be in on any given day. Even if we could, for Your Majesty to ride a dragon and accurately find these places within the vast King's Landing that look no different from civilian homes from the air, and then dive down to burn them with fire, would be nothing short of a pipe dream."
---
Why was Varys able to serve two dynasties and consistently receive the trust of rulers, even now appearing before Daenerys as an uninvited guest, yet quickly integrating into her court, so much so that even Petyr, who was extremely wary of and disliked him, could not find any evidence of guilt or leverage against him?
Because he was more cunning, so cunning that no one could grasp concrete evidence of his guilt or leverage.
Where exactly was this cunning demonstrated? Littlefinger before him was the best contrasting example. Petyr Baelish could be said to be a master of political maneuvering, and Varys himself felt inferior, but even so, he still called him the second smartest person in the Seven Kingdoms. Why?
Because Petyr's manipulation of power remained at the level of technique, in layman's terms, playing various tricks.
And even the cleverest tricks will leave traces, or rather, evidence.
Varys, on the other hand, used only one move from beginning to end, providing real, accurate, detailed, and usually useful intelligence that had immediate effect.
You heard right, it is that simple, but in reality, it is much more complex to operate. If Petyr's methods were seven parts truth, three parts false, then Varys was nine parts truth, one part withheld. Assuming the information he obtained through his intelligence network was 1, or 100 percent, Varys would then, through a series of complex selections that ordinary people could absolutely not grasp, extract the 90 percent that was beneficial to him and could manipulate the authorities to act in the direction required by his script, and deliver it to the right person at the right time.
Yes, he rarely provided false intelligence. Anyone who thoroughly investigated the 90 percent of intelligence he provided would find it difficult to find evidence or traces of his fabrication. But never underestimate the 10 percent that was intercepted and hidden. Through clever editing, taking things out of context, and hiding causality, Varys could portray a rebel who planned to raise an army tomorrow as a loyal subject rarely seen in a thousand years, describe a chaste virgin as a harlot available to anyone, and arrange the most honest and upright person in the world to make anyone who heard it want to hang him immediately.
Even better, by not lying, he naturally saved a large amount of corroborating evidence and follow-up work required to cover up lies. This is why Varys could squeeze out more time, energy, and resources to carry out deeper levels of manipulation than Petyr, and design grander and more exquisite schemes than Petyr. As for the authorities discovering afterward and asking why the 10 percent of intelligence was missing, sorry, intelligence gathering is an arduous and painstaking task, and it is always bound to have some errors.
And with such a Master of Intelligence who does not provide false intelligence, how keen and suspicious would a person need to be to immediately detect an anomaly once 1 percent of falsehood is mixed into almost completely true intelligence?
"Then forget it." Missandei blinked twice and said quickly, "I was not thinking it through."
Stannis's caution was already well known, and leaving the Red Keep to hide in a safe house to win the war seemed to fit his style. Not to mention a young girl like Missandei, even Petyr, who was arguing with Varys, believed the eunuch's instantly fabricated lie without a second thought. He was thinking about how to persuade Daenerys to attack King's Landing immediately, and he had thought of his words.
"Using dragons in battle should be the last resort." Petyr figured out how to counter this statement, it was simple, admit it. "But now is the time when you need to make the final choice! Your Majesty, anyone can casually find a fifteen or sixteen-year-old Valyrian boy with silver hair and purple eyes and claim he is Aegon Targaryen, then push him before us in an attempt to reap the fruits of victory you have gained through sacrifices and adventures along the way. I do not believe he is real."
"When Prince Aegon was taken out of King's Landing back then, he was indeed just a child. It is impossible for anyone in Westeros to recognize him, so questioning his identity is a normal thought." Varys quietly swallowed, relieved that no one present continued to dwell on the plan to burn the Red Keep. "But Jon Connington, who is currently assisting him, is a well-known noble who served as King Aerys's Hand of the King during Robert's Rebellion. The number of people who have seen him is definitely not small. Not to mention those far away, among the lords of the Narrow Sea islands you have already conquered, you will surely find nobles who can recognize him."
The identity of Aegon Targaryen was not afraid of any investigation.
This was the ultimate venture capital Varys had planned for half his life to pry open the Game of Thrones board and swallow the legal ownership of the entire Westeros, and it was also the most proud deception he had designed in his life. Although it was called a deception, everything in the scheme was real, the Golden Company was real, the mentor and advisor team that trained the Prince into a perfect ruler was real, Jon Connington, the Mad King's Hand, was real, from the lowest soldiers to the Prince's closest confidantes, even the Prince himself believed he was the real Aegon Targaryen.
Except for Illyrio, the Governor of Pentos, and Varys himself, everyone in the world who knew the Prince was fake was already dead. With such a seamless deception, who could expose it?
"The Lord of Griffin's Roost may be real, but what does that prove?" Petyr could not expose this lie entirely composed of truth, but this did not prevent him from relying on the intuition of an excellent chess player to sniff out the conspiracy. He stared intently at Varys, feeling he had found the other party's slip-up. "Allow me to say something harsh, Your Majesty. Even if that Aegon Targaryen is real, you cannot wait for him to come. As the son of your brother, Prince Rhaegar, if the real Aegon were alive, according to Targaryen inheritance law, his place in the line of succession to the Iron Throne is before yours. If you wait for him before attacking King's Landing, even if you win easily, to whom will the credit ultimately belong?"
...
The plain truth, and the kind that is difficult to put on the table. It was only because Petyr was the Queen's Hand, holding high position and power and deeply trusted by Daenerys, that he dared to be so presumptuous. But it was precisely the plain truth that truly cornered Varys, leaving him speechless. After all, no one could refute the obvious truth.
As expected of the second smartest person in the Seven Kingdoms, able to think of the best way to counter his words so quickly. Varys smiled bitterly, hiding his true thoughts. He decided not to counterattack, but to defend in a standard manner. "Your Majesty, there are only two Targaryens left in the world, you and your nephew. Under these circumstances, do you still decide to engage in internal conflict?"
Petyr pursued relentlessly. "Your Majesty, if you admit that Aegon Targaryen is real, then your previous action of declaring yourself King would become an act of usurpation and rebellion."
"Before Your Majesty declared herself King, Aegon had not yet revealed his identity, which is understandable. I think Prince Aegon would be very willing to forgive Daenerys and marry her, and the two will co-rule the Seven Kingdoms."
"Co-rule?" Petyr sneered. "Your Majesty, that Aegon is male, and you, marrying him, will you be Queen or Queen Consort? Co-ruling with him, you are inherently at a disadvantage as a woman. Furthermore, although I personally understand Valyrian marriage customs and know that an aunt marrying her nephew is reasonable and legal within the Dragon King family, the people of Westeros will not all be so understanding. You led a world-famous slave army to land in Westeros, which has already aroused strong resistance. If you are eager to first practice the vastly different ethics and laws of Valyria and Westeros before the great cause is completed, proving that Targaryens are different, it will greatly harm your cause and reputation, and make your path to unification much more difficult."
Daenerys Targaryen did not utter a word from beginning to end.
Listening to both sides makes one enlightened, this was the wisdom she had summarized from her short but tumultuous ruling career. Before, whether under the guidance of Jorah Mormont or after Petyr Baelish found her and exposed the former's traitorous actions, there was only one person by her side who could be called a guide. Now, finally, two people with wisdom, experience, and ability were gathered under her command, debating before the Queen. Rather than choosing to adopt the opinion of one of them, Daenerys was more willing to observe the process and pattern of their debate, and from it understand and learn their ways of thinking, enriching herself.
The first round of competition ended, and both chess players were secretly catching their breath and preparing more arguments and materials in their hearts, but the sound of boots quickly hitting the floor came from outside the meeting room.
"Your, Your Majesty!" The messenger was a young Free Folk soldier. He was wearing full armor, but his face was slightly immature, and he stuttered when speaking the common tongue. "The fleet patrolling the outer sea, intercepted a gray-sailed ship from the North. There is someone on board who claims to be the Com, something Commander, and a priestess of the Lord of Light."
(To be continued.)