Although Lynd's military actions all had the legitimate reason of maintaining the Narrow Sea shipping lanes, everyone who paid attention to the matter felt the intent behind Lynd's military actions, especially the other two city-states of Lys and Myr in the Disputed Lands.
Just as Braavos and other Free Trade City States were about to unite to pressure Lynd into withdrawing the troops he had sent to Tyrosh, Tyrosh made a move that caught everyone off guard.
Tyrosh suddenly dispatched a large number of Unsullied and mercenaries to occupy the gem mine that had triggered the previous unrest in the Disputed Lands, and declared its ownership of the gem mine, while also sending a large number of personnel to mine the gems.
Tyrosh's actions instantly infuriated Myr and Lys. They had previously thought of rescuing Tyrosh from Lynd's clutches based on their trade alliance, but in a blink of an eye, Tyrosh ran to their homes to snatch things, which made them instantly feel as if they had been fooled and deceived.
The other Free Trade City States were also stunned by Tyrosh's actions. Seeing Tyrosh's reaction and recalling Lynd's previous military actions, they subconsciously believed that Tyrosh was actually colluding with Lynd, using Lynd's army to protect Tyrosh, while Tyrosh's Unsullied army and mercenary groups were responsible for seizing resources in the Disputed Lands.
The original plans to support Tyrosh were all shelved, and everyone watched for the subsequent actions of Lys and Myr.
This mess in the Disputed Lands has been going on for hundreds of years since the fall of Valyria, and the Free Trade City States have long been accustomed to the endless disputes between Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr over this matter, and they have no intention of intervening.
Lys and Myr also knew that the other Free Trade City States could not provide them with any support, so seven days after Tyrosh occupied the gem mine, the mercenary groups of Lys and Myr also set off, entering the Disputed Lands, and the two sides began a new round of military conflict on the land recently stained red by Dothraki blood.
In fact, Tyrosh was also suffering in silence regarding this military conflict, and even the Tyroshi Grand Prince was seriously ill and unable to attend to affairs because of it. Rumors indicated that the Tyroshi Grand Prince was on his last legs, so the Officials, Tribunes, and Protectors of the People in Tyrosh, who were qualified to run for the position of Grand Prince, all began to prepare for the Grand Prince election, while the war in the Disputed Lands was completely handed over to the mercenary groups and Unsullied.
And no matter who they ultimately elected, they would have to face a difficult problem: repaying Lynd's debt.
If it were anyone else holding the Tyroshi bonds issued back then, the Tyroshi Grand Prince and even the entire council would directly declare the bonds null and void, because that's what they had done in the past.
But now, the person holding the bonds was someone they absolutely could not offend. The moment they declared the bonds in Lynd's hands null and void, the next moment Lynd's army would enter the city and hang everyone in the council from the city walls.
Moreover, Lynd doing this would not arouse the suspicion of other Free Trade City States. After all, a huge debt of several million gold dragons being declared void just like that is something no one would tolerate.
If the Free Trade City States dared to interfere in this matter, then others could also use this reason to refuse to repay the debts owed to the Free Trade City States, such as the millions of gold dragons owed by the Iron Throne to the Iron Bank.
The Tyroshi nobles also knew that the other Free Trade City States could not provide them with any help in this matter, so they could only send people to lobby Lynd. The result of the lobbying did not reduce their debt, but it was agreed not to accumulate interest on this debt, provided that the debt was repaid within the stipulated time, and that it could be repaid with equivalent gems instead of gold coins.
It was precisely for this reason that the Tyroshi council quickly approved the decision to occupy the gem mine in the Disputed Lands and mine gems.
In fact, some people within Tyrosh, such as the Tyroshi Grand Prince and a few nobles, did realize that Lynd intended to create unrest among the Three City States of the Disputed Lands, but they had no other path to take and could only follow the path Lynd had laid out for them.
So, when Tyrosh's Unsullied and mercenary groups left Tyrosh and entered the Disputed Lands, the overall defense of Tyrosh was handed over to the five thousand Chosen Legion that Lynd had previously sent to Tyrosh. The entire Tyrosh, except for a few city police forces, had all its armed forces become Summerhall's people.
It was also for this reason that the Tyroshi Grand Prince had seen Tyrosh's future, and the feeling of despair also caused him to fall ill and never recover.
The occupation of Tyrosh went much smoother than Lynd had anticipated, mainly thanks to Lynd's early arrangements and infiltration. In fact, what the Tyroshi Grand Prince did not know was that nearly half of the Officials, Tribunes, and Protectors of the People in Tyrosh had secretly pledged allegiance to him, and the vast majority of the remaining half were unwilling to be enemies with Lynd.
Only a very small number of people insisted on resisting Lynd's invasion, but they had no effect in this great tide. They didn't even dare to use drastic measures, such as assassination, against the Summerhall people who had already entered Tyrosh, because they knew very well that Tyrosh could still maintain its title as an independent city-state for now, but once they made a move, that title would probably be lost.
In fact, what the people of Tyrosh didn't know was that the person they feared had already arrived at Black Stone Island.
"Everything is proceeding according to plan. There's no need to pay attention to the dissenters. Our current goal is to gradually take control of Tyrosh's entire armed forces." Because the infiltration of Tyrosh had reached a critical point, Lynd needed to command from the front line, adjusting strategies at any time, so he brought Augustus to Black Stone Island.
"There are still some peacekeepers who haven't surrendered to us. Should we..." Tribune Aterste asked Lynd.
Since meeting Lynd as a peace envoy last time, Tribune Aterste chose to pledge allegiance to Lynd and played a significant role in expanding Lynd's influence and bribing nobles in Tyrosh.
He knew very well that once Lynd fully controlled Tyrosh, the identity of the Tyroshi Grand Prince would inevitably disappear, so he never thought of obtaining the position of Tyroshi Grand Prince from the beginning, but rather wanted to gain certain rights and status within the Tyrosh controlled by Lynd. It would be even better if he could become someone like a governor.
"No need." Lynd obviously did not want to solve problems through assassination. He thought for a moment, looked at Aterste, and said, "The common people always detest things like bribery. Those peacekeepers who accepted bribes should no longer appear on the streets of the city. I think as an excellent Tribune, you should report those who have committed crimes."
"I understand, My Lord." Aterste nodded repeatedly.
Just then, an intelligence agent responsible for Eagle's Nest suddenly rushed in and handed a piece of intelligence to Lynd.
Lynd took it and quickly read it, then couldn't help but frown, his expression becoming solemn.
"My Lord, what happened?" Aterste asked, seeing Lynd's expression.
Lynd handed over the letter in his hand, and Aterste quickly took it and read it carefully. After reading it, his face also turned very grim.
The letter only contained one sentence: Signs of plague had been found in the military camps of Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr.
"Go back immediately and make preparations." Lynd instructed Aterste.
Aterste said nothing, bowed to Lynd, and then left in a hurry, his solemn expression never fading.
"Are there enough medicinal materials prepared?" Lynd turned and asked Jon, who had once again become his Official.
"They are ready." Jon nodded, then hesitated for a moment and asked, "How did you know in advance that a plague would break out in the Disputed Lands?"
"What you really want to ask is whether this plague was my doing, right?" Lynd directly revealed Jon's thoughts.
Jon didn't argue, nodded, and admitted Lynd's thought.
"No, I just made a prediction in advance." Lynd directly denied the guess, saying, "The Dothraki have fought no less than a hundred battles in the Disputed Lands over the past six months, with over a hundred thousand casualties. And those bodies are just lying there on that land, with many also thrown into the water sources of the Disputed Lands. If given half a year, perhaps these bodies would be completely absorbed by the earth, but precisely after the Dothraki left, the Three City States began a civil war, and eventually all those bodies turned into sources of plague. This information is all out in the open; anyone who pays a little attention would find it. It's just a pity that all they saw in their eyes were gems and profits, and they subconsciously ignored the dangers around the gems."
Jon, who had suffered from illness, asked worriedly, "Will this plague spread to..."
Lynd shook his head and explained, "No, I have already ordered all ships traveling to and from the continent of Essos to remain in a quarantine zone for a period of time before they can come ashore."
"What do we do now?" Jon asked again.
Lynd calmly replied, "We don't need to do anything, just wait! Wait for the show to begin, and proceed according to plan."
The show didn't take long to begin. In less than half a month, the plague had spread throughout the military camps of the Three City States in the Disputed Lands. Besides the Unsullied in their respective camps, the mercenary groups hired by the Three City States were also engulfed by the plague.
"My Lord, the bodies have been dealt with." The First Commander of the Windblown came into the tent and reported to the grim-faced Ragged Prince.
The Ragged Prince turned to his attendant and asked, "How many people in the legion are infected with the plague now?"
"Seven hundred thirty-six people." The attendant looked down at his notebook and replied.
"No, it's seven hundred thirty-one." The First Commander corrected, "When I came back just now, five more people passed away. I've already had them dealt with."
Upon hearing this, the attendant lowered his head, picked up his pen, and silently modified the numbers.
Other generals in the tent spoke up, "My Lord, we cannot stay here any longer. If we continue like this, we will all die here."
"We should leave this cursed place immediately."
"Leave here, and go where?" The Ragged Prince looked at his subordinates and asked in a deep voice, "The Unsullied over there are watching us. Once we make any attempt to escape, the Unsullied will kill us without hesitation."
Everyone fell silent.
The Ragged Prince quickly made a decision, saying, "Campbell, you immediately take some men back to Tyrosh and report the situation here to the Officials, asking them to send medicinal materials and physicians here as soon as possible."
Just like the Ragged Prince's decision, other mercenary groups also sent people to their respective employers to request aid.
However, the answers they received were strikingly consistent: none of the city-states had manpower to send, but they would provide food, medicinal materials, and other supplies. As for physicians, there were very few, only a dozen or so, which was merely a drop in the bucket for the entire plague situation.
Furthermore, after understanding the plague situation, they all ordered the city gates to be closed, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving the city-states, and also sent raven messages to various towns outside the city, ordering the people in these towns to spontaneously build walls to prevent people from approaching. In short, everyone was fending for themselves.
The major mercenary groups in the Disputed Lands, such as the Golden Company, the Windblown, and the Cat's Company, were not safe, except for a portion of their members who remained relatively safe within various city-states. Even those who were not yet sick had to constantly worry about being infected.
As time passed, more and more people became sick and died in agony. Large numbers of people who died from the illness were buried on the spot, and there were even instances of people who were still alive but not yet dead from the illness being buried as if they were dead.
"We cannot continue like this. If we do, everyone will die," Batch, the Commander of Archers, stood up on behalf of everyone and said to Mis Toyn, "Now, more than three thousand people in the legion are infected, and over nine hundred have died. Even the legion's physician has been infected and died. Everyone else is already terrified, and no one wants to continue fighting. If we stay in this cursed place, they might..."
"Might what? Might mutiny?" Mis Toyn looked at his Commander of Archers, then glanced at everyone else, and said, "You only think about leaving, but the problem is, where do we go after we leave? Myr? Or Pentos? Do you think they will allow us into the city? And have you considered whether the provisions we have on hand can sustain us until we leave?"
Everyone fell silent as they listened to Mis Toyn's words.
Mis Toyn continued, "Moreover, the Golden Company has never had a precedent of breaking an employment oath. If we leave now, all the credibility the Golden Company has built in the past will immediately collapse, and we will become like those fellows in the Second Sons, only able to pick up scraps. Do you want to become like that?"
Everyone in the tent bowed their heads slightly.
"What's the situation with the Unsullied?" Mis Toyn asked.
"They've lost over a thousand men, and another thousand are sick. Now only a few hundred are left to fight." Someone reported the situation there, then added, "Those guys are scared too."
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces grew even grimmer. They hadn't expected that even the Unsullied, who feared no death, were scared.
At this moment, a scout burst into the tent and reported, "My Lord, a group of about two thousand men is approaching."
Upon hearing the report, everyone's expressions changed drastically, and they all looked at Mis Toyn, who immediately ordered preparations for battle.
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