In King's Landing, Lynd's Official, Mr. Mus, stepped out of a sedan chair and looked at the house before him with a sense of emotion.
This was the King's Landing Maritime Merchants' Guild. A few months ago, he was a honored guest here, then he was kicked out due to bankruptcy. Now he has returned, but his identity is no longer that of an ordinary merchant.
Adjusting his mindset, Mr. Mus stepped into the house. He had originally thought his arrival would attract attention, especially since he had been so disheveled and made such a spectacle when he was kicked out. He felt everyone in the guild was laughing at him.
However, he now realized he had been overthinking it. Whether they knew him or not, upon seeing him, they merely nodded slightly and then continued to converse quietly with those beside them, discussing their next deal.
Realizing he wasn't as much of a focus as he'd imagined, Mr. Mus felt a touch of disappointment and gave a self-deprecating smile.
At this moment, a guild servant waiting at the entrance was momentarily stunned upon seeing the white-haired, wrinkled Mr. Mus. He knew Mr. Mus, but only the middle-aged version. The current Mr. Mus looked decades older than in his memory. If he hadn't known Mr. Mus's father had passed away long ago, he might have mistaken the man before him for Mr. Mus's father.
"Mr. Mus, Lord Rhys is waiting for you. Please follow me." The servant quickly composed himself, walked up to Mr. Mus, and bowed, saying.
After speaking, the servant led Mr. Mus to a small house behind the guild, then knocked on the door and said, "Lord, Mr. Mus has arrived."
A man's voice came from inside: "Let him in."
Mr. Mus pushed the door open and entered, seeing a middle-aged man with sea-weathered skin and simple clothes sitting by a bookshelf, flipping through a book. Upon seeing Mr. Mus enter, he put down the book and said in a cold tone, "Apologies, Mr. Mus, my leg is a bit inconvenient, so I cannot stand to greet you."
Mr. Mus stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Lord Rhys, you are too kind, I…"
"There's no need for other pleasantries. Our time is precious. Did you bring the list?" Rhys Falwell said somewhat impolitely.
"I brought it." In front of Rhys Falwell, the great sea merchant, Mr. Mus had no confidence whatsoever. He honestly took out the list of various supplies Lynd had asked him to procure and placed it on the desk.
Rhys Falwell picked up the list and looked at it. There were many items on it. Besides grain, the most important were horses, and quite a few of them—as many as two hundred—and all had to be warhorses. Their price, naturally, was not comparable to ordinary nags.
Suppressing the anger in his heart, Rhys Falwell put the list back on the table and said to Mr. Mus, "I will gather the items on the list and deliver them to your master as soon as possible."
"Then I'll trouble you, Lord Rhys." Mr. Mus's face lit up with joy. For some time, he had been overwhelmed trying to gather the supplies on the list. Now that Rhys Falwell was taking over completely, it naturally eased his burden considerably.
Mr. Mus then returned to his merchant state, haggling: "Then, for the price of these items, Lord Rhys, could you perhaps lower it a bit from the market price? After all, even if you lower it a little for such a large business, you'll still earn a lot."
Hearing Mr. Mus's words, Rhys Falwell was completely stunned. He looked at Mr. Mus in surprise and asked, confused, "Lower what?"
"The price at which we purchase these goods?" Mr. Mus didn't understand why Rhys Falwell would ask this. He felt his words should be easy to understand, but he still took out a price list he had compiled from his pocket and earnestly explained, "You see, although the prices of these grains have risen a lot recently, that's only because the heavy rain in the south flooded some fields, and the big grain merchants in King's Landing deliberately hoarded grain. Once the grain from Riverlands and The Reach is transported here, the grain price will inevitably..."
"Wait, wait a moment!" Rhys Falwell looked at Mr. Mus with a strange expression and asked in a deep voice, "Isn't this list a ransom list from your master?"
"Ransom list?" Mr. Mus asked blankly, "Whose?"
"My second son, Bert," Rhys Falwell said.
"Lord Bert?" Mr. Mus was even more confused: "Lord Bert is currently Lynd's Official, a highly relied-upon Official advisor to Lynd. He..." Speaking, he paused, looking at Rhys Falwell with a wry smile and said, "What exactly did Lord Bert's letter to you say? Why would it make you think he's a captive who needs ransom?"
Rhys Falwell was also stunned upon hearing this. He quickly pulled Bert's letter from his embrace and read it carefully.
He soon realized that Bert's letter didn't mention anything about ransom. It merely told him that he was currently with Lynd and asked him to contact Mr. Mus, the Official in King's Landing, as soon as possible. It never mentioned anything about captives or ransom from beginning to end.
He knew that his second son, Bert, had been unexpectedly chosen by the family to join the army summoned by Lord Tywin, but he was at sea at the time and couldn't stop it. After that, he received this letter from Bert.
He had also heard of Bear Hunter Linde's reputation and knew that Lynd was a knight of House Tyrell. Now that Bert was with Lynd, it was hard for him not to associate Bert with being a captive and Lynd demanding ransom from him, which led to the current misunderstanding.
Rhys Falwell didn't fully believe Mr. Mus's words and requested, "Mr. Mus, please tell me in detail about Bert's current situation, okay?"
"Apologies, I have been in King's Landing assembling various supplies for Lynd and am not clear on Lord Bert's current situation." Mr. Mus shook his head and said, "However, judging from the numerous signatures of Lord Bert on the letters recently sent from Tumbleton, Lord Bert should currently be in charge of the reconstruction of Tumbleton's dock."
"Tumbleton dock reconstruction?" Rhys Falwell keenly sensed the business opportunity hidden in this matter and pressed, "Can you elaborate a bit more?"
"Of course." Mr. Mus nodded, then explained that Lynd had already cooperated with the Lady of Tumbleton to repair the Rose Road leading to Tumbleton, driven away the bandits in that area, ensured the safety of the road, and also rebuilt Tumbleton's river port, restoring the Mander River shipping lane.
After hearing this, Rhys Falwell still couldn't help but confirm, "You mean the river transport on the Mander River, from upstream to downstream, has been restored?"
Mr. Mus nodded and said, "Yes, this matter hasn't spread yet, but the merchants in King's Landing should receive this news in a couple of days." As he spoke, an excited smile involuntarily appeared on his face, and he said, "At that time, it should cause quite a stir among the merchants!"
Just as Mr. Mus predicted, the restoration of the road in Tumbleton and the reopening of the Mander River shipping lane caused a great stir among the merchants in King's Landing. Any merchant with a bit of foresight could see the immense business opportunities contained within this matter.
It should be known that the caravan transport on the Rose Road has not yet resumed. North-south freight can only use the coastal road from Casterly Rock to Highgarden. This not only involves a long detour and increases transport time, but more importantly, the various commercial taxes in the Westerlands are very high, greatly reducing merchants' income.
Now that the road from the Rose Road to Tumbleton has been restored, freight caravans can directly travel through Tumbleton and then head south along the Mander River. This not only saves time but also reduces many taxes and is much safer.
However, the area around Tumbleton had always been a place plagued by bandits in the eyes of these merchants. Now, suddenly, they heard that the abandoned road had been repaired, the bandits on both sides of the road had been dealt with, and safety could be guaranteed. This left them somewhat confused for a time, unsure of the truthfulness of the news.
However, among the merchants, there were also some who enjoyed taking risks and making big gains from small investments. After learning that the person responsible for clearing out the bandits around Tumbleton was Bear Hunter Linde, they all felt that this matter might be true. So, while everyone else was still waiting and watching, they preemptively formed a caravan and set off for Tumbleton.
This caravan was not only transporting goods, but also included people related to real estate, entertainment, and so on. They believed that once this trade route was restored, Tumbleton would inevitably prosper again, and the value of land and houses in Tumbleton would increase exponentially. Furthermore, once the town prospered and more people came and went, facilities like taverns, brothels, and casinos would naturally be indispensable. Going there now would allow them to seize the initiative.
Other cautious merchants, while not joining this caravan, were not idle either. Instead, they actively prepared various goods, so that once the news from Tumbleton was confirmed, they could immediately form a caravan and set off, wasting no time.
Just as the merchants in King's Landing were excited about the recovery of Tumbleton, far away in Casterly Rock in the Westerlands, Lord Tywin, who had just returned from King's Landing, listened expressionlessly to his Official's report, while simultaneously opening and reading intelligence letters on his desk.
"Where is Kevan?" Lord Tywin asked after hearing the relevant report.
The Official quickly replied, "Lord Kevan went to Crakehall a few days ago."
"What is he doing in Crakehall?" Lord Tywin frowned and asked.
The Official replied, "Some time ago, the Ironborn landed on the coast near Crakehall and plundered the villages around Crakehall. One of our family's caravans happened to pass by there and was also robbed by the Ironborn."
Lord Tywin frowned and questioned, "Only one caravan was robbed, and it requires Kevan to go there?"
The Official replied, "It seems a few Ironborn were captured in Crakehall, and some information was obtained from them. Lord Kevan rushed there after reading the letter sent from Crakehall."
Lord Tywin was well aware of his brother's character. If it wasn't an extremely important matter, he wouldn't so hastily put aside his affairs and rush to Crakehall. So, he instructed, "Bring that letter for me to see."
The Official quickly found the letter and handed it to Lord Tywin.
Lord Tywin flipped through it, and his expression became somewhat serious. The content of the letter was simple: after interrogating the Ironborn in Crakehall, it was learned that Balon Greyjoy was gathering men, but the purpose of gathering them was unknown.
Clearly, Kevan, upon receiving this letter, was concerned that Balon Greyjoy was gathering men to raid the Westerlands, and thus went to Crakehall to confirm the news.
Compared to Kevan's attentiveness, Lord Tywin's attitude towards this letter was much calmer. Although Ironborn raids were not a pleasant matter, he did not believe that this level of pirate raiding would cause much harm to the Westerlands. Balon Greyjoy and the Ironborn under his rule were nothing more than annoying flies in his eyes.
Compared to the Ironborn raids, what concerned Lord Tywin most right now were the series of plans he had laid out on the Golden Road and the Blackwater Rush.
Although all intelligence indicated that things were progressing well and everything was moving forward as planned, he constantly felt a sense of unease, as if something was wrong with the plan.
Lord Tywin poured himself a glass of wine, took a sip, then turned to his Official and asked, "Is there any latest intelligence from the Golden Road?"
"None," the Official replied truthfully.
The unease in Lord Tywin's heart did not disappear because of this.
Subsequently, he picked up the relevant intelligence again and read it over. Perhaps due to a different mindset, he quickly discovered some issues: this intelligence lacked information about the army he had sent east of the Mander River.
Although in his plan, that army was not particularly important, its role was merely to cooperate with the Poison Scorpion Society and other bandit groups to create incidents on the Rose Road and draw House Tyrell's attention there.
However, after the Tournament, after King's Hand Jon Arryn and House Tyrell had a discussion, House Tyrell's attention would be drawn to the Rose Road even without his inducement, so that army's role would be much smaller.
However, according to common sense, that army should report its situation every five days, but for over a month, this army seemed to have disappeared, with no reports coming in. This was clearly abnormal.
Just as Lord Tywin was pondering the problem, the door opened, and his intelligence chief walked in, then handed a recently received raven letter to Lord Tywin, saying, "This is from King's Landing."
Lord Tywin opened it and read it, his expression becoming serious, even somewhat grim.
"Has it been confirmed?" Lord Tywin asked in a deep voice.
"Not yet," the intelligence chief shook his head and added, "Since King's Landing dared to send it, it should not be wrong."
Lord Tywin placed the note on the table. The note stated the news of Tumbleton's trade route restoration.
After a moment of silence, Lord Tywin ordered, "All plans on the Golden Road are canceled. Have all troops withdraw from Tumbleton's territory."
"Just give up like that?" The intelligence chief asked, somewhat confused.
"If we don't give up like this, should we wait for House Tyrell and the House Footly to file a complaint with the Iron Throne before giving up?" Lord Tywin said with a cold face, looking at his intelligence chief, and said in a deep voice, "Also, tell them when they withdraw, to take everything they can, especially people."
"Yes, Lord," the intelligence chief replied.
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