Chapter 173: Pentos Rhapsody (Part 6)
A carriage guarded by a full fifty Unsullied passed the corner of Barrel Street.
Ian rode a tall, chestnut horse, surrounded by knights, at the head of the carriage. When he noticed a familiar figure casting a glance at him from the street corner, he gently lifted a corner of the carriage curtain beside him, letting the other person see the silver-haired boy and girl inside, and then nodded to them.
Afterward, the group gathered at the street corner quickly dispersed in all directions.
Magister Tetrus himself was no longer as calm and confident as before. He hurriedly stepped down from the dais and walked toward Prince Trigg's seat, wanting to question Trigg about why he had betrayed him.
There were no guards in the council hall of the Council Palace, so no one stopped Magister Tetrus. He walked unimpeded to Prince Trigg, who was wiping his sweat, grabbed him by the collar, and roared, "What do you mean? Was all of this your doing?"
"No, no," Trigg hurriedly shook his head and said hoarsely, "It's his trick!"
"Then clarify! Clarify to them! Tell your people that we are allies!" Magister Tetrus didn't care about alarming Illyrio anymore and said through gritted teeth.
"Oh! Yes, clarify, I can just clarify, clarify, clarify, clarify..."
"Murderer! Murderer!"
"He killed His Highness the Prince!"
"Tetrus is here to avenge his son!"
"Murder! Murder!"
"Guards!"
"Seize him!"
A cacophony of voices erupted in the council hall.
Magister Tetrus, holding Trigg who had suddenly collapsed against him, suspiciously placed his hand under Trigg's nose. Confirming there was no breath, he was about to loudly defend himself when suddenly he saw a poisoned needle in Trigg's neck.
Magister Tetrus looked up abruptly and saw the master of ceremonies wielding the silver whip, who had just stepped forward—a mocking smile on his face.
He had been standing behind Prince Trigg!
In an instant, Magister Tetrus realized something. He turned to look at Illyrio's position, and Illyrio calmly nodded at him.
It was him?
"Impossible," Magister Tetrus muttered. "Impossible. He struck first? This is impossible. How could he know? How could he know?"
Our plan was kept so secret, how could he possibly know? A desperate cry erupted in Groiro Tetrus's heart.
"Illyrio!" Magister Tetrus couldn't accept this reality. He roared, pulled the poisoned needle from Trigg's neck, and charged at Illyrio.
Unfortunately, before he could act, the magisters had already summoned the guards stationed in the palace into the hall. Magister Tetrus had barely stepped down from the Prince's seat when he was swarmed by the guards and pinned to the ground.
"Bind him! We're preparing for the trial!" Illyrio announced loudly.
Then, Illyrio couldn't help but think again of the plan Ian had proposed yesterday.
It was an idea that even a seasoned politician like him couldn't help but admire—using the rumor of an alliance between Illyrio and Hazan that arose from Yada and his group's participation in the tournament for Hazan to create an information gap within the Grand Council.
Because the alliance between Hazan and House Tetrus was a matter that Illyrio needed to keep absolutely secret, they would never inform their allies among the smaller houses.
Furthermore, Magister Tetrus's reason for convening the Grand Council was to "demand an explanation from the Prince and his son." Therefore, in the eyes of most magisters, Hazan and Illyrio were allies, while House Tetrus was the enemy.
Utilizing this information gap, Illyrio and Ian spent the entire night devising their complete plan for today.
Illyrio first had his little birds spread the news of his alliance with the Prince throughout the night, further strengthening his 'alliance' with Hazan.
Then, he contacted the master of ceremonies for Prince Trigg, whom he had already bought, and sent him a poisoned needle.
Illyrio ordered the master of ceremonies to kill Prince Trigg during the most passionate moment of Magister Tetrus's speech, so they could pin the murder on House Tetrus, causing the uninformed Braavosi faction members in the Grand Council to vote guilty in the trial of Magister Tetrus.
Afterward, Illyrio would personally nominate Hazan as the next Prince and demand that the Council grant the Prince greater real power, thus further solidifying the fact that 'he and Hazan are truly allies.'
Once Magister Tetrus's sons receive the news from the Grand Council, they will be convinced that their father has been betrayed by Hazan. By then, their armies will have already joined forces with Hazan's in the western district, and conflict will erupt immediately.
Simultaneously, to ensure House Tetrus's victory in the internal strife, Illyrio has deployed all his troops in the western district into the buildings along Hazan's attack route.
This will weaken Hazan's forces while allowing them to re-enter and block Hazan's retreat once he and House Tetrus's armies have clashed.
This will give Magister Tetrus's enraged sons the opportunity to kill Hazan.
After this is over, Illyrio can consolidate the remaining forces of the leaderless Braavosi faction and, together with Magister Rotalus, who commands the First Company, eliminate the remaining House Tetrus forces.
If the plan goes smoothly, Illyrio will not only eliminate all his political enemies in Pentos, but also pin the blame for Hazan's death on House Tetrus, preventing the Iron Bank from publicly holding him accountable.
The western district was in chaos.
Shortly after Ian successfully brought the Targaryen siblings out of Illyrio's manse, the armies gathered in the northern and southern districts, led by Prince Hazan and the eldest son of Magister Tetrus, entered the western district.
Although the military forces in the western district, including the city guard, merchant militia, and port guards, have strengthened their defenses due to the impending civil war, Illyrio, not wanting to alert them, has not informed them beforehand.
Therefore, these men are unaware that both sides in the civil war are actually targeting them.
As a result, shortly after the battle broke out, Illyrio's forces lost control of the entire western district, retreating to the merchant headquarters and Illyrio's various manses to hold out for reinforcements.
Following Ian's orders, Black Falcon Dorian and Polon did not carry out the attack order from Marte Tetrus. Instead, they led their men around to the vicinity of the port, occupied an inn, and waited there for Ian's next order.
"Seven hells, can anyone tell me what happened?" Bronn complained, downing his ale. "This morning, when I went to the Prince's Palace for the tournament, House Tetrus and Prince Hazan were mortal enemies. Now it's bloody interesting that Marte Tetrus has ordered us to cooperate with Prince Hazan in attacking Magister Illyrio. What are they playing at?"
"Be patient, my friend," Black Falcon Dorian shrugged. "Why do you care? Ser Lucien told us to wait here, so we just wait. Once his orders come, we work, get paid, and enjoy life. It's that simple."
"Like this morning's tournament, what did I tell you? Ser Lucien told you which side to fight for, and you did it. And what happened? Prince Hazan's side won with an overwhelming advantage, didn't they? Think about it, if you had chosen Suda's thousand gold dragons, it wouldn't have been a bad thing, because then I would have collected your commission on your behalf."
"You bastard... wait, the order's here." Bronn was about to curse, but seeing the familiar falcon, he immediately clapped Dorian on the shoulder.
Dorian quickly took the letter from the falcon's leg and watched it take flight again.
"What does it say?" Bronn asked eagerly.
"In twenty minutes, begin spreading the news in all the inns near the port that the Magister's Council of Pentos has ordered the confiscation of all ships in the port and that the streets near the port be set ablaze."
"Will the captains and sailors believe such a mad claim?" Bronn couldn't help but ask.
"Given this war, they will."
"Alright, so what's next?"
"Don't worry, there's a second part to the letter." Dorian said, unfolding the parchment.
(End of Chapter)
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