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In the face of war, Viserys Targaryen had determined to turn Viserysburg into an impregnable fortress.
Throughout history, the hammer and anvil tactic has been successfully employed; the key is that it works.
Viserys had never commanded a campaign of such scale, but he could summarize lessons from several famous major battles.
The Battle of the Crowlands destroyed by a master, the Battle of Qohor where the Unsullied showed their divine prowess, the Battle of the Trident, and even the yet-to-occur Battle of the Blackwater.
Roland Rykker was a participant in the Battle of the Trident, and The Red Viper was also deeply knowledgeable.
"Rhaenys, besides taking care of Daenerys, settle the Cooks, washerwomen, and servants in the court properly. Master Syrio can help you, and I will also assign Firefly to you."
"By your command, Your Majesty." Rhaenys's charming and delicate face turned serious. Currently, there were perhaps only three members of the House Targaryen; she had to shoulder her own responsibilities.
Security within the court was also very important. Viserys had Firefly bring three other Unsullied to serve as guards.
As for the matter of an Unsullied majordomo, it was still very popular in the Eastern Continent.
Bloodworm took five other Unsullied and began urgent shield formation training.
However, it was all a last-minute effort; the key to the Unsullied lay in long-term training, drug-like stimulants, and superb pain tolerance.
"Count Roland, you are responsible for harvesting fodder and the issue of army baggage. At the same time, gather all our people together."
The Andals and Rhoynar were experienced in hiding from the Dothraki, so gathering the population from the vast area presented little difficulty.
"I will complete it to perfection," Count Roland Rykker promised.
Roland felt that this would be a major battle no less significant than the Battle of the Trident.
The last war had already been lost; in this war, he would never allow himself to fail.
He had already failed his younger self and Rhaegar, but this time he could not fail Viserys.
"Let the shipyard in Viserysburg work at full capacity; we will use river boats in the future. As for the sea fleet, we currently rely on Morroq's fleet."
The Upper Rhoyne River and The Little Rhoyne River have shallow drafts; only small river boats can operate there.
The technology of the Andalos had not reached the level of sea-going ships; sea ships were the jewels of industrial achievement in the classical era.
Currently, the Andalos and Rhoynar under Viserys's command did not possess such a high level of craftsmanship; they couldn't build sea ships in a short time.
However, for ordinary river longships, their technical level was sufficient to complete them.
Viserys had quite a few good sailors; some escaped slaves were sailors and shipyard workers who had fled from various places.
If their numbers grew in the future, a sea shipyard would not be just a dream.
"Next is our troop arrangement. Count Roland and Prince Oberyn will serve as my deputies," Viserys said, reaching the main event.
"First is the reserve. I will lead some knights, as well as the eight hundred Dothraki warriors who have submitted to me," Viserys emphasized.
The dothraki horsemen were likely the swiftest cavalry they had on hand; as a trump card, Viserys decided to keep them under his direct control for now.
Viserys was not a strategic general like Tywin or Stannis; the personal prowess of those two was not particularly famous, as both were known for cautiously observing while leading the reserves.
Instead, Viserys was more like the currently popular vanguard commanders, charging bravely forward.
It was just that Viserys's personal quality was higher, placing more emphasis on the combination of strategic wisdom and physical strength.
"The rest will follow the military arrangements I made previously. Not only will the regular army move, but the auxiliary legions will also take the field. Count Donal will manage the first legion's land army, Argos will manage the independent cavalry, and Hugo will manage the longbowmen. Gaelin will be responsible for the second legion's river boat units and javelin throwers. The third legion, composed of escaped slaves, will be managed by Jarak. The fourth group will be led by the clever Dick."
Viserys combined all the regular and auxiliary troops he had previously arranged to ensure that Andalos would field the maximum number of soldiers this time.
Currently, Viserys's strongest military forces were the Andals and Rhoynar; the escaped slave population was smaller, but it contained many technical talents.
However, due to war and migration, the Andals and Rhoynar had long lost the power they once had to gather armies of hundreds of thousands.
After all, the population remaining in the Eastern Continent had decreased significantly; an army of tens of thousands might already be the current limit.
The Neck had seen some semi-wildlings gradually come to join Viserys, but they were far from enough to be called a legion.
"Then there is the issue of our external support." Viserys looked around at everyone. "I will personally go to negotiate with Braavos and Pentos."
Although Viserys felt that negotiation might be useless, he still had to make the necessary demands.
"I'll leave the matters of Norvos and Qohor to Prince Oberyn."
Norvos had the Bearded Priests with their axes, and Qohor had the Black Goat Cavalry and Unsullied city watch; although their numbers weren't particularly large, they were quite capable in a fight.
Oberyn's dark eyes flashed. "This suits me perfectly. I have a way with a spear, and I can say many witty things."
Oberyn's words were very relaxed, based on his experiences traveling through the Eastern Continent.
With his overseas connections in Norvos, Oberyn was very well-suited for this diplomatic task.
"I will do my best to seek the support of Norvos and Qohor," The Red Viper said. "But the outlook is not optimistic; getting these two city-states to remain neutral would already be a relatively good outcome."
Viserys had long expected this; the alliance between Norvos and Qohor would not join openly but would only maintain private contact.
"Besides Norvos and Qohor, there are still the The Three Daughters and Volantis," Count Donal said.
"Volantis is very inefficient," The Red Viper said dismissively. One of The Red Viper's paramours was a Volantene, so he knew the old city-state very well.
The Red Viper didn't disregard Volantis because he looked down on it.
Volantis was too far away, and with three horses pulling in different directions, getting them to pee in the same spot was extremely difficult; by the time they decided, the opportunity would be long gone.
The same applied to Myr and Lys; their groups of Governors who discussed things endlessly were also very slow to act.
"Lys and Myr are the same, so the only one with the greatest possibility is the Archon of Tyrosh. The army coming from the south," Viserys analyzed.
"Unless they see the war reach a fever pitch, the Tyroshi will not strike," The Red Viper said, shaking his head. "And I think they might not deploy Tyrosh's own city watch, but rather send mercenaries."
"I have considered that as well." Viserys nodded.
"In that case, we can also seek the help of some mercenaries. Tyrosh sends mercenary scouts, and we send mercenaries too... Although the effect isn't great, mercenaries won't fight a war they're losing," The Red Viper pondered. "I can write a letter to the Second Sons."
The Red Viper had spent time in the Second Sons and had some connections there.
"It's worth a try."
Viserys had considered a plan to decapitate Drogo, but the risk was not small, and he didn't know where Drogo resided; it was better to play it safe and steady.
Currently, the manpower had been organized; the plan was to defend and then counter-attack. Confronting Drogo in the open field was a suicidal tactic. Andalos simply didn't have that many warhorses and couldn't catch up to them.
"Those are the basic matters. Also, dig the moats deeper and wider, get the large catapults and scorpions in place, and ensure the stone, pitch, and wildfire are ready. Especially the wildfire—have the soldiers test it with fuel jars first; they must absolutely not let it burn themselves."
"The rest is to intensify the training of the warriors. I will personally train my reserves, and my dragon Sunfyre will serve as the decisive lethal weapon. For the rest, let us achieve an honorable victory," Viserys concluded at last.
With careful planning against an unsuspecting foe, Viserys had already prepared this combination of moves, added to his surprise trump card, the dragon.
When this whole set was unleashed upon Drogo, Viserys guaranteed it would turn the Eastern Continent upside down.
"May the Old Gods and the New bless you, and may the Warrior protect you to gain a great victory. His Majesty Viserys of the House Targaryen, the Sword of Andalos." Bishop Umber sang out loudly in praise.
Then all the voices converged into one, "His Majesty Viserys, the Sword of Andalos. Victory is certain!"
All the sounds merged into a river, waiting for the arrival of the war.
Deep in the night, in the King's bedroom.
"Goodnight, Viserys!" Rhaenys kissed Viserys's hand and then bid him farewell with Daenerys. "May the Old Gods and the New protect you."
"And protect you as well, good girls."
They had shed their disguises as people in power; now they were more like a family together.
Rhaenys and Daenerys had finished listening to Viserys's adventure stories, which were tense and dangerous.
Rhaenys felt that they should go on such adventures together.
Only after Viserys sent the two of them away did he have a moment of peace.
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Viserys looked at the furnishings in his bedroom; a black dragon egg lay quietly in the brazier, and not far away was that purple-red dragon nest.
This bedroom was perhaps the wealthiest bedroom in the world, with six fossilized dragon eggs and many precious weapons.
Viserys looked at these dragon eggs again and again, wondering if they also harbored their own souls.
Viserys lay comfortably in his bed; for now, he finally had a peaceful night.
That night, Viserys dreamed of the courtyard of the Red Keep once more.
He thought of the day he had left in a hurry; he had wanted to escape, but as a result, he had been trapped in place the whole time.
Until finally, a magnificent fire crackled, as if someone were responding.
As the flames continued to burn, giant pillars of fire began to rise around him, and a dragon was staring at him.
Not just one, but two dragons.
Viserys saw clearly; a golden dragon and a black dragon were looking at him, and then their lava-like gaze met Viserys's eyes.
Viserys was awakened by this dream.
"A Dragon Dream? And two dragons."