"I resolutely oppose this!"
Tywin stood up abruptly, absolutely refusing to allow this new system to replace the old one.
He was a beneficiary of the aristocratic class under the old system.
Daeron's so-called new system did not appear to rule the Stormlands on the surface, but in reality, it held the Stormlands firmly in hand, even more so than appointing a new Lord of Storm's End.
If successfully implemented, within twenty years, the Stormlands would become a second Crownlands.
Daeron remained calm and composed, completely unmoved.
Objection overruled!
"High Steward of the Kingswood, high waymaster of the kings road——"
Aerys murmured to himself, using what little political acumen he had to analyze the benefits.
No matter how he looked at it, this was a new policy that strengthened the royal family.
With a High Steward of the Kingswood, he could graze horses in The Kingswood and deploy troops at will to crack down on poachers.
By appointing a high waymaster of the kings road, he could monitor the entire Stormlands; if anyone harbored rebellious thoughts, the Iron Throne could deal with them directly through the local institutions of the High Waymaster.
There was no need for a middleman like the Lord of Storm's End to take a cut.
Aerys's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he suddenly slapped the table: "A fine idea!"
This was much better than establishing a Lord of Storm's End and giving away hard-won territory to someone else.
Tywin glared, about to voice his rebuttal.
Although the current Small Council Members were dismissed as fools and sycophants, they were not low in intelligence and their minds worked quickly.
Lord Staunton was the first to jump out in opposition: "No, the Seven Kingdoms have always been governed by Dukes over their vassals; there has never been a precedent for the royal family to appoint officials to oversee an entire region."
Daeron immediately retorted: "Dukes are enfeoffed by the Iron Throne, are Waymasters not also appointed by it?"
"This——"
Lord Staunton was suddenly speechless.
The other ministers lowered their heads one after another, pondering the flaws in the argument.
From the perspective of the nature of power, this statement was of course correct.
The King's enfeoffment of Dukes and appointment of Waymasters were both for the purpose of governing the country.
But the difference in systems led to a vast divergence in the distribution of power.
The emergence of the Waymaster system transferred the power to govern a region from the Dukes back to the Iron Throne itself.
It also turned the Duke's right to dispose of vassals into the Iron Throne's direct power over life and death through the local institution of the Waymaster.
To put it simply, it broke the old rule of 'my vassal's vassal is not my vassal, and my liege's liege is not my liege'.
It changed to 'my vassal's vassal is still my vassal, and my liege's liege is still my liege'.
This fundamentally undermined the rules of the aristocratic class.
"Prince, think twice!"
Lord Qarlton hesitated for a moment before casting a dissenting vote.
Daeron didn't even spare him a glance.
At this moment, the Small Council was divided into two camps.
Tywin expressed opposition, while the ministers remained silent.
There were no supporters.
After being excited for a long time, Aerys actually said: "Even if the High Steward of the Kingswood and high waymaster of the kings road are established, the personnel appointments should be handed over to me. I will turn the Stormlands into the Iron Throne's most solid backing."
Bang!
Daeron slammed the table and rose, shouting: "The new system must be implemented, and I must be the one to implement it personally. Today, whoever dares to oppose it is my enemy!!"
His voice was like a great bell, powerful and resonant.
Aerys trembled all over, intimidated by his Second Son's terrifying aura; for a moment, his eyes even cleared up.
Tywin's face changed drastically as he stood opposite Daeron. He not only felt a threat but also noticed for the first time the shift in the other's status.
Daeron was no longer who he used to be; he did not necessarily have to rely on House Lannister.
He had fiefs, titles, an army, and three dragons capable of war.
No one present could fully restrain him.
*Gulp*.
Lord Qarlton swallowed hard, wanting to be a peacemaker, and said with a forced smile: "Prince, please don't be so agitated. Let's talk things over slowly."
"I can't be bothered to talk, and you aren't worthy of listening!"
Daeron was not in the habit of wasting words and made the decision on the spot: "I have already determined the candidates for the three positions. They will be reported to the Small Council later."
"Remember, I am the Protector of the Realm. In wartime, all military matters are decided by me."
"I do not wish to hear any more voices of opposition."
Aerys's face contorted. If his mind hadn't been exceptionally clear today, he would likely have gone mad on the spot.
A threat!
A blatant threat!!
This damned unfilial son had already climbed over his father's head and started lording it over him.
Tywin's expression was no better.
As the Hand of the King, being rejected and threatened to his face, and hearing the high-sounding words that the Protector of the Realm decides all military matters during wartime, was nothing short of an insult to him.
On the other hand, the attitude of the ministers took a 180-degree turn.
Lord Staunton became quiet, burying his head and not daring to speak.
Lord Qarlton wore an awkward but polite smile, fearing he would be targeted by the Prince.
"I support it!"
Lucerys thought it over and raised his hand to vote.
He was originally a noble of the Crownlands and an Old Valyrian descendant who had benefited greatly since the return of the dragons.
As long as the Iron Throne could stabilize the situation, House Velaryon had no reason not to support it.
Varys kept his head down and silently raised his hand.
He was just making up the numbers; there was no need to force himself into the spotlight.
Maester Aemon frowned, looking at the restless Aerys and then at the emerging Daeron, and said softly: "The Stormlands are in a state of neglect. Changing to a new system, even if the situation is not optimistic, can stabilize the state of affairs."
He possessed decades of wisdom.
Although he didn't understand the concept of centralization, he saw that Daeron wanted to expand the Crownlands and strengthen the rule of the Iron Throne.
So, translated, this meant: pick the low-hanging fruit first.
If the Stormlands could be reformed, everyone would be happy; if the stormlords were outraged, they could be suppressed by force.
It wouldn't lead to major chaos.
Thus, except for the King and the Hand who were displeased, the ministers passed it by a unanimous (abstention) vote.
"Very well, then it shall be done."
Lady Olenna, enjoying the chaos, raised her wine glass, wanting to toast with Daeron.
Daeron remained expressionless and left his seat.
The Old Rose wasn't supporting his new system; she was a vested interest under it.
She was thinking about carving up the Stormlands.
As long as the Stormlands territory promised to her was given, she would definitely turn around and join forces with Tywin to trip him up and strike at the implementation of the new system.
This seemingly impulsive act of going his own way was his first collision with paternal authority, royal power, and the aristocratic class.
If the new system was successfully implemented in the Stormlands, the region would serve as his power base, making him a politically and militarily independent entity and resolving his predicament of having dragons but lacking a direct army.
After all, developing the Prince's Domain takes time, while the Stormlands is a piece of fully ripened meat.
And this was precisely what his father, King Aerys, as well as Tywin and Lady Olenna representing the aristocratic class, did not want to see.
A prince with dragons and succession rights, who then possesses an entire region—?
Then he wouldn't be waiting to inherit the Iron Throne from his father, having to make promises everywhere to win the support of the Great Houses.
Instead, if he wanted to inherit the Iron Throne, the Iron Throne would be right under his seat.
"I will use every bit of power at my disposal to push this system through and give the Stormlands a makeover."
Daeron had a long-term vision and was determined to build an independent foundation.
Anyone who dared to stop him was declaring war on him.
Dorne, the Water Gardens.
Rhaegar sat on the balcony of an open-air loft. Below was the exquisite and elegant Water Gardens, where many children of Dornish nobles were playing in the water.
A 4 or 5-year-old Dornish girl followed behind the older children, but she was too young to ever catch up.
But she was not discouraged.
When the older children stopped playing, she would sneak up and give one of them a hard punch.
With a splash, the older child was knocked into the pool.
"Haha, Arianne is being naughty again."
Prince Doran sat in his wheelchair, looking at his beloved daughter's fierce expression during her sneak attack, feeling incredibly happy.
A future Princess of Dorne must have this kind of ruthlessness.
After the guards fished out the crying older child, the two on the balcony officially began their conversation.
Prince Doran looked at his handsome and tall brother-in-law, expressing his dissatisfaction in a calm voice: "Do you know? I haven't found the time to see you these past few days because I've been wondering why you would abandon Elia and elope with another woman."
"I need her."
Rhaegar did not hide it and told the truth.
These words sounded particularly harsh to Prince Doran's ears.
"You came to me wanting nothing more than the support of House Martell. On what grounds?"
He couldn't expect House Martell to ignore the past after he had abandoned Elia.
Rhaegar had already thought of a countermeasure and said calmly: "I have never abandoned Elia. I still love her. She is my wife, and that will not change because of this."
Prince Doran's brow furrowed slightly. He wanted to say something but changed his words to: "That woman, is she your mistress?"
He did not believe that Crown Prince Rhaegar, hailed as a restorer of the realm, would be a man who thought only with his lower half.
Even if the other party said there was some hidden reason, he would ponder it for a while.
"Lyanna——"
Rhaegar shook his head and made his request for this meeting.
He would not abandon his wife Elia, nor did he want to give up Lyanna.
He chose a middle ground: to restore the House Targaryen's tradition of polygamy and give both women an explanation.
Prince Doran thought for a long time, staring at Rhaegar with an indescribable expression, thinking the other had gone mad.
Was a royal marriage a joke?
The Dance of the Dragons, which broke the back of the House Targaryen, was a bloody civil war that threw the Seven Kingdoms into chaos over a succession dispute.
That was a civil war between the daughter of Viserys I's first wife and the sons of his second wife—children born to wives of different periods.
If Rhaegar restored the tradition of polygamy, setting aside how the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms and the Faith would oppose it, how would the succession rights of the two women's children be distributed in the future?
One side would be Elia's children, and the other Lyanna's.
With two mothers existing simultaneously, the half-siblings would surely end up killing each other.
"If I ascend the Iron Throne, I will clearly designate the heir."
Rhaegar gave his assurance.
Prince Doran had a strong capacity for acceptance and said bluntly: "Who?"
Rhaegar stopped there, his indigo eyes staring straight into Prince Doran's.
Prince Doran took a deep breath and set his conditions: "You must clearly designate Rhaenys as the heir. If Elia bears you a son in the future, you will be allowed to change it to Rhaenys's full brother."
Dorne practiced equality between men and women, and both could be heirs.
But he didn't force Rhaegar to do the same.
The House Targaryen and the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms had established the iron rule of male-preference primogeniture after the Dance of the Dragons ended.
This might be unfair to Rhaenys, but according to another tradition of the House Targaryen, if one cannot be a Queen, one can still be a Consort.
"A very fair deal."
Rhaegar nodded in agreement.
Prince Doran turned serious and said: "Since you are willing to give Elia an explanation, then we should talk about what you can give back to us in exchange for House Martell's help."
His sister Elia had married Rhaegar so that the bloodline of House Martell would be integrated into the royal family, ensuring a close relationship between the Iron Throne and Dorne.
Rhaegar's elopement with Lyanna had made him almost despair, thinking the marriage alliance had failed.
He didn't expect things to take a turn; Rhaegar had come personally to Sunspear to find him and salvage this marriage.
Prince Doran had no reason to refuse.
Especially during this period of restoration when the House Targaryen had dragons, and dragons could steadily produce dragon eggs.
Next, it would depend on how much interest Rhaegar could cede in exchange for House Martell's support.
Support for his restoration of the Targaryen tradition of polygamy, support for his deployment of troops to quell the rebellion, and support for his ascent to the Iron Throne——
This was a long-term investment.
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