"Alright, I'm sorry to have brought up those memories. Now, you are my guests. I've heard from my teacher that you are a very intelligent and knowledgeable person. If you'd like, you can take our civil service exam and try to get a position here."
Tyrion hadn't expected to have to take an assessment. But considering his appearance, he wasn't exactly the kind of person people would worship. In fact, the assessment only fueled Tyrion's interest. He'd always considered himself intelligent. During his brief tenure as Hand of the Seven Kingdoms, he'd shown his intelligence briefly, but it hadn't been enough. Now, an opportunity presented itself for him to rise through the ranks using his own wisdom. The Imp was immediately intrigued.
Varys was treated much better than Tyrion. After all, he was a former retainer of House Targaryen. Over the years, he had secretly taken care of Daenerys and her brother. Although this old man was cunning and not entirely trustworthy, Lu Xuan naturally had plenty of ways to discipline him on his own turf.
Unlike Tyrion, who needs to take a civil service exam, Varys doesn't need to. After all, he has his own intelligence network in Essos. Joining Lu Xuan's intelligence network is like a top actor bringing their own investment to the project; the treatment is naturally different.
Varys's Little Bird system could greatly supplement Lu Xuan's intelligence network's control over the lower levels of society. This was something Lu Xuan had prepared long ago. Varys knew he had no right to refuse, so he readily agreed.
After a day of rest, the little devil couldn't wait to go to the civil service exam location in Meereen.
He was greeted by dedicated staff who explained the various rules to him. He could choose a specific area to participate in the assessment. The categories were numerous, including urban planning, wastewater treatment, agricultural cultivation, new crop development, weapon and armor improvement, and general education...
A quick glance revealed that all the positions concerned practical matters of people's livelihood. This significantly increased Tyrion's approval of Daenerys's rule. At least she was a leader who cared about the common people, far better than the incompetent bunch from the Seven Kingdoms.
Tyrion was still quite unhappy, because he didn't find any positions he liked among them. Why weren't there any positions related to dragons?
"A dragon?" The receptionist at the assessment office stared blankly at Tyrion. Tyrion could read a clear message in the other person's eyes: 'You think you can just see a dragon whenever you want?' Yes, Tyrion was certain that was the meaning behind the other person's look. This left Tyrion feeling disheartened. Come to think of it, how could a job related to dragons be conducted through such a haphazard selection process?
Daenerys's palace. The two were watching Tyrion's series of actions through a small projection.
"Teacher, why did you keep him behind specifically?"
"A little. This guy's knowledge is genuine. Especially his research on dragons, he's quite accomplished. We don't have many scholars with his kind of rich theoretical knowledge. I'll let him try managing our pterosaur legion first."
After all, there will be more and more pterosaurs in the future. We can't both of us have to go into battle every time. Let him try, let him build a real pterosaur legion.”
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Chapter 306 Before the Battle
Tyrion eventually landed a job related to dragons: cleaning up their dung. On average, he had to clean up dung about ten times his own size every day…
Although this was completely different from the job he had imagined, Tyrion ultimately agreed. It was one of the very few jobs that would allow him to get close to dragons.
Tyrion noticed that those who could approach the dragons were almost exclusively Dothraki and Unsullied. He knew Daenerys and that the Dothraki and Unsullied were among her earliest forces. As a sign of respect, her Kingsguard included a Dothraki Howler and an Unsullied warrior. At first, Tyrion thought that making the Kingsguard like this was blasphemous. But after a while, he realized it was a stroke of genius.
Besides these two groups, there were also several alchemists responsible for researching the alchemical bomb devices carried by the dragons. However, each time they approached, a squad of Unsullied followed them.
After all the calculations, it turned out that only Tyrion had the ability to contact the dragons at any time, and he was an outsider.
Tyrion was clever. He sensed this was his chance. He knew it from the beginning. The other side's use of dragons to bring him back was definitely for a reason. Now it seemed it was related to the dragons. Although these dragons weren't the demonic dragons Tyrion had imagined, in terms of size, they were no less impressive. Aside from not being able to breathe fire, they were essentially the same as demonic dragons.
Moreover, the special wildfire bombs developed in Slaver's Bay are incredibly powerful, their lethality against warships and even people comparable to dragonfire. Tyrion involuntarily recalled the air raid that night. He even imagined what would happen if this tactic were used in the Seven Kingdoms. The result was that none of the Seven Kingdoms were able to counter it.
Tyrion's work was quite demanding. Besides the initial nine-headed pterosaurs, many smaller pterosaurs had gradually joined the fray. Meanwhile, the dragon eggs that had been incubating were beginning to mature, and yesterday, a baby dragon successfully hatched.
Seeing the hatched dragon eggs, Tyrion's thoughts raced. The successful hatching of the eggs meant that Slaver's Bay had mastered the complete method of taming pterosaurs. Artificial breeding was no longer an obstacle. This meant that the number of pterosaurs in Slaver's Bay would increase dramatically. Over time, Slaver's Bay would possess a super pterosaur army of unimaginable size.
Meanwhile, the attacks of the nine city-states will become increasingly weak. In a sense, this period is actually their last chance. If they cannot defeat Daenerys in this war, their chances will diminish as time goes on.
But what are the allied forces outside doing? Tyrion knew without a doubt. They were arguing again. The air raid that night had destroyed a large amount of supplies. The allied forces were once again caught in a cycle of passing the buck. The Golden Company hadn't received enough pay and was unwilling to fight. And if the Golden Company wouldn't go, the other mercenary groups were even less likely to.
In truth, the loss of these supplies was insignificant to the nine city-states. Their wealth far exceeded Westeros's expectations. They could afford ten times the amount lost. The crucial question was: who would pay for it? Whose responsibility was it for the destroyed supplies? Should the remaining supplies be prioritized for the Golden Company, or distributed equally among all the armies?
These problems are the root cause of the infighting among the nine city-states. The coalition consists of nine major powers and dozens of smaller ones. Internal issues are countless. Even if a group of slave owners were to command this war, let alone real-world 'marshals,' their heads would explode.
They couldn't fight, and dragging it out meant daily losses of astronomical figures. The leaders of the allied forces finally couldn't sit still any longer.
“We can’t continue like this. We’re wasting time here while Daenerys hasn’t lost anything. If this goes on, we can’t outlast her.”
"Why must we fight? We've blockaded the entire Slaver's Bay, and they're not getting any supplies right now. They'll collapse in less than a year."
"Idiot, Daenerys started stockpiling food and supplies two years ago, or even earlier. Now, a rough estimate suggests that her three cities can last at least a year and a half. As for us, those minor nobles don't have our resources. They can't just sit here and do nothing. They'll withdraw in a month at most. And once that starts, this war won't need to be fought anymore."
"Then what do you suggest we do? The Golden Company is demanding a higher price, but that woman burned all the supplies we brought. The other mercenary groups aren't budgeing either. Are we supposed to send our own people to the front lines?"
“Give each member of the Golden Company a slave. I know you each brought over a hundred slaves. We won’t need that many anyway. Use them all to pay the Golden Company’s commission. But demand that they launch an attack within five days. I’ll donate my two hundred slaves first.”
"......"
The movements of the allied forces outside the city alarmed Lu Xuan.
"Heh, looks like they've offered a price the Golden Company can't refuse. How much longer until our people arrive?"
“We have received word that they will be able to enter the port tonight. However, the entire Slaver's Bay is blockaded by the Valantean fleet. The transport ships may not be able to get through.”
"I understand. I will launch a surprise attack tonight. Have your men prepare to bring in our Free People fighters."
Tyrion knew war was coming. All the pterosaurs had been removed, including a dozen or so smaller ones that arrived later. At the same time, Tyrion also noticed Daenerys's three dragons preparing for battle. This raid seemed several times larger than the last one.
Tyrion wanted to say, "Let me go and see too." However, he knew that as an outsider, he couldn't possibly participate in such a major military operation. But strangely enough, that afternoon, Tyrion was invited to the war council.
"Our fleet is neither as numerous nor as good as the warships blockading us from the outside. But that's not a problem. What you need to do is use the chaos created by the Dragon Legion to form an escort channel so that the transport ships carrying Free Clan warriors can pass through quickly. Sir Jorah, you are in charge of the escort."
"no problem."
“Very good, Dani, control of the dragon is now in your hands. Remember, tonight we are attacking a real fleet. Among these fleets are at least four hundred dragon-hunting crossbows. Although your three dragons have made do with simple armor, they can still be injured if hit head-on. So, remember the distribution map I gave you. Avoid the areas with the most dragon-hunting crossbows. Use dragonfire to create chaos. The primary objective is to ensure your own safety and the safety of the dragons. The main force of tonight's raid will be me and the Wyvern Legion.”
“Understood.” Daenerys was self-aware when it came to military matters. She had always taken Lu Xuan's will as the standard. Tyrion, standing to the side, was somewhat surprised. His opinion of Lu Xuan rose another level, after all, this was a powerful figure who could arrange for the Queen to execute his tactics.
After outlining the basic tactics, Lu Xuan turned his attention to Tyrion.
"As for you, Tyrion Lannister, you will come with me."
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