Bab 152: The Royal Tour II
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-Pov of Jon arryn seventh moon 286 AC
We had escaped from Tumbleton and I still felt that I was being watched from time to time, but we had only partially fulfilled our mission. We had much more information about Tumbleton than we would have obtained if we had sent more spies, and it was very obvious. No one returned; the level of control that the Finns exerted over their own people was brutal. Varys concluded that they had a relative knowledge of all the inhabitants, which made it very easy to identify those who seemed like spies, and they kept a close watch on non-residents of the city, which allowed them to eliminate any threats to their secrets. It was so effective that we didn't even know that the Finns had such a large coal mine.
Disgusted, Robert quickly left Tumbleton, as Robert was having a good time, but he didn't notice that, no matter how well we were received, we were not welcome. The only reason they welcomed us was out of loyalty to their lord, as they always emphasized a word when they spoke: "MY KING," and they referred to Robert as "King Robert," making it clear that they did not recognize him as the legitimate monarch. If we gave them a single excuse, it could end very badly.
So we returned to the Rose Road, this time heading to Ciderhall, which according to Varys' and the Master of Coin's investigation, had become an important area in recent months. There had been an explosive increase in taxes in the area, as a lot of merchants had started going there, and we needed to investigate what was happening in that place and what had happened for internal trade to change so much from one moment to another.
From time to time, we stayed in the inns that had been built along the road, which had excellent accommodations that many nobles could not afford in their own homes. Additionally, there was plenty of food available, but as expected, the spaces were limited, and only the highest-ranking nobles stayed in the rooms, while lesser nobles and knights had to pitch tents outside the inn to spend the night.
But commonly, the Prussian governors invited us to their mansions and welcomed us with banquets when we arrived. Although the treatment was much more sincere than that of the Finns, the Prussians did not hide their feelings about us in their words: "barbarians." That's how the Prussians saw us. One of the reasons we tolerated prostitution for the Prussians was an extension of slavery, which for them made us seem hypocritical. We condemned slavery, but brothels and pleasure houses were open, and it didn't help that Robert was a frequent and public user of these.
Apparently, Maximilian only told us nice things while the truth was hidden, and the discomfort that the Prussians had about us was much higher than it seemed. And the other, stronger reason is how life is lived in the Seven Kingdoms. And honestly, they are right. Prussian cities are characterized by being orderly, clean, with laws that are enforced, very different from the few cities in the Seven Kingdoms, with mediocre sewer systems or a culture of urinating on walls and throwing their waste out the window, with almost no possibility of punishing those who commit those disgusting acts. And it was understandable to some extent, but for some nobles, it seemed that the Prussians were crazy for considering us barbarians, but it was mostly a religious conflict of more fanatical nobles.
So from time to time, there were verbal fights when we visited Prussian castles, fortresses, or mansions, but everything ended soon when they began to challenge each other to duels. Usually, everyone preferred to eat the Prussians' words than to have to fight against someone who, by birth and religion, was taller, stronger, and more resistant.
So for several days, until we finally arrived at one of the points of interest that the Small Council wanted to review. And although it was thought to be the birthplace of some great city in the area, we were surprised to find that Cider Hall was used by the Prussians as one of the largest training grounds in the Seven Kingdoms for their massive army, which made sense when we reviewed tax reports and Varys' whispers.
Cider Hall was a city of military tents, and instead of extensive farmland, it was land that had been converted to train the Prussian army. We watched as the Prussian armies conducted their practice battles, with considerable military maneuvers between infantry and cavalry.
To the disgust of Robert and the Queen, we stayed several days in the area just reviewing the facilities of the Prussian camp, which, like their cities, was organized, clean, and orderly. But there was no comfort for anyone. Therefore, throughout our stay, we had to sleep in Prussian military cots, as it was the only thing they could offer us. Although they had large quantities of food, liquors were scarce, and Robert's only entertainment was going out on the horseback rides that the Prussian riders had, while Stannis and I tried to see as much of the training as they allowed us to see.
Since we knew we were abusing Prussian trust and they couldn't deny us access as long as the King was with us, but if we demanded too much, a formal complaint could come from Lord Hohenzollern, and everything would end, and they would deny us access to everything, in addition to insulting the most powerful lord in the kingdom.
We took every opportunity we had to talk to Prussian officers about training, but they were very brief, and the disdain they had in their eyes did not go unnoticed. Additionally, we had to deal with a problem that we thought we had left behind, as in Cider Hall, there was a large group of Finns who watched us closely and prevented us from going further than we were allowed.
After our moderately long stay in the military camp, we set course for another city that needed careful scrutiny: the forges of Ashford. Varys had tried, like many other great lords, to obtain, through spies in Prussian territories, the secret of how the Prussians managed to have steel of such high quality and in such quantity, as Ashford produced more steel than all the forges in the kingdom combined. Unfortunately, it hadn't affected the price of steel at all, as Lord Hohenzollern had it tightly controlled, something he could easily do since he controlled almost the entire steel market in the Seven Kingdoms.
Because Westerosi steel and Prussian steel were two completely different products. No smith without Prussian knowledge could remelt it to work it into swords, armor, or even horseshoes or simple utensils. It couldn't be molded, it only heated up. All the steel generated in the forges of Ashford was intended to supply the Prussian domestic market for construction, as it was known that all their buildings were constructed with large steel beams and liquid stone, allowing them to quickly build buildings that were very sturdy.
The journey to Ashford, as had characterized this trip, was peaceful. We only encountered smallfolk moving to their workplaces, several patrols of guards, and a multitude of merchants heading to the forge city, either by river or by land.
When we arrived in the vicinity of the governance of Ashford, we met its governor, who was waiting on horseback to guide us to his city.
"Lord Arryn... beautiful day... well, let's end the pleasantries... Oskar von Rastenburg, governor of Ashford... as the rules of Prussian nobility dictate, I invite you to my home to share my food and roof," said the Prussian governor without showing any emotion in his face or voice.
"We thank you for your kindness..." I tried to say, but I was interrupted.
"Let's avoid friendly chat or pleasantries, let's go straight to the part where I guide you to the city, as prolonging this conversation is wasting time that could be used to improve production efficiency," said the governor, turning to head back to the city.
"Damn! These Prussian liquors are strong indeed, I swear I saw my brother Stannis in front of me," said Robert trying to contain his laughter.
"Let's follow the path then," I said to Robert and Varys, who were with me on horseback.
"Do you think it will be feasible to obtain something important from this visit to Ashford?" I asked Varys as we returned to the carriage.
"I had my expectations when this journey began, as it seems that all the important places are guarded by the wolves that haven't stopped getting closer to us since we left their den. Their eyes still follow us, even so far from their home, and it's likely that Ashford also has its own wolves to protect something so valuable to Lord Hohenzollern," said Varys with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
We arrived at Ashford at dusk and found a large group of people carrying a coffin out of the church.
"Religious ceremony, when someone's death has no relation to death in the workplace, tends to improve morale, which leads to an increase in work efficiency in the days following this event," said the governor, observing everything.
We were well received by this governor, only that he was the most sincere and brutish man I had ever met for diplomacy. He frequently interrupted me to tell me to avoid compliments or not to waste my voice using complex words and to keep it simple.
The only time I saw him show emotion on his face was when we insisted on seeing the work in the forges of Ashford, and his response was simple: that the presence of guests or members of nobility in the forge area distracts the workers and reduces efficiency. And that word was used everywhere by him: 'efficiency, this, efficiency, that'. But we only saw the final parts of the work, as the smelting works were beyond our authorization due to the fact that our presence would reduce the forges' efficiency too much.
So our trip to Ashford was simply for the inhabitants of the area to see Robert, although if you ask the inhabitants of the area who the king is, they all point to the marble statue of Lord Hohenzollern in the town hall.
Our next destination of our journey was to visit Lord Hohenzollern's residence. Due to the extremely high levels of security, no one who has not been authorized by Lord Hohenzollern has entered that fortress, and knowing it would be vital, as Varys says that knowing how someone lives could tell us how he might make decisions. Harren the Black had the largest castle, and so was his vanity while being burned alive by the Targaryen dragons.
We returned by the same road that took us to Ashford and headed to Königsstadt, which was where the Prussian lord controlled all of The Reach.
The journey was short, but we arrived at our destination and saw the personal fortress of the Prussian lord. It was an artificial island, as they separated a part of the land with the rivers, leaving it completely surrounded by water and with long bridges on its two main walls and a stone palisade as a third defensive ring.
On the bridges, there were marble statues of Teutonic Knights with their helmets in one hand and a sword in the other, with some of the most realistic faces I had ever seen with inscriptions of "You shall not pass."
We tried to approach the fortification when we were stopped by the guards.
"Halt... only those invited by the king in Prussia may use this bridge," said the young guard looking at our entourage searching for someone to talk to.
I immediately got off and went to talk to the guard.
"Greetings... I am the Hand of the King Jon Arryn, and I have an invitation from Lord Hohenzollern to attend his wedding, just like everyone else," I said showing our invitations.
"These are invitations to Highgarden, not to Königsstadt," said the guard after reading the invitations.
"Well, we intended to use the bridges of this fortress to reach Highgarden sooner and visit your lord," I said to the guard.
"Without an invitation, no one crosses this bridge," said the guard, standing firm.
It was a complicated situation, as I couldn't twist it, it's not possible to deny the king passage... such a humiliation could weaken Robert's government.
I tried to convince the guards to let us pass, but nothing seemed to change their minds, as more and more guards were gathering on the bridges.
"Let them pass... they have no invitation, but our king would never humiliate one of his guests," said a knight, and I recognized Charles' voice as he had ridden towards us.
The guards made way, and we were allowed to pass, and Charles guided us through the fortress.
"Lord Arryn... next time you must announce your presence. The guards are instructed not to let anyone pass... anyone... especially with these guards who are men of the Teutonic Order, recently recruited among the locals... they seek above all to show their loyalty by following their orders to the letter," said Charles approaching our carriage.
I nodded to the knight who saved us from this political problem. We were allowed to pass through their bridges, and a small group could go see Lord Hohenzollern, as this place did not have the necessary accommodations for guests. We had to go to Highgarden if we wanted to rest.
So, with some knights of my house and the Kingsguard, I went with Robert and Varys to greet the lord of The Reach.
I prepared to be attentive to everything that was in the personal room of the Prussian lord, as in a safe place, people decorate their room as they truly are, or so says Varys, to discover the hidden intentions of some nobles.
The fortress was simply an administrative place: there were only barracks, warehouses, and hundreds of bureaucrats moving through the fortress until we finally reached the room where Lord Hohenzollern worked and entered.
Only to find that his room was almost empty, with a table full of paperwork, a pen and inkwell, some unlit candles, and a few shelves full of books. There were no decorations or anything else, just the sunlight illuminating this place.
Meanwhile, the blue eyes of Lord Hohenzollern looked at us with interest, I noticed that he was only wearing a white habit with the eagle of his heraldry.
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