Ever since Robb captured Jaime, the Northern army had been stationed in the Riverlands, waiting to negotiate with the Lannister forces.
For Robb, with his family safe and sound, the Riverlands liberated, and Jaime in his possession, he had no further interest in fighting with these Southerners.
Eddard valued honor; had it been him here, he would undoubtedly have marched south to aid the king and place Stannis on the iron throne.
But Robb and the other Northern nobles did not think so. Now that there were three kings laying claim to the iron throne, the Northmen intended to return home and wait for the internal conflict within House Baratheon to resolve before making any decisions.
Meanwhile, Roman took advantage of the negotiations between Stark and Lannister to focus on development along the shores of the Gods Eye.
"Old Tywin will surely have to return to aid King's Landing soon; I cannot let him move his troops so comfortably."
The only road Tywin could take now was The Goldroad, but traveling this route would inevitably lead to an encounter with the tributary where the Gods Eye flows into the Blackwater Rush.
Furthermore, with the Riverlands reclaimed, Tywin had to decide how to allocate the food supplies of the Westerlands: should he go to rescue King's Landing and leave the people of the Westerlands to starve, or maintain the status quo and let King's Landing suffer from a food shortage?
Now that Stannis had occupied Storms End, Roman estimated that his next step would be to use the shadow assassin to eliminate Renly.
While Roman was deep in thought, Philia walked over with tea and refreshments:
"Lord Roman, news has arrived from the Department of Agriculture. Mr. Wilson has cultivated a new variety of pest-resistant crops using wild plants, which is perfect for dealing with the frequent blight in the farmland of The Crownlands."
Smelling the faint scent of cake in the air, Roman smiled and said to the young girl:
"Philia, you've been sneaking sweets again lately, haven't you? Aren't you afraid of gaining weight?"
"I! I have been controlling my food intake; I won't let my figure go to waste!"
Amidst the joking, Roman realized that with the high grain yields in his territory, he had seen desserts displayed in the bakery windows of the town more than once.
Suddenly, Roman changed the subject:
"Philia, do you think we should send food aid to King's Landing?"
"Huh?"
The girl was stunned, and her tea-pouring motion stopped. Philia asked in confusion:
"Lord Roman, aren't we enemies with the Lannisters? Wouldn't sending food to King's Landing be helping our enemy?"
Roman shook his head and explained:
"If my goal were to capture King's Landing, then I would indeed need to cut off their food supply and lay siege. But our primary goal now is to occupy more land; King's Landing is not currently under consideration."
"Now that both Stannis and Renly have intentions to attack King's Landing, whoever takes the throne, we will not be able to expand as freely as we do now. Therefore, I intend to let King's Landing hold out a little longer."
After thinking for a while, Philia nodded: "I understand. So, how much shall we prepare?"
Upon hearing this, Roman flicked Philia on the forehead: "We don't have much in our own reserves, so even if we want to send aid, we can only do our best. Don't forget, King's Landing has 500,000 people!"
"Prepare enough food for a month or two, and send it to the people of King's Landing in the name of the House Whent. Remember, it is for the people; that slogan must be spread far and wide!"
Philia rubbed her head, then patted her chest, assuring Roman that she would complete the mission.
Shortly thereafter, news that the House Whent was going to transport aid food to the people of King's Landing spread throughout The Red Keep. Kevan and Tyrion rushed to the meeting room to discuss it.
Kevan: "Roman Whent is sending us food in the name of his family, but he has made such a fuss about it while it is still on the way. I fear he has no good intentions."
The Imp stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and said: "Ser Roman is providing food aid, not resuming trade, which means we are still in a state of hostility."
"As for whether there is a conspiracy, we have no choice. Stannis and Renly are already closing in on the iron throne, and we need every bit of strength to win this war."
Kevan: "Perhaps Roman just wants us to hold out longer against the stag so that he can continue to conquer more territory."
Tyrion gave a bitter smile upon hearing this. What if they knew? Tywin had already been beaten back to the Westerlands, and a wave of attacks by Barristan had wiped out many of the heirs of the Westerlands' noble houses.
The only good news now was that the North, the Riverlands, and Roman did not intend to contend for the iron throne.
"Do they really not?" Tyrion asked himself.
House Tully of the Riverlands and House Stark of the North seemed to truly not care who sat on the iron throne; they only cared about whether their own lives would be affected.
But Roman was certainly not so content. Look at everything he had done; Tyrion could guarantee that if Roman were allowed to continue developing, he would likely become an uncrowned king in the future.
"Heh! Why think so much? I should first think about how to solve the problems right in front of me!"
Tyrion took a sip of red wine, the sour, astringent taste rushing to his head. Finding bitter amusement in his situation, Tyrion thought of his father.
"Father, oh father, you have this day too? The arrogant lion also has a time when his fangs are broken. Now I would like to see how you maintain the honor of the Lannisters!"
Deep down, The Imp was actually grateful to Roman for beating up Tywin. Tywin had always looked down on Tyrion, and Tyrion had always hated Tywin.
But this son also yearned from the bottom of his heart for his father Tywin's approval. Now, seeing Tywin being slapped in the face so hard, The Imp felt that he could finally strip away his father's glory and let him take a good look at him.
————
King's Landing, Port
Under the supervision of Tyrion and Kevan, a cargo ship bearing the nine-bat sigil of the House Whent slowly docked, surrounded by soldiers and citizens.
Roman had spread the news long ago, so Tyrion and Kevan had to increase manpower to guard the port, preventing this precious food from being destroyed or looted.
As bags of grain were carried off the ship and inspected by the soldiers, the surrounding crowd instantly erupted.
"Finally, there is food! We've eaten all the rats lately, and many people have died from the plague because of it."
"The Mother have mercy, thank you to Lord Roman for his kindness, and thank you for being willing to provide us with food aid while in a state of hostility!"
"Lord Kevan! Lord Tyrion! How will this food be distributed? How much will we commoners get?"
"You actually believe a dwarf will distribute food fairly? If you ask me, don't dream about it; instead..."
Listening to the discussions of the surrounding crowd, Kevan and Tyrion felt immense pressure.
The food Roman sent was by no means a large amount; while it could solve the immediate crisis, it could not last long. They could not help but marvel at Roman's terrifying ability to wage a propaganda war; now, the people of King's Landing were actually speaking up for the enemy that was blockading them.
Of course, the reason Roman did this was because of Cersei and Joffrey's madness. If that mother and son had acted like decent human beings, they wouldn't have turned their son-in-law (brother-in-law) into an enemy.
Just as Kevan and Tyrion were carefully distributing the food, the Harrenhal Army had already arrived at Duskendale.
This port town was about to face its own choice.
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