Game of Thrones: The Red Dragon Lord.

Chapter 25 Little Rose

The strange expressions of the two made Gavin very confused. He racked his brains but couldn't guess what their intentions were. However, Gavin, who couldn't figure out their intentions, decided to do something serious first, fill his stomach, and then walked towards the dining table with food piled on the side.

Gavin soon understood why they had such strange expressions. He was enjoying the food leisurely, but before long, a group of young ladies kept coming to chat with him. They chatted with each other, making Gavin overwhelmed and anxious. Some of the ladies even spoke quite bluntly, and their bold and direct words made Gavin blush for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

Just when Gavin was at a loss, luckily Lord Mace Tyrell on the high seat raised his cup to give a speech, which interrupted Gavin's chaotic situation and saved Gavin from his predicament. Taking this opportunity, he quickly packed some food and quietly walked out of the courtyard.

Although it was already evening, the courtyard was still brightly lit. The moonlight was like water, sprinkling in the courtyard and blending with the bright lights.

The surrounding woods were lush and green, and the breeze rustled the leaves, as if whispering the secrets of the night. The flowers bloomed in the light and shadow, colorful and exuding a charming fragrance. A breeze blew, bringing a hint of coolness, and Gavin felt very comfortable here.

Gavin walked towards a chair under a tree in the distance, sat there and started to eat, feeling very angry: "No wonder they looked at me like that. Edmund didn't even remind me."

"Hello sir, nice to meet you. I'm Margaery Tyrell." Just as Gavin was about to complete his original goal, a female voice as sweet as a nightingale sounded from behind him.

Gavin turned around quickly and saw a little girl of about thirteen or fourteen coming behind him. She had straight brown hair, a delicate face like a finely carved jade, and a pair of big, clear, bright eyes that sparkled with a lively light.

Gavin quickly put down the plate and bowed: "Hello, Miss Margaret, nice to meet you, my name is Gavin Flowers"

In his previous life, Gavin liked the character of Little Rose very much when he watched the drama. She made every move on the chessboard correctly and always had the upper hand in the battle with Queen Mother Cersei. However, he did not expect that Cersei would overturn the chessboard in the end. Thinking of the death of Little Rose at that time, Gavin felt quite sorry.

Gavin looked at the little rose in front of him with confusion and asked, "This is a party held for your name day. As the protagonist, why are you here?"

"Can I call you Gavin?" Margaret did not respond to Gavin's question, but asked with a smile.

"Of course," Gavin replied.

"Then Gavin, why are you here?" Little Rose showed a gloating expression.

Gavin, who understood her expression, said helplessly, "I'm sure you saw everything just now, Miss Margery."

Margaret gently sat down on the chair opposite Gavin, swinging her legs gently, supporting her arms on the stool, and stretched her head to make a naughty expression to Gavin: "Gavin and I have the same troubles."

After they finished speaking, they smiled at each other. "You can call me Margaret, too, without the honorific. I've seen your group competition, it was really exciting. I guess you practice swordplay very hard, right?" "I wouldn't say I practice hard, but I do practice diligently every day." Gavin also sat down after saying that.

Margaery sighed helplessly, "Although Highgarden holds a tournament every year, this one happened to be my name day, so my father spent a lot of money on it."

After hearing this, Gavin showed a trace of doubt in his heart, but still complimented: "Maybe it's a bit extravagant, but this just represents the Duke of Metz's love for you. I believe that in the Duke of Metz's heart, family is very important. You must be very happy to have such a father."

After hearing this, Margaery smiled and sighed softly, and whispered, "In fact, Highgarden holds the tournament every year out of helplessness. I'm sure you've heard about the situation in the Reach."

Gavin knew, of course, that the Tyrells had very poor control over the Reach, and after thinking for a moment he responded cautiously, "I've heard of that," but he didn't dare say more.

After hearing this, Margaery smiled and said, "It's okay, Gavin. In fact, everyone in the Reach knows that the Tyrell family does not have a strong control over the Reach. Holding a tournament to promote the spirit of chivalry is also a way to maintain the majesty of the feudal lord." After a pause, she said helplessly, "Although the family is very rich, holding a tournament every year is not only a huge expense, but also makes the security of Highgarden very bad. It would be better if the money could be used to build the territory."

Gavin was very surprised to hear Margaery's words. In his opinion, holding such a grand party in his territory would not only make money, but also cost a lot of money. Then he asked curiously, "Did the Tyrell family not gain any profit from this tournament?"

"The prize money and the various entertainment expenses for the nobles alone are no less than 2 gold royals. Gavin, do you think there will be any profit in holding a martial arts tournament?" Margaret opened her eyes wide and looked at Gavin with curiosity.

"Don't you collect taxes?" Gavin asked curiously.

"Yes, but the taxes collected by the tax officials are far from enough to cover the expenses." Margaret said helplessly.

After hearing this, Gavin curiously asked Margaery about the specific tax collection method. After listening to Margaery's explanation, Gavin instantly understood the problem. There were too many people, and various caravans were swarming in. Unfortunately, the terrain of the Reach was flat and well connected. There were countless roads leading to or passing through Highgarden. When the caravans gathered at the foot of Highgarden, it was difficult for the tax officials to collect taxes in the chaotic, crowded and scattered market, causing countless merchants to conceal their reports.

After a little thought, Gavin explained casually:

"In fact, there are many ways to make money by holding such a tournament. For example, the simplest way is to collect commercial taxes. You can classify and plan several large commercial streets in advance, use the tents in the Tyrell family's inventory to build camps around the commercial streets in advance. In this way, the tax officer only needs to identify the goods entering the commercial streets, and then collect taxes according to the quantity and type of goods. This will prevent most commercial activities from escaping supervision. As long as there is supervision on the business side, merchants will naturally not be able to escape paying taxes. And those camps outside can also charge a certain amount of rent."

Margaery looked at Gavin, her eyes full of surprise and admiration. She never thought that the problem that had plagued the Tyrell family for a long time was solved so easily by Gavin.

(End of this chapter)