The Mountain of Ice and Fire

“Arbor Gold?” Edd asked in disbelief, “Does Lord Gregor control the Arbor Gold of House Redwyne?”

“It's a partnership.”

“The Countess of Redwyne is the mother of the Duke of Tyrell, and Lord Gregor killed Randyll Tarly, a famous general under Tyrell's banner. Outside King's Landing, Lord Gregor's horse archer general shot down Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers. Under these circumstances, Earl Redwyne still chose to cooperate with Lord Gregor?!” Edd had deep doubts.

With his simple character and naivety regarding the complexities of power struggles, he couldn't understand how the Mountain had accomplished this.

This was simply an impossible collaboration!

“Edd, the Queen of Thorns, Tyrell's mother, was poisoned at Joffrey I's wedding feast. The poisoner was Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne, Tyrell's family's mortal enemy. Gregor found out the truth and killed the Red Viper in a trial by combat, avenging the Tyrell family. During the High Sparrow's rebellion, it was Duke Gregor who arranged for Little Rose Margaery Tyrell to be rescued. After Gregor legally beheaded Kevan, Duke Tyrell became Hand of the King, thanks to Lord Gregor's support. When it comes to right and wrong, grudges and power struggles, it's hard to say who is a truly unchanging enemy and who is a truly unchanging ally.”

Edd Stark still listened with confusion. He still couldn't understand how the Mountain was able to persuade the Redwyne family to cooperate with him on Arbor Gold, which never had to worry about sales. It was too unbelievable!

*

Jon was even more shocked. What kind of person was the Mountain, that he could control the black beer and ale of the Riverlands, as well as the Arbor wine? How did he do it? If Earl Gavin hadn't mentioned it, Jon would never have imagined that someone controlled the Seven Kingdoms' liquor industry.

Controlling liquor sales was the result, but the planning before that was what was most frightening. In the chaotic wars of the Seven Kingdoms, who would have the mind to think about controlling the liquor industry of the Seven Kingdoms?

Iron ore was an irreplaceable item that all countries had to buy, while alcohol, although it could be replaced by other foods or completely prohibited in a certain territory, no one could order their subjects not to drink, especially the soldiers. If people couldn't live without drinking, then they would need to exchange for the paper money promoted by the Clegane Bank.

The Mountain was still thinking about how to control iron ore and alcohol while constantly fighting wars, and he also established a bank and launched bank paper money. This was not something a reckless man could do. The Mountain was a war maniac, but without a doubt, he was also a business genius.

“Father, black beer and ale are specialties of the Riverlands. Did Uncle Edmure also choose to cooperate with the Mountain?”

“Jon,” Earl Gavin said solemnly, “Perhaps you and Duke Edd don't know yet, but Duke Edmure and Duke Gregor are already my sons-in-law. My eldest daughter, Jeyne, is Duke Gregor's wife, and my second daughter, Elinore, is Duke Edmure's wife.”

Upon hearing this, both Edd and Jon were stunned!

“Edmure and Elinore were married not long ago. I only received Gregor's raven when I was almost at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Gregor represented House Westerling, representing Elinore's family, and attended the wedding of my youngest daughter, Elinore, and Lord Edmure. Elinore is Jeyne's sister, and Gregor's sister as well.”

Edd Stark and Jon Snow exchanged glances.

In that case, Earl Gavin and the Stark family were already very close relatives. Edd was Edmure's brother-in-law, and Gavin's daughter was Edmure's wife. In that respect, Gavin was Edd's uncle.

Edmure had actually married Elinore?

Edd's first reaction was disbelief!

But reason told him that Earl Gavin wouldn't joke about his daughter's honor and his family's glory. Then, it was clear that what Gavin said about Edmure and Elinore being married was true!

After Edd's stunned daze, he finally returned to reason. He said with some emotion, “Gavin… my lord, Edmure finally chose honor and keeping his word.”

“Yes, Edd!”

Jon looked at his father, “Father, what exactly is going on with Uncle Edmure? He got married without sending a letter to inform you!”

Edd frowned slightly, his expression solemn. Edmure was a stubborn boy, and he understood Edmure's childish side, “Jon, three years ago, the Riverlands suffered a milk plague. Edmure went to Casterly Rock in the Westerlands to learn how to heat milk for sterilization and disinfection. He became intimate with Elinore Westerling after drinking, and soon after, the two were officially engaged. After the civil war broke out, the wedding was repeatedly postponed. Now the two are finally officially married, congratulations to them!”

Edd Stark omitted many twists and turns and Edmure's repeated refusals to marry, which took into account Earl Gavin's honor. Elinore Westerling arrived at Riverrun before the war and has been living in Riverrun ever since. She finally waited for the temporary end of the civil war and married Edmure as she wished. Although Edd supported Edmure taking responsibility, Edd didn't know the specific details of how that silly boy Edmure figured out that he was willing to marry the young Elinore girl.

According to Earl Gavin, Gregor attended the wedding. Then, was Gregor the one who forced it? Edd knew that Gregor was capable of forcing things!

Edmure didn't send a raven to the Stark family in the North with the good news of Edmure and Elinore's marriage. He was a very proud young noble. During the civil war, when the Stark family was in Riverrun, he clearly stated that he would not marry Elinore. Although he was criticized by his sister, brother-in-law, Robb, the Blackfish, and others, he did not yield. But now he married her silently, and he probably felt that there was no need to immediately send a raven to his sister and brother-in-law.

But this kid agreed to give all the black beer and ale of the Riverlands to the Mountain for unified sales?

The Riverlands was the second largest granary in the Seven Kingdoms after the Reach, rich in freshwater fish, wheat, corn, potatoes, and millet. They were also good at brewing black beer, ale, and cider, which were sold far and wide to the Free Trade Cities of the Narrow Sea. Arbor's wine was the nobility of wine, not something ordinary people could afford; but the Riverlands' black beer, ale, and cider were of good quality and low price, liked by nobles and even more liked by the common people. The black beer, ale, and cider drunk by the subjects of the Seven Kingdoms were mostly produced in the Riverlands.

Looking at the strange expressions on Jon and Edd's faces, Earl Gavin felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart. At first, when he married off his daughter, he had the heart to kill the Mountain. Facts proved that he was wrong. The Mountain was a divine son sent by the Seven Gods to save the Westerling family's rise. The Mountain had been creating miracles since the beginning of the civil war.

“Edd, Duke Gregor and Duke Edmure are not just cooperating on black beer, ale, and cider. They also agreed to cooperate on snow salt and Westerling noodles. Their cooperation will increase, and cooperating on wine, salt, and noodles is just the beginning of cooperation.”

Jon and Edd exchanged glances again.

Edmure definitely had no business acumen, so who was leading all of this? It was the Mountain again?! Yes, it was the Mountain again!

“Father, with the attack of the Others, perhaps we need more support from the Mountain. The more people stationed at the Wall, the greater the daily consumption of horse feed and grain. We need the Mountain's business ability to raise more grain for us. We need to store a large amount of grain to get through the winter. This long summer is already the eleventh year, and this winter will be very long.”

The longer the long summer, the longer the winter will be!

Edd nodded. After thousands of free folk joined the allied forces, the grain reserves were obviously not enough. The giants' food intake was even more astonishing. The shortest of them was four meters tall, riding mammoths, and the smallest giant ate at least five people's worth of food per meal. In the free folk army, there were more than a hundred giants, whose leader was Mag the Mighty, a giant who was over five meters tall and ate ten people's worth of food per meal. Even the Mountain's burly body was just a half-grown child in front of the giants.

“Gavin, we need more help from Lord Gregor, grain, troops, cloth, iron ore!”

“Edd, I will go back and convey it to Duke Gregor. I hope he can find a way to cooperate with the North.”

“Gavin, I hope to reach a reconciliation with the Lannisters first through Lord Gregor. To resist the Others, we need to unite the power of the Seven Kingdoms. Winter is coming soon, and if the Wall falls, it is not just the North that is in danger of being destroyed.”

The Lannister family was already half crippled. What Edd hoped to achieve reconciliation with was actually the power of the royal family in King's Landing, not the power of the Lannister family. The royal power included the power of the Tyrell family, the Stormlands, and the Crownlands.

“Edd, I will do my best!” Earl Gavin said. Gavin had not experienced fighting the Others, nor had he seen wights. He had not yet deeply felt the fear brought by the Others.

But Jon and Edd had already regarded persuading Gavin as an opportunity to pry open the Southerners' helping hand…

*

At the same time, a major event occurred in Lannisport in the Westerlands, no less than the Clegane army's triumphant conquest of the Iron Islands—in the year 299 of Aegon's Conquest, the hundreds of handsome young men sent by the Mountain to the Rhoyne River basin returned under the protection of the Clegane death squads.

The Rhoyne River was the upstream river of the Free Trade City of Volantis. On both sides of the river were fertile plains and hills. It was also the ancestral home of Nymeria, the ancestor of the Martell family of Dorne, and the origin of the Rhoynar among the Dornish people. The Rhoyne River basin grew mulberries and raised silkworms. Although the textile business was not very developed, the silk they produced was sold all over the world and circulated to the three continents: Westeros, Essos, which was many times larger than Westeros, and Sothoryos, which was many times larger than Essos. It was the most sought-after high-end exquisite commodity for nobles and wealthy people. Also, because of growing mulberries and raising silkworms, there were many rich people in the Rhoyne River basin, but the poor were still the poor. Ordinary people did not become rich because of raising silkworms and weaving silk. In addition to the rich and common people, there was also a class forbidden in Westeros—slaves!

All the silk dresses worn by all the nobles and wealthy people on the Westeros continent came from the Rhoyne River and eastern cities. On the Westeros continent, the only place with two mulberry trees was in the courtyard of Earl Osgood's main castle in Lannisport. These were two mulberry trees that Earl Osgood had someone transport from across the Narrow Sea before his death. He planted them in the courtyard as ornamental trees to admire.

These two mulberry trees gave the Mountain the inspiration for his plan to grow mulberries and raise silkworms in the Westerlands. Before crossing over, the Mountain had read historical books and remembered a story about a silk powerhouse becoming rich and strong. It was about a certain country's prime minister exporting a large number of handsome young men to a neighboring country, and then the following year, the handsome young men returned home, bringing back young women from the neighboring country who knew how to weave, grow mulberries, and raise silkworms. Soon, this country became a sericulture power, no longer poor because the king and ministers were obsessed with importing silk, but instead becoming rich and strong by exporting silk.

The Mountain copied this method. In the year 299 of Aegon's Conquest, the Mountain gathered hundreds of handsome young men in the Westerlands, invited wise men from Volantis to train their language skills, learned about the customs and culture of the Rhoyne River, and then sent Clegane soldiers in disguise to escort the handsome young men to the Rhoyne River basin.

In the year 300 of Aegon's Conquest, the wealthy, talented, and versatile handsome young men returned from the Rhoyne River basin, bringing back young women from ordinary families who knew how to grow mulberries, raise silkworms, and weave, as well as mulberry tree seeds and silkworm eggs in several large ships.

On the day the young men returned, Lannisport was crowded with people. Lady Jeyne led the Clegane generals to gather at the port to personally welcome the young men who were full of the Mountain's hope. Archmaester Bancroft, the acting castellan, and all the nobles and wealthy merchants in Lannisport also appeared at the dock. They surrounded Lady Jeyne and welcomed the returning young men, the Clegane soldiers responsible for secretly protecting them, and the hundreds of young women from the Rhoyne River basin.

The wealthy merchants with power in the Westerlands had already secretly defected to Jeyne and became one of the owners of the Clegane Bank. Others needed gold to buy grain, weapons, and all commodities, while the Clegane Bank only needed to print paper money. The merchants in the Westerlands who did overseas trade had sharp eyes… When Lady Jeyne moved, the merchants had no choice but to be present. And most of the powerful nobles in the Westerlands had already seen the situation clearly. The Warden of the West was the real ruler of the Westerlands. The previous Warden of the West was Duke Tywin, and the current Warden of the West was the Mountain.

In the port, the hundreds of returning young men and women looked like generals and soldiers returning from battle, and received a warm welcome led by Lady Jeyne. The Mountain, the mastermind responsible for planning this commercial event, was still leading his army and the eight thousand new migrants from the Mountains of the Moon, having passed the Golden Tooth and walking on the River Road of the Westerlands.

The flower-filled carriages that Lannisport had prepared long ago were lined up from the dock all the way to the center of the city, lining several streets. After a simple welcoming ceremony, pairs of young men and women were guided onto the carriages one by one. The carriages, like a long dragon, rumbled towards Tarbeck Hall and Castamere.

Between Castamere and Tarbeck Hall, neat and beautiful villages had been built for these hundreds of new families. Each household had a well, an independent toilet, a small yard for planting flowers, fruits, and vegetables, a livestock pen, a tall, clean, and bright living room, dining room, bedroom, and kitchen, an underground grain storage, and flat roads in front and behind the houses…