The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The three good masters looked at each other.

They could understand Iron Bank and bank, but they couldn't understand what paper money meant.

Looking at the colorful paper money in their hands, they could understand the patterns on the paper money, but if they were asked to take this paper money to the market to buy things, they would feel like they were crazy.

"Her Majesty the Queen can vouch for my words, every word I say is true and credible," said the Mountain.

"In the name of the Harpy, His Majesty the King's words are credible. The nine free trade city-states in the western part of the Essos continent are currently accepting our garrison and administrative takeover. It will take time for the news to reach Slaver's Bay," said Daenerys.

"We came on dragons, and it takes a long time to take over the nine free trade city-states one by one," Princess Arianne Martell added.

Good Master Kock finally spoke, stammering, with a smile on his face: "Your Majesty the King, Your Majesty the Queen, can we refuse?"

"You can't refuse, but you can be given time to understand the benefits of using paper money," said the Mountain.

Kock looked at the paper money in his hand, and the expression on his face and in his eyes had already betrayed his true thoughts. He looked down on these pieces of paper at all, and his heart was full of contempt and disdain.

"Your Majesty the King, how long can you give us to consider?" Good Master Kristine asked cautiously.

"How long do you think you need?" The Mountain said in a deep voice.

"...Uh...this...it's hard to say...I'm very dull...maybe..."

"I will never accept this paper money in my life," Good Master Achille, who had been silent, suddenly said loudly.

"Oh?!" The Mountain stared at Achille.

Achille looked at the Mountain calmly: "Your Majesty the King, you can kill me, you can also destroy the Achille family, but I will still refuse to use your paper money." Achille threw the paper money in his hand into the air, and the paper money fluttered in the wind, "Your Majesty the Queen, if you force us to take out the gold, silver and copper coins from our homes and exchange them for these pieces of paper, Astapor will become a living hell, and everyone will rise up against you, including the soldiers of the Unsullied Legion."

"Achille, we won't kill you, because I want you to live to see paper money circulating in Slaver's Bay," Daenerys said lightly.

"Even if paper money circulates in Slaver's Bay, I will never use it," Achille said in a sharp voice, almost shouting, as if he had been subjected to the most intense humiliation.

"When paper money circulates in Slaver's Bay, you and your family will definitely use paper money," Daenerys said firmly, "In the name of the Harpy, I want to make a bet with you, Achille, do you dare to accept it?"

"Accept!"

"Okay. Scholar, please write this down. When Achille loses, I will punish him with one gold coin."

"Yes, Your Majesty the Queen," the scholar agreed.

Achille was stunned.

He thought he had heard wrong.

"Your Majesty the Queen, you are not going to cut off my head," Achille thought he was going to die.

"You have not killed anyone for no reason, nor have you instigated the Sons of the Harpy to rebel, what reason do I have to kill you?"

"But His Majesty the King said that you cannot refuse to use paper money."

"Yes, you can't. Because at that time, you will take the gold, silver and copper coins to the Clegane Bank to exchange for paper money," the Mountain said with a smile.

"Absolutely impossible," Achille said decisively.

The Mountain smiled slightly: "Achille, let's make a bet too, a bet of one silver coin."

"Okay, I swear in the name of the Harpy," Achille said loudly, as if afraid that others in the palace would not hear him.

"In the name of the gods of the sky, the earth, and the sea, in the name of the Seven Gods and all the Old Gods, in the name of the Red God R'hllor, in the name of the God of Death and the Many-Faced God, in the name of the Harpy God of Astapor, I, Gregor Clegane, hereby make a bet with Good Master Achille, the outcome of the bet is one silver coin," the Mountain said solemnly.

So, Achille also swore solemnly.

Good Master Kock and Good Master Kristine were silent, feeling uneasy in their hearts. They had no certainty or confidence in what would happen.

The Mountain looked at Good Master Kock: "Good Master Kock, I now want to ask you to do me a favor, which you must not refuse."

"Yes, Your Majesty the King, please give your orders."

"Take the paper money in your hand home, explain the face value and origin of these paper money to your clan, and promote the exchange method of the Clegane Bank to them. Three days later, I will come to your pyramid and let your family members tell me the face value of each paper money in front of me, and tell me the origin of this paper money. Good Master Kock, can you do it?"

"I will try my best, Your Majesty the King."

"You must do it, otherwise you will have to accept my challenge."

Accepting the Mountain's challenge is actually the same as saying that the Mountain will cut off his head. The wording is different, but the consequences are the same.

"I will do it, Your Majesty the King." Kock was absolutely unwilling to duel with a fierce man like the Mountain.

The Mountain looked at Kristine: "Good Master Kristine, do you have any questions?"

"I will definitely do it too. Your Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen don't need to come to my family's pyramid. I will bring my whole family to the palace and ask His Majesty the King to randomly check anyone in my family. They will definitely remember the paper money of all denominations and tell the origin of the paper money."

"Very good, I am very grateful for your cooperation," said the Mountain, "The matter of the Clegane Bank is over, I have another matter that is more important than the establishment of the Clegane Bank."

The three good masters did not expect that the topic about the bank's paper money would end so quickly. They couldn't believe it and stared blankly at the two kings on the high steps. They closed their mouths tightly, afraid that one of the kings would suddenly start talking about paper money again.

They would rather be beaten to death than exchange the gold in their homes for these pieces of paper that are not money. Of course, they were afraid of being really beaten to death.

The Mountain said: "The security of the Balaora area is entirely entrusted to you, which increases your burden but reduces the responsibility of the royal family, which is not fair to you. You have maintained the security of a place and avoided the killings of the Sons of the Harpy, but you have not received the salary paid by the royal family. We will reduce your burden, and in the near future, the royal family will assume full responsibility for local security. In order to achieve this goal as soon as possible, the three good masters, we, the royal family, need you to cooperate with scholars and city administrators to find out and register the situation of everyone living in the Balaora area in the royal household register."

Household registration and account books?

The three good masters had never heard of such things before!

"Your Majesty the King, a considerable number of people from foreign lands live in Balaora. We are not familiar with them, and many of them leave after exchanging some items here."

"People from foreign lands are collectively referred to as temporary residents. Anyone who temporarily resides in Balaora must also be registered, and after leaving, the three good masters must report to the royal family. Our roster will be adjusted according to the actual situation."

The three good masters looked at each other again.

"Everyone living in Balaora?" Kock looked puzzled.

"Yes, everyone."

"Including prostitutes, beggars, and vagrants?"

"Yes, including prostitutes and beggars. Anyone who lives in Balaora, or passes by and stays, must register at the homes of the three good masters in advance, and then the three good masters will send the information to the palace to be revised and recorded."

*

Balaora.

Unsullied soldiers controlled both ends of the street.

Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the King appeared on the street.

In the sky, three dragons circled at low altitude.

The three good masters accompanied the Queen and the King, and Jorah Mormont and Arianne Martell were in the team.

Grey Worm was the general in charge of patrolling and guarding the street.

Two hundred-man teams were stationed in this area in square formations.

Court scholars and apprentices, priests and doctors were all here.

On the long street, in front of the gate of Good Master Kock, people lined up in a long queue, including old people and children.

Everyone living in Balaora, including foreigners who came here temporarily for trade, and guests who came here to visit relatives.

The first resident came up, a young man from the Kock family.

"Name?" a soldier asked.

"Bevis Kock."

"Age?"

"Eighteen years old."

"What number do you live on Balaora Street?"

"Number 1," the young man replied proudly.

The numbering of the households on this street did not exist before. It was compiled on the spot by scholars and soldiers before the registration began.

Because it started with the Kock family, the Kock family was granted the number 1 by the royal family.

"Are you a Son of the Harpy?" the soldier shouted loudly.

Everyone was stunned.

Good Master Kock himself, who was accompanying the Queen and the King, was also stunned.

"Bevis Kock, you must answer this question," the scholar recording the files reminded.

"Please answer truthfully, Bevis Kock, this is not an insult or suspicion to you, everyone will be asked this question," said Missandei, the royal affairs officer beside him.

"I am not a Son of the Harpy," Bevis Kock denied loudly.

The Sons of the Harpy are Her Majesty the Queen's enemies. Anyone found to be a Son of the Harpy will be caught and sentenced to hanging.

"Then, please swear in the name of the Harpy!" the soldier shouted even more forcefully.

Bevis's face was embarrassed for a while.

He looked at Good Master Kock, and Good Master Kock nodded to him.

So, the boy, feeling humiliated, shouted: "Bevis Kock, I swear in the name of the Harpy, I am not a Son of the Harpy, I am not an enemy of Her Majesty the Queen and Astapor, I am a free man, full of loyalty to Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the King."

"Very good, Bevis, please tell me, who is the Son of the Harpy?" the soldier asked again.

Bevis blushed: "I don't know, soldier."

"Please swear in the name of the Harpy!"

"I swear, in the name of the Harpy, I don't know who the Son of the Harpy is."

"Okay, please sign the oath," the soldier continued.

It turned out that this conversation was also recorded by the scholar and formed Bevis's personal oath.

Bevis drew a circle very hard on the oath, and with the help of the soldier, he pierced his finger with a sharp knife and dripped a drop of his blood on his name in the oath.

The scholar put away the oath, and Missandei put it into a parchment bag.

The scholar said slowly: "Bevis, if it is found in the future that you are a Son of the Harpy - for example, we catch you at a bloody scene, or find that a Son of the Harpy killed by an Unsullied soldier is you, then your oath today will become a shame for your family and will implicate your parents and family. If you kill anyone wearing the mask of a Son of the Harpy, your family will pay the same price. You killed someone else's father, then your father will suffer the same killing. The royal family controls this power of equal harm."

Bevis's face turned blue and white, and he stared at the scholar: "Councilor, I am not a Son of the Harpy, I was not before, I am not now, and I will not be in the future."

"I must explain Her Majesty the Queen's decree to you clearly," the scholar said in an official tone, expressionless.

Next, a series of questions about Bevis's character, hobbies, martial arts, family, etc. were asked and recorded.

After a while, the first resident was registered, and then the second resident, a girl with long golden wavy hair and amber eyes.

"Name," the soldier shouted.

"Heidi Kock."

Another member of the Kock family.

The Kock family was at the front of the line.

Before the registration began, no one in Balaora knew that the questions would be so detailed, and the three good masters were also unaware. The Queen and the King had never revealed the question about whether you were a Son of the Harpy beforehand. That oath was naturally signed by everyone. Even if you are really a Son of the Harpy, you must sign it. No one would admit to being a Son of the Harpy in front of Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the King, which would immediately bring hanging to him and his family.

This will make the real Sons of the Harpy very painful, because they must swear in the name of the Harpy of faith, denying their faith. And this is not allowed by faith; but if they do not deny it, they will be killed on the spot by the Queen's soldiers and bring a terrible fate to their family.

The Mountain's means of dealing with the Sons of the Harpy were never thought of by these people, and they would never have thought of them.

The Mountain came to Astapor and brought misfortune to the Sons of the Harpy. As long as they do not change, they can only be eradicated. If they do not restrain themselves, their families, the good masters who support them, and the comrades around them will face deadly danger.

One person is guilty, the whole family is honored. - This is the cruel method that the Mountain taught Daenerys. The Mountain, who came from the slums, has many shameless methods of the slums. It is not glorious, but it is effective.

The beautiful little girl Heidi also signed the oath denying that she was a Son of the Harpy, and was pierced her finger with a sharp knife by a soldier, dripped blood on her name, and swore in the name of the Son of the Harpy.