Chapter 25 The King's Intention

"Well done, little swordsman!"

"Well done, Dornish bastard..."

Shiliu won the duel and immediately was greeted with countless cheers.

Did the referee ask if he should continue competing?

Shiliu carried the iron sword on his back, bowed to the king and the others in the audience, and smiled, "Of course, I want to win this game."

Regarding the swordsman Fanbang who killed the young Dornish, Viserys also had a good impression, so I watched as if I were watching a show.

Xi Liu is an excellent swordsman, fighting all the time in the arena and defeating various opponents one after another.

The contest continued until noon, with the sun high in the sky.

Viserys drank a lot of wine, admired Xi Liu's elegant swordplay, and was in a good mood.

Feeling the sun getting hot, he canceled the martial arts competition.

Viserys got up from his chair, relieved his tired waist, and said with satisfaction, "What an intense competition!"

Following his movements, the eyes of the audience turned to him.

"Invite the swordsman from the foreign kingdom to come forward. The king wants to speak with him," Viserys ordered the attendants waiting behind him.

The attendant nodded, quickly left the auditorium, and whispered to the referee.

Soon, Shiliu walked to the edge of the dueling field, knelt on one knee, and looked up at the high platform.

Viserys looked down condescendingly and asked puzzledly, "Swordsman, why don't you come up on stage?"

Shiliu placed the sword on his knees and said aloud, "I fight for honor. When I win the tournament championship, I will know how to dedicate my loyalty to His Majesty."

"Honor?"

Said Viserys without comment, but said with interest, "There are still five days left for the tournament. If you can win the championship, I can grant you a wish."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty..." Xi Liu humbly thanked him.

Viserys stopped gesturing for him to leave, took Rhaegar's hand, turned around, and left the place.

As soon as the king left, the other guests naturally followed suit.

...

After returning to the study in the Red Keep, Viserys left his son and daughter behind and began to inquire.

"Aren't you curious why I promised that swordsman?" Rhaegar looked confused.

Rhaenyra shrugged and said boredly, "You once said that the best way to see through a person or thing is to observe through time."

"Very well, it seems you still remember my words."

Viserys smiled faintly. "A qualified person in power will reduce the risk from the cradle."

"Meanwhile, we can thoroughly investigate the source of the risk."

Rhaegar said confusedly, "If we don't act in time, won't we be attacked? Won't there be a violent reaction?"

"Yes, then what I want to teach you is to always be cautious of potential dangers and not take them lightly."

Viserys cited the War of the Stepstones as an example and said, "The Stepstones are located between..."

"When the Kingdom of the Three Daughters invaded, do you know why I didn't take the initiative to send troops?"

Rhaenyra paused and stared at her father for a long time before saying, "Because you didn't want to provoke a war. The whole country is questioning it."

"That's wrong. The war in the Stepstones was strictly to protect the country. Future generations will only record the wisdom and greatness of the king, and his defeat of the hateful pirates of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters."

Viserys disagreed with her response.

Looking at Rega, he asked, "What do you think?"

Rega frowned and said uncertainly, "Because someone will fight against the Kingdom of the Three Daughters..."

"Yes, that's right, Rega, you have a lot of talent."

Viserys applauded and laughed, praising without hesitation, "The Kingdom of the Three Daughters invaded and occupied the Stepstones. The first and most affected family was House Corliss. They would never sit idly by and ignore it."

Rhaenyra was puzzled, "And then? Let the pirates plunder your people, let the sea snakes blow the horn of war and gain victory and honor in the war in the name of the king."

In her view, the king's responsibility should be to defeat the Three Daughters' king without hesitation.

Instead of pleasing his ministers with sending troops and affecting real power.

Faced with her daughter's doubts, Viserys didn't get angry and patiently explained, "When the Kingdom of the Three Daughters invaded, your mother died in childbirth. Rhaegar was in a coma when he was born and couldn't be the heir."

Naturally, Daemon had the support of the ministers and was very ambitious for the Iron Throne."

"And I insisted on choosing my daughter, you, as the heir."

"Later, I had a fierce fight with Daemon and angrily expelled him from King's Landing."

As he spoke, Viserys looked at Rhaenyra expressionlessly, "Do you think the situation at that time could the royal family bear the risk of starting a war?"

"But we have dragons and the various places that have sworn allegiance. My lord!"

Rhaenyra tried to argue against her father.

"Dragon? There are dragons both in Dragonstone and Dragonstone. How many dragons could go to the battlefield at that time?"

"Even if an army is sent to attack, who should be the commander in the rough sea?" Viserys asked.

Rhaenyra's expression froze, and she realized what the problem was.

Viserys grimaced, "At that time, the royal family didn't have dragons that could go to the battlefield, and the most suitable candidate for commander of the navy was House Corliss."

"Daemon has Coraxiu, and I can also go to war with the army..."

Rhaenyra was still about to defend herself, but Viserys interrupted directly:

"Daemon was expelled by me personally. He simply missed the opportunity to become the heir. Will he remain loyal to me or to you, the heir, regardless of his past hatred?"

"Of course! I won't shame myself or ask for Daemon's help."

"Syrax is a young dragon who has never been on the battlefield. I'm not so foolish as to send the newly selected heir to the battlefield, waiting for the news that one day you have been killed. Sad news of death!"

The sharp words were like a sharp sword, piercing Rhaenyra's fragile heart.

She was speechless, knowing that was the truth.

Viserys stopped lecturing his daughter and instead said, "Seeing the current situation, the royal family only sent three thousand soldiers. House Corliss and Daemon, with the stigma of starting a private war, did their best to defeat the Kingdom of the Three Daughters."

"And they. What are the sacrifices and rewards?"

"Being trapped in years of hard fighting, spending countless human and material resources, only to occupy a deserted stone island?"

Viserys took the wine cup and took a sip, his eyes calm, "They gain nothing!"

"The Corliss family was seriously injured by this. They abandoned the Stepstones

 and returned home in despair to lick their wounds."

"Your uncle Daemon consumed a "

"At the same time, my chosen heir grew up smoothly, and the kingdom was peaceful and peaceful."

Walking alongside Rhaenyra, Viserys said word by word, "My daughter, do you understand?"

Rhaenyra was deeply shocked by her father's foresight.

Her simple mind had never imagined so many twists and turns.

For a moment, the light and shadow of the father in front of her intersected with the father in her memory who showed a flattering smile to everyone.

Both familiar and strange.

Rhaenyra pursed her lips, lowered her head, and said:

"Father, the Seven Gods have given you unmatched wisdom, but I have doubts about you and am deeply ashamed of it."

As a king, Viserys was indecisive, but not ignorant of politics.