-2- Rational Loyalty
Taking advantage of the rough Robert King always suppressing Queen Cersei, Gallan Crabb needs to find an upward ladder for himself.
If he were to meet directly, the proud Cersei Lannister would most likely look down on House Crabb, often referred to as "Half-Wild."
The raven is just a prelude; the key is to seize the opportunity to showcase ability and strength.
Crackclaw Point's land is mostly barren, mainly composed of swamps, forests, and valleys.
In every dark valley of Crackclaw Point, there is a lord, and their lords and subjects do not trust any outsiders.
Crackclaw Point is mostly inhabited by the descendants of the First Men. When the Andals attempted to seize Crackclaw Point, they encountered obstacles everywhere.
When the residents of Crackclaw Point are not fighting external enemies, they will kill each other internally, and family blood feuds are as dark and deep as the marshes between mountains.
Sometimes a hero will bring temporary peace to Crackclaw Point, such as the legendary hero Clarence Crabb of House Crabb, but when he dies, everything returns to its original state.
During the conquering war, Aegon sent Visenya Targaryen to Crackclaw Point to recruit them and make them direct vassals. Since then, Crackclaw Point has been loyal to House Targaryen.
Gallan Crabb handed the written letter to Hershel, the steward.
After a moment of silence, Gallan Crabb rubbed his long, ink-black, slightly curly hair with his fingers.
Whispers is about 100 miles east of Crackclaw Point, with a slightly northern position that is suitable for cultivation compared to Crackclaw Point.
This piece of land, once belonged to the ancestral castle of House Crabb, Whisper. According to Hershel, relying on that land, House Crabb once supplied a thousand elite soldiers, maintaining House Crabb's absolute rule over the nearby territory.
//// The Whisper that MC is currently staying at is newly build, the above paragraph is the old keep whisper which has been abandoned for quite a long time and is now in ruins.////
After the War of the Usurper, under internal and external pressures, Gallan Crabb's mother led the remaining retainers to move to a relatively safe military fortress and renamed it Whispers.
After more than ten years, the ancestral land of Whisper Keep has become ruins, and the Crabb family has long lost its sovereignty over that land.
////I'll add keep behind it so y'all can tell which is which.////
"Surlana, my mother must have had a hard time back then."
"My lord, thinking back now, I still shudder. At first, madam had to sleep with two swords, a long sword for the mountain wildlings who might attack at any time, and a short sword for herself."
Gallan Crabb chuckled softly: "She was indeed formidable."
Surlana, accustomed to maintaining a cold face, also showed a hint of a smile on her face: "Madam passed away peacefully. My lord, you are her greatest pride."
Gallen chatted with Surlana for a while, after she left, Gallan Crabb recalled the last few cryptic words from Surlana.
The harvest season on the farm is approaching, and nearby mountain wildling lords have targeted House Crabb's farm lands, which has just lost its lady.
Everyone is very poor, but compared to others, House Crabb's farm has always been eye-catching.
The opportunity is excellent.
At this time, the owner of the Crabb territory is just a young boy who has long sheltered under his mother's wings. The mountain wildlings have rarely united once, and if they don't rob him, who else will they rob? The advantage is already presenting itself!
Surlana is not worried about the war on the Crabb territory.
House Crabb has two knighted vassals that served them, Phillip Rally and Mayson Beck.
For hundreds of years since House Crabb was born, these are the most reliable vassals that had faithfully served them.
In the perilous environment of Crackclaw Point, House Crabb's standing army has more than two hundred soldiers, all of whom have experienced many battles.
Among them, twenty wear full-body armor and can take on ten mountain wildlings without armor.
Surlana's real concern is that Gallan, being young and vigorous, is leading troops into battle alone for the first time, and in the heat of the moment, he may be reckless and could fell under a wilding's blade.
House Crabb currently has no heir. If something happens to Gallan, everyone sheltered under their banner will collapse in a short time, and House Crabb will also become history.
Gallan actually wanted to tell Surlana directly, "I'm very cautious, not reckless."
For the dignity of the lord, courage must be shown at all times, so it is unspeakable.
Since occupying this body after crossing, Gallan has felt his physical fitness improve significantly in all aspects every time he wakes up from sleep.
Gallan's sword has been eager to fight for a long time.
The mature-minded Gallan constantly reminds himself that this is just one of the many illusions produced by enhanced physical fitness.
You are a lord, you have soldiers, stay steady, don't mess around!
House Crabb, except for Gallen's cousin who's three years older than him, has been married for four years. So there's only Gallen left, which is very dangerous for a long-standing noble family.
Crackclaw Point is not a peaceful place, and lords often lead their men to battle.
With Lady Crabb gone, Gallan Crabb, as the lord of Crackclaw Point, will lead a life similar to that of his ancestors, fighting battles over and over again.
Being a lord in Crackclaw Point is a high-risk profession.
What if Gallen had an accident?
Anyone with a little insight will feel a sense of crisis, and people's hearts will fluctuate.
House Crabb's title is hereditary baron.
Matching the embarrassing position of House Crabb in the kingdom at this time, Gallan's marriage is indeed a problem, neither high nor low.
Normally, Gallan, at the age of fifteen, should at least have a fiancee.
Surlana understands that a lord's marriage is not simply about love between men and women. The causes and consequences of the War of the Usurper constantly warn nobles not to fall in love recklessly.
Therefore, Surlana feels that even if it's a bastard, Gallan needs to leave behind an heir, regardless of the traditions and laws of the nobility.
It's not cursing Gallan, but soothing the centripetal force of the subjects.
With an heir, the lord's marriage can be handled with ease.
Surlana has a son and a daughter, the eldest son is sixteen years old and married, and is currently learning from the chief steward Hershel.
The youngest daughter, Karliah, thirteen years old, had her first period a month ago.
She is healthy, beautiful, and, most importantly, reliable.
Surlana has watched Gallan grow up and knows that Gallan is not a mean and ungrateful person.
Although giving birth to a bastard is not glorious, it is a merit for the Crabb territory at this time.
Unable to inherit the surname Crabb, the bastard can only use the surname "Waters," but carries the blood of the Crabb family.
////Every land have their own bastard surname. Since the child cannot inherit the surname of the lord, they call the children after the land where they were born. Like "Flowers" in the reach, "Hill" in the Westerlands, "Stone" in the Vale, "Storm" in the Stormlands, "Rivers" in the Riverlands and "Waters" in the Crownlands, "Pyke" in the Iron Islands, "Snow" in the North, and in Dorne "Sand".////
At this time, giving birth to a child with the blood of House Crabb will at least get a farm, and they will live better than most women, which is enough for a lifetime.
Everyone will be fine.
----
There is a saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Gallan is only grateful to have integrated memories from his original self.
With integrated memories, Gallan's words and deeds will not be too unusual, gradually changing and fitting in.
As a former loyal servant of House Targaryen, Gallan cannot show too much leverage.
Under the Faith of the Seven, being too out of line can easily be labeled as heresy, and followers of the Seven Gods are everywhere in Westeros.
Thirteen years old... Gallan leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling for a long time.
The conflict in fundamental beliefs is too great within the heart, he will discuss this matter later.
---
After a few days of secret statistics, Gallan's direct subjects totaled more than two thousand people, with hunting as the main means of production and farming as a supplement.
About a thousand people are gathered near Whispers, and the rest are distributed in ten villages of different sizes.
Among them, there is a village located to the south of Whispers, by the sea, with a population of about two hundred people, making a living by fishing.
Named Fishing Village, this name is not good and needs to be changed.
At least the word "village" needs to be changed to "port."
After this busy period, Gallan needs to personally go there to conduct on-site inspections and then plan.
The lord is very poor and needs more gold dragons.
---
Mayson Beck, a knighted vassal who has been dispatched for three days, is currently inspecting and counting all the craftsmen such as blacksmiths and carpenters in the territory according to Gallan's orders.
The chief steward Hershel has begun to arrange for people to tidy up the empty houses.
Concentrate all the forces in the territory, concentrate production, division of labor, and cooperation, and prepare for the establishment of a weapons factory.
Crackclaw Point's excellent purple cedar forest has many advantages. Training an all-citizen archer army will give us the advantage.
Elite longbowmen require more than just archery skills; they also need strong discipline, and Gallan understands that all of these need time to accumulate.
Gallan's first task is to mobilize the overall strength of the territory to the maximum extent possible, gather all forces, and first subdue the nearby hill tribes, bringing a relatively stable development environment to the territory.
The main issue is still poverty. Gallan plans to temporarily change the family motto to "Strength Over Toil" according to the current strength of the territory.
It will be changed back when there is money.