Chapter 13: Economics versus politics
298 AC
Eddard
He sat down in the chair at the head of the table and looked upon the faces of the other men present. "It has come to my attention that the King will not be in attendance today." He said, barely able to conceal his anger.
"Ha, Robert never bothers with what he calls 'counting coppers'." Renly Baratheon said with a smug smile on his face. He looked at the young Lord of the Stormlands. The man looked a lot like Robert in his prime, but with a little less muscle. The thing that was most clearly visible however, was a cocky sureness. It always seemed to demonstrate itself through an ever present, mocking smile. Looking at the expensive clothes the man was wearing, he thought to himself I won't find an ally for my plans here.
"Nonetheless coppers need to be counted, Lord Baratheon." He said matter-of-factly. "It has come to my attention that the finances of the realm are downright awful. I have as such gotten the permission of the King to make considerable changes to remedy the situation. All you need to know is in here." He said as pulled a page out of his tunic. He had forced Robert to wright it for him, before he entered the Small Council meeting. His friend hadn't wanted to do it, at first. He quickly relented however, when he stated that without the confirmation on paper Robert would need to attend the meeting to explain it in person.
The paper was quickly handed from one man to the other, until Varys asked. "Cutting expenses and fighting corruption, Lord Hand? What do you practically mean by that?"
"Well, Lord Varys, it seems the Crown is spending too much money and every avenue where money goes out will be looked at to possibly lower expenses. Corruption is the worst kind of expense, as it brings no gains in the long run." He stated, looking in the bald men's eyes.
"Do you have any leads on this so-called corruption?" Petyr Baelish asked, as his fingers stroked trough his small beard.
"No, I do not, for now. In every big city like this some small corruption is to be expected. It might be nothing big, but everything will help." He said diplomatically. It was also simply the truth. He had no idea where to begin, if there was any corruption. He would take a look at some of the most basic institutions, such as the gaolers, the mints and the city watch and go from there.
The master of coin nodded at that. He kept his eyes on the man the people called Littlefinger. "Before any of this can be established, we will all need an overview of the treasury's debt. Can you state that information now?" He said, trying to eye the capability of the master of coin, as that could be a reason for all the debt.
The man looked at him and stated without hesitation "The crown is around six million two hundred thousand gold dragons in debt. Just over three million of those are owed to House Lannister, one million two hundred thousand to the Iron Bank of Braavos, five hundred thousand to House Tyrell, eight hundred thousand to three Tyroshi trading cartels and a little under seven hundred thousand to the Faith."
He looked at the master of coin and cursed, it was even more than he had thought. The one good thing about it, was that Baelish seemed to know his trade. "That is even more severe than I had anticipated. We will need to take severe actions. The King has already agreed to lower the standard of the tourney to lower the expenses."
"My brother willingly decided to cancel a tourney?" Renly asked, his mouth agape.
"No, sadly, he did not. There will still be a tourney, nevertheless it will be a much more modest affair than the King had personally planned." He said, as he turned his head to the Baratheon.
"That is still some very impressive work, Lord Hand. We all know how … difficult it is to change the King's mind when it comes to fighting or playing at it in a tourney." Lord Varys stated.
"Yes, it wasn't easy. Concretely it will mean that the prizes will be as followed, fifteen thousand for the winner of the joust and eight thousand for the runner-up and ten thousand for the winner of the melee. No archery competitions will be included." He continued.
"That is indeed quite modest" Littlefinger stated.
"It will have to do. We will go about the organization for the tourney tomorrow. Another big spender is the royal family. I have made an agreement with the King, where he himself will limit his spending when it comes to tourneys, feasts and hunts. He has given me the responsibility to reign in the spending of the rest of his family. Lord Baelish, could you send me all the expenditures House Baratheon has made in the last three years? As such, I will be able to asses where best to cut the costs."
All men at the table looked at him dumbstruck. Finally, Maester Pycelle said "My Lord Hand, in all due respect, you cannot mean to do this. The Queen and the Prince will be most wroth, if you pursue this. Not to mention the fact that the King's own brother is here at this very table."
He looked at the old Maester without saying a word, before looking at Renly. "Lord Baratheon, how are the finances of Storm's end and the Stormlands?"
Taking aback, the young man replied "Good, Lord Eddard. All our taxes to the crown are paid in time, no substantial debts are taken and the last few harvests were good."
He looked towards the master of coin for confirmation, who simply nodded. He turned back to the black-haired man and continued. "Very well, Lord Renly. It shows me great pleasure to know that the men of the Stormlands, who I have fought two wars with, are in such good hands." At this the Lord of Storm's end looked proudly at him, until he continued. "As such, I think your own vast lands will be able to cover most of your expenses. You will still get a very hefty wage for all your work you do as master of laws, but for now on you will not be able to count on the King's treasury for personal expenses. The same will go for your brother Lord Stannis and your niece the Lady Shireen."
Again, the whole room was in shock. The young Baratheon lord looked him in the eye, until he finally nodded. The man didn't look to happy, but he seemed resigned by it.
"That will be all, thank you for your time. I expect all of you lords to look at the expenses in your respected fields for possible cuts or new taxes. Lord Baelish, can I expect the information I asked for in two days from now?" He asked his master of coin.
"Surely, my Lord Hand." The man said with a bow as he quickly left the room.
All the men trickled out of the room, until only himself and Lord Varys remained. "That was quite bold, Lord Stark. You only arrived here today, and you already managed to insult the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, as well as the Lord of Dragonstone when he returns. Besides that, if you continue your plan, and of that I have no doubt, you will be able to add the Queen and maybe even the Crown Prince to that list."
"I did not come here to make friends, Lord Varys. I came here to help the King and the realm. In the North, necessary investments in basic infrastructure are not possible, because the Crown doesn't have any coin they can invest. I imagine the same can be said in other regions as well, like Dorne or the Stormlands. This situation can't continue and must be remedied. It is my job to do this and it is my goal to lower expenditure significantly, as to stabilize the books and later on create a surplus with which we can pay back those loans. A new dynasty with this much debt is not stable and if my daughter is to marry into it, I will see this fixed."
The eunuch looked over him silently for a few seconds, before asking. "Is there anything I can do to help you in this endeavor, Lord Hand?"
"Yes, there is, Lord Varys. Even though I don't like your methods, I would ask you to implore your informants to look for any possible corruption in the payments the Crown gives to the city watch or the gaolers and people of the dungeons. I would also have you look into possible corruption with the two Southern mints."
"Of course, I will set my little birds onto it this very afternoon." Varys said evenly.
"Thank you, Lord Varys. That will be all." He finished the conversation.
"Very bold, very bold indeed, Lord Stark." The eunuch mused aloud, as he left the room.
(A few days later)
He was walking through the corridors of the Red Keep. He had just looked over his letters and all seemed to be good in the North. Robb and Cat were doing a good job and no problems were arising. The work he had been doing on Moat Cailin had finished. He had looked over any potential follow up plans, but he had sadly come to the same conclusion as before …There was not enough coin for any of them, except one.
He had given Robb instruction to look for an innkeeper and a stablemaster to begin construction of a small inn and stables at the site of Moat Cailin. Both buildings will be built just outside of the original stronghold on the northside, so they don't hinder the defense to the south. They could in time become of the start of a new village, or even a small town, but not for now.
Just like the rebuilding of the fort will have to wait for a future generation, the plans for a town next to it would have to wait too. He did see a great trading opportunity for an inn and a stable though, a bed with a good meal and a chance to switch horses would make the trade route through the Neck a lot more attractive for little cost. Both businesses would also be very lucrative, if the trading route picked up, so he would hopefully find capable candidates for them.
He had asked Hullen and Harwin, here in King's Landing, if they knew anyone and they had recommended a stablemaster's family from a small town two dozen miles east of Winterfell. Hullen swore the stablemaster was good at his craft and apparently, he had three adult sons who were capable and experienced in helping in the business. One of the three might have ambition to go to Moat Cailin and start his own stable, granted that House Stark would finance the building and much of the horses.
The innkeeper and construction workers would need to be searched for by Robb and Cat. He was certain they would do a good job, he thought as he rounded a corner with two of his guards loyally walking behind him.
Suddenly, he was eye to eye with the Queen and Ser Jaime Lannister. The Queen immediately scowled when she saw him and walked towards him with a cold icy stare, her brother followed her without a word.
"How dare you threaten to cut my funding! I am the Queen do you hear me? You have no authority to say anything about my doings in my own keep. Do you understand?" She almost hissed at him.
He looked her straight in the eye and responded as calmly as he could. "My queen, I will never say anything about your doing here in the Red Keep. However, I do have the authority to go over the treasury's spending and so I will. The Iron Throne is in enormous amounts of debt, over half of it to your father. For your son to not have to inherit a country on the verge of collapse, I must seriously cut spending. This includes the royal family."
"Ha, as if my father would ever let Joff get in trouble for something as trivial as coin! I warn you, Lord Stark, to not go through with these plans aimed to hamper me in my rule." Cersei Lannister said menacingly.
"My Queen, I think you misunderstand. The whole royal family will have to lower expenses. Lord Stannis, Lady Shireen and Lord Renly are all completely cut of, as they have significant incomes to sustain themselves. In Lady Shireen her case, I'm sure Lord Stannis will provide anything she needs. As such, you and your children will also have to lower expenses. For the next five years, you will still get a generous sum to spend and money will be set aside so that each of your children will get the best upbringing possible. Nevertheless, it will be much reduced from now and it won't be endless. Even the King has promised to cut back on feasts and tourneys for that time, to accommodate the treasury." He tried to explain, wary of the way the Queen seemed to threaten him. The words his sister-in-law had sent about Jon Arryn ringing in his head.
"My children? You dare to tell me you will limit the expenses of my children? Who do you think you are, Stark? I could have you removed from court for this. If you do not change this, I will send you to rot away in that frozen wasteland you call home in less than a week, do you hear me?" The queen threatened him, her voice was icily calm but the venom in it was unmistakable. It seemed like she didn't know about the funds considering her children yet.
"I get your frustrations, my Queen, but this has come from an agreement with the King himself. If you wish to change anything about it, please take it up with him. My job is to rule these Kingdoms in your husband's name, and I can't do that with a huge and evergrowing debt." He responded stoically.
"Be careful there, Stark. You don't talk to my sister that way, certainly not when she is your Queen." Jaime Lannister threatened, as he stepped forward. Both men stood in front of each other and looked the other in the eye. "I am only saying what my duty is and what the King expects of me, Ser Jaime. I mean no ill will. Nevertheless, I must do my duty and that involves cutting the expenses of this extravagant court. This includes the Queen's own expenses by the royal treasury." He said as he matched the blond knight's gaze.
The Queen scoffed again from behind Ser Jaime, but he didn't pay attention as he kept his eyes on the Kingslayer. He felt the two guards behind him stand stiffly and protectively with their hands on their hilt, ready to protect him in the blink of an eye.
"If you will excuse me, Ser Jaime, your grace, I must get back to work." He finally said as he took a step back from Ser Jaime, never losing eye contact. The man in front of him looked at him, eyeing him up. He then broke eye contact, looking back to the queen. She herself was clearly mad and slightly red in the face.
"Come Jaime, leave this up-jumped Northerner alone. I will have words with Robert, this will not stand either way." She said as she put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "And you," she pointed at him, "you should learn to never get between a lioness and her cubs. Not unless you want to keep your head." She almost hissed at him, before turning and storming away.
He sighed, asking himself how Robert could have survived fifteen years with a wife like that. Maybe he was starting to get why his friend drank so much, although it still wasn't an excuse for his behavior.
Sometimes he hated this bloody city, but he couldn't linger on the feeling. He had work to do. He looked at both his guards and after making sure everyone was fine, he went on his way to talk to Robert.
(That night)
He was sat at a table in the Small Hall of the Tower of the Hand with Jory. Both Hullen and Vayon had just left them. The both of them were cherishing a pint of brown Northern ale. There wasn't much of it in the capital, but he had managed to acquire a barrel or two from a merchant from White Harbor. Luckily the merchant, Artos, had been most accommodating towards him and told him he would bring another barrel of ale with him every two months, to please 'Lord Stark'.
He looked up to his old friend and sighed. "Sometimes I wish that I was just at home in Winterfell again, leave all of this mess behind and be together with my family again."
His friend looked up. "I know what you mean, Jonelle was pregnant again when I left. I will not see the babe be born. I'm still very lucky though, in four years of marriage she gave me two healthy children and a third one is on the way."
He smiled at his friend, knowing full well how happy he was with Jonelle. "How are little Lyanne and Martyn Cassel?" he asked.
"They're good. As you know, Lyanne had just started walking when we left, it seems that now she doesn't stop walking anymore. Runs around with your youngest lad Rickon half the day apparently. Calls his bloody direwolf 'doggie' and constantly wants to cuddle him, Jonelle might get a heart attack any day from it now. When I see how big Sansa's wolf is becoming here, I can't imagine what she has to deal with, with four of them around a toddler."
"Little Martyn is well, he is starting to speak now. Calls Rodrik "uncie" or something, apparently it cracks Jonelle up every time he sees my old uncle smile at the boy after saying that." Jory finished, a small smile starting to creep up on the right side of mouth.
"I'm glad for you, Jory. You always deserved a family of your own. Your father would be proud, believe me." He said, as he looked at what was effectively his righthand man here in King's Landing.
"Yeah, he would have liked another Martyn Cassel, wouldn't he? At least Rodrik seems to like it, can't get enough of the boy that man." He answered good-naturedly.
"Well, calling him after your father, probably helped please both Cassels, of that I'm sure." He said, thinking back on Jory's father Martyn.
"Yeah, Rodrik also told me that he was very happy there was another male Cassel born. He apparently feared the extinction of our House, if I didn't get a son soon. However, he did immediately start pestering me that Rodrik was another strong Cassel name, so I should name my next son after him." Jory said with a smile.
"Well, with the new babe on the way, he might get his wish!" He laughed, as he took another sip of his ale.
"No, he won't. I told Jonelle that she could choose the name if it is a girl but if it is a boy, we'll call him Edrick." Jory explained as he looked at him, while taking another drink from his mug of ale.
"Why Edrick?" he asked intrigued.
"Well Edrick is the official name, we plan to call him 'Ned'." Jory said meaningfully.
He looked surprised at his friend, not expecting this at all. "You're going to call your next boy after me?" He managed to ask, a lump suddenly establishing itself in his throat.
"Yes, I've known you since we were both boys and you have given both me, Rodrik and Beth a great life in Winterfell. I'm proud to call you my liege lord and my friend. Besides that, without you Jonelle and I would have never been possible. I know you never said anything about it, but don't think that means I don't realize that you talked Medger into the marriage. Robb and Jon suddenly being home for the wedding day? If that is coincidence, I'll join the bloody Night's Watch tomorrow!" His friend said laughingly, as he slammed his mug of ale on the table for extra effect.
"Well, I might have done a good word for you." He said as he gave his friend a half smile. "It worked out for me as well, House Cerwyn is very active in Winterfell now. Much more important, your wife somehow has a spell on Arya that makes her behave. I sure as hell know Cat won't ever understand how she does it, I have an idea, but it is impressive none the less. I can never thank her enough for it." He said honestly.
"Ah think nothing of it, I know Jonelle loves the little wild pup almost as much as our own children. She likes taking care of her and Arya likes her too, so it all works out. House Stark and House Cassel have always been close, it's good to see that that continues." Jory said, as he raised his mug.
"Aye it is, to future generations of Starks and Cassels running around Winterfell and to a future Edrick Cassel." He said as he raised his mug and slammed it against Jory's.
"To another Ned and Lya running around Winterfell's yard again, followed by another Martyn and Rick Stark." His friend answered, the glimmer in his eyes visible as he took a long swig from his ale.
He nodded thankfully, as he himself drunk deep as well. Many thoughts of times long past were suddenly on his mind. His father and Martyn finding him and Lya hidden in the Godswood. Martyn consoling him a few days after the dead of his mother. His father, with Martyn at his right hand, looking over to him and Brandon train with wooden swords.
He looked into his mug of ale for a few seconds, before drinking deeply. It wouldn't do to dwell on the past.
This is it for this chapter!
I had some difficulty writing this chapter, but I managed to get it out. As such it is a little shorter than usual.
What do you think of the new additions to House Cassel?
Thank you so much for all your support, it means the world to me.
Fannic
Reviews:
- Angeluszuko-z: He was probably consumed by grief and guilt. Besides that, he only left after the family was safe again with Ned, Robb and even Jon possible of continuing the line. As such I think Eddard still doesn't like it, but he doesn't blame Benjen.
- HaywireEagle: Thank you!
- Kuman: Thank you! Maybe he will, but I don't think duels are Ned's style. They definitely aren't Baelish's style after Brandon!
- Osterreicher97: He might find out things yes, but Ned is suddenly very busy with the money situation. The wolf has really put his teeth in this issue here, as he wants Robb, the North and Sansa to not have problems in the future. So he will have less time to find out things, with a (smaller) tourney also coming up.
In canon him not looking into Stannis was also due to time, so it might be the same here.
- : Yeah, he did a lot of effort for it! It does reach Cat and Ned, just like in canon. I made a small mention here, so everyone knows.
- Pavook: I always believed him to just fall and because of the fall the three-eyed-raven could reach him, not the other way around. Brynden doesn't have to many options, only one in million could do what they can.
Sansa is a little less naïve, but she is still a young girl obsessed with stories and songs. So there will be changes, but nothing major for now. So I won't write anything for now, untill major change happens. The biggest change is her still having Lady, she feels more confident, has an ever loyal buddy and most notably feels part of the family and the North because of it.
- Guest: No, he would have cheated on her regardless on the long term. He would also have drunk to much and she wouldn't have liked that. Although Robert wouldn't have gone as far in either because he would be a lot happier. They could have been happy for a time, but he would certainly screw it up. Besides that, we don't know if she would have ever given Robert a change, she was kind off headstrong.