Game of Thrones: Rise of the Supreme Dragon Queen

Most of the newly freed people under Queen Dany's rule didn't have wives.

Three cities, hundreds of thousands of bachelors—this was a major concern for her.

After all, stability comes with property and family!

A society where everyone has a home and a livelihood is a stable and harmonious one, ensuring that Queen Dany's rule remains unshakable.

Property was easy to obtain, but wives were hard to come by.

And without wives, how could one build a home?

So, Dany urgently needed a large number of "wives," at least enough to ensure that her warriors could all experience the happiness of marriage.

Fortunately, Yunkai was a city filled with bed slaves, meaning there were plenty of "available" women.

Most of the Yunkish noble estate owners had been stripped of their wealth, leaving behind a large number of Ghiscari women who had lost their fathers, brothers, and husbands. Additionally, there were widows left behind by the fallen Yellow Silk Cloaks.

All in all, Dany found herself with tens of thousands of women whose "status" was problematic.

The issue, however, was that these women were not exactly suitable as wives for her soldiers.

A wife is not just someone to hold hands with. While soul-deep companionship might be a lofty ideal, at the very least, a couple should be able to support and understand each other in their future life together.

Clearly, neither the bed slaves—who only knew the Seven Arts of Love—nor the Ghiscari noblewomen—who once considered themselves superior—were qualified to be proper wives for the new free folk.

Before arranging marriages for them, they had to undergo training, where their outdated and decadent ideologies would be corrected, transforming them into the new women of this era of freedom.

Of course, improving their mindset could take time, but at the very least, they needed to learn how to cook and keep a home—otherwise, they might starve themselves and their husbands to death.

That said, Dany did not force Ghiscari women to marry her soldiers or the new free folk. They were free to seek out Ghiscari bachelors if they wished.

However, marrying one of the Queen's warriors came with greater material benefits and a higher social status—earning them extra points in the "virtuous wife" assessment, making it easier for them to gain the title of "Little Lady."

In short, after the war, Dany was making every effort to clear out the "single dog" population of Slaver's Bay.

As the old saying goes, those with homes and property make for good citizens.

Good citizens!

—

"Hmm, I noticed that Yunkai seems more crowded, yet there are fewer Ghiscari around," said Danzo.

After passing through the somewhat quiet dock area and entering the bustling western commercial district, he noticed that while the streets were filled with people, there were hardly any of the red-and-black-haired Ghiscari in their signature tokar robes.

He clearly remembered that the last time he left, the Dragon Queen hadn't been too harsh on the Ghiscari of the XC District.

"They'll become even rarer in the future," said Redbeard Edward with a chuckle. "Aside from the noble estate owners and Wise Masters who were stripped of their wealth and imprisoned, ordinary Ghiscari without any useful skills have all been sent to Meereen."

"What do you mean by 'useful skills'? I remember Yunkai specialized in training bed slaves—"

Redbeard waved his hand to cut him off. "That doesn't count. The Dragon Queen wants skills that improve productivity. And don't ask me what 'productivity' means—I don't fully understand it either. Just think of it as the ability to produce more food and goods."

"So, the Dragon Queen won't allow Slaver's Bay to train bed slaves anymore?" Danzo asked with disappointment.

Redbeard paused, giving him a suspicious look before muttering, "And what does that have to do with someone like you?"

"What do you mean by that?" Danzo's face turned red. He shifted the large box in his right hand to his left, while his now-free right hand unconsciously moved toward the hilt of his sword.

"Apologies, apologies! That was a poor choice of words!" Redbeard quickly apologized, then changed the subject. "Yunkai and Astapor are no longer allowed to have bed slaves, but there are no such restrictions in Meereen.

Of course, they're no longer 'bed slaves.' Slavery is banned in Slaver's Bay.

Women must be willing participants, and they can only work as contract laborers. If they choose to leave, they can terminate their contracts at any time—though they'll have to pay a penalty fee for breaking the contract early."

—

"Yo-hei, yo-hei!"

As the two men spoke, a loud, orderly chant came from the east side of the street.

As the gathered onlookers stepped aside, they were stunned to see the Dragon Queen riding a large yellow horse, leading a long procession from the eastern part of the city.

Her appearance today was shocking: brown open-toed leather sandals, her fair and slender calves exposed, a pair of mid-length silk trousers covering her thighs, and only a sleeveless leather vest for her upper body. Her silver hair was braided into a long plait coiled at the back of her head.

Her small knees, the apricot-yellow silk trousers, the vest, and even her arms bore traces of yellow dirt.

Behind her, the long procession wore almost identical outfits, differing only in color and wear. They too were clad in sandals, silk trousers, and vests, all covered in mud.

Some carried hoes and rakes, others held baskets, pushed wheelbarrows, or led oxen, horses, even elephants and camels. Strapped to the backs of the beasts were strange, curved iron blades—plows.

At the very front, two Unsullied held long poles bearing a banner that read:

FOLLOW THE QUEEN'S LEAD!

"T-this… this is—" Danzo's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in disbelief. "The Queen is… farming?!"

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the Dragon Queen, approaching from the front, suddenly raised her right fist and shouted:

"For our homeland—work hard and farm!"

"For our homeland—work hard and farm!" the 20,000 farmers behind her shouted in unison.

"Winter is coming—work hard and farm!" the Dragon Queen cried again, her voice ringing clear and bright.

Hmm, by Ser Barristan's standards for legendary generals, Dany's commanding voice had just barely qualified her.

"Winter is coming—work hard and farm!" the farmers echoed.

"..."

"For the Queen, for our wives, for our home—winter is coming, work hard and farm!"

It wasn't until the Dragon Queen led her followers into the Palace of Benevolence and the nearby pyramids that Danzo finally snapped out of his daze.

He turned to the equally dumbfounded Edward and asked, "Is this your first time seeing this too?"

"I've been drifting at sea for the past month," Redbeard muttered.

After asking a nearby passerby, they learned that for the past month, the Queen had been working from sunrise to sunset, leading farmers out of the city to cultivate the land every day, striving to fulfill Her Majesty's grand plan.

Hearing the middle-aged man speaking High Valyrian fluently and with clear logic, Danzō asked, "Are you an officer in the Mother of Dragons Guard?"

The deep-eyed middle-aged man was dressed in Queen Daenerys' "militia outfit"—leather sandals, brown beach shorts, and a white linen T-shirt with a black dragon head printed on the chest.

It was, undeniably, a very modern-looking outfit.

However, this attire was indeed the most fabric-efficient and cost-effective.

Right now, Daenerys had four major forces: the White, Blue, Red, and Yellow Banners. The White Banner belonged to the Unsullied, the Blue Banner to the Free Wing, and the Red Banner to the Queen's Guard—three elite combat units. The militia, laborers, and centaur cavalry were all grouped under the Yellow Banner and collectively referred to as the "Mother of Dragons Guard."

Newly freed slaves who were drafted into the army would first join the Mother of Dragons Guard. After undergoing militia training, those with exceptional combat skills could advance to the Free Wing or the Queen's Guard.

During peacetime, members of the Mother of Dragons Guard typically wore militia outfits.

The middle-aged man glanced down at his clothes and shook his head. "I serve Queen Daenerys, but I am not a member of the Mother of Dragons Guard.

The Queen does not impose dress codes, but many clothing shops sell these 'True Dragon Robes.'

They're quite comfortable—cool and lightweight."

Danzō looked at his own wool sweater and half-plate armor, already drenched in sweat from the heat.

"I just heard you mention something—what kind of organization is it?"

The middle-aged man did not answer immediately but hesitated before asking, "Are you a mercenary?"

Under the Dragon Queen's rule, some commanders were former mercenaries, but she had never hired a single mercenary herself.

"I am Danzō Dehan, vice commander of the Windblown. I came to Yunkai to ransom my captured men," Danzō replied frankly, not hiding his identity.

The deep-eyed, lean man visibly relaxed, his guard lowering. He smiled and said, "Greetings, Commander Danzō. My name is Bill Clinton, Minister of Culture for Slaver's Bay."

"Minister of Culture?"

Before he could get an answer to his previous question, another one popped into Danzō's mind. At that moment, he suddenly felt that Yunkai—or rather, all of Slaver's Bay—had become completely unfamiliar to him.

Since the three of them had the same destination, they continued walking together across the Grand Plaza toward the "Cining Palace."

As they walked, Bill explained, "I was once a slave under the Great Masters of Meereen. Because I was skilled in playing orchestral instruments, Her Majesty selected me as her music teacher—"

"Oh! So you were even the Queen's teacher?" Redbeard Edd interrupted in surprise.

Bill chuckled. "That's not much of an accomplishment. The Queen is a dedicated learner. After working in the fields during the day, she still studies for three to four hours every night—literature, music, history, etiquette, medicine, forging, architecture... over a dozen subjects with multiple instructors. I'm just one of many."

Though he spoke humbly, his eyes betrayed an undeniable sense of pride. Clearly, he was honored to have taught the Queen.

"That many subjects? Can the Queen even keep up?" Edward clicked his tongue in amazement.

"I used to think the same thing," Bill said, his expression a mix of astonishment, admiration, and envy. "But now... Her Majesty possesses an extraordinary talent for learning. She grasps concepts almost instantly and often extrapolates, coming up with innovative ideas that no one has thought of before."

"Are you serious? The Dragon Queen already has an incredible gift for strategy, and now she's mastering literature, arts, forging, and architecture too?" The old poet slumped in defeat. "How is anyone supposed to compete with that?"

"Her Majesty's swordsmanship is also top-notch," Bill added with a smirk, glancing at the old mercenary with a meaningful look. "It would be best if all the slave masters were the ones who couldn't compete."

Danzō rubbed his nose. "Minister Bill, please continue. What exactly is this 'Ministry of Culture'?"

Bill gave him a deep look before replying, "Half the plains outside Yunkai were burned to ash. The Queen plans to cultivate them all.

But we're talking about millions of acres! Even with the hundred thousand farmers from Meereen, it's impossible to manage alone. So, Her Majesty organized everyone into cooperative groups to help each other during the busy farming seasons."

Danzō was bewildered. "Why grow that much food? I remember Slaver's Bay has never lacked grain."

"You haven't heard the slogan? 'Winter is Coming!'"

Hmm, after Lannister's "A Lannister Always Pays His Debts," Daenerys had now claimed House Stark's motto as well.

"I know summer has ended, but Slaver's Bay is at the southernmost part of the continent. Even in winter, there's still a harvest. Why store grain in advance?"

Bill had once thought the same, but he couldn't question the Queen's wisdom. He simply shrugged and continued, "Her Majesty aims to free the slaves not just physically but also mentally. She needs an official organization to oversee cultural and ideological reforms in Slaver's Bay—that's the purpose of the Ministry of Culture.

Aside from playing instruments, I also have expertise in literature, history, opera, and composition.

During Her Majesty's examination of court instructors, I composed an impromptu story called 'The Shrike, Hill, and the Bug.' That's how I was appointed as Minister of Culture."

"'The Shrike and Hill'? Who are they?"

(End of Chapter)

Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon

https://patreon.com/Glimmer09