The Green Priestess slowly recounted everything that had happened in Meereen over the past month. Not only was Maester Aemon left utterly dumbfounded, but even Dany couldn't help feeling admiration for the visiting maester.
Forget Slaver's Bay, which only had a population of 1.5 million—even in the ancient Celestial Empire with populations in the tens or hundreds of millions, it was rare to see a major case involving tens of thousands of people.
Even Zhu Yuanzhang, infamous for executing meritorious officials, only implicated about 30,000 in the Hu Weiyong case, and 15,000 in the Lan Yu affair.
Yet in Meereen, with a population of just over 300,000, this visiting maester had uncovered a terrifying case involving 80,000 people—with as many as 20,000 sentenced to death.
Just as the Green Priestess said, nearly the entire upper class of Meereen—the Ghis noble class and merchant elite—had been toppled.
During the surprise attack on Meereen, the city barely had time to resist. Dany had only detained the Great Masters and a few slave lords who had supported Khyzai's forces; the middle and upper-class Ghis, those between the Great Masters and the commoners, had been largely left alone—economically ruined perhaps, as she stripped them of their slaves and most of their fixed assets, but physically untouched.
This leniency left behind hidden dangers. Dissatisfied Ghis slowly began to unite, ultimately forming the terrorist group "Sons of the Harpy."
Of course, Dany was no naïve saint, nor was she the same Daenerys bound by the curse of "you must be as merciful as Rhaegar."
If there was no clear reason to act publicly—would she just keep enduring?
Impossible.
Whether the Sons of the Harpy caused trouble or not, the Ghis had to be purged.
Her original plan was to choose Meereen as the battlefield against the coalition forces, forcing the Ghis to bear the pain of the Liberation War while thoroughly destroying the existing social structure of the city.
There were two reasons for choosing Meereen as the battleground:
The idea of "defending the kingdom at its borders" sounded simple but was hard in practice. If Dany chose to fight 900 kilometers west at Tolos, just transporting food would nearly kill her;
Meereen's terrain was extremely unique. To the north lay a vast plain leading to the Dothraki Sea. If her army left the city walls and marched west to Tolos, the enemy would surely cut off her retreat from both the Dothraki Sea and Slaver's Bay—and might even strike Meereen itself, her vital grain depot.
If we were to compare Meereen to a strategic pass in Chinese history, it would be akin to Shanhai Pass—coastal, connected to a great river, with fertile lands like Meereen, Khyzai, and Astapor behind it, and vast plains filled with barbarian threats beyond.
Because of this ruthless strategy, Dany had relocated the Ghis of Khyzai to Meereen and moved the new freedmen of Meereen to the plains of Khyzai.
As for whether the Ghis in Meereen might rise in armed rebellion—
Despite all the chaos stirred up by the visiting maester, Meereen never lost control.
Because one of the Dragon Queen's elite field armies—the Queen's Guard—was stationed in Meereen!
Unfortunately, man proposes, but heaven disposes. Dany had already steeled herself to act ruthlessly, yet the visiting maester completely derailed her plans with ease.
All because of an assassination attempt—and the target wasn't even a king, just the commander of the Queen's Guard. Yet this incident uncovered tens of thousands of conspirators guilty of heinous treason.
Among fewer than 300,000 Ghis citizens, 60,000 were imprisoned and 20,000 sentenced to death.
Even in the entirety of ancient Chinese history, the maester could proudly cry out to all his forebears: "Who else can compare?!"
Even more astounding, he didn't just go after nobles and merchants—he almost wiped out Meereen's religious forces as well.
The Green Priestess of Meereen, whose status in Slaver's Bay's religious world was equivalent to a High Septon in the Faith of the Seven, was captured along with her entire family by a mere count and had all her property confiscated.
It was truly—
"Bang—crash!" The Dragon Queen slammed her palm down, shattering three teacups and a teapot.
"Absolutely outrageous!"
Well, her hand struck the tea table, and the porcelain cups and pot were knocked to the ground and smashed to pieces.
The queen's rage surged—her cheeks flushed, her eyes gleamed with murderous fury. "That wretch! He dares treat my Code of Law like a joke, and ignore the tradition that a Priestess is above common punishment? He must be tired of living!"
These words seemed to give the Green Priestess a surge of courage and pride. Her long-harbored grievances burst forth, and she followed the queen's lead in angrily denouncing him:
"Cleon is nothing but a ruthless, inhuman butcher—cruel and cunning!
He rose to his current position by mere chance and minor achievements, all thanks to Your Majesty's grace.
And instead of showing gratitude, he betrayed your trust. He should be executed immediately and fed to the dragons!"
"In that case," Dany thought for a moment and said, "Your Holiness, how about I ride a dragon to Meereen right now, use my royal authority, and personally arrest Cleon?
Or we can follow proper procedure. I'll handwrite a royal decree for you to deliver to Meereen by ship. Use it to find Commander Ser Jon of the Queen's Guard and have Cleon 'Chainbreaker' bound and thrown into prison."
"Uh… what's the difference?" The old priestess was puzzled.
Dany pointed to the seven Ghis men in long tokar robes standing four or five meters away, held back by Unsullied. "Aren't they all victims of Cleon's abuse? Plaintiffs and witnesses?"
"Yes, they're all Meereenese merchants who came to Astapor to plead their grievances before Your Majesty," the Green Priestess nodded.
At first, she had feared that the Dragon Queen might protect her own subordinate—or worse, be the one behind the atrocities.
So she had brought a group of complainants to prove Cleon's monstrous crimes, hoping to pressure the Queen into not going too soft.
Only after arriving did she realize she had overthought it. The Queen was wise and just as always, immediately siding with them and deciding to arrest the butcher count on the spot.
As such, the witnesses she'd brought along to win sympathy were now unnecessary.
"Do you remember the Code of Law—Noble Chapter I drafted?" Dany asked. "The one with clauses specifically about crimes committed by nobles?"
"Well…" The Green Priestess was momentarily stunned, racking her brain. She remembered the law existed, but couldn't recall the exact content.
"Not really," she admitted honestly.
Dany waved to the solemn-looking little Missandei, who was dressed in a purple qipao, and said,
"Missandei, come explain it to the Green Saintess."
Missandei widened her golden eyes and said,
"The Code of Law, under the chapter on Noble Trials, states that there are only two ways to arrest a noble.
First, regardless of whether there is solid evidence, the Queen or the King's Hand may declare the noble's crimes in front of them and arrest them immediately.
However, during the subsequent trial, neither the Queen nor the King's Hand may serve on the jury.
Second, if the plaintiff presents sufficient and legitimate evidence and witness testimony, and the Queen or the King's Hand approves the arrest warrant, then the warrant is executed by a council minister.
In this case, the Queen and the King's Hand are allowed to serve on the jury."
In plain terms, just like the modern judicial system, arresting (administrative) and judging (judicial) are handled by two different bodies. The Queen may choose to be part of one, but only one.
She can either act as a police officer (or prosecutor) or as a judge—but not both.
She can't arrest someone and also declare them guilty (PS).
No doubt, this law significantly limits the Queen's judicial authority.
"Yes, I remember now. That's exactly how it is." The Green Saintess nodded repeatedly.
Seeing Aemon's pensive expression, Dany smiled and explained,
"My father's execution of Duke Stark and his son was so appalling that I've felt uneasy ever since—especially when facing Lady Stoneheart and Jon Snow.
To prevent such incidents from ever happening again, I established a law strictly protecting the rights of the nobility. Of course, there are laws protecting the common people as well."
Given House Targaryen's infamous "madness in the blood," Dany dared not emulate the autocratic ways of the emperors of the ancient Celestial Empire.
Whether it's her descendants going mad and slaughtering innocents, or a particularly deranged Targaryen leading to the family's downfall, she wished to avoid all such fates.
Of course, there's a strong chance that a future Targaryen, awakened to their "mad blood," would completely ignore the Code of Queen Dany.
At that point, the laws under The Code – Royal Edition, which abolish the Mad King's rule and support another Targaryen's ascension, would take effect.
With laws to rely on, the people would have legitimate channels to express grievances, and at least the likelihood of her descendants facing a tragic end would be reduced.
"What should I do?" the Green Saintess asked in confusion.
She could either ask the Dragon Queen to invoke her privilege and arrest the Butcher Earl immediately—saving time, and locking Cleon up by tonight.
Or she could have the Queen participate in the final trial. Following proper procedure, she could personally lead the arrest of Cleon—which might feel more satisfying?
But Meereen and Astapor are separated by a thousand kilometers of sea. Even with favorable winds, it would still take four or five days.
In fact, it wasn't the Green Saintess's decision to make. This was the Dragon Queen's right.
"Why don't you go back and think it over? Cleon won't escape. I'll have Missandei send a letter to Jon Bolton right away, asking him to keep an eye on Cleon," said Dany.
"No, there's no need to think. I'll head to Meereen right away and see what kind of face Cleon dares to put on in front of me!"
The old saintess had come to her senses. Since the Dragon Queen insisted on arresting Cleon according to the Code, it was certain that his trial would also follow the same laws—an unpredictable and lengthy process.
Since she couldn't immediately bring justice to the Butcher, she might as well arrest him herself—and mock him to his face.
"No rush. You're a council minister—at least stay for tonight's banquet," Dany said with a smile, pulling the Green Saintess over to Aemon.
"Come, let me introduce you to..."
The evening banquet was grand. Aside from the military officers and officials from Astapor, over a hundred respected new freemen from the city and major merchants from the Free Cities were present. The food was lavish, wine flowed freely, and everyone left thoroughly intoxicated.
"Danys, do something for me."
Around 10 p.m., after the guests had departed, Dany called the little assassin to her bedroom.
Yes—Dany had refused her request to become a spy in Volantis or New Ghis. After liberating Kaizhen, she kept her close as a personal shadow guard.
Danys, wearing a dark gray leather cuirass, stepped out of the shadows and asked blankly,
"Are we going to kill the Green Saintess?"
Under the orange lamplight, Dany, who had been bent over writing a letter at her desk, froze. She turned her head with a blank expression.
"Why would you think that?"
The girl answered seriously,
"When you were away, all the Ghis people who came from Meereen went to the Green Saintess. Slowly, they've formed a small Ghis group.
Missandei thinks that once Cleon is taken down, their victory will embolden them. They'll evolve from a survival alliance into a legitimate political force in Slaver's Bay—and they'll definitely demand more political power in the future."
"Missandei said that?" Dany was stunned.
"Yes."
The little black girl had clearly seen through the nature of these old remnants of the previous dynasty: they couldn't be killed off. One way or another, they would rise again.
After all, there were two or three hundred thousand Ghiscari. Once they recovered and united—even if they didn't openly rebel—they'd still become part of the Dany Dynasty's power structure.
Dany patted the girl's head and smiled,
"Did you understand all that?"
"No need to understand," Danys turned away awkwardly and muttered with a nasal voice,
"I'm the dagger in the dark. As long as my blade is sharp, that's enough."
"Heh, some things can't be solved with a dagger alone."
Dany laughed, pinching her cheek. Before the girl could pull away, she pulled a roll of parchment from the table and stuffed it into her arms.
"Give this to Cleon."
---
*(PS: Remember that in the chapter about the Code*, someone claimed that Dany's law protecting private property was too far-fetched—that such a thing wouldn't exist in a primitive medieval society. But in reality, even kings must repay debts. Aerys, Robert, Cersei, Joffrey, and Tommen all had to repay loans.
Now, I imagine someone else might say that the Code – Noble Trials chapter is too advanced for medieval law.
Let me explain: A Song of Ice and Fire was written by a modern author. Some of the laws in the book are virtually identical to modern ones—remarkably advanced, seriously.
A well-known example: in the Purple Wedding, during Tyrion's trial—
Cersei, as the accuser, desperately wanted Tyrion dead. Yet, even as Queen, she had no right to convict him outright (also due to Tywin). She could only pull strings behind the scenes.
Likewise, Tywin, as the King's Hand and essentially the chief justice at Tyrion's trial, probably wanted to find him guilty. But again, he couldn't declare it outright.
Then you had people like the Red Viper and other top nobles, acting as a kind of jury. They listened to witness testimony and decided on Tyrion's guilt.
There were many witnesses, presenting a complete chain of evidence—from motive to method.
Isn't that advanced enough?
When Tyrion realized the evidence was turning against him, and that even the Red Viper subtly hinted that the "jury" wasn't on his side, he gave up on the royal trial and demanded a trial by combat under church law instead.)**
(End of Chapter)
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