Chapter 123 Surrender
Five thousand of the newly trained recruits were left behind to assist in the defense of the city, while the rest were sent out, including the fleet from Yara in the Iron Islands, which also joined the attack.
The next day, just as Daenerys's men were preparing to attack Gith, the guards suddenly announced that envoys from both the old and new Gith had arrived.
Daenerys was surprised that the leaders of the old and new Gith would send people to summon the Lord Chancellor and prepare to welcome them.
Although the two sides are about to go to war, the proper etiquette cannot be neglected, and Slaver's Bay has already taken on a bit of the grandeur of a monarchy.
With all her ministers present, Daenerys had just announced the arrival of the new and old Githian envoys when two noblemen in their forties hurriedly ran in.
Upon entering, they knelt before Daenerys and said almost in unison, "Your Majesty! The old and new cities of Gith are willing to submit. Please do not send troops to attack us again."
The envoy's opening remarks immediately surprised Daenerys and her ministers.
[Now they're behaving themselves!]
Seeing the two new and old Gith envoys who didn't even dare to raise their heads after speaking, Zhuo Geng didn't expect them to arrive in Meereen so quickly, as Gith City is quite a distance from Meereen.
Before Daenerys could figure out why the old and new Geese had chosen to submit at this time, she suddenly heard Drogon's whispered words.
She immediately understood what was going on. Yesterday, when she decided to attack Gis, she thought Drogon was going to help her attack the city.
She had no idea that Drogon had attacked Geese without her knowledge.
Judging from the two envoys' fearful and apprehensive appearance, Drogon must have done a lot of damage to Gis, otherwise he wouldn't have frightened the envoys so much.
Daenerys was unaware that, in addition to the destruction and intimidation Drogon inflicted on Geese, they were also startled when they arrived in Meereen and saw the army about to set off.
I thought Daenerys wasn't satisfied with the damage the black dragon had caused to Gith and would send more troops to attack.
"State your conditions for submission!"
Just as Tyrion and the others were wondering why the old and new Geese had chosen to submit at this time, Daenerys suddenly spoke.
"We are willing to submit completely to Her Majesty the Queen, to become a vassal city of Slave Bay, and to offer a huge sum of money every year in exchange for your forgiveness!"
As they spoke, the two men each handed over a fine parchment containing a list of the annual tributes.
Barristan took the two parchments, checked them to make sure there were no problems, and then handed them to Daenerys.
Upon seeing the contents of the paper, Daenerys was secretly taken aback; the amount of money contained therein was almost double what they had expected.
Without making a sound, Daenerys put down the parchment in her hand and said to the envoys who were still kneeling on the ground, "I still need to discuss and decide on your request with my ministers. You can rest at the inn for now, and I will summon you to an audience again after a decision is made."
"Your Majesty, if you are not satisfied with the above items, we can double the amount!"
Upon hearing Daenerys's words, the two envoys not only did not dare to get up, but also said something that surprised Daenerys and the ministers.
Although Tyrion and his companions did not know the list of valuables on the parchment, they could imagine from the horrified expressions of the two envoys that it must contain a very rich contents.
They doubled the original list because Daenerys said it needed to be discussed, which surprised Daenerys' ministers even more.
Everyone was speculating about what had happened between the old and new Giss that they didn't know about, which made the Giss leaders, who were originally unwilling to submit, not only change their minds but also willing to double their tribute.
Despite being somewhat surprised by the envoy's words, Daenerys would not immediately agree to Geese's terms of submission until she had a clear understanding of Geese's situation.
Seeing that even doubling the tribute did not persuade Daenerys to submit, the two envoys could only leave with long faces, waiting to be summoned again a few days later.
After the envoys left, Daenerys handed Tyrion and the others the list of valuables on the parchment.
He ordered Jorah, "Sir Jorah, immediately send men to the old and new Gith to find out what's going on there. Report back to me as soon as possible, and we'll discuss the conditions for Gith's submission after the scouts return."
Tyrion and the others only realized how generous the gifts from the Giese nobles were after reading the list of valuables.
After Daenerys finished speaking, she glanced, intentionally or unintentionally, at the small Drogon perched on her shoulder, looking like a work of art yet exuding majesty. She wondered how he had disciplined the Geths to make them so afraid.
Two days later, the scouts returned and reported to Daenerys the battle in which Drogon burned down the old and new Geese three days earlier.
Daenerys was both surprised and terrified upon hearing this. She hadn't expected that the old and new Gith would possess ballistae to deal with dragons. No wonder they dared to repeatedly oppose her and attack Yunkai and Astabo.
Drogon practically burned down the walls of Gith while under the weight of ballistae, killing the wall guards in the process.
She knew that Zhuo Geng had become even more powerful after his transformation, but she didn't expect him to be able to withstand the crossbow's attack.
What she was truly afraid of was the sight of Régo and Viserion facing the ballistae.
Daenerys had long known that Drogon was superior to Rhaegal and the others, and the last time she rode Rhaegal across the river, she realized even more clearly the vast difference between them and Drogon.
This time, she originally planned to take Rhego and the others to assist in the attack on Gith. If she did so, and were suddenly ambushed by ballistae without their knowledge, Daenerys found it hard to believe that they could escape unscathed.
As for enduring it head-on like Zhuo Geng, that's even more impossible.
"Ser Jorah, bring the Gith envoy to the main hall!" Daenerys felt a surge of anger rising within her, thinking of how Rhaegal and his men had almost been ambushed by ballistae.
Jorah sent for envoys, and Daenerys began to discuss the terms of Giese's submission with her ministers.
When everyone saw that Drogon had braved the crossbow bolts to burn down the old and new walls of Giza, and even their three largest pyramids, they understood why the Giza envoy had been so afraid that day.
Ballistae are weapons specifically designed to deal with dragons, and Drogon isn't even afraid of them, so they have absolutely no way to deal with him.
Daenerys didn't need to send out an army; Drogon's dragon alone could destroy both New and Old Gith.
Tyrion and his men hadn't expected that Drogon, after his transformation, could withstand even ballistae; such a dragon had never appeared in the history of dragons.
Thinking of Drogon's power, they couldn't help but shift their gaze to Drogon, who was already imposing even in his infant form, perched on Daenerys's shoulder.
Zhuogeng is not only the most defensively powerful being in the history of the dragon race, but they have never heard of a four-legged dragon before, and the ability to change size is even more unheard of.
Imagining the power of Drogon, the queen's strongest warrior, when conquering cities and territories, everyone found it somewhat unbelievable.
"Not only have the old and new Gith been involved in numerous harpy attacks, but they have also recklessly attacked Yunkai and Astabo, and used ballistae against Drogon. We cannot easily agree to their terms of submission."
Before the discussions began, Daenerys set the direction for the meeting.
Everyone immediately understood the Queen's meaning: the first two of Geese's crimes were one thing, but the last one was the root of Geese's evil.