Swanport is like a dormant swan; its primary trade will come from the sea.
It would be better if it were a seaport at the confluence of a river and the sea, like King's Landing or Oldtown.
But there is no such place in Andalos, so Viserys chose a port almost in a straight line with Viserysburg. Unless another canal is dug, though the flow of the Upper Rhoyne River is still relatively slow.
The kingdom will need a lot of infrastructure in the future; everything seems to be starting from scratch.
However, the terrain of Andalos is relatively flat, and construction costs are a bit lower, so dirt and stone roads will suffice for now.
A sea breeze blows, and there is the smell of salt in the air.
"You are loyal to me, Morroq, but your loyalty is a secret," Viserys said.
This kind of recruitment is normal; building a navy takes a hundred years, and many who lack an initial navy resort to poaching talent.
Nowadays, it's easy to find a thousand soldiers but hard to find a single general. Even though the Myrish man is a commander of a mercenary fleet, he is already the most suitable naval elite Viserys can reach.
In the climb for power, Viserys increasingly felt that the situation was one where a single move could affect the whole; only the strongest and most strategic could win in the end.
"I understand, Your Majesty." The Myrish man was no fool; he knew Viserys had grand ambitions and was letting him lie low for the time being.
Otherwise, if Viserys were to poach people across the world with great fanfare, Pentos and Myr would eventually become wary.
Once the navy of Andalos is established, or a seaport is seized at sea, that will be the time for him to make a name for himself.
"What is the situation in the Narrow Sea now?" Viserys asked Morroq.
"Your Majesty, the islands are much quieter than before. It is summer now, and the pirate business is not as good in summer as it is in autumn," Morroq explained.
"True, there are often storms in autumn. If crossing the Narrow Sea is difficult, all trade must detour around the Stepstones, and the pirates' business is at its best." Viserys also knew something about this. "So, who controls the Stepstones now?"
"The Ironborn of the Iron Islands were utterly defeated in King Balon's rebellion, and now the Stepstones are being meddled with by the Triarchy," the Myrish man said. "Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys do not personally intervene due to the situation, but they each support their own pirate fleets."
Viserys felt this was understandable; launching a war requires great caution, especially for city-states with high competitive pressure like the Triarchy.
Even for the Myr Magisters and the Archon of Tyrosh, they could not bear the consequences once a war is lost; they would be attacked and ousted by their rivals.
Reckless wars often lead to the downfall of families.
Therefore, the Archons and Magisters would rather choose trade wars or proxy wars—imposing taxes on goods or strictly prohibiting smuggling—rather than going to war directly.
"The Myr Magisters did not support me, but another Myrish man. However, I am a smuggler from Myr, and since Tyrosh and Lys give Myr some face, my ships are relatively safe," Morroq explained.
Myr's situation is the most unique; Myr is a city of craftsmanship and also has its own large naval fleet.
Myr is not as provocative or expansionist as Tyrosh and Lys, and its actions are more cautious.
Their overall combat capability is somewhat inferior, seemingly lacking in raw courage.
Because the Myrish have also suffered losses; for example, in 134 AC, the internal war of the Daughters came to an end. The Disputed Lands were divided by the former Alliance of the Three Cities: Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh.
Dorne controlled most of the Stepstones. Princess Alexandra Martell of Dorne and the Archon of Tyrosh gained the most from the war, while Myr suffered the greatest losses.
Because families and Magisters fought each other, Lys fell into internal strife.
The Myrish are heavily shadowed by the failure of the war and do not easily venture into hot wars; they are also long-time patrons of the Golden Company.
Currently, those who frequently clash in the Stepstones are the Tyroshi and the Lysene; both sides have always maintained a friendly attitude toward the Myrish, both seeking Myr's neutrality or support.
"I see," Viserys nodded.
Originally, the situation in that string of islands was a free-for-all, with the Ironborn and the Triarchy all having a hand in it.
Now that the Ironborn have been defeated and are recovering, the greatest powers on the island chain are still the pirate kings.
"Who is the most powerful now?" Viserys asked.
"Salladhor Saan. He considers himself the Prince of the Narrow Sea, but he mostly lives in Lys. He is involved in commerce, smuggling, trade, and banking," Morroq said. "The Saan family has been pirates for hundreds of years, mastering the crafts of smuggling and piracy with immense power. Their household slave sailors are very formidable. Moreover, the Saan family has various businesses and strong capital, making them a prestigious family in Lys."
Viserys had heard that Salladhor Saan claimed the fleet of over twenty warships under his command cost 23,000 gold dragons a month.
However, those are just warships; the Saan family would also have corresponding smuggling ships and trade fleets.
Much like the Redwyne family, which started with the maritime wine trade, Lord Paxter Redwyne owns two hundred warships, while five times that number of merchant galleons, wine cogs, trading galleys, and whaling ships serve the Redwyne family.
"What about the relationship between you?"
"The top smugglers at sea all respect each other: me, The Onion Knight, and Salladhor. However, the gap in our statuses is too large, so we are only casual acquaintances. Old Salladhor has friends throughout the Free Cities."
"He once tried to recruit me, but I prefer my freedom. Besides, once I joined the Lysene camp, the Myr Magisters would reduce their tax support for me. So we didn't reach an agreement, and the relationship cooled."
""
This is also a characteristic of smooth operators: everyone is a friend, yet no one is a true friend.
Viserys could still understand the nuances; although these three were acquaintances and there was some friendship, Saan was more of a businessman.
While The Onion Knight and the Myrish man were still playing with techniques, Saan was already a capitalist.
Saan has the most power and the best connections; he is not in the same league as the other two younger brothers.
So, one more or one fewer smuggler doesn't make much difference.
Viserys pondered for a moment; although this Saan was powerful, for him, he was more of an enemy than a friend.
Salladhor's power is immense, making him a pole of power in his own right. Coupled with his slickness and social prowess, it would be difficult to gain his loyalty.
"Now you have more than ten warships and more than ten smuggling ships," Viserys said to Morroq.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Morroq said.
"There's no need to expand the scale for now; continue to support the expansion of Swanport. Later, I will bring you new profits," Viserys said.
Viserys had already arranged for new brass distillers; once his new product, grape brandy, was successful, it would be a more substantial source of wealth.
Besides that, Viserys was considering a possible adventure; the timing right now was perfect.
There are fewer storms in the summer, his Tyroshi enemies have gone quiet, the iron throne is bogged down in endless meetings, and Khal Drogo is in the far east.
Opportunity knocks but once.
If Viserys's team were divided into sea or river adventure teams, the river route would go straight along the Rhoyne River to Volantis, while the sea route would be with an ocean-going fleet.
Both routes have their own pros and cons.