Chapter 661

Not stupid, then wicked?

That was quite the accusation—coming from a venerable elder, it carried an almost lethal weight. The war faction in the room immediately seized the momentum, while the peace faction found themselves momentarily silenced. It took a long pause before one of the doves managed to collect himself and counterattack, his neck stiff with defiance.

"Messages across the Narrow Sea take weeks to travel back and forth, but the Queen and the Night’s Watch advance at a pace counted in days. Our usual strategy—supporting opposition factions to act as a check—has completely lost its window of opportunity. Twice now, we barely managed to select a proxy and begin funding them before they were already defeated on the battlefield. And according to our intelligence, the reason for these losses is that the Gifted Army possesses a terrifying new weapon: its discharge roars like thunder, its range spans the Blackwater Rush, and its power can pierce wooden city gates. The Night’s Watch has even begun outfitting their ships with it, and in the decisive battle against the Iron Fleet, just a dozen of these weapons helped the Targaryen navy simultaneously rout both the Baratheon royal fleet and Euron 'Crow’s Eye’s' new Iron Fleet. At this very moment, foundries outside King’s Landing are working at full capacity to produce more. The scholars and analysts of Braavos have assessed the situation and concluded that our fleet is utterly incapable of contending with such weaponry. And this," he slammed his palm against the table, "is not a fabrication!"

"It’s not fabricated, true," came a cold sneer. "But it does prove an old adage—too much peace breeds decay."

Gordon leaned forward, his eyes sharp with derision. "Braavos has been at peace for far too long. I can understand the scholars and analysts being so narrow-minded that they can’t think outside the box. But how is it that even among the elite of the Keepers' Council, I still hear such voices? Since when has Braavos' foreign policy ever been determined solely by whether our army could win a war? At our city’s founding, could we have beaten Valyria? One hundred seventy years ago, when Viserys II Targaryen married the daughter of the Rogare Bank, and they sought to challenge the Iron Bank’s position using the combined might of Lys and Westeros—could we have won a direct military confrontation? Should we simply surrender and hand over our financial dominance every time a comparison of military strength suggests we’re at a disadvantage?"

Bang!

Gordon slammed his hand on the table with force.

"Yes, we might not be able to defeat the Queen and her army of Night’s Watchmen, eunuchs, savages from beyond the Wall, and a ragtag fleet outfitted with cannons. But war is never the only path to resistance! And let’s not forget—if we only consider war, at this moment, we still have the other eight Free Cities and the Reach, the wealthiest of the Seven Kingdoms, in our camp. Right now, we only might lose. But if we delay, waiting for the Queen to conquer the Reach, then subdue the Vale, then consolidate all of Westeros' resources, then break the anti-Targaryen coalition in Volantis, eliminating all potential allies before finally knocking on Braavos’ door—what then? By that time, do we still think we’ll have a choice? No, this war—if we fight it—must be fought now!"

The room grew noisy with debate, but Gordon cut through it with a sharp turn of phrase.

"However, don't assume that my mention of 'if we fight' means my stance is undecided. Today, I must reeducate certain individuals in this room! A dangerous mentality is creeping through Braavos, one that is rotting our city’s foundation—short-sightedness! Weighing the pros and cons before making decisions is not inherently wrong, but tell me, should we be looking only at the immediate future?"

His voice took on a scolding tone, like a master chastising foolish apprentices.

"Here’s a simple example: if we discover that the cost of reclaiming a debt exceeds the debt itself, should we just write it off?"

"For an individual, cutting losses might be wise. But the Iron Bank is an institution—it thrives on lending," a war faction member promptly answered. "If the debtor is a nation, if we abandon repayment simply because it's too difficult or too costly, we don’t just lose the money—we lose the principle that the Iron Bank must never be defaulted on. That precedent would invite every ambitious ruler to try their luck at defying us. And in the long run, that would be a far greater loss than any single sum of money."

"Precisely! But—" a voice from the peace faction countered, "the Queen isn’t refusing to repay. She’s negotiating an acceptable payment plan!"

"Ah, excellent!" Gordon tapped his fingers on the table, drawing all eyes back to him. He then pointed directly at the speaker.

"Take a good look, everyone. If being cowed by an enemy’s weapon is the first form of stupidity, then what we have here is the second—deliberate deception!"

Ignoring the indignant confusion on the man’s face, Gordon continued, his voice rising in tempo.

"The Iron Bank’s power doesn’t just lie in 'being impossible to default on.' It also comes from its reputation, its financial dominance! That power is intangible, existing solely in the minds of men, yet it is indestructible. Now, Tyrion Lannister—the dwarf—has proposed that we accept Targaryen bonds as repayment for the Queen’s debt. And some of you actually believe this is just ‘repayment in another form’?"

He sucked in a breath before suddenly roaring—

"IDIOTIC!"

The sudden outburst startled everyone. Gordon coughed a few times, a young woman at his side gently patting his back until he recovered.

"The Targaryen bond is a financial product, untested and untrusted. So far, the Queen has only managed to distribute it by forcing it upon her loyalists. And yet, if the Iron Bank accepts it, what does that mean? You may claim she’s ‘repaying us in bonds,’ but I say—we are spending our own gold to buy into the Westerosi banking system! We would be using the prestige of the world's financial capital to endorse a fledgling competitor!"

"If the Westerosi bank had paid dearly for such an endorsement, perhaps we could at least discuss whether the price was worth it. But no—they’re using the very money they already owe us to force our acceptance! Do you expect the leaders of the Iron Bank to be so brainless as to hand over our most valuable asset—our financial supremacy—to a competitor? When did we become a charity?!"

The war faction surged forward in momentum, drowning out any dissenting voices. Even some members of the peace faction hesitated, swayed by Gordon’s forceful logic.

"You think we can just ‘negotiate for cash-only payments’ instead? Foolishness!" Gordon snapped. "The issue isn’t how she repays—the issue is the existence of the bond itself! If we accept even once, the Westerosi bank gains a foothold in our world. And like termites, they will gnaw away at our financial empire until one day we realize, too late, that Braavos' economic foundation has been hollowed out beyond repair. When future historians write The Decline of Braavos, they will mark its beginning at the exact moment the Iron Bank accepted Targaryen bonds as payment!"

A beat of silence—then several voices murmured in agreement.

"And so, gentlemen, let me be blunt—Targaryen’s bank is not just a competitor. It is a mortal enemy! They seek to reshape the world’s financial order, and that threatens the very lifeblood of Braavos. Against such an existential threat, two million gold dragons are nothing! Against a mortal enemy, if winning means sacrificing ten to kill a hundred, we must gladly pay that price!"

His final words left no room for dissent.

"So from this moment forward, we are no longer debating whether to oppose the Queen. We are discussing—how to destroy her empire before it destroys us."