章 736: Chapter 736: The Golden Peninsula
The Imperial Fleet temporarily docked at the mouth of Red Flower Vale for repairs. They conscripted warriors from the Red Flower Vale tribe and its surrounding vassal tribes, totaling over two hundred men, to replenish the losses incurred during their journey through the stormy seas.
Asha Greyjoy also placed orders with the Red Flower Vale tribe, exchanging goods and supplies she had acquired from various trading city-states.
The tribes of the Summer Isles were not particularly interested in gold coins. Instead, they were quite curious about foreign goods, especially Myrish carpets, hand-fired glassware, exquisite silverware, lace, wool, and dragon peppers.
This was precisely why Asha would stay for a while in each place she visited. Besides acquiring essential supplies, her fleet would also purchase local specialties to sell in the next city-state.
The fundamental principle of a trading caravan was simple: sell goods from one place in another, provided the destination did not also produce those goods, lest they end up with unsellable stock.
Asha was well aware that she couldn't solely rely on raiding for supplies. Therefore, she had planned in advance to operate in the manner of a trading caravan.
For her, this was an uncharted adventure. She had never engaged in trade before, but fortunately, she gambled correctly. The chieftains of the Summer Isles were more interested in these exotic goods than in gold coins.
The Summer Isles were rich in mineral resources but had limited interaction with the outside world. Even if ships did arrive, they brought few goods.
Moreover, most of these fleets aimed to exploit the natives, selling cheap goods at exorbitant prices in exchange for the natives' unspendable gold coins and local specialties of the Summer Isles.
However, the goods Asha brought were abundant and diverse. The chieftain of the Red Flower Vale tribe was dazzled, and the leaders of the smaller tribes affiliated with Red Flower Vale also rushed over.
In the end, the chieftain generously exchanged ten exquisite Myrish carpets, some glassware, and two jars of dragon peppers for a thousand goldenheart longbows.
With the chieftain's mobilization, the tribe's labor force, who usually spent their days hunting, fishing, and foraging, went to the Golden Cape Peninsula to cut down a large amount of goldenheart wood for the crafting of longbows.
For the chieftains of the Summer Isles, goldenheart wood was abundant, almost as if they were picking it up for free. They didn't feel at a loss at all; in fact, they felt they had struck a great bargain.
The craftsmanship and time required to make the longbows were not their concern. All they had to do was command their tribesmen to work.
Claiming that anyone who defied him would incur the wrath of the gods, the chieftain, a former shaman of the tribe, had no trouble convincing his people to work diligently.
The Red Flower Vale tribe was buzzing with activity. Thanks to the ample number of craftsmen, they managed to craft a thousand goldenheart longbows in about half a month.
...
Meanwhile, Asha Greyjoy spent her time touring the Golden Cape Peninsula with her crew.
However, the tribesmen of the Red Flower Vale, who were busy logging, noticed that these foreigners didn't seem to be touring at all. They appeared to be searching for something, carrying shovels and other tools, scouring the slopes, rocks, and riverbanks.
The tribesmen reported this to their chieftain, who thought little of it, assuming that the newcomers were merely curious about the Summer Isles and let them be.
In truth, Asha and her crew were not touring; they were searching for something specific.
At a tribal feast, Asha overheard the chieftain casually mention that the Golden Cape Peninsula was named after someone who had found a gold nugget the size of a human head here.
Hearing this, Asha became suspicious. Raised on the Iron Islands, which lacked gold mines but were rich in iron ore, she was well-versed in mineral resources.
To find such a large, unrefined piece of gold could only mean two things: either someone had deliberately placed it there, or the area was sitting atop a large gold deposit.
Although the people of the Summer Isles didn't place much value on gold coins, it was still the only circulating currency on the islands. Besides bartering, people used gold coins for transactions.
The native tribesmen of the Summer Isles knew that although gold coins couldn't be eaten or drunk, the foreigners seemed to adore them. To them, gold coins were as dear as their own parents. These coins could be traded for goods with outsiders, so they held some value on the Summer Isles.
So who would leave a gold nugget the size of a human head just lying around? Asha Greyjoy didn't buy it.
This could only mean one thing: the Golden Cape Peninsula might be sitting atop a gold mine!
This audacious speculation made Asha's heart race. What did a gold mine signify? It meant a sustainable wealth for a long period, akin to manna from heaven.
Why was the Westerlands so prosperous? Wasn't it said that Tywin Lannister's excrement was gold? Wasn't it all because of the abundant gold mines in the Westerlands?
If there really was a gold mine here, coupled with the reasons her Uncle Victarion had once given her, she could very well claim an island for herself and declare herself a queen.
Queen of the Summer Isles? Or perhaps even Empress?
Asha was genuinely tempted, but she was not a rash or irrational woman. She suppressed her excitement and, apart from her uncle, told no one else about it.
Perhaps because Victarion's injuries had not yet fully healed, he looked a bit unwell. But Asha, caught up in her excitement, failed to notice.
Subsequently, Asha led a few of her trusted men to scour the Golden Cape Peninsula for traces of a gold mine.
Though she was extremely familiar with iron ore, Asha had never dealt with gold mines. She and her Ironborn crew were clueless about how to locate one, so they cast a wide net, hoping to stumble upon it by sheer luck.
Unfortunately, it seemed Asha might have been wrong. There was no gold mine; the legend of the Golden Cape Peninsula was just that—a legend. The Red Flower Vale tribe had spent half a month crafting longbows, and they had spent half a month here, but they had found nothing, not even a shadow of a gold mine.
Just then, a piece of unsettling news arrived.
An Ironborn who had stayed behind on the ship rushed to report to Asha that her Uncle Victarion had suddenly fainted.
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