"We'll continue our previous deduction. Since Mance Rayder is learning from me and continuously developing technology," Dany paused, first explaining the concept of "science and technology," then continued, "the technological levels of both sides are similar. Although the quality of weapons for the soldiers keeps improving, the rate of improvement is roughly the same.
It's like Tormund Giantsbane — imagine two Tormunds, both discarding their wooden clubs at the same time and switching to bronze swords, then later to steel swords, and eventually even to Valyrian steel swords. This represents technological advancement and the progression of civilization.
At that point, we still wouldn't have an advantage over the other, so we would have to continue improving the combat ability of our soldiers.
Besides weaponry, obviously, a Tormund who fears death would lose to a fearless, unflinching Tormund, right?"
"Right."Tormund and Mance, completely drawn in, were eager to hear Dany's next "life-enlightening truths," and thus cooperated without any resistance.
Jon, Barristan, and a few others were also captivated. Her Majesty the Queen's words were simple and easy to understand, yet seemed to contain profound wisdom they had never encountered before.
"In order to make my Tormund braver, I must let him understand that winning the battle is more beneficial to him than losing. As a victor, he will gain more."
"But—" Tormund asked doubtfully, "isn't that obvious? Of course you get more by winning."
"Is it?"Dany smiled mysteriously."You all refer to the 'crows' — the Night's Watch. What difference does winning or losing make for them?
Let me put it more specifically: Jon Snow did not have a pleasant life at the Wall. His family was torn apart by war; some members were dead or missing. The Stark family had fallen apart.
New recruits at the Wall envied his Stark bloodline, and the veterans, for certain reasons, bore grudges against the Starks. The life of the Night's Watch was harsh and full of abstinence.
By contrast, when he killed Qhorin Halfhand and defected to the wildlings, he gained what you call 'freedom' and even a respectable position — because of his warg abilities!
He even gained something the Night's Watch could never offer him — love. Ygritte was a good girl.
At that time, he had two choices: fully integrate with the wildlings, help them break through the Wall, lead hundreds of thousands south to sweep across the North — at the very least, he could have avenged his family by destroying the Boltons.
If the wildlings had grown stronger, they might have even crushed the Freys and shaken the rule of the Lannisters.
Vengeance, love, freedom — sounds wonderful, doesn't it?
Yet, without hesitation, he made the second choice: to continue the mission Qhorin Halfhand had entrusted to him, to spy among the wildlings, to warn the Night's Watch at Castle Black, and to sabotage Mance Rayder's brilliant plan to capture the gates.
Now, think carefully — why did he do that?"
"Because he's stupid. He knows nothing!" Mance Rayder glared coldly at Jon.
"Crows are crows. They can't be trusted," the wildlings shouted in anger.
"He's bound by some useless thing deep inside," Tormund's eyes gleamed as he spoke slowly.
Dany glanced at the red-haired wildling and chuckled, "You understand him best."
"No, I absolutely do not understand!" Tormund quickly shook his head, as if understanding an idiot would make him an idiot too.
Dany shrugged and continued,"Jon acted for honor — the honor of House Stark, the sacred vows of a Night's Watch brother."
"Your Majesty..."Jon's eyes were red, touched to the brink of tears.
Barristan patted the young Night's Watch brother's shoulder and smiled warmly: no matter how rotten Westeros might seem at the moment, there were still promising stars of hope!
"Continuing our earlier discussion — when I confront Mance, if I can grant my soldiers a sense of honor, they will fight harder, right?"
"Right," Mance nodded. "But what does that prove?"
"It proves that civilization is made up of more than just technology — it includes spiritual culture too. Why does Jon have honor?
If he were a wildling who plundered, murdered, and followed the law of the jungle, would he have such a thing as honor?"
"I disagree with that!" Tormund protested angrily. "You're slandering the wildlings. I'll have you know, I have honor too!"
"What honor could bandits and thieves possibly have?" Ser Melis muttered mockingly.
"I faced two fire-breathing dragons and refused to surrender. Is that not honor?" Tormund retorted, eyes blazing.
"Uh..."
"Tormund," Dany said, "you people even rob your own kin. You certainly wouldn't sacrifice yourselves to protect the 'weak' you so often mock, right?
And you wouldn't feel honored for protecting them either, would you?"
Tormund fell silent.He couldn't lie. Survival of the fittest — wolves eating sheep — was simply the natural way.
Beyond the Wall, the strong were wolves and the weak were sheep. Wolves eating sheep was as it should be; he had never seen anything wrong with it.
Thus, wolves wouldn't protect sheep, nor would they feel honor in doing so.
Dany sighed and concluded,"But Jon would.Ser Barristan, Ser Melis, and Ser Granden would too. True knights of Westeros would.
Because the knightly code demands that we take pride in protecting the weak — a code that wildlings should never be shackled by."
"Exactly!" Barristan said, visibly moved."Your Majesty has perfectly exposed the difference between us and the wildlings!"
Jon, Melis, and Granden all nodded repeatedly, pride unconsciously blooming across their faces.
"Hmph," Mance Rayder said, his eyes glinting, "to lords and kings, aren't common folk just lambs to be eaten?"
"Hmm, so you admit that as King-Beyond-the-Wall, you are no different from me?" Dany smiled oddly.
"Uh..."
This circled back to the original question: was the 'freedom' the Free Folk boasted of just a lie? If the Magnar beyond the Wall was no different from a lord of the Seven Kingdoms, then what freedom could they really claim to have?
Then, Dany's expression turned serious:"I don't deny what you said. Commoners are lambs to the lords and kings.
That's why we have always dreamed of building a truly fair and just world, filled with compassion. We strive for that dream — perhaps we've achieved little, but it's better than your world of no hope and no progress."
Mance's plain face grew even paler, but he still forced himself to reply:"Pretty words are easy. But when they come from the mouth of a 'sheep-eating' queen, even fools wouldn't believe them."
"Fools can't understand, so they don't believe. You're a smart man — you will believe," Dany said with a smile."Now, back to our earlier topic — our battle isn't over yet!
Soldiers with a sense of honor are braver. With all else equal, my army will surely win.
At that point, if you don't want to lose, what must you do?"
"Learn from you."
Dany nodded,"Remember, I said before — in a clash of civilizations, the weaker side is eliminated and the stronger survives.If you adopt my social system, develop your spiritual and cultural civilization, it means your 'wildling survival laws' have been eliminated, right?"
"Yes," Mance said dejectedly.
"The eliminated are the weak. Your current social system is unqualified! From technology to humanities, your civilization has been thoroughly defeated by ours," Daenerys declared.
Mance Rayder had no response and lowered his head deeply.
Even the usually lively Tormund looked despondent, as if he had suddenly lost his soul.
Some of the other wildlings were confused by what they heard, while others understood part of it. But whether they fully understood or not, everyone realized one thing: the King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance, had lost to the silver-haired queen.
Unlike Jon and Barristan, who couldn't hide their joy, Daenerys remained calm and continued, "Our battle isn't over yet.
Mance, if you can recognize reality and fully learn from my strengths, you might at least maintain a stalemate — neither winning nor losing.
In this verbal 'war of civilization and race,' you haven't lost yet. Let's continue."
"Alright," the King-Beyond-the-Wall said hoarsely.
He understood that he had already lost. Even if he could face the reality rationally and humbly learn, an imitator would always lag a step behind. Falling behind repeatedly in science and culture had already caused a shift from gradual decline to complete collapse, making the situation irreparable.
"The greater a person's desires, the greater their drive, and the pit of desire can never be filled. With honor, they will demand more — for instance, wealth.
If our soldiers have the same weapons and the same fighting spirit, but besides honor, I also promise them money, won't they fight even more bravely and proactively?"
"They will," Mance replied.
"Then you would also start rewarding your soldiers with money, perhaps even offering more than I do. Once I learn of your actions, I would raise the stakes too. The soldiers' rewards would keep increasing, and gradually, the interests of the two kings would be divided and diminished. What situation would that lead to?"
"This..." Mance was stunned, his expression changing drastically. He exclaimed in shock, "The soldiers and the kings would distribute the spoils of war — even the nation's land, wealth, and rule — based on how much effort they contribute?!In such an extreme situation, the king would end up losing so much that he might as well become a soldier himself. What kind of scenario is this?!"
Jon and Barristan also looked horrified.
"As you imagined," Daenerys said, scanning the surroundings with a slight smile, "this is the future of civilization — the ideal social system: fairness and justice, where every citizen is the master of the nation. The nation's interests are closely tied to each individual.
Kings are no longer wolves preying on the people, and the people are no longer sheep — they are all the same species: wolves.
There will still be strong wolves and weak wolves, and strength differences will exist, but it will be far better than the despair sheep feel when facing wolves."
"Why would it turn out like this?" Jon asked in confusion.
"I already said: the law of survival of the fittest actually benefits the development of civilization."
Daenerys leaned back in her chair, looking lazily at the heavily demoralized King-Beyond-the-Wall, and said, "Enough talk. You should be ready to make your choice by now.
Either recognize reality and start making changes from this moment on, or be completely eliminated in this racial competition."
Mance Rayder nodded, his expression complicated — a mix of sincere admiration, gratitude, and deep helplessness.
After a long silence, he said, "Daenerys, you are the first monarch to truly earn my respect, and the most unique ruler I have ever known. You might even become the greatest king in history. Compared to you, Robert Baratheon is utterly disgraceful.
I'm very grateful for everything you've helped me understand. But the King-Beyond-the-Wall is different from the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms. There are things you can decide on your own, but I..."
He shook his head with a sigh, leaving the rest unsaid.
Daenerys glanced at the nearby wildlings — some looked bewildered, others arrogant, others shifty-eyed — all kinds of expressions were present, but few showed signs of submission. She immediately understood Mance's predicament.
Mance himself had likely been convinced by her arguments and was ready to surrender to preserve the wildling race.
However, the wildling tribes had united around the shared goal of invading the Seven Kingdoms. He couldn't change their strategic objectives, nor could he easily persuade them to surrender to the so-called "kneelers."
"Have you met Robert?" she decided to change the topic to ease the tension.
(End of Chapter)
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