#posts i added

@sharisfootly just showed me this link to this very interesting military analysis of the battle of Yunkai and Dany's military plans. I definitely recommend it. It shows Dany's military merits, her train of thought for making the plan she did. I just want to comment on a few things that I found interesting.

One thing people say about Dany is that she was stupid to trust Daario, and that she only trusted him because she was attracted to him. And that if Daario had betrayed her, she would have lost. And this analysis talks about how this is not the case:

The Stormcrows represented a calculated risk: what could have happened if the Stromcrows deceived Dany? The outcome would hardly have changed, but the battle would certainly have been harder. The slave soldiers would have broken anyway, and the Stormcrows would eventually have been surrounded by several thousand Unsullied. If they had been confronted by a single front, they could have tried outflanking it, but now they were faced with several fronts from several directions, restricting their mobility and pressing them on the defensive (from a historical standpoint, formed heavy infantry could resist the charge of heavy cavalry). Their only escape route would have been towards their rear and back to the city.

(Also, remember that the Stormcrows numbered around 500 men, and Dany still vastly outnumbered them)

I like how the analysis shows that Dany's plan made sure that she would still have won even if the Stormcrows betrayed her, but I also want to remember that even in the text, Dany does recognize it as a calculated risk. Yes, she is attracted to Daario:

Ser Jorah Mormont lingered. "Your Grace," he said, too bluntly, "that was a mistake. We know nothing of this man—"

"We know that he is a great fighter."

"A great talker, you mean."

"He brings us the Stormcrows." And he has blue eyes. - Daenerys IV ASOS

But she also notes that If Daario doesn't betray her, her advantage would be huge and explains to Jorah why she believes Daario won't betray her:

"That would not be wise, my queen." Ser Jorah gave Daario a cold, hard stare. "Keep this one here under guard until the battle's fought and won."

She considered a moment, then shook her head. "If he can give us the Stormcrows, surprise is certain."

Dany looked down at the sellsword again. He gave her such a smile that she flushed and turned away. "He won't."

"How can you know that?"

She pointed to the lumps of blackened flesh the dragons were consuming, bite by bloody bite. "I would call that proof of his sincerity. Daario Naharis, have your Stormcrows ready to strike the Yunkish rear when my attack begins. Can you get back safely?" - Daenerys IV ASOS

Yes, Dany gets "flushed", but she also points to the heads of the other captains of the Stormcrows that Daario had killed, and notes that he would have little reason to betray her after having done that.

And even when she thinks about Daario's blue eyes, she also counters Jorah's arguments by saying that she understands the risks that she is taking:

"Five hundred sellswords of uncertain loyalty."

"All loyalties are uncertain in such times as these," Dany reminded him. And I shall be betrayed twice more, once for gold and once for love.

"Daenerys, I am thrice your age," Ser Jorah said. "I have seen how false men are. Very few are worthy of trust, and Daario Naharis is not one of them. Even his beard wears false colors."

That angered her. "Whilst you have an honest beard, is that what you are telling me? You are the only man I should ever trust?"

He stiffened. "I did not say that."

"You say it every day. Pyat Pree's a liar, Xaro's a schemer, Belwas a braggart, Arstan an assassin . . . do you think I'm still some virgin girl, that I cannot hear the words behind the words?"

"Your Grace—"

She bulled over him. "You have been a better friend to me than any I have known, a better brother than Viserys ever was. You are the first of my Queensguard, the commander of my army, my most valued counselor, my good right hand. I honor and respect and cherish you—but I do not desire you, Jorah Mormont, and I am weary of your trying to push every other man in the world away from me, so I must needs rely on you and you alone. It will not serve, and it will not make me love you any better." - Daenerys IV ASOS

So Dany takes the decision to trust Daario because: 1) he would have little reason to betray her after already having killed the other captains of the Stormcrows; 2) the advantage of having the Stormcrows on her side would make her victory certain ("If he can give us the Stormcrows, surprise is certain."); 3) because she knows that she is taking a calculated risk ("All loyalties are uncertain in such times as these"); 4)  because she considers the possibility of Daario betraying her, but is not worried about it, which can be seen when she thinks "And I shall be betrayed twice more, once for gold and once for love.". Dany thinking this shows that she did take into consideration that Daario might betray her, but that she was not worried about it, because she already knew that she would be betrayed twice more, and also because she was probably not worried that his betrayal would make her lose. Which brings us to the analysis above that shows us that her plan would have worked even if Daario betrayed her.

Finally, I also want to comment on the last paragraph of the analysis:

What about the strategic importance of liberating Yunkai, except freeing the slaves? To my knowledge, Dany never explicitly provided any other reason than freeing the slaves. Perhaps she was told by Jorah to move in that direction for some reason? But the freedmen could be useful if they decided to join her cause and support her militarily. These 'fresh' freedmen could come in handy later as trained light infantry or skirmishers, complementing her heavy infantry and reinforcing her army. And the craftsmen would prove useful for supporting the needs of her host and perhaps offer her advice. Of course, freeing the city would also present her with the opportunity to get hold of valuable treasure, food, supplies and equipment. Thus, in the end, the liberation of Yunkai would serve her long-term goals of invading Westeros. Another explanation could simply be that she didn't expect any resistance along the way, and that the liberation of the slaves wasn't pre-planned, although it sounds less convincing to me. When she encountered the Yunkish force, she might also have felt that there was no way back.

About the first part I bolded, we know that this isn't true, as we know that Dany didn't sack Yunkai and didn't take it's wealth (though I forgive the analysis here, since it was written before AFFC and ADWD came out, and the analyst is just speculating). As for the second part I bolded, it's incorrect, because we know that the Yunkai'i offered Dany gold to just leave them alone, so she could have avoided confrontation with them if she wanted. Also, I wrote before how Dany could have done many things differently if her interests were selfish, but she didn't, her interest in freeing slaves was indeed selfless.