"It won't be difficult. We've been keeping good tabs on those routes, for exactly this reason. Between blackmail, bribery, and other means, we have effective control over about two thirds of them, and enough clout to bully the others into not harassing us, so we should be able to pass through those lanes with relative ease. I imagine once you're in place, a fair number will defect to us, and everyone else will be cowed. Barid mostly put the ones he trusted with power the least out here."