The king on the Great Wall

"It makes sense—"

Iger was stunned on the spot listening to the conversation of several guards.

It was expected that Renly would die, and it was even an accident that Stannis delayed letting Melisandre do it for a month.As for "Loras killed his lover", it is completely impossible - but right now, he is really caught in a dilemma: he is not dragged into Renly, a thief who will sink sooner or later The boat just went north to avoid official duties, and the source of trouble that he wanted to hide at this moment has disappeared. Should he go south to King's Landing immediately and continue to fight for the expansion of the Night Watchman industry, or should he really go north to the Great Wall to deal with the wildlings as promised to Meera just now? And the danger of the aliens?

Just now Jiujian came over and told himself "Your location is at the Great Wall", so it turned out that he was providing advice for the choice he was about to face!

While walking out of the gate of Winterfell, Iger was thinking in a distraught manner. When he walked to the door of the "hotel" where his team was staying, he saw a bunch of soldiers and employees under his command who were drinking and chatting. He suddenly woke up: he is no longer That little guy who had nothing back then is now the head of a force.Now he has to be responsible for countless subordinates and followers, why would he be beaten back to his original form when it comes to extraordinary existence, and become indecisive and full of random thoughts like an ordinary person?

If the Green Prophet wants to deal with him, there is no need to send Jojen to say nonsense to make him vigilant in advance. If he wants to be safe, being careful is the best choice.As for going north or going south, is there any contradiction?And why do you have to make a decision today just because of Jiu Jian's words?With my current energy and the contribution that the Night Watchman industry can provide to the Legion, I will meet with Mormont and report on what I have done this year. bar?

If you don't know what the Green Prophet wants to do and what means, then just pretend he doesn't exist!I went north according to the original plan, inspected Houguan Town, guided the construction of the base area, and then participated in the defense of the Great Wall... As for the next step, I will think about it after completing these two things!

-

Chapter 212 Everything Starts Here

Iger stayed in Winterfell for only one night before leaving. After a few days of non-stop trekking, he finally came to the abandoned land-grant village he had chosen as his base.

Houguan Town is next to a pocket lake that is not marked on the map. Because of the existence of this fine water body, it used to be one of the largest settlements in the entire land grant.Thick oak and apple groves surround the lake, revealing the remains of the original land grant dwellers on its shores.In the center of the small lake is a small pocket island covering an area of ​​only a few acres. A tower tower stands on it, and its shadow is reflected on the calm blue lake surface. The wind blows and ripples.

……

Queen Alysanne Targaryen spent the night in the tower, and the villagers painted the battlements on top of it gold, as if putting a "crown" on it, from which the place got its name.

This is a newly-granted land, close to the King's Road, with convenient transportation, fertile land, trees can be planted on the shore, and fishing can be done in the water, so the livability is quite high.Unfortunately, with the decline of the Night Watchman Legion and the continuous harassing and looting of the wildlings over the wall, it was finally abandoned by the residents and turned into ruins.

But now, there is a whole new scene here: relying on local materials, the collapsed houses have been rebuilt, and the disappearing roofs have been covered, and the busy workers coming in and out can be seen from a long distance away.

The arrival of a team of hundreds of people quickly attracted the attention of the people among them, but after a while, Yam, the leader of the advance team sent by Iger to open up wasteland, came to him.

"Sir, you are here!"

Iger nodded at him: "Well, it's time to come, look at the way here, you did a good job."

This is a sincere compliment. Compared with the last time we met, this young man from the western region is obviously darker and more vicissitudes.He first set up an obsidian mine for Iger on Dragonstone Island, and was selected and sent to the north a few months ago to lay the foundation for the construction of the base of Houguan Town. He has made great contributions to the night watchman industry.Now it seems that I have picked the wrong person.

"Your honor, my lord..." After being praised by the leader, Yam, who looked a few years older, couldn't hide the joy on his face, and immediately reacted: "Oh, you have worked hard all the way, go to the town to rest!"

Yam may be called the "mayor" and invited Iger and his team into Houguan Town. After resettling most of the people, he took Iger to visit the village that had been transformed.

The changes here are far more than what you can see at a glance. The stone causeway leading to the island on the shore of the lake was originally hidden under the water, but now it is covered with stones and wooden planks to form a flat bridge. The ruins of the village have been partially restored, and even a short wooden fence was erected...

***

"The building with the thickest walls is the one that is some distance away from the other houses. It is used by the pyromancers to prepare wild fire. The roof is built according to the requirements of the wise men. If it catches fire, it will collapse and bury the house." After setting up the team, Yam took Iger along the shore of the lake to visit this stronghold that was beginning to take shape, pointing and introducing to him: "That one is the built warehouse...the one beyond that is the stable."

"Has the wildfire been deployed, wise men?"

"We have started to deploy, but we can't find enough manpower to purchase raw materials in bulk. We can only go on and on and off. So far, we have only produced a few cans. But according to several pyromancers themselves, deploying wildfire here is better than in King's Landing." It's much safer and easier."

"Yes, that's good." The reason for this is probably not that it is easier to adjust wildfires in the north than in the south, Iger secretly said in his heart, but with the recovery of magic, wildfires are easier to make no matter where they are, "How about the stables?" It's still empty, what's in the warehouse?"

"The only few horses we had were hidden on the island, and there was nothing in the warehouse... for the time being. I just direct the workers to build here according to the plan every day, but in fact, the function of the logistics transfer station is completely useless. play."

"how to say?"

"Other troubles can be overcome, but there is really no way to ensure safety. My lord, you are in the south and don't know the situation in the north." Yam complained helplessly: "The army of savages has arrived under the Great Wall. Castle Black was not broken, but scattered people continued to cross the Great Wall to the south. Some small villages attached to the Great Wall in the north have been looted and massacred, and our Houguan Town... You gave me ten guards, and then I We spent money to hire some workers from the land-grant farmers and the territory controlled by the Amber family, and the total number is only more than 40. Such a small number of people is not enough for the savage raiders of the brigade. We During the day, we send people to watch and work, and at night, we will retreat to the island in the middle of the lake to dismantle the bridge for the night. Such a small island is just right for people to live in. Even if Commander Mormont recognizes our status as a logistics base, we Where can I hoard and transfer supplies?"

It turns out that Iger felt awe-inspiring, and he was safe in King's Landing. Who would have thought that the Northern Territory and the land-grant were already in such a state?I thought I had given enough wages to the advance team for the construction of Houguan Town, but now that I thought about it, how much would it cost to work in this dangerous place!

"Has there been no attacks here so far?"

"It's not that they haven't been attacked, but the lakeside is full of empty houses that have been repaired and thrown away. Our family and people are all on the island. When the savages come, we will tear down the bridge. They don't want to waste time. "

"Thanks for your hard work." Iger is really respectful now. At first, he just allocated some money for granted and sent people to start building the base here, but he didn't consider the possible development of the situation at all. If Yam and the others were not careful, I'm afraid I won't be able to see these subordinates. "Now that I'm here, this problem will naturally be resolved."

Standing on the shore of the lake and looking around, Iger had a plan: "Build the wall first, have you been to Luanhe City?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Imitate Luanhe City, build a small castle on the shore of the lake to control the bridge, to ensure that no matter who comes, we have the ability to protect ourselves. If the wall is invaded, we can withdraw to the island through the bridge, and the island is attacked. Then you can retreat into the wall...Funding is not an issue."

"Very good idea my lord, but how much of a wall do I have to build?"

"Well..." Iger pondered for a while: "It doesn't need to be too big, let's aim to accommodate 1000 people living in it."

"1000 people?" Yam clicked his tongue: "But the Night Watch Corps only has 1000 people in total. How can we have so many people?"

"This is not something you have to worry about. If my plan goes well, it will only be too small, not too big." Iger sighed, and looked at the lake and the repaired buildings by the lake under the breeze again: "One step Come on, let’s start with not staying on the island. I brought more than 100 soldiers and employees of the Night Watch industry during this trip. After a while, there will be soldiers from the north borrowed by the coach of Winterfell to report. Castle Black There will be no shortage of people, I will split as many people here as possible. You live on the island with the management, fireman and other skilled workers, and the rest of the fighters, all on the bridge side, surrounded by fences Settled down in an empty house, and set up a sentry and patrol mechanism. When the wall is built, it will start to purchase supplies from the northern princes and send them to the Great Wall. A stronghold will only be recognized if it is useful, understand?"

"Ming...understood." Yam didn't really understand, but he felt that his leader had a big plan, so he nodded quickly: "Then the next task is to build the wall as soon as possible?"

"Well, the base should be firmer. In the future, we may have to increase and expand." Iger nodded: "It's okay to tell you the plan. My plan is to build a solid and reliable military stronghold with 'safety' and 'complete supplies. 'Use it as a signboard to attract land-grant residents to fill this place. It would be even better if the wildlings can be forced to surrender in the future. In the future, Houcrown Town will become the core city of the land-grant, a city that belongs entirely to the logistics department of the night watchman, centered on the castle you built , This new town relying on the lake!"

"Uh..." Yam opened his mouth and couldn't help asking, "But, what are you going to do to build this town?"

"This is not something you need to care about." Iger smiled and shook his head: "Build the wall first to ensure that the production of wildfires can be stabilized as soon as possible; then it is to buy food and supplies from families in the whole north to supply the Great Wall... I have told you about the long-term planning and short-term tasks, if there are no other problems... Well, the salary of the advance team you lead will be doubled, so keep working hard."

Chapter 213

Iger stayed in Houguan Town for one night. During this period, he had a cordial conversation with the construction advance team who rushed here, and several fire magicians who were forced to move here.These guys were full of complaints, complaining about the cold in the north, the shortage of materials, tools and manpower, the infestation of savages, and the lack of a woman in the entire stronghold... Some even proposed to go home.The night watchmen did not have the intention and ability to satisfy all their demands, but they needed manpower at this critical time, so they had to spend a lot of time talking and making various promises before they agreed to stay.

After leaving the remaining dozen northern soldiers and most of the members of the Night Watchman industry selected by Sir Rodrik in Houcrown Town, Iger embarked on the last journey to the Great Wall in the early morning of the next day.With the addition of this group of people, the number of residents in Houguan Town has finally reached hundreds. When Iger left, he was already building roadblocks and simple walls in full swing, preparing for a life without the protection of the lake.

There are only a few dozen leagues left from Houguan Town to Castle Black. With the ready-made route of the King's Road and the good weather, Iger saw him again after a year's absence. The Mole Village and the Great Wall that I hoped to never see again.

Except for Iger, everyone in the team saw the Great Wall for the first time. When the world's largest man-made structure suddenly emerged from the gray sky and rose across the entire horizon, everyone held their breath. took a breath.Especially for James and the fifty soldiers from the West who came with him, seeing that this might be the "end of the world" they would spend the rest of their lives in, apart from being silent, there was a complex look on their expressions.

Soon a sentry came to check, and after a while, a horn blew to represent the return of the brothers, and the team slowly entered Castle Black under the curious or gloomy eyes of countless men in black who ran out of the tower.

***

Compared with when I left, a lot of changes have taken place here.The most conspicuous thing is that there is a three-meter-high simple wooden wall surrounding the entire Castle Black outside the building complex. The wall is so thin that it looks weak. A wooden barrel full of sundries and bags of grain won't fall over.

[The Night Watch Corps does not need to guard against attacks from the south, so no high walls are needed. 】This point of view has been fine in the past thousand years, but as the defenders of the Great Wall gradually declined to the point where savages dared to take the initiative to attack, it finally became no longer applicable.Probably aware of this, the night watchmen at Castle Black began to build the wall.

"Iger!" With a surprised tone, a thin and flexible black figure rushed out of the crowd to welcome him.As the person who heard Iger and Tyrion discuss the countermeasures to escape from the Great Wall, Jon Snow can be regarded as the person who was most surprised by Iger's voluntary return in the entire night watchman army.

Soon, more people who knew Iger came out and surrounded the team going north. Some welcomed the chief logistics officer, some asked him about his life in the south, and some even started to turn over the supplies on the carriage, wanting to see Iger brought something good this time.Iger recognized many familiar faces from the crowd, and was soon surrounded.

"Don't move the things on the car!" Jon grabbed Iger's arm, and before he had a few words with his old friend, he had to loudly start to maintain order: "Go and call Sir Bowen Marsh over and arrange for someone to receive the goods , moved into the warehouse!"

"I also brought dozens of recruits and subordinates, let's arrange their accommodation first, who is in charge of this now?"

"Ser Andrew Tars, he is the new head coach of Castle Black," Jon replied, "Ser Alliser's departure really made us all happy."

"Haha." Iger can fully understand this feeling, and smiled knowingly: "Commander Mormont's move has a lot of meaning, don't let him down."

"Uh..." Jon rubbed his hands in embarrassment, but he didn't pretend to be stupid: "I understand."

While chatting, Jon looked behind Iger and quickly recognized James Lannister.He didn't say anything, and he knew with his toes that the silent, indifferent and depressed kingslayer didn't want to be watched and "warmly welcomed" like Iger.This irascible guy who even killed two kings has superb martial arts skills, and smart people would not mess with him.

Watching the chief affairs officer receive the supplies, and the new coach of Castle Black arrange accommodation for the group, Iger quickly realized something was wrong: "What about Commander Mormont, and the Vale was sent here by King Robert to counter the rebellion. nobles?"

One is his only superior in the Night Watch Corps, and the other is the Alliance of the Righteous who was sent to the Great Wall because of him, his potential enemies... It's hard for Iger not to care about these people.

"The wildlings smuggled out of Seal Bay on a raft on a large scale. Commander Mormont took half of the rangers to sit in Eastwatch. Sir Jon Royce and others... took the other half of the rangers west this morning to rescue several A village attacked by wildlings beyond the Wall. Only I was left in charge of Castle Black for the time being."

"Hey, sit in Eastwatch? It can be solved by sending a chief ranger, but I have to go there in person, and I won't bring you..." This obviously hopes that Jon will first be familiar with the feeling of independently managing Castle Black.Iger smiled deeply at the young man, but felt vaguely wrong in his heart: "When did the last ranger leave?"

"This morning."

"How many people are left in Castle Black?"

"More than 200, plus what you brought today, there are three hundred."

"This is not very good. There are shapechangers among the wildlings, who can control birds for aerial reconnaissance." Iger smelled a strong breath of "dispelling the tiger away from the mountain", and frowned uncomfortably: "In other words, the enemy's movements towards us It's clear that they are likely to take advantage of the emptiness of Castle Black and attack."

"Shapechanger?" Jon's expression became serious, "I seem to have heard of it, where did you know it?"

"It's in the book." Iger replied, "It's the same book I read 'Obsidian Can Restrain White Walkers'. The credibility should be no problem."

"Shouldn't it be such a coincidence?" Jon became a little nervous.

"Don't panic, this is just my guess." Iger waved his hand to comfort the young man, "Let's go, take me to the Great Wall, and see what the savages are like outside the wall."

"Okay, let's go."

The two walked to the noose lift and began to ascend to the top of the Great Wall.

……

"The savage pioneers have arrived outside the Great Wall a month ago, and they have appeared from time to time along the edge of the forest. Since then, we have completely stopped patrolling outside the wall. Then, one after another, their large troops gradually arrived, and the more people More and more, until now, there are at least [-] to [-] people outside Guanghei Castle." The higher the rise, the stronger the wind, and the cold wind blows wildly from the east against the wall, making the iron cage even on the track The middle also kept swaying, and Jon could only speak to Iger with his back to the wind: "But they just set up camp in the forest outside the Great Wall, and they haven't launched an attack for a long time. Instead, small troops continue to cross the wall to the south, constantly attacking and harassing the grant village."

Iger doesn't understand military affairs, but he still has common sense: "You have to take the initiative to attack, and you must not let wave after wave of those who cross the wall gain a foothold in the south of the Great Wall, or even gather together!"

"Commander Mormont thinks so too." Jon nodded: "At first we sent a small team to attack, but found that most of the wildlings who crossed the wall consisted of dozens of people, regardless of physical fitness or equipment... as far as wildlings are concerned, they are quite good. , if fewer people went there, they could only die. Later, Commander Mormont simply gathered the horses together and established two large patrol teams of 30 people, responsible for patrolling the east and west directions of Castle Black respectively, which achieved results. , and quickly wiped out an elite savage that crossed the wall. But the two patrols were in charge of such a long line of defense, and the gap was too big, not to mention that the horses had to rest, so it was very difficult to cope. What's worse, the savages changed They decided to adopt a strategy and no longer send small groups of troops to cross the wall, but simply organize large-scale crossings and smuggling in the Grand Canyon to the west and Seal Bay to the east..."

Without going to the battlefield in person, there is no way to truly understand the battle situation.Iger's brow tightened as he listened, another illusion of his was shattered by reality: he thought in King's Landing that as long as Mormont's Ranger Expedition had not been launched, the [-] elite Night Watchmen would not be sent away, and the defense of the Great Wall would no stress...

But now it seems that the defense of the Great Wall with these three hundred more night watchmen is only a little easier than the original plot.After all, there are [-] savages outside the Great Wall, and Mance is not a fool. He is facing a defense force that is different from the original plot. Naturally, it is impossible to adopt the same offensive method... as long as the soldiers are divided into three groups, and at the same time Initiating an infiltration southward invasion, the night watchman could not resist at all.

"It's easy to say on the Grand Canyon, as long as we carry out day and night patrols at key locations, the savages won't have a chance to come too much, but on the East China Sea Watch side... we have too few ships, and even if we patrol around the clock, it is difficult to completely block Seal Bay. The Commander-in-Chief has already called for help from White Harbor, and the Earl of Mandalay agreed to send a fleet to help... But the condition is that the sailors have to do it themselves, and since you came from Winterfell, you should know what is happening in the northern border."

Iger did know that a great war would inevitably break out in the south, and the main force in the north was moving south, while the Manderly family and Bolton's illegitimate son were fighting openly and secretly for the Waywood family's land, and the season just happened to catch up with the winter season. The last autumn harvest... These many factors finally led to a funny result-although the situation has changed beyond recognition, the Night Watchman Legion seemed destined to still rely on their own strength at the most critical moment of the wildlings' attack. strength……

The two chatted about the situation of the Great Wall's defense, and the iron cage rose to the top without knowing it.The cold wind on the top of the Great Wall was so fierce that Iger had to pull up the hood on his coat to prevent his ears from freezing.

Jon led him to the edge of the Great Wall: "Look, every fire underneath is at least a tent."

After driving for a day from Houguan Town, the sky had already begun to darken. In the ghost forest shrouded in a thin layer of cold mist, thousands of campfires flickered among the branches and leaves. There were so many campfires, but they were different from more Compared with the vast and dark forest outside the Great Wall, it looks so small and powerless.

Looking down from the Great Wall, those campfires seemed to be right under their feet, but this was an illusion caused by the height difference. Even the nearest savage camp was at least a mile away from the Great Wall... Ordinary weapons could not attack at all.

Normal weapons, but can still pose a threat if you use a ballista or a trebuchet.

"Why are they so close?"

"I don't know, it wasn't like this when most of the wildlings first arrived, but after staying under the wall for a few days, the camp they camped is getting closer and closer to the Great Wall." Jon shrugged: "Even if the shape is spread out more and more It doesn’t matter if it’s longer or longer, it’s like… it’s like getting closer to the Great Wall at all costs.”

Iger squinted into the distance, wondering in his heart: Is it because the magic power contained in the Great Wall makes it difficult for the White Walkers or ghouls to approach, so that the savages camped close to the edge of the forest in such a counterintuitive way?Melisandre said that the cold god left a mark on her body, and she doesn't know if it has disappeared now?

"Strange, there shouldn't be fog at this time." Jon murmured suspiciously, setting up a tent with his hands and looking into the distance, his expression soon changed: "No, the forest over there seems to be burning. Not fog, but smoke!"

Iger was shocked, and immediately looked in the direction Jon was looking at. Sure enough, about a league away, there was a faint fire flickering in the ghost forest.At this distance, ordinary bonfires are impossible to see with the naked eye. This is the savages setting the forest on fire!

"Lying grass - mud horse!" Isn't it such a coincidence?

Iger uttered a rare swear word, his whole body was shocked, and suddenly realized that he still misunderstood what Jojen said before. The boy was reminding himself: If you don't come here soon, you will not be able to catch up with the wildlings' massive attack on the Great Wall.

In other words: if you come here quickly, you can just catch up with the wildlings' massive attack on the Great Wall!

-

Chapter 214 Return of the Giant Dragon

[To Prince Doran of House Martell:

I hope you still remember me.

Here is Jon Connington, who has known your sister for many years and was once a loyal servant to your brother-in-law.I miss them as much as you do.

I am not dead, nor is your sister's son.I hid him for safety.Now, it's time to end hiding.

The dragon has returned to Westeros, determined to regain his rights and avenge his father, Prince Rhaegar, and mother, Princess Elia.

Renly Baratheon is dead, and we are marching towards Storm's End, where the defenders have been drawn and defenseless, and we will take them by surprise.When you receive this letter, the true dragon banner must have already been planted on the top of Storm's End... In order to deal with the counterattack of the brother of the Reaver, we need Dorne's support, and I hope the prince will not abandon it!

jon clinton

Earl of Griffin's Roost

Hand of the True King]

Interesting, really interesting.

A dragon has returned to Westeros, but it's not the one he expected or even knew existed.Prince Doran put down the letter and handed it to his brother Oberyn Martell.

It is undoubtedly a fantasy to let Dorne, who is in the southern tip of the mainland far away and waiting for the situation to change, join the blood and fire with a piece of paper.But if the note had been delivered by the octospider Varys himself, the situation would be different.

……

"Aegon is still alive?" Oberyn finished reading the letter, chuckled and threw it on the table, "It turns out that the pirates who harassed our coastline, looted our village and killed our people when the Six Kingdoms besieged the Western Territory were actually my nephew. people?"

"No, only the mercenaries of the Golden Company who landed from Cape Wrath are Prince Aegon's people, and the rest... As far as my information is concerned, they were hired by Tywin Lannister."

"No one wishes this letter was true more than I do, but Gregor Clegane snatched Aegon from Elia and smashed his head against the wall, and countless people saw my nephew Maybe I should tie you up and send you to King Stannis as a token of loyalty? Lord Varys, I’m curious—what are you trying to do when you don’t serve as Minister of Intelligence in King’s Landing and come out to support the rebels?”

"A poor man with a mutilated body... what else could he want? It's just to put an end to this long rebel rebellion and restore order and peace to the Seven Kingdoms. According to the law, Aegon is the real king, Lord Oberyn 'Rebels' is not the right word." Varys shrugged sadly, "King Stannis firmly believes that the deaths of Lord Arryn and King Robert are all my fault... If you don't leave quickly, I'm afraid My poor brain is about to be stuck on the wall of the Red Keep." He sighed: "The corpse of little Aegon that countless people have seen, actually belonged to a poor peasant boy, and the real prince has already been pre-empted by me." We sent out the Red Castle. We originally planned to take advantage of the rivalry between the two deer, who would have thought that this brotherly fight would end as quickly as the wind, and people were caught off guard... If Donne doesn't make a move right now, then we can only To watch as Stannis marches his army into the Stormlands, defeats the Golden Company with ease, and slays the last Targaryen male."

"Touching loyalty, Lord Varys, your words are completely irrefutable... let's stop talking about irrelevant things, and let's talk about what matters: how do you prove that Aegon is really Elia's child ?”