The king on the Great Wall

Ygritte sneered at this: "I don't know how to count, but if the two halves survived, we can still have 1 people cross the Great Wall and appear behind you."

"It's a good plan. If it can be implemented efficiently, we can't stop it." Mormont was not at all irritated: "Then why don't you just start? With your numbers, attack Castle Black while digging walls in various places." And large-scale surmounting, no pressure at all."

"Mance hopes that you will feel invincible and take the initiative to send people to negotiate!" Ygritte said contemptuously: "In exchange, the king beyond the wall will guarantee the safety of all crows... I know it is impossible, but I suggest you Think about it carefully, if you have an idea, I can pass the message on your behalf—”

"Talk about your mother's sentence!" The blacksmith Noy immediately roared, and suddenly stood up and poured a glass of water at the wild woman: "As long as we have a brother alive, the wild man will never pass the Great Wall and set foot on our land!"

"Your land?" Ygritte shrieked, dodging the water. "The free folk have lived here for generations, and you suddenly come and build a wall to keep us out, and then claim that the south of the wall is Your land! What is this but robbers?"

"Shut up!" Iger returned to reality from his contemplation, issued an annoyed official authority, and interrupted the quarrel before more people roared.

No wonder Ygritte agreed so readily, she wasn't confessing to Mance's attack plan at all, but a demonstration!Regrettably, Savage has the capital of arrogance this time.The idea of ​​negotiating with them and trying to subdue them was originally poured into Jon's mind, but being so excited by Ygritte, he couldn't put it on the agenda.

In fact, if Stannis does not go north to support, Iger should consider how to defend the Great Wall instead of subduing the wildlings at this moment: "Ygritte, I have some questions for you... The fact that the camp is so close to the Great Wall has something to do with the White Walkers?"

"We call them the White Walkers," Ygritte readily admitted. "Yes, the free folk camped near the Wall because we found that the White Walkers got weaker the closer they got to the Wall. So far, they haven't There are records of entering within one league of the Great Wall, and even the living dead rarely appear.”

Another guess came true, and Iger couldn't help but rejoice in his heart: Did he also have the credit for "the battle location was very close to the Great Wall" when he was able to kill the strange ghost?

"Let me guess, the reason why you didn't take the method of digging the wall is because there is no time." Iger stared at Ygritte and said: "The bottom of the Great Wall is more than a hundred feet thick and contains stone. The base, you must first find the gate that was blocked by the night watchman, and then you can dig. The channel where the stones are piled up and filled with water will be as strong as the whole stone after freezing. Even if you let you dig, it will take a lot of time. During the As long as the night watchmen harass a little, the construction period will be delayed indefinitely. But as the winter comes, the power of the white ghosts is getting stronger and stronger. Soon, they will be strong enough to ignore the influence of the Great Wall. At that time, even if you stick to the Great Wall, they will not be able to prevent them from rushing into the camp and killing them, am I right?"

Ygritte was at a loss for words, stared at Iger bitterly for a while, and snorted: "You don't understand anything, crow."

"Yeah, I don't understand anything, but I can see that although you have many more people than us, time is on the side of the night watchman." Iger pretended to snap his fingers relaxedly: "If there is no other Valuable information to offer, take her down, Jon."

-

Chapter 219 Where Are the Reinforcements?

As Ygritte was dragged away by Jon with a face full of dissatisfaction, the hall became noisy again.

Some people scolded Jon for being obsessed with sex, and some scolded the female wildlings for being ignorant... But there is no doubt that all the night watchmen are nervous about Mance Rayder's huge attack plan and their own shortage of manpower.People with better brains have already begun to discuss various possible coping strategies.

Egger watched the wildling woman leave, sighed, turned to Mormont, and shook his head slightly.

Just now at the last moment, he forcibly found an excuse to win back a little face, which can be regarded as suppressing the arrogance of the female savage, but this kind of verbal contest is completely meaningless. "Time is on the side of the night watchman" may be true, but the night watchman must be able to last until then... In fact, I am afraid that only the white ghosts themselves know when they will become strong enough to approach the Great Wall degree.And whether it is "the wildlings break through the Great Wall and destroy the Night Watchman Corps", or "the Nightwatchman Corps keeps the wildlings firmly outside the Great Wall until they are all transformed into an army of dead men", these are the endings that Iger does not want to see.

***

"My lord commander, what I said to the wild woman just now was purely speculation to save face. But the actual situation now is that we have absolutely no chance of stopping Mance Rayder's planned attack."

"All land-grant residents must be transferred...to the stronghold for protection as soon as possible." Maester Aemon said slowly, "Manpower is extremely insufficient. If the wildlings are allowed to slaughter or the residents are forced to move south to escape the land-grant, The situation will only get worse. The tragedy in Mole Village cannot happen again."

"I will arrange this as soon as possible. Do you have any comments or good ideas?"

"Castle Black and the Shadow Tower must have walls as soon as possible." The chief craftsman said in a heavy tone. The night watchman's stronghold must not build walls. The situation of the human stronghold has become history, and it is time to make a change.

"This..." Mormont hesitated for a few seconds, and finally nodded: "Let's put it on the agenda, repair or demolish the abandoned and damaged towers of Castle Black, and build the extra brick and stone walls."

The chief ranger turned his head: "We have to restore the patrol on the top of the Great Wall as much as possible, in case the savages climb up the top of the wall and attack from left to right along the top. Once we lose the advantage of height, we will have nothing to do." there is none left."

"The road on the ice wall has not been cleared of snow and paved with gravel for many years. It is impossible to walk at all. If the savages want to attack from left to right along the top of the wall, they must first clear the way out. I don't think they will have such leisure time. .”

"The road on the top of the ice wall is really difficult, but do you think it will be difficult for those crazy people who dare to climb the seven hundred feet of the Great Wall to walk on the top of the wall without a road?"

"Okay, okay, you're right." The chief craftsman became annoyed: "I also want to resume patrolling, but where will the manpower come from? If we want to patrol, at least we have to clear the road for patrolling first, and then we have to arrange fixed patrols." Patrol personnel, all these tasks need to be done by people. If there are too many people assigned, the defense force of each stronghold will be insufficient, but if there are fewer people... What do we rely on to deal with the savages who have already climbed the wall?"

……

"After all, it's still a problem caused by the lack of people, everyone." Iger interrupted the dispute among several colleagues, and said with a serious expression: "It can't solve the shortage of manpower, all of these can only be expedient measures. I don't know Do you know--the wildlings have the means of detecting us in the air by relying on birds. Everything we do, they can all see, any military deployment of the Night Watch, our enemies can know, any of our Weaknesses will directly become lifelines! And after the female wild woman announced Mance Rayder's attack plan today, this attack and defense simply became a confrontation between each other's 'bright cards', and they wanted to fight against each other in this situation where they had no secrets. To win in a struggle, apart from luck, we must also have strength that is indeed stronger...or at least not much weaker than the opponent."

"There is no doubt that we have to find foreign aid." Mormont took a deep breath: "Otherwise, there are only two ways to choose between death and negotiating with Mance."

"Negotiation is an option. The problem is that we have nothing to guarantee: after the savages reach an agreement with us and enter the Great Wall, they will not immediately turn around and kill us." Jeremy reminded, "In the eyes of these savages, we are The hopeless 'kneeling people', if there is no knife on their necks, they will never accept our laws and systems. Just like this female savage today... We think they are savages, but She may think that it is the greatest kindness to let us bandits live."

"If you can't suppress the arrogance of the savages, there will be no 'negotiation' at all." Iger said: "If the strength is not equal, it can only be called peace... We must first try to kill Mance Rayder's prestige. And If you want to find foreign aid..."

"You have been active in the south all year round, don't you have any connections, such as mercenaries?"

"Mercenary, haha..." Iger chuckled lightly, "Your Commander-in-Chief is just kidding, you don't know the price of mercenaries, the logistics department does have some business in King's Landing, and it's doing pretty well. But if you want to raise mercenaries—or It is absolutely impossible to have enough mercenaries to help us fight against [-] savages. In addition, there is a war in the south, and all those who know how to use weapons have gone there to find customers to make a living. I am afraid that the price will be more expensive. And we need Yes, a cheap, preferably free, helper."

Cheap, preferably free of money helper, how can there be such a good thing in the world?

Iger didn't think of anyone available when he said this, but half a second after his voice fell, he suddenly thought of someone he could ask for help: "When Robb Stark went south, he recruited soldiers from the mountain clan tribe Yet."

Hill Clan Tribe!

All the people who heard him turned their heads to him, and some of them had "why didn't I expect that" expressions on their faces.

"Conscripted, each tribe sent warriors to go south with Robb. The leaders of these tribes all know Ed Stark, and they respectfully call him the leader of the northern border 'Ned'. When it comes to his order, And going south to 'grab the richest nobles in the Seven Kingdoms', all the tribal leaders are very active."

Hopes were dashed again, but Mormont quickly rekindled him: "Wait, they did send warriors south with Robb, but these tribes of the mountain clans were not like the people of the other lords in the north—they didn't farm. "

What does it mean not to farm the land?

Iger was puzzled for a second, and suddenly realized: "If you don't plant the land, it means that the so-called 'autumn harvest season' is meaningless to these mountain tribes. They sent their warriors to go south with Robb, but the rest of them still You can support us!"

"That's right!" The chief affairs officer patted the table in surprise: "The living habits of these mountain clan tribes are no different from those of savages. The only difference is that they have been tamed by the northern rulers after thousands of years. They are very aggressive and can be male or female." As soldiers, if we can persuade them to come out of the mountains to assist in the defense of the Great Wall, the pressure on our manpower will be greatly reduced!"

Iger came up with the idea, but he really didn't know much about the mountain clans and tribes, so he urgently needed someone's introduction.

……

The night watchmen have been exchanging resources and daily necessities with the mountain tribes for a long time, and they are very familiar with them. After chatting for a while, Iger had a preliminary impression of these "friendly barbarians" living in the south of the Great Wall.

If, in the words of Tyrion Lannister, the wildlings are "people who happen to be on the north side of the Great Wall when the Great Wall rises", then the mountain clan tribes are the ones who are luckier to be in the south.

These tribal people living in the mountains north of the wolf forest and the barbarians outside the Great Wall have almost the same culture and living habits. They believe in the old gods and have a resolute temperament. There are nearly forty tribes, large and small.Among them, the Flints and the Norres lived closest to the Grant, were exposed to wildling raiders who crossed the Grand Canyon, and were notoriously close to the Night's Watch.

Poor and aggressive, but desperate for face, he is the perfect foreign aid.

"Approximately how many are there?"

"It's hard to say. No one has counted it. If you add it up, it's about 2000 to [-]. This refers to the total population of the forty tribes. But in fact, those tribes who live farther from the Great Wall may not be easy to talk about... But even if only one or two thousand people are brought out, it will be enough to solve the problem!"

"Thousands of people!"

"There may be women among them!"

"You only have women on your mind!"

……

"Great, it seems that today's meeting was not in vain, and we have now found a feasible way out." Mormont's face gradually regained a trace of relief, and he coughed to interrupt the excited discussions of the night watchmen: "Specifically All departments are requested to discuss on their own, we will not discuss it at the general meeting. Now, I arrange tasks..."

The hall fell silent, and everyone looked at the commander-in-chief.

"There must be guards on the top of the Great Wall and around the stronghold at all times, and this task is handed over to the Rangers; Castle Black and the Shadow Tower need to start building walls, and craftsmen are responsible; in addition, chief affairs officer, you must send someone to remove the survivors in the gift land as soon as possible. Residents moved into the three strongholds and resettled properly. Chief logistics officer, you have more dealings with people, and you are responsible for visiting the tribes in the mountains west of the land grant and trying to ask them for support."

Elder Xiong looked around the room, looked in the direction of James and his remaining dozens of bodyguards, and said, "Finally, I will send another 20 people from Castle Black's rangers to Eastwatch to participate in boat-handling training, so that The warship donated by the Earl of Mandalay in White Harbor came in handy. As for the vacancies in the rangers, Andrew Tass... this time we have welcomed a group of recruits with decent quality, and we need to complete their training as soon as possible. Replenish the rangers. All tasks will be carried out from now on, and now... the meeting is over!"

-

Chapter 220 Offense

"Regardless of whether that Aegon Targaryen is real or not, the moment he chose Storm's End as the starting point for his rebellion against the Iron Throne, he had already stepped into death." Stannis looked at the map with a contemptuous look: "They probably only listened to Say Storm's End is the strongest castle in the world, but forget - no one in the world knows how to break it better than I do."

"No one doubts that, Your Majesty," said Robb Stark, "but according to intelligence, the Reach has regrouped at Bitterbridge and is heading east. The vanguard has reached the King's Forest. We must hurry Take countermeasures so you don't get caught off guard."

"Hehe... The Reach, of course, they would do the same if I were me." Stannis showed anger, but quickly changed into a natural expression: "If it wasn't for this so-called little Aegon who suddenly appeared Making trouble in the Stormlands, we should be on our way to attack Highgarden by now. The Tyrells don't want me to clear the backyard too quickly and turn to deal with them... Naturally, I have to intervene in this battle. How many people have they gathered? "

"About thirty thousand."

Immediately there was laughter: "Ha, it's obviously less, isn't it? No one is a fool. After losing battles again and again, the princes of the River Bend have long since lost their enthusiasm for supporting Renly."

Davos shook his head: "There are fewer people, but it doesn't mean that the combat effectiveness will decrease. Last time, High Court was to support Renly in fighting for the throne, so they needed to send more people to support the scene, but this time, they are avoiding the family Falling into a crisis of extinction... all the elite will inevitably be dispatched. The leader of the army is Lando Tarly... Your Majesty, if you follow my suggestion and immediately announce the pardon of the Tyrell family after entering King's Landing, bear with this time, the Seven Kingdoms have already put down."

"A pardon for the Tyrell family? They supported that boy Renly in plotting to usurp the throne, and poisoned Lord Eddard Stark with the intention of murdering him. Your Majesty agrees, but the northerners do not agree either!"

Karstark is a total brute, and Stannis doesn't like his bluffing, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. .If I forgive them this time because of the strength of the Reach, the next time someone wants to stand against the Iron Throne, they will take it for granted. Laws need to be enforced like iron, and I can because of their noble status And the mastermind is allowed to put on black clothes to avoid death, but only if they come to me and kneel down to beg, there is absolutely no pardon!"

"Your Majesty." The Greatjon volunteered, "Let's deal with Randall Tarly. The northerners have defeated him twice, and the third time will be no exception!"

"Robb, you will still lead the army to fight this time. But remember, you must not underestimate the enemy because of the previous two victories. Randyll Tarly's reputation for fighting is not based on boasting." Shi Tanis nodded, "I will personally take down Storm's End. Give me a month, and the Iron Throne will be able to drive this so-called golden group back into the sea like every time in the past."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Speaking of which, your father...how is Duke Ed's recovery?"

"After consultation and discussion, the doctors judged that it was poisoning, and it seemed that there was more than one kind... The amount was not large, but it was very troublesome to deal with. Now it is completely hanging by the medicine stone." Robb Stark frowned. Said: "Right now, it's best to find Margaery Tyrell as soon as possible, and ask what kinds of poisons it is, so that we can prepare antidotes in a targeted manner."

"This insidious woman, when I saw her in the valley last time, she looked like a sweet and lovely little girl. I really didn't realize that she has such a vicious heart!"

The northerners were extremely indignant about this, and they agreed with each other. Margaery Tyrell immediately became the incarnation of snakes and scorpions, synonymous with monsters.

……

Amidst the uproar, Davos had doubts: Was Margaery really instigated this poison?What good would she do?The only effect of poisoning Prime Minister Ed Stark is probably to keep the Stark family and the Tyrell family alive...

Without the poisoning of Eddard Stark, it is unlikely that the northern army would have stayed in the south after helping Stannis take King's Landing, and without the support of the three northern armies, it is absolutely impossible for Stannis to face Still so tough on Hewan.That way... There is still some possibility of peace talks in this Civil War, but now... Davos shook his head, and his intuition told him that there must be a conspiracy, but since King Stannis is determined to use the northern army to recover the Stormlands and punish the River Bend Therefore, it is the best choice to accept the statement that "the Tyrell family poisoned Ed Stanley".

There are other more pressing issues than finding the real culprit: "The Dornish army has also traveled north along the Bone Road and is now 'surrounding' Griffin's Roost. If that little Aegon is real, he should be Doran It's right with Prince Oberyn's nephew, Dorne has changed his previous style and is so active in helping His Majesty put down the rebellion, it is really suspicious and we have to guard against it."

"Well, I have ordered the Dorne army to wipe out the small castle captured by the Golden Company in the area around Cape Wrath, and there is no need to go north to Storm's End to support me." Stannis' tone was as cold as ice: "If they go north without authorization, then there is no need to guess, just deal with it as the enemy. I will arrange a sufficient number of scouts to guard and ensure that no one can surprise from the rear when I deal with Storm's End."

……

After re-entering King's Landing, Stannis used thunder to punish some of the garrison officers who opened the door to introduce the rebels when Renly attacked the city.After completing the great cleansing of King's Landing and stabilizing his own rule, he marched southward with more than [-] troops from the King's Land, the Stormlands, and the Three Kingdoms of the North.

Renly is dead. As the last male of the Baratheon family, Stannis has become the object of allegiance to the princes of the Stormlands. All the way from the king's land to the Stormlands, the princes along the way are all looking forward to the wind and providing food and grass. Materials... This time, Stannis is superior to the opponent in terms of both the quantity and quality of the soldiers under his command, and with the prestige of the Northern Alliance's winning streak, he doesn't even have to worry about logistics supplies...

The possibility of quelling the civil strife and unifying the Seven Kingdoms has never been so real and so close.

The commanders of the king's army gathered around the table, making the final perfection of the military arrangements before marching into Storm's End. Then the curtain of the tent was lifted, and a woman in red robe walked in.

The tent became quite quiet all of a sudden, and many people raised their heads to look at the woman who interrupted the king's battle meeting without notification.

Melisandre asked blankly, "Your Majesty, the night watchman sent you several distress letters, but you kept it from everyone?"

All eyes turned to Stannis again.

The king's complexion suddenly became extremely ugly. Anyway, he is the king now, and being questioned in public... especially by a woman from across the narrow sea still greatly hurt his face.

"Who am I hiding from everyone?" Stannis looked at Melisandre coldly, "Everyone here knows that the wildlings are attacking the Great Wall, and I have already made an agreement with the adults from the north: After the end of the war, they can be sent back to the northern border to solve the savage crisis, and even negotiated and formulated a series of plans to assist the defenders of the Great Wall, is this also called concealment?"

"Indeed, you did not conceal the situation of the wildlings' invasion of the Great Wall, but you put the latest request for help reporting the latest situation under a pile of letters on the bachelor's desk. The defense of the Great Wall is already in danger, but you brought the most elite of the country Come to the south and participate in this counterinsurgency war that doesn’t need to be rushed at all!" Melisandre’s beautiful eyebrows were raised with anger: "Stay away from the real battlefield and come to participate in a fight?"

"Slapstick? That's how you comment on this battle against the remnants of the Targaryen?" Karstark stood up: "Wait...you are a woman, when did you have the qualifications to participate in the battle meeting? You still have to deal with the king Pointing fingers?"

Melisandre turned her head, glanced at Robb Stark and other northern princes, and squinted at the speaker: "Northern, the cold wind has blown, and the ancient alien gods who are unspeakable to mortals are in eternal winter. Gather power in this place—a terrifying, evil and powerful force that is difficult for ordinary people to resist. If there are no upright people at this time muster courage, spread the belief of the flaming red heart, and fight against the old enemy of all life, the never-ending long night will soon come to an end. Come, and your territory and people will bear the brunt, and will be the first victims of this disaster!"

Everyone at the scene knew what Melisandre was talking about. They were dissatisfied that a goddess stick disrupted the battle meeting, but after seeing the ghoul with their own eyes... they dared not accuse the woman in front of her of talking nonsense and alarmist talk. Became a melon-eating crowd, quietly watching how Stannis dealt with the offense he faced as a king.

-

Chapter 221

Veins popped up on Stannis' forehead, and even his face turned red. The atmosphere fell into a calm before the storm. Everyone speculated how the king would deal with Melisandre's public offense...but it was beyond everyone's expectations in the tent. Unfortunately, Stannis didn't have a seizure in the end either.

"Everyone, today's meeting is here first. I have something to discuss privately with my priestess."

The king has an order, and all the princes will obey.The people participating in the battle meeting stood up one after another, looked at Stannis and the red robe woman with various eyes, and then rushed through the door and left the tent.

There are rumors that the red robed woman used black magic to assassinate Renly Baratheon, and some people say that this woman is the real queen of Stannis. After today, these rumors will probably become more and more popular.

……

"Your Majesty." Blackfish Brynden finally said before leaving: "We respect your beliefs and gods, but no matter how much you want to prove your piety, you should not allow monks to interfere in state affairs. After all, your vassals and supporters Most of them don't believe in the Red God."

Blackfish Brynden is not qualified to say such things, but as Robb Stark's great-uncle, his seniority is high enough, and he is also the guardian of the little duke of the valley. To some extent, he represents the history of the valley... Tanis couldn't blame others for thinking about it—as a king, he was able to swallow this breath in the face of a public rebuttal from a priestess across the narrow sea. This alone was enough to make countless people fantasize.He could only nod slightly, showing that he knew what was in his mind.

***

"Woman...you're too presumptuous, I'm the king!" After the people in the tent had finally left, Stannis gritted his teeth and said, "Is there something that we can't talk about in private? Guess those northerners What will people do now, they will definitely go to the bachelor to watch the night watchman's request for help, and I will spend my time trying to appease them!"

"You are wasting precious time in the wrong place. As your loyal servant, I must provide honest advice. You should immediately turn around and go to the north. There is still time for everything!"

"Let that guy who claims to be a true dragon wantonly attack and humiliate my vassals in the place where I was born and raised, the territory of the Baratheon family for generations, and gradually gain a foothold with the support of the Tyrell family... Ignore The frontal enemy, go to the north to deal with a group of farmers and ghosts?" Stannis' expression was stiff: "Because of Robert's order before his death and the countless gold treasures in the west, the three kingdoms of the north, the river and the valley are all together. Gather under my command! Is there a more suitable opportunity to use troops than this time? I don't have the prestige and appeal of Robert. If I give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it will be very difficult for me to let these three families have no reservations again in my life. All the best of the earth! Run to deal with the wildlings at this juncture, I am afraid that by the time I settle the mess in the north, the red dragon flag will already be planted on the wall of King's Landing. If this is the instruction your god gave me in the flames, It's a pity that I can't follow orders this time!"

"my God?"

Why does this woman always focus on words? Stannis had no choice but to change his words: "Our god."

"Guess what I remembered?" Melisandre looked directly at the king with displeasure: "A very vulgar folk saying-'It's too ugly after sex'. All kinds of signs and omens point to you as a prophecy Prince, you can't just enjoy R'hllor's help without fulfilling your duties!"

"Don't perform your duties? I allow you to spread the belief of the Red God in the Seven Kingdoms, allow you a woman to make an exception to accompany the army, and even break into my battle meeting without any punishment! I also ordered half of the Royal Fleet to go north to support East Watch, I ordered the Ironborn to help the Great Wall's defense, and ordered hundreds of prisoners from the Lannister family, the king's lands, and even Storm River Bend to be sent to the Great Wall... I even acquiesced to the outrageous regulation of the night watchman's property tax exemption. Continue to exist, what do you want from me?"

"You think you've done a lot, but it's not enough... The prophecy shows that only the real king will go to the Great Wall in person to prevent darkness from crossing that final line of defense and engulfing the entire world. If you don't go, no amount of means and support will be in vain! "

Talking to the red-robed woman is always so laborious, she doesn't listen to other people's considerations and difficulties, and just talks to herself, Stannis realized that he was at a disadvantage in the dispute, and suddenly burned with anger: "Okay, you will now replace me Get rid of that false king who claims to be Aegon Targaryen, take Storm's End for me, and give the Tyrells enough punishment... After all this is done, I won't say any more nonsense, just turn around and leave Lead the army north to fulfill the damned prophecy!"

"You can only ask for R'hllor's gift, not order—"