Chapter 100 The first military meeting before heading south (4.6k)

If Roose Bolton hadn't revealed his family name, Clay would never have connected the man in front of him with the traitor who planned the bloody wedding and almost completely destroyed the Stark family.

From the first impression, Roose Bolton is a very gentle person, and even has a little bit of elegance in his movements.

When he was talking to Clay just now, his tone was calm, and he seemed to be deliberately controlling his volume so that you wouldn't feel harsh.

If Clay didn't know such a person very well, he would never think that he was a ruthless, calculating and cruel person.

Clay used his peripheral vision to observe the reactions of the nobles in the big tent. Roose Bolton's action of grabbing Jon Amber seemed to have received the approval of many people.

Clay even noticed that Catherine and Robb gave Roose Bolton a kind smile because of this.

Clay somewhat understood why the command of the infantry regiment fell so easily to Roose Bolton later. Catherine, Robb, and even the entire northern nobles completely believed in this guy who took pleasure in skinning people. .

I was extremely vigilant, this was not a good sign.

Facing Roose Bolton's smile, Clay could only continue to smile. After all, the other party had just resolved a conflict for him.

He looked at the northern nobles present and reported the number of troops he had brought.

"My lords, our Mandalay family has brought a total of 2,300 people this time, including 500 armored cavalry, 1,600 heavy infantry, and 200 long archers."

"Thank you to the Manderly family for supporting me, the Stark family. I would like to thank the Manderly family on behalf of my husband."

Lady Catelyn spoke a ceremonial word of thanks to Clay on behalf of her husband and son.

When the lord calls, no matter what the situation, the vassal must come. If he disobeys, it is tantamount to rebellion, and the end is usually the destruction of his family. The best thing is to be like Marquis Walder Frey, who will drag it to the end, and then his reputation will be completely ruined. .

"Hey, your grandfather has made a lot of preparations this time."

Earl Glover, who had arranged the Mandalay family's army, opened the door and walked in. He cared very much about Sir Malone, and naturally he also cared about Clay.

"Your Majesty Earl." Clay nodded to Earl Glover.

Seeing that the matter was basically over, Robb Stark lightly knocked on the table, focusing everyone's attention on himself, then coughed and said in a deep voice:

"My lords, before I was in Winterfell, I received some news intermittently. Now, I will tell you about the situation we are going to face."

Robb dug out a huge map of the Riverlands from the pile of maps, then took out the thin wooden stick at hand and pointed to the location between Golden Teeth and Riverrun.

"About three weeks ago, here, in the hilly areas of the Golden Tooth and Riverrun, my uncle Edmure Tully assigned his men, Lord Vance and Lord Piper, to fight the Kingslayer's troops here. A battle, but unfortunately, they were defeated.”

Rob pushed a lion's head carved from wood to that position, attracting the attention of everyone in the tent.

"What did Edmure Tully think about attacking the Lannister in this kind of terrain?"

Jon Amber, who had just been choked by Clay, seemed to have completely forgotten what had just happened, and his thick voice began to work at full power again. He frowned and pointed at the fighting location.

"No, as far as I know, my uncle's army was completely in a defensive position, but the regicide came down from the mountain and they were completely unable to withstand it."

Rob shook his head, with a solemn expression. The Riverlands suddenly encountered the enemy and failed in the first battle, leaving no time to assemble the troops.

Clay was a little strange, why did the Kingslayer still appear on this battlefield? Shouldn't he be in King's Landing?

Why didn't the White Sea Guards in King's Landing come to Raven to tell him such important news?

Clay didn't know what the capital of the Seven Kingdoms was like now, but a faint worry still lingered in his heart.

Regardless of any ridiculous timeline closure, the Kingslayer Jaime Lannister's ability to arrive in the West so quickly proves that Lord Tywin has been preparing for war since Eddard Stark's accident in King's Landing.

"The defense was defeated. Are you all frightened by Lord Tywin?"

Jon Umber muttered that the Northerners had always despised the combat effectiveness of the Southern army, and he was very disdainful of Edmure Tully, who was in a defensive position and was defeated in a single battle.

Rob said nothing and continued to share news from the battlefield:

"Lord Tywin's other army has already left the West along the Golden Road. This army is moving very fast. As of the news I know so far, they have been stationed at Harrenhal, and the forward has approached Harroway. Earl’s town.”

A larger lion's head was pinned to the north of God's Eye Lake.

"What are you doing in that big ruin, old lion? Hunting for treasure?"

Lord Glover asked strangely.

If you look at the map, this Lannister army actually made a circle far away from the battlefield, carrying the most powerful force but not attacking the Riverlands in one fell swoop. What on earth is Lord Tywin planning? ?

Clay's eyes were fixed on the location of the lion's head. Although this location was strange, it was indeed the main traffic artery between the north and the south.

He raised his first question in the combat meeting so far.

"My lords, we have to figure out now, who is Lord Tywin going for?"

Clay moved his body closer to the table and pointed his finger at the location of Harrenhal.

"Master Clay, what do you think?"

Roose Bolton still had that faint smile on his face.

Clay ignored him and continued:

"If it's coming towards us, then the circle is too big. The upper reaches of the Green Fork River are so strong that only the Twin Rivers can pass it, but that's not the case downstream."

"If he is trying to block us, by the time he is done with Harrenhal, we will have crossed the river from the lower reaches and directly joined the battlefield in the Riverlands. Unless Lord Tywin doesn't rest at all now and goes directly north along the King's Road. .”

"So, I judge that the old lion's purpose is probably not us, but to lead the army to find Lord Eddard near Harrenhal."

After saying this judgment, everyone's hearts were immediately lifted.

The last news about Eddard Stark was in the Harrenhal area. Assuming that he wanted to return north, the fastest way would be to go north along the relatively good King's Road.

But the problem is that once the Lannister army enters Earl Harroway's town, it will completely block the possibility of Eddard Stark returning north quickly.

Again, Ed Stark must not fall into Tywin's hands, otherwise, there will be no need to fight the battle in the North.

Clay took a wolf head representing Stark and placed it near Harrenhal, and he pushed the lion head upwards to the town of Earl Harroway where the forward was located.

At this moment, everyone's expressions turned ugly. No matter how much they disagreed with Clay's youth, everyone had to admit that this inference made some sense.

"This is forcing us to make a choice. The whole army is going south, along the King's Road, and fighting to the death in the Riverlands with Lord Tywin who has been waiting for us for a long time."

"Otherwise, we can go directly across the Twins and deal with the war in the riverlands that is about to burn down to Riverrun, and then have a decisive battle with Lord Tywin."

Although Roose Bolton's voice was small and difficult to listen to, he summarized the current situation well.

Sometimes, Clay feels that Ed Stark might as well be imprisoned in King's Landing. At least, the Northern Army has the initiative on the battlefield.

In the current situation, Eddard Stark is in enemy-occupied territory, and the northern army must go to rescue him. This means that whether or not the Lannister army in the west is defeated, the main army led by Tywin, The North must be touched.

It's not accurate to say that it's touched, or it's far from it. From the perspective of the Stark family, this is a battle that must be won. Only by smashing Tywin can the Stark family take back Eddard Smith. The possibility of Tucker.

"I must rescue my father as soon as possible. This is why I raised the army!"

Rob shouted excitedly that when it came to his father, he was still a teenager after all.

No one dared to object to this statement, but the adults in the north frowned. Obviously, neither of these two paths was a perfect choice.

Clay looked at Robb. The Young Wolf Lord in front of him did not propose the plan of cavalry crossing the Twins and infantry going south to stop Tywin as he remembered.

The difference lies in the change in Ed Stark's own situation.

In that timeline, Robb knew that his father had been captured anyway, so in this case, catching the Kingslayer was a very good plan.

But the problem is, now that Eddard Stark could be caught at any time, the situation is completely different.

The life of his father cannot make a teenage child calm down and think about the problem. As a woman, the same goes for his wife Catelyn Tully.

The nobles in the north argued with each other for a long time, but in the face of the complicated situation in front of them, no one could come up with a suitable strategy.

According to the intelligence, Marquis Walder Frey of Twin River City has summoned his army and sealed off the east bank of Twin River City. This Twin River City is not just a matter of passing.

When the last northern noble left the tent, the fruitless debate finally ended for the time being.

There were three people left in the big tent, Clay, Rob and Caitlin.

Clay suddenly realized that there was one person missing from this meeting, and he hurriedly asked Rob:

"Where is Theon Greyjoy and why haven't I seen him?"

Robb, who was thinking hard, heard Clay's question and couldn't help but think of the scene before he obtained Gray Wind, and asked Clay with a strange expression:

"Why do you think of him? I sent him to the Iron Islands this morning and asked his father to send troops to the West."

Upon hearing these words, Clay immediately became anxious. He stood up in front of the shocked eyes of Robert and his son, and without caring about the courtesy of the lord and vassals, he directly asked:

"Where is the person? Is he gone?"

Robb and Caitlin were baffled by Clay's sudden change. The former frowned, feeling that Clay was still thinking about what happened in Winterfell.

"I haven't left yet. I'm packing my things and will leave early tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Clay felt relieved. Fortunately, he didn't let this disaster go away.

He said directly to Rob:

"Rob, recall him quickly. We must not let him go to the Iron Islands."

"Why?" Mother and son both said at the same time. Robb didn't understand what Clay meant by that, but Caitlin felt that Clay was too lenient. After all, Theon Greyjoy was her husband's adopted son.

No matter how you say this is all Stark's business, what does it have to do with you, Mandalay?

Clay ignored Caitlin at all and spoke quickly:

"Robb, let me ask you, is Theon's surname Greyjoy?"

"Yes, Clay, don't do it because of your last name..."

"He is Balon Greyjoy's only son, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"King Balon's rebellion was put down by your father and King Robert, right?"

"..."

Rob finally fell silent. He seemed to know what Clay was going to say.

"So, why do you think that if you write a letter, Balon Greyjoy will listen to you and bring his iron fleet to attack the West? Tywin doesn't have any big hatred against him."

"Furthermore, you have personally eliminated his biggest concern about taking action in the North. Let me ask you, if he detains Theon and asks him to become a Greyjoy again, then Balon Greyjoy Yi led the Ironborn to attack the west coast of the North..."

Clay's tone was frighteningly cold:

"When the time comes, why do you stop him? You and most of your vassal troops are here. If the North falls while we are fighting Tywin, you will be damned if your military morale does not collapse. !”

Caitlin sat in the chair, too lost to say a word. In this plan, she strongly agreed with Xion's actions and did not consider this at all.

Now being reminded by Clay, she finally remembered that most of the people with the surname Greyjoy were a group of virtuous people.

"No...no way, Xion and I are brothers!"

Robb couldn't accept that Xion would betray him.

But Clay's next words unceremoniously exposed his fantasy.

"Rob, wake up. Balon Greyjoy is Theon's father. Remember, his surname is Greyjoy, not Stark!"

Clay didn't have time to sympathize with how miserable Theon's experience was later, and how much he was struggling in his heart or whatever. The second-fifth boy was the second-fifth boy. If he really went to the Iron Islands, then the North would be really hard to save. .

"Rob, send others to hold King Balon's son in your hands. Only then can we ensure that the Iron Islands help us fight the Lannister."

Although the word pinch sounded extremely harsh in Rob's ears, at this time, he also understood that what Clay said was right.

Fortunately, Clay had a good relationship with Rob in Winterfell, otherwise he wouldn't be able to finish what he said today.

Robb opened the tent and hurried to find Theon, leaving only Clay and Caitlin.

Naturally, Clay couldn't stay any longer, so he caressed his chest and left. As soon as he turned around, he heard Caitlin's voice:

"Thank you, Cray. Without you here, this might have put us all in danger. I know you and Robert are good friends, and he listens to you, just like Ned and Robert. Same, this is very good, but ah, I beg you, treat Robert as your lord, don't treat him as a child, even though you are not much older than him."

Of course Clay understood the kindness and reminder in Caitlin's words, which was exactly what he wanted.

He turned around, saluted the Northern Matron again, and spoke his answer calmly:

"For the sake of the North..."

The curtain was lifted again, but this time, Caitlin was the only one left in the tent.

I posted typos first and corrected them later. There is a big chapter. Let’s try to make it coherent.

Here, I have changed the order and circumstances of the original story. I believe readers can understand it. I personally understand that the reason why the North had successive victories on the battlefield and suddenly collapsed in the end was not only because Robb broke the engagement, but also One reason comes from Theon's assassination.

The ironborn directly captured Moat Cailin. What a concept. There was no way home. What about the wife and children at home?

If you want to say that Roose Bolton was planning to kill Robb from the beginning, I don't really believe it. I think things are accumulated bit by bit.

Let Theon go to the Iron Islands to call for reinforcements. To give an inappropriate example, A and B were fighting. Both of them were holding a knife. Then A won and said to B, give me the knife, and B gave it to me. A humiliated B. One day later, A and C were fighting. Both sides faced each other with knives and had no time to defend themselves. At this time, B came over. A looked at it and said, come on, come on, I will give you the knife back. , B, go give C a knife.

The logic board understands that's it, who do you think B will stab?

Really, a good hand is played to pieces, and that's Rob.