Chapter 109 Blackfish, divide the troops

Although Robb Stark did not receive enough battlefield honors at this point in time, his decisive decision before capturing the Twins allowed him to gradually secure his position as the master of the Northern Army.

Now, with the three kings of Westeros standing side by side, the question of whether Robb Stark can pick up the crown of King of the North, which has been dusty for hundreds of years, does not lie with him, but with his father, Eddard Stark.

As the Duke of the North who is convinced by everyone in the North, Ed Stark has unparalleled popularity. In another timeline, he was imprisoned in King's Landing and was finally beheaded by Emperor Joe.

Although it doesn't sound good, it's the truth. After his father is gone, Robb Stark naturally calls himself the King of the North.

But now, there is no news to explain the death of Ed Stark, so no matter what, Rob Stark cannot skip Ed Stark and become king himself.

There is no such thing as the Overlord here, because the throne of King of the North inherited by Robb Stark is legally the ancestor of his Stark family, the surrendered King Torrhen who knelt down to Aegon the Conqueror at the Bent Knee Pillar. · Stark.

Therefore, if he inherits this crown, the crown will be worn on Eddard Stark’s head. However, Eddard’s current whereabouts are unknown. If Robb Stark becomes the king now, Eddard will be the king one day. ·When Stark comes back, how will they meet?

But Clay, who knows the princes of the North well, knows that in fact, this land in the North has always been the largest gathering place of separatist forces in Westeros.

With Dorne in the south and north, relying on natural dangers, the people in the north are not interested in the troubles in the south at all. What they want is to close the door and live a life as king.

The people of the North knelt before the dragon. This was true. They surrendered to the Targaryen family, which had dragons. However, when the dragons were extinct and it was time to raise the flag of rebellion, they would not stand in the way.

Now that both Stannis and Renly are kings, the battle is even more interesting.

"They are not good things. We don't recognize any of them. What a bullshit king."

Jon Amber cursed, which caused everyone in the hall to laugh, which reflected their mentality.

"Yes, we don't recognize any kings in the south, unless they can help us beat the shit out of that brat and Lord Tywin in King's Landing!"

Some people shouted that the language was vulgar, but it worked very well for these northern gentlemen, and it was immediately echoed by a lot of people.

Clay's eyes have been looking at these nobles. He is very clear that Roose Bolton is looking at him. In addition to him, there are Robb Stark and his son, as well as a man in a dress sitting next to Lady Catelyn. An old man in black fish scale armor.

One of the few people in the hall who wasn't smiling.

Clay knew who this old man was. He was Hoster Tully's brother, Catelyn's uncle, Ser Brynden Tully, known as the "Blackfish".

This Blood Gate knight of Arryn Valley, after learning that Robb Stark sent troops south and the Eyrie City rejected Robb Stark's call, he immediately resigned from the position of Blood Gate knight and went to the hospital a few days ago. Joined the northern army with a small force.

Clay knew the wisdom of this old man, but at that time he was busy conquering the Twin River City, so he had no chance to deal with this "Black Fish".

Now that he thinks about it, he actually captured the castle of his brother's vassal. Tsk, if the Frey family is still considered a vassal of the Tully family.

However, judging from today, the old knight has no objections to his actions. He seems to be very dissatisfied with Walder Frey's refusal to lead troops to rescue Riverrun and block the northern army from outside the city.

"Everyone, listen to me!"

The old knight with a weather-beaten face and gray-white hair knocked on the table, making a thumping sound that quickly silenced the entire hall.

These older northern nobles all know this old man, and they are still willing to listen to his words.

On the old knight's face, two thick eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and his blue pupils scanned the audience. He said in a deep voice:

"Everyone, I know that my brother, Walder Frey, deserved the betrayal he did, and the Frey family ended up like this."

He first characterized the Frey family's refusal to call and block the northern border as rebellion, which gave this siege a very reasonable step.

"As for Lord Clay Manderly, I agree that you have some power over the Twins, but kid, I have to be honest, with your power in White Harbor, you cannot take over such a large territory of the Twins. .”

"Instead of arguing here, I personally have a suggestion. The land near the Twins and the east bank of the Green Fork River belongs to your Manderly family, but the Frey family land on the west bank and south can be used as a war weapon. A reward for meritorious soldiers."

In fact, normally, if a noble wants to usurp another noble's land and title, it will usually be through marriage or talking about blood.

In other words, the connection between aristocrats and land actually has nothing to do with the name of the aristocrat, but to do with his bloodline.

But this situation does not apply to the Frey family this time, because first, the Frey family is now a grandma who does not love her uncle, and her own lord still occupies the castle. None of the two major families have fallen behind. excuse me.

Moreover, it is obvious that Frey's heir is a retard. Which northern noble would marry his daughter to him?

To put it bluntly, the daughter who married in the North stripped off and threw herself on the bed. Whether Aegon Frey could stand up or not was a question.

And the most fatal problem is that Aegon Frey's mental retardation is congenital, what to do about inheritance?

The retarded family in Twins City? Will that nobleman tolerate such ridicule? How is it possible that the owners of Twin River City have been mentally retarded for generations?

Therefore, under the premise of ruling out disturbing the sacred inheritance laws of Westeros, directly taking over the Twins City by a noble family is the only option.

However, the fat meat in Twin River City is so delicious that if anyone eats it all in one bite, everyone else will get pink eye.

Therefore, the aging Sir Blackfish proposed a compromise plan, dividing half of the Frey family's land, and taking half of it to the Twins and giving it to Clay, who played the most important role in the battle to capture the castle. and his Manderly family.

As for the other half, now that no one has made any merit, they first draw a big pie and put it there, making it clear that whoever has merit will be rewarded.

What rewards are given to meritorious soldiers? There will only be generals, not soldiers.

At the extreme end, if anyone can rescue Eddard Stark or directly kill Lord Tywin on the battlefield, as long as the merit is beyond doubt, then that large piece of land will be his.

There is no problem in establishing a brand new earldom.

This is similar to setting up a reward, whoever has the ability belongs to him.

Don't think that these northern nobles only care about their one-third of an acre in the north. If they can expand south of the Neck, they will be very enthusiastic.

Seeing that everyone remained silent, after waiting for two minutes, Robb Stark, as the master of the Northern Army, made a decision:

"In the name of the gods, and in the name of my father, I now grant the Twins and the land on its east bank to the Mandalay family, and the land west and south of the Twins will be given to the Manderly family under the witness of the gods. , after the war is over, reward the heroes who brought us victory!"

As soon as these words came out, it was considered a final conclusion.

Everyone's eyes stayed on Clay. He stood up and drew his long sword, left his seat, put the sword on the ground, and paid Robb Stark the courtesy of a vassal.

Looking at Clay's expressionless young face, some northern nobles thought that this boy was angry because half of their territory was cut off out of thin air. Little did they know that Clay was smiling in his heart.

The only one who roughly understands Clay's intention is Roose Bolton. In his opinion, as long as Clay takes over the Twins and the land on the east coast, then his Manderly family's control of the land along the Bite Bay will be lost. The land became one piece.

It can be said that as long as it is managed well, White Harbor's rule over Biting Bay will be monolithic.

To a certain extent, Roose Bolton's ideas have touched the tip of the iceberg of Clay's plan. However, Roose Bolton, who grew up deep in the land, will always be trapped in the land and cannot break through the final breakthrough. a part of.

After dealing with the Twins, as for the Frey family, the fate of the losers, and the remaining ten or so direct men, were handed over to Sir Brynden for processing.

The lords of the North do not want to have this blood on their hands and cleanse the Riverlands of rebellion, but Ser Brynden has no worries.

"Okay, gentlemen, we have reached a consensus on things here, but the war is still going on."

Robb Stark's words brought the meeting back to the battlefield from the feast of carving up Frey's legacy.

"Now that the Twins are ours, we have to consider how to win the first battle with Lord Tywin."

Robb Stark ordered his people to spread out the map. He pointed at the Green Fork River from south to north and expressed his thoughts:

"It's still the previous plan. Lord Clay will take all our cavalry, as well as the more than 400 cavalry who surrendered from the Frey family, and quickly go south and penetrate Riverrun City."

Robb Stark traced a long line on the map with his leather-gloved finger.

"Next, among the remaining troops, we will leave five hundred archers and swordsmen to garrison Twin River City, and at the same time protect our rear grain and grass transportation."

"Next, I will lead all the lords to go south along the King's Road and meet Lord Tywin head-on."

Robb Stark stood up and unsheathed the long sword at his waist.

"In the name of Stark and all the ancient surnames in the North, we must win this battle. We want Lord Tywin to feel the power of our northerners and tell him that winter has arrived!"

Everyone in the hall stood up, and suddenly there was a buzzing sound of sharp blades being unsheathed.

The cry of victory echoed in the towering Weihe Tower, floated on the Green Fork River, and finally dissolved in the rolling river water, carrying the declaration of the north to the south.

After this battle, no one will compete with Clay for the position of cavalry commander, and the allocation in Twin River City has given everyone a psychological hint:

Wherever my northern army goes, if they don't surrender, the day the city is breached will be the beginning of the nobles in the city losing everything.

This temptation will further enhance the combat effectiveness of the Northern Army. Land is always the most tempting thing.

…

The meeting was over, and Clay brought Earl Glover, Earl Severn, Earl Blackwood and some other northern nobles, together with 5,000 northern cavalry, to form a mobile legion.

Before leaving, Clay told his old man in White Harbor through Raven that he had captured the Twins and gained control of the Twins and the land on the east coast.

As for how the old man would react, Clay knew very well.

Originally, with such a large area of ​​​​land being created out of thin air, the old man would probably hesitate to accept it based on his cautious character. But now, with the power of the demon hunter and the dragon, the old man's waist is not ordinary, and he is quite courageous. .

What, Sun Tzu robbed a castle in the south, so what are you asking? Plant the flag and it belongs to Mandalay! It is estimated that from the moment he received the letter, the old man would consider who to send to take over Twin River City.

The division of troops has begun. Each family has brought its cavalry troops to the castle on the west bank of the Twins City. In addition to a group of northern nobles, Sir "Blackfish" Brynden, a native of the river, is also here. In a large army.

He will command three hundred cavalry as vanguards and scouts, responsible for planning the march route and detecting the enemy's situation.

This is not a simple task. The scouts don't just take a look at it from a distance and then go back to report.

How many enemies are there, where are they, how is the defense deployed, what is the equipment, where is the location of the grain transport team, how disciplined is the team, is there any possibility of attack, etc.

These must be judged by the scouts, and there is a high probability that the scouts will engage in small-scale head-on confrontations with enemy soldiers.

Although it is not as good as a large army fighting with thousands of people, this kind of battle between scouts is often more cruel and bloody.

Because as the eyes of the army, letting the other side's scouts go back would be tantamount to exposing one's own information. This is an unbearable loss and risk on the battlefield.

Therefore, in a fight between scouts, only one party can often survive.

Sir Brynden, who had a jet-black trout painted on his chest, found Clay, the commander of the cavalry corps, in a fortress on the west bank.

He looked at this shameless young man from Mandalay, and for some reason, he thought of his nephew Edmure.

Both are heirs, but their behavior on the battlefield is completely different.

When he followed Robb Stark into the Twins, he saw Clay who had just stopped killing and was resting against the city wall.

This old man with gray beard and hair remembers very clearly what he looked like at that time.

The young man wearing armor seemed to have been soaked in blood, with scarlet blood dripping down from the armor like little snakes.

Beside him, the corpses of Frey soldiers piled up into a hill. The battle-hardened Ser. Brynden only took a few glances to know that this was an extremely efficient killing.

Clay Mandalay hardly made any useless attacks anywhere. Every thrust of his sword was a fatal attack.

What surprised him even more was the calmness in Clay Mandler's eyes when he was among the corpses after finishing the killing.

This person had really seen blood, and he knew very well that he would kill so many people, and he was not afraid at all.

This is why Ser Brynden supported him at the meeting and followed him south to Riverrun.

On the battlefield, the most feared thing is the commander's lack of calmness, but Sir Brynden believes that this young Mandalay will definitely give him greater surprises in the next war.

And he, wait and see!

Typos will be posted first and corrected later. Please support me, readers.

Although there are reasons for the protagonist to handle the Frey family in this way, more importantly, I personally understand the reason for the marriage. It is to suppress the backlash from this territory and the surrounding nobles.

The Boltons swallowed up Winterfell, and if they didn't set up a fake wife and put it there, then all the heads in Winterfell and the entire North would not even have a step to bow to the Boltons.

But the Frey family is different. They are extinct from the entire Riverlands and the North. In other words, if they are taken down, no one will sympathize or oppose them.

How did Tywin handle the rainy season in Casmet? The methods are much more cruel than this.

Although the vassal is dealt with by the lord, the principle is the same. How did the Mandalay family escape from the Reach to the North?

If you lose, the land and castle must be disposed of by the winner. I will marry you because you still have some value, but if I don’t want to hear your name here again, in that case...

Expulsion is merciful, and extermination is the basic operation.