Chapter 110 Leading five thousand riders, heading south to the Riverlands

After the final feast at the Wei River Tower, the northern army split into two. Under the two overly young commanders Clay Manderly and Robb Stark, the troops divided into two groups and went south to meet the attack. their opponents.

Clay controlled almost all the cavalry units of the Northern Army. Counting the equipment captured in Twin River City, there were more than 5,300 people following his banner.

This can be regarded as an extremely powerful mobile corps, but how to use them and maximize their power depends on Clay's ability.

The cavalry regiment took the lead to leave from the west bank of Twin River City. Their first stop south was Seaside City, located southwest of Twin River City, where the Mallister family ruled.

According to the news previously received, Count Jason Mallister of Seaside City would send his army of nearly a thousand men to join Robb's army, but after the troops were divided, the situation changed.

There was no need for Clay to bring all these 1,000 men, because most of them were infantry, which would seriously weaken the mobility of his cavalry regiment. With so many horses, it was impossible to stay and wait for the slow infantry to arrive. of the battlefield.

Therefore, Clay only plans to accept as many of the cavalry as there are. As for the rest, he can go back and stay in Seaside City. He can slowly go south. After Clay finishes the battle, he can help defend Riverrun City.

They all let them go, and Clay couldn't arrange the hundreds of Haijiang City's infantry now.

It only took half a day to set off in the morning. Before sunset, Clay's vanguard troops had already rushed to the gates of Haijiang City.

Sir "Blackfish" Brynden led the vanguard troops to arrive first and completed the docking with the ruler of Seaside City, Earl Jason Mallister.

Sir Brynden's popularity in the Riverlands is quite useful. After Earl Mallister understood the nature of Clay's troops, he readily handed over all his cavalry and sent his successor Patrick. C. Mallister joins Clay's army.

Before dark, all of Clay's troops have arrived at Seaside City. They will camp here tonight and spend their first night away from Twin River City.

As the commander-in-chief, Clay refused Lord Mallister's invitation to host a banquet in the castle to entertain him. He wanted to stay with his army at all times.

Commanding such a large army, if he does not know what his own army looks like, he will not be able to win the battle at all.

He is not Robb Stark. The Stark surname has a natural repressive power for other northern nobles, but Mandalay does not.

Although he won the bet with the northern nobles and obtained the command of the cavalry regiment with his own efforts during the Battle of Twins City, he knew it very well.

These northern nobles who came with him were actually not convinced by him in their hearts, and the original sin was that he was too young no matter how you calculated it.

But unfortunately, his contribution to the victory of the Twin River City was real. Therefore, the northern nobles currently had no reason to refute his command authority.

Clay sent several nobles under him to visit the master of Seaside City as his representatives, and he himself, accompanied by Sir "Blackfish" Brynden, was inspecting his military camp over and over again.

The armor stays with him and the thick cloak is draped around him. After this period of training, Clay has become more and more like a real army commander.

All the soldiers who came and went knew this young commander, and many of them had the courage to make appropriate or inappropriate jokes with Clay. However, no matter what, Clay did not put on any aristocratic airs.

The general must know the soldiers, and the soldiers must know the general. This is what he requires of himself and his more than 5,000 cavalry.

Although wars in this era are fundamentally about blowing the trumpet and having the commander lead his men in a random charge, it is undeniable that if there is an efficient command, it can definitely play a great role. .

After just finishing talking nonsense with a passionate northern leader, Clay walked onto a relatively high raised hill.

Under his feet, stretching military tents occupied the plain east of Haijiang City, and torches flickered from here to the distance.

"Master Clay, what are you looking at?"

Ser Brynden's highly recognizable voice came from behind. It was obvious that the old guy wanted to talk to him.

"The chip, my chip, Ser Brynden."

Clay was silent for a while and gave his answer, but this answer was obviously beyond the old man's expectation. He was stunned, and then repeated as if he was unsure:

"Master Clay, you said, chips?"

Clay glanced sideways at the old man who came to him, nodded, and confirmed that Ser Brynden heard correctly.

"They are chips, my sergeant. You see, I am having a very interesting bet with Jaime Lannister. However, the Lannister family has always been rich, so he has 12,000 chips in his hand, and I only have more than 5,000."

"It's an interesting statement. I rarely hear people say that."

The old knight smiled. He understood what the young commander meant. This was a very vivid metaphor. Two gamblers brought their chips to the gambling table and used their own troops as chips to engage in a dangerous gambling game.

The reward for the winner is naturally the wealth, people, and control of this land.

"So, Master Clay, are you ready to accept this bet?"

The old jazz man was still asking Clay with a smile, but Clay still keenly captured the suppressed and solemn flavor hidden in the voice.

Yes, using 5,000 men to fight 12,000 men, the strength gap is 1 to 2.4, and the opponent is a well-equipped Lannister army. This is not an easy battle.

If you are not careful, you will lose everything you have. On the battlefield, the sword has no eyes, so you must make a careful plan to not give your opponent any opportunity to take advantage of it.

"The gamble has begun, and I can't help but accept it. Now, we are much more anxious than Lannister."

Clay's tone did not fluctuate, because it was obvious that some things in the world had changed because of him, and the experiences in his memory may not be useful now.

"Ser Brynden, let me ask you, Riverrun is your home fortress. How long do you think that with the thousands of defeated troops in the city, it can withstand the siege of more than 10,000 people by Jaime Lannister?"

Clay must understand this problem. If Riverrun is in danger and the destruction of the city is imminent, then he must order the army to speed up.

Although his memory is very clear that Riverrun held on until the end before surrendering due to force majeure, and was never captured from the beginning to the end, but as he said, you can't always rely on memory, otherwise something big will happen.

Regarding Clay's question, the old jazz gave the answer without any hesitation.

"Riverrun can hold it, and ten thousand Lannisters can hold it again."

The old knight took out the long sword from his waist and began to draw on the soft soil.

"Riverrun is surrounded by rivers on three sides. Although I haven't been there, I can guess how the Kingslayer commanded his army with my eyes closed."

"These 12,000 people must be stationed separately, otherwise they would not be able to surround Riverrun at all."

"So, Riverrun City will not be able to withstand the siege of 12,000 people on any wall, but at most 4,000 people. Moreover, the Tengshi River and the Red Fork River meet in Riverrun City, which are two moats that can be dug continuously."

Clay frowned and considered for a moment before asking.

"Forgive me Sir, does this mean that we don't need to be in such a hurry to relieve the siege of Riverrun?"

When Clay said this, the old knight was a little unhappy. After all, as a Tully, it would be a lie to say that he was not anxious when his castle was besieged. However, he also did not understand that more than 5,000 of his own people crossed the Green Fork River and headed south. Didn’t he just look for an opportunity to slap the regicide?

"Master Clay, what else do you have planned?"

Thinking of what this commander who could not be judged based on his age did in the Twins City, the old knight immediately realized that he might have other ideas.

"Ser, if there is no rush, I would like to wait for someone before attacking the Lannister."

"who?"

"Asha Greyjoy."

…

The day before setting off from the Twins, Clay received a piece of news brought back by the northern nobleman who was on an envoy to the Iron Islands.

Despite being furious, the ruler of the Iron Islands, Balon Greyjoy, remained silent for a long time after receiving Robb Stark's request to attack the West, and finally agreed to the invitation from the North.

The weak request that Robb Stark originally made in the name of his father turned into a threat from that noble man who was also extremely shrewd. If you don't get on the Iron Islands, I will kill your son.

When Eddard Stark asked Theon Greyjoy to be his adopted son, it finally came into play.

The noble also knew that if these pirates were not given some sweetness, they would not be able to help Stark fight the war. Therefore, the wealthy Lannister Port turned into Balon Gryll as soon as the noble opened and closed his mouth. Property of Ray Joy.

The Stark family will ensure that the main force of the Lannister army is held back so that they will not return to the West in time to aid the West, while the Iron Fleet led by the Greyjoy family will ensure that the Lannister navy is destroyed.

As for whether they can capture the cities on land and how many they can rob, that is the ability of this group of pirates, and the North will not interfere.

After the two parties reached an agreement, Balon Greyjoy decided that his brother Victarion Greyjoy, as the commander-in-chief of the Iron Fleet, would lead his troops to attack Lannister Port, and Balon's daughter Asha Greyjoy volunteered to come to Clay to coordinate the offensive rhythm of both sides.

This is Asha Greyjoy that Clay is waiting for.

Now, Tywin Lannister has mobilized all his main legions out of the West to confront the Stark family, and the West is bound to be empty.

As long as someone can set a fire in the backyard of the Lannister family in the West and burn it directly to Lord Tywin's eyebrows, Lord Tywin will be forced to return for help.

At that time, the initiative on the battlefield will return to your side.

In the current situation, Tywin Lannister is near Lord Harroway's town farther east, and the closest to the west is the twelve thousand men led by Jaime.

When the Western Region is in emergency, this army must be the first to move.

Therefore, communication with Asha Greyjoy is very necessary for Clay. He also wants to use this woman to find out how much chips the Greyjoy family can bring in this gamble.

…

Savoring the name, Ser Brynden quickly realized who it was.

"Balon Greyjoy's daughter?"

The old knight asked with his eyebrows furrowed. His expression was a bit unpleasant. He didn't have a good impression of the Iron Islands from all over the river.

In history, the Ironborn burned, killed and looted in the Riverlands countless times. Even when they ruled the Riverlands, they used the flesh and blood of countless people in the Riverlands to build the most magnificent castle in the Seven Kingdoms - Harrenhal.

Although hundreds of years have passed, this stereotype cannot be changed in a short time.

"Master Clay, what do we mean by waiting for her?"

The old knight didn't know about the North's contact with the Iron Islands. This happened before he came to the Northern Army. Maybe the Stark mother and son didn't tell him about it.

"In addition to us, the ironborn of the Iron Islands will help us burn the Lannister lion's den behind our backs."

It was easy to talk to someone like Ser Brynden, because he didn't need to explain too much at all. He understood what Clay meant in a simple sentence.

Hearing the news, his eyes suddenly widened. This was a force that could reverse the outcome. It could cut off the Stark family's retreat to the north, and seize the Lannister's lair to the south.

Thanks to the Seven Gods, these fishy ironmen actually stood on their side this time.

The old knight looked at Clay, wondering how the North could do this.

Clay understood the serious tone of the old knight's inquiry and only said:

"Theon Greyjoy is now serving as an officer under Lord Robb Stark."

Thinking of the young man next to Robb who always wore a smile that didn't deserve a beating, Ser Brynden immediately understood.

Well, it turns out that the Stark family is holding the heir to the Greyjoy family. How could I forget this? No wonder Balon Greyjoy agreed to attack Lannister from behind.

How did he know that in another timeline, this extremely important hostage would be sent directly back to the Iron Islands by Robb Stark's great wisdom, completely preventing Balon Greyjoy from launching an attack on the North? final concern.

The old knight thought of his good nephew Edmure. Alas, thinking about it gave him a headache.

"When will Asha Greyjoy come?"

The old knight had seen from this sudden change an opportunity to severely damage the West in the First World War, because Stark and Greyjoy had formed an alliance. This was a secret treaty that Lannister had no knowledge of.

It's hard to say that one attack can make Lord Tywin so painful that he can't breathe for a long time.

"I'll wait for her in Seaside City for a day. If Asha Greyjoy doesn't show up, I'll have no choice but to go south. After all, we have to be prepared not to have their help."

"Let's divide our troops. Lord Tywin and the Kingslayer don't know. This is a surprise army. But as time goes by, even the stupidest people will know that we are coming. If the Kingslayer is prepared, it will be difficult to handle. ."

Clay shook his head and sighed softly with regret:

"Damn it, if I had 12,000 people, I wouldn't let any Lannister return to the West."