Chapter 186 Fight against foreigners or keep peace within?

"It's a pity that the Night Watch Legion can't do it. The Legion's troops are too small. If those savages really go crazy, we will definitely not be able to stop them. Unless we increase our troops, it will be impossible."

Commander-in-Chief Mormont sighed, and the white smoke he exhaled was particularly obvious in the white sunlight. There was too little the Night's Watch could do. After all, they only had a few hundred people.

Now, things are finally clear, and Clay also fully understands why Commander-in-Chief Mormont came to Winterfell. This is really not something that their already weakened Night's Watch can decide. Without the support of the North, their destruction It just happened in the blink of an eye.

Because if we let people in, given the wild and untamable nature of the free people, hundreds of night watchmen will definitely not be able to do it to ensure that they don't cause trouble, and we must send more people.

In this era, there is actually no difference in equipment. To put it bluntly, if you pick up a wooden stick and put some rusty nails on it, it will immediately become a weapon with a tetanus bonus.

As long as a hit is taken, even if it is a knight or a well-trained soldier, with the medical level and scarce medical resources of this era, if the length of time is extended, the theoretical damage will be similar to that of a sophisticated weapon forged with great time and effort.

Therefore, the Night Watch Corps has to guard tens of thousands of savages. Although most of them are women and children, it is not something that a few hundred people can accomplish, which means that the North must send people to help.

This is the real purpose of Commander-in-Chief Mormont going south. The decision-making power on this matter is actually no longer on the side of the Great Wall, but on the side of Robb Stark, who has just become king, and Clay, who controls the army.

If Winterfell rejects the Great Wall's request for help, the Night's Watch will definitely close the door, and then use all their strength to defend and give it a try against the wildlings who are crazy for survival.

And if the new king in the north agrees to accept them, then the people in the north must also send troops to manage them. Otherwise, these free people will be allowed to scatter throughout the northern land, posing a huge threat to the defenseless farmers.

"Commander Mormont, we understand your request. Next we need to discuss and let Jon take you to the guest room in Winterfell."

Robb Stark understood Clay's look and knew that Clay wanted to talk to him in detail, which was what he wanted to do, so he asked the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch to leave first.

"Jon, remember to come back soon, I have some questions for you."

Rob added.

Clay shook his head slightly in his mind. He still had questions to ask. In fact, he felt that Jon Snow was a brother. He didn't want to avoid this matter, and he was still close to him in his heart.

But this is not right, because the identities of the two people have changed now. If Jon Snow is still in Winterfell and is not an sworn brother of the Night's Watch, then it doesn't matter, but it is different now.

One is a personal soldier of the commander-in-chief, and is vaguely the trainer of the next commander, and the other is already the king of the north. On this matter, the positions of the two sides may conflict.

At this time, you Robb Stark asked Jon to listen, so why did you ask Lord Commander Mormont to leave? Isn't this unnecessary?

After the two people disappeared, Clay frowned and said to Rob:

"Rob, you are the king now, and this matter must be your responsibility. What do you think?"

"Father has always taught me that everyone who can forgive should be given a chance. Besides, it would not be good for us to just block them out and let them transform into white ghosts or corpses."

Rob expressed his opinion, and since there was no one in private, their communication became much smoother.

"Rob, you are right, but you have to consider a question. We have now declared war on the Lannister in King's Landing, and you, the king, have also been crowned. Then, you go to fight the wildlings?"

"Also, although you are the king, what do the other nobles in the north think? What do the Night Watch Legion think? They have fought with the wildlings for so many years, and now they have become brothers. Didn't the previous brothers die in vain?"

"But they came to me. Aren't they willing to do this? If they don't want to, there is no need for them to come."

"This is where old Mormont is shrewd. This actually hands the opposition of the Night's Watch and the northern nobles to you. If you decide to let all the wildlings die, you will be responsible for the consequences."

"And you ordered the Night's Watch to let people in. Remember, this is your order. The opposition pressure from the Night's Watch and the North will be yours, Rob Stark. I think I made it clear."

Yes, when Clay understood the ins and outs of the matter, he immediately understood how sophisticated Mormont was. Regardless of whether he let people go or not, the Night's Watch had no responsibility anyway.

Because in the end it is the King of the North who decides. I, the Night's Watch, are weak and can only obey the orders of the King of the North. Therefore, it has nothing to do with me, the Commander-in-Chief of the Night's Watch. If you have any objections, don't come to me.

This was the reason why Clay didn't want Jon to be present. The boy had a great affection for the Night's Watch. If Clay said this in front of him, it would probably lead to a quarrel, which was very boring.

Clay's words made Rob's head buzz. He had never thought about it so much. He called Clay back because this matter involved troop deployment and he only needed Clay's opinion.

"I understand. According to your opinion, no matter what happens in this matter, we have to send troops, either to maintain law and order or to assist the Night Watch in defending the Great Wall?"

Robb Stark was not too stupid, and he summed it up very quickly, without being confused by Clay's words.

At this time, Jon came in after seeing off Commander-in-Chief Mormont, glanced at his brother, and sat back down where he was just now.

Clay nodded to Jon and then answered Robb's question:

"Yes, you must send this soldier, but now there is a question, what should we do about going south?"

"Damn it, I just forgot to ask Lord Commander Mormont how many people he wants. I can't possibly give him all my troops."

Robb punched the desk. This sudden incident interrupted his southward revenge plan, especially because Commander-in-Chief Mormont was playing tricks on him and letting him, the King of the North, take the blame for the Night's Watch. Now he is being We had to send troops to fight.

Robb Stark hated others for lying to him. Now, the Commander-in-Chief of the Night's Watch lied to him openly, and he had no choice. If Clay hadn't reminded him, he would still be in the dark.

"Jon, what is the situation in the Night's Watch? There is no one else here, just the three of us. You have to tell us the truth."

Robb Stark glared at his brother with some annoyance, leaving the latter who had just come in a little confused.

Lord Commander Mormont didn't say much to Jon, so the two stupid boys didn't understand the deception behind it.

"It's not good, it's very bad. The key is that morale is not good. Now the White Walkers, the Free Folk Legion, and the mysterious armored cavalry have made the legion that has suffered a lot of losses a little scared."

Jon shook his head bitterly. He was a witness to these things. Although he did not directly go out to face the White Walkers, he saw the tragic situation of the legion. The last time he went out to the fort, he lost more than two hundred people. For the legion, it was a serious injury. Muscles move bones.

"Tell us about the current status of the Night Watch, including the defense of the Great Wall, and the situation outside the wall. Your commander has given Robert a big problem this time, which makes it very difficult for us to solve."

Jon blinked in confusion. He didn't understand what Clay meant. He felt that he was here to ask for help this time. Is this difficult?

"The Great Wall is currently occupied by Black Castle. There are still people stationed at Shadow Tower and Eastwatch. The other fortresses are abandoned. There is a huge shortage of people."

"Originally, there were more than 600 people stationed in Black Field Castle, and the other two forts were about 200 each. But this time, nearly 300 people were lost in the fortress. Many of the things that Black Field Castle was capable of were no longer occupied. The people on the ice wall were Inspections have also stopped.”

"You all know the wind and snow on the Great Wall. If regular snow removal is not done, many places will freeze into big ice lumps, making it impossible for people to cross."

Due to the small number of people, some people had to hold multiple jobs to maintain the normal life and operation of a thousand people. But this time more than 280 people were lost outside the Great Wall. Many craftsmen were gone, and some jobs were forced to shutdown.

"Okay, we get it. Now tell us about the things outside the wall. Let's talk about the savages first. How many are there and how are their combat capabilities?"

Clay understood that by asking this, Robb Stark had already made up his mind to send troops, so there was no need for him to say anything else.

"Anyway, if you stand on the Great Wall now, and the weather is clear, you can see their bizarre and huge camp. Experienced brothers estimate that it is about 100,000."

Jon answered honestly. He frowned and tried to organize his words when talking about the question of the wildlings' combat power.

"The savages, or free folk, do not have the ability to produce iron weapons on their own. It is better to use weapons obtained from the corpses of our sworn brothers. The average free folk warriors use bone or stone weapons."

This answer is as expected by Clay. That ghost place is frozen all year round. Even if there are settlements like Fort Difficulty and Camp Custer, it is impossible to develop a more advanced civilization. Naturally, it is impossible to create a powerful one. arms.

"Of course not all of these 100,000 people are capable of fighting. What proportion of them are old people, women and children?"

Robb Stark asked.

Jon shook his head, his dark hair swaying back and forth under the cold light, and he said:

"You can't count it that way, because the women of the free people are also warriors. They are spearwives, and they can fight on the battlefield without fear. I have seen sworn brothers killed by spearwives."

"Jon, don't blame me for asking. You have to give us an estimate. How many free people can one of us fight against? This is very important. You must understand that I am fighting a war now."

This problem is very critical. Even if there are 100,000 free people, less than half can fight. Even if they are 50,000, there are still so-called spear wives among them.

No matter what the name is, speaking from objective facts, women's combat effectiveness is not as good as men's. This is a problem of innate physiological structure. Based on the nutritional status of savages, the combat effectiveness of spearwives is only slightly stronger than that of boys.

"If both sides are not injured, then we can hit several of them, seven or eight, of course, not at the same time."

"The equipment of the free people is very poor. This is a big disadvantage for them when they fight with us. Their weapons will often be cut off by us after a few collisions with our swords. You are all swords Hands, you know what the consequences will be if your weapon breaks during a duel."

"Moreover, they don't have armor. They only wear a thick layer of clothes at most. But this kind of protection can only block the cold wind and has no effect when facing the piercing sword edge."

Understand, this is the super beggar version of light infantry. In addition to its bravery, its combat effectiveness is actually very eye-catching. No wonder Stannis in the memory can defeat a hundred thousand men with a cavalry of one thousand men. · Reid.

"A bunch of crazy guys."

Robb Stark said disdainfully that in his opinion, with this level of equipment, daring to attack the Great Wall head-on was no different from seeking death.

"Clay, if you bring your cavalry, can you defeat them in one fight?"

"If we follow the information Jon gave us, it should be possible, but Rob, we don't know where the things behind the wildlings are. We must be prepared to encounter them at any time. As Commander-in-Chief Mormont said, we The steel sword is ineffective against them, which is a big problem."

Clay knew that at this stage, it was not yet time for the White Walkers to attack the city, so he actually did not want to go out to deal with the wildlings. He would have lost his manpower in vain. There were hundreds of thousands of wildlings living in the Haunted Forest, and Mance Rayder only had them in his hands. A very small part.

To put it bluntly, these people were just killed by the White Walkers. Clay didn't care, because they were not the real main force of the zombie army, and what he was really worried about was the ferocious armored knight who mysteriously appeared.

He wasn't sure what it was. After all, it involved magical creatures, the ultimate problem in the world, and it wouldn't be surprising for any strange things to happen.

Clay had some vague guesses in his mind, but the speculation itself was absurd enough. Without seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't be sure whether his guess was correct or not. It would be even more interesting if it was really those guys.

"There's nothing we can do about it. We must send out these soldiers. It's too slow to send infantry up. Moreover, the terrain outside the Great Wall is gentle, which is the most suitable battlefield for cavalry."

Robb Stark made the decision. Clay didn't want to argue with him at this point, so he nodded, turned to Jon Snow and said:

"Whether it's a free citizen or a savage, if you want to come to our land, you must become part of the people of the North. According to my idea, accept the surrender, and then be dispersed, and evenly filled into the hands of every lord in the North. inside."

Jon Snow shook his head:

"They won't. They call us kneeling people. If we want them to kneel down with Rob and become his people, it's better to kill them."

In response to such words, Clay directly responded with a merciless mocking sneer. He said:

"Okay, if you don't want to kneel down, then I will tell them as the cavalry commander of the Northern Army and the heir to the Mandalay family that the gate of the Great Wall is only open to those who can understand human speech. If you don't want to kneel down, I will tell them." , that is rebellion, and when the sword falls on their head, they will know what regret is."

"They... are also poor people. When there was no Great Wall, they were just like us. I once heard a savage prisoner say that they always thought that we were coming, and then built the Great Wall to block them. outside, and then hunt them down.”

Jon Snow's tone was full of sympathy, and Clay understood that this boy's soft-hearted problem had occurred again. He got carried away when he was excited and wavered when things really happened. This was all Jon's problem.

"Jon, stand your ground! You are a Northerner. Even if you become the Night's Watch, you are still a strong shield that protects this kingdom. Why did the wildlings end up in this situation? Why did we build a wall to keep them out? It doesn’t even have anything to do with a Bronze Star out there.”

"Our population in the north has never been large, and a large amount of land is actually uncultivated. You are the son of Lord Eddard Stark. How can you not know this kind of thing? As long as they can put down their ridiculous so-called dignity and be honest If you are actually a subject of the Stark family, who would make things difficult for them?"

"Let me tell you, I hope they can all pass through the Great Wall alive. We in the north can only mobilize up to 20,000 people to join the war. But what about the Tyrell family in the south? The first mobilization was more than 80,000 people."

"But if they don't obey and don't kneel down to us lords and nobles, then they will be in complete trouble. How do you ask me and your brother to manage them? Do we dare to let them go to the countryside? They are wild and difficult to tame. It’s always going to be trouble! Do you understand?”

Clay's words were not polite at all. Since he was going to fight this time, he had to completely break the backs of these savages. If they still dared to resist, Clay didn't mind taking action directly.

He has already killed many people. To expect him to be merciful in such matters is to underestimate him.

"Jon, go tell Commander-in-Chief Mormont that in two days, I will reorganize the army and go north. You will return early and prepare a place for my army to station and provide logistics and food. The Night's Watch will not participate in the affairs of the Seven Kingdoms, but you have requests. Let’s not expect to stay out of it.”

Clay gave the order coldly. He said these words with absolute certainty. The magnanimity of the commander of the Northern Cavalry was clearly demonstrated. He was as different from Jon as a small steward.

Robb said nothing and let Jon leave silently. He was not happy in his heart. Although it was normal for the North to support the Night's Watch, this kind of thing would undoubtedly interrupt his revenge plan.

Moreover, his brother's stance also made him feel uncomfortable, because Clay's words were not wrong at all.

He regarded Jon as his brother, so he asked him to come over to discuss the next plan together. This was based on the Stark family and the Mandalay family, which are all northern aristocratic systems, and in Jon's words, he stood on both sides. The night watchman, everything he said was an oath to do what his brothers would do.

Although he should have said this, it still left Robb Stark feeling betrayed by his brother.

"Come on, I won't say anything more. There are still a lot of things waiting for me to deal with in the military camp. I'll take the cavalry away first."

"How long do you think it will take to get it done?"

"I don't know. Maybe I was lucky. I rushed over and cut off Mance Rayder's head with a sword. Then the frightened wildlings surrendered and asked the Night Watch to remove all their weapons. , and then push them to Winterfell, and the matter will be done."

"Then you go to the godswood and stay under the heart tree for a while, and let the old gods bless you."

"Have you forgotten? My Mandalay family believes in the Seven Gods, and the old gods dare not let me worship them."

"...Go quickly, don't linger here."