Chapter 257 Retreat, another wave of reinforcements

While Clay was returning to the main camp at Stonehedge, Edmure Tully and several other armies led by the great nobles of the Riverlands attempted to attack the valley armies in the south, entrenched in Stonehall Town and Acorn Hall. oppression.

When Yohn Royce's three thousand men arrived there, the total strength of the Valemen there reached six thousand.

Although half of them were destroyed by Clay, the high-speed maneuverability that the cavalry relied on for survival, the six thousand valley people still made Edmure Tully's ten thousand people afraid to act rashly.

The people of the valley followed the route of elite soldiers, and their individual combat capabilities were stronger than those of Edmure Tully's side. However, up and down the river, those who were actually in charge of the military still lacked confidence in their own side.

Therefore, the army just formed a tight formation and moved towards the Acorn Hall.

Before Clay left, he had been with several of the great nobles of the Riverlands, including Edmure Tully himself, to make some judgments about the form of the battlefield.

He believed that even if Yohn Royce had 6,000 people in his hands, he would not cause trouble for him again.

Even if they defeat their side again, it will not change the fact that the valley army is actually surrounded.

Earl Holloway's town is still firmly in the hands of Clay Mandler. Seven thousand people work day and night to reinforce the outer fortifications, just to keep the intruders away from this road. Under the wall of sighs, my forehead was bleeding.

But so far, in the town of Holloway, he hasn't seen a single ghost of a Valeman or Lannister in the raven sent by Rickard Karstark. It seems that both sides have forgotten him. .

However, he clearly holds the strategic vitality of Earl Holloway's town, but no one pays attention to him. It seems that they don't know who he is at all. It's really a ghost.

Therefore, Clay judged that the Vale and Lannister should be weaker than they thought.

If they had extra troops, they would have driven away Karstark's seven thousand recruits long ago, or at least had to give them a try.

…

"Yon Royce, you idiot, we the people of the valley have already lost this war!"

In the general camp of the Valley Army outside Stone Hall Town, the man who was furiously attacking Yohn Royce was the heir to Iron Oak City, Sir Morton Waywood.

The Waywood family that controls Iron Oak City is also one of the most powerful nobles in the valley, so as the heir to the Waywood family, Sir Morton certainly does not fear the defeated Yon Royce.

He has a straight temper, and there is nothing he dares to say. Therefore, he dares to say it out loud that our side has been defeated.

Sitting opposite him, Yon Royce, who was slumped in his chair and said nothing, also looked very ugly.

It wasn't because of Morton Waywood's words. This guy's bad mouth has always been recognized among the noble circles in the valley. Yohn Royce had already experienced how powerful this guy was.

The question now is what to do next.

Although Morton Waywood's words were unpleasant to hear, Yon Royce knew that they were the truth.

He knew very well that without Tywin Lannister's 20,000 men, they would still be attacking Harrenhal like crazy.

If it weren't for the poor combat effectiveness of the Riverland army, they might overturn on the battlefield.

If you are not worried about the danger to your own logistics, you must first solve the problem in the north.

According to what he knew about Clay Manderly, he had already led an army to surround him on the damp and smelly river plains. How could he be spared for a second longer?

Yohn Royce knew that the two thousand men led by the Corbray family who had been abandoned by him north of the Red Fork River would definitely not be able to hold out for long under Clay Mandler's offensive. The whole army has been wiped out.

Once they are finished, then who is the next target of Clay Mandler, the feared evil star, Yon Royce can figure out with his heel, it must be himself.

Clay Manderly is not pedantic at all, he is very good at picking on weak persimmons. Compared with Tywin Lannister, his lineup of 3,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry is definitely that weak persimmon. .

John Royce hated being treated like a slave, but he couldn't help it.

As the commander-in-chief of the Western Expeditionary Army in the Valley, he actually bears almost all the responsibility for the difficult situation that cannot be recovered at all.

But it's helpless. If you can't beat it, you can't beat it. There's nothing you can do.

So, now, John Royce must consider a retreat for these six thousand people.

"Everyone!"

He patted the table, then glared at Sir Morton Waywood, who was still preparing to attack him, stretched out his hand to pull him away, and said loudly:

"This is not a place where we can stay for a long time. We now have to consider the next step."

"Really? Then, respected Commander-in-Chief, please tell us your clever tricks for those of us who haven't been tortured to death by you!"

Morton Waywood said sinisterly, and then, in full view of everyone, he saluted Yorn Royce.

This move almost broke through the defense even though Yohn Royce had a strong command.

Being slapped in the face and ridiculed by a guy all the time in public, Yon Royce didn't have a good temper. He didn't draw his sword and went up to hit this guy twice. It was already considered that his energy-raising skills were very good.

He took a deep breath and told himself that he must hold it back.

Yohn Royce forced his eyes away from Morton Waywood's stinky face and said:

"Everyone knows that Clay Mandler, that bastard, took out thousands of people from who knows where, and now they are blocking the town of Earl Holloway, our logistics center, causing our food and grass transportation to stop. .”

Everyone knew it, but when it was brought up again, the heads of the valley still looked very ugly.

"Yes, we all know that. After all, you were the one who originally agreed not to station the main force in that place, but you are an extremely smart person."

Sir Morton's words immediately rang out.

He would not have dared to say this before the war.

However, the battle between Yoon Royce and Clay Mandler made his personal prestige fall from the Moon Gate of the Eyrie.

If other valley nobles hadn't known about their worth, they might have fought for military power with Yohn Royce now.

There is no way. Under the current system in Westeros, the Valley Army is a board of directors funded by all parties.

If John Royce, the chairman, did a poor job and immediately brought the company into a ditch, then the other directors must find a way to get him down.

But now, it seems that the chairman of the board, Eon Royce, can still save something. The other directors have little confidence in the broken ship of the Valley Army, so they can only reluctantly let Eoin Royce continue.

Anyway, if it really ends, you have to find someone to take the blame, right?

"The first option is for us to meet up with Tywin Lannister, and then find a way to persuade him to send us some troops. Together, the two families can drive away the Northerners entrenched in Earl Holloway's town. , and then, we go home.”

"Second, if we don't go looking for Tywin, we, the six thousand people, will leave immediately and bypass that place. Everyone, be patient and let's go back to the Blood Gate."

"Third, let's give it another try. Let's give it a try and compete with the defenders deployed by Clay Mandler. They must be newly recruited and their combat effectiveness is very poor."

After talking about the three plans, Yohn Royce chose to shut up. Then, the problem was no longer his. The existing nobles in the valley probably had to have a good fight before they could give an approximate direction of the wind.

…

Earl Wyman is very busy now.

Because his twin river city, Gabai Port, now has to provide logistics and transportation for 15,000 people. When has the Mandalay family done such a thing for so many years?

Why are there so many people?

It's simple, because just now, eight thousand recruits led by Sir Roderick, the head coach of Winterfell, and the last assets of each family in the north, have arrived at the Twins.

Further south, there was the battlefield. Sir Roderick stopped. His mission for this trip had been completed.

Earl Wyman, who took charge of the eight thousand reinforcements, introduced Roderick to the current battlefield situation and asked him to immediately set off back to Winterfell.

Although during this period of time, Catelyn Tully's letters to the Twins continued uninterrupted, causing the ravens who came and went to lose a lot of weight.

But the specific things can only be explained clearly after meeting. The small piece of paper on the raven's leg can carry too little information.

The old man's meaning is very clear. Winterfell should not worry too much. These 8,000 reinforcements have arrived. If the North and the Riverlands are combined, the total strength may not exceed 35,000.

Although the quality of the soldiers is questionable, the quantity alone is enough for any opponent to take them seriously.

Although the old man is far away from the battlefield in Twin River City, he is very concerned about the situation in the south, and the intelligence will not fall behind too much.

In his opinion, as long as Earl Holloway's town can withstand the counterattack, the battle in the North and the Riverlands will be won.

Even if there are still some people in the Valley who can return to the east of the Blood Gate alive, with their army-building ideas based on the elite route, they have lost so much equipment and horses, and coupled with the long period of cavalry training, it can be said that the Valley is basically useless.

Now that the valley is ruined, where can the old lion go when he is surrounded by more than 30,000 people of his own?

When Yohn Royce failed to attack the three eastern cities and was then lured north by Clay Manderly, the balance of the war had already tilted.

The only two variables now are the two points of Harrenhal and the small town of Holloway.

If the former is finished, then the situation in the North will change. Once Robb Stark is captured, the North will be very passive.

But here in the small town of Holloway, as long as the old lion's neck is stuck tightly and he has no food, he will be dragged to death.

The old man has no information about what is going on at Harrenhal. There are 20,000 Lannister people there, and the scouts can't get any useful information.

Therefore, he decided to train these 8,000 people immediately, and then, without leaving any one on his side, send them all south to Earl Holloway's town.

After these eight thousand people passed by, there were fifteen thousand people gathered in that small town, squatting behind Tywin Lannister. It was strange that the old lion could sleep well.

Tywin can't sleep, so Wyman Manderly can sleep well.

It feels good to base your own happiness on the pain of others.

The rest depends on what your grandson does.

After all, in the near future, the Mandalay family's golden mermaid flag may need to be changed.