Chapter 265 I have to, but I have to do it

Brynden Tully, the last mainstay of the Tully family, had no choice but to leave in frustration after getting a bad rap from Clay.

In fact, as long as the young man in charge of the army in the North and the Riverlands says a word and expresses his support for Edmure Tully, everything will be fine for the Tully family's current predicament.

However, as Clay Manderly said to him, he is a Manderly and does not have the surname Tully, so he has no obligation to stand up for Edmure Tully, a fool.

Brynden Tully understood that he would do the same thing if it were him. However, something called family responsibility made him come to Clay to make a last-ditch effort.

In the end, only Clay Manderly was obtained, and he made an empty promise that he would not embarrass Edmure Tully. As for whether to fulfill it, it was only in Clay's mind.

Although this was not what Sir Blackfish wanted to achieve most, when he saw that Clay Mandler just kept silent and ignored him at all, he understood that this was Clay's bottom line.

No matter how small a mosquito is, it's still meat, so let's leave it that way.

Brynden Tully let out a long sigh, and took the Tully family, this time to go on the expedition with Clay. Then the 3,600 surviving troops broke away from Clay's army stationed in Stonehedge City and headed towards Stone Hall in the south. Rush to the town.

Clay didn't stop him either. If someone wanted to bring his own army to support his good nephew, there was no need for him to stop him.

After the battle, Clay sat in the Shili City camp. News from all sides poured in, making him rethink the current war situation of the Seven Kingdoms.

In the west, ever since Jaime Lannister finally used his military talents and started looking for ironmen to abuse, he quickly put down the ironmen's rebellion in the west.

Although the gold in the West has been wasted by Lannister and other nobles over a long period of time, after all, as a big family in Westeros that can be as rich as the Tyrell family, their foundation is comparable. Strong.

Although Maiden Vale and Riverrun gave Clay 12,000 elite troops, Jaime Lannister quickly re-established an army of 15,000 after returning to the Westerlands.

Although the strength of this army is not very good, almost 80% are new recruits, and its combat effectiveness is a question mark.

But with the constant struggle against the Ironborn and the arrogant equipment of the Western Region, this army should not be underestimated.

Clay didn't know why they stayed in the West Territory after finishing dealing with the Ironborn, but as the person who coordinated the entire battlefield in the Riverlands, he had to be on guard against them at all times.

It seems that the total strength of his side has exceeded 35,000, but the army in the Western Region is almost the same number.

It's just that he has the advantage of fighting on the inside. A lot of them are in the Riverlands, and the people of the West are divided into two battlefields: Harrenhal and the mainland of the West.

If he didn't crush the soft persimmons of the Valley people first, then he would have to add 10,000 elite cavalry who were accustomed to fighting on the opposite side, and then he would be under too much pressure.

Moreover, through this incident, disobedient voices are constantly coming out from within the Riverlands.

This is not a problem that Clay can solve by calling Galesos over and blowing out the dragon flames.

In his current state, he has just wiped out the Seven Kingdoms, and it is impossible to establish a true empire.

Because his authority can only be maintained at the upper level of the nobility. When it comes to the real situation, it is the aristocratic lords who have the final say.

This is a difficult problem to solve.

As the saying goes, the butt determines the head. At this stage, it is impossible for him to betray his class.

Clay Mandalay is the heir to the Mandalay family, a great noble in the north. The most fundamental thing he has obtained now is the Mandalay surname. If you replace it with any non-noble person, even if it is The ability is ten times greater than that of Clay, and it is not even possible.

This is the real path dependence of Clay now. A very important prerequisite for the so-called breaking the wheel of history is that there are absolutely no nobles left in this continent with a strong aristocratic tradition.

Or maybe the nobility is just a title, and all local financial and military power are handed over to the central government. Otherwise, everything is empty talk, and it is simply impossible to expect the conscience of the nobility to find that it transfers its interests to the central government.

And if you want to do this kind of thing, unless something extremely tragic happens and it is a complete disaster for the entire aristocratic group, then there is only a slight possibility.

Otherwise, don’t even think about it.

Clay knows it very well, so his current position is not to maintain too strong ties with the nobles in the North, nor to pay much attention to the nobles of the Riverlands.

He just firmly grasped the military power and gradually expanded the direct power of his Mandalay family. He didn't care about the rest.

The nobles of the Riverlands are fooling around on the battlefield, right? Kill them!

Robb Stark has been besieged at Harrenhal for so long. He deserves it, so I won’t save you!

In short, he will do whatever suits him and the interests of his Mandalay family.

Moreover, on the Dorne side, it is inevitable that the two sides will merge in the future. In order to maintain stability, it is impossible for me to take immediate action against Dorne.

Therefore, in order to maintain the balance between the north and the south, it is better for him to create a strong Mandalay family with his own hands than to have the riverlands and the half-crippled northern nobles who are not convinced by anyone.

Clay guided the former Kristen Mandler step by step and finally allowed him to stand alone. This was the reason he made such considerations.

As for what happens in the future, let’s wait and see. Right now, it’s not time to rest yet.

…

Snowflakes were still falling, but they were much better than the last severe snowstorm.

Now that Edmure Tully has done what he did before, there is no need for Clay to go to Stonehall Town to see him again.

They are just using their own power of victory to make the whole situation even more ugly.

Clay felt that there was no need to do this, because it was very boring. He just went and stepped on what little Edmure Tully had left in it. What could he do?

It's just an emotional thing. Besides, these two thousand sets of winter clothes were given priority to the soldiers of the Mandalay family. Who gave them the greater credit for their neutrality in the war?

In this case, it is your soldiers in the Riverlands who are suffering from the cold. You are willing to do whatever you want, as long as it is not me, Clay Manderly, who is ugly in the end.

Based on this thinking, Clay did not go directly south, but toward the southeast, leading the cavalry group to take the lead.

As for the remaining infantry, they were still led by Earl Tytos Blackwood, following Clay's footsteps.

Now that Yon Royce has run away, we have to give chase.

Some of them are infantry who have lost their horses. They must not be able to outrun the four-legged cavalry on their side at full speed.

To put it ten thousand steps back, as long as they arrived to the east of Harrenhal, Clay's goal would have been achieved.

As long as these valley people who have lost their fighting spirit no longer participate in the subsequent fight between Clay and Tywin Lannister, they can just return to the valley.

These veterans who know Clay's power can just be used as fresh propaganda materials, and by the way, they can undermine the confidence of the valley nobles to continue fighting Clay.

For Clay, the best valley people are those who stay east of the Mingyue Mountains and then stay motionless and pretend to be dead.

After fighting for so long, Clay has selectively ignored the great northern nobles who were besieged and suffering at Harrenhal, as well as the unlucky Robb Stark.

There is selfishness in this.

Even if it was a sneak attack by the Valley people, hasn't there been no news of Robb Stark's death so far?

He is alive and brings with him a large number of powerful nobles in the north.

Clay could ignore the nobles of the Riverlands, and ignore their flattery and accusations.

But a complete King of the North, plus nobles such as the Amber family standing together, is still a bit suppressive to Clay, who has not yet spent his wealth.

Thanks to Robb Stark's previous orders to hold on to Harrenhal when he was besieged, if he had sent ravens everywhere to ask for help, it would be difficult for Clay now.

From his own heart, Clay hopes that Stark and Lannister will be bloodied at Harrenhal.

It would be best if some more heavyweight nobles died, leaving parts of the northern and western territories in a state of power decline or vacuum. In that case, it would be best.

But now, even if the people of the valley are not beaten, Winterfell is still trying its best to support itself, and has attached all its last capital.

Although there are few stories of self-respect in the history of Westeros, in fact, under this aristocratic system, it is impossible to develop generals who can command the army for a long time.

The army is made up of every noble, and no one can make the army their own.

Like Clay, as the heir of an earl, holding an army of more than 30,000 people in two realms, he is already an anomaly among the anomalies.

But as time goes by, the remaining people are not blind. Once they think that they are unwilling to rescue Robb Stark in Harrenhal, it will be a bit troublesome.

The nobles in Westeros secretly trample the noble code and all loyalty to nothing, but on the surface, they will never allow anyone to openly betray their lord.

Each of these nobles learned to be lenient in self-discipline and strict in treating others.

Therefore, no matter how reluctant he was, Clay still had to lead the army in the direction of Harrenhal without stopping.

Not mobilizing his own army in the north, using the excuse of blocking the retreat route of the valley people, and repairing under Shili City at the same time, this is the limit of what Clay can do.

There can be no further delay.

That being the case, Clay no longer hesitated, and rumbled toward the southeast with all his army.

As for what the old lion Tywin Lannister would choose, he would turn around and fight him head-on in the hope of defeating him, and then gain the right to pass through the River Road and return to the West as soon as possible.

Still squatting on the spot, taking a defensive posture and waiting for news from King's Landing.

Or, they chose to bite their lion fangs at Edmure Tully's army of more than 10,000 people on the other side.

That's their problem. Clay has already played his cards. Now, it's just waiting to see how they respond.

As for what was going on inside Harrenhal City, there were still a few living people, but Clay wasn't too concerned.

A living noble is worth much more than a dead one. Clay understands that, and Tywin Lannister understands it even more.

The two lords whose reputations were disgraced and no longer trusted by their vassals were the most beneficial to Clay Mandler.

No?