Chapter 33 Spy

"King Robert has led his new Prime Minister Lord Eddard south to the Neck. After all the nobles received the letter, Lord Eddard's eldest son Robb Stark will be the Lord of Winterfell, exercising the power of guardian of the North."

This was the entire content of the letter, because Earl Wyman had already placed the note on the table. The old man looked at the note and frowned in silence.

Because the tragedy of the previous generation of the Northern Duke and his son being burned alive after going south was still happening, many Northern nobles who learned the news were actually reluctant in their hearts. Eddard Stark, whom they believed in, went again. Enter the stinking power field of King's Landing.

But like Clay, they can't influence their beloved Guardian of the North, just like it doesn't matter what Eddard Stark himself thinks, because he can't influence the king's will.

Now, as Duke Eddard himself follows the king's drive through Graywater Watch, completely leaving the land of the north, the vassal families in the north must consider whether to contact the young successor Robb Stark. .

"Clay, tell me, what kind of person is this young Stark, Rob?"

The old man sipped the golden-red wine, feeling somewhat fortunate that his grandson had contacted the younger generation of Stark in advance, so that he could have a chance to gain a more real view than those boring praises and comments.

Hearing the old man's question, Clay thought of the young face on the Winterfell campus. How would he evaluate him? That's not a problem for Clay.

"He is not much different from his father. In other words, the object of his admiration since childhood is his father. The only difference from his father is that he is younger and more impulsive."

This was Clay's answer. The old man nodded after listening and commented: "It's a common problem among young people, and you are the same."

Clay knew what the old man was referring to, so he could only laugh and pretend to be stupid. However, the old man had no intention of saying anything. Instead, he asked Clay another question:

"Our King Robert chose Lord Eddard to be the noble Hand of the King. Do you think you are a good choice?"

This is a bit of an educational test, because this question is not something that Clay should worry about or judge at this stage. But the old man has asked, Clay has to answer, he can't say he doesn't know, right?

After thinking about it, although Lord Ed's fate was very bad in his memory, what happened now could not be deduced from the bizarre scenario of the king dying and the prime minister being beheaded by the queen.

"King Robert himself is a warrior king, or in my opinion, he is more like a pure warrior than a king. I am not surprised at all that he chose Lord Eddard, who has a close relationship with him."

"What else?" The old man asked him with a smile.

"Moreover, since the beginning of the Usurper War, the alliance of the four major families of Fish, Wolf, Eagle and Deer has been the foundation for maintaining the stability of the kingdom. After the death of the old prime minister, Jon Arryn of the Eyrie, besides himself, the Crowned Stag Apart from King Robert, Lord Hoster Tully is said to have been on his death bed for a long time, so Lord Eddard is his best choice."

After hearing this, Clay saw his old man showing a satisfied smile. He pointed to the wine cabinet and motioned for Clay to get a bottle for himself. Clay was not polite.

He didn't know how to pick wine, but that didn't stop him from drinking. He chose a bottle of summer red that was exactly the same as the old man's, grabbed the knife on the table, knocked off the cork, and took a nice sip.

"Your views are basically correct, but there is one thing you are wrong about. Lord Ed is not his best choice, but his only choice."

The old man shook his hand and corrected Clay's statement. Seeing his grandson's cooperative expression of interest, the old man touched his chin and said slowly:

"You also saw it in Winterfell. Our King's attitude towards Lannister is the same as ours. He doesn't have a good impression at all. However, His Majesty himself has been in King's Landing for many years, and there are far fewer people with crowned stags around him. Those Lannisters."

The old man took a big gulp of wine and continued with a half-smile:

"If our Lord Eddard forcibly rejects our King, in addition to completely offending our Majesty, there will also be a side consequence, that is, His Majesty will be forced to leave Winterfell and go to the West, pinching his nose and asking That old lion went to King's Landing to become Prime Minister, think about the consequences."

"The balance of power between the king's family and the Lannister family in King's Landing will be out of balance, and the king himself may not be able to sleep peacefully."

"That's right, that's what happened. Our King, the gods gave him talents on the battlefield, but forgot to give him the ability to manage the country. He himself knows it very well."

Thinking about it, this is indeed the case. The old man is right. In the past, he paid more attention to historical factors, but ignored the current political balance.

However, Clay heard some hidden meaning in the old man's words. After hesitating for a moment, he still asked the doubts in his heart.

"Grandpa, how do you know the King of Winterfell's attitude towards the Lannister and the situation in King's Landing?"

After saying this, Clay didn't see any surprised expression on the old man's face. It seemed that he had already guessed that Clay would ask this question. Earl Weiman smiled and flicked the bottle with his finger. , making a soft "ding" sound.

"Because there are eyes of our Mandalay family in the team that went with you to Winterfell and in the cesspit of King's Landing, but you don't know it."

Seeing the astonished expression on his grandson's face, the old man waved his hand and continued:

"Don't be surprised, this is not a rare thing. In fact, our good neighbor, the old Skinny from the Dreadfort, also has a force doing the same thing. Haven't you heard a sentence? The spy in Flea Bottom in King's Landing, I’m afraid there are more than the poor people inside.”

My God, how much do you noble nobles who have become mature and mature like me still have that I don’t know!

He was extremely shocked. For a moment, Clay felt a sense of strangeness in the world of Song of Ice and Fire that he once thought he was very familiar with.

Sure enough, none of these families that have stood on the continent of Westeros for hundreds or thousands of years are easy to fight with. They are really terrible. There are conspirators per capita.

Thinking about this, Clay drank sips of wine, and the sweetness of summer red became tasteless in his mouth. The old man beside him looked at him with a smile, as if waiting for him to digest this information.

After about ten minutes, Clay almost recovered and found that the old man had been looking at him. Just as he was about to say something, he heard the old man's voice:

"Our manpower is called Bai Hai. How about it? Are you interested in becoming their commander..."

If the typo is posted first and then corrected, the dog's head will save his life!

Spying itself is not the goal, but obtaining information in time is. The protagonist is now far away from the power field, and the existence of spies is a necessary means for him to perceive the current situation. I think it is a reasonable extension for the big family to have its own spy agency. In the original work, there is only the little finger of the royal family. They and the Octopus Spider use spies to cause trouble, but this thing does not require professional licenses or property rights protection. Who stipulates that other families can't do it? What is more wealthy and powerful than these two is that other families are not stupid, and not everyone is as loyal and honest as the Stark family.