Chapter 374 Reinforcements are always late
It’s not that I don’t want to say more, but there is really nothing to describe in detail.
It didn't take much effort for Clay to figure out the whole story of the second bloodbath on Dragonstone.
Little Aegon's group fled back to Dragonstone. Before they could take a breath, their internal conflicts exploded.
The blame must be placed on the brains behind Little Aegon, such as Governor Illyrio.
Because there are too few direct line forces belonging to Little Aegon, and even loyal ministers like Jon Clinton came from the Golden Company.
Therefore, Little Aegon's side is completely composed of the Governor Pentos Guard as the core, plus a large number of mercenaries who are more or less yearning for the Targaryen flag.
It's okay to win all the time, but if the Targaryen flag doesn't work, it will be troublesome.
In the battle of King's Landing, the city was breached at the speed of light. Many of the mercenaries responsible for defending the city were abandoned in King's Landing by Aegon Targaryen and his ministers who just ran away.
These people were naturally killed by the troops that rushed in.
The other members of the mercenary corps who were lucky enough to escape returned to Dragonstone Island, and together they were directly responsible for the loss of their grandma's family.
Isn't the most important thing about a mercenary army the group of people under its command?
At least half of the people were thrown in at once, making the group leaders so heartbroken that they couldn't breathe.
At this time, little Aegon was actually clamoring for a counterattack on King's Landing and taking back his throne.
How can that be done?
At first, this group of mercenaries just refused to carry out the order, even if they paid more money.
Later, Little Aegon's side pushed too hard, which made these guys who deeply felt that their future prospects were bleak, just kept doing it and rebelled against him!
So, this group of professional soldiers raised their knives directly at the employer.
Pentos Guards, guarding Dragonstone Castle.
It went on like this for a long time.
In the end, because they were outnumbered, the Stormcrows were the first to break through.
Dragonstone eventually fell.
Young Aegon and his subordinates fled to the sea and tried to escape.
As a result, he was chased by a warship and had a fight near Dragonstone Island.
In the end, little Aegon was captured on the spot, and Varys was stabbed in the back.
Governor Illyrio became a prisoner. After all, a Governor of Pentos was quite old and could squeeze out a lot of money.
So let him live for now.
The rest, like Jon Connington, who finally surrendered to Little Aegon, all sank into the sea to feed the fish.
After all, as a mercenary, killing the employer is a taboo in the industry. If there is one less witness, there will be one less person.
Anyway, we all did this together, and no one can escape.
Back on Dragonstone Island, when everyone was noisy and didn't know what to do, Clay came.
Hence the current situation.
As for the choice of this group of mercenaries, it was not as expected by Clay.
No one has trouble with his own life.
A third of the guys chose to become Clay's army and fight for him. Then, Clay Manderly promised them as king that he would get them several fiefdoms in Westeros in the future.
The remaining two-thirds came for money themselves and had no interest in Westeros. Therefore, they chose to plunder all the wealth left by Little Aegon, took the meat tickets with Governor Illyrio, and embarked on the journey. The road back to Essos.
The so-called "Second War of Conquest" started from the ambitions of Illyrio, the governor of Pentos, and Varys, the spy chief. It eventually became so powerful that it briefly occupied King's Landing.
In this way, the curtain came to a hasty end.
It ended with Aegon Targaryen handing over his head and the power falling apart.
Dragonstone was completely controlled by Clay Manderly and temporarily became the second home port of the new royal fleet.
Until this matter is all over, Clay and Daenerys return to King's Landing.
Daenerys still found it hard to believe that an enemy she once valued so much was dead.
Until the end, she couldn't confirm whether that was her nephew.
But it's not important anymore. No, she was disappointed. Yes, it was a big trouble.
So, let’s just pretend this thing doesn’t exist anymore.
The first thing he did after returning to King's Landing, Clay issued a strict blockade order on this matter, and the news must not be allowed to spread to the south.
Since it happened on Dragonstone Island, a relatively isolated environment, it was relatively easy for Clay to handle it.
The reason why he wanted to block the news was because he could not predict what kind of changes the news of little Aegon's death would have on the situation in the south.
In any case, under the current circumstances, any change would be detrimental to Clay.
Once the West is finished, the Stormlands are in ruins, and Dorne and the Riverlands are completely red-eyed and start eating dogs, Clay's plan will be achieved.
That way, there would be no obstacle to the king's influence entering the south, because both families needed the king's support to be stable.
At that time, why not just let them be round or flat?
After Clay completely dealt with the Dragonstone matter, the situation in the south changed again.
Oberyn Martell, the red viper hiding in the rainforest, was finally found.
The three-pronged offensive led by Garlan Tyrell finally discovered traces of Oberon near Stonehelm.
The unfortunate Prince of Dorne's distress letter went to King's Landing but was lost in the sea. Sunspear lost its main fleet and was unable to break through the Dorne Sea, where the Redwyne fleet was blockaded.
Therefore, the red viper could only go south, trying to escape south by taking a small path.
But this is an extremely difficult challenge for his relatively large army.
Not long after they left Stonehelm, Garlan Tyrell's vanguard arrived there.
After defeating hundreds of people and leaving behind the rearguard, also known as cannon fodder, Sir Garland Tyrell learned from the prisoners' mouths that Oberon was on this road.
At this time, the coalition forces were excited.
Didn't they run so far and suffer so much just to catch this difficult red snake?
Now that the location has finally been determined, what is there to hesitate about?
So, they immediately informed the base camp at Crow's Nest Castle.
After receiving the letter from Garlan Tyrell, Kevan Lannister directly delivered the letter intact to the Tyrell army in Blackport City.
The person in charge there is Randyll Tarly, Lord of Hornhill, who once defeated Robert.
When this guy saw the news, without saying a word, he rushed towards the southeast with his cavalry.
The red viper ran around the path. He didn't catch him last time. This time, he must not miss him again!
This is what happened along the way. The remaining Dornish armies in Fogwood City and Rainhouse City, totaling more than 10,000 people, suffered a devastating blow.
The people of the Reach are already feuding with the Dornish people, and coupled with the lack of martial ethics, the Western Army is full of martial virtue.
As a result, 10,000 people were divided into two groups, which were quickly surrounded and annihilated.
However, this also led to the banditry problem in the rainforest for twenty years. The root cause was the Dornish soldiers who escaped during this siege.
But now, this is not within the scope of the two criminal gangs.
After paying almost the same number of casualties, the Dornish campaign in the Stormlands was a complete failure.
…
They are busy here, and Clay is also busy here.
Now that he was completely sure that the old lion had sent the last bit of his fortune to the Stormlands, what else could he say?
I couldn't spare any time before, but now, if I don't make preparations at this time, I will be sorry for such a good opportunity.
So Clay issued an order. Lord Rickard Karstark, together with Edmure Tully, commanded fifteen thousand men, and together with the eight thousand garrison of Riverrun itself, they took out twenty thousand men. Prepare for war in the West.
The current Golden Tooth City has long been filled with dense dragon-shooting crossbows, but that was before.
With the attack on King's Landing, Clay has a clear idea of what the virtue of shooting a dragon crossbow is.
In one fell swoop, he conquered Golden Tooth City and started the war against the Western Territory.
Clay allowed the main force of Dorne to be annihilated, so the Tyrell family must fulfill their promise.
He also placed his most elite cavalry troops not far from the Bitter Bridge. If Tyrell hesitated, Clay Manderly would not mind starting a war on both places at the same time.
Isn't it just fighting on both sides? Now he has the strength and capital.
After another two weeks, Clay's western army invaded the city and marched to Riverrun City.
He didn't want to hide it from anyone. He knew very well that there must be spies all over the Western Region in the Riverlands now.
More than 10,000 people is not a small number, and it certainly cannot be concealed.
In this case, it's better not to waste that effort. Clay wants to see what tricks the old lion has now.
On the southern front, Oberon did not escape this disaster after all.
He followed the coastline, but managed to avoid the army chasing him in Stonehelm.
However, one dawn, he was severely ambushed by Lord Randyll Tarly, who had discovered him early.
The heavy cavalry of the Reach people performed terrifying output on this misty morning.
It only took four charges to completely defeat the eight thousand people brought out by Oberon.
The Prince of Dorne took the lead in escaping, and the flags of various colors were cluttered on the battlefield, enough to make any master of heraldry dizzy.
Randyll Tarly's son and heir, Dickon Tarly, followed the banner of the Prince of Dorne all the way south.
As a result, the two sides engaged in what could be considered a duel between men on the bank of the northwest river in Weir City.
As for the result...
The Prince of Dorne had his arm cut off, and the heir to Horn Hill was stabbed all over with the poisonous spear points of the red viper. When the anxious Randyll Tarly arrived, the young man only breathed.
Oberon couldn't run anymore. Dickon Tarly had caused him quite a lot of injuries.
In the end, he was overtaken by the angry Earl of Jiaoling and cut off the horse's back with a sword.
The Red Viper did not die immediately. He fell to the ground and pretended to be dead, waiting for Randyll Tarly to come up and make the final counterattack.
However, the old earl, who had just lost his son, was extremely calm at this time.
He watched indifferently as the Prince of Dorne lay on the ground, the blood flowing from the bone-deep wound on his back dyeing a large area of sand nearby red.
They waited like this until sunset, until Oberon Martell lost his last strength to fight back due to blood loss.
He watched the red snake roar and curse. In the end, the fear of death and the hope of life defeated the dignity of the Prince of Dorne.
Oberyn began to beg for mercy, breathing heavily.
But Randyll Tarly paid no attention.
Just watching little by little, watching him slowly move towards death.
Until the last moment, the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the gradually expanding pupils of the Prince of Dorne.
he died.
The Dornishmen who followed him were also slaughtered by the Riverbend Cavalry led by the Earl of Horn Hill.
Whether they intend to surrender or not.
Before leaving for the expedition, Olenna, the Queen of Thorns, told her not to kill him, but the death of Dickon Tully turned him into a mess.
The news spread back to Highgarden City. The man who held the highest power in the Reach and had been roaming the power arena of the Seven Kingdoms for decades could not help but tremble slightly in his palms.
Now, we really have to fight to the death with the Dornish people.
However, she couldn't put all the blame on Earl Jiaoling.
Randyll Tarly had two sons in total. The eldest son now became the Night's Watcher in Castle Black, which meant that he had permanently given up his inheritance rights. The second son, who was brave and tall, was originally the perfect heir to Horn Hill.
Now, Randyll Tarly has no successor.
This is an unforgivable sin under the current discourse system of Westeros' aristocratic system.
This means that the Tully family will either be inherited by a branch, or it will be replaced by a foreign surname and disappear.
Randyll Tarly should be angry no matter what.
As a weak prince, Tyrell could not say a single word on this matter.
Can you say Randyll Tarly did something wrong?
As long as you dare to say this, it is tantamount to forcing this powerful Earl who is good at conquering and fighting to rebel.
What if this guy gets mad and goes directly to Clay Manderly to finish things that the Tyrell family hasn't done yet? What do you want the Tyrell family to do?
Let's not rush into the fight now. Brother, I'm going to change places to join you soon?
Therefore, besides throwing cups in her room, the only thing the Queen of Thorns could do was to decide that after finishing dealing with the Lannister, she would quickly move her army to defend Starfall City, which was currently being rebuilt.
Otherwise, the angry Dornishman could stab her in the throat with a pole and hit her directly to the castle.
The defeat of the Dornish people did not shock the current Seven Kingdoms.
Because the unlucky Red Viper was calculated by all the remaining players in this card game.
His death, his abandonment, was not surprising at all.
After this news officially arrived in King's Landing, Clay Manderly pretended to announce his revenge for Prince Oberon Martell.
So, the army staying at Bitter Bridge turned around and marched into the Stormlands along the route that the two families took to attack Dorne at that time.
At this time, the siege of Golden Tooth City, the gateway to the west, also began.
