Chapter 40 Intelligence Summary

Clay stretched out two fingers and picked up the ring, which should be a token of identity.

The ring itself should be made of pure gold. There is a very obvious trident pattern on the top. There is a line of words engraved around the ring. It is a bit unclear because of the wear and tear, but Clay, who is very familiar with his family's motto, can still barely recognize it: "The angry waves of the sea!"

There is a blood-red gemstone in the center of the trident. This was once a gorgeous ring, but due to the wear and tear of time, it is now just a dark-colored token.

Coincidentally, Clay saw one on his old man's hand. The shape and decoration were the same, but the gemstone of the ring was blue, which probably represented the ocean outside White Harbor.

When Clay put the ring on his hand, the way the five people looked at Clay changed from the scrutiny just now to a subordinate's obedience to his superior. To a certain extent, they only recognized the ring and not the superior. Recognize people.

"This is the last time I sit in this room, Snow. Starting with you, the five of you will report to Master Clay on your current work and the latest news."

Sir Bartimus's order is still effective in this conference room, but after he leaves this conference room, he will never be able to enter here again unless Earl Wyman himself arrives.

The man in gray, known as Snow, nodded slightly. He sat in a chair and spread out a wooden folder in his hand. Clay noticed that there was some yellowish paper inside, but he didn't know what was written on it.

"Most of my spies are concentrated in Winterfell, the Dreadfort, Last Hearth, and Horwood City. The rest are evenly distributed among the major castles and their affiliated villages according to population."

This was Snow's report on the distribution of White Sea agents in the north. Clay did not express an opinion, but asked:

"During the king's stay at Winterfell, apart from my affairs, do you know anything else?"

"Yes, sir, I will summarize the intelligence information for you later."

Clay nodded. He actually wanted to know the abilities of these spies. After all, he himself was in Winterfell, and his original memories could also tell him something. The two-phase verification could probably estimate the spies' reconnaissance capabilities. ability.

After asking a few more questions, Clay discovered that Controller Snow did not mention the matter of Bran Stark falling into the tower. It is impossible for them not to know about such a big thing. Therefore, Clay can be sure of one thing. The Three-Eyed Raven must be influencing Bran Stark in another way for his own sake.

But this is fine. Compared with letting him fall from the tower, then roughly forcing the dream to him, and finally letting a disabled person escape from the Great Wall to take over the mantle of the Three-Eyed Crow, it is somewhat miserable.

Next was He Wen, the general manager of Hejian. This man who hid himself in the corner came up and broke the news. Just listen to what he said:

"Duke Hoster Tully was seriously ill in bed. He had fallen into coma several times before. The maester had to rescue him many times before he was brought back to life. However, the old Duke's life was about to be extinguished, and he was just waiting in vain on the hospital bed to return to the gods. into my arms."

Director Hewen originally wanted to see a shocked expression on the face of this young and excessive boss, but he was disappointed. Clay just frowned slightly and just nodded to indicate for him to continue.

Clay had known for a long time that Duke Tully would not live long. He died when the Lannister besieged Riverrun. His butterfly effect should not affect Duke Tully's life, Clay thought uncertainly. .

Manager Hewen glanced at Clay with approval and continued:

"A scion of the Frey family escaped from the Twins and was captured by the Frey family soldiers. The current information received is that he has been hanged. Currently, my subordinates are trying to find out the specific reason for defecting."

Frey? Clay frowned. In two days, he would set off to attend the Frey family's invitation. It seemed that he needed to get more information about this family.

So, he knocked on the table and said softly:

"I need a summary of the major events that have happened to the Frey family in the past five years. Can I do it in one day?"

"As you wish, my lord." This was the reply from Chief Hewen, his voice did not fluctuate, as if this was a fairly common thing.

According to the description of the river steward, almost all the strength of the White Sea Guard in the riverlands is concentrated in the Twins and Riverrun, because the only real value in the entire riverlands is these two places, plus at most one already Harrenhal in ruins.

Clay agrees with this point. Whether it was Robb Stark leading his troops south or the subsequent tug-of-war in the Riverlands during the War of Five Kings, these riverland nobles were of no use at all and there was no need to consider them at all. their existence.

The roots of this situation were actually laid when Aegon I Targaryen conquered Westeros. The Riverlands was originally lined with hills, and Aegon I Targaryen actually stood tall among the dwarves. indivual.

Therefore, when the Tully family became the guardian of the Riverlands, most of their vassals were not convinced, especially the Frey family, which was far away from the center of the Riverlands and hung alone in the upper reaches of the Green Fork River.

The monarch is weak and the vassals are strong, just like the Tyrell family in Highgarden. However, with their wealth and sufficient political skills, the Tyrell family can mostly control their vassals, but it is obvious that The seriously ill old Duke Hoster did not have this ability.

After talking about the Riverlands, the next person to speak was the steward named Hisham. When he announced his name, Clay finally understood. The names of these five stewards were all illegitimate children of the area under their jurisdiction. Given their surnames, just now Clay thought the first two were really illegitimate children.

Compared with the previous two, the report of this Chief Hisham is nothing noteworthy. Most of the information is outdated. However, according to him, it will be too difficult for the White Sea Guards to penetrate into the Western Territory, and it will also cost a lot of money. Small casualties.

Because this is equivalent to competing for financial resources with the man sitting in Casterly Rock, Duke Tywin, who is said to poop gold. Duke Tywin in the West also has a similar force, and the spies from both sides have been interacting with each other in the struggle. There were casualties.

If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have more, Clay would have thought he was asking for funds, but Clay didn't have many golden dragons in his hands now, so what could he give them?

As for the Arryn Valley, most infiltration failures occurred during the process of entering the Blood Gate. After all, spies are humans and not dragons. It is impossible for them to imitate Queen Visenya, the wife of Aegon the Conqueror, and fly directly to the Eagle's Nest.

Moreover, the Arryn Valley has been quite exclusive over the years. Once the gate is closed, it does not pay attention to the outside world. The White Sea Guards can obtain very little information. They only know that the young Lord Robert Arryn seems to be in very poor health and his intelligence seems to exist. question.

The nobles of the valley have always complained about this, but that's all.

Finally, there is King's Landing, which is where the entire White Sea Guard suffered the heaviest manpower losses. Last year alone, more than ten people were arrested and rebelled.

There is no way, they are far away in White Harbor, and their micro-management methods are not as good as Littlefinger Petyr and the eunuch Varys.