Chapter 47 Sea Power

After the initial sense of strangeness dissipated, the boredom brought by the unchanged sea surface and the dizziness caused by the bumps in the wind and waves came to Clay.

Although he had already fainted once on the ship back to Westeros, Clay still felt a little uncomfortable this time.

The originally spacious cabin became so small in Clay's eyes that he could suffocate him to death. The ninja felt a sense of vomiting in his throat. Clay pushed open the heavy cabin door and walked out, hoping that the howling sea breeze would dissipate some of it. His fainting.

Walking out of the cabin, the evening sea temperature in Bite Bay made Clay shiver. Seeing him appear, the smart guard had already put a cloak on him.

Nodding to the guard, Clay looked at the calm deck and asked, "Where's Captain Stone?"

The guard, who was wearing a thin layer of clothing but didn't feel cold at all because he was busy, pointed to the wooden platform behind the stern of the ship:

"Captain Stone is up there. Do you want me to take you there?"

The guard looked at the somewhat shaky Master Clay and asked out of concern.

Waving his hands, although he still felt a little uncomfortable, the strong physical fitness of the demon hunter would put a limit to this discomfort, and Clay could still bear it.

Climbing the wooden stairs to the high platform, the figures of the guard captain and Captain Ston appeared in his field of vision.

The last ray of crimson sunlight is about to disappear on the sea to the west of Biting Bay, leaving only the sound of waves in my ears.

Hearing the footsteps, Captain Ston and the guard captain turned around. It seemed that the two of them were talking about something just now. When they saw Clay coming up, the guard captain hurriedly greeted them.

"Master, why are you up here?"

Some people are seasick, and their bodies are prone to illness. If the sea breeze blows, it will be a big trouble for them to fall ill on this ship that lacks medical treatment. The guard captain thought in his heart.

But his worries were completely unnecessary. The witcher's mutated body allowed Clay to be immune to most diseases and would not fall ill just by the sea breeze.

"It's okay, come up and get some air, it's really stuffy in the cabin."

Clay didn't want to hear too many unhelpful words of concern, so he changed the topic directly.

"Boy, what were we talking about just now, can I listen?"

Although the tone is a request, Clay is the out-and-out commander on this ship, the one with no water at all. Besides, given his status, no one on this ship can refuse him. Require.

"Of course, my lord."

Captain Ston, who had a rather rough style, smiled and shared their recent topic with Clay.

"We are talking about the ship under our feet. Sir, do you know anything about our fleet in White Harbor?"

On this question, Clay can really only say that he doesn't know. He has been busy with various things since he returned to Westeros, and he actually doesn't know much about the family's affairs.

He only vaguely knew that there was a small fleet in White Harbor, but he didn't know exactly how many there were and what configuration they were.

Seeing the young master shaking his head, Captain Ston could only patiently spread the knowledge of the White Harbor Fleet to his young master.

"Master, our current fleet in White Harbor was actually built by the Earl. There are a total of 10 sailing ships, 12 long ships, and 2 oars."

"In all of Westeros, where does our fleet rank?"

"It's hard to say, but at least Lord Stannis's royal fleet can easily crush us. Their number of warships is three times that of mine. Oh, and there are also Lannister and Tyrell families, both of which have different abilities. Worse than our fleet."

Clay nodded. This was basically consistent with what he guessed. However, he found that Captain Ston missed one very important point.

"What about the Iron Islands?"

Unexpectedly, Captain Ston shrugged, spread his hands, and said helplessly:

"Them? If you add the ones I just mentioned, they are probably about the same as them. Moreover, those iron types don't know anything but building ships. I believe that if you give them some time, they can easily build two hundred ships."

Clay knew that the Iron Fleet was the largest navy in Westeros, but he did not expect that there would be such a big gap. In naval battles, excluding the interference of all other factors, at this level of technology, naval battles depend on the number of warships.

"Furthermore, the level of our sailors is not as high as that of the iron crews on the iron fleet. There is nothing we can do about it. There is not much land in the place where they stay, and many of them live and eat on the ship for a month or two. "

This is really pointless. It's just like letting Westeros compete with Dothraki in equestrian skills. It's pure bullying.

The ambition that had just arisen in Clay's heart to cross the Narrow Sea was immediately wiped out, but he did not give up and asked:

"The Iron Fleet is so powerful, so how did the Greyjoy rebellion be put down by King Robert?"

"Ha, that's another story. Master, you know Lord Stannis, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Fleet, right? He was the one who commanded the Battle of Fairy Island when almost the entire Iron Fleet was wiped out."

"There is a saying that if Lord Stannis had not destroyed the Iron Fleet, King Robert's army would have been unable to do anything but stand on the shore, let alone destroy the walls of Pyke City."

Speaking of the Battle of Fairy Island, Captain Ston suddenly became interested and excitedly told Clay the story of the war.

To put it simply, Duke Stannis sent out a decoy to lure the Iron Fleet to the narrow strip of land between Fairy Island and the mainland, and then used the terrain to direct the royal fleet from north to south to seal off the accessible exits.

After a melee, only a dozen ships of the Iron Fleet finally broke out of the encirclement and escaped. The rest were sunk on Fairy Island by the iron-hearted Lord Stannis.

After destroying the Iron Fleet, the Baratheon royal family gained control of the entire Westeros sea in one fell swoop. In the subsequent war, Robert could fight however he wanted, because he could land anywhere on the Iron Islands at any time.

Perhaps Captain Ston himself did not realize that in the war he described, the importance of sea power was clearly highlighted.

Taking the northern border as an example, the natural barrier of Jingze is indeed vulnerable and difficult to attack, but that is for traditional land warfare.

If it is the navy, why is there no natural danger at all and it is difficult to get out of the neck? I can just go around it!

How did Theon Greyjoy get to Winterfell? He didn't seize the Neck and go all the way north. He landed directly on the almost undefended western coastline in the north, and fought directly into the city when it was at its weakest.

This is true for inland cities, but his hometown, White Harbor, is directly on the seaside. If a war breaks out, the Mandalay family must leave sufficient garrison strength in the fifth largest city in Westeros.

Without sea control, if you don't leave enough troops here, it will be like handing over White Harbor to your opponent. You must know that more than half of the Mandalay family's strength is supported by the rolling wealth of White Harbor.

It seems that I will have to advise the old man to spend money to get a more powerful navy in the future. Tsk, I am really a spendthrift...