Chapter 340 Garland’s conditions

The battle situation in King's Landing was transmitted to all parts of Westeros by messenger crows at an unprecedented speed. All the nobles, lords, and knights who paid attention to this war were discussing the course of this war.

Everyone thought that King's Landing performed particularly well in this confrontation. It was able to wipe out Stannis's vanguard and burn all Stannis's siege equipment at such a small cost. As for the poor houses outside the city, They didn't notice it.

However, they seemed to have misunderstood that among the generals on both sides of the battle, the commander of the side of King's Landing was Adam Malbrand, not the little devil Tyrion Lannister. Perhaps they knew that, but they were just unwilling to admit that " "Half-man" can be so smart and can make a famous general like Stannis suffer such a big loss.

At the Bent Knee Pillar, Stannis attacked King's Landing, and the West was invaded by Robb Stark. All these factors forced the West's army into a difficult situation. Duke Tywin had already begun to think about retreating and wanted to retreat to Harrenhal. , and then rushed to the reinforcements of King's Landing City to defend the most important area.

But he still knows very well that he must be extremely careful in every move he makes now, because in this confrontation situation, if a large army trades and then withdraws, it is very likely that the other party will seize the flaw, which will eventually lead to the defeat of the entire army.

In the past, Duke Tywin might have disapproved of Edmure who was confronting him, thinking that he was just a beautiful straw bag, but now he no longer dares to underestimate this straw bag. Not long ago, the other party gave him a solid blow. A heavy blow. Fortunately, the opponent did not bring many people, otherwise his losses would have been even more severe, and he might have retreated to Harrenhal by now.

"Tell me, what do you think?" Tywin asked in a deep voice after all the officers under his command had read the above content.

Sir Rick, who came from the Brax family in Corner Valley City, stood up and said: "My lord, the safety of King's Landing is too important. We should let the garrison of Harrenhal go south to support King's Landing."

"What about Harrenhal?" Tywin asked.

Sir Rick continued: "Lord Kevan is still stationed in Duskendale Town. Lord Kevan can return to Duskendale Town."

Tywin rubbed his forehead and did not express his position on this plan.

Sir Faith Lanter of Lannisport on the side objected: "If we do this, it would be better to just ask Lord Kevan to support King's Landing. Why bother? But if we do this, the entire kingdom will be completely defeated. After falling into Stannis's hands, those who were suppressed by Lord Kevan on the Crab Claw Peninsula will also move south to join Stannis, and Stannis's army will become stronger."

"In that case, Lord Face, do you have any way to relieve the siege of King's Landing?" Sir Rick seemed to have a bad relationship with this Lannister offshoot, and asked in a stiff tone.

"Sir, I don't think we should continue to confront Riverrun here." Face Lanter ignored Sir Rick's question, but looked at Tywin and said cautiously: "There is no point in us continuing to stay here. It consumes time and wastes a large number of troops here. It is better to retreat and give up the territory of the Riverlands that has been controlled. In this way, the lords of the Riverlands will definitely take back their own territories first, instead of chasing us and running. The power of the city will be greatly dispersed, so that the power of the Riverlands will not pose a threat to us in a short period of time, and we can concentrate our efforts to deal with Stannis, an important enemy."

"No." Just as Fes finished speaking, someone directly objected: "If we do this, the army may mutiny. You must know that after we captured the land in the Riverlands, we have promised to reclaim those farmlands for the soldiers. , if you return all this land, it is equivalent to robbing things from the soldiers below us..."

Tywin interrupted the man's words and said with a serious look: "Okay! Let's not talk about the retreat. If we retreat without even engaging in a head-on battle, it will only make people think that we have failed and want to escape. If we go back to the west, the enemy's attack will be even more fierce, so we absolutely cannot retreat."

As he spoke, Tywin looked thoughtfully at Faith Lanter, who had just proposed the idea of ​​​​retreating. Faith also lowered his head, as if admitting his mistake.

In fact, Tywin held this meeting not because he really wanted to teach his men how to solve the current predicament, but to test their thoughts on retreat. The Lannister family members who just proposed retreat were just following his orders. , just waiting for a pebble to explore the path.

And the effect of the stone just now appeared. When the proposal to retreat was made, all the noble generals in the room showed obvious dissatisfaction on their faces.

Although they kept saying that the soldiers below would mutiny because they lost the foundation they had obtained, in fact they, the noble lords who were summoned, were the ones who suffered the most, because according to the rules, at least one-third of the occupied riverland land It belongs to them. Once they retreat, all the land will be vomited out. This is enough to make them feel the pain of cutting their flesh. Naturally, they strongly oppose it.

As an observer, Tywin has already remembered these people in his heart. During the next battle, these people will be sent to the front line. Whether they survive in the end is left to fate, and he has not given up the idea of ​​​​retreating. Instead, they are making arrangements in secret and can execute them when the time is right.

While Lord Tywin was considering how to retreat and clear out the restless elements in the army, Littlefinger was still waiting to be received by the Lord of Highgarden in Bitterbridge in the south.

From the day Littlefinger came here, he was placed in a tent and served good food and drink. The attendants responsible for serving him would agree to almost all his requests and even find prostitutes for him, but only Not a word would be delivered to the Duke of Metz for him.

Littlefinger was not in a hurry. Although the little devil Tyrion Lannister promised to reward him with Harrenhal as long as he could persuade the Rose family to forgive the former Queen Mother's rude behavior and agree to resume the engagement, he was not This is the only way to go, and he has prepared several escape routes, so even if he is left here by High Court, he can still show his composure.

On the contrary, Garland Tyrell, who secretly sent someone to observe Littlefinger, was a little curious about the Financial Minister of the Royal Council, because in his opinion, Littlefinger should do everything possible to see him or his father on the day he arrived. The Duke of Metz was right, but the other party just applied for summons as a daily routine, and then wandered leisurely in the camp or rested in the tent, seemingly not in a hurry at all.

Even after he sent someone to give the information about the battle situation in King's Landing to Littlefinger, Littlefinger still did not show any anxiety. This made Garland unable to figure out the other party's true intentions for a while, and he couldn't help but feel a desire to reconcile with him. Littlefinger talks about the idea.

"Lord Garland, I am extremely grateful for your visit!" Under Garland's instructions, Littlefinger was taken to his tent. The first time he saw Garland, Littlefinger saluted Garland very respectfully. .

Looking at the Finance Minister in front of him who always kept a smile on his face, it was difficult for Garland to feel bad in his heart. He also stood up, returned the salute to Littlefinger, and said, "Nice to meet you, Lord Petyr."

"I believe Lord Garland already knows my purpose of coming." Littlefinger said with a smile.

"Yes." Garland nodded and said: "The previous envoy had already met my father. My father was very angry and thought that the Iron Throne was humiliating our Tyrell family and killed the envoy directly. If it hadn't been for the obstruction by his subordinates, my father might have sent the envoy's head back to King's Landing, completely breaking with the Iron Throne." As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, it was me. You were placed in the military camp and were not allowed to meet my father. I don’t want the Minister of Finance to have his head chopped off by my father.”

Littlefinger smiled bitterly and said sincerely: "I can understand the anger of the Duke of Metz. If it were me, I would be furious." After saying that, he sighed again and said: "Unfortunately, as a Finance Minister of the Royal Council, I must obey the orders of the Acting Prime Minister and come here as a messenger. "

"Acting Prime Minister? Is it Lord Tyrion Lannister?" Garland looked at Petyr Baelish and said: "The person who wants to resume the engagement with our Tyrell family is actually Lord Tyrion. Queen Cersei and His Majesty Joffrey don’t want to marry our family at all, right?”

Littlefinger could only show an embarrassed smile. Although he didn't answer, his expression was already an answer.

Garland did not show any unusual emotions, but said calmly: "Since Lord Petyr is the lobbyist sent by Lord Tyrion, Lord Tyrion must also recognize your ability, so Petyr Lord Tyr, how are you going to convince us?"

Petyr said: "The offspring of Miss Margaery and His Majesty Joffrey will become the next lord of the Iron Throne."

"Is this considered a persuasion condition?" Garland was stunned, and smiled: "If Margaery really marries His Majesty Joffrey, then Margaery will be the queen, and her descendants will naturally be the next Iron King. Lord of the Throne, is Lord Tyrion trading what belongs to us?”

Petyr did not refute, but continued to smile and said: "If Miss Margaery and His Majesty Joffrey have more than one child left, then the second child, regardless of gender, will become the Duke of Storm's End and the Guardian of the Stormlands. ”

When Garland heard this, he sat up slightly. It was obvious that this condition made him a little excited.

Petyr continued: "Until the child reaches adulthood, the Stormlands will be handed over to the custody of the High Court."

"I have to say, I'm really moved." Garland tapped his fingers on the table, looked at Petyr thoughtfully, and said, "The conditions are very generous, but Lord Petyr, you It seems that one thing has been overlooked, that is, the actual controller of the Stormlands no longer belongs to the Baratheon family during the period of Duke Renly. Prince Lynd of Summer Hall is the real owner of the Stormlands. May I ask someone from the Iron Throne? Can the will make Prince Linde give up all his rights in the Storm Land? Are the lords of the Storm Land willing to obey the will and cut off their ties with Prince Linde? "

Littlefinger smiled bitterly, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

As Garland said, the Stormlands are essentially under the control of Lind. The economy, politics, and military have all been completely penetrated by Lind. The Baratheon family is only the nominal lord of the Stormlands lords. That’s all.

Therefore, some people believe that Stannis was able to conquer the Stormlands coalition this time because of Linde Terra's acquiescence. Otherwise, after Renly's death, Stannis would not have been able to take away a single soldier from the Stormlands.

As for why Lind did this, some people speculated that it might be related to Joffrey's execution of Duke Eddard. Although Lind still said that Joffrey was the heir designated in Robert's will, he was already dissatisfied with Joffrey, but He couldn't break his oath and attack King's Landing himself, so he handed over the coalition forces in Stormlands to Stannis and asked Stannis to teach Joffrey I on the Iron Throne.

At this time, Garland spoke again: "I remember Lord Tyrion is only the acting prime minister, not the official prime minister. I doubt whether the promises he made can be implemented."

Petyr also had an ugly smile on his face. In fact, it was not just Garland who doubted it. He also doubted whether Tyrion could get the Harrenhal he promised him.

Garland suddenly changed the topic and said: "Lord Petyr, I personally hope to resume our engagement with His Majesty Joffrey, and I am also willing to serve as your lobbyist to convince my father, the Duke of Mace."

Petyr immediately asked: "What are your conditions?"

"My conditions are very simple, there are only two." Garland said with a smile: "One is that His Majesty Joffrey marries my cousin, and the second is that Queen Cersei must take off her crown and go to Summer Hall for redemption. To join the monastery and become a nun of salvation, by the way, these two requirements must be agreed by Lord Tywin personally, and Prince Linde must be the witness. I think this should not be difficult for you. Arrive?"

After hearing this, Littlefinger smiled bitterly. These were not simple conditions. To achieve these two conditions was simply more difficult than defeating Stannis's army.

The first condition is clearly a deliberate attempt to humiliate Joffrey and Cersei, telling Cersei and Joffrey that you are only worthy of marrying a woman from the Tyrell family, in order to retaliate against Cersei for canceling her engagement to Margaery without any reason. The hatred that completely trampled the Rose family's face under their feet.

If Cersei had not canceled the engagement, then there would be no Renly incident, and little Rose would not have been slandered by so many rumors. The Rose family has long had a anger in their hearts, and there is no place to vent it. Now they just find the opportunity. Naturally I won't let it go.

As for the second condition, it is not only to pave the way for the future queen to take power, but also to take revenge. Let Cersei, who has always been obsessed with power, enter the nunnery. This is definitely more painful than killing Cersei, and the nun she wants to enter The convent is not an ordinary nunnery, it is the nunnery of the Church of the Redemption, which is the nunnery with the strictest rules in the Church of the Seven Gods.

When Littlefinger left the tent, Garland suddenly emphasized his tone and reminded: "Lord Petyr, I have to remind you that there is not much time left for you. If Stannis captures King's Landing, Then Duke Tywin agreed to our conditions, but we may not be able to abide by them, so please act quickly."