"Mr. High Sparrow, please come here." Arthur shouted to the gray-robed monks who were busy among the wounded soldiers.
The servant Mei Dan received Arthur's instruction and brought a wicker chair under the steps in front of the main seat.
In the distance, the High Sparrow who was called asked a young monk next to him to take over his bandaging work, and then slowly walked over.
As he walked, five or six strong monks followed him, and they didn't look very reassured about Arthur.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Arthur?"
The High Sparrow did not sit down, but opened the wicker chair with one hand and stood talking to Arthur.
"I think we need to clarify each other's position." The Lord of Moulin Rouge pointed at the monks and then at himself.
"Since Jaehaerys I, the Church of the Seven Gods has not allowed the formation of armed religious groups. Any acts of force are the responsibility of nobles and knights like us. Now you are actively preaching and have attracted many young monks.
Any attempt to reorganize the Order's armed forces is not recognized by the laws of the Iron Throne."
More than two hundred years ago, during the reign of Aenys I of the Targaryen dynasty, the Church of the Seven Gods believed that the king was guilty of incest, and an armed uprising broke out; then Maegor I continued to suppress the church's armed forces, but with little effect; Jhe
During the reign of Lys I, the Iron Throne and the church reached a reconciliation. The church was protected by the king, the armed orders were disbanded, and the judicial power of the church was handed over to the king and nobles.
Arthur pointed at the monks in the Hall of Hundreds of Furnaces, "I hope these monks will only be responsible for comforting the civilians and helping to treat the wounded soldiers, and they are not allowed to do anything beyond anything else."
The High Sparrow took off the sleeves rolled up on his arms and said, "Mr. Arthur, I think there must be some misunderstanding between us."
"I do intend to reorganize the sect's armed forces, but not against responsible nobles like you, but to guard against the demons who massacre civilians and monks. They are often soldiers from the West."
"As far as I know, His Majesty Joffrey I not only failed to shoulder the obligation to protect the monks and civilians, but also allowed his grandfather, Lord Tywin, to lead tens of thousands of Western soldiers to launch wars and create human tragedies in the Riverlands.
Since it was the king who failed to fulfill his obligations first, I think there is no need for us to continue to abide by the agreement made more than two hundred years ago."
"Innocent civilians, gentle monks, and nuns were killed wantonly by evil people. Under such circumstances, I think it is what we should do to form an armed order and work with responsible nobles like you to maintain order in the Riverlands.
"
Arthur first corrected one statement, "Joffrey may not be the real king. According to the law of inheritance, Stannis is Robert's first heir."
"So the king's failure to fulfill his obligations is just your excuse. Two of the three kings now have defined Tywin's attack on the Riverlands as illegal."
"I don't care what your plans are. Under my control, you are not allowed to form an armed religious order."
The High Sparrow still had that smile on his face, "Lord Arthur, in fact, we have no conflict. You are here to protect the civilians of the Riverlands, and so am I. We can reach an agreement..."
"Arthur, you are hiding here, making it difficult for us to find you."
A rushing sound and a series of footsteps interrupted the High Sparrow's words.
Arthur turned around and saw that it was Patrick, the Lightning King, Bill, Haley and several people from the Brotherhood Without Banners.
"I'm discussing something with Mr. High Sparrow, and I'm not hiding from you. What's wrong?" He stood up and asked.
"The civilians who entered the city recently basically didn't bring any food, so we gave them porridge, but now we don't have much food," Bill said.
The King's Landing mercenaries under him are responsible for maintaining order in the Widow's Tower and the Ghost Tower, and are naturally most familiar with the situation of the civilians.
Hailey, who was responsible for managing Arthur's logistics, curtsied and said gracefully: "Most of our food is brought from your territory, the Red Mill. It is mainly supplied to the New Army soldiers, but it also provides wheat to the refugee civilians.
After the porridge, it’s not enough.”
Bill added: "The civilians who entered the city later saw that the civilians who entered the city in front had food, so many people ran to buy food, but those who had food did not sell it, and conflicts arose between the two sides. In the past two days, there have been five
There were six fights."
"I think it would be better to adopt my previous suggestion and collect taxes from civilians who have taken refuge. Those who have food will collect food and those who have no food will collect money. This will ensure the rations of the New Army soldiers and allow us to continue to provide food to those who have no food.
Serve wheat porridge." Hayley wanted Arthur to collect taxes again.
Patrick obviously agreed with Hailey's opinion. He laughed and applauded, "This is what a logistics manager looks like. Arthur, you have to be ruthless and collect taxes on all civilians who come to the city to take refuge, so that we can get through this."
This is a difficult time.”
From their words, Arthur understood this inconspicuous but fatal crisis.
Most of the civilians who entered the city were farmers who left during the Magic Mountain Robbery, so they brought their own food to survive the long winter, so they did not have to worry about starvation.
Many of the civilians who later took refuge in Harrenhal left their homes after Tywin led his army to invade. Many of their families had their food confiscated by the Western Army, so they only brought daily necessities and not enough food.
many.
The food problem for the next group of people was temporarily solved by the free wheat porridge organized by Haili, but the food brought from the Moulin Rouge was not much and could not be provided for a long time.
The landlord He'an family did not store much food themselves and could not help with this problem.
"This is indeed a big problem." Arthur looked at the figures of several people illuminated by the light of the torch and said with his chin.
At this time, the High Sparrow, who had been listening for a long time, suddenly stepped forward and said calmly but firmly:
"Mr. Arthur, isn't this the best opportunity for us to cooperate?"
"The relationship between the monks and the civilians has always been good. We can persuade the civilians who have excess food to hand over some of their food to fill the stomachs of the soldiers and those who have no food."
The Lightning King Count Berry who came with him had a different opinion: "Food is the property of the common people. We cannot take it away from them. I propose to buy it so that both parties can be more honorable."
Everyone had their own opinions and suggestions and began to persuade each other.
The space around the main seat suddenly became noisy.
"Okay." Arthur waved his hand suddenly, making everyone stop talking to themselves.
Patrick said: "Arthur, do you really want to tax? Great!"
"It's better to buy it." The Lightning King insisted on his opinion.
"I won't adopt any of your suggestions." Arthur shook his head, "I have a better idea."
"Given that it is already a state of war, keeping everyone fed has become a big problem, so I decided to collect all the food in the castle and distribute it uniformly."
"Those who work and the soldiers who protect civilians eat better, and those who don't work eat less. The goal is very clear, that is, to keep everyone fed and fed."
The Hejian Land is already in chaos. Even if there are golden dragons and silver deer, you may not be able to buy food.
In order to ensure the normal operation of the small society in Harrenhal and to ensure that everyone has food to eat, Arthur's idea may be the most direct and effective.
Patrick, Lightning King Bailey, Hailey and others looked at Arthur in surprise.
They didn't expect that Arthur, who had always been gentle, could actually propose such a strong approach.
But they did not raise objections. There are already more than 20,000 civilians in Harrenhal, and there will be a large influx of refugee civilians in the future. This may be the best way to solve the problem.
Arthur looked at the High Sparrow and other monks: "And you, the monks have to be responsible for appeasing the civilians who have been confiscated from food. Don't make any agreement with me, or make any small moves again, I will kick you out. Then you can go and organize wherever you want.
I have no control over the armed religious sect."
It was indeed not Arthur's purpose to drive the monks out of the castle, he just wanted to scare these people.
After all, Lord Tywin's other wild dog who is as famous as the Magic Mountain, Amory Lodge, led a lot of Western light cavalry around Harrenhal.
Now if a team of less than a few dozen people goes out, they will be immediately targeted by Rocky, and then all of them will be killed.
What's even more terrifying is that Loki will cut off the dead man's head, insert it into a spear, and stand it in front of the two doors for everyone in Harrenhal to see.
A young monk was about to retort, but was stopped by the High Sparrow.
"Mr. Arthur, on behalf of the monks in the castle, I accept your proposal. Comforting the civilians and taking care of the wounded soldiers will be our only jobs, as long as the nobles can ensure that every civilian has food."
The High Sparrow said this.
Arthur nodded. This great god is indeed the actual leader of the monks here. As long as they don't make small moves, they can still accept their existence.
After all, all armed forces are in the hands of the river nobles. Even if the monks form an armed religious order, they cannot defeat professional soldiers.
In the following time, everyone present discussed Arthur's proposal in detail. They repeatedly deliberated on every detail of collecting food, trying to get the food without arousing the resentment of the civilians.
Of course, some compensation will also be given to the civilians whose food was collected.
…
Heron Town, the headquarters of the commander of the Western Border Army.
On the candle holders, more than a dozen scented candles produced by the Weakley family in the valley are providing light and exuding a pleasant aroma.
This is a very expensive candle that sells well in the Seven Kingdoms and the continent of Essos across the Narrow Sea. It is usually only supplied to the guardians of the lords in various places, the governors of Pentos, the great lords of Slaver's Bay, etc. who have extremely noble status and financial resources.
Powerful big shots.
It is not unusual for this kind of candle to appear in a majestic castle, but when it appears in a tent during a march, it is really shocking.
Except for the wealthy and majestic Lord Lannister of the Seven Kingdoms, no one can have such luxury.
At present, the Lion Family Governor has lost his prestige.
He was lying on the soft couch in the middle of the tent, looking at his nephew Davon with majestic eyes.
After a long time, Duke Tywin uttered a sentence:
"A reckless man, a few river nobles, and a dilapidated castle defended by hundreds of veterans, but you can't do anything about it."
Da Feng, who has blond hair and regular features, hugged his lion-shaped helmet and explained to his uncle with an embarrassed look:
"Actually, Harrenhal is not dilapidated. It is still the largest man-made castle in the Seven Kingdoms. Moreover, there are tens of thousands of civilians in the castle. They were also mobilized to defend the city walls, which temporarily disrupted our siege plan. But
Please rest assured, uncle, I will definitely capture Harrenhal within these few days."
Lord Tywin glanced at him, then turned to look at the parchment map hanging nearby.
"Harrenhal doesn't have to be taken down. How is the battle on Kevan's side? How are Edmure in Riverrun and little Robb in Moat Cailin?"
Da Feng rolled his eyes, recalled the military reports about these two places, and then answered his uncle:
"After learning that Uncle Kevan was leading his army north, Robb of Cailin Bay went all out to go south, arriving at the Twins before Uncle Kevan, and then won the support of Lord Walder Frey. The two armies are now south of the Twins
They are facing each other on the plains, and the war is about to break out. The chance for uncle Kevan to become famous in a battle is not far away."
"When Robb arrived at Moat Cailin, there were eighteen thousand men. House Manderly of White Harbor provided fifteen hundred men, most of whom were infantry. Most of the world-famous White Harbor cavalry were replaced by Wyman.
The earl stayed in his own territory. After receiving the support of the Frey family, Robb's army reached...well, twenty-three thousand three hundred men."
Davon was about to continue talking when Tywin suddenly asked:
"What was Old Frey's offer to Robb?"
Walder Frey's second son, Emmon Frey, married Tywin's sister, so Emmon was very flattering to the Lannister family.
Even if Old Frey decides to fully join the Fish and Wolf Alliance, some information can still reach the Lannister family.
"Well, Robb will marry a granddaughter or great-granddaughter of Frey the Elder, Edmure will also marry a daughter or granddaughter of Frey the Elder, and Lord Eddard's second daughter Arya will marry one of Frey's grandsons.
"
Da Feng counted on his fingers, these were the three.
This was not very important information, and it was very difficult for him to recall it.
"Two duchesses at once, it's a shame Old Frey thought of it." Tywin said coldly.
Da'von knew that his uncle looked down upon Walder Frey, so he hurriedly catered to him:
"But he was shrewd and made the wrong bet this time. With our two armies, it is impossible for Robb to defeat us. After we finish fighting the usurper in the south, we will take care of this old thing."
Tywin looked at the map, "Where is Ser Adam?"
Davon was much more familiar with this, and he answered fluently: "Adam is on the east side of God's Eye Lake, chasing Count Tristan Legg of Willow City. He had previously captured Count Karel Vance of Travel's Rest.
The two Earls Clement Piper of the Pink City are under our control, and we have already taken care of more than half of the seven counties on the south bank of the Red Fork River."
He stepped forward and pointed out the locations of Willow City, Traveling Rest City and Pink City.
"Their lords of these three counts are already under our control, and almost all the wealthy knights and minor nobles in the territories have died in the battle, which is enough for us to reward the meritorious warriors in this battle."
Tywin did not deny it. He moved his gaze slightly upward and asked, "How is Lord Harroway's town going?"
Earl Harroway's town is the hub of the entire Trident River Basin. The land route going south to north passes through it, and the water and land routes going east to west also pass there.
The town is located on the south bank of the Trident River. On the opposite bank is the famous Ruby Bank, where the late King Robert killed Prince Rhaegar with a hammer.
"There are no heavy troops guarding the Riverlands for the time being, so I won't care about it." Davon replied honestly.
The Lannister Housekeeper thought for a while and said: "The large army will be temporarily stationed here and surround Harrenhal until my waist is almost healed. You first send people to occupy Earl Harroway's small house.
Town, that Rocky is pretty good at his job, so let him go."
"No problem at all," Davon replied, "I will give Sir Amory Lodge four or five hundred cavalry. These men on the plains will be enough to defeat all the nearby riverine armies."
"To deal with Harrenhal, we implement the strategy of siege but not attack. Anyway, there are tens of thousands of mouths in the castle, and the last ones who can't stand it must be the river nobles who have no food."
Tywin nodded in agreement with his nephew's proposal, then waved him out.
The night is already deep, and the injured Guardian of the West needs to rest.
