Even if the northern nobles hate the Brotherhood Without Banners, they still have to show a certain amount of respect to Lord Berry.
After all, he is also a serious earl.
Berry, who was wearing shabby leather armor, walked into the big tent, followed by the red-robed monk who had not appeared during the day.
"Masters, what is your solution? Do you want to keep robbing farmers of their food?" asked the Lightning King, who represents the interests of farmers.
On the northern side, the Earl of Severn City, Meiqi, who has the same identity as Berry, stood up and said, "Lord Berry, the Riverland is now also the territory of our King in the North, so we naturally have the right to requisition military rations."
The people in Hejian did not think so. Raymond Darry also expressed his opinion to everyone in the tent:
"Although His Majesty Robb is also the King of Three Rivers, the Riverlands are not the direct territory of the noble Stark family, so we still have to follow the rules. I propose to collect military rations by buying them."
Although this statement is reasonable, it is slightly flawed.
There are a total of 16,000 coalition troops, 12,000 Northern soldiers, Frey family and other River family soldiers, and the total number of Alpine clan soldiers is over 4,000.
Except for the Frey family, the great nobles who have thousands of troops here are all poorer northern families, and they have no money to buy food.
And whether Arthur leads troops to rescue the ferry town, or the coalition forces go south to attack King's Landing, they are all official affairs between the North and the River. It is impossible for the nobles who lead the troops to buy food for the soldiers themselves.
of.
Moreover, during the war, the price of food rose to incredible levels, and even if you had money, you might not be able to buy it.
Everyone present understood this truth, so some people expressed objections on the spot.
Earl Harris Horwood said loudly in his rough voice: "Is it possible that when we send troops to fight for you River people, we have to pay for food ourselves? I still support the forced requisition of food."
This statement is slightly biased. Hejian was first attacked by the West because Mrs. Stark in the North kidnapped Lord Tywin's son. This made the proud man intolerable, so he took it out on Mrs. Stark's natal family first.
The Northerners went south because of the coup in King's Landing. Duke Eddard was imprisoned in the dungeon of the Red Keep, and the two Miss Starks were held hostage in King's Landing, so Robb led the army to rescue his father and sisters.
It was just a fight to regain the riverlands.
Logically speaking, people from the north cannot have an advantage.
Earl Berry, the red monk and the river nobles were naturally opposed to the forced requisition of military rations, so the two waves began to quarrel.
Suddenly, various male voices sounded throughout the tent, mixed with some strange greetings.
The noise was so loud that the sitting Marquis Bolton looked angry and roared, and then the big tent became quiet.
"Isn't there a way to have both ends?" Mr. Leech's face was gloomy.
If there were not 4,000 river people, mainly the Frey family, and their opinions had to be considered, why would he worry about such a trivial matter.
"I have a way." Seeing everyone quiet down, Arthur said.
Mr. Leech said nothing and raised his chin to let this little river noble express his opinion.
"We can collect grain by issuing IOUs, and then wait until the situation stabilizes, and let Riverrun and other earl-level nobles come up with golden dragons to pay off the farmers."
This proposal still has feasibility.
After all, the current battle is indeed a business in Hejian.
All expenses of the Brotherhood Without Banners led by the Lightning King in the Riverlands are also "paid" in this way.
And some farmers who were protected by the brotherhood readily accepted this method of payment.
Marquis Bolton quite accepts this opinion. Anyway, as long as we can collect food now, it will be fine.
"I support this proposal. The IOU will be issued in the name of Lord Hoster of Riverrun."
When the northern nobles saw that it was Hejian people who would pay in the future, most of them agreed.
But Earl Beric still refused to give up, "How do you ensure that the IOU is useful? What should the nobles of Riverrun and the Riverside do if they don't recognize the debt after the situation stabilizes?"
"I'll guarantee it." Arthur waved his hand, "Because of Duke Eddard's tourney, the late King Robert gave me 60,000 gold dragons. Most of this money is stored in the Tyrell family in the Reach. From now on, it will be Running River
Even if the city refuses to acknowledge the debt, I can still afford the expenses of the army."
The tourney two or three months ago was held in the name of Eddard Stark, but it was Robert on the Iron Throne who paid for it.
These two people are also kind, friendly, and generous people. Because they received this huge sum of money, Arthur will naturally not be stingy.
The persistent Lord Beric added: "Okay, if you can guarantee to leave enough food rations for the farmers, we will not stop the use of the name of Riverrun to collect food in the future."
The problem of requisitioning military rations was thus solved.
Berry and the red-robed monk, who were invited, left first.
After briefly listening to Roose Bolton's arrangements for the march route for the next few days, Arthur also left the tent.
He had to discuss with the Brotherhood Without Banners how to capture Arya's direwolf, Nymeria.
It seems that Berry and others who are keen on protecting farmers would be happy to go hunting wolves with him.
…
Five hours later, on the side of Shenyan Lake.
Arthur, who was wearing chain armor and two layers of plate armor, used his leather gloves to fiddle with a dead pig, letting the bloody smell spread further.
The surface of the pork was coated with a drug taken from Coburn to increase the chance of successfully catching the wolf.
In a hidden corner of his circle were twenty Qohor mercenaries and nearly thirty members of the Brotherhood Without Banners.
Although this kind of camouflage is not very useful for wolves with extremely sensitive noses, it can make people feel safer.
The moonlight shone lightly, covering the calm lake with a layer of gauze, arousing everyone's imagination like a beautiful dancing girl.
"Catching wolves under the moon is really interesting." The red-robed monk appeared out of nowhere and approached Arthur and said.
"This giant wolf should be the direwolf of the Stark family. After we capture King's Landing, I will treat her as a gift to Miss Stark."
Arthur muttered nonsense.
Nymeria's master is in his camp, and he is just doing this to conceal certain information.
"Here we come." The most caring Lightning King whispered a reminder, which made everyone start to get nervous.
After all, we were facing a direwolf that was larger than an ordinary gray wolf. It was impossible not to be afraid.
Their target swam over from the lake, using a dog paddle style.
Circles of ripples spread out from in front of the huge wolf's head, making the direwolf's whereabouts more obvious.
According to nearby farmers, there are not many larger animals on Qianmian Island in the center of the lake, so giant wolves that are still growing in body often swim out to look for prey.
This gave Arthur, Berry and others an idea to capture the giant wolf.
Not long after, the giant wolf Nymeria swam ashore, bared her teeth, growled, and sniffed around.
She wandered left and right on the shallow beach by the lake. Although the wolf's eyes were always on the pork, there was a lot of human scent around her, which made her afraid to move forward.
Arthur, who pressed down his mask, waved his hand to signal his companions to stay away.
He himself tied a rope prepared around his waist tightly to the pork, and then slowly backed away.
After feeling the distance of humans, Nymeria slowly walked towards the pork that lured the wolf.
She is still growing, so she can't do it without eating some meat.
The red-robed monk Thoros whispered: "Can you catch this?"
Mercenary leader Rock Holt answered his doubts: "It should be possible. After the wolf eats a few mouthfuls of meat, he will be reluctant to part with the meat in his mouth. Then Master Bracken pulled the rope. Did the wolf catch it soon?"
"It's not that simple." Lord Berry wanted to catch the giant wolf and prevent her from harming civilians, so he was fully prepared.
He quietly asked his two Stormtroopers to outflank him from both sides.
These two people are farmers in his territory and know some fishing skills. Now they can only be used to trap wolves.
After eating the meat for a while, the direwolf noticed the humans coming from both sides, so he held the meat in his mouth and let out a low growl of "Huhu".
The two Stormtroopers stopped moving.
Nymeria then continued to eat. After devouring a few mouthfuls, she suddenly gave up on the meat in her mouth, turned around and slipped towards the lake.
It's just that her movements are far less flexible than usual.
Cunning humans.
Arthur and the two Stormland soldiers threw the noose almost at the same time, but neither of them caught it.
Fortunately, Bachelor Coben was quite reliable, and his drug quickly took effect.
The direwolf staggered, only reaching the shallows of the lake before he turned over and fell.
Two Stormland soldiers carefully went over to check the situation and confirmed that the giant wolf had been stunned. Then they got closer and used all their strength to drag the giant wolf ashore.
"It's perfect." Arthur already wanted to see Arya's expression when she saw Nymeria.
He shouldered the giant wolf and returned to the camp with the mercenaries, while the Brotherhood returned to the hidden lair where they were hiding.
…
Fifteen days later, Junlin City.
The streets and alleys on the hills of Visenya and Rhaenys were crowded with civilians who came to seek refuge. Most of them were piled on the streets or crowded into charity homes run by kind monks.
The Northern-Hejian coalition forces have begun to siege the city, which has enveloped the entire city with a layer of panic.
When the War in the Riverlands began, the price of food in the grain stores had increased fivefold. Now that the city is under siege, it has reached the point where no one is selling it.
Without noble status or connections, people in the city would not be able to hoard food even if they had golden dragons. This made some wealthy merchants from across the narrow sea feel desperate.
The fat pigeons that no one wanted in the past have almost been hunted by humans. The small fish fed by human excrement in the Blackwater River have now become hot commodities.
You know, the former could not be exchanged for a piece of bread a month ago, and the latter was regarded as excrement by the proud citizens of King's Landing. Now it has become the only source of meat for the rich civilians in the city. Those who have no money may not even have food.
Can't afford to eat anymore.
Red Keep, Throne Room.
Joffrey I, who was wearing a crimson knee-length robe and a solid gold crown, looked at his cousin Cleo Frey coldly and listened to the conditions from Riverrun.
The halls of the throne room and the corridors all around were crowded with nobles from the Seven Kingdoms who were trapped in King's Landing, as well as civilians who still had time to understand the situation.
"Your Majesty, when I set out, the false king Robb did not know that his eastern army had already attacked King's Landing, so the conditions I brought only represent Robb, and cannot represent Roose Bolton outside the city."
Because Cleo's father, Emmon Frey, married Tywin's sister, Emmon's family either stayed in Casterly Rock or King's Landing.
Unfortunately, when the war in the Riverlands began, Cleo and his cousin Jaime returned to Casterly Rock, and then went north with the Western Division, and were captured by the Northern Cavalry outside the Twins.
Then, he was brought to Riverrun and became King Robb's messenger, conveying the terms of the armistice in the north to the royal council in King's Landing.
What was even more unfortunate was that when he arrived at the King's Territory, he found out that the Fish and Wolf Allied Forces on the Eastern Front had already reached King's Landing, which made his trip in vain.
Joffrey, who was sitting on the Iron Throne, stared at his cousin with sinister eyes, "As the only true king of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and the guardian of the entire realm, how could I agree?
What are the conditions for a false king?"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and suddenly he shouted: "Sansa, come here."
Sansa Stark, who was hiding in the crowd, walked to the open space in front of the throne with anxiety and whispered: "Your Majesty the King!"
Under Joffrey's malicious gaze, she swallowed nervously.
"Your king's brother wants you and Arya, who knows where to die, and the independence of the two northern river territories in exchange for an armistice. What should I do?" he said in a sinister tone.
Sansa's face was a little pale, but she still told a bunch of lies smoothly: "I don't have a king brother. Robb is a thief and stole your territory. I think you should bravely lead an army to attack and eliminate this thief."
and his men, let the entire Seven Kingdoms see how brave and powerful you are."
Joffrey I had a strange smile on his face, as if he had thought of something interesting.
He glanced at the Kingsguard Merlin Tran beside him.
The latter understood, nodded to the king, walked down the steps of the throne, came to Sansa, opened his bow left and right, and slapped Miss Stark twice.
This made Sansa's fair skin turn red immediately.
"Harder." Joffrey urged excitedly.
He had already forgotten the alliance forces outside the city and the negotiations at Riverrun.
Meryn Tran then slapped Sansa hard twice, causing the poor Stark's cheeks to swell.
Sitting on the Iron Throne, Joffrey's eyes widened, with an excited and perverted expression on his face.
Abusing women is one of his many little hobbies.
Sansa's charming expression and pitiful eyes gave the wise and mighty Emperor Qiao great satisfaction.
If there weren't many people present, I'm afraid he could moan with satisfaction.
"continue."
Merlin Tran waved his big hand again, ready to hit someone, but was stopped by Littlefinger Baelish, who walked in with a thick book.
"Wait, Ser Trant."
He turned to Joffrey I, bowed half-bowed, and then suggested in an orderly manner: "Sixteen thousand Northern River Union troops are outside the city now, and they will soon build large-scale ordnance for siege."
, this is the problem we want to solve for His Majesty."
Queen Cersei, who had been sitting next to the Iron Throne, saw that someone finally mentioned the most urgent matter at present, and also said: "We should consider the enemy troops instead of bullying the little girl here."
She could no longer control her son.
Joffrey glanced at Sansa with unfulfilled interest, then glanced left and right at the nobles and commoners who were talking with their heads down, and finally decided to do something serious.
Do what a king who loves his people like a son should do.
He waved his hand and asked Sansa, who was an eyesore, to leave.
"Quiet." The master of the Iron Throne stood up and shouted.
So the common people and nobles stopped discussing some of the king's strange behaviors and became quiet.
Joffrey put on his usual posture of standing on one leg and crossing the other at an angle, and said to his subjects: "I will lead the troops out of the city, annihilate the bandits outside the city in one fell swoop, and break the siege of King's Landing."
Except for a few courtiers in the royal council, the entire throne room cheered for the king's wise decision.
As long as the siege of King's Landing is solved, life can still be lived.
Queen Cersei looked at her son in surprise, wondering where Xiao Qiao had the courage to say "go out of the city to suppress bandits" when there were only six thousand gold robes and two thousand royal and noble soldiers in the city.
It has to be exported.
If he had known this, it would be better to let him abuse Sansa.
While everyone in the Imperial Council was troubled by the king's "wise" decision, many nobles in the north and the river were also troubled by the orders from Riverrun.
In the main tent of the Chinese army, in front of the leaders of the coalition forces, the serious-looking Earl Herman Taoha spoke of the instructions from Riverrun.
What frightened Arthur was not this order, but the person who conveyed it, Herman Tauhar.
According to the plot of the original book, after Robb crossed the Green Fork, he ordered Lord Tallhar to lead a small number of men to garrison the Twins.
Firstly, to ensure that this important place is under our control, and secondly, to supervise the Frey family.
But miraculously, Edmure of Riverrun called away Lord Taohar in the north, and then ordered him to work with Roose Bolton to recover Harrenhal.
This person's departure is one of several conditions for the Frey family to rebel.
The situation on the western front is unclear now, and Herman Taohar is acting openly as the messenger of Riverrun. This is not good news.
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