After taking Gendry back to the camp, Arthur ordered him to stay with the mercenaries, and then turned to find Sansa.
There is a more important thing for him to do:
Let Sansa Stark depose Lord Leech, the old Yinbi, from his position as commander.
The infantry brought to the south by the Bolton family was about 3,000, and even including the Freys, their potential allies, the number was only 5,000.
The total number of troops of the second-tier families in the north such as Karstark, Mandalay, Amber family, and other forces loyal to the Wolf family totals about more than five thousand.
Considering that before Robb broke the engagement, the Freys were considered loyal members of the Wolf family, Roose Bolton still did not dare to openly disobey the Stark family's orders.
And Sansa and Robb are brother and sister, and with her here, the matter of Bolton's replacement can be explained.
After removing Roose Bolton as the commander, the coalition army does not need to fight. They can directly go to the West River to find Robb or go to Harrenhal to garrison.
By the time Tywin was trapped in the West River, the time for the Lions and Flowers to join together was greatly delayed. It was Walder Frey's twelfth son "Cripple Rosseau" who contacted Emmon Frey in the Lion family camp, causing the Frey family to secretly rebel.
With a top-notch warrior like Arthur taking over the battle, it’s not certain whether the bloody wedding will happen.
And as long as the northern soldiers loyal to the Wolf family on the eastern front are still there, Bolton doesn't dare to be careful.
After all, "The North Will Never Forget" talks about the loyalty of the people of the North to the Wolf family, not to his Skinner family.
There was a circle of Stark soldiers surrounding Sansa's tent. As far as Arthur knew, about 70% of the three thousand Wolf infantrymen on the eastern front had been sent away by Lord Leech.
The Wolf soldiers on guard nodded and moved away. They also knew that the first person their eldest daughter found after "escaping" from the Red Keep was Bracken, so they were very relieved about him.
After lifting the curtain and entering, Arthur went straight to the point: "Sansa, now is the time when your Stark family's survival is at stake. Bolton must be removed from his command position so that this coalition can be saved."
Sansa, who was still sewing, put down her needle, thread and fabric, and looked at Arthur, who was still covered in blood.
"Why don't you clean up the blood on your body? You look so scary."
Sansa's focus was different. If she didn't have to maintain the image of a lady in front of the tall and handsome Arthur, she would have pinched her nose to avoid the smell of blood.
For an aristocratic lady like her who had never seen blood, or even smelled the blood of chicken, duck or fish, this rust-like smell was really disturbing.
Arthur glanced at the worn-out plate armor he was wearing and felt that it was not a big problem.
In previous battles, he usually asked his servant Mei Dan to clean and maintain the plate armor and the chain armor underneath after the battle situation had completely stabilized.
The only time I was forced to cleanse myself of the smell of blood was when I was borrowing troops at Riverrun.
At that time, he was covered in horse blood and internal organs, and he was wary of the Western Region pursuers behind him, so he didn't clean it up. The weather was hot at that time, and it fermented sour and smelly in three or four days.
Fortunately, the weather is getting colder now, so the blood on the body should not smell bad anymore. The war has been tight recently, so I can only find time to clean it briefly, and I can't do maintenance on all plate armors in the server.
"That's not the point." Arthur also felt that Sansa was a little bit smelly by the smell of blood on her body, so he only stood at the tent door.
"The point is that while Willis Manderly, Robert Glover and others are still there, you have to change Roose Bolton's position as commander, otherwise according to his style of play, the Northerners will be left.
All of them are his soldiers."
Sansa flipped her maroon hair before replying: "What you said makes sense, but will Roose Bolton listen to us? Will other people in the north support me?"
Although she felt that the smell of Arthur was very offensive, she still waved him over.
"Needless to say, Glover, Herman Talha, and Willis Manderly are die-hard loyalists to your family. Although Hallion, the heir to the Karstark family, was captured, his family was also your family before.
Loyal minister, so the soldiers will support you. In this way, half of the coalition forces will be on our side."
Arthur thought for a while and then said: "The commander of the Frey family, Aenys, is very good at commanding the army, but is not very sensitive to political alignment. Before his father Walder Frey issued a clear order, he should also
Will support the orders of members of House Stark."
Before Robb regretted his marriage, the Frey family performed very well and made many military exploits for the Fish-Wolf Alliance. Even Steveron, the first heir of the Twins, was killed while fighting with Robb.
Teflon's grandson Black Wald also leads the army and must be the first in every battle.
As long as Robb doesn't regret his marriage and the Lion-Flower union doesn't happen, the Frey family's loyalty is still very reliable.
"Okay, let's go now. What will I say then?" Sansa didn't know much about the army. She only knew that her number of soldiers was decreasing rapidly.
Arthur, who sneaked into the Red Keep and rescued her, made Stark, who had been frightened since her father's death, feel safe, so she took good care of him.
Arthur had already prepared the words for her:
"You first say that he conserved his own strength and sent soldiers from other families to die, and then accuse him of what he did wrong last night. He originally had the superior force and could attack King's Landing in one go, but he sent thousands of loyal soldiers in vain
, and even let the two Earls Harris Horwood and Meech Severn die in vain. People in the North should feel these two things very well. Finally, you withdrew his command in the name of the Stark family.
Let Robert Glover, Herman Talha and others jointly command instead, and bring the coalition forces to Harrenhal, waiting for Robb's order."
The prevailing inheritance laws in Westeros are quite liberal, allowing women to inherit titles and territories. However, most lords choose to let men inherit, so there are not many countesses and duchess.
So before Robb explicitly names Jon Snow or his two brothers as heirs, Sansa does have the right to inherit.
The northern nobles also have to consider her opinion.
Sansa blinked, concentrating hard and remembering it all.
"One more thing, Old Bolton may refuse later and make some excessive moves, so you have to always stand by my side so that I can protect you."
Arthur concluded that Lord Leech did not dare to attack Sansa in a place where a large number of northern nobles were present, but he could not guarantee that he would use some underhanded tactics to keep his position as commander, such as claiming that Sansa was deceived by the river people, so he refused to hand over the command.
.
At that point, some violence will have to be used.
If Roose Bolton really dares to refuse openly, Arthur will decide to settle the old and new accounts together.
Arthur still remembered last night when leeches killed one of his own people.
Even if he doesn't die, he will have to shed his skin.
When Robb blamed him later, he had a valid reason.
After all, Sansa's banner was broken.
Miss Stark nodded, adjusted her skirt, and followed Arthur out.
Twenty Wolf soldiers saw the opportunity and followed.
Chinese army tent.
The nobles in the north are still discussing the next move. A group of radical young people insist on taking King's Landing before leaving. Of course, they are also discussing how to kill Joffrey.
The more mature ones, such as Robert Glover and others, advocated going to Harrenhal, firstly to prevent Tywin from leading his troops eastward, and secondly, to prepare to go to the West River and fight against the main force of the Lion family.
Master Leech had a gloomy face, not knowing what he was thinking.
The arrival of Sansa and Arthur caused most people to divert their attention.
"In view of Lord Bolton's immature behavior last night, I have a suggestion."
Miss Stark walked to the center of the big tent and said to everyone.
At this moment, almost everyone's eyes turned to her.
Lord Leech sensed something was wrong and said, "If I make any mistakes, please ask Miss Sansa to point them out. I will faithfully fulfill the tasks assigned to me by King Robb."
He emphasized the words King Robb because the people of the north still care about this.
Arthur followed Sansa quietly without making a sound.
In this situation, Stark and the Northerners have to be allowed to talk, and it is difficult for others to speak.
Sansa took a deep breath, "Everyone must know that Lord Bolton will send our soldiers and soldiers from other northern families to the front in every battle, while leaving his soldiers behind as a reserve. This
It’s wrong. And we could have entered King’s Landing last night…”
Combining what Arthur said, she began to encourage the northern nobles.
A woman's soft voice is always easy to accept.
Miss Stark spoke eloquently, and these aloof people began to nod in approval.
"...So I decided to abolish Roose Bolton's status as commander of the coalition forces in the name of Robb Stark, and hand over his command to Robert Glover and Willis Manderly,
Herman Taoha, Arthur Bracken and other adults will discuss the future actions of the coalition forces."
Listening to Sansa's words, Arthur suddenly felt that there was a little problem.
Previously in her tent, Arthur had not asked to be added to the joint command staff.
Firstly, it was because he was going south to find Yule and the dragon eggs to hatch the dragon; secondly, because in the eyes of the people in the north, he was just a fierce general who charged forward and was not good at commanding an army.
The first three are all high-status northern earl-level nobles. Although Arthur is famous and respected by them, his influence may not be enough.
But Sansa took it upon herself to add him. Although there is no big problem, some people may catch this objection.
Lord Leech listened to Sansa's words silently at first. After she finished speaking, he explained:
"It can be seen that Miss Sansa doesn't know much about marching and fighting. The adults present should be able to understand my behavior of sending people to protect the food first."
Originally he was prepared to refuse to hand over his command, but when he saw Bracken standing behind Sansa with his head held high without even wiping the blood on his plate armor, he suddenly changed his mind.
Although he was personally appointed by Robb, if Miss Stark ordered him to be taken down for refusing her orders, no one present would be able to stop the River Hammer God. At that time, a little accident could make him see all the gods in the sky.
god.
It's more important to save your life.
After Lord Leech secretly disparaged Sansa, he expressed his loyalty again: "Of course, I will absolutely obey any order from the Stark family. Since you can choose commanders better than Lord Robb, I also agree.
Hand over your command."
He was still secretly criticizing Sansa for being ignorant and ruining Robb's plan.
Although these words were very strange, they made Arthur breathe a sigh of relief.
"It's just that the rivermen should also participate in the command. I think Ser Aenys Frey would like to say something." Lord Leech changed the subject and asked the leader of the Frey family to express his position.
Aenys was standing well when he was suddenly called upon by Roose Bolton. His face was slightly stunned and he didn't know what to say.
But after he saw Mr. Leech's slightly narrowed eyes, he understood what this person meant.
Marquis Bolton was probably afraid that he would be betrayed after losing his command, so he wanted to let Inis come out to fight for it and participate in the command.
During the civil strife in the North, it was difficult for the Frey family to participate as river lords, but Aenys happened to see his youngest brother, Alma Frey, who was serving as Roose Bolton's squire.
According to the agreement between Robb and the Frey family, Elma will marry Arya Stark some time after the war.
Originally Arya was just the daughter of a duke, but after Robb became king, Arya became a serious princess.
So Elma, who is about to marry the princess, has been very excited recently and always boasts in front of the Freys about how noble the Starks are.
Aenys weighed it again and again, and felt that even if the Boltons were to marry into his own family, it would be better to curry favor with the Stark family, which had a higher status and noble bloodline.
After all, after two marriages and one marriage, the Frey family is really deeply bound to the Yulang family.
So he ignored Marquis Bolton's hint and said loudly: "His Majesty Robb is the king of our Frey family, and his sister is also a princess. We will definitely abide by the orders given by the princess in the name of His Majesty the King."
Roose Bolton glanced at Aenys with a sinister look, not expecting this man to be so cowardly.
Naturally, the other northern nobles present had no objections, and the matter was settled.
Robert originally advocated returning Lord Eddard's remains and leading troops north to Harrenhal, so as soon as he was nominated by Miss Stark, he actively expressed his views.
This was originally what Arthur told Sansa, so Stark also expressed his support for this.
So everyone reached a consensus that they would make plans after heading north to Harrenhal.
Near noon, Count Herman Talha, who went to exchange the little devil for the remains, also returned.
Since Duke Eddard's torso and head were separated, and the torso had not been processed by the maesters, the head was hanging outside the Red Keep and had become stinky, so the people in the north became excited when they saw the remains.
Some people were going to kill Joffrey on the spot, while others were preparing to rush into King's Landing and kill Cersei and other royal families.
Although Sansa had seen her father's head from a distance, this was the first time she had seen the remains up close, and she burst into tears on the spot.
After the more rational people comforted them for a long time, everyone calmed down and listened to the conditions of King's Landing brought by Earl Taoha.
"Queen Cersei knew that it was Arthur who stole Joffrey, so she said that she would let Bracken go to the city to negotiate with her. She would agree to any conditions."
