Suspicion, like weeds in early summer, began to grow inside the Red Fort.
Under the dusk sky, the entire castle was lit up by the light of torches.
The first courtier to arrive near the Maester's Quarters and the Crow's Nest was Lord Randyll Tarly, the Minister of Justice who was staying in King's Landing.
Taking into account the example of the Duke of Metz, he was surrounded by six Knights of the Horns who were fully armed and wearing green cloaks.
The four guards following the Duke of Mace were still in the Grand Maester's room. Lord Randyll did not want to enter the room to check the situation before Lord Pex Treadwin, who represented the Tyrell family, arrived.
"You try not to move and wait for other court officials to come to investigate."
A Horn Hill knight delivered the lord's words to the room.
Ten minutes later, the pregnant Queen Stark, Lord Redwyne, Lord of the Sea, Lady Olenna, the Queen of Thorns who was still staying in King's Landing, Tristan Legge, Commander of the King's Landing Guard, and Loras Ti of the Kingsguard arrived.
Lier and other princes and ladies all came together.
More than a hundred royal guards were crowded in this corner. They were the guards of various nobles, and they were vaguely wary of each other.
Of course, all this has nothing to do with Daenerys, who just arrived. She followed Sansa and looked curiously at the tragic situation in the room.
Mrs. Olenna asked the Metz guards straight away: "Who did it? Did you see clearly?"
When her son was killed, the Queen of Thorns was also very angry, but she was good at cultivating her energy and did not let any emotion show on her face.
This made Master Landao marvel. Such sane women are rare.
A Metz guard replied: "It is a devil, a devil like a shadow. We are only one or two steps behind the Lord, but the shadow disappears in our eyes."
He was almost crying when he said these words, and his voice was rising and falling, making it sound like he was extremely scared.
The other guard was much calmer, "Madam, I bet that's an assassin. His level of flexibility is the first I've seen in my life."
The remaining two people were still behind the first two, so naturally they couldn't tell any more details, they just supplemented their conjectures.
"In other words, you saw a person, and then he disappeared without coming out of the door?" Lord Landao asked a concluding question.
The four guards nodded like chickens pecking at rice, acknowledging this.
Lord Landao then turned his head and said to several key figures: "It seems that the assassin came from the underground secret tunnel system. He first killed Grand Bachelor Geman, thereby attracting Prime Minister Mace, and then used a crossbow to kill people.
"
Angai Bracken, who is in charge of the guard of the Red Fort, hurriedly agreed to this point, "Yes, although the number of patrols in the Red Fort in the past two days is not as frequent as before and after the wedding, it is far more strict than before, and even the nobles cannot
You can enter and leave the Red Keep at will, and civilians can't even get close to Balerion Square."
There is a small square in front of the Red Castle, named after a small statue of the Black Death. During the Lu family dynasty, the statue of the black dragon was moved. After the new king took charge of the throne, the people who greeted him moved the statue of the black dragon again.
Come back.
If the assassin comes from under the secret passage, then Angei's responsibility will be much less. After all, he doesn't know and is not responsible there.
Earl Redwin's pressure suddenly increased, and he kept shouting:
"My soldiers are all on the ship, and those who participated in that operation were sent back to Dragonstone by me. There is no way they could leak the secrets. If you ask me, this must be a back-up left by Lannister, or someone from the past.
Someone sent by someone who is familiar with the secret passage, such as Lord Baelish, or the Eight-clawed Spider."
A group of elite members of his family had participated in the night attack on the Red Fort and had a certain understanding of the secret passages of the Red Fort.
Of course, there was no way Paxter could kill his cousin Mace, but at this moment he probably knew something from the mouths of his soldiers, so he was eager to get rid of him.
"Don't worry, no matter who did it, it has nothing to do with the adults standing here."
The Queen of Thorns first gave a tone to the princes and ladies present.
Anyway, the power of the people of the Reach is still there. The only thing that will be investigated slowly in the future is that there is no need to rush to drive the mastermind crazy and kill him like Cersei.
Queen Sansa felt it was time to take a stand, "Lady Olenna is right, someone is trying to sow discord between us. The important task of hunting down the murderer is left to the Minister of Justice, Lord Randyll, and the Commander of the Guard, Lord Tristan Legg.
, this is also your responsibility."
This young lady from the North began to pay attention. On the surface, a Hebend man and a Hejian man could check and balance each other.
But in fact, both of them are close to the king, and Tristan Legg also vaguely supports Queen Stark.
"No, Earl Legg should still concentrate on guarding King's Landing and King's Landing Port, and not letting the assassins escape. I propose that the Sea Lord and Lord Landau be in charge of the pursuit of the assassins."
Although it was a matter of discussion, the Queen of Thorns spoke in a positive tone.
Once her rival Margaery and her husband left, Sansa believed that she was the mistress of the kingdom. How could she be influenced by an old woman?
"You have no official position, so you cannot change the queen's order."
Sansa said coldly. Sandor and Brienne behind her gave her a lot of courage, not to mention the Stark soldiers crowding aside.
The military strength in the Red Keep is split evenly between the Stark and Tyrell families, with about a hundred people under direct control.
But the rest of the Royal Guards are all new army soldiers, and their families often settle in the town of New Harren. Queen Sansa, who also holds the title of Countess of Harrenhal, has an influence on them second only to King Arthur I.
Lady Olenna was reluctant, "If Lord Redwine cannot participate in this arrest operation, then the Riverbend people's food will no longer be transported to the king. It must be Paxter's participation in the investigation,
Only we, House Tyrell, and all the governors of the Reach House approve it."
The nephew is a bit mediocre, but he is not stupid. Let him follow Landao and he can find the real murderer.
Under the dim light of the torch, Queen Stark stared at the old face of the Queen of Thorns for a long time before commanding:
"Let the Minister of the Sea and the Minister of Justice be the court officials in charge of this incident, and ask the bachelor to send the raven at the same time... No, Lord Angai will choose a reliable person to spread this matter to my husband's ears."
The situation was turbulent and the raven might be shot down by enemy forces on the way, so the queen decided to send someone to deliver the message.
Daenerys looked at the two factions that were about to fight, and suddenly felt dizzy.
When she first arrived here, she couldn't even distinguish the faces of the nobles and the coats of arms they wore on their chests.
But the Dragon Queen felt that Queen Stark was a good person, so she said:
"Let's do this. I'll ride a dragon to the Western Territory, find Arthur, and explain to him what happened here. It just so happens that we may need my three dragons to attack Casterly Rock City."
Daenerys just needs to talk to the king about the ownership of the Iron Throne.
She has never forgotten what her brother Viserys has been nagging about her whole life.
Sansana took the young aunt's hand and said, "That would be best. I will suggest that my husband make you the Prince of Slaver's Bay."
Queen Stark began to learn to win over people's hearts, but the clumsiness of her methods made the Dragon Queen feel disgusted.
I was originally the Queen of Slaver's Bay, not the prince your husband made me, Dany thought.
Before dawn, the Red Keep and the entire city of King's Landing were under martial law, and even merchant ships in the port were not allowed to leave without inspection.
Although the atmosphere in the city became tense, the falling food prices were enough to keep the common people calm for a while, and the free porridge shacks opened in the name of the king also gave the poor who could not afford food a reason not to cause trouble.
…
Summer Sea, near Lys Sea.
Although Tyrosh and Lys are on the verge of war, there are still captains who take great risks to transport goods to Lys Island.
There is no way, the merchants of the Free Trade City will always put profits first.
When the profit reaches 30%, they can risk war to do business. When the profit reaches double, the businessmen will sell their own worth. When the profit reaches three times the original price, these people will sell their souls.
Coincidentally, there is such a ship willing to go to Lys recently; unfortunately, there is only such a ship.
Therefore, there were many demons and monsters gathered on the ship, and they were all rushing towards the Dragon Queen flying west.
Janos Bracken was holding on to the side of the ship with a pale face, wishing he could vomit out everything in his stomach.
Jorah Mormont, the former Earl of Bear Island, was much more relaxed. He leaned against the wall of the ship and scanned potential competitors.
"The Golden Company mercenary who talked to the captain should be from a great lord, but I don't know him."
Jorah whispered to a seasick Janos.
The latter reluctantly turned back, stared for a while with squinted eyes, and replied in the same voice: "It looks like Jon Clinton, the former lord of Falcon's Nest. I'm not sure. I heard that he died very early."
After boarding the ship, many people discovered that the people on the ship were all looking for the Dragon Queen, so they quickly formed a small group. Although Genos and Jorah each had their own ideas, they still stayed together.
"As for the red-robed monk who stares at the candles in the room all day long, I found out that his name is Magiro, he has the title of Slave of Lohra, and his status in the Red God's priest system should be high."
Big Bear is talking about a mysterious red-robed monk with skin as black as pitch, about seven feet tall, with a round belly shaped like a huge pebble, and tangled bone-white beard and hair like lion's hair snaking out from his face.
The red flame pattern tattoos are all over the cheeks and forehead.
"It should be someone sent by High Priest Benero of the Red Priesthood." Genos agreed.
Half of Volantis knows that the followers of the Lord of Light call Daenerys the reincarnation of the savior. The representatives sent by these fanatical believers cannot be weaklings.
Magiro's appearance reinforces this point.
Even when the knowledgeable crew and sailors saw this man, they all marveled at the gift of the gods.
"There are several waves of people sent by other forces, but according to my observation, they are not strong, just average."
Although Big Bear is now in decline, he was a serious earl back then and had won the championship in a national martial arts tournament in Westeros. He still had some foresight.
Genos nodded, agreeing with his companion's point of view.
The Dragon Queen should have flown to King's Landing, so I can handle the matter when I get back, Lord Bracken thought.
…
West End, Sarsfield City.
This castle is located on the south side of the Riverwalk and northeast of Casterly Rock. It is the home castle of the Sarsfield family.
The family's coat of arms is a green arrow on a green background and a white belt. The family motto is "Unswerving Determination". Because there are many mountains and forests in the territory, there are many archers as soldiers.
The Sarsfield family's horse archers are probably what their family is most famous for.
The last time he fought for Robb, Arthur led his army through this castle, but because there were not many soldiers in the castle, and its geographical location was not like that of the Golden Tooth, where the River Road ran through the city, he did not attack the city.
At this moment, dozens of flag-bearers were in front carrying their own flags, and the king and the leading nobles were observing the situation in the castle from the range of the small trebuchet.
Arthur held a monocular telescope and looked back and forth at the few soldiers exposed on the castle wall.
This was a gift from a noble in the Stormlands. It was made from a lens produced in Myr and processed by a bachelor. Although it is not of high value, it is surprisingly useful on the battlefield.
After the king had seen enough, he handed it to Hugo Vance beside him, which made him flattered.
"Although there are a group of old, weak, sick and disabled people wearing tattered iron armor standing on the wall, I believe that as long as we expose our butts to this castle, one or two thousand elite cavalry will rush out from inside and stab our buttholes.
"
Showing the enemy's weakness is not a clever tactic, and Kevan's IQ can definitely figure it out.
Bald Inis pointed to the nearby mountains, "But we can't capture this castle in a short time. The place is too narrow and the army cannot deploy at all. We can only let the soldiers attack in batches. It will take time to build the trebuchet."
.”
The Secretary of State for War briefly described the situation.
He was telling the truth. During the war in Westeros, except for the dead Renly, no commander would let his army carry large ordnance with him.
Therefore, if you want to attack a city, you can only stop and build siege rams, trebuchets, ladders, etc. first, and then take your time.
And the casualties were not small.
Arthur thought for a while and asked: "Do you estimate how many soldiers can be packed in this castle?"
An extremely favorable news came from the Reach in the south. The army brought by Garland and the soldiers of the Hightower family worked together to temporarily drive away the ironborn who invaded the coastline.
The outlets of the Mandeb River and the Mead River have been blocked by huge iron chains, and no one can enter the inland river unless they go through various inspections.
The ironborn drove their longships around the Shield Islands and the west coast of the Reach, but there was basically no chance.
According to Garland's letter, he had already led his army into Crake Forest, killing scouts along the way and imprisoning everyone who had seen the River Bend army.
Therefore, this river bend army will be a surprise force.
Therefore, the king thought of quickly attacking the vicinity of Lannisport, and then attacking the Western Army from both sides on the frontal battlefield.
Of course, Tyrion will also lead the way and let an army invade Casterly Rock to collapse the Lannister soldiers.
Count Carlyle Vance, Marquis Innis, and Count Clermont Piper, who had recently built a castle, came back to discuss and finally came up with a figure.
"At most three thousand people, this castle can only hold so many soldiers. If there are more cavalry, the number of soldiers will be even less. As for the food stored inside, it depends on how big their underground part is."
Count Clermont replied.
Not all castles are like Harrenhal. Just the Hundred Furnaces Hall of the main castle can accommodate thousands of lords standing at the same time.
The vast majority of castles were just residences for lords and small military fortresses.
"The situation is very favorable to us. In this case, the people of Rowan and Oakheart will stay near this city and focus on guarding against the Western Army in the city."
King Arthur I pointed to the southwest, "The remaining 12,000 people are marching quickly. We have to rush to fight near Casterly Rock City."
After the king issued the order, the entire army took action. The soldiers in loose formations marched along the river road, while the soldiers of the two Riverbend families guarded the enemy in the direction of Sarsfield City.
Four days later, the huge Casterly Rock City appeared in front of this army.
The Western Territory is mountainous and full of groves, so there is naturally no shortage of firewood, so the soldiers first built a large number of thorny wooden poles to resist the charge of the Lannister heavy cavalry.
Then, the tired soldiers began to set up tents, build wooden watchtowers, and build simple stables.
Under the command of the good-hearted Minister of War, Marquis Innis, the whole process was relatively orderly. Soldiers from each family were assigned to appropriate areas, and the entire army quickly entered a state of rest.
According to Arthur I's plan, the first round of tentative attacks would be launched in two days.
Of course, he did not forget to send a message to Garland in the south to agree on a time for simultaneous attacks.
This second uncle is quite reliable sometimes.
At night, after creating his children's accounts with Margaery, King Arthur I sneaked out of the tent and went to talk to the Princess of Dorne about life.
