Even in late autumn, this night in White Harbor was unreasonably cold.
The constant sea breeze brought a bone-deep chill to the large crowd at the port, and the pile of flames, which was taller than the longest lance, was extremely fragile in front of the sea breeze.
There were no screams in the fire. It seemed that the Lord of Light had taken away the gifts from mortals.
Fortunately, the ceremony would end soon. "Bronze Yohn" wrapped his thickened cloak tightly around himself, and then looked at the Lord of White Harbor and the red-robed witch Melisandre in front of him.
"You betrayed me, betrayed the oath you swore when you became the maester of White Harbor... May the Seven Gods above, may the Stranger take away you, this shameless traitor."
Lord Wyman Manderly of White Harbor cursed his own maester Theodore, who was tied to a long wooden pole in the center of the flames, but the target of the curse could not refute.
This bachelor came from the Lannister family in Lannisport. He was taken into custody because the Lord of White Harbor firmly believed that Theomer had revealed some of the Manderly family's movements to the Lannister family during the War of Five Kings and subsequent wars.
It was used as a sacrifice to protect the flat-bottomed troop carriers heading north to the Great Wall from the storm.
Melisandre, who was still beautiful, stood closest to the fire, chanting prayers to the Lord of Light while staring closely at the image in the flames.
Lord Yohn Royce, who had white hair and beard, was fed up with the hypocrisy of Lord Manderly. He turned to his retainer, Samwell Stone, the head coach of Runestone City, and whispered:
"If the Lannister family had not been completely defeated and the little devil was taken to King's Landing as a hostage, this believer of the Seven Gods would never dare to throw a Lannister into the fire as a traitor."
Although Yohn Royce looked down on the little devil and even rejected Duke Tywin's marriage proposal for Tyrion, he had to admit that the power of the Lannister family was second only to the royal family, the Arryn family, and the Stark family.
The family is even.
Therefore, in the eyes of Superintendent Royce, Wyman Mandler's move had the immoral meaning of beating a drowned dog.
Samwell Stone did not dare to speak ill of another great nobleman like his own lord, but he would not openly oppose Lord Royce, so he could only prevaricate a few words at will.
"Yes, the sea breeze tonight makes my head dizzy."
What the instructor of Runestone City said was true. The biting cold wind from the Shivering Sea blew hundreds of anchored ships back and forth. The inner harbor of White Harbor didn't seem that safe anymore, not to mention that it wasn't usually that peaceful.
outport.
Any captain who makes a living on the Narrow Sea would not choose to enter the Shivering Sea at the turn of autumn and winter, but there is no other way. If you want to go north quickly, you can only march by sea.
The only advantage of the cold wind is that it can quickly extinguish the flames. In the expectant eyes of many servants and soldiers, the flames shook for a few times, lowered their high heads like a defeated loser, and then disappeared completely.
"A perfect ceremony." Count Wyman Mandalay, who believed in the Seven Gods, praised the red-robed female monk of the Lord of Light, and then angrily greeted the only few non-believers of the Lord of Light who were willing to watch the sacrificial ceremony.
Enter the castle stairs above the wolf's den with their attendant servants.
This wide upward white stone staircase connects the Wolf's Den outside White Harbor City to the New Castle on the hillside of the city, which is also the home fort of the Manderly family.
Urged by the cold wind, the group quickly climbed up the castle stairs and entered the hall of the new castle - the Mermaid Palace.
This hall, which was entirely made of wooden boards, was packed with noble knights from the valley and some lords from the north.
Eight long tables that had been temporarily moved in were neatly placed on the floor of the Mermaid Palace. People sitting around the long tables seemed to have their own opinions. Some people advocated leading an army to defeat the Bolton family's army and then heading north overland to the Great Wall.
.
"I think adults all know that the storms in the autumn and winter of Shivering Sea can easily tear apart a flat-bottomed boat, but the soldiers on the boat have no ability to resist. On land, a boat of soldiers can kill at least the same number of savages.
."
This is the Lord of Longbow Hall, Jerwood Hunter. He has just inherited the title, so he is very active in noble gatherings. It seems that in this way he can be recognized by other nobles.
Yohn Royce somewhat agreed with this man's point of view, but the wildlings would not wait for reinforcements from the valley to arrive before attacking Castle Black or Eastwatch.
To refute this view, there is no need for a nobleman of Royce's level to speak. A young northern nobleman, Robin Flint, expressed the thoughts of another group of people.
"Lord Hunter, do you know how long it takes to march an army of more than 20,000 people from White Harbor to Winterfell, and how long it takes to go north along the King's Road from Winterfell?"
Jerwood Hunter was silent when he was asked. He really didn't understand this aspect.
Robin Flint asked and answered himself: "At least three months, and letters for help from Castle Black have been sent three times in a row, and the furthest one was a few months ago. By the time we take Winterfell
, if we go north to resist the savages, the Night's Watch Legion may have become rotten meat in the bellies of the savages beyond the wall."
This was also a fool who did not understand military matters. Count Royce made his own judgment.
The most important thing for the valley army to go north along the land route was not the lack of time, but the lack of supply of food and grass.
Even if he arrived late and allowed the wildlings to capture the Great Wall, Yohn Royce was confident that he would lead the army in the valley to defeat the wildlings and retake Castle Black, but there was no way to fill the more than 20,000 mouths along the way.
Even if you eat war horses, you can't reach Castle Black.
Sitting on the main seat on the high platform of the Mermaid Palace, Earl Wyman Manderly turned his fat neck with difficulty and asked the opinion of "Bronze Yohn" next to him:
"You are the commander-in-chief of the valley people. What do you think of the choice of route north?"
To be honest, he didn't really believe what the red-robed female monk said. How could burning a traitor make the storm disappear?
The movements of higher-level lords were always easily noticed by lower-level lords. The conversation between the two most important people on the high platform slowly calmed down the crowd that had been noisy for a long time.
When everyone's eyes turned to him, John Royce said:
"The Boltons' army is stationed not far from the mouth of the White Blade. The barge fleet from White Harbor cannot penetrate deep into the north, so the war with the Boltons will begin soon. The families who had previously agreed to recapture Winterfell reorganized their soldiers.
Let the knights repair their swords and armor, and we will go north along the White Blade River tomorrow."
Maybe someone leaked the news about troops dispatched from the valley. The Bolton family sent people to build a barrage at the foot of the White Blade River very early. This made the original plan of transporting troops by barge fleet come to nothing.
Lord Leech Roose Bolton obviously will not wait for the enemy to come to Winterfell. An army under the banner of the Skinned Man and the Black Crown is approaching White Harbor.
In other words, the soldiers of the Bolton Army mainly come from the Dreadfort and the Tomb Hall.
The supply of military rations in White Harbor is quite timely, so Lord Yohn Royce is planning to go north along the White Knife River, firstly to destroy the Bolton family's iron lock on the river, and secondly to ensure that there is no problem with the supply of military rations.
"As for the families who are supposed to go to the Great Wall of Despair as agreed, you and the fleet will stay in White Harbor, wait until the weather clears and the storm subsides, and then go north along the northern coastline. You can go later, but you must ensure that
Safety on the march.”
…
Stormland, south side of Tongmen City.
A large, continuous military camp stands on the north side of the Bukele Mountains. At the main entrance of the military camp, dozens of flags are flying over the heads of the flag officers.
Will Witte, the royal flag-bearer holding the red three-headed dragon flag on a black background, took the lead and entered the range of the barracks trebuchet.
After capturing Kevan Lannister in the Westerlands, this lucky man became a true knight, so he could also have his own surname: Wirt.
Later, this lucky man was named his flag bearer by Arthur I and was able to hold the flag representing the king.
"Go back to the city." The Hewan officer guarding the gate had already received the order that the king was about to arrive. After seeing the red dragon flag on a black background and the golden sword and horse flag that followed, he immediately ordered the gate to be opened.
Under the polite gaze of nearly a hundred gatekeepers, Arthur, riding a giant red horse, slowly entered the barracks of the river bend army.
"Don't you only have 10,000 people? Why did you build the camp so big?"
After dismounting, the king asked Matus Rowan, who was leading the nobles to greet him.
"This is to make the enemy unclear about the strength of our army." The clean-faced Matus replied.
The main force of this army is soldiers from the families in the south of the Reach such as Fort Bandalum, Blackcrown City, Highland City, Three Towers Castle, and Sunflower Hall. The Rowan family in Golden Tree City is not closely related to these families, and their own family
The soldiers were not here, so Matus could not directly lead his army south to attack Storm's End Castle.
In order to prevent the commander of the Golden Company from knowing the strength of this army, Count Rowan chose to overhaul the camp and let the reconnaissance cavalry count. There were at least 20,000 soldiers' tents here.
"Gather the leading nobles and knights from all major families and I will announce a military order."
After the king gave the order, he led his guards and strode towards the largest tent in the military camp.
The Dornish people have entered the territory of Blackport in Stormland from the Bone Road, and the army recruited by the Knights of Flowers has also passed through Green Valley City and is about to enter the area under the actual control of the Golden Company. This army in the north must also act as soon as possible.
The Knights of the River Bend, who had rested for a long time, responded positively to the king's call. After dozens of them took off their weapons, they entered the main tent to discuss military affairs.
In order to show their eagerness to go south, many knights even appeared in front of the king wearing full armor and holding helmets.
Matus Rowan played his role as a bridge well and introduced most of the important nobles to the king before the proceedings officially began.
"This is Viscount Brandon Cue, Lord of Sunflower Hall."
"The fat man next to him is Martin Mullendall, Viscount of Highland City."
"As for this tall middle-aged knight, he is Sir Leo Bleibbar, Earl of Bundarenberg."
…
"Sir George Greyford, he is the lord of Holy Hall and the nephew of Countess Alice Greyford."
"This Sir Bruce Bukele, who looks very amiable at first glance, comes from Copper Gate City. He is a cousin of Earl Ralph. The Bukele family has provided us with a total of 1,100 soldiers, as well as some
food."
Seven leading nobles with a family strength of more than 800 people were introduced to the king by Matus, while the remaining small families did not receive this treatment.
"Very good." Arthur I waved his hand, "We won't come here. You tell me the situation on the northern line, and we will decide immediately whether to go south."
It was just noon now. If we acted quickly, we could move the camp several leagues southward in one afternoon.
The king's enthusiasm seemed to have infected the vassals in the tent, and everyone was talking about the current situation south of Coppergate City and north of Storm's End.
After receiving the remnants of Stannis's army held hostage by Florentine soldiers and the slave-catching team from Pentos, the strength of Young Aegon's men has increased considerably.
"About 15,000 to 18,000, the cavalry and archers are quite elite, and the elephant soldiers are also difficult to deal with."
Matus Rowan gave his own evaluation.
This is a fact. The cavalry system of the Golden Company was inherited from Westeros. It is still a knight and squire.
However, after nearly a hundred years of hard work, this mercenary group abandoned the pedantic wedge-shaped formation of lance charge in the Western Continent and changed it to using long pole weapons to defeat the enemy's formation from the side.
As for the archers, this mercenary group is far ahead of the Westeros people.
The strongest archers in the known world are probably the archers from the Summer Islands. They use double-curved golden heartwood longbows, which are said to be able to shoot arrows up to four hundred yards away.
You must know that the distance at which the cavalry starts charging is only a hundred yards, which means that when the cavalry approaches this kind of archer, there is a distance of close to 300 yards that is a living target.
The good news is that the more than a thousand archers of the Golden Company are not all from the Summer Islands. The bad news is that among these thousand elite archers, from officers to instructors, they are all from the Summer Islands.
"Their arrows can shoot farther than the Dothraki's curved bows, and our archers are far worse than the Dothraki."
Bruce Buckler said this.
Ange Bracken, who was beside the king, said disdainfully: "Even their archer commander Hei Baqu can only shoot far. In terms of accuracy, we Dornish people are much better than the people of the Summer Islands."
What he was most proud of was his archery skills, so he looked down upon the officers' boasting about the Golden Company's archers.
"Archers are not a big problem. We have big crossbows to suppress them."
Arthur had ordered the craftsmen in King's Landing to develop a powerful crossbow. When he went south, there were already several improved products, so it should not be a problem to deal with the Golden Company.
The king waved his hand, indicating to the people of the River Bend to continue introducing other matters.
"Little Aegon is currently at Storm's End. The main force of the Golden Company, the captain and several deputy captains are also there. There are quite a few officers stationed at the Coppergate City leading to the King of Storm's End with hundreds of troops.
On the main road. As for the several castles that were knocked down in the south, there should not be many garrisons."
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