The Blackwood soldiers were very clever. Most of them turned around in a noisy manner and slipped away without looking back.
A tied prisoner and Santaga lying on the ground groaning were left behind.
Andrew was about to give the order to pursue, but Arthur raised his hand to stop him.
"Why? We have enough advantages." Andrew was puzzled.
"It's better to take Brynden to Riverrun quickly." Arthur explained.
This was done to prevent Count Tytos, the governor of the Blackwood family, from sending a large army to pursue Arthur.
Arthur's thirty-five armored soldiers and more than twenty peasant soldiers could not stop the thousands of troops in Crowtree City.
You must know that Shuangbu maintains a standing army of more than 3,000 people.
Most of the vast land from the Blue Fork River in the north to the north bank of the Red Fork River belongs to the Blackwood family.
Others belong to House Tully.
But considering that the Red Fork River and the Tumbling Stone River further west divide the Tully family's territory into three parts, it's hard to say whether the Tully family can outdo Blackwood on the north bank of the Red Fork River.
But as long as they entered the territory of the Tully family in the west, Titos would not dare to use force on the lord's territory at will.
When the time comes, show Edmure the evidence and let him seek justice.
Andrew scratched his helmet, "But Lord Hendry didn't order us to follow you to Riverrun."
"I will pay him a large sum of gold dragons as a reward for borrowing you. In addition, everyone present will be given three silver deer."
After hearing that they could get three silver deer, the Bracken soldiers suddenly became excited.
"Everyone is Bracken, Lord Hendry will agree."
"That's right, Andrew, you are a knight, how dare you refuse Lord Arthur's request?"
"Isn't it just to go to Riverrun? We will go with you."
"The Tullys are hospitable, so there's nothing wrong with going there."
These soldiers are all civilians from the Riverlands. Many of them came out to serve as soldiers without even a little bit of land. They only get four or five silver deer in a month.
Just by going to Riverrun, you can get three silver stags, which is pie in the sky.
In fact, this kind of situation of maintaining a large standing army only occurs in the Riverlands and the Riverlands controlled by the Tyrell Rose family.
Because the two places are the second and first grain-producing areas in the Seven Kingdoms respectively, there is enough food to feed the additional population.
In addition, the climate is warm and suitable for reproduction, and uneducated farmers do not know how to use birth control, which leads to a large population growth in peacetime.
It has been fifteen years since Robert became king, and a new round of population growth is about to begin.
Unfortunately, the long summer that has lasted for nearly ten years is coming to an end, and the contradiction between food and population will amplify infinitely.
By then, even if Robert is not dead, Westeros will be in chaos for a while.
During the Targaryen dynasty, there were many years of war with Dorne and several Blackfire rebellions, which could consume the excess population to ensure that after the Long Summer, the food reserves in Westeros could satisfy the remaining people.
Those who eat it will eat until the next summer.
It is worth mentioning that the Bracken family is the main supporter of Daemon Blackfyre, the bastard son of the Targaryen family, the so-called Black Dragon Party.
Faced with the enthusiasm of the soldiers, Andrew could not refuse.
Anyway, it was Arthur who explained to Hendry and Count Janos that he was just the executor.
Andrew convinced himself so.
After Santaga was tied up and the prisoners released, more than 500 people lined up and set off.
Soon, Arthur's castle appeared in front of him.
Several people were lying on the ground, a peasant-looking man hugged someone and cried loudly, while the steward Amber and some peasant soldiers stood aside.
The horse trotted, carrying Arthur to the front.
He recognized that this was Darren, a villager from Riverside Village, who had followed him to arrest Brynden and his gang yesterday.
The three people on the ground seemed to be dead. They didn't even have a piece of good flesh on their bodies. They must have suffered a lot before they died.
The person being held by Darren was a young woman with a very conspicuous bulge in her belly. In addition to the torn skin, there was a lot of blood flowing out between her legs.
It was obviously a miscarriage.
"Seven levels of hell!" Arthur sighed loudly, "Did that Officer Blackwood do this?"
Darren was crying and speechless. Amber replied with some guilt:
"Yes, my lord. I feel ashamed that you failed to protect your people when you went out. I am not a good steward."
"It's okay." Arthur comforted him.
Seeing the grief-stricken Darren, Arthur felt a little sad.
He jumped off his horse, walked up to Darren, and said, "I am ashamed of myself for failing to protect you and your family. I swear, the Blackwood family will pay the due price for this."
The honest villagers in this riverside village were supposed to have their own small lives, which may not be very happy, but they also have a future to pursue.
It could be that just because of Brynden's act of pretending to be a bandit, three families were broken up.
These are not villagers who can be robbed casually in the cavalry, these are real people.
Maybe she is a wife, maybe a daughter, maybe a mother. In short, she is a person with a certain social relationship.
In this way, he was tortured to death.
Arthur felt a vague hatred for Brynden and the officer.
"Amber, go and bring Brynden and his men out. I will take them to see Duke Hoster and let him handle this matter fairly." Arthur ordered.
"Darren, are you willing to go to Riverrun to testify? The Duke will give you an explanation." Arthur bent down and asked.
Darren wiped his nose and looked at Arthur blankly, "I...I am willing, but can you bury my wife and children?"
"They are evidence that we will take to Riverrun." Arthur said softly, "We can wrap your wife and children in salt so that they will not rot quickly."
Darren's eyes were empty and he neither nodded nor shook his head.
Arthur felt that he should have agreed, so he ordered the servants in the castle to bring out salt and dispose of the three corpses.
In addition, some soldiers from the master's family were also sent to carry food. It would take two or three days to walk from here to Riverrun, and it would be impossible not to bring enough food.
Fortunately, there is enough food stored in Arthur's Castle.
After instructing Amber to continue to guard the castle, Arthur set off with the criminals, prisoners and five hundred soldiers.
Their destination was River Run City at the confluence of the Red Fork River and the Tengshi River.
…
Crowtree City.
"My lord, Master Brynden was kidnapped by Arthur Bracken of Moulin Rouge."
The sentry who escaped was the fastest and ran back to Crowtree City early the next morning and reported the incident to Count Tytos.
"Hmm~? Where are the soldiers around my son? Where's Santaga? Where's Roger? Are they losers? More than a hundred people can't run a small Moulin Rouge?" The Earl was furious.
The sentry did not dare to tell the fact that Brynden was pretending to be a bandit, so he could only speak vaguely: "They were all captured. When the remaining brothers saw that something was wrong, they all came back to report to you like me. They are all on the road at the moment.
"
"What a waste, get out." The earl obviously didn't believe this statement.
He stood up quickly, wandered back and forth in the hall for a few times, and then ordered to the frightened manager beside him:
"Gather all the soldiers near Crowtree City, let's go find my son."
PS: Please give me monthly votes and recommend votes.
