Dominate the Game of Thrones with Mount and Blade

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 Maester of White Harbor... May the Seven Gods above, may the Stranger take you away, this shameless traitor."

Lord Wyman Manderly of White Harbor cursed his own maester Theomer, 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 was born in the Lannister family of Lannisport. He was taken into custody because the Lord of White Harbor firmly believed that Theodore revealed some of the Manderly family's movements to the Lannister family during the War of Five Kings and subsequent wars. They came out as sacrifices 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 House Governor Manderly. He turned to his retainer, Samwell Stone, the 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 proposal for Tyrion's marriage, he had to admit that the power of the Lannister family was second only to the royal family in the past, and it was the same as the Arryn family and the Stark family. The family is even.

Therefore, in the eyes of Superintendent Royce, Wyman Mandler's move has the immoral meaning of beating a drowned dog.

Samwell Stone didn't dare to speak ill of another nobleman like his own lord, but he also wouldn't 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 so 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 squire 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. New Castle 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 made entirely 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 already a few months ago. Wait until we take Winterfell , if we go north to resist the savages, the Night Watch Legion may have become rotten meat in the belly of the savages beyond the wall. "

This was also a fool who didn't understand military affairs. 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.

Earl Wyman Manderly, who was sitting on the main seat of the Mermaid Palace, turned his fat neck with difficulty and asked the "Bronze John" beside him for his opinion:

"You are the commander of the people of the valley. What do you think of the choice of the northward route?"

To be honest, he didn't really believe the words of the red-robed female monk. How could burning a traitor to death make the storm disappear?

The movements of the superior lords were always easily noticed by the subordinate lords. The conversation between the two most important people on the high platform slowly quieted down the crowd that had been arguing for a long time.

When everyone's eyes turned to him, Yohn Royce said:

"The Bolton army is stationed not far from the mouth of the White Knife. The barge fleet of White Harbor cannot go deep into the North, so the war with the Bolton family will be carried out immediately. The families that agreed to recapture Winterfell should reorganize their soldiers and let the knights repair their swords and armor. We will go north along the White Knife River tomorrow."

Perhaps someone leaked the news of the Vale's troops. The Bolton family sent people to build a river lock at the bottom of the White Knife River a long time ago, which made the original plan of transporting troops by barge fleet fail.

And Lord Leech Roose Bolton obviously would not wait for the enemy to come to Winterfell. An army with the banners of the Flayer and the Long Axe Black Crown was approaching White Harbor.

In other words, the soldiers of the Bolton army mainly came from the Dreadfort and Barrow Hall.

The military rations supply in White Harbor was quite timely, so Lord Yohn Royce was going to go north along the White Knife River, firstly to destroy the Bolton family's iron locks blocking the river, and secondly to ensure that there was no problem with the military rations supply.

"As for the families who should go to the Wall according to the agreement, you and the fleet will stay in White Harbor, wait until the weather clears up and the storm subsides, and then go north along the northern coastline. You can go later, but you must ensure safety during the march."

...

Stormland, south of Bronze Gate City.

A large and continuous military camp stood on the north side of the Buckler Mountains. At the main gate of the military camp, dozens of flags were fluttering above the heads of the flag officers.

Will Witt, the royal flag officer holding a black background and a red three-headed dragon flag, took the lead and entered the range of the military camp's trebuchet.

After capturing Kevan Lannister in the West, this lucky man became a real knight, so he could also have his own surname: Witt.

Then this lucky man was appointed as the flag bearer by Arthur I and was able to hold the flag representing the king.

"Return to the city~" The River Bay officer guarding the gate had already received the order of the king's imminent arrival. After seeing the black-bottomed red dragon flag and the subsequent golden sword and horse flag, he immediately ordered the gate to be opened.

Under the courtesy gaze of nearly a hundred gatekeepers, Arthur, riding a red giant horse, slowly entered the camp of the River Bay army.

"Don't you only have 10,000 people? Why did you build such a large camp?"

After getting off the horse, the king asked Matus Rowan, who led the nobles to greet him.

"This is to make the enemy unclear about the strength of our army." Matus, who had no beard, replied.

The main force of this army is soldiers from the families in the south of the River Bay, such as Bandaren Castle, Black Crown City, Highland City, Three Tower Castle, and Sunflower Hall. The Rowan family of Golden Tree City has no deep relationship with these families, and their own soldiers are not here, so Matus can't directly lead the army south to attack Storm's End Castle.

In order to prevent the commander of the Golden Group from knowing the strength of this army, Earl Rowan chose to overhaul the camp and asked the scout cavalry to count. There were at least 20,000 soldiers' tents here.

"Call the leading nobles and knights of the major families. I want to announce the military order."

After the king gave the order, he strode towards the largest tent in the camp with his guards.

The Dornishmen have entered the territory of Black Harbor in Stormland from the Bone Road. The army recruited by the Knights of Flowers has also passed through Green Valley City and is about to enter the area actually controlled by the Golden Group. The army in the north must act as soon as possible.

The River Bay Knights, who had been resting for a long time, actively responded to the king's call. After dozens of people took off their weapons, they entered the main account to discuss military affairs.

In order to show their eagerness to go south, many knights even appeared in front of the king in full armor and holding helmets.

Matus Rowan played his role as a bridge very well. Before the meeting officially began, he introduced most of the important nobles to the king.

"This is Viscount Brandon Kuy, 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 Earl of Bundarenburg, Sir Leo Blybar."

...

"Sir George Greyford, he is the Lord of Saint Hall Town and the nephew of Countess Alice Greyford."

"This Sir Bruce Buckler, who looks very kind at first glance, is from Copper Gate City. He is Earl Ralph's cousin. The Buckler family has provided us with a total of 1,100 soldiers and some food."

Seven leading nobles with more than 800 soldiers from their families were introduced to the king by Matus, and the rest of the small families did not receive this treatment.

"Very good." Arthur I waved his hand, "We won't be empty-handed. Tell me the situation on the northern line, and we will decide whether to go south immediately."

It was just noon at this moment. If they acted quickly, they could move the camp a few leagues south in an afternoon.

The king's enthusiasm seemed to infect the vassal in the tent, and they all spoke at once, describing the current situation south of Bronze Gate City and north of Storm's End.

After receiving the remnants of Stannis who were taken by the Florent soldiers and the slave-hunting team from Pentos, the strength of Aegon's troops has increased significantly.

"About 15,000 to 18,000, the cavalry and archers are quite elite, and the elephants are also difficult to deal with."

Mattus Rowan gave his own evaluation.

This is true. The cavalry system of the Golden Company is inherited from Westeros, and it is still the same set of knights and squires.

But in the nearly 100 years of fighting, this mercenary group abandoned the pedantic wedge-shaped formation lance charge of the Western Continent and changed to using long-pole weapons to break the enemy's phalanx from the side.

As for archers, this mercenary group is far ahead of the Westeros people.

The strongest archers in the world should be those from the Summer Islands. They use double-arc golden heartwood longbows, which are said to be able to shoot arrows four hundred yards away.

You know, the distance at which the cavalry charges is only a hundred yards, which means that when the cavalry approaches this kind of archer, there is a distance of nearly three hundred yards where they are live targets.

The good news is that the more than one thousand archers of the Golden Group are not all archers from the Summer Islands. The bad news is that among these one thousand elite archers, from officers to coaches, they are all from the Summer Islands.

"Their arrows can shoot farther than the bows of the Dothraki, and our archers are far inferior to the Dothraki."

Bruce Buckler sighed.

Ange Bracken beside the king said disdainfully: "Even their archer commander Black Baqu can only shoot farther. In terms of accuracy, we Dornishmen are much better than the Summer Islanders."

He was most proud of his archery skills, so he looked down on the officers' bragging about the archers of the Golden Group.

"Archers are not a big problem. We have large crossbows to suppress them."

Arthur had ordered the craftsmen in King's Landing to develop powerful crossbows. When he went south, they already had several improved products. It should not be a problem to deal with the Golden Group.

The king waved his hand, signaling the Rivermen to continue to introduce other things.

"Little Aegon is currently in Storm's End. The main force, the captain and several deputy captains of the Golden Group are also there. There are quite a few officers with a hundred-man army stationed on the King's Road leading to Storm's End in Bronze Gate City. As for the several castles in the south that were captured, there should not be many garrisons."

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