Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon

"According to Lord Rowan's scout report, the Lannister army has crossed the Blackwater River and headed south," Duke Mace said while looking at the map worriedly. "A new army has joined them from the direction of Stone Hall Town. At this moment, To the north. The Lannister army is led by Adam Malbrand's cavalry, which is about two days' journey away from us. Lord Tywin sent a message from Lord Lefford of Goldtooth City, saying that he would fully assist the southern border in repelling the invasion. "

After Count Rowan took the initiative to ask Ying to lead the rear troops to cover, Randyll Tully was arranged by the Duke of Metz to join the central army. The Earl of Horn Hill, the lord of the Tully family, spoke directly: "Duke of Mace, haven't you made a decision yet? Lannister deliberately delayed our march because he didn't intend to let us return to the south. If you still want to maintain this The superficial cooperative relationship is leading our army to a dead end!"

The Duke of Metz said in a panic: "I can ask Earl Lefford to take the message back and politely refuse Lord Tywin's help. Lord Tywin still has the riverlands to deal with." As he said that, he looked at Earl Redwin.

But this time Redwin didn't side with him: "Lord Mace, we have to make a decision."

"But Sir Hopper and the others are now in King's Landing, and they are not sure whether they can escape from the city." The Duke of Metz's daughter Margaery is also in King's Landing, as well as many nobles and their heirs from the south. They originally arranged for these people to be in King's Landing. I wanted to work together inside and outside to capture King's Landing, but it didn't work.

The Duke of Metz wanted to hear the opinion of his son Loras at this time, but Loras received an order from King Tommen of King's Landing. As a member of the Kingsguard, Loras had been stranded in the Tyrell army for a long time, and the two parties had a tacit agreement not to mention it.

But now that the situation has suddenly changed, Lannister obviously has other ideas and is attacking from all sides. For the sake of honor, Loras actually planned to return to King's Landing as ordered, but now he was locked up in the camp by the Duke of Metz.

The Duke of Mace finally understands what it means to ride a lion and get down easily. Not only Loras, the Tyrell family who became the Kingsguard, and Margaery, who almost married the King of King's Landing, but also other families are more or less closely involved with King's Landing. . When their goal was no longer to rule but to protect themselves, these originally arranged chess pieces instantly became constraints.

The Duke of Metz ran out of ideas: "In your opinion, what should we do?"

Lord Redwin shut up.

Earl Randyll gritted his teeth: "I suggest that we stop retreating immediately, turn around and declare war with Tywin, and have a decisive battle! At the same time, write a letter to the Southern Territory and ask the troops staying in the Southern Territory to ask King Targaryen to surrender. If our side can win, Drive directly into King's Landing. If we can capture King's Landing, we can deal with it calmly."

The Duke of Metz turned pale when he heard this, and looked at the princes and knights discussing the matter, but no one responded to Count Landau's proposal. The Duke of Metz found that everyone was waiting for him to make a decision.

"This" the Duke of Metz hesitated.

Earl Tully looked at the inflatable fish Duke, and could not hide the disappointment and anger on his face. As of now, half of the responsibility is Mace Tyrell's hesitation in looking forward and backward, and ruining the opportunity: "Fight without fighting, retreat without." But if we retreat, we are waiting for death.”

Seeing that he was being treated so badly by his vassal, the Duke of Metz said angrily: "Don't be alarmist, Count Tully. No matter what, we still have 30,000 people."

Earl Tully glanced at the princes in the tent, and finally chose to shut up: "Then, please give me an idea, Your Majesty the Duke."

The Duke of Metz said helplessly: "Aren't I asking you for your opinion?"

Lord Tully was speechless.

The Duke of Metz still asked: "I think this is what we should do. Let Earl Lefford reply to Lord Tywin and politely decline Lord Tywin's kindness to help the southern border. We will continue to withdraw our troops towards the Bitter Bridge and wait until the withdrawal reaches Bitter Bridge." What do you think about the situation at the bridge?"

Lord Tully closed his eyes to prevent himself from squinting at him.

At this time, a hole was opened in the military tent, and the dusty Earl of Rowan, wearing armor, entered the tent: "The entire Lannister army has crossed the Blackwater River. The right wing of the forward army is Adam Malbrand's cavalry, and the forward left wing is Tai. Gregor Clegane, Wen's dog. Lord Mace, why don't you prepare your troops and let the front army turn back quickly? The rear army is only one day away from Lannister, and our army can't retreat to Bitter Bridge. It is recommended that we quickly seize the hills near the source of the Mander River and send a force to occupy Tengshi Town. We will camp in a favorable terrain and wait for the Lannister army to approach. If we continue to march, we may be defeated one by one. "

Earl Rowan's words made Duke Metz turn pale for a moment: "How could it be possible? Why would Lord Tywin want to conflict with us? Aren't we allies?"

"My Lord Duke, don't you think about how Lord Tywin can allow us to retreat to the south safely? If our army must surrender to the Targaryen king, no matter how smart Tywin is, he cannot fight against Dorne and the Reach by himself. , the Stormlands and Dragonstone, not to mention the Targaryen kings.”

The Duke of Metz panicked: "Quick, send people to catch up with the former troops and ask them to turn back!"

"There is also Tengshi Town." Earl Rowan walked up to Duke Metz, his armor was vibrating, "We must send troops to Tengshi Town to watch our army's retreat. If Lannis is over there in King's Landing, If Te also comes out to intercept, then we run the risk of being flanked!"

After things were settled, Count Tully asked solemnly: "Count Rowan, are the rear troops in danger?"

Count Rowan replied: "I have arranged for a group of troops to cut off the rear, and the rear army is moving towards the center of the army at full speed."

The 30,000-man army retreated, and the ranks stretched for miles. Lord Rowan asked to be the last one to leave, thinking that Tywin would not give up.

The South was in danger, and everyone from the Duke of Mace to the knight commander who knew about it was confused and eager to rush back to the South. The calm and peaceful days before the retreat made the team relax their formation of retreating troops. The front, middle and rear armies were separated by several miles, resulting in a disconnection.

Just when the retreating troops of the Reach were relaxed, Tywin's army suddenly moved, and the whole army was dispatched, heading straight for the Blackwater River on the west side of King's Landing. After occupying the original garrison position of the Reach, the Lannister army chose to pursue without hesitation. What made the troops of the Reach even more uncomfortable was that Tywin's army crossed the river directly using the fishing boats and wooden planks they had raised with great difficulty. This allowed the Lannister army to quickly cross the Blackwater River, and in just one day, the front army caught up with the rear army of the Reach.

And the purpose of such an obvious pursuit was obviously not as Tywin said, that the Lannister army wanted to fight for the South.

It was obvious that Tywin did not intend to let the army of the Reach return to the South, but to leave the troops of the South here.

No one knew why Tywin, who looked like he wanted to retreat to the West before, suddenly became so aggressive.

But the situation had obviously changed.

The retreating front army of the Reach was commanded by Horace Redwyne of the Redwyne family. This knight was a knight from the Redwyne family and one of the twins of Earl Redwyne.

Horace had a mediocre appearance, orange hair, and a square face covered with freckles, but as a knight, he was brave and courageous and despised the weak.

Samwell Tarly, son of Lord Randyll Tarly, was once arranged to be a page on the Arbor. Because of his cowardice, Horace despised and humiliated Sam, and made him squeal like a pig. Lord Paxter was very disappointed with this, so he sent Sam back to Horn Hill.

This Horace is now in charge of the vanguard cavalry, and half of the knights and cavalry in the Reach are under his command. This responsibility should have belonged to Loras, the Knight of Flowers, the son of Lord Mace, but Loras was imprisoned by a transfer order from King's Landing and wanted to return to King's Landing for personal honor. Loras was forcibly taken away by Lord Mace, but he could not continue to be the cavalry commander, so this responsibility fell on Horace.

The vanguard's duty is to clear the way for the troops. Before crossing the Blackwater River, Horace collected fishing boats and sampans along the river and built a floating bridge.

The next stop of the vanguard is Tengshi Town.

Tengshi Town is the end point of the supply line along the Mander River for the 30,000 Riverland troops that were originally stationed near King's Landing. The southern supplies transported from Highgarden, Cider Hall, and Bitter Bridge are continuously transported here by the Redwyne family's ships, and then transported from here to the garrison camp in the Riverland by land.

This place is considered a strategic point and has always been protected by a garrison.

No matter how Horace thought about it, he could not think of any problems in Tengshi Town. So when the front army was about to arrive at Tengshi Town, he was thinking about going to the town to rest and find out if his twin brother Hobber had escaped from King's Landing.

When they were still a few miles away from Tengshi Town, an adjutant asked: "Sir, the scouts sent to explore the road ahead of Tengshi Town have not returned yet. Should we be more cautious?"

"Why should we be cautious about Tengshi Town? If Tengshi Town is occupied by the Dragon King's army, why do we need to retreat to Bitter Bridge?" Horace disagreed, "Enter Tengshi Town early and prepare food and grass for the troops behind. We need to raise ships as soon as possible and quickly reach Bitter Bridge downstream. We don't know what the situation in the south is."

"My lord, I'm worried about that side."

"King's Landing? There's even less to worry about King's Landing. What are you worried about, the gold cloaks? Or the four thousand Lannisters? My front army has only cavalry There are four thousand. ”

The adjutant was persuaded: "Sir, we need to cross the river to Tengshi Town from now on. Instead of wasting time looking for fishing boats and sampans to build a floating bridge, why not go around and cross the river from the shallow water upstream, and the whole army will wade across the river and assemble on the other side, and then go to Tengshi Town together?"

Horace looked at him and said: "If we don't build a floating bridge, how can the central army and the rear army cross the river? They have no horses and they also take a detour? Don't talk about these meaningless things anymore. Go and see how the fishing boats and sampans are prepared, and whether the floating bridge can be built?"

"Yes."

So under the order of Horace, the front army collected fishing boats and sampans in the nearby fishing villages, and did not start to build a floating bridge until the afternoon.

The front army cavalry was stranded on the west bank of the river and could only rest and wait.

At dusk, a floating bridge built on the slow stream was completed.

After crossing the river, Tengshi Town was right in front of them, so they didn't even build a tent, just waiting to cross the river to the town to rest.

The front army had been waiting for a long time at the riverside. Seeing the pontoon bridge being built, Horace could not wait to order the whole army to line up to cross the river and assemble on the other side.

As the cavalry began to cross the river, about 500 people reached the other side, and thousands more were waiting in line here.

The sound of trumpets and horns sounded in the distance.

"What's going on?"

The sound of trumpets and horns came from the other side of the river and upstream, resounding through the sky, wild and rapid, as if shouting something.

"Stop crossing the river! Messenger," Horace shouted, "Order the whole army to form a battle formation!"

The dim sunset was low in the west, and the river surface was dyed golden.

The urgently integrated vanguard soldiers and horses stumbled on the river bank at dusk. They were busy fastening their saddles, turning over and jumping on their horses, integrating from the already separated queues, and looking for their own queues.

However, the horns upstream and the trumpets on the other side sounded again, as if urging: hurry up, hurry up, hurry up.

The smoke and dust soon filled the sky on the other side and upstream, and the rumbling sound of horse hooves resounded on both sides of the river.

Horace shouted: "Hurry up, form a battle formation!"

But even the most efficient troops could not quickly deploy in battle formation when they were halfway through the river.

On this side of the river, only a 500-horse cavalry responsible for defense on the periphery immediately deployed in a battle formation toward the north upstream, while the other side of the river was completely caught off guard.

In the dusk, Horace saw the golden lion flag flying: "It's Lannister!"

At this time, how could Horace not realize that the army led by someone unknown in Lannister had occupied Tengshi Town without the knowledge of the vanguard of the river. They had already ambushed near the opposite bank and upstream, waiting to launch a surprise attack when the vanguard crossed the river.

The Lannister ambushers were all cavalry. In the dust and smoke, they did not occupy the high ground, and it was hard to see how many people there were.

This was obviously a premeditated raid. Horace watched the rumbling of horses' hooves. Half a mile from the pontoon bridge in the north, the cavalry responsible for the guard had already exchanged hands, and the other side was already fighting. And the cavalry on Horace's side had not yet prepared for the formation charge.

Horace did not have much time to think carefully, as the rumbling of horses' hooves was getting closer and closer. But even from a distance, looking at the dust and smoke, Horace was keenly aware of the intention of this group of Lannister cavalry. The Lannister army went around the rear and flank of his cavalry crossing the river, and it was clear that they were planning to drive Horace's cavalry, who were not fully prepared for battle, into the river!

Unease crept under Horace's skin, causing his hands to twitch. The young knight drew his sword and shouted: "To the rear, form a line, form a line!" In an instant, the enemy appeared in the rear, emerging from the hills by the river. The enemy leaders rode armored horses and led heavily armored cavalry like a huge steel fist, rushing towards the cavalry that had just gathered in a panic in the direction of the ferry.

The flag bearer raised the family flag and it fluttered in the wind, flying on the long pole.

The most front was the Lannister lion flag. A knight in golden armor was at the front of the wedge formation, raising his lance in his left hand and charging. Behind him were the flags of many westerly nobles.

Jaime Lannister.

Horace realized the identity of the knight.

The enemy was approaching, and there was no time to prepare. Horace shouted: "Blow our horn and follow me to charge!"

"Charge!" As he shouted the order, the voices of thousands of people responded immediately.

Horace kicked the horse's belly and led half of the cavalry who had just formed a line to rush forward. Horace was the first to charge, and with him at the head, the formation naturally formed a wedge formation during the charge.

Amid the sound of horns and trumpets.

The horses of both sides rumbled and collided on the vast plain by the river.

The horses rushed forward, and in an instant, the lances of both sides collided with each other. Some were pierced through the chest and died on the spot, while others were knocked off the horses and trampled by the horses' hooves.

In the end, the cavalry on Horace's side did not accumulate enough impact force.

In the first round of collision, Horace's mount was scraped across the neck by a spiked spear tip, and the horse went crazy, stretching out its horseshoe-studded feet to kick out. The frenzied warhorse rushed into the enemy formation, and lances and long spears stabbed it and Horace from all directions. Horace dodged left and right, barely protecting himself, but the warhorse stopped as the momentum of the charge, and fell down with a bang, vomiting blood and dying. Horace jumped off his horse at the last moment, escaping the dilemma of being crushed by the horse. He stood up in the blood and mud, holding his sword high, and frantically attacked the Lannister army that was also knocked off the horse.

"Come on!" Horace roared loudly, slashing a Lannister soldier.

Beside him, the battlefield shrank to a few feet around him. People madly collided with each other, making terrifying shouts. He was surrounded by three enemy soldiers, but he cut off the first spearhead that stabbed at him, and hit another person in the face with a backhanded sword.

Just as he was about to chase the third person, the rumbling sound of horse hooves on the battlefield was approaching. He looked over and saw the golden armor of the Lannister flashing a dazzling light in the dusk.

"Damn Lannister, seven levels of hell, all of you die!" Horace roared and raised his sword, looking at the knight in golden armor provocatively.

The knight in golden armor rushed over on horseback, holding a blood-stained lance.

The knight's horse galloped towards Horace, but Horace had enough courage. Under the urging of the golden knight, the lance attacked him faster than the horse. He gritted his teeth and barely dodged, but he didn't expect the warhorse to stand up with both hooves raised high. And the man on the horse actually fell off the horse.

The situation suddenly changed, and Horace was ecstatic, holding his sword and rushing towards the fallen knight.

However, at this moment, something strange happened, and another Lannister knight rushed towards him. The knight raised his spear in silence. Horace wanted to dodge, but it was too late. The spear in the knight's hand instantly penetrated the weak metal protection at the elbow joint of his right hand, and a sharp pain suddenly exploded, and the long sword in his hand immediately fell out of his hand.

He reached out to pull the spear stuck in his arm, but the knight directly discarded the spear and drew out the long sword instead. The sword light circled in the air and swung towards him again. Horace didn't remember when he fell, but when he opened his eyes again, there was only the sky above him. He realized that he was not dead, and quickly turned over and tried to stand up, but he was shaking with pain, as if the whole world was shaking.

Soon, someone pressed on him. The person was so heavy that he felt dizzy. "You have been defeated, Redwyne boy. Do you want to surrender?"

"Jaime Lannister, I was defeated by a man with only one hand." He said to the knight who was talking to him.

The other party laughed: "It's not me, boy. You were defeated by Ilyn Payne."

Horace did not answer.