The Mountain of Ice and Fire

"Attacking Gulltown without reporting it is not a capital crime, Your Grace," Littlefinger said. "Besides, we have no evidence to prove that the Mountain attacked Gulltown. This letter is merely General Randyll Tarly's conjecture."

"Your Grace, the Mountain won't return without sufficient reason," Kevan said expressionlessly, as if Tywin were still alive. "The Hand of the King once issued an order for the Mountain to bring Tom o' Sevens back to face judgment, but he did not return."

"He sent Commander Bronn back with Tom o' Sevens' head," Joffrey said. "Dealing with rebels requires someone like the Mountain. Disobey, and he'll chop off your head."

"Your Grace, that head may not actually be Tom o' Sevens'," Littlefinger said.

"I knew you'd say that, Uncle Imp. You always view everyone with suspicion, always assuming that everyone's words and actions are filled with conspiracies. Grand Maester Qyburn once said that instead of painstakingly trying to win over Dorne, a distant and tax-independent land, we should first win over the Mountain. If Grandfather hadn't killed the Mountain's Clegane subjects, the Mountain wouldn't have turned against him. Killing our most capable general for the sake of a distant Dorne is foolish!"

Littlefinger glanced at Ser Kevan, then at the Queen Mother. "Your Grace, when did Grand Maester Qyburn tell you these things?"

"When Grandfather was defeated by the Mountain," Joffrey said. "Uncle Imp, Uncle Kevan, Mother, I've never understood why you went to such lengths for a Dorne thousands of miles away, arranging marriages for princesses, executing the Mountain, and giving away Stormland territory, even offering him two positions as important court officials. You exerted every effort to win over Dorne, which has styled itself as a principality for three hundred years. Does Dorne's allegiance or lack thereof affect our taxes, military, trade, or government? Not at all. If they disobey, we'll send the Mountain to beat them into submission."

Littlefinger, Cersei, and Tywin were all stunned.

"Who else has been saying these things to you?" Littlefinger asked, his eyes gleaming.

"No one. I figured it out myself."

"Was it Littlefinger or Qyburn?"

"Why would it be Littlefinger or Qyburn? Can't I have my own opinions? I am the King. The Dornish you're all trying so hard to win over were completely wiped out by Lady Jayne's slaughter. Heh heh, I thought the Dornish were so impressive. Now Oberyn is half-dead, and we had to mobilize several court scholars to save his dog's life. Tell me, what should we do now? Continue to give Dorne land? Or continue to chop off the Mountain's head and send it to Dorne? Dorne's nine great houses have suffered heavy losses, with their lords and heirs killed. Now is the time to send the Mountain to forcefully conquer Dorne, but you're all focused on killing the Mountain. Isn't that foolish?"

Someone was secretly instructing Joffrey, influencing his words and actions, and analyzing national affairs for him. And Joffrey was absorbing it all.

Who was this person?

The only people Littlefinger could think of were Grand Maester Qyburn and Littlefinger Petyr Baelish.

"Your Grace, with your brilliant ideas, how should we handle the Dorne situation?" Littlefinger said. "On the surface, Lady Jayne withdrew her troops, and Oberyn suddenly pursued them. Oberyn is in the wrong."

"Send a raven to Dorne, first to hold them accountable for pursuing Lady Jayne, though we will eventually pardon Oberyn; second, order Prince Doran to send Princess Myrcella back to King's Landing in exchange for our decision to send Oberyn back to Dorne. Who decided to send Princess Myrcella to Dorne in the first place? That's not just shortsighted, it's stupid!"

Littlefinger, Kevan, and Cersei were all silent!

Looking at the current situation, sending Myrcella into the hands of the Dornish was indeed foolish! A living hostage, and we sent our own Kingsguard to deliver her as a hostage!

Joffrey saw the shame in his mother's, uncle's, and great-uncle's eyes!

"Dorne will return Princess Myrcella to King's Landing, and we will safely return Prince Oberyn and his mistresses, Lady Brammont and Ser Devan Manwoody, along with two hundred Dornish servants, to Dorne, provided that they submit."

That was a smooth move. Joffrey possessed cunning wisdom. Congratulations!

"Fourth, if Dorne doesn't submit, we have an excuse to send troops to conquer Dorne. The Mountain will be the Minister of War, leading his Clegane troops, the Tyrell army, and the Stormland Baratheon vassals in a joint force to conquer Dorne; if they are defeated or the war goes badly, we can then find an excuse to kill the Mountain, legitimately. None of the Mountain's vassals, generals, or numerous adopted sons and daughters will object. No Clegane soldier will feel it's unfair. We use military law to kill the Mountain, so we don't have to worry about a Clegane army mutiny."

Littlefinger, Cersei, and Kevan exchanged glances.

Joffrey could never have said these things on his own. These decisions of the King: had the supreme authority of the royal family, the scheming of a black belly, two-handed plans that pleased everyone, and a clever strategy that ensured Dorne would lose no matter what they chose, while also arranging a guillotine for the Mountain and his army.

In the midst of battle, finding an excuse to kill the Mountain would indeed be easy: such as embezzling military funds; such as embezzling food supplies; such as needing a month to capture Sunspear but only giving him ten days; such as the Mountain requesting weapon reinforcements but the logistics corps being unable to deliver them; such as the allied forces not arriving during battle, leaving the Mountain to fight alone and then falling into an enemy ambush... There were many excuses and methods as numerous as the stars in the sky, to do as one pleased.

Joffrey suddenly spoke in a clear and organized manner, one, two, three, four... This secretly alarmed Littlefinger: There was an expert behind Joffrey! And this expert was no less capable than he and Uncle Kevan.

Cersei was both surprised and delighted. Joffrey's analysis was so clear and logical that she felt it was far superior to Littlefinger's ability in government affairs. Her son had suddenly grown up, enlightened in a single morning, with unparalleled wisdom, just like his unmatched handsome appearance.

However, Littlefinger's next words quickly extinguished Cersei's delight.

"Your Grace, I heard you were riding horses and shooting arrows at the King's Tourney grounds yesterday!" A sentence completely unrelated to the current topic, abrupt and inexplicable.

"You're wrong again, Uncle Imp. Yesterday, I was playing chess with Margaery Tyrell. She taught me a new type of chess that's very fun."

"Oh, where did you play it?"

"In the Maidenvault."

"Did Margaery Tyrell suggest how you should handle the Dorne situation?"

"She only suggested it, but I am the one who truly knows what decisions to make."

Margaery Tyrell!

Jealousy instantly flared in Cersei's heart. The political decisions Joffrey spoke of were taught to him by Margaery while playing chess? What was Margaery trying to do? Control the king and seize royal power?

Cersei's slender neck rose, like a goose about to duel.

But Littlefinger just smiled: "Your Grace is wise. If you have time, can you teach me to play chess?"

"You?" Joffrey said contemptuously, "Uncle Imp, this is a completely new type of chess. You won't be able to learn it!"

"Oh, let me try. If I really can't, I'll admit I'm just stupid!"

The face of Margaery Tyrell with her sweet smile appeared before Cersei, and she was furious!

But Littlefinger thought of someone else: the Queen of Thorns, Olenna Redwyne. Littlefinger looked at Uncle Kevan, and Uncle Kevan was expressionless, his face like an iron plate.

*

In the Vale of Arryn, outside the Bloody Gate, there was an important town: Redfort.

Redfort was the home castle of the Vale's great noble, Earl Redwyne.

On this day, a team of light cavalry suddenly appeared outside Earl Redwyne's home castle.

Each of these light cavalrymen had two horses, extremely swift and valiant. There were not many of them, about a hundred, looking like just a centurion.

A cavalry force without any banners.

Ignoring the warnings of the Redwyne scouts, this force openly broke through the scout line and went straight to the walls of Redfort.

Six Redwyne scouts dared to be angry but dared not speak.

Six men against a hundred-man team was simply courting death!

Moreover, the six soldiers saw the sigil of the Red Smoke Beast and the Ice Sword on the leading general's armor.

Who the Red Smoke Beast and Ice Sword sigil represented had long been spread among the Vale nobles. The Mountain's many prestigious names had spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms with the Mountain's falling out with Duke Tywin. That battle between the Mountain and Duke Tywin had more impact than the Mountain beheading His Majesty Stannis Baratheon.

The battle between a vicious dog and a vicious master turning against each other was always more noticeable to the nobles than a vicious dog biting the enemy leader to death!

There was no doubt that the hundred cavalrymen who came were Clegane cavalry under the Mountain. Even though they didn't even raise a single military flag.

Although the Redwyne scouts dared not stop the Clegane hundred cavalrymen, they dared to sound the alarm horn.

Woooo woooo woooo woooo——

The sound of the enemy attack horn blew loudly.

On the walls of Redfort, Redwyne family soldiers rushed to the walls one after another. Under the banner, a general hurried over—Jas Redwyne—Earl Horton Redwyne's eldest son, Redfort's heir. (The original is Jasper Redwyne. Tearing skin is not good to hear, so I changed it.)

Jas gave a loud order, and teams of archers rushed to the walls with a booming sound, their steps neat, lined up in front and back.

Whoosh!

The general below the city shot an arrow up, and with a bang, it hit the flagpole next to Jas Redwyne. Jas's left hand was grabbing the flagpole. If the arrow had been a few inches lower, it would have hit the back of Jas's left hand.

Jas broke out in a cold sweat.

After shooting an arrow, the general below the city didn't say anything, just gave a sharp military whistle, reined his horse around, and led the hundred-man team away with a roar.

Coming like a dragon, leaving like a tiger!

Before long, the cavalry left completely and disappeared at the end of the road.

Jas steadied his mind, reached out and pulled out the arrow. The arrow was so deeply embedded in the wood that he couldn't remove it with one hand. This made Jas even more surprised. He used both hands to pull out the long arrow. There was a letter on the arrow, and the seal on the letter was the Red Smoke Beast and Ice Sword emblem.

Jas broke the wax seal, unfolded the letter, read it, and his expression was uncertain. He ordered the soldiers to guard the city well and hurried down the city wall, mounted his horse and went straight to the main fort.

His father, Earl Horton Redwyne, was waiting for news in the hall. His two brothers, Clayton Redwyne and Jon Redwyne, were fully armed and ready to go to war.

Jas handed the letter to Earl Redwyne, and the two brothers went up to read the letter together.

"The Mountain, in his capacity as Minister of War of the Seven Kingdoms, is asking us to borrow ten thousand gold dragon military funds and one hundred carts of grain," Earl Horton threw the letter on the table and looked at his three sons. "What do you think?"

"What if we don't give it?" Jas said.

"If we don't give it, the Mountain will likely massacre the residents of our territory outside the city, steal the grain, and even attack our Redfort."

"Ten thousand gold dragons is not much, and one hundred carts of grain is insignificant," the second son, Clayton Redwyne, said. "What I'm worried about is, after we give ten thousand gold dragons and one hundred carts of grain, will the Mountain continue to make excessive demands?"

"The letter says that as long as we are willing to lend him ten thousand gold dragon coins and one hundred carts of grain, Duke Gregor Clegane will consider the Redwyne family to be his best friends and will not use force against them."

"Let's try it!" Jas suggested, "Give the Mountain the money and grain first. He's not asking for much. If he doesn't keep his promise, we'll go to war with him."

Earl Horton was a fierce general of the Vale. When the North and the West went to war, he was a hawk who wanted to help Stark fight Lannister.

"How about this, Jas, you are responsible for sending ten thousand gold dragon coins and one hundred carts of grain to the designated crossroads in the letter. At the same time, we will release a raven to Lysa Tully of the Eyrie, hoping that the Vale will send reinforcements to garrison the Bloody Gate as soon as possible. Once we go to war with the Mountain, the Vale army can support us at any time."

"Send a raven to your younger brother Michel, asking him to ask Ser Lyn Corbray to prepare to reinforce us."

Horton Redwyne's fourth son, Michel Redwyne, was a squire to Ser Lyn Corbray. Lyn was one of the Vale's most valiant generals, wielding a Valyrian steel sword, 'Lady Forlorn.' Michel Redwyne was also the most valiant general among the four brothers and was recognized as the most powerful swordsman of the younger generation in the Vale.

The knight Michel Redwyne in the Vale was in a passionate love affair with a bastard girl named Mia Stone, the first bastard daughter of the late King Robert Baratheon. She was born in the year 281 of Aegon's Conquest and was exactly eighteen years old this year.

Soon, two ravens flew out of Redfort and flew to the Eyrie in the Vale. Then, Jas Redwyne prepared ten thousand gold dragons and one hundred carts of grain, but did not set off immediately.

Delay sending the money and grain to the designated location for a day, giving Lysa Tully and his younger brother Michel time to react after receiving the raven letter.

*

Gulltown was the Vale's most important port and one of the five largest and most prosperous port cities in the Seven Kingdoms. The city was very large, ranking fourth in the Seven Kingdoms.

Gulltown was ruled by the Grafton family. It had a naturally sheltered harbor, located southeast of the Eyrie, on the north side of the Bay of Crabs.

In addition to the ruling Grafton family, the nobles of Gulltown included the Shett family and a branch of House Arryn.

Gulltown was home to many wealthy merchants, and many nobles in the Vale allowed their children to marry these merchants for money.

On this day, the sun was shining brightly, and a cavalry troop suddenly appeared on the main road of Seagull Town. The troop arrived extremely quickly. The soldiers on the city wall were still chatting and laughing when the troop had already arrived under the city. The city gate was wide open, and there was no time to close it.

"Who goes there!" the centurion on the city wall shouted loudly.

The cavalry below had no flags, and no one answered. The leading general drew his bow and arrow on his galloping horse. With a whoosh, the arrow flew like a shooting star, hitting the centurion's waving right arm. The centurion fell with a scream, and the horn of enemy attack sounded immediately: Woo woo woo woo—!

Clang clang clang! Clang clang clang!

The city gate began to close, and the soldiers desperately pushed the winch, but the heavy city gate still closed slowly, and the enemy cavalry could easily rush in.

The enemy cavalry general's warhorse turned in front of the city gate without stopping, leading the cavalry away with a whoosh, neither seizing the gate nor uttering threats.

The centurion was helped up, and the accompanying scholar quickly arrived. A long arrow pierced the centurion's arm, and the arrow carried a letter: the wax seal was the rumored red smoke beast and ice sword clan emblem of the Seven Kingdoms—the Clegane family emblem newly created by the Magic Mountain.

*

The Bloody Gate, a strategically important location in the Vale.

Early in the morning, the soldiers stationed at the Bloody Gate were awakened by the clanging sound of hammering in the distance, but no one paid much attention to it. There were more than a dozen mountain tribes outside the Bloody Gate, all of whom were barbarians. Any noble who passed through the mountain roads outside would be robbed if they had too few people. Even the Duke of the Vale would be attacked by the mountain barbarians if he had too few guards.

The Bloody Gate was a natural barrier. Unless magical beasts such as dragons, griffins, or giant eagles were reborn, no one could break through the Bloody Gate to enter the Vale's plains. If the mountain people wanted to hammer stones in the mountains outside, then let them hammer.

However, the clanging sound had been going on all morning without stopping, which had never happened before. And it looked like it would continue, and the noise of people talking was also increasing.

The military officer of the Bloody Gate in the Vale was granted the title of Knight of the Bloody Gate.

Before the civil war in the Seven Kingdoms began, the Knight of the Bloody Gate was Brynden Tully, the Blackfish. Since the Westerlands and the North started the war, and the Riverlands were drawn into the conflict, Brynden Tully resigned from his military post as Knight of the Bloody Gate and left the Bloody Gate with his niece Catelyn Tully to join the fight against the Lannisters of the Westerlands. The new commander who took over the Bloody Gate was Ser Donnel Waynwood.

Ser Donnel Waynwood was the second son of Anya Waynwood, the Lady of Iron Oaks. He was a twenty-year-old young man, strong, ugly but honest, sincere, and courageous. He had a wide nose and a head of messy brown coarse hair.

After breakfast, Ser Donnel Waynwood personally led a company of a hundred men out of the Bloody Gate to investigate the source of the dense clanging sound in the distance.

*

About a mile away from the Bloody Gate, on both sides of the mountain road, hundreds of mountain people, both men and women, were building military fortresses according to the terrain. And on the mountain road, there was a neatly arranged infantry legion. The number of soldiers in the legion was unknown, ten in a row, blocking the road in and out of the Bloody Gate. Looking at it, the mountain corner further away blocked the view, and the end of the legion could not be seen.

On both sides of the mountain road, there were archer legions standing on the mountainside, forming an upper and lower defensive linkage with the infantry on the mountain road.