Chapter 105: Food Crisis

"Mr. High Sparrow, please come over here," Arthur called out to the grey-robed Septon who was busy among the wounded soldiers.

The servant Meidan, having received Arthur's instructions, moved a rattan chair and placed it under the steps in front of the main seat.

In the distance, the summoned High Sparrow let a young Septon beside him take over his bandaging work, then walked over slowly.

During his walk over, five or six sturdy Septons followed him, looking not very reassured by Arthur.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Arthur?"

The High Sparrow did not take a seat; instead, he pulled the rattan chair aside with one hand and spoke to Arthur while standing.

"I think we need to clarify our respective positions." The Lord of Red Mill pointed at the Septons, then pointed at himself.

"Ever since Jaehaerys I, the Faith of the Seven has not been permitted to form a militant order. Any actions involving force are the responsibility of nobles and Knights like us. Now that you are actively preaching and have recruited many young Septons with the intent to reorganize the Faith Militant, this is not recognized by the laws of the Iron Throne."

More than two hundred years ago, during the reign of Aenys I Targaryen, the Faith of the Seven believed the King was a product of incest and launched an armed uprising; later, Maegor I continued to suppress the militant church, but with little effect; during the time of Jaehaerys I, the Iron Throne and the Faith reached a reconciliation, the Faith was placed under the protection of the King, the militant order was disbanded, and the judicial power of the Faith was handed over to the King and the nobles.

Arthur gestured toward the Septons in the Hall of a Hundred Hearths, "I hope these Septons will only be responsible for pacifying the commoners and helping to treat the wounded; no other overstepping actions are permitted."

The High Sparrow pulled down the sleeves he had rolled up on his arms, "Mr. Arthur, I think there must be some misunderstanding between us."

"I do indeed intend to reorganize the militant order, but it is not aimed at responsible nobles like you, but rather to guard against the demons who slaughter commoners and Septons; they are often soldiers from the Westerlands."

"As far as I know, His Grace Joffrey I has not only failed to shoulder the obligation of protecting Septons and commoners, but has even indulged his grandfather, Lord Tywin, in leading tens of thousands of Westerlands Army troops to wage war and create human tragedies in the Riverlands. Since it is the King who failed to fulfill his obligations first, I feel there is no need for us to continue observing an agreement from two hundred years ago."

"Innocent commoners and gentle Septons and sisters are being wantonly slaughtered by wicked men. Under these circumstances, I believe it is what we should do to form a militant order and work with responsible nobles like you to maintain order in the Riverlands."

Arthur first corrected a statement, "Joffrey may not necessarily be the true King. According to the laws of succession, Stannis is the first heir to Robert."

"Therefore, the King not fulfilling his obligations is just your excuse. Of the three kings that already exist, two have defined Tywin's act of leading the army to attack the Riverlands as illegal."

"I don't care what you are planning; here, under my control, you are not permitted to form a militant order."

The High Sparrow still wore that smile on his face, "Lord Arthur, actually we have no conflict. You are protecting the commoners of the Riverlands, and so am I. We can reach an agreement between us..."

"Arthur, you're hiding here, making us search all over for you."

A burst of urgent voices and a series of footsteps interrupted the High Sparrow's words.

Arthur turned his head to look, and it was actually Patrick, Beric Dondarrion, Bill, Hayley, and a few men from the Brotherhood Without Banners.

"I am discussing some matters with Mr. High Sparrow, not hiding from you. What is it?" He stood up and asked.

"The commoners who entered the city recently basically didn't bring any food, so we gave them porridge, but now, our food is running low too," Bill explained.

His mercenaries from King's Landing were responsible for maintaining order at the Widow's Tower and the Ghost Tower, so naturally, they were most familiar with the situation of the commoners.

Hayley, who was responsible for managing Arthur's logistics, performed a curtsy and said gracefully, "Most of our food was brought from your fief, Red Mill, mainly to supply the New Army soldiers, but after providing Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Maizhou to the refugee commoners, it's becoming insufficient."

Bill added, "The commoners who entered the city later saw that the commoners who entered earlier had food, so many of them ran to buy food, but those who had food wouldn't sell. The two sides clashed because of this, and just in these two days, there have already been five or six fights."

"I think it's better to adopt my previous proposal: collect taxes from the refugee commoners—collect food from those who have food, and collect money from those who don't. Only then can we guarantee rations for the New Army soldiers and allow us to continue providing Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Maizhou to those without food," Hayley wanted Arthur to collect taxes again.

Patrick clearly agreed with Hayley's opinion immensely; he laughed and clapped, "This is what a logistics chief should look like. Arthur, you have to be ruthless. Levy taxes on all refugee commoners entering the city; only then can we get through this crisis."

From their words, Arthur grasped this inconspicuous but fatal crisis.

The commoners who entered the city first were mostly farmers who left during the time of The Mountain's plundering, so they brought the food their families had prepared to survive the long winter and didn't need to worry about starving.

The commoners who entered Harrenhal to take refuge later were mostly those who left home only after Tywin led his massive army to invade. Many of their families' food supplies had been forcibly requisitioned by the Westerlands Army as military rations, so they only brought daily necessities and didn't have much food.

The eating problem of the later wave of people was temporarily solved by the free Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Maizhou organized by Hayley, but the food brought from Red Mill was not very much and could not be provided for long.

The landlords, House Whent, did not have much food stored themselves and could not help with this problem.

"This is indeed a big problem," Arthur said, resting his chin on his hand as he watched the figures of the few people illuminated by the torchlight.

At this moment, the High Sparrow, who had been listening for a good while, suddenly stepped forward and said calmly but with a firm tone:

"Mr. Arthur, isn't this the best opportunity for us to cooperate?"

"The relationship between Septons and commoners has always been good. We can persuade the commoners with surplus food to hand over a portion of it to fill the stomachs of the soldiers and those without food."

Lord Beric Dondarrion, who had come along, had a different opinion: "Food is the property of the commoners; we cannot take food from their hands. I propose buying it; that way, both sides will be more dignified."

Everyone had their own views and proposals and began to try to persuade each other.

The space around the main seat suddenly became noisy.

"Enough." Arthur waved his hand sharply, making everyone stop talking over each other.

Patrick said, "Arthur, are you really going to levy taxes? Excellent!"

"It's better to use the method of buying," Beric Dondarrion insisted on his point of view.

"I will not adopt any of your suggestions," Arthur shook his head, "I have a better idea."

"Given that we are already in a state of war, making sure everyone has enough to eat has become a major problem. Therefore, I have decided to collect all the food in the castle and distribute it uniformly."

"Those who work and the soldiers who protect the commoners will eat a little better, and those who don't work will eat a little less. The goal is very clear: to let everyone be full and have food to eat."

Order in the Riverlands is already in chaos; even with Gold Dragons and Silver Stags, it's not certain one could buy food.

To ensure that this small society inside Harrenhal functions normally and that everyone can get a meal, Arthur's idea might be the most direct and effective.

Patrick, Beric Dondarrion, Hayley, and the others looked at Arthur in surprise.

They didn't expect that the usually gentle Arthur could propose such a forceful approach.

But they did not raise any objections. With over twenty thousand commoners already inside Harrenhal and a large number of refugee commoners expected to flow in later, this might be the most effective means to solve the problem.

Arthur looked at the High Sparrow and the other Septons: "And you, the Septons must be responsible for pacifying the commoners whose food is being requisitioned. Don't talk to me about reaching agreements; if you pull any more tricks, I will drive you out. Then you can go wherever you want to form your militant order; I won't care."

Driving the Septons out of the castle was not Arthur's goal; he was just trying to scare this group of people.

After all, another wild dog under Duke Tywin, as famous as The Mountain—Amory Lorch—was circling Harrenhal with quite a few Westerlands light cavalry.

Now, any group of fewer than a few dozen people leaving the castle would be spotted by Luo Qi immediately and then all killed.

Even more terrifyingly, Luo Qi would cut off the heads of the dead, stick them onto Spears, and stand them in front of the two gates for everyone inside Harrenhal to see.

A young Septon was about to retort, but was stopped by the High Sparrow.

"Mr. Arthur, I represent the Septons in the castle and accept your proposal. Pacifying commoners and caring for the wounded will be our only two jobs, as long as the nobles can ensure that every commoner has food to eat."

The High Sparrow expressed it this way.

Arthur nodded; this great figure was indeed the actual leader of the Septons here. As long as they didn't pull any tricks, he could accept their existence.

After all, all armed forces are in the hands of the Riverlands nobility; even if the Septons were to form militant orders, they could not defeat professional soldiers.

In the time that followed, those present discussed Arthur's proposal in detail, repeatedly scrutinizing every aspect of collecting grain, striving to both secure the food and avoid inciting the resentment of the commoners.

Of course, some compensation would also be given to the commoners whose grain was requisitioned.

……

Harrentown, main tent of the Westerlands Army commander.

On the candelabra, over a dozen scented candles from the Wickenden family of The Vale were providing light while emitting a pleasant fragrance.

These are quite expensive candles, popular across the Seven Kingdoms and the Essos continent across the Narrow Sea, and are usually only supplied to high-status and wealthy figures such as regional liege lords, the Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Zongdu of Pentos, and the Great Masters of Slaver's Bay.

It is not strange for such candles to appear in magnificent castles, but for them to appear in a tent while on a military campaign is truly astonishing.

Except for the wealthy and imposing Lannister Jiaodu, no one could be so extravagant.

At this moment, however, the Jiaodu of the Lion House could not muster his usual majesty.

He lay on a daybed in the middle of the large tent, his eyes looking majestically at his nephew Daven.

After a long while, Duke Tywin finally spat out a sentence:

"A brute, a few Riverlands nobles, and a dilapidated castle defended by a few hundred veterans—and you actually have no way to deal with it."

The golden-haired, handsome-featured Daven held his lion-crested helmet and explained to his uncle with an embarrassed expression:

"Actually, Harrenhal is not dilapidated; it remains the largest man-made castle in the Seven Kingdoms. Furthermore, there are tens of thousands of commoners inside, and they have been mobilized to defend the walls, which has temporarily disrupted our siege plans. But please rest assured, Uncle, I will certainly take Harrenhal within these few days."

Duke Tywin glanced at him and turned to look at the parchment map hanging to the side.

"Harrenhal is not something that must be taken. How is the situation on Kevan's side? What of Edmure at Riverrun and Robb at Moat Cailin?"

Daven rolled his eyes, recalled the military reports regarding these two places, and then answered his uncle:

"Upon learning that Uncle Kevan had led the army north, Robb at Moat Cailin headed south with all his might, arriving at The Twins before Uncle Kevan, and then secured the support of Folei Marquess. The two armies are now facing off on the plains south of The Twins; a great battle is about to break out, and the opportunity for Uncle Kevan to make a name for himself in one battle is not far off."

"When Robb reached Moat Cailin, he already had eighteen thousand men. The Manderly family of White Harbor provided fifteen hundred, most of whom are infantry; the world-renowned White Harbor Cavalry were mostly kept by Lord Wyman on his own lands. After gaining the support of the Frey family, the troop strength of this greenhorn Robb reached... well, twenty-three thousand three hundred."

Just as Daven was about to continue, Tywin suddenly asked:

"What were the conditions old Frey offered Robb?"

Emmon Frey, the second son of Walder Frey, married Tywin's sister, so Emmon is very sycophantic toward the Lannister family.

Even if old Frey decided to lean entirely toward the Fish-Wolf Alliance, some information could still reach the Lannister family.

"Well, Robb marries one of old Frey's granddaughters or great-granddaughters, Edmure also marries one of old Frey's daughters or granddaughters, and Duke Eddard's second daughter Arya is to marry one of old Frey's grandsons."

Daven counted on his fingers; these were the three terms.

This was not very important intelligence, and recalling it was quite a struggle for him.

"To produce two duchesses at once, old Frey really knows how to think," Tywin said coldly.

Daven knew his uncle held Walder Frey in great contempt and hurriedly chimed in:

"But the shrewd man has bet on the wrong horse this time. With our two armies, it is impossible for Robb to defeat us. Once we finish with the usurper in the south, we will deal with this old thing properly."

Tywin looked at the map. "Where is Adam Marbrand?"

Daven was much more familiar with this, and he answered fluently: "Adam is currently on the east side of the Gods Eye, pursuing Lord Tristan Rivers of Willow Wood. Previously, he had already brought Lord Karel Vance of Wayfarer's Rest and Lord Clement Piper of Pinkmaiden under his control. We have already secured more than half of the seven lordships on the south bank of the Red Fork."

He stepped forward and pointed out the locations of Willow Wood, Wayfarer's Rest, and Pinkmaiden.

"These three lordships, their lords are already under our control, and the Landed Knights and minor nobles on the lands have also mostly died in battle; it is enough for us to use to reward the soldiers who have performed meritorious service in this war."

Tywin did not deny it, his gaze shifting slightly upward. "How is the town of Lord Harren?"

The town of Lord Harren is the hub of the entire Trident river basin; the land routes going south and north pass through there, and the waterways going east and west also pass through there.

The town is situated on the south bank of the Trident, and on the opposite bank lies the famous Ruby Ford, the place where the late King Robert hammered Prince Rhaegar to death.

"There are no heavy Riverlands troops guarding it for the time being, so I haven't bothered with it," Daven answered honestly.

The Lannister Jiaodu thought for a moment and said: "The main force will temporarily garrison here while surrounding Harrenhal, until my back injury is mostly healed. You first send men to occupy the town of Lord Harren; that Luo Qi works quite efficiently, so let him go."

"No problem at all," Daven replied. "I will give Sir Amory Lorch four or five hundred Cavalry; on the plains, these men are enough to rout all the nearby Riverlands armies."

"Regarding Harrenhal, we will implement a strategy of surrounding without attacking. After all, there are tens of thousands of mouths inside the castle; in the end, the ones who won't be able to stand it will be the Riverlands nobles who have no food."

Tywin nodded in approval of his nephew's proposal and then waved for him to leave.

The night was already very deep, and the injured Warden of the West needed to rest.

(End of chapter)