Chapter 133: The Great Council of Lords

The great hall of the main castle of Golden Tooth.

After intense discussion and negotiation, the Northern lords agreed to take only half the gold, leaving the other half for the Riverlanders.

According to the common laws of Westeros, all precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper mined by lords of all ranks must be turned over to King's Landing, where the mint under the Master of Coin casts them into Gold Dragons, Silver Stags, and copper coins before returning them to the lords.

During this process, a significant amount of gold and silver is withheld by the mint, turned over to the royal family in the name of coinage tax.

This coinage tax can also be called fire loss.

As far as Arthur knows, the royal family and the entire kingdom share a single account, meaning the Iron Throne has no concept of a private purse or treasury.

Because the royal family owed the Westerlands three million Gold Dragons during Robert's reign, the Westerlands did not turn over the gold and silver they mined to King's Landing for a period of time.

This is why there was so much gold in Golden Tooth.

"After we get home, we will unite all the houses loyal to the King in the North and finish off the Dreadfort and the Boltons first."

After dividing the gold, Greatjon Umber's mood improved significantly, and he shouted to the Northmen.

Many Northmen nodded in agreement with his statement.

Although they had lost a layer of their non-producing soldiers and conscripted farmers in battle, this also meant fewer mouths to feed when the Long Winter arrived.

Coupled with the acquisition of so much gold, which could be used to buy grain from across the Narrow Sea, this winter would be much easier to survive than before.

Although the North still faced major problems like the Ironborn and the Boltons, once the Northmen returned home, they only needed to lock down Moat Cailin and White Harbor to live a simple life that they could see the end of:

Eat, sleep, and beat the Boltons.

After Arthur, who had not slept all night, consulted with the many Riverland lords, everyone agreed to go to Riverrun first and then make further plans.

Thus, after packing up simply, the lords of the two regions led their family soldiers north.

As for Golden Tooth, it was left to the management of Olyvar Frey Frey.

He is an enthusiastic yet nervous young man, currently seventeen years old; judging by his selection as Robb's attendant, his personal combat prowess and military literacy are quite good.

Olyvar Frey was originally loyal to the Young Wolf, but now he should be loyal to his own family, and he is quite friendly toward the Northern and Riverland lords.

In any case, the one he pledges allegiance to will certainly not be Stannis, who occupies the Iron Throne, and without the order of the Jiaodu of the Freys, it is impossible for him to pledge allegiance to the lions of the Westerlands.

With five hundred soldiers from various Riverland families remaining to guard the city with him, plus the two-hundred-man battalion of the Freys, and the inherent sturdiness of Golden Tooth, this fortress could not be taken without an army of several thousand.

As for the fifteen hundred captives in the mines outside the city, they were still taken north with their hands bound, along with the eighteen hundred coalition soldiers; they are excellent labor.

Three days later, Riverrun appeared in the eyes of this group.

Here, the Northmen learned even worse news:

Winterfell had been burned, leaving behind likely only ruins, and the two Starks left behind, Brandon and Rickon Stark, were also dead.

It is rumored that Theon Greyjoy, in order to escape the counterattack of the Northmen, burned Winterfell—the castle where he grew up—before fleeing, and the two Starks also died at his hands.

There are also rumors that it was Roose Bolton's bastard, nicknamed "Ramsay Snow," who burned Winterfell; he led men to retake Winterfell and then tortured and killed Theon and the Starks.

In the great hall of Riverrun, all the Northern lords who had come south gathered around the "last remaining" Stark, expressing their fury and vowing to wipe out House Bolton and the Ironborn completely.

Before Arthur and the others returned to Riverrun, a tall female Knight brought the news of Lady Stark's death.

After Renly died, she and Catelyn Stark fled the camp outside Storm's End, and the two traveled north together.

Near the Blackwater River, a troop of Westerlands cavalry attacked these two women; although the female Knight had astonishing combat power, a single sword could not contend with dozens of grown men, so they easily killed Catelyn Stark and then took the body away, destination unknown.

The female Knight was exceptionally ashamed and ran to Riverrun alone to report this to the lords in the city.

Many male lords mocked the female Knight relentlessly, believing her to be one of the reasons for Lady Stark's tragic death.

Sansa, who was already crying half to death at the time, spoke up for the female Knight, believing her mother's death was the fault of the lions, which moved Brienne of Tarth greatly, and she swore allegiance to Sansa Stark on the spot.

By that time, the news of Robb's death in battle had already reached Riverrun, so in name, Sansa only had her sister Arya left.

And since the Brotherhood Without Banners had not found Arya, Sansa decided to send her only subordinate, the Knight Brienne, to find her sister.

Arthur struggled to squeeze into the circle of Northmen and saw Sansa, whose eyes were red and swollen.

This poor girl, in the more than half a year since coming south, had lost her father, mother, brother, and two younger brothers.

She did not know where her surviving sister was in the countryside, whether she had thick enough clothes to keep warm, or whether she could eat her fill every day.

"I... have no family left~" After catching a glimpse of her beloved through eyes dampened by tears, Sansa cried even louder.

"It's okay, it's okay, you still have me." Arthur gently patted her back.

If not for the many people present, he would have wanted to pull Sansa into his arms to comfort her, giving her a solid reliance.

Numerous Northmen formed a circle, swearing to Sansa that they would finish off the Ironborn, the Boltons, and the lions.

Afterward, the Blackfish appeared and loudly told the Northmen to spread out a bit so he could help his great-niece, who was barely holding on, to an empty chair to sit down.

Due to issues like Winterfell and the Ironborn, the leading lords such as Greatjon Umber, Maege Mormont, Robin Flint, Owen Norrey, and Rona Stout strongly advocated for moving north quickly, first clearing out the Ironborn and then going to war with House Bolton.

The Leech Lord and his army were still in the Westerlands, and since places like Golden Tooth were in the hands of the Riverlanders, and Riverrun was the home of Robb's uncle, the Bolton army would have to head east along the Golden Road and then detour from the Trident if they were to move north.

This would significantly delay the Bolton army's arrival in the North, thus making it possible for the Northmen to first recover lost territory from the Ironborn and then engage the returning Bolton army.

The Riverland commanders like the Blackfish also supported this idea, and Lord Jason Mallister even promised to go and reconcile with their neighbors, the Freys, to let The Twins allow the Northmen to pass.

"I will also have Edmure write to his father-in-law to let The Twins not make things difficult for the Northmen," the Blackfish stated.

The relationship between House Tully and House Frey is still passable for now; even though the Freys remained neutral because Robb broke the marriage contract, now that the Young Wolf is gone, Walder Frey cannot easily make things difficult for the Northmen.

"Sansa will stay in Riverrun; no army of tens of thousands can take this city on the water, and she is much safer staying here than going north to fight with you," the Blackfish, who had always cared for his kin, expressed his thoughts to the Northmen.

"No problem. Currently, that bastard of the Leech Lord is a nuisance. Once we deal with him and the Leech Lord, and welcome Lord Jon Stark as the King in the North, it will be convenient for Lady Sansa to return home."

Winterfell had been burned, so taking Sansa along was also a trouble, so the thick-skinned Greatjon Umber agreed to this on behalf of the Northern lords.

Smalljon Umber suddenly suggested: "It is said that Ramsay has his own group of people; we can send our great-uncles to harass the territory of the Dreadfort first, which might have miraculous effects."

The two uncles of Lord Jon Umber, Mors Umber and Hother Umber, were acting as agents for the Last Hearth, and their titles were "Crowfood" and "Whore's Bane" respectively.

House Umber is the most famous warrior house in the entire North, and almost every member is a well-known warrior; the combat prowess of Crowfood and Whore's Bane is naturally not bad either.

Having these two go to harass and conduct guerrilla warfare in the Bolton family's territory would facilitate the operations of the pro-Stark forces, and the Bolton forces would also suffer heavy blows.

Greatjon Umber praised his son repeatedly for being as smart as he was, and then went to find the Maester of Riverrun to write a letter to the Last Hearth.

Time was tight, and after receiving support of dozens of carts of grain from Riverrun, the Northern lords led by Greatjon Umber took their more than eighteen hundred soldiers north.

One thousand of them survived the great battle outside Casterly Rock, three hundred were the portion Arthur left at Golden Tooth, and five hundred came from the Stark infantry left to guard Riverrun.

The remaining two hundred Stark infantry stayed at Riverrun, in the name of protecting Lady Sansa.

The departure of the Northmen took a day, and by nightfall, another matter left the Riverlands nobles in low spirits:

Duke Hoster had passed away.

It is said that before the Tully Jiaodu died, the name he kept murmuring was Lysa.

During the Usurper's War, Hoster was wounded by Jon Connington, the then Hand of the King, at the Battle of the Bells, which left him with a lingering illness.

Since about four years ago, that is, the year 295 of the Conquest Era, Duke Hoster had been bedridden.

Because Edmure was also covered in wounds, the Blackfish began to handle his brother's funeral arrangements.

Two days later, the ceremony for the river burial officially began.

Coincidentally, the House Frey also sent people to attend the funeral.

To be precise, it was the new Lord of Riverrun, the Frey Jiaodu Innes, who came to find the Tullys to confirm his status as Jiaodu—with the current situation in turmoil, it was impossible for him to run to King's Landing to have Stannis acknowledge his title as Marquess.

According to the Freys' story, one member had gone insane and charged into the North Castle, killing the kinsmen there.

Of the two castles at The Twins, the north and south, Walder Frey and dozens of higher-ranking Freys from the line of his eldest son Stevron lived in the North Castle, the rest of the children lived in the South Castle, and the countless Frey Bastards mostly lived in the town and mills outside the castle.

This insane member killed his grandfather and the members of the eldest son's line, and since Walder Frey's son Aemon was an enemy, the third son Innes became the Lord of Riverrun according to the laws of succession.

Along with the new Frey Marquess came two thousand Frey soldiers.

At the crossing where the river burial was about to take place, Arthur and the others saw the bald Innes.

It must be admitted that power is the best stimulant.

Innes, who had been quite steady before, now walked with a swagger, swinging his arms wide, and held his head a notch higher.

If Robett Glover were still at Riverrun, the two could have compared the angle at which they held their heads.

What Arthur found even more amusing was this walking posture of Innes.

It looked exactly like the UFC fighter from his past life, Conor the trash-talker.

Fortunately, Innes was now the most powerful lord in the Riverlands, so there was no need to worry about anyone taking offense and beating him up.

All the nobles had arrived, and Edmure was carried to attend the river burial ceremony; after the prayers were finished, the small boat carrying Duke Hoster's remains was released.

The small boat drifted down the current of the Red Fork, floating far away.

By the time the boat was the size of a palm in everyone's eyes, the Blackfish, having glanced at the wind direction, lit the arrowhead, then drew his bow and shot.

Edmure was still straining his neck to see if it had hit, but the Blackfish had already tossed the bow to a guard beside him and, regardless of the result, turned and walked away with a flourish.

After several breaths, the small boat began to burn, and black smoke soon rose.

Edmure lay back down, relieved.

Taking advantage of this moment, Innes sidled up to Arthur and whispered in his ear: "I have brought two thousand men for you; while everyone is here, shouldn't we..."

Sansa also stood to the side, her red, swollen eyes fixed on the side, very curious about what this man wanted with Bracken.

Arthur timely placed his hand in front of the bald man's mouth, "This matter is not urgent; I will talk to you when I have time."

The result of his discussion with Tristan and Clement was to show their cards to the Riverlands nobles at Harrenhal.

Before showing their cards, they still needed to win over several influential count-level nobles, such as the two Vance Jiaodus, William Mooton of Maidenpool, Jason Mallister of Seagard, and others.

With the support of these people, Arthur could then convene a great council of all the Riverlands nobles, attempting to declare himself king.

Of course, Raventree Hall, which had a feud with Bracken, and Riverrun, managed by the Blackfish, would not be invited to participate.

The soldiers of those two houses had also been taken to the Westerlands by Robb and were mostly wiped out, so let them play by themselves.

Declaring oneself king was not an impulsive idea; after King's Landing was taken by Stannis, the Riverlands already had a buffer space.

Looking at the entire continent, the only ones currently with strong troops and sturdy horses were The Vale and The Reach; the former had remained motionless, while the latter continued to lock horns with Storm's End.

Although the "Inflated Fish" lord was very mediocre, he had a bunch of smart people under him, so staying near Storm's End with only a few hundred people best served the interests of the Reach nobles and best preserved their strength.

Without Taiwen Laoye personally overseeing the battle, these sixty thousand men would likely not march north to attack King's Landing, let alone bypass King's Landing to attack the Riverlanders near Harrenhal.

Because the latter would mean his supply lines were exposed to Stannis's attack range, and the Riverlands had already been fought over once, with little grain left to be requisitioned, so the Reach Army could only transport grain from the south.

After the river burial ended, the Blackfish invited the Riverlands nobles to discuss the next moves, and Edmure, who had recovered somewhat, was also carried to participate in this meeting.

Outside Duskendale, in a farmhouse.

Varys, wearing a hood, lifted his hat, revealing his shiny head to Illyrio.

Illyrio, also in the inconspicuous attire of a grey robe, complained in a low voice: "Why did you call me here in such a rush? Although most of Stannis's fleet has sailed to King's Landing Port, the blockade of Blackwater Bay is still ongoing, and I took a great risk on this trip."

The Spider ignored the cheese merchant's words and said seriously: "A black dragon has appeared in Harrenhal, the Baratheons have occupied King's Landing, and the head wolf has died in battle; the situation on the entire continent has greatly deviated from our plans."

Illyrio touched his massive belly, "I originally thought the rumors about that dragon were fake; this is absurd. The dragons that the Targaryens haven't produced since Aegon III have actually reappeared in the world, and four of them at once."

The news that dragons had also appeared in the Red Waste of the eastern Essos had already spread.

"So that matter must be implemented quickly, otherwise the lions will occupy an absolute advantage, and this will cause The Vale to also throw its lot in with the lion house," Varys urged.

The Governor of Pentos pulled a long face, "I will try my best; the price of the Golden Company is not cheap, and even I cannot come up with so much gold all at once."

"There is one more thing," Varys gently patted his old partner, "I need more Little Birds; since fleeing King's Landing, my intelligence system has almost failed."

Little Birds is the code name for the scouts, spies, etc., under Varys, basically young boys and girls from Essos who have undergone extremely rigorous special training.

"You asked for them last time; how are they being consumed so quickly!" the cheese merchant said with dissatisfaction.

Buying Little Birds also costs money; the gold in his hands is very tight now, and every bit must be spent where it should be.

Varys ignored his old friend's complaints and continued to urge several other matters.

Illyrio also raised his own difficulties and indicated to what extent he could fulfill his old partner's requirements.

The two talked for nearly an hour before saying goodbye and leaving.

PS: Seeking recommendation tickets and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)