Chapter 140: The Advantage is With Him

This answer made Arthur feel very surprised; Stannis followed the Lord of Light, unlike the commoners who followed the Seven, so he asked for the reason.

"Because he burned that fat High Septon. Everyone in the kingdom is starving, yet those septons are still so fat; it must be that they ate the wheat we were supposed to eat."

"What are your opinions?" Arthur asked the others.

"I don't see a single good one."

"Say less, it's easy to get into trouble."

"Whoever lets me eat my fill is the good king."

The crowd said a bunch of messy things, and they basically had no positive evaluation of the current kings.

The Mad King Aerys II and the hands-off Robert actually received unprecedentedly high praise.

As for Arthur's Riverlands King, their evaluation was about the same as the House Tully.

This hit him hard, and he didn't even have the heart to eat a few bites of the potato stewed with chicken that the shopkeeper had cooked.

Lyman's two guards gave the unfinished food to this group, and the four of them left.

"At the end of the day, it's because after the landed knights and minor lords died in battle, the peasants lost their control, which is why they dare to speak like this. You can enfeoff some knights with military merits here to manage these villagers."

After leaving the door and walking a distance away, Lyman Darry said.

This big boy was not stupid; he could see that his king was in a bad mood, so he used his own way to comfort him.

"Maintaining order is secondary; the key is that the peasants really don't have much to eat." Arthur walked toward Pod and the others, "The gold mines of Golden Tooth must be reopened. Use the gold to buy a large amount of grain from Pentos and other places, then distribute it to the peasants in the Hedong Diqu who lack food."

The Riverlands King already had an idea; he prepared to send ravens to Patrick, who was in charge of Golden Tooth, and William Mooton, the lord of Maidenpool, after arriving at Stoney Sept, to let this matter be pushed forward quickly.

As long as there was enough food, the peasants would easily settle down, and order in the countryside could be restored.

……

After half a day of marching, at dusk, Arthur and Desmond led the army to their destination.

The Sept of Stoney Sept was located on a small hill, and halfway up the hill was a short and sturdy gray stone manor, with the town itself surrounding both.

Sixteen years ago, the soldiers of the four-house alliance defeated the then Hand of the King, Earl Jon Connington, right here. Because the septons rang the bells to warn the commoners that the war had begun, that battle was called the Battle of the Bells.

After Robert took power, Knight Wilbert became the lord of this place. When Adam Marbrand led the army to hunt down the Riverlands nobles in the Hedong Diqu and around the lake, the knight was killed by the soldiers of the House Lannister. His three sons followed the Young Wolf to the Westerlands and should have all died in battle.

The seven thousand men under Arthur's name had already controlled this place. House Frey provided three thousand, the New Army in Harrenhal came with two thousand, one thousand from Maidenpool followed the New Army, and more than one thousand were scraped together by lords of various ranks from around the lake and other places.

There was a very bad piece of news waiting for the Riverlands King.

In the living room of the manor, Innes, Dickon, and other commanding generals reported the war situation in the Crownlands to Arthur.

"The dwarf fooled everyone. Stannis spent a day and a night with an army of ten thousand, turning Duskendale into ruins, but he didn't get Tommen. Now he has led his army back to King's Landing, preparing to have a big fight with the Lion-Flower coalition," said the bald Innes.

Lothar Frey filled in the details, "Tyrion Lannister set up a trap with all the courtiers, Queen Regent Cersei, the Kingsguard, and the Gold Cloaks, making people think Tommen was there, when in fact he had already been sent by the cunning Lannister to a place no one knew."

Arthur thought for a moment and said, "It might not necessarily be a trap; Tyrion Lannister only had no other choice, so he sent Tommen away. Were Myrcella, Cersei, Tyrion Lannister, and Littlefinger all captured?"

"Before Duskendale was besieged, Littlefinger took Princess Myrcella away by sea, likely to the Vale or Dorne to seek an alliance. Queen Regent Cersei, Tyrion Lannister, and the remaining courtiers and Kingsguard were all captured. The Lion army and the Reach Army will arrive at King's Landing soon; Stannis shouldn't dare to kill these high-ranking captives," said Rosso.

"Not necessarily. Er Lu's personality is very stubborn, but he can also listen to the advice of the Onion Knight." Arthur had someone spread the map on the table.

Ever since he added a point to Intelligence, he felt his brain had become flexible.

"The Lion and Flower houses will inevitably clash with Stannis near King's Landing. They might send some troops to attack us—not many, ten thousand Reach soldiers would be enough to make us suffer—or they might send people to Harrenhal to assassinate Alduin. As long as there are no dragons, my kingdom is even more fragile and ridiculous than Robb's short-lived kingdom."

"The advantage is with him, not with me!"

Everyone present knew that the Baratheon kingship was inherited from Robert, and Robert's royal title was snatched from the House Targaryen.

So theoretically, the two Baratheon kings should join forces to kill Arthur, the "Dragon Family" member with a dragon, first. But fortunately, the geographical locations of Stannis and Tommen meant this did not happen.

Just like at the beginning of the War of the Five Kings, the Westerlands Army supporting Joffrey should have fought against Stannis and Renly, who had claims to the Iron Throne. But under Tywin's leadership, they stubbornly fought a "suppression of rebellion" against the Riverlands and the North first. If not for Er Lu's divine operation, the Lannisters would never have had the strength and opportunity to defeat the anti-Lion forces.

In the previous battles, Stannis let Tywin and the Westerlands gain the greatest results. Now, he used the attack on Duskendale to attract the Lion-Flower coalition, earning a glimmer of survival space for the Riverlands.

"So we should quickly resolve the battle here, and then go to the Crownlands to kill Tommen, who is hiding in some unknown castle. This is the biggest chance for a comeback."

Lothar Frey's brain was quite sharp; he suggested this to the Riverlands King.

The biggest tie between the Lion and Flower houses was Tommen. Without the king supported by the Lion house and the position of queen that could be provided, it would be much easier to divide these two houses.

"That is certain, but we can take other measures." Arthur pointed to Harrenhal, "Locke Holt's two hundred or so Qohor Mercenaries are still there. They took the gold, so it's time for them to do some work. Send a raven, tell Locke to take his men to the northern part of the Crownlands to find and capture Tommen. If the job is done, I will give him gold weighing as much as ten thousand Gold Dragons. Additionally, after Locke leaves, have people tightly close the two gates of Harrenhal; no one is allowed to enter or leave."

The mines outside Golden Tooth could provide a lot of gold, so Arthur suddenly became generous with his monetary rewards.

Rosso remembered these two points, wrote the letter, and after sealing it with Arthur's sword-and-horse crest using hot wax, he summoned the Maester serving House Wilbert and ordered him to send it to Harrenhal via raven.

"What are the movements of Dorne and the Vale?"

Arthur looked around, feeling that only these two places still had some suspense.

Dickon, who was participating in a field battle for the first time, answered this question: "Dorne has no movement at all. They haven't even gathered troops near the Bone Way and the Prince's Pass. It looks like they don't intend to help us."

The territory of House Tarly was right next to Dorne, so he naturally understood where the Dornishmen would march from.

"We should be wary of the Vale." Dickon pointed the Bloody Gate out to Arthur, "House Arryn participated in the Usurper's War, and they stayed neutral in the struggle between House Stark and House Lannister, but it might not be the same when dealing with you, who has a dragon."

Arthur had the opposite opinion. He shook his right index finger and said:

"Young people are still too green; you have to learn to analyze specific situations. Back then, the Vale sent troops because the Mad King wanted the heads of Robert and Eddard, and the old Lord Arryn's nephew was also killed, so the Vale knights bled through the Bloody Gate."

"And now? The person in charge is Lady Lysa. She only listens to Littlefinger. Myrcella was likely taken to the Vale by Littlefinger. The situation on the continent is still unclear; Littlefinger, this conspirator, cannot take a side in the short term. Plus, the lords of the Vale don't all listen to Lysa, so Littlefinger will build relationships in the Vale until he completely controls it."

Petyr Baelish was a merchant who could influence Gulltown, but he could not influence powerful Vale nobles like Yohn Royce, Grafson, and Corbray.

The second-in-command of the Vale, Bronze Yohn, once participated in the Usurper's War, and because he had always wanted to save Eddard and fought for the Young Wolf, it was possible that the other side could develop into a force that opposed both Tommen and Arthur.

But under Lysa's restraint, the northeastern neighbor of the Riverlands was unlikely to participate in the current war.

The lack of reinforcements from Dorne disappointed Arthur, so he looked to the North.

"What is the situation at Moat Cailin?"

The bald Innes said: "The Leech Lord is as cautious as ever. After the Bastard of Bolton and Theon persuaded the Ironborn to surrender, Moat Cailin temporarily fell into the hands of House Bolton. Then the army from White Harbor and the coalition led by Glover, Greatjon, and others launched an attack from the north and south. After a fierce battle, the Bolton army retreated north to the territory of Barrowton, and the House Stark coalition took the three towers and retreated to the territory of White Harbor. Now the two armies are confronting each other across the Kingsroad."

The causeway surrounded by the three towers of Moat Cailin was the only passage north and south, and both the east and west sides were swamps as deep as the waist. Only the Crannogmen led by House Reed knew how to find shortcuts in the swamps.

But the Crannogmen were hidden in the vast swamps, and even Robb couldn't find them when he marched south; others couldn't possibly have them lead the way.

Therefore, the Northmen could only force their way through Moat Cailin to go home.

"It seems there is no outside help, so we have to do it ourselves. Where is the Westerlands Army led by my uncle?" Arthur asked.

This uncle naturally refers to Janos Bracken, who was appointed as Riverrun Protector by Tommen and is currently coming to suppress the rebellion under the orders of Hand of the King Taiwen Laoye.

Dickon, Innes, and the others introduced the situation of this Westerlands Army to Arthur.

Directly south of Stoney Sept, there is a tributary of the Blackwater River, and the seven-thousand-strong army led by Janos is stationed on the flat ground on the opposite bank.

"The entire camp is still quite chaotic; it looks like they are truly all new recruits, but some experienced Knights are playing their part. The enemy chose their stationing location extremely cleverly. If we want to attack them, we must first cross the river, and since the river has recently surged and there are no boats or bridges, we can only remain in a stalemate," Dickon said.

Marquess Innes, whose walking posture was gradually returning to normal, suggested: "Let us stand off for a period of time, and wait until we have built boats before crossing the river to wage war against them."

Several Riverlands nobles agreed with this prudent approach.

Arthur looked at the terrain. "We can rout them without a major battle. Where are the nearby Riverlands lords? Go gather the peasants, find a suitable location, and block this river with mud overnight. In a day or two, we will be able to set off to fight in the Crownlands to the east."

Stoney Sept is built on hills, while the Westerlands people are stationed on the lower-lying riverbank, which creates new possibilities.

Several Landed Knights were ordered to go out and gather peasants. Before they left, Arthur added his own reward: every peasant who participates in blocking the river can receive twenty jin of wheat.

……

The Westerlands, Casterly Rock.

Duke Tywin, lying prone on a specially made movable soft bed, was listening to the Maester's report.

Beside him, Sir Jaime, with an anxious face, stared intently at the Maester's mouth, as if he could know the whereabouts of his sister Cersei, his son Tommen, and the others by doing so.

When he heard that Tommen had not fallen into the hands of Stannis, he let out a long breath, but when the Maester said that the Queen Regent and the courtiers had been captured, his heart hung in the air again.

"Then where did Tommen go?"

He already knew that Cersei had been captured, so he temporarily stopped thinking about what kind of ending his sister would have, and instead asked about his son Tommen, who might still be alive.

Maester Cressen respectfully replied: "Since most of the Kingsguard were captured, His Majesty Tommen must have been secretly sent away by Lord Tyrion. I am inclined to believe he was sent to a small castle in the northern part of the Crownlands. Furthermore, it is said that the mercenary by Lord Tyrion's side is also missing, so there should only be one mercenary and one or two Kingsguard protecting His Majesty."

Because the vast majority of people in Duskendale were captured, Casterly Rock also does not know where their King was finally sent.

Jaime became anxious immediately. "Doesn't that mean Tommen is in danger now? No, I must go protect him."

The seventy-thousand-strong army of the lions and flowers is about to arrive at the city walls, so the life of the high-value captive Cersei can actually be preserved, but Tommen, wandering in the countryside of the Crownlands, is in great danger.

Joffrey's bizarre death was already enough to make Jaime blame himself; now, he absolutely will not allow Tommen to leave him as well.

"Calm down." After learning that Tommen had not fallen into the hands of Stannis, Tywin no longer focused on the situation in King's Landing. "Three months ago, our situation was much worse than this. Now that we have nearly eighty thousand troops in hand, what is there to fear?"

Now the lion and flower houses have seventy thousand troops near King's Landing. As long as they are not commanded by fools, they can always defeat Er Lu and then go to the Riverlands to crush the Dragonrider.

"Have Kevan send a large number of men to find His Majesty. At the same time, attack King's Landing and make the Knights of The Reach do some work, climbing the city walls to fight. If Kevan still has energy, send someone to assassinate that dragon in Harrenhal. Without the dragon, the Dragonrider's comedy kingdom will dissolve immediately," Tywin ordered the Maester.

Maester Cressen noted these points and went out to send a raven.

"No, I must fulfill my duty as a member of the Kingsguard and go find and protect Tommen." Perhaps because of the bond between father and son, Jaime felt a bit panicked.

"You are not going anywhere. Remember, you are no longer a member of the Kingsguard." Tywin stared at his son. "My health has been getting worse lately; you stay behind to prepare to inherit Casterly Rock and the Westerlands."

Sir Jaime knew his father was very overbearing, so he did not refute him on the spot and left silently.

He knew how to dodge the servants and guards to escape Casterly Rock.

One son is already gone; he must go protect his second son.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)