Chapter 42: Harrenhal

"This is Harrenhal, the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms," Patrick introduced to Arthur with a boastful air.

Arthur, of course, knew this.

According to the progression of the original Game of Thrones, Harrenhal belonged to House Whent and was occupied by Tywin for a long time during the War of the Five Kings.

Janos Slynt, the commander of the Gold Cloaks in King's Landing, received this castle for his meritorious service in arresting Eddard, but was subsequently ruthlessly stripped of it by Tyrion Lannister.

Because the fief of Harrenhal is vast and rich, its owners are often the most powerful lords in the Riverlands.

But due to the legendary curse of Harrenhal, the families that rule it all slowly decline after reaching their peak.

Its sixth owners, House Whent, were no exception.

In the spring of 281 AC, Lord Walter Whent held a grand tourney, and Prince Rhaegar defeated everyone to claim the championship.

Of course, it was only because the fearless Barristan Selmy—who was in the Kingsguard during the Mad King's reign and remains so now that King Robert is on the throne—made a slight concession that the young prince enjoyed such glory.

Subsequently, a mistake occurred: Prince Rhaegar hooked up with Eddard's sister and Robert's fiancée, Lyanna Stark, and then took her to his wife's home in Dorne to live in blissful indulgence.

Eddard's father and brother went to King's Landing to demand an explanation from the Mad King, but one was burned to death and the other was strangled.

The Mad King then ordered Jon Arryn, the Lord of the Vale, to kill his ward Robert to prevent future trouble.

But House Arryn, whose words are "As High as Honor," were no cowards; to keep his oath to protect his ward, Jon Arryn raised his banners in rebellion.

And with the cooperation of Hoster Tully, the alliance of the wolf, fish, falcon, and stag was formally established; in 282, the Usurper's War broke out.

Two years later, Robert was proclaimed king, and the Baratheon Dynasty was established.

Fifteen years later, Arthur, Patrick, Desmond, and their attendants arrived here.

"Although House Whent has declined, they are still a lordship, so hosting the few of us is no problem," Desmond said.

Given their status, House Whent was naturally happy to host them, but Arthur's status was truly beneath the notice of the great lords; it was only by riding on the coattails of the other two that he was able to lodge here.

"I need to take a good bath, change into clean clothes, and shave my beard. I'll be meeting many nobles on the road ahead, so my image must be good," Patrick muttered to himself.

Although he was the heir to a lordship and Seagard, he was not a big shot in King's Landing.

Currently, it was the dynasty of the stag, and the Queen was of the lion family, so people from the Stormlands and the Westerlands were running rampant in King's Landing.

Arthur didn't really care about such things. "They aren't going to stare at you like they stare at women, so why care about this?"

Patrick curled his lip and said with a hint of sourness, "With a face like yours, if you're refined, you're handsome and dashing; if you're sloppy, you're carefree and unconstrained. How could you understand my troubles?"

Arthur ignored him and began to observe while riding his horse.

If he remembered correctly, Harrenhal was one of the three major defensive strongholds of the Riverlands.

The other two were The Twins on the upper Green Fork and Riverrun on the upper Red Fork.

The three formed a stable triangle, and together with the Trident and its tributaries, they established the defensive system of the Riverlands.

As long as these three were in hand, the forces of the Riverlanders were sufficient to keep the enemy at bay.

In the early stages of the War of the Five Kings, one of the failures in Edmure's response to the Lannister army was the abandonment of Harrenhal.

By abandoning this point, Tywin was able to gallop across the vast plains on the south bank of the Red Fork and north of the Blackwater River, from Pinkmaiden to Maidenpool.

He could cross the river whenever he wanted and plunder civilian villages to replenish military supplies without any restraint.

If Harrenhal had been guarded by a certain number of troops, the Riverlands would not have been so passive in the early stages.

One must know that the lords of the Riverlands were not weak; the professional soldiers of each house added up to over thirty thousand, and with the conscripted peasant soldiers, they held a great advantage in numbers.

But Edmure made a series of moves, first sending four thousand men from Houses Vance and Piper to attack the strategic location of Golden Tooth in the Westerlands, throwing away those four thousand men for nothing.

Then he directly abandoned the areas around the Gods Eye and Maidenpool, concentrating his forces at Riverrun to have a big fight with the Westerland detachment led by Jaime.

In the end, he was captured himself.

If it hadn't been for Lord Tytos Blackwood putting in a desperate effort to rescue Edmure, it would have been even harder for Robb to fight the Battle of the Whispering Wood after arriving with the North's cavalry.

Since Arthur had decided to side with the alliance of the fish and the wolf, such mistakes would naturally not happen again.

The triangular defensive system with Harrenhal, Riverrun, and The Twins as its fulcrums must not fail.

Beside him was Desmond Grell, the Master-at-arms of Riverrun; his thoughts were enough to influence Edmure.

Arthur felt he should instill some ideas into him.

"Lord Desmond, if a war were to break out, what do you think is the most indispensable fortress in the Riverlands?"

Desmond was taken aback, not understanding why the God of Hammers was asking him this, but he answered quickly:

"Without even thinking, it must be Riverrun! As long as we block the Westerlanders at the confluence of the Tungstone River and the Red Fork, what other enemy could break into the Riverlands? The North and the Vale are both firm allies."

Arthur had black lines on his forehead; as expected of a man from Riverrun, he only thought about Riverrun's affairs.

"If this hypothetical enemy, the Lannister army, sets out from the Golden Road and crosses the Blackwater River to head north, can Riverrun still block them?"

Like the River Road and the Kingsroad, the Golden Road was one of the five roads built by Jaehaerys I, stretching from Casterly Rock in the west to King's Landing in the east, spanning the southern edge of the Riverlands.

Desmond was shocked. "Then we would need King Robert to order the mobilization of the entire kingdom's armies to defeat the Lannister army."

He also knew that once they reached the great plains on the north bank of the Blackwater River and the south bank of the Trident, only an absolute superiority in numbers could win the battle.

"That's not what I mean. If only the Riverlands and the Westerlands were fighting, how would we deal with an army of twenty or thirty thousand coming from the Golden Road?"

Desmond shook his head. "That is not for me to consider; the Duke and Edmure will think of appropriate measures."

"In this situation, the only way to break the deadlock is to hold Harrenhal at all costs," Arthur gave the answer directly.

Patrick spurred his horse to catch up and join their conversation. "I think Arthur is right; the Tullys sending troops to hold Harrenhal is the only solution."

Desmond was puzzled: "Why? Can't House Whent defend the castle themselves?"

"That's not a matter for House Whent," Arthur raised his riding crop. "As long as Harrenhal is in hand, the Lannister army cannot move freely across the vast lands near the Gods Eye, because Harrenhal can send troops at any time to cut off their supply lines."

Desmond's eyes remained confused, but he still let out an "oh," pretending he understood.

Arthur didn't bother with him anymore and turned to talk to Patrick about this.

House Mallister of Seagard could also influence Edmure's command, so it wouldn't be bad for Patrick to have this awareness.

PS: Seeking recommendation tickets and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)