Chapter 95: Hear Me Roar

Wayfarer's Rest, a certain secret chamber.

Duke Tywin, tall and thin-haired, sat at one end of the long table; his face was half-hidden in the candlelight, making him look even more majestic and unfathomable.

Before him were the leaders and brains of the main Westerlands force:

The Duke's brother Kevan Lannister, the heir to Castamere Sir Adam Marbrand, the Brax heir Tytos of Hornvale, Count Roland Crakehall of Oxcross, Count Shaliute of Silverhill, Count Leo Lefford of Golden Tooth, and others.

From the members present, one could see the intensity of Duke Tywin's desire for control.

Every major house of the Westerlands had an important figure here, while their fathers or heirs were often in the secondary Westerlands force led by Jaime.

For example, Tytos of Hornvale here—his father Andros Brax was with the secondary force; the same went for Count Damon, father of Adam Marbrand; and the situation for the Lefford family of Golden Tooth was even more miserable, as the husband and wife had been taken to two different places respectively.

Tywin rested his right hand on the long table, his index finger tapping the beechwood table forcefully, one beat after another.

The *tap-tap* sound echoed in the small secret chamber, making everyone feel even more restless.

This was supposed to be a top-secret meeting for the main Westerlands force to discuss the next operational plan, yet the atmosphere was somewhat off.

Sir Kevan, Tywin's brother, gave two light coughs, breaking the eerie atmosphere, and then reported to Tywin and the others using the intelligence he had obtained.

"Sir Luo Qi, who was defeated at Harrentown six days ago, has already led his troops to retreat to Stone Hedge. He is stationed with the vanguard infantry, surrounding the ancestral castle of Count Bracken, waiting for the arrival of the main army."

Although young, Adam Marbrand was appreciated by Tywin for his outstanding insight and excellent ability to read the room; he was currently in command of the five-thousand-strong heavy cavalry of the main Westerlands force.

Therefore, he sat opposite Kevan, at Tywin's right hand.

After the first piece of intelligence was finished, the Jiaodu of the Lannisters showed no reaction at all.

He was still tapping the table, *tap-tap*.

Thus, the clever Adam guessed the Duke's intent and sternly rebuked: "Amory Lorch's move is not a retreat at all, it is clearly a rout. Fifteen hundred light cavalry could not defeat eight hundred Riverlands cavalry and even lost half their men, letting the Harrenhal that was already in our grasp fly away. It is truly a lack of ability."

After the rebuke, the Duke still showed no reaction.

So Adam added: "I suggest he hand over those seven hundred-plus cavalry and take only one or two hundred light cavalry to guard our foraging parties."

Sir Kevan, sitting opposite him, nodded: "This is exactly the second point I wanted to make. Count Beric, along with Thoros and some of Duke Eddard's guards, crossed the Red Fork and attacked our supply train, returning the requisitioned grain to the farmers of the Riverlands. Amory Lorch's intelligence and ability are just right for dealing with this situation."

Because Hornvale was far from the heart of the Westerlands, the supply line for this army was stretched very thin. After entering the Riverlands, a grain-producing region, the logistics of the entire army were handled locally.

Several small Westerlands units were sent to collect grain from the fiefs of the counts of Pinkmaiden and Wayfarer's Rest, but they were attacked by the remaining members of the King's Landing Law Enforcement Team led by Count Beric, which caused some instability in the logistics of the main Westerlands army.

After the two finished speaking, Duke Tywin still did not speak, but Kevan felt that his older brother must have agreed with the proposal, so he had the recording officer note it down.

"News from The Twins: Old Frey says he can help get Jaime out, on the condition that Jaime marries one of his granddaughters or great-granddaughters, and that he receives the title of Riverrun Protector and liege lord of the Riverlands after the war," Kevan added.

Adam again guessed something from the Duke's silence: "The Freys are upstarts without heritage; they have only been rich for six hundred years, and they are worthy of climbing up to Sir Jaime? This condition must absolutely not be agreed to, but we can pretend to agree first to let them get Sir Jaime out."

Kevan also agreed with Adam's proposal: "Then I will send a Raven to The Twins right now. Old Frey is quite good at scheming."

"No," Duke Tywin spoke his first sentence since entering this secret chamber, "The Freys shall not touch my son, not even the slightest thought of it."

In his early years, he deeply hated his weak father for marrying his sister to Old Frey's second son, and his own nephew Cleos was a well-known playboy in King's Landing who often acted under the name of being a relative of the Lannister family, which made the Duke even more disgusted with the Frey family.

Cowardice often wears a mask of hypocrisy, and incompetence follows like a shadow. He must never repeat the mistake made by his father, the "Laughing Lion."

Seeing Tywin angry, Kevan hurriedly used another piece of news to move past the topic.

"Count Bracken is also at Riverrun. The inside source indicates that Janos has lent two thousand five hundred infantry to Arthur Bracken on the condition of defending Stone Hedge. This way, we can find a way to ambush Arthur at Stone Hedge when he comes to rescue from Harrenhal."

Adam agreed with Kevan's view: "For a fierce general like Arthur who is invincible in a frontal assault, we can dig some traps, use bait to make him charge over, fall into the pit, and then crush him to death with rocks; or set up a formation of heavy crossbows and shoot him to death with arrows."

The others nodded in agreement; in front of the enraged Tywin, they dared not speak at all.

The Duke had sent troops to the Riverlands for his own son, only to lose another son, and that was with an army of fifteen thousand men protecting him.

Anyone would have to question what those fifteen thousand people were doing!

Kevan was Tywin's military assistant and naturally paid more attention to gossip from the battlefield.

"It is rumored that this Arthur wears two layers of armor; I don't know if heavy crossbows can pierce it, but the matter of ambushing him at Stone Hedge can be decided. Once he falls into the trap, we will crush him to death with rocks."

"No," Duke Tywin overturned their proposal once again.

"Bracken is a First Men surname with a long history and noble blood," he looked at his brother Kevan, "Go have an inside source at Riverrun with a higher status talk to Count Janos."

"If he is willing to get my son out of Riverrun, I will give the title of Riverrun Protector to the Bracken family, and incidentally, I will preserve a complete Stone Hedge for him. After all, this is an ancestral castle passed down for thousands of years. That Arthur can also be captured first, and then we can ask if he is willing to work for me. The Mountain is already dead, and we don't have many brave warriors left who can stand alone."

The main Bracken family was a second-tier noble house of the entire continent, slightly weaker than the liege lord families, and like the Bolton family of The North, the Frey family of The Twins, and the Hightowers and Redwynes of The Reach who could challenge the title of Warden of a region, they were also called sub-top-tier families.

Apart from the thousand-year feud with another second-tier great noble house at Raventree Hall, the most famous characteristic of the Brackens of Stone Hedge was their tendency to switch sides.

The faction their family was on in the early stages was often destined to lose, and before the signs of defeat appeared, the master of Stone Hedge would always be able to jump to the winning side.

Switching sides was the ultimate secret to their family standing tall for thousands of years.

Considering the three major upheavals in these thousands of years—the wars between the First Men and the Children of the Forest, the Andal invasion, and the Aegon the Conqueror of the Targaryens—this ability to remain standing was quite valuable.

After all, not everyone could accurately jump to the side of the winner.

Kevan was shocked: "Is giving Count Janos too much? Just for saving one person, we give a title of Warden."

"That is my son!" Tywin roared in a low voice, looking very much like a lion about to explode, "The only son I have who can inherit Casterly Rock!"

Although Jaime, who was still in the Kingsguard, could not inherit private property, the Duke of Lannister would never hand Casterly Rock over to Tyrion.

Seeing that the two Lannisters had a disagreement, Adam hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Letting Count Janos be the Warden is more in line with our Westerlands interests. The strength of the Bracken family is only third or fourth in the Riverlands. I imagine he will have to rely on us in the future to control the Sanhe lands, which gives us a legitimate reason to intervene in Riverlands affairs. The Tullys have already fallen out, and the Frey family's stance is not very stable."

Kevan, having been roared at by his older brother, obediently accepted this: "I will have someone contact Janos. He has one thousand men at Riverrun, enough to save the person."

The education he had received all his life was to assist his lord brother. After Tywin clearly expressed his point of view, he would obey one hundred percent and execute it with all his might, without the slightest discount.

Tywin did not speak either; he stood up, turned around, and looked at the map hanging on the wall.

A quick-witted noble picked up a candle and ran in small steps to hold it up before his liege lord.

This allowed the clever Adam to see the two points of concern for the Warden of the West.

Bitterbridge on the Roseroad, and the capital, King's Landing.

There was no major problem in King's Landing; Joffrey I had already ascended the throne, and the Queen Regent Cersei of the Lion House was ruling there on behalf of her underage son.

Stannis of Dragonstone lacked sufficient strength, and most of what he had was a navy, so he could not take the fortified King's Landing.

Bitterbridge in The Reach, however, was a bit troublesome.

It is rumored that the nobles of the two great southern territories have all responded to the call of Renly, who declared himself king, and are gathering there; the southern coalition capable of assembling an army of seventy or eighty thousand is the greatest threat to the House of the Lion.

"There is no problem in King's Landing; as long as His Majesty Joffrey I lets Duke Eddard don the black to serve in the Night's Watch, we will not come to blows with The North. It is the south that we should be wary of," said Adam.

Kevan agreed with Adam's words: "The wise King Joffrey has already changed his banner to the roaring lion and the Crown Stag; although he bears the name Baratheon, he is one of our Lannisters."

The five or six people sitting in the secret room knew very well that Duke Tywin did not like his dwarf son, Tyrion Lannister, at all, and that sending troops to the Riverlands was merely for the sake of the Lannister reputation.

In his arrogance, he would never allow trout and wolves to insult the roaring lion.

Now that Jaime has been captured and war has broken out in the south, they must change their subsequent operational objectives.

After all, they already consider Joffrey in King's Landing as one of their own, and the King's Iron Throne is being challenged by his two "dear" uncles.

According to rumors, Renly and Stannis are not necessarily the King's real uncles, but they dared not say so here.

Tywin stared at the map for a long time before finally saying something in a normal tone:

"Renly must think he is the true king now. We have the hotheaded Robb and the weak and incompetent Edmure helping us deal with the one who poses the most threat to him. He only needs to hold a Tourney at Bitterbridge, wait for the major powers in the north to decide a winner, and then lead the entire Southern army north to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop."

Adam nodded in agreement, "But he is merely a usurper. Even if the initial battle does not go smoothly, the advantage still lies with us. We can bring up the title of our ally, Lord Littlefinger; let him marry Lady Lysa of The Vale, and we will gain the support of the thirty-thousand-strong army of The Vale."

Kevan said: "The young, widowed Lady Lysa has attracted the vast majority of the young talents of The Vale. Reports from our moles say that the Eyrie is already packed, and the Moon Door at the foot of the mountain is also stuffed with suitors. Marrying her would mean gaining the entire Vale."

"Actually, I wanted to go too; the titles of Duke and Warden of the West are truly tempting," Adam joked.

This was just talk; he was the first heir to a count's family and had no need to compete with hundreds of people for a position earmarked for Littlefinger.

"There is no rush for this. Robb has not fought a single battle; everyone here can easily defeat this green boy." Tywin turned and looked at the attendees with his deep gaze.

"Moreover, the war is not going well right now; if we play the Littlefinger and The Vale card at this time, the reward we would have to give him would increase."

The Vale has the great grain-producing area of the Moon Mountains, significant mineral deposits, and relies on specialties like incense candles and special spices, as well as its geographical advantage, to maintain close ties with the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea. Its overall strength is second only to the Westerlands, ranking third on the entire continent.

If The Vale were to mobilize to its limit, it could conscript over thirty thousand troops, including the Cavalry of The Vale, which is famous across the entire continent.

One must know that the Knights of The Vale are famous knightly orders that can be mentioned in the same breath as the Kingsguard, the knights of White Harbor, and the Heavy Cavalry of House Lannister.

"Tyrion and Lady Stark are still missing. Our moles in White Harbor and House Frey have not reported any news of them to us. We will continue to execute the plan to clear the Riverlands until we find my youngest son, or until we fight House Tully until they can no longer hold on and propose a hostage exchange."

Kevan echoed his older brother's idea, "That's right, we have Duke Eddard and Robb's two sisters in our hands; the advantage is still very great. Although I don't know what madness Lady Stark is suffering from, before this business with Tyrion, we had indeed never had a conflict with The North."

Tywin pointed to Adam on his right, "The task of besieging Stone Hedge is to be executed by you. Before Janos clearly expresses his refusal to produce my son, just make a feint. As for that Arthur, find a way to capture him, then sound him out. Tell him I am a man who cherishes talent and will not hold a grudge against him just because he killed The Mountain."

The Warden of the West then pointed to his brother, "You will now cross the Red Fork and take over the sixteen thousand men of the detachment. The war will be long; Stafford needs to continue gathering troops in Lannisport to prepare for our final battle with Renly. Edmure cares very much for his own smallfolk; we can start from there, set a trap, and give the House of the Trout a hard blow."

According to his original plan, Stafford would have stayed in the heart of the Westerlands to gather troops and train the conscripted peasant soldiers, but the capture of his eldest son disrupted the previous arrangements.

News of Renly and the southern rebellion has already arrived, and as the Jiaodu of the House of the Lion, he must be prepared to fight a major battle with the southerners.

"No problem." Kevan closed the small notebook in his hand that collected various pieces of information, "Defeating the Riverlands Army at Riverrun will also allow Lord Janos to display his family's famous specialty sooner."

"Gentlemen." Duke Tywin leaned his hands on the beechwood table and looked around at the seven or eight people, "Robert's short-lived dynasty has ended. From now on, Westeros will be ruled by us Westerners, but before that, we must swat a few buzzing flies."

"Everyone must work hard until the Westerners have won this war."

Adam flattered him lightly, "In the future, when the history of the House is written for the Lannisters, the conquest of the Riverlands will be the first step you take to secure the continent for your grandson."

"Perhaps!" Duke Tywin did not deny it.

"Now, let the entire Riverlands hear our roar, and let the trout and the wolves understand that the majesty of House Lannister is inviolable."

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)