Chapter 271

Mei Yi did not follow Sir Masonsewen's advice, at least not completely.

After scouting the surrounding geography, she found almost nothing—though that's unfair; in fact, she could roughly guess the water veins, but accurately locating and cutting off the water source within all possible ranges might require more effort than collapsing Terror Castle, and a slow survey might yield results, yet she knew the officers wouldn't give her much time, and after Masonsewen's admonition she could not keep staying away from camp, lest she appear idle or overly mysterious to the officers.

Generally, maintaining mystery has both advantages and disadvantages, depending on the situation you are in.

When these officers, vassals, and soldiers know they are weak or facing hardship, a mysterious ruler can give them inexplicable confidence and strength—this requires continual victory to sustain; but when you encounter true adversity and must face a severe test, you must ask whether the mysterious veil will be gradually washed away by anxiety and doubt, ultimately being understood as aloofness, stupidity, or even evil.

At least for now she need not worry about these, although the witch rumors have already been spread by Bolton.

Witch, this may be the one 'label' she as a ruler cannot easily shed. She cannot explain it much; in fact, the rumor is not wrong—she has not overly concealed her existence as a powerful shapeshifter, and to ordinary people shapeshifting is witchcraft, shapeshifters are witches or warlocks; however, the northern families who have long upheld faith in the old gods are not ordinary people, they fully understand shapeshifting and shapeshifters.

Witch, she actually wishes she were a witch, for then she could simply drag Bolton out of Terror Castle and burn him to end the North's chaos.

This troublesome bastard.

After finishing the survey, she returned to the ranch camp controlling the southeast of Terror Castle and immediately summoned all ministers and officers for a council.

The young officers arrived first. Their faces were overly young, some still with peach-fuzz beards; even in well‑fitted armor they looked small and immature, yet every one of the youths she saw was very familiar to her.

She had once clapped them on the shoulders with enthusiasm, solemnly bestowing the knight's accolade in each family's great hall; no matter how young they were, their exploits and merits deserved knightly honor, the gift of arms, armor, and warhorses.

They are certainly qualified officers, and far stronger than most of the mediocrities she has seen.

This is her pride. Each of them has served as her guard beside her, some outright as her knightly attendants.

The youthful attendants beside her were knighted too quickly, causing the attendants to be replaced in rapid succession; she wondered whether she was the most generous knight to attendants in all of Westeros.

After she set sail, those knighted from attendants included Will, Bram, Kayn, Belon, etc.; after returning to Winterfell, there were also attendants who had served less than three months, such as Rickapul and George Kayso; in the short time thereafter, attendant turnover accelerated, with Brandon Forest, Stittmicken, Kogi, and Neel taking turns; as of now, only Sasha, who is truly too young, and the Hodnorui thrown by Qiongen might serve longer.

Afterward entering the tent were Sir Masonsewen, Henry Noret, Sir Kongikongton, Sir Maldon Mandler, and Count Glover, followed by his adopted son Sir Lawrence Snow; these were all familiar faces, and Mei Yi nodded to each in return. Subsequently entering were the new Bear Island countess Alyssa Mormont, the son of the Oldtown count Roderick, Viscount Rickwolf, and other new supporters she was not well acquainted with.

They evidently had not expected Mei Yi to already be waiting inside the tent; thus, according to the preset seating, they quickly found their places. Mei Yi had specially arranged a seat near the left side for Seyn Snow, just below the two counts.

He is not only the newly appointed Viscount of Shan Yang, but also Mei Yi's acknowledged bastard son of Brandon Stark; no one objected to Mei Yi placing extra weight on his bloodline.

Such a military council of this scale, since the siege of Terror Castle began, this is the first; those attending likely could guess that the meeting concerned the subsequent key strategy.

Mei Yi held her seat silent, sweeping her gaze over the ministers and commanders below until their voices fell completely still.

"We have besieged Terror Castle for dozens of days, but Lord Leech shrinks like a leech inside that turtle shell and won't come out—everyone has seen that shell, it's grating on the teeth." Mei Yi pointed toward Terror Castle, "I would like to besiege that shell for years, but unfortunately the little imp from Flea Bottom jumps about—he doesn't bother discussing production with Barbara Lannister, instead wasting his energy swearing at two young men before Torrhen's Square and Saiwen City, I hear the two young counts have long grown tired of it." The officers chuckled in twos and threes, "I hear Lord Jon Flea Bottom's campaign is still going well—he drove the newly recruited troops of White Harbor entirely into the White Knife River—but we are not entirely without gains. Sir Maldon, please tell us what exactly we have gained."

"Your Highness, only part of those driven into the White Knife River; the rest, well, I believe many merely lost their way and will eventually return to White Harbor—my cousin has already sent boats to search along the river." Sir Maldon Mandler rose when Mei Yi called on him.

"Perhaps they didn't lose their way; they just wanted to discuss production with Lady Dustin." Henry Noret gave a hehe laugh, yet Seyn Snow laughed even more extravagantly, bursting into loud hahas that drew frequent sideways glances.

Sir Maldon stood awkwardly in the tent, looking left and right; he wanted to rest his hand on the sword at his waist, but the sword had been taken by the guards upon entering the tent, so he could only place his hand on the empty scabbard.

"We're not here to discuss those soldiers, but the gains." Mei Yi defused the situation for him.

"If that is the gain, Your Highness," he said, bending to pick up the wine cup on the table and taking an elegant sip, "while rounding up the defeated troops we accidentally caught a few who called themselves 'mercenaries'; hey, from these mercenaries' mouths we learned that Lord Jon Flea Bottom is already preparing to serve the southerners as a dog!"

"Speak up, exactly how is he serving as a dog!" Sir Kongikongton shouted, pounding his wine cup.

Sir Maldon ignored him, "Lord Jon Flea Bottom sent men to infiltrate the defeated troops, preparing to depart from White Harbor and then sail out to seek the Dragon Queen. Heh, he intends to pledge allegiance to her, with the price being that the Dragon Queen appoint him Warden of the North and Lord of Winterfell—given the multitude of defeated troops, we have no idea how many of this slippery brat he has sent out."

"He knows the Iron Throne's ships are going to sink with Bolton, and he wants to find his master in time." Seyn Snow laughed as he said.

"For this sort of wolf‑inviting‑the‑house type, we should eliminate him promptly; otherwise, once outsiders gain a foothold in the North, it will be disastrous." Count Glover shouted.

"Like Frey, just standing there?" Sir Kong's voice never late. "When can outsiders plant their feet in the North?"

Mei Yi rose, her gaze sweeping over Kongikongton. If the discussion couldn't stay on a single line, it would unnecessarily scatter too much energy, and she fully understood that.

"Our main forces are east of the river; your brother's wildling army—I don't know how loyal they are—is still turning in the northeast corner; how do we deal with Flea Bottom's point, the Barrowlands, and the riverland host loyal to Barbara Lannister?" Countess Alyssa Mormont, seated in her place, spoke softly.

She is the second daughter of Countess Maege Mormont; after Maege Mormont's death, she inherited Bear Island. She led dozens of Bear Island warriors, after a long trek finally reaching the base of Terror Castle; for this, Mei Yi could only express gratitude to this the roughest noblewoman she had ever seen.

Compared to Mei Yi, her appearance is far worse: her face is coarse, her attire not coordinated, she has no advantage in looks, and her physique is even poorer—she is short and stout; in behavior and movement she is hardly graceful. Worse still, she bore two bastard daughters out of wedlock and stubbornly insists their father is actually a bear. If one must cite an advantage, the sole one is that she looks stronger than Mei Yi—but even that single point is false.

However, her Valyrian steel sword is genuine and real. The long claws add considerable intimidation to her bear‑like brutality.

"So we should storm Terror Castle as soon as possible." Mei Yi spoke, "If anyone has counsel, please bring it forward quickly." Mei Yi sighed and sat back down, "Lord Jon Flea Bottom has never seen my methods!"

After the laughter, the officers quickly entered discussion.

"Launch a strong attack under cover of night, taking Twin River City isn't that how we do it?"... This is an idiot; Mei Yi doesn't want to mention his name.

"Have the scholars copy surrender letters and throw them in; reward anyone who opens the gate with a gold dragon." Large Gass loudly proposed, "I don't believe there isn't a smart steward like Maester Mermet in their castle—Your Highness, you made him Viscount of the Granary, so why not make the castle's steward its new lord?" Had it not been for his final added sentence, Mei Yi would surely have deemed him a fool: "Even if it fails, it still counts as a counter‑espionage ploy."

Mei Yi nodded slightly, continuing to scan the crowd. Large Gass pursed his lips and sat down.

"Dig tunnels from beneath the mountain..."

"Build sturdier catapults!"

It grew increasingly absurd.

"I have heard your suggestions; I believe if these were workable, the Kings of the North would have done them centuries ago, and we wouldn't need to fight Bolton today." As the tumult subsided, Sir Masonsewen finally rose from the crowd, "I think we should make peace with Bolton."

Inside the great tent, silence fell instantly.

"We all know that brute force cannot take Terror Castle, and the castle stores more food than we do, while the number of mouths to feed will only dwindle—Bolton might well turn corpses into rations, and I believe he could do so—although the weather is odd now, unclear what season it is, who knows when the next heavy snow will fall? This is the North!" Sir Masonsewen stressed his tone, and Mei Yi knew it was aimed at her: "The North's snow is so abundant that we, too, can never cut off their water supply unless the North were as dry as Dorne, yet the floods east of the river leave everyone worried."

Mei Yi gripped her sword, remaining silent for a long while, while the great tent kept holding its strange silence.

Indeed, peace talks were truly what the nobles wanted.

"If Bolton submits, that's not impossible; I accept this as a method." Mei Yi spoke, and those seated immediately began to whisper, "But once outside this tent, I forbid anyone from discussing any peace talk." Mei Yi rose again, leaning her sword on the table before her, "Before Bolton voluntarily offers submission, I will also not allow any further peace proposals." This was the only thing she could insist on.

At that moment Hodor pulled open the curtain, he oddly glanced at the silent officers and lords, then trotted over to Mei Yi's seat.

"Your Highness, Bolton has sent people."