The king on the Great Wall

Page 177

……

The two days requested in the message passed by little by little, withstood the pressure of the queen's urging, and the war preparation time that had been cut again and again was finally spared.

In full accordance with the timetable set by the High Command, the expeditionary force's vanguard's East Commander Carter Pike, the Center Commander Jon Snow, and the West Commander—Jam Lane, who squeezed out the original candidate after a strong request. Nestor, the three night watchmen officers each led two hundred night watchman soldiers, a total of 600 people - nearly half of the number of night watchmen on the list, set off on time from the three strongholds of Eastwatch, Castle Black and Shadow Tower on the scheduled date, and at the same time Through the tunnel through the Great Wall, it drove into Saibei with a murderous look.

And with the closing of the three tunnel gates with a creaking sound, the strategic deception against the northern border and the entire Seven Kingdoms also came to the final moment of tactical closing.

For a long time, the land-grant and the northern border have been in a state of close to 100% mutual openness, whether it is economic, political or military... To sum it up: just say hello, the manpower, materials, News, come and go as you want, without waiting for consent.

This kind of close cooperation, supplemented by the land-grant of the northern border, with slightly unequal status, makes the land-grant more like a territory of the northern border most of the time rather than an administrative region independent of the Seven Kingdoms. The commander-in-chief of the night watchman is also more like a special vassal of the guardians of the north than a lord who is on an equal footing with the latter - it is not accidental or accidental that this "father-son" relationship is formed. Relying on the donations of the princes in the north, and half of the military source is the Stark family and its vassals and subjects before putting on black clothes, it is obviously a dream to want independence and equal status.

Iger has the ability to change this situation after he took office, but he never made or even expressed such a meaning.Even after the victory of the Battle of Long Lake, and the showdown with Robb Stark in front of him clearly stated that he was not a subject, the land grant only raised the alert level in secret, and remained the same on the bright side. Allow each other's residents to communicate with each other without hindrance.

The reason for doing this is that apart from being able to continue to obtain various resources from the latter through mutual opening with the northern border by showing weakness and showing loyalty to the land, there is also an important purpose: to paralyze the vigilance of the northern princes, and to prepare for the unexpected The final blow creates the conditions.

It seems that it is not only Iger who can benefit from this kind of mutual opening as if it is one - there is no boundary, and along with the supplies, there are also eyeliners and spies in the North.They disguised themselves as residents and merchants from the north who came to exchange supplies, wandered through the villages around Houguan Town and various fortresses along the Great Wall, contacted the middle and high-level night watchmen and mountain clan chiefs who might betray Iger, and kept an eye on the land-grant Every move of the military and civilians can be used to judge Iger's next actions and the degree of threat to the northern border...

Regarding the possible betrayal from within, Iger worked out a perfect plan to "exile" the threat outside the Great Wall to ensure that the enemy had nothing to do.But surveillance from the north is precisely part of his plan!

He deliberately sent these spies and spies into the land-grant: no matter how much time, energy, and money they spent trying to find out the real combat intentions of the high-level officials in Houguan Town, they would only get one result: after the land-grant was completed. Before the expedition outside the fortress, there will be no threat to the northern border.

It’s not that they are incompetent, but that they range from the warehouse and logistics officials in the inner castle of Houguan Town, to the vegetable cutters in the kitchen and the laundry women in the backyard, to the personal guards who will be on duty outside Iger’s bedroom every week, From outside the Great Wall to the newly granted land residents who have never set foot in Houguan Town after entering the land-grant from outside the Great Wall... Except for the few people whose interests are at stake and who will never betray, every soldier in the land-grant, every A resident really thought that Iger was going to conduct an expedition beyond the Great Wall!

Only by announcing that "an expedition beyond the Great Wall will be carried out" and convincing the nobles of the northern border that it is too difficult, and letting them confirm the news through the analysis of the news they have obtained, can the northern border really relax their vigilance.

And now, the last moment has finally arrived.

After the three pioneering troops leave the Great Wall to the north and formally kick off the prelude to the expedition beyond the Great Wall, the land-grant will suddenly enter the world overnight at this delicate moment of "the vanguard has already set off, and the large army is about to move out". There was a tight intelligence blockade.In this surprise operation, which Egme dubbed "Wartime Information Control", his most confidant Night's Watch Logistic Guard soldiers will take over every crow cage that can fly south, and forcibly requisition every land-grant horse. Livestock for riding, boats banned from port, king's road closed to southbound...

The state of the land-grant to the north will change from a state of complete relaxation to an absolute blockade in an instant!

The purpose is to completely cut off the transmission of information from the land grant to the northern border.

Complete blockade of news, which is an almost impossible task under normal circumstances for two large bordering lands: even if there are no ravens and ships, the horses are taken away, and the roads are closed, excellent soldiers And spies can still send messages on foot from the fields and byways—but this goal has become possible in the land that Iger has been running for several years and is now in the cold of winter: except for orders from the high command The king's road, which is so smooth and smooth, is cleaned and dredged every day by a special person, and any other place where the land grant connects with the northern border is covered with knee-deep snow.Even if there were an elite spy with a will and a body of iron who tried to send messages by legs by other routes, he would never be able to move faster than the large army marching on the King's Road.

And after all these actions are put into practice, the final effect is: the last confirmed news from the land grant to the south is that "the expeditionary army outside the Great Wall has officially set off", and when the entire northern border is immersed in a sense of security, In the process, and found that before the next news, the land-grant army general had already marched for hundreds of miles and appeared outside Winterfell.

It's dawn, and it's time to close the net.

-

Chapter 496: Crime against Z Humanity and Z Class!

The day after the pioneers of the three-way night watchman left the Great Wall, it was early morning.

Tiangong is not beautiful, but standing on the cloud curtain, snowflakes are sprinkled down one after another, and the fine white ice crystals are floating between the sky and the earth, covering the distance in the field of vision in a gray mist.

The troops who have set off from the three major fortresses are now prudently and slowly trekking forward in the snow in the north of the Great Wall. According to the plan formulated by the high command: to open a road in the ghost forest for the passage of large troops, and to find the way to establish a forward base. Appropriate location, and search for the whereabouts of the enemy - at the cost of taking double risks, ensure that the main force that is about to set off behind will neither be ambushed nor unable to respond because it is too far away.

In order to make this expedition look real, not only did all the pre-war preparations be carried out in real terms, but also the expedition that Iger announced to the public has been carefully and carefully planned-not only it looks good, but it can actually be implemented .In other words: If Iger now gets the definite news that there are ghosts outside the Great Wall, and suddenly decides to change the itinerary and go on an expedition, this military operation can really start.

Of course, there is no need to discuss the meaningless assumptions in depth, not to mention that the White Ghost has temporarily disappeared from the world with the death of the old and new Night Kings and the retreat of the Cold God. If the dead are ready to attack again, Iger will unwaveringly launch the Southern Expedition.The vacillating old-school night watchmen must be exiled beyond the Great Wall to reduce the threat, but at this moment, there are no White Walkers or wildlings in the north of the Great Wall at this moment. Aren't they destined to conduct a futile ultra-long-distance patrol?

No, even for this group of temporary exiles, Iger still made more detailed arrangements to ensure that their value was squeezed out so that the food and grass materials sent by the Logistics Department to the Great Wall could be used.

The members of the three-way vanguard are not all night watchmen, but each team has been stuffed into a small number of selected people, and was sent to Houguan Town as a hostage, where they took courses in language, mathematics, and geography. A young land-grant tribe boy with excellent grades.In addition to the mission of "searching for aliens", which is doomed to be fruitless, the leading troops have another important task: through investigation, on the basis of the original old map, correct the wrong or changed geological features and hydrological environment, and further study Fill in the blank content, combine the experience of the rangers with the surveying and mapping knowledge of the academy teenagers, and condense the final product - the new version of the map beyond the Great Wall!

Iger can't force the tribes who want to return to the Great Wall to stay in the land-grant, planting unrest for the rule, but at the same time, he is not willing to let the legion's population of only [-] shrink again, and even become "savages" again. threaten.Therefore, he naturally came up with a shocking idea that neither the night watchmen nor the rulers of the northern border had ever had for thousands of years: to bring the ghost forest in the north of Saibei under his control!

And the three expeditionary vanguards who drove out of the Great Wall to ensure the smoothness of the Southern Expedition became his first attempt for this idea.

The plan to expand the territory to the north is just a casual move to prepare for the future habitually, just let it be.But right now, Iger has to get the queen's legal rule over the seven southern countries first.

***

The large forces have assembled outside the walls of Houguan Town. According to the official plan, Iger will lead them to spend a day heading north to Castle Black, and then advance to the north of the Great Wall through the tunnel in the early morning of tomorrow. The pioneers blazed a good path and left behind the guideposts at full speed.

Due to more preparation time, overseas operations also require logistics rather than just soldiers. At this moment, the size of the land-grant army gathered outside Houguan Town to participate in the expedition is larger than that of the previous chasing the white ghosts fleeing south. Even the gender is not all male. .Hundreds of them came from all over the Grant to take part in the retake of Deepwood Motte, the capitulation of Moat Cailin, and even bloody battles with the ironmen at Icefrost Harbor and wights inside and outside the walls of the Land Grant. The old soldiers gathered in the square outside the town, waiting in commotion for the Commander-in-Chief to preside over the "Expedition Swearing-in Meeting".

They didn't wait too long. Under the gaze of thousands of eyes, Iger, who was dressed in a light black robe, appeared in sight on time with a group of soldiers. A temporary high platform was built at the front.

……

A few flakes of snow were blown onto his face by the wind, melting his body temperature into drops of water, and then wiped off with his hands. Iger raised his head and looked at the gray sky, frowning slightly: It was sunny for a long time, but on the day when the Southern Expedition started Even if he doesn't believe in the superstition of "omens", he still feels uncomfortable when he is terminated.

He didn't know if and when the snow would get bigger, so he didn't dare to waste time. After standing still, he turned to face the more than 5000 soldiers who were about to go to the audience. He took a deep breath and began to speak loudly.

"Land-grant warriors, it is a pleasure to stand here and speak to you all intact after all the ups and downs. Everyone knows what we are going to do today, so without further ado, please allow me to Salute to everyone present - after seeing the horror of the enemy, the warriors who are still willing to bravely stand up and join this battle!"

The soldiers looked at him unmoved, with some disdain in their hearts: Who stood up bravely?It's obviously mandatory to participate, why do you have to say it so nicely!

"According to the previous rules, I should reiterate our purpose of fighting against the White Walkers, emphasizing that fighting them is not for others but for our own children and grandchildren, and after nagging about this big thing... Regardless of everyone's understanding I don’t know whether to accept it or not, so I just announced the start of the expedition by talking to myself.”

Iger glanced around the scene, not surprisingly, he found that the morale was not high.But it doesn't matter, what he said next will definitely attract everyone's attention easily.

"But today, I won't do that! I want to talk to all the brothers who have fought with me first, about some rumors that have appeared in the land grant recently, that is-- most of you must have heard The past news: The kings and nobles in the south intend to liquidate us for no reason after the completion of this expedition beyond the Great Wall, order the mountain clans to move back to the mountains, and expel the new land-grant people from beyond the Great Wall back to the north of the wall."

One stone stirred up thousands of waves, and the reaction caused by Iger's sudden change of words spread like water waves around him, and the bored expressions on the faces of most of the soldiers who were close enough to hear disappeared, and even those who were far away The soldiers in the back row, who were far away and couldn't hear clearly because of the sound absorption of the snow on the ground, also figured out what happened from his mouth after whispering, and then joined the ranks of the same spirit, tens of thousands of eyes seemed to be affected by some magical power. Turning direction in unison like a unified command, staring at the people on the stage.

Under everyone's gaze, Iger raised his voice after taking a breath, and continued his "pre-war mobilization" that was beyond everyone's expectations.

"Everyone is very angry, I can understand this feeling, and I also apologize for the indifference of the High Command to this news during this period. But in addition, I must ask for your understanding: as the Lord Commander of the Night Watch I, who is in charge of the entire land grant, can't just angrily find fault with the king and the nobles just because of such a 'supposedly' news - I have to find out the source of the news and its authenticity before I can react During this period of time when everyone was extremely angry because of this rumor, I have never been idle for a moment. Now, I announce to you with regret: This news is very likely not made out of nothing!"

Of course, the news did not come out of thin air, but he sent people to spread it. The sentence Iger announced was disassembled according to strict grammar. In fact, it was the same as not saying it.However, it would be too embarrassing for those land-grant warriors in the audience, most of whom could not read a single word and had no logic training, to distinguish the subtle but huge difference between "probably not made out of nothing" and "certainly true".The reason why Iger uses this awkward statement instead of directly lying about "confirming the news" is precisely because this can achieve exactly the same effect, but avoid giving facts and leaving stains-in case someone in the future Ask him why he lied to his soldiers in the first place, and he can justly refute: he never said that the news was true, but he was deceived like everyone else.

There was a "boom", until the heavy news was transmitted to the ears through the vibration of the air and transformed into nerve signals into the brain through the eardrum and cochlea. The soldiers who reacted a little later were surprised to find that what the commander-in-chief threw into the water was not A pebble, but a mine.Compared with the monstrous waves it exploded, the previous ripples were simply insignificant.

The square where the expedition swearing-in meeting was held suddenly exploded, and the noise caused by the discussions and roars of thousands of soldiers and logistics personnel was so loud that even the residents of Houguan Town inside the walls could clearly hear it.Some people are yelling to kill all the nobles in the south, some are calling on the newly gifted land dwellers to stop playing with the southerners and return outside the Great Wall, and most of them are at a loss and don't know how to react... Don't Speaking of ordinary soldiers, even the officers brought up by Iger were stunned by the sudden revelation that didn't say hello in advance. They were stunned for a moment before recalling their responsibilities, and began to move around and shout to maintain order on the scene.

……

"The land grant and the Great Wall are the first line of defense in the human world. We have spent time and energy building it; we have also shed blood and sweat to perform our duties and ensure that we live up to this identity; even if we have completed our mission, we have a clear conscience. We have not relaxed yet, and we are still planning this unprecedented expedition beyond the Great Wall, with the aim of completely destroying the enemy and leaving a safe living environment for all residents of Westeros." We have clearly shifted the object of our anger and put our position on the line On the side of the land-grant people, Iger was not in a hurry to continue, but did not speak again until the hustle and bustle of the scene weakened: "I used to naively think that the enemy is in the north, outside the Great Wall, as long as they are eliminated Gained peace. But when I looked back suddenly, I was shocked and found in a cold sweat: the group of people I firmly believed to be allies and solid backing were staring at my back with bloodshot scarlet eyes!"

"When we faced the White Walkers, alone, and most in need of support and help, those goddamn kings and nobles fought over a meaningless iron chair in the south. Today, we stand here , on this land where we watered the guards of blood and flesh, those guys who hide in the warm and safe place in the south, who have never killed a ghoul or seen half a finger of a different walker, have just finished enjoying their forefoot. Our protection, in turn, denied our status as legal residents of the Kingdom of Westeros, questioned our qualifications to live here, and wanted to take advantage of the gap when we left to fight in the north, depriving us of our enjoyment. The power of the fruits of victory!"

"White ghosts are the natural enemies of mankind. They are the source of the crisis we have just experienced... However, it is the group of villains behind us who turn black and white, disregard right from wrong, good from evil, and hinder them when they do nothing. The war that should have been easily won is so fierce and difficult! Although the demons and ancient alien gods are hateful, they are just non-human races. They are opposite to human beings, but those groups have the same appearance and flesh and blood as us. However, traitors who put their own interests above all human beings, are keen on infighting and disregard the survival of the entire ethnic group, are the most damned villains!" Iger's expression was slightly distorted by the excitement, and the volume continued to increase: "They The insufferable narrowness and despicableness, the stupidity and selfishness of self-destroying the Great Wall, are worse than the White Walkers, and the biggest threat to every living person in the world, including you and me! Today, I am here to accuse the land we live in. On the land—every nobleman who did not contribute to this war has committed crimes against humanity and humanity!!"

-

Chapter 497

Z crime against z humanity and z category!

Although more than 5000 of the more than 5000 people present have never heard of such a saying, but this phrase made up of three common words, "opposite", "human" and "crime", has the same meaning as "gold coin circulation". Ordinary——enough to make people of any cultural and cognitive level understand the meaning at a glance, and immediately detonated the emotions of the entire swearing-in conference.

Iger looked at the people in the audience with satisfaction... chanting the new vocabulary he brought into this world, and suddenly began to become united with the enemy, and vaguely recalled the scene where the army was also summoned here a month ago to go south to chase the White Walkers.At that time, almost everyone had helplessness and reluctance on their faces, but everyone knew that the battle had to be fought so there was no opposition, but at this moment, before he even announced the target of the battle, the soldiers were already gearing up, looking like I can't wait to swallow the enemy alive.

Anger and hatred are always the most powerful subjective motivation. Iger deliberately guides this emotion to brew and ferment, and at the right moment, he removes the stone that is pressing on it, and then lights a fire to completely release its power out.In this flame of emotion, even rational voices against war or peace will be submerged in the noble goal of "for mankind", and will be helplessly roasted into ashes.

The atmosphere is in place, but Iger is becoming more and more sober: emotions can only last for 3 minutes, and when this army catches up with a few days of rapid march in the cold snow field, at least half of the people will lose their anger. Back off.Therefore, in addition to the reason for the war, Iger also needs some "hope" so that his army's fighting will can continue smoothly.

……

"I believe that there must be more than one person in the audience thinking like this: Who cares about this? The threat of the White Walkers has disappeared, let me move back to the outside of the Great Wall to be a free citizen, and never get along with those anti-human Z-human things in the south for the rest of my life Dealing with them, who cares what they are doing?" Iger raised his hand to signal the officers in the audience to control the scene, and continued to add fuel to the fire without any room: "You are right, I have been fighting with the dead and the ghosts for several years. After the war is over, can’t you still enjoy a moment of respite? I don’t want to blame this mentality, but I can’t help but ask people who think this way: Surrender to survive in the face of the aggressiveness of the White Walkers. After hiding in the Great Wall and seeing their threat weaken So I happily returned to Beyond the Great Wall, to continue to be a 'savage' who is not qualified to set foot on the south of the Great Wall, and if he crosses the line, everyone will shout and beat him like a mouse crossing the line, is this really 'freedom'?"

"No, living in the north of the Great Wall without control, that's not freedom, it's barbarism! Only when you wake up every day, you don't have to worry about being hungry and cold today, and when you go to sleep every night, you don't have to be afraid that you may not be able to wake up tomorrow; You can walk out of the tunnels of the Great Wall to escape the summer heat and blow the cold wind outside the Great Wall. If you want to go back to the Great Wall to bask in the sun and enjoy the warmth, you can ride a horse down the road southward; you can walk into every village and every town in the world without worrying about being threatened by sword This is the real freedom with dignity!"

"We are born as human beings, and we can't just pursue 'survival' like animals! We also need to have living space and a minimum of respect, and have enough wealth and assets to enjoy life-and these are everyone who has fought with me against human beings. The warriors of the natural enemy deserve it! My mission as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and Master of the Wall has come to an end, but my mission as a co-leader who brings everyone together and is trusted and relied on by everyone is far from over .As long as there is one person present who has not gained the respect and recognition of the residents of the Seven Kingdoms, and has not had a resting place of his own, I will never rest! Bring it up!"

The last sentence was shouted to the guards who accompanied him when he just left the city gate. They carried several box-like objects that had been prepared in advance and were covered with cloth when they left the inner castle according to Iger's request.The cargo looked big but not too heavy, and even the person carrying it didn't know what was inside. Now that it was sent to the high platform by the commander-in-chief, the answer was finally revealed.

Iger walked to the unloaded box and lifted the black cloth covering it vigorously. The ravens in the cage suddenly saw the light, jumped around and croaked in a commotion.

……

There is unanimous external anger, and the goal of touching people's hearts is also hanging out. Now, these well-fed black birds will achieve the final climax of the end of this drama.

Under the gaze of thousands of excited and curious eyes in the audience, he boldly opened the wooden door of the first crow cage.

"In the name of crimes against humanity and humanity, the Night Watch Corps declared war on Hejian and the Valley! These two countries have always been allies in the North and have a good relationship with the land grant, but they stood by and failed at the dangerous moment when the Great Wall needed support most. Gained our trust!"

More than a dozen strong ravens flapped their wings and flew out of the first cage that was opened, carrying the letters strapped to their bodies and struggling to climb to the height. The scene looked exciting and normal.However, only a few people present knew that the letters carried by these birds were not the "declaration of war" that everyone thought--Aigerfei took great pains to control information during the war to ensure the success of the surprise attack in the first battle, of course he would not be stupid To send out dozens of letter crows with a declaration of war in advance to create an opportunity to leak military trends.

The contents of those letters are actually just identical declarations of political positions, in the capacity of the commander-in-chief of the night watchman, to persuade the Seven Kingdoms to pledge allegiance to the real legitimate monarch——Daenerys Targaryen.

The news that the Night Watchman supports the Dragon Queen has already spread across both sides of the Narrow Sea. Such a letter, which is not unexpected to most of the nobles in the Seven Kingdoms, is likely to be like the countless letters sent by the Night Watchman before. It’s like asking for help—the lords would snort and throw it into the waste paper pile at a glance. Iger deliberately wasted the precious letter transportation capacity and released these ravens with nonsense tied to their bodies in public. The Southern Expedition to the Seven Kingdoms, which is destined to leave traces in history, is just the first stroke of a rich and colorful one.

The first group of ravens flying to the south quickly disappeared into the snow that was flying all over the sky, and before people came back to their senses, Iger opened the second crow cage without stopping.

"In the name of crimes against humanity and humanity, the Night's Watch Corps declared war on Riverbend and Dorne! These two countries are far away in the south, and they always think that if the sky falls, there will be a tall man who will bear it first, so they put on a face and never fulfill any obligation." The obligation to finance the defense of the Great Wall is extremely shameless!"

Several groups of black shadows got out of the cage and flew into the sky. If the soldiers present knew that the population of Guanghe Bay was hundreds of times that of the land-grant, they would probably not be excited at all.Fortunately, in this era when the census does not exist at all, ordinary people only know that Hewan has a large population. What kind of "many" method is it? Naturally, there is no such thing as fear.

This is the case for the officers of the logistics guard, and it is even easier for the new land granters: in the eyes of them who know nothing about the southern capital of the Great Wall of Westeros, the so-called "Seven Kingdoms" are probably seven large kingdoms. It's nothing more than a large tribe, no matter how terrifying it is, it will never be more terrifying than the white ghosts and the living dead. Interestingly, although the arguments are messy and missing, the conclusion is correct.

The participants of the swearing-in meeting were crowded together, all gasping in excitement or admiration for the declaration of war by their commander-in-chief, but they all lowered their voices and dared not speak loudly, for fear of making noise, so that they could not finish listening A show so exciting that it makes one's scalp tingle.

"In the name of crimes against humanity, humanity, the Night's Watch Corps declared war on the Stormlands and the Kingland! The Baratheon family on the Iron Throne relied on rebellion to gain the throne, but they dared to claim to be the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms, but the people in the kingdom In the face of an unprecedented crisis, stay out of the matter, and the face of the false king is fully exposed!"

With the announcement accusing Stannis of being a false king, the third crow cage was opened, and at the same time as the last black shadow vacated, in countless looks full of anticipation and unsatisfaction, Iger stood up for this battle. A summary of the "Expedition Pledge", which deviated from the original plan by a thousand miles.

"Today, we will not go out, we will go on an expedition in another direction! The nobles in the south think we are a threat, then we will be their threat! They don't believe in the existence of the White Walkers and insist that this is a lie we made up , then we have the responsibility to take them from the castle and the throne, and send them outside the Great Wall, so that they can also experience the reality of cold and fear!" He waved his hand, and shouted the last sentence hoarsely: "Let's go! King's Row goes south, the target—the whole world!"

-

Chapter 498 Returnee

Accompanied by familiar and unfamiliar shaking and slight collision sounds, the ship docked at the pier.Two weeks after escaping from the land-grant "Prison Break", the Daughter of the Kraken returned to the land where she was born, raised, and where she also took it as her dream and duty to change her destiny - the Iron Islands.

This journey back was not easy, and it took a lot of thought from Asha and the bachelor Qyburn who was ordered to cooperate with her: not to mention the details of preparing the outfit and mixing the poison she applied for, in order to make her escape look like the "expedition beyond the wall" "It was just as realistic. In the name of preparing for the establishment of the Night Watcher's West Coast Fleet, the Night Watchman Command recruited a large number of personnel with sailing and shipbuilding experience in the legion, including Asha and her subordinates, to Icestrait Harbor; In the "Night Watch Port Troop" to prepare for the "Northern Navy Fleet Officers and Soldiers", due to the management chaos caused by too many things, the guard gave her and her two most loyal subordinates "an oversight". The convenience of contacting and communicating, negotiating escape plans, and obtaining jailbreak tools; then, in a cold, dark and windy night of a month, Asha Greyjoy finally "waited for the opportunity" to escape from the house while the guards were not paying attention, and stole the key to receive it. With two confidantes, they went straight to the pier to grab a small boat, and took advantage of the night to row out of the port.

In the end, the small boat of the three floating on the ocean was "accidentally discovered" and intercepted by the Iron Fleet patrol ship that was still patrolling the wide waters of Ice Bay to monitor the Northern Navy shortly after dawn. After a lot of trouble, she finally went as planned , boarded the Ironborn warship she was familiar with.

The above parts are all in the plan, one is willing to run and the other is willing to let go. It is difficult to come up with problems after a proper arrangement, and the latter part depends entirely on luck and adaptability.

The captain was a member of the Womack family she knew, and Asha, who discovered this, felt as if she was going to get out of the lowest point of her life that lasted more than a year and return to the embrace of the god of luck: Although the leader of Womack did not support him in the king selection meeting, this ancient family on the island of Harlow has always been a follower of her uncle "The Reader" Roderick Harlow rather than a lackey of Uncle Euron... I think It is impossible to persuade others to betray the current King of the Iron Islands and follow her to the death with such a little kinship relationship, but at least she doesn’t have to worry about being tied to a stone on this boat full of familiar people and keeps silent sank into the sea.

……

The facts were indeed as expected: I saw Asha who had been missing for a long time on the deck of the ship and was now a little embarrassed. After listening to her story about her capture and escape experience that was absolutely realistic, the captain agreed with her—"Bring yourself back to the Iron Islands Go to Euron, and ask your uncle for forgiveness and readmission."

I don't know if he wanted to present the "unexpected harvest" as a spoil to the king himself, or simply wanted to ensure the safety of King Balon's daughter, Captain Womack did not send her back to the archipelago by another ship hastily, but handed over his patrol mission Afterwards, he turned the bow of the ship himself and headed back home.

It was a long journey from Ice Bay back to the Iron Islands, and the Ironmen were not a tolerant people, so Asha did not have a pleasant journey.As an unlucky person who has failed several times in a row, she is no longer able to bask in the enthusiasm of the sailors and look at the strong ones wherever she goes as in the past—it is nothing to endure the contempt of the people around her, and she can still rest when she is resting. Having to squeeze into the cabin with a bunch of men is over, and the worst thing is: when the halo of a strong woman on a "strong woman" fades, she becomes a "woman", and women, especially once noble Beautiful women who have lost their power today are the easiest targets for men to have unreasonable thoughts.

Fortunately, Asha herself is not a delicate woman, and she has two loyal followers to protect the flowers... In addition, Captain Womack strictly forbade the sailors to talk to Baron after several incidents of harassment and conflicts. The disrespect of the woman prevented the embarrassing oolong of "being imprisoned by the night watchman for more than a year without being violated, but being raped immediately after returning to his own side".

But everything went smoothly so far. In the second half of the voyage, Asha carefully restrained her temper, and politely asked the crew members about the current situation of the Iron Islands, but all she got was bad news.

After the king election was over and the defeated Asha escaped from the clutches of her second uncle Euron in embarrassment by boat, her brother-in-law, relying on his identity as a priest of the Drowned God, was determined to stay and organize the anti-Euron alliance "Damphair" Aeron Greyjoy disappeared mysteriously soon. Although the islanders are still looking for him, Asha has a premonition: he will either let Euron sink into the sea and send him to meet the Drowned God, or he will be imprisoned in a place where no one can find him. to the place.

As for the third uncle Victarion, this idiot whose obedience to orders and sense of responsibility completely overwhelmed his brain and rationality, was sent by Euron to meet the Dragon Queen after faithfully fulfilling his duties as a courtier for a long time, and then he never left. Back, although the current news shows that he died in an accident, God knows if this is true or not?

Asha had already heard about the above situation when she was gifting the land, and now she has reconfirmed it from her compatriots, and found that she has really become one of the last Greyjoys as she said before. But if she had been mentally prepared, it would not be considered a blow... The next news made her really frown and even a little confused: after Euron took the seat of the seastone, he led the Ironmen to re-travel the ancient road , the fleet launched a large-scale attack to plunder the Western Territory and the river bends, and it was rewarding every time. Relying on the full page of victories and political skills to eradicate dissidents, it is now widely supported and supported, and has firmly secured the position of King of the Iron Islands!

It's really bad... No, it can't be worse. You know, Asha used "the ancient road is not feasible" as her concept and slogan. She slapped her across the face?

(Could it be that my idea is actually wrong, that by robbing others, the residents of the islands can get rich and live a good life? If this is the case, then if I come back from this trip to be a kinslayer, after I succeed, won’t I become a sinner through the ages? )

The huge discrepancy between reality and ideals made Asha suddenly fall into endless confusion like a brain shutdown.

No!It's not that my idea is wrong!

After a moment of bewilderment, Asha quickly figured out everything: Euron was able to succeed repeatedly in the West and the River Bend, neither because of the superiority of the ancient roads, nor because the people on the mainland were weak and deceitful, but because after Aegon's conquest The ironborn's plundering has been suspended for 300 years, and now it suddenly restarts during the melee between the lords of various places, and caught the opposite side by surprise, so that the coastal residents who had forgotten how to guard against pirates were caught off guard, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered Generally let mermaid meat.

When the situation on the mainland is settled, people will turn their attention to the sea. What awaits the Ironborn will be the new king—no matter who it is—the stormy counterattack and revenge.This damned Euron is trading the future of the Latte Islands for the insignificant sweetness right now, but those short-sighted idiots are really willing to follow him to the death!

However, if you figure it out, you can figure it out, no matter how thorough you are, it will not help the overall situation.This truth, if it is faced with many captains and chiefs who have earned a lot of money from plunder, will only attract laughter and a bad reputation of jealousy.

I originally wanted to solve the problem once and for all by killing relatives, but now it seems that it is not that simple to find an ally who is willing to help. It's even harder!

"Miss Asha." The captain's voice interrupted the daughter of the sea monster's thousands of thoughts, forcing her to return to reality, "You are home, I have sent the news back to the city first, now, my king , your uncle is waiting for you in the city."

"Yeah." It's not as good as it used to be, Asha looked at the gloomy Pike City in the distance under the sky, nodded, put away her free and unrestrained nature in the past, and talked about things that even she herself felt disgusted.

Chapter 499 The Crow's Eye

Pike City is too old to tell when it was built, and everyone can only vaguely speculate that it was originally built on a cliff protruding from the sea for defensive reasons, in order to achieve the same effect as the Red Castle and Storm's End : Nearly surrounded by the sea on three sides, the invading enemy can only attack from bottom to top from one direction.

The idea is very good, but unfortunately the island cliff where the site is located is not as solid and firm as the mainland at the foot of the Red Castle and Storm’s End. As the rocks supporting the cliff are continuously eroded by sea water, it has gradually changed from an ordinary cape to a legend. The "Broken Corner Arsenic" in the book, even the original Pike City was also dismantled and divided into isolated towers: the largest part is located on the headland still connected to the cliff, surrounded by high walls, is stables, beasts The bar and most of the living reserves are located, guarding the stone bridge leading to the largest island where the main fort is located, and it is connected with the Kebao and the kitchen fort with closed arched passages and cable bridges in turn, and finally stands alone in the sea outside tower.

Although I saw my former home early in the field of vision, because the fortress and the tower are protruding from the sea on the huge rock, it is impossible for anyone to stop the boat under the city of Pike and then enter the city easily. Instead, the boat must be docked first. In King's Harbor not far away, walk a long circle to the only direction that can be attacked from land—and naturally, the only direction that can be entered from land, then you can reach the castle.

It took some time to ride this road that I have traveled so many times. After passing through the headlands blocked by high walls, leaving the horses in the stables, and stepping on the stone bridge that has been traveled thousands of times, Asha returned to the largest island of Pike City, and led by a dumb servant who had been waiting, into the fortress where she had grown up and played.

……

In the smoky hall, there was an unexpected noise of voices, violins and leather drums made unaesthetic music, and the leader, captain, and their attendants who Asha knew but were not familiar with or close to each other filled every bench. With just a cursory glance, she recognized at least "Longface" Jon Miray, "Browntooth" Thorward, "Left Hand" Lucas Cawd, Guimond Portley and others …The slaves and servants were rushing back and forth, serving food and wine for the leaders, while a group of burly sailors gathered in the space made by removing tables and stools to play a game only available in the Iron Islands: finger dance .

As an out-and-out ironborn and former captain, Asha naturally understood the rules of the game: several participants stood still and were not allowed to move, and hatchets were thrown back and forth between them, each time Individuals must not forget to throw axes back at others while dealing with axes thrown from other competitors.Participants who want to show off their strength and reaction speed will be more inclined to catch the handle of the axe, and those who are a little bit shy will swing their upper body left and right to dodge-because the latter option will lead to the continuous reduction of axes in the game and cannot continue. Avoid being on the lower reaches of the chain of contempt, but if no one moves and no one is willing to dodge the throwing ax first, then it will often end when someone loses a finger or a few fingers. That's why it got its name "finger dance".