Game of Thrones: I loaded the witcher system.

Chapter 137 Sir Ed, welcome home

Ed Stark felt that he had a long dream. In the deepest dream, he saw himself riding a horse and returning to Winterfell, which he had been thinking about day and night.

Rob greeted him at the door, and the father and son talked and laughed. He saw that his eldest son had grown up, his beard had covered his face, and his voice was much thicker.

Oh, by the way, there is also that wolf, Gray Wind, who has grown bigger than a calf, but seeing him, he still let himself stroke its gray-white fur meekly.

As soon as the scene changed, Caitlin greeted him in her room. The two who had reunited after a long absence hugged each other tightly, feeling each other's warmth.

Ed Stark's last memory stayed on the tightly closed window, hey, Caitlin was still so afraid of the cold, she should go and open the window.

The next moment, he woke up from his dream.

And the first person he saw when he opened his eyes was his enemy, Tywin Lannister, who stared blankly at him for a while, and Ed Stark closed his eyes again.

……

Roose Bolton, the great nobleman in the north who had been suspected and guarded by Clay, but was unspeakably loyal in this time and space, soon brought good news.

Duke Tywin has agreed to the terms of the truce between the two sides. Surprisingly, the issue of the ransom of the nobles in the western region that could not be negotiated, in this negotiation, Tywin agreed to the request of the northern region with only a little persistence.

Earl Karstark also joked that Roose Bolton's face was too pale. It is estimated that Tywin Lannister liked this mouthful, and he couldn't walk when he saw our Lord Bolton.

Everyone in the tent roared with laughter. Obviously, it was no small pleasure for them to discredit Lord Tywin, and Lord Roose Bolton, who was involved in it, didn't mind Karstark's vulgar joke, because he was also very Happy.

What makes him happy is not winning the battle, but after winning the battle, let him, the special envoy of the northern border, be able to steadily suppress the western border in the negotiations. He likes this feeling very much, which belongs to the feeling of victory.

After three long days, under the watchful eyes of nearly 4 people from both sides, the two sides completed the exchange of captives. The northern border took back their lord, while the western border wanted to return Lord Tywin's precious son. .

As for the dozen or so unlucky nobles of the western region, Duke Tywin promised that he would send the ransom money to Harrenhal as soon as possible for the northern side to receive it.

The two sides parted very neatly, without a word of extraneous words. On the northern side, Rob Stark resisted the excitement of going up to check his father's status, and led everyone back to his camp quickly.

On Tywin's side, Renly Baratheon's troops had already passed the Bitter Bridge, and the army was heading directly towards the empty King's Landing City.

Tywin didn't have time to get entangled with the northern border here, so he quickly led his people back to King's Landing City to deploy defenses, and dispatched a 2000-man heavy cavalry to quickly return to the western border along the golden road.

The cavalry is not very useful in defending the city, so it is better to send it to the western border to fight the fire, and count on that trash, Steve Lannister, to bring a bunch of recruits who have never seen blood, to fight Victarion Gray The iron fleet led by Joey is no different from sending to death.

Among the 2000 people, Duke Tywin added his precious son Jaime Lannister who he had just exchanged for. After scolding his son, Tywin confessed to the dejected Sir James:
"You will return to the western region with my two thousand cavalry, and become the acting lord of Casterly Rock City. I want you to understand that if the two brothers of the Baratheon family can tolerate each other's existence for the time being, they will attack Xiao Qiao together. King's Landing City."

Tywin paused, his tone extremely serious and serious:
"At that time, the connection between Casterly Rock City and King's Landing City will definitely be cut off, and your task is very simple, drive those ironmen to the sea for me, and then, if I don't keep King's Landing, I will let Xiao Joe banishes you as the Kingsguard."

Looking at the eldest son who was stunned suddenly, Tai Wen's face remained unchanged, as if the situation in front of him was not serious at all:
"Whether it's Renly or Stannis, it's unlikely that Little Joe will be alive. I won't surrender. Tywin Lannister has never surrendered to anyone in his life, but you are different. After I die, you It is the Duke of Casterly Rock City, at that time, whoever is the winner, you can lead the family to become his vassal."

James Lannister opened his mouth, wanting to say something, and countless words rushed to his mouth, but he couldn't utter a single word. The father and son were silent for a long time, and James asked with difficulty:
"What about Tyrion? He has nothing to do with these things. Let him go with me."

There was a barely perceptible smile on Duke Tywin's face, and he calmly answered his son's question about the fate of his other son:
"James, I'm glad you asked this question. This is the family. Remember this. No matter what, the Lannister family's flag will fly over Casterly Rock City. That's enough."

"As for Tyrion, although he is a dwarf sent by the gods to punish me, your brother is smarter than you. In King's Landing, he will help me guard that stinking city."

"If you insist, I will send someone to send him out when the city is broken. As for how you, the Duke of Casterly Rock City, deal with your younger brother, this is no longer my problem."

When the father and son, Tywin and James, were explaining the Lannister family's follow-up arrangements with difficulty in a tonky tone, on the northern side, they were beaming and singing with all their heart.

After picking up Ed Stark, the northern soldiers could clearly see that the Lannister army that had been standing in front of them began to quickly pack their bags and prepare to retreat south.

However, the Lannister army retreated in an orderly manner, and they did not give the northern army a chance to attack. When the last golden lion banner disappeared from sight and the forward northern infantry had entered Harrenhal, cheers The sound resounded throughout the northern camp.

All of Robb Stark's infantry entered the city, and Clay's seven thousand cavalry were scattered outside the city, ready to defend against the possible return of Lannister's carbine.

But in any case, this is the first dinner after entering the city, and Clay, a great hero with outstanding military exploits, must come to attend.

At night, in the original hall of the He'an family, the heads of the Northern Territory were arguing loudly. At first, they were a little worried, but when they saw Ed Stark, with Rob's support, he was sitting firmly. After taking the main seat, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that Lord Ed is not seriously injured, so I can rest assured.

Although Eddard Stark himself became a prisoner, and the two or three hundred northern guards who went south with him also suffered casualties, no one in the northern border thinks that Lord Stark did something wrong.

Ed Stark is still the undisputed Lord of the North, but he can no longer go south in the future, and everyone's hearts can't stand another blow.

Ed Stark himself felt that his spirit was fine. Although his body was still a little hot and he didn't have any strength in his body, he believed that as long as he returned to Winterfell, he would get better soon.

People from the northern border have always had a good physical recovery ability, and he firmly believes that he must also be like this.

"My lords, thank you for helping my son in this war, allowing him to maintain the honor of the Stark family. In the name of the old and new gods, Ed Stark, thank you all here."

The northern nobles and the very few nobles from Hejian who came with Clay all spoke out one after another, saying that your words are too serious. When it was Clay's turn, he just said:
"Master Ed, welcome home."

He felt that this might be the most in line with Ed Stark's words. Isn't it the most fundamental idea to go home to support him all the way from King's Landing City to escape to the final rescue?
Ed Stark recognized Clay. Although the Mandalay boy was sitting closer to Roose Bolton, which made Ed Stark a little strange, his impression of Clay was still in the That impulsive kid in Winterfell.

Just smiled weakly at him, Ed Stark didn't take it seriously, but soon, he discovered that the kid Clay Manderly seemed to have an unusually high status here.

Whoever he was talking to, no matter who the other party was talking to, would immediately shut up and listen to Clay Manderly honestly. No one showed any displeasure, as it should have been.

At first he thought it was an exception, but after careful observation, he realized that in this hall, Clay Mandalay's status might really be the same as his seat, second only to his son's. Down.

This is definitely not normal. It seems that something must have happened that I don't know about. But now, it is obviously not a good time to ask. Wait until I have cultivated myself, and then ask carefully.

This time, Ed Stark still supported Stannis' claim to the throne in his heart, but he couldn't force his son to attack Duke Tywin, dragged out the false king of King's Landing and chopped off his head .

One thing that Clay Manderly said is right, it is time to go home, no matter what, this war, now it is the turn of the three kings surnamed Baratheon, it belongs to the war in the north, It's over for now.

He can't drink much, his body is still too weak, the wound on his leg is still hurting, and although he is in good spirits, he still needs rest.

I came out to meet you today, just to reassure everyone, leave the rest to Rob, he has grown up too...

When Ed Stark slowly left the table under everyone's concerned eyes, and was slowly supported by Mrs. Caitlin with red and swollen eyes from crying, the banquet scene was silent for a while, and soon reached a climax.

Lord Ed is fine, and the old lion has been repulsed. It can be said that the northern army has won a complete victory this time, and most of them have nothing to do with the upcoming war in King's Landing City. interest.

But what to do next depends on Rob's idea. Lord Ed is not in good health now, so let him worry less about the war.

"Master Rob, what are we going to do next? Just sit here and look at the feces-smelling King's Landing in the south, let the two kings of Baratheon, and the villainous king of Lannister fight to the death, and win in the end." shall we call him king?"

Earl Karstark suddenly yelled, and the lively banquet scene fell silent. Clay, who was sitting next to Rob, looked at the expressions on the faces of every noble in the northern border, and all he saw was disdain.

This is a very interesting thing.

The words of Earl Karstark represent a common psychology of most of the nobles in the north, that is, none of the three people with the title of king in the south can be recognized by them in their hearts.

First of all, that blond Lannister evil king, if you hit the northerners with your sword on the shoulder, they will spit on you with their necks stuck. It is simply a dream to let them recognize this kind of person as a king.

Besides, with an army of [-], he is currently the most powerful king in the Seven Kingdoms. Although Renly Baratheon has a good reputation and strong military force, for people in the north, the warmth of the south in this king The taste is too strong, and it is incompatible with the bitter cold in the north.

Finally, there is Stannis, whom Ed Stark once clearly expressed his support for. To be honest, compared to the other two, this is the northerner who can still hold his nose and accept it if he is worse than the other two.

But here is the problem, why do northerners accept it?They are now united with the forces of the riverlands, and their total strength has exceeded [-]. Why should they bow their knees to a Stannis who is an island owner, and then fight for an enemy whose name cannot be named?

People always have a purpose in doing things, they want trophies, they have trophies, and apart from this, the northerners really can't find a reason for them to charge for Stannis' stag dynasty.

Moreover, I heard that Stannis pulled down all the churches of the Seven Gods, took a witch from Essos as a bishop, and believed in R'hllor, the Lord of Light.

This time, King Stannis' taste is not right, and the northerners feel even more uncomfortable.

Therefore, Karstark's question is not aimless. With the chaos in the Seven Kingdoms like this, no matter what happens in the northern border, it is impossible to put the swords and guns into the warehouse immediately, and let the horse go to the south mountain.

The next step is whether to return to the north to harvest food first, or continue to wait and see what happens. There must be a plan. Moreover, once the northern army withdraws, what will happen to Hejian land?
As far as Edmure Tully's ability to lead troops is concerned, 10 people are not enough for him to hold such a large riverland. Moreover, once he is defeated, as an ally, will the northern army go south again? ?

Once the army dispersed, and the soldiers returned to their warm rooms with enough loot, looking at their wives and sons, how determined would they be to go south with the lord and fight to the death?
If you want to solve the problem and avoid falling into this passive situation, you need the big shots to make arrangements in advance. The clear-minded adults in the north are all aware of this, but it was only Earl Karstark who said it.

"Lord Karstark, you must understand that Renly or Stannis is not something we can easily choose. Our northerners' home is north of the Neck, and we don't care about things in the south."

Robb Stark's answer didn't seem to say anything. However, when he answered this question, he remembered the words that Clay said during the negotiation:

"Rob, I support you as King of the North..."

This title echoed repeatedly in his mind and couldn't get rid of it. The young man Stark suddenly realized, why can't we choose our own king in the north?

A real king!
(End of this chapter)