The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 153 Extreme Fanaticism
When the armies of Westeros were assembled, their number reached a terrifying 140,000, a number that did not appear in Robert's last crusade. Together with the local Easterners, the total strength had reached 160,000 - and this did not include the Iron Throne soldiers fighting on other fronts.

The total number of this army should exceed that of the centaurs. Just as Robert thought, this was a war with a scale of more than 300,000.

Holding such an army which is larger than the main force of the centaurs, Robert Baratheon's confidence is as strong as a virgin who has just experienced worldly affairs. In the king's view, the centaurs' greatest reliance is nothing more than their exaggerated numbers and fearlessness of death. Now that the centaurs have no numerical advantage, he is bound to win.

Robert had already begun to imagine what kind of magnificent memorial column he could build after winning this victory, so that countless people on both sides of the Narrow Sea would remember his great deeds. The king's mentality naturally affected the army, and some people even began to celebrate the great victory in advance. Some poets even took out the poems that were originally prepared to be presented after the war.

To the Westeros army assembled in Myr, the defeat of the centaurs was only a matter of time.

However, against this backdrop, some people are still worried about the future.

"Tell Jet that if he fails to keep up the supplies I ask of the Reach, he is done with his work and must flee, or his head will be hung on the walls of Myr like his colleagues."

Governor Myr, Petyr Baelish, the chief logistics officer of the army, said in a cold tone. The tone was so strong that the official who wanted to say a few words shut his mouth, and finally stepped back obediently to convey the governor's order.

Petyr would not say useless words. The Lord Governor always does what he says.

As for those who intended to disobey him or undermine him, their heads had already been hung on the city gate of Myr.

Petyr's swift action quickly brought the Myrish bureaucracy to its knees, and those who had assumed he was weak because of his past reputation paid the price in blood.

The Governor was able to do this not entirely relying on the Iron Throne army now assembled here, but more on his own skills, such as giving bonuses to the garrison and using the war to bring several mercenary groups under his command... This series of operations successfully established his position.

Then, with King Robert's personal army coming east, he further strengthened the Iron Throne's - and his - power in Myr.

This surprised many people. They had not expected that the governor could use the power of others to his advantage and gain control of everything in a short period of time.

People originally thought that he was just a good-natured man who was good at flattering and had good luck, but it turned out that he was a power monster that would devour flesh and blood without hesitation.

It was precisely with these foundations that Petyr completed the logistics tasks of the army so well. Myr was indeed rich, but distributing resources to everyone was also an extremely challenging task. When Petyr was busiest, he was forced to run around the army camp. As for now, he didn't have to do that, because the framework had been built, he only needed to reprimand some bureaucrats appropriately and let them play their parts.

However, having great power does not mean that Petyr will have it easy. The logistical pressure of 160,000 people is on his head. This does not mean that he can relax, even if a system has been built. There are all kinds of emergencies every day that need to be handled by him as the landlord.

As for the conflicts in various regions of Westeros, let alone Petyr, who has now come up with a death target to deal with the deaths and disappearances that occur every day in such a huge army.

Among these deaths, the Dornish were undoubtedly responsible for the most. This time, the Prince of Dorne was not extremely indifferent to the expedition as he had been before, and only sent out some small troops, but instead sent a large army.

There have always been intense conflicts between the Dornishmen, the Rivermen, and the Borderers. Now that they are meeting on such a large scale, conflicts will naturally arise one after another.

What's even more terrible is that as a feudal lord of the Iron Throne, he cannot just sit back and watch the show. He must go to the front lines himself and even lead the army into battle - whether it is the requirements of the Iron Throne, the conventions of Westeros, or his future plans, they all drive him to do so.

That’s not all. Sometimes, His Majesty the King’s various whims have to be satisfied. He built a series of giant buildings in King’s Landing and brought a series of oriental styles. His Majesty the King is always full of ideas - the worst thing is that these ideas change from time to time.

Another troublesome thing is the various demands of the nobles.

In Westeros, he has always been known as a good guy, and as a bureaucrat of the Iron Throne, he is always inferior to the nobles. So people often ask him to arrange illegitimate children or be the messenger in marriages, and in order to maintain his image and future plans, he can only help as much as possible.

After finishing the matters at hand, Petyr sat at the table for a long time, then looked at the time, stood up, and walked to another room in the Governor's Mansion.

There stood at the door the knights of House Arryn. When the two men saw Petyr, Littlefinger keenly caught the disdain in their eyes, but they still had to bow their heads in front of him, which made Littlefinger feel slightly happy, but it only lasted for a short time.

Jon Arryn, Prime Minister of the Iron Throne, was also immersed in various documents - the Red Castle across the Narrow Sea continuously sent various matters in Westeros to the Prime Minister for processing.

Seeing those piles of documents again, Petyr still felt pity even though he had seen them many times. Although the position of Governor of Myr nominally governs the entire New Seven Kingdoms, in reality, each commander acts on his own most of the time. What he needs to be responsible for is actually only the affairs of the Myr region.

And old Arryn really carried the whole of Westeros on his shoulders, and the entire bureaucracy expanded from the Iron Throne was centered around old Arryn.

"You are here, Petyr." The Prime Minister who invited Littlefinger put down the densely written paper in his hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work. I have to ask you to come here at this time."

"I am honored to receive your summons, Prime Minister." Petyr bowed quickly. Although he was now a high-ranking official, he was still very humble in front of the Prime Minister who promoted him. "Petyr, there is no need for these etiquettes between you and me. I called you here for one thing." Old Arryn spoke slowly and was silent for a while after finishing this sentence. "I want you to bring the elite of Myr with you and gather all the forces you can. Your position is very critical. If something really happens, your army may turn the whole situation around."

To old Ailin, the young man whom he had promoted and watched climb to his current position was an absolutely reliable one of his own, so he was not too polite when speaking.

"This, this shouldn't be the case, Prime Minister." This time Littlefinger's expression was not fake at all. This was his real attitude. He never expected that old Arryn would say such a thing.

"You didn't expect that?" Old Arryn glanced at him. "I think you have seen the army that Robert assembled. This is a summer army. The brave warriors have become decadent in the rich life, and those young people who have just joined the battlefield... their heads are full of unrealistic fantasies about war. The whole army is full of speculators who follow the wind. Most importantly, none of us have the experience of commanding such a large-scale war, and Robert has no intention of commanding. Seven Gods... Petyr, do you think this army can win?"

Without waiting for Petyr's answer, old Arryn continued, "I went to Robert, but he didn't care. He said that I was old and thought too much. He also hinted that I should retire. I also went to other dukes, and only Ned listened to my words. The most exaggerated one, the inflatable fish - his mother gave him this nickname which was really appropriate - kept talking about the 'glory of the River Reach' and brought a bunch of new recruits. Randyll Tarly was not here either, so the River Reach army could only be commanded by the inflatable fish."

The emotions that old Arryn had suppressed were obviously so strong that even Petyr was a little dumbfounded. Although he was old Arryn's confidant, he had never seen the Prime Minister have such an attitude.

In Littlefinger's impression, the Prime Minister should always be gentle and refined, with the demeanor of a knight of the Vale.

After venting his emotions, Old Arryn realized his mistake. The Prime Minister sighed and regained his usual calm. "I can't join the army yet. I have to deal with things on both sides of the Narrow Sea here. So, Petyr, I have to ask you for help. I will send you a group of knights from the Vale. If everything is just my useless worry, then everything is fine. If there is a problem, then it will be up to you."

"Yes, Prime Minister!" Petyr sensed the seriousness in old Arryn's tone and said quickly.

Petyr trusted old Arryn, and since old Arryn said so, he should do so for both moral and logical reasons.

But this will cause trouble again, Petyr thought. Originally, he just wanted to gather a troop symbolically, but now it seems that he has to find an elite force seriously.

.

It seemed that the Westerners were sure to win this war, but what the people of Westeros did not expect was that the centaurs would advance very quickly. As new news arrived from the front lines, the whole of Myr became restless.

Because the army of Great Khal Balboa has crossed the entire Golden Fields, heading towards the Mill Plains, towards the center of the New Seven Kingdoms.

At the same time, the centaur army began to kill and plunder in this fertile and rich land. Smoke had begun to rise on the Mill Plain. When the centaur troops passed by, all that was left behind was a smoking ruin.

Soon after word reached them of the Centaurs entering the Plains of Myr, the citizens of Myr petitioned King Robert Baratheon to expel the barbarians from the Great Grass Sea.

The monarch on the Iron Throne generously agreed to the people's petition. At that moment, everyone nearby cheered, and then all the soldiers also cheered, because they were heading towards the road to wealth.

Also due to the influence of this fanatical atmosphere, the share of the Myr rose trade has reached a peak. The roses brought by Lord Mace Tyrell from Highgarden were sold at an unprecedented high price. The Tyrells, who use roses as their emblem, are good at cultivating roses, so they have been making huge profits during this rose craze.

Even the trade princes of the free trade cities would become jealous and crazy when they saw the amount of rose trading. Countless rich people were born through such transactions.

More importantly, the rose traders agreed with each other that when King Robert returned victorious, they would hold a more grand trade fair to pay tribute to the king. The Duke of Metz even said that a batch of better roses were floating on the sea and would arrive soon.

This has ignited the hearts of countless rose traders. In the past few years of rose craze, this little rose has made countless people rich. Now in people's minds, roses are basically tied to wealth.

Money, glory and force constituted King Robert's magnificent marching ceremony. Amid the cheers of the people, the army of Westeros also set out on the road to the east. This scene is unforgettable for many people:

On the paved stone roads of Mill, countless colorful flags seemed to form an endless stream of clouds, with countless knights and soldiers following loyally behind. Most importantly, this army seemed to have no end in sight, with musicians constantly playing music and poets’ beautiful voices ringing from time to time... countless people made up this scene.

However, in such a grand scene, many people did not see - or simply ignored - the embarrassment of the ordinary soldiers and servants under this grand scene. Compared with the glamorous nobles and knights, they were so unworthy of care and not worth paying much attention to.

However, no one pays attention to these lowly soldiers on a daily basis.

Jon Arryn, Hand of the King on the Iron Throne, was standing on the city wall, looking at the army that was leaving, his eyes full of worry. This army was indeed larger than ever before, but it was also too bloated, and the quality of the soldiers was really... hard to describe.

The victory in conquering the East had inflated the Westman's confidence to the limit. Even though there were so many problems, some people pretended not to see them, or thought that even if there were these problems, they were not a big deal.

He hoped that everything would go as smoothly as Robert and those ambitious young people thought. Otherwise, he could only pin his hopes on the people he had visited...

(End of this chapter)