The king on the Great Wall

But things suddenly became related to him.

"Wait, wasn't Asha Greyjoy captured by our Chief Logistics Officer—Lord Iger? Why didn't anyone want to ask for his opinion after discussing it for a long time?"

-

Chapter 289 New Burden and Countermeasures

Damn, do I have any grudge against you?

Iger almost burst out.

The speaker is a member of the Karstark family, and Iger doesn't know him well.Looking at the man suspiciously, Iger really couldn't figure out whether the other party brought the trouble to him, whether he just said what he thought of simply, or had some deep meaning.

He was annoyed in his heart, but he still smiled and shook his head: "Well - I have no objection."

Robb smiled: "Don't be restrained, expressing an opinion is not an interference in the internal affairs of the Seven Kingdoms."

Didn't you just say that you don't want to talk about business, and you forgot what you said after a few glasses of wine?

The slander belongs to the slander, a majestic man, what's there to be shy about expressing an opinion.Aiger couldn't push it, but he also spoke frankly and unceremoniously, speaking out in public his considerations about the pros and cons of dealing with Asha.

"Master Iger is right. Holding Baron's daughter in his hands is to suppress all uncontrollable factors, and he can also take the initiative in possible future changes." Unexpectedly, Lu Si Bolton once again took the initiative to support Iger's opinion, "It is impossible for the northern border to have a food crisis just because of one more prisoner."

Robb is still young, and his tolerance to alcohol is obviously not enough. After drinking several cups, his face became dizzy, and his thinking became difficult. After thinking about it, he felt a little headache, and finally decided not to think about it: "Well, Since the majority feel that Asha Greyjoy should be imprisoned, so be it."

……

No one voted, so where is the "majority"?Fortunately, the dissent in dealing with Asha's method is not a matter of principle, and the final decision did not violate the interests of any family present. Now that Stark has spoken, everyone will stop talking.Those who wanted to drink picked up their cups again, those who wanted to eat meat picked up their knives and forks again, and those who were in the middle of a conversation started talking again.A small episode was about to come to an end, but Iger looked up at Robb, and happened to meet the slightly drunk new Duke Stark.

An ominous premonition suddenly spread in my heart.

As if to confirm Iger's premonition, Robb really stared at him and continued to speak: "This woman was captured by Master Iger himself. I think you will be in charge of long-term supervision."

What?Iger became anxious for a moment: "My lord... Asha Greyjoy was not captured by me. Besides... she needs manpower to supervise her, and this is what the Great Wall and the Land Grant lack most!"

"You need manpower to supervise her, so why don't I use it? A large number of guards in Winterfell may go to King's Landing with my father or go out with me. Under the lack of manpower, the dungeon has already been cleared to fill the guards. For her alone, I have to Restart the entire building and re-establish the patrol guard team... And your Houguan Town has already locked up a lot of people anyway, and there is not much more than her." Robb said with a chuckle: "Besides, I think the land right now-- It doesn't look like there is a lack of people."

If you say that the land-grant resettlement plan can continue, there will naturally be no shortage of people.Iger thought to himself, but these words must never be said directly. He looked at Robb in distress, hoping that the other party could see his subtext:

(Aren't you mistaken, Theon, Joffrey, Tommen you dumped to me, and a bunch of ironmen I captured are still in Houcrown Town, and I haven't figured out what to do with them, so you throw them again Come over with a burden? Don’t bring such a bully!)

Robb raised the corner of his mouth, shook his head, did not speak, and his eyes were also shining with light:

(You tricked me into the land grant to support your campaign for commander-in-chief. Do you really think I don’t know anything at a young age? I support you, so you have to do things for me to share my worries! It’s just one more prisoner, what’s the big deal?)

……

After some eye contact, Iger reluctantly gave in: "Okay, since Lord Stark has opened his mouth, then choose another day to escort the prisoner to Houguan Town, and I will be in charge of supervision."

"Very well, take this matter to heart, and don't let her run away." Robb nodded with satisfaction, "The Iron Islands are thousands of miles away from the Gifted Land, and there is a large uninhabited land in between. I'm afraid to let her run away, she I can't fly anywhere."

This is true. Isn't it because of the harsh environment that the Great Wall became the first choice for the Seven Kingdoms to exile unpopular people?

A young aristocratic female prisoner, she sounds glamorous, but in reality... nothing but trouble.

There is no need to worry about debts. Compared with how to arrange Joffrey and Tommen, dealing with Asha is not too much trouble.After all, this woman doesn't have a father like James - she is highly skilled in martial arts, is still by Iger's side, and is one of his important supporters.

……

In fact, Iger hasn't found the right time to tell James until now: his two children were handed over to him by Robb, and now they are locked within the walls of Houguan Town.

The campaign for Commander-in-Chief is reaching the most critical moment, and the Great Wall cannot withstand any extra storms.Iger intends to wait for himself to secure the position of commander, and then explain everything to this powder keg, and deal with a bunch of troublesome people in Houguan Town by the way.

***

Said Cao Cao Cao Cao arrived, and shortly after Iger returned to his room after the dinner, Jaime Lannister, who had just appeared in his mind, came to visit alone.

"James." Iger suppressed his unnatural expression and greeted Lai, "Sit down, what's the matter?"

This guy, did he know from some channel that his two sons are in Houguan Town?But there are all his cronies there, and the possibility of leaking the news is very low... Besides, this heartless kingslayer really doesn't seem like someone who has the heart to ask for news.

Fortunately, James' expression was neither angry nor ferocious. Before Iger could finish speaking, he unceremoniously sat down in the chair: "Today, Val came to see me."

"Val, that 'wild princess'?" In fact, Val is the sister of Mance's wife, King Beyond the Wall, but everyone called her that, and Iger was led astray.He nodded in confusion, and quickly discovered the problem in the other party's words: "But she is not allowed to leave Harding Tower, how can she come to find you?"

James' expression froze, and he cleared his throat before continuing to explain: "Well...she notified the guard, and the guard brother came to find me, and I went to Harding Tower to meet her."

"Oh——" Iger looked at James with interest: "So?"

He is no longer the technician who waited to die in a state-owned enterprise before the crossing. Today's chief logistics officer, the top seed in the competition for commander-in-chief, has increased his sensitivity to things to a certain extent, enough to see from the seemingly simple appearance There is a lot of information behind it: a "wild princess" who was under house arrest in Castle Black was able to send the night watchman who guarded her to report to James. The key is that the latter, the famous kingslayer, killed two It's kind of funny that Jaime Lannister, the King, should just run off to see her.

It seemed that during the time he was away from the Great Wall, James was not idle.Speaking of which, Val is also a strange woman among savages. She grew up in the harsh environment beyond the Great Wall, but she was able to grow up slender and plump with a beautiful appearance and quite elegant manners. Although she is not as good-looking as Cersei, considering that she is also blond ... It is not so strange that a certain blonde lover can have a good impression of her.

Of course, James' own conditions are also quite good - "killing two kings" may be a cool thing for wildlings, and coupled with his handsome appearance, it may not be that Val is chasing him after him.

"I have nothing to do with her!" James was annoyed by Igger's ambiguous expression, "Val is just locked in there with nothing to do, occasionally standing on the top of the tower and chatting with passing night watchmen, we are a little familiar !"

"Okay, okay, I understand, you and her are just ordinary friends." Iger waved his hand and interrupted James, who was trying to hide, "I have no interest in this at all, let alone I am not your boss, even if I was elected commander-in-chief , and won’t interfere in your private life—you didn’t come here to tell me you had a wildling friend, did you?”

"Of course not, she told me that in the past two days - there are often strange people hiding in the corner outside Harding Tower to observe their family."

(Isn’t it just looking for something to talk about, and calling you, a handsome guy, to relieve the boredom?) Iger thought, shrugged and smiled: "What's the matter, I can't stop the brothers from letting them Go see the sister-in-law of the King Beyond the Wall... If she minds about this, she should follow the example of her brother-in-law—stay less in public and stay indoors more."

"It's not that simple, Val told me: Those people are different from ordinary onlookers. She doesn't leave when she doesn't show up, and she doesn't just hide from a distance to watch, but also goes up to chat when the guards change shifts. Let them know."

Iger became alert and put away his joking expression: "Are you sure she's not joking?"

"No!" James knocked on the table dissatisfied: "Do you think I'm a fool?"

Iger clenched his right hand and put it under his nose, propping his head up in thought.Among the night watchmen, there have always been objections to Commander Mormont's house arrest of the King Beyond the Wall and his family, and the voices calling for the execution of traitors have never disappeared...Could it be that someone wants to take the former spiritual leader of the wild people at this juncture To operate?

A few seconds later, Iger was shocked suddenly. He figured out why Dennis Mallister left Castle Black suddenly and gave himself a big gift out of thin air.

"Did Val recognize the identity of the person who observed Harding Tower? No...it doesn't matter, even if she was nervous and made a mistake, I can't be careless." Iger thought about it, and finally decided that he would rather believe it. .The victory has been decided, and the more cautious it is at this time, even if the opponent has not yet had this idea, he must completely eliminate the possibility of an accident by the king beyond the wall, which will lead to chaos in the land grant. "We can't ignore the possibility of conservatives taking this as a breakthrough, so let's put insurance first: transfer the Mance family to Houguan Town as a whole, so that they are completely under the protection of my people. "

It stands to reason that Iger is not qualified to change the order of the former commander. Fortunately, neither of the two people present is a follower of the rules. James nodded without any doubt: "That's fine, can we transfer tomorrow?"

"No, the northern princes are all in Castle Black now, and I have to bother to explain to them if I want to move the family of the king beyond the wall. Besides, the castle is full of northern soldiers at the moment, and most of our opponents would not dare to take the risk. He thought about it carefully, and finally made a decision: "You first arrange a few reliable brothers brought from the western region, and let them guard the Harding Tower with the people on normal duty... I will send people to Houguan Town to call in some reinforcements Come here, after two days I will accompany the princes of the north to the Long Nightfort, and you will transfer Mance Rayder's family immediately."

"Okay." Satisfied with Iger's arrangement, James nodded and stood up, ready to leave the room.

"Wait a minute." Iger called to him.

Although the total strength of the Night's Watch has seen a rare rebound, the overall strength has not seen a leap-forward improvement—not to mention, James and the dozens of elite soldiers from the West Region sent to him by James and his father may be three or four times stronger than the rest of Castle Black. The old, the weak, the sick and the disabled add up to be stronger.If the plan to transfer Mance Rayder encounters obstacles, it is likely to rely on their deterrence... At this point, Jaime Lannister is the best executor to transfer the king beyond the wall, but if he is allowed to To do this, he will encounter new problems: What if he brings the family of the king beyond the wall to Houguan Town, and then finds that his two sons are there, but he conceals this, then there will be something to play with. .

Get vaccinated in advance.

"There is one thing, I want to inform you." Egger waited for James to sit down again and said slowly: "Ed Stark arranged before his death-Stannis inherits the throne, and Joffrey and Tommen To put on black clothes - now, they were handed over to me by Robb Stark, and I will temporarily place them in Houguan Town... Get Castle Black to take care of yourself, or let them stay in Houcrown and I will take care of them?"

……

James' body froze.

uncle?Iger said it politely, but everyone knew that the so-called two nephews were actually the children of James and Cersei, a product of chaos that the world would not tolerate.

According to the law, after a person swears an oath and becomes a brother of the Night Watchman Corps, his previous mistakes and crimes will be wiped out—although the reality is not that simple, but after coming to the Great Wall, he really did not hear the voice of mocking and insulting him : The high-level people will not be so tasteless, but the ordinary night watchmen below are afraid of James' own force and the many soldiers from the west who followed him.Moreover, many people on the Great Wall have committed crimes far worse than regicide. What makes James different is that the person he killed happened to be the king.And here at the end of the world, north of the North, let's be honest—how could anyone who loves King Robert come to this place?

James thought he could get rid of the past and start a new life, but the past followed him like a shadow. It must be uncomfortable to feel this kind of trouble lingering.

After his expression changed a few times, James gritted his teeth and said, "If I say I don't care, what will you do?"

Iger hasn't fully figured it out yet, but the basic plan has already taken shape: "I originally planned to build a school in Houguan Town, while educating, managing hostages, and assimilating the children of the wildling leader families. Let Joffrey and It should be good for Tommen to stay with his peers."

"Same age? Let my... nephew stay with a group of savage children?"

"Then what do you want? Let the two children come to Castle Black with your 'uncle' and a bunch of damned criminals?" Iger asked bluntly, "How many cold eyes and back pokes will they suffer? Diandian, have you considered it again? You can't protect those two children now, recognize this fact!"

James took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and said after a while: "I may not be able to protect those two children, but I can make those who hurt them pay! No matter if that person is Robb Stark or whoever , you better remember this!"

After that, he pushed the door and left the room angrily without looking back.

Iger looked at the back of the Kingslayer who was going away, with his arms folded and his chest full of black lines, he was angry and funny.James, a brainless guy... didn't even ask about Myrcella's whereabouts. He was trying to protect his children, but he ended up threatening his ally. What was going on in his mind?

James's brainless Iger has already been taught, so naturally he doesn't intend to argue with him.Arranging Joffrey and Tommen in Houcrown Town, the consideration of physical protection is secondary: Compared with the people living south of the Great Wall, the people outside the wall also found in the long struggle with nature. The fact that consanguineous marriage is likely to reduce the physical fitness of offspring.But what is different from the civilized world is that the savages are only more inclined to distant tribes when they build new families and "steal" people, and their resistance to chaos is much lower than that of the people of the Seven Kingdoms.

They will despise James' incompetence of "eating grass by the side of the nest" instead of stealing women from afar to reproduce, but they will not focus too much on the so-called "evil species"...as long as they order the logistics of Houguan Town The children of the newly gifted landmen will not attack Joffrey and Tommen too much on this point if the staff of the Ministry do not spread the scandal of the court in the capital of the Seven Kingdoms.

This is the protection that the two children need more.

-

Chapter 290

A few days after the election was suspended, the "voting monitors" appointed by Robb Stark arrived at various fortresses along the Great Wall and began to implement the new campaign model of one person, one vote.

It would be an understatement to say that this was a one-sided victory for the reformers: there were 230 six voting Night's Watchmen in the Shadow Tower, and in Eastwatch the number was 400 - even if none of the [-]-odd votes were converted. If he voted for Iger, he would not suffer at all; but on the contrary, as long as any one of them abstained or abandoned the commander of his fortress to support Iger, his advantage would expand and he would approach the two-thirds victory line.

Voting in each stronghold takes place in a closed cubicle, as Robb instructed.In the case where the result is anonymous and the task of counting votes is undertaken by a neutral third party, it is conceivable that the situation of "voting all votes to their respective chiefs because they are afraid that their superiors will wear small shoes in the future" will be greatly reduced. .

Someone will definitely vote for Iger, no one doubts this, the key is how much—but Iger never pins his hopes on people he doesn’t know and doesn’t understand... His back road can even be It is said that the opportunity to win is really counted on, but it is actually another line: new tickets.

The queen party members who followed Melisandre officially completed their oath to join the Night's Watch and became men in black with voting rights; attracted by the propaganda and various treatments, those who signed up to join the legion among the old and new land grant people also They began to appear sporadically, and the number of recruits training in the Castle Black grounds grew day by day.

With the chief coach being persuaded by Melisandre to support the reformers, time is completely on Iger's side.Those new recruits who have begun their training and will soon be sworn into the Night's Watch...the day they change identities will be the end of it all.

With a lot of accumulation, Iger, the traveler and night watchman who was extremely unlucky at the beginning, is finally about to counterattack.

***

The night's watch stronghold at the easternmost end of the Great Wall, the icy air flows wildly.The ice wall becomes low here, and disappears completely after extending tens of meters into the sea - without it to block the howling north wind, coupled with the cold moisture blowing from Seal Bay, Donghaiwang has long been the Great Wall Toughest place along the line.

But today, it ushered in the long-lost excitement here.The soldiers gathered in the courtyard noisily, and after hearing the Winterfell soldier who was dressed out of tune with everyone, he announced Robb Stark's decision loudly, and immediately began to discuss in whispers.

"Why did the vote go to East Sea Watch? Is it necessary? Besides Carter Parker, who else can we vote for, and who else will we vote for?"

"Just vote, but you still have to be yourself, and no one else is allowed to do it for you, otherwise it will be regarded as abstention? There are so many broken rules!"

"That's right, it's freezing cold, thank goodness the dead don't come to make a fuss, but these damned nobles won't let us go, may the ghosts take them away!"

"Instead of complaining, it's better to finish voting quickly and go back to the house to keep warm!"

"Well, it makes sense, but when will this guy finish his nonsense?"

……

Hearing the discussions of the night watchmen around East Sea Watch, Will pursed his lips, and turned his head to approach Gary beside him: "That guy Iger, is really amazing now, and he is still running for the commander-in-chief with the two commanders... we After all, he is the brother who once went out to patrol the wall together, and even formed a team to escape from the hands of the aliens, you will vote for him, right?"

Gary slanted his mouth: "Vote for him? I don't know what kind of virtue that kid is. How can he be the commander-in-chief? Don't be kidding."

"You haven't seen him for almost two years. A lot of things have happened in two years. Looking at the things the logistics department sent to the Great Wall, he did a good job in King's Landing."

"Yeah, I haven't seen you in two years, and I didn't know to come to see my old man when I went back to the Great Wall. Back then, Zhenbai took care of this kid."

"He also has a mission. Why don't you come here on purpose to see us?" Gary's complaint made sense. Will rubbed his head and didn't know what to say, but squeezed Iger in his arms. He still decided to vote for his old comrades in the obsidian dagger that was given to him at the beginning and was now regarded as a talisman by him.

……

A few months ago, the army of savages arrived outside the Great Wall under the leadership of Mance Rayder, and there were constantly small groups of teams on the Seal Bay bypassing the Great Wall and fleeing south on rafts.Eastwatch was in critical condition due to lack of manpower, Jeor Mormont personally led most of the rangers to support after receiving the call for help.Among these dozens of people, Iger's companions who guarded the Great Wall and the new valley princes in black were included.

The former commander died unexpectedly. Carter Pike took the princes of the valley to Castle Black to run for the commander-in-chief. The remaining rangers were left in Castle Black and became one of the [-] votes "represented" by the commander. one by one.

They had nothing to do with the election, but with Robb Stark's intervention, they regained the opportunity to vote.

Hundreds of people in black pushed and shoved towards the voting room, all wanting to quickly cast their votes so that they could return to the room to keep warm.But the Winterfell soldiers on the stage raised their hands to appease the soldiers: "Don't be impatient, everyone. There is also a lord from King's Landing, a follower of King Stannis, who wants to say a few words before everyone votes!"

The night watchmen hissed, but were barely silenced by the restraint of the officers at all levels.In this place far away from the emperor, the king's authority is almost nonexistent, but the night watchman is still a part of the seven kingdoms, no matter how disdainful they are, they have to show face - after all, facing an enemy like the white ghost, the key Always have to count on support from the south.

Soon, a well-dressed man with a flame emblem tattooed on his chest came up to the stage, and under the watchful eyes of the East Sea Watch soldiers, he began to make some confusing speeches.

"Brave and strong brothers of the night watchman! The long night is long and dangerous everywhere. Terrible, evil and powerful forces are gathering outside the wall with us. Also muster up the courage to spread the faith of the flaming red heart..."

……

"What is he talking about?" Will asked Gary in confusion, "Why does it sound like preaching?"

"It's the Red God again. This group of people look like dogs. They haven't preached enough in the villages outside the fortress, and they even ran inside to fool us brothers in black!"

"But what we are going to do today is to vote for the commander-in-chief, why is it related to the Red God?"

"There must be a reason, just keep listening." Gary stared contemptuously at the nobleman on the stage, waited for a while, and heard a familiar name: "Look, didn't I mention Iger? Haha, this kid is really a bit It hasn’t changed, if you don’t practice your skills well, there are a lot of tricks. This guy actually said that he is the son of prophecy, the next commander-in-chief chosen by heaven, and only under his leadership can we defeat the old enemy of the Red God and end the winter!”

"Iger is the son of prophecy?"

"Damn, do you believe it?" Gary rolled his eyes: "Bullshit prophecy, it's just a thing to scare children, it's a shame that kid dared to use this method to canvass votes. This is a stupid trick, and anyone with eyes can see it It turns out that among the black-clothed brothers who respect the king and his red god, there are far less people who want to be that red-robed female cousin, and it won’t be of much use to talk about prophecies.”

"You don't believe in anything, so it's a stupid trick for you. But I heard that some brothers have gradually abandoned their original beliefs and turned to the Red God. They gather together all day long and watch the fire, at least they will buy it .”

"Yeah, the original faith never answered their prayers, so try another faith, right?" Gary chuckled, "I don't know how they will feel when they find out that the new faith is still the same. "

"You haven't believed it, how do you know it's fake, and I've heard that the woman in the red robe does know magic." Will curled his lips and said, "Besides, I think it makes sense to say that Iger is the person in the prophecy .Don’t forget—Iger was the first to notice the anomaly when we were led into the pit by Waymar Royce. Before I climbed the tree, he was also the one who quietly reminded me to be careful of dead people, and you admit it Well, in the end it was he who killed the White Walkers and saved your life... Can you explain all this unusualness?"

"That's all luck! Don't talk nonsense, do you still want to say that he gave you the obsidian dagger to keep you from dying in several missions out of the wall? This little dagger is so powerful, why don't you take it to What about killing the White Walkers?" Gary snorted disdainfully, "Okay, okay, stop thinking about it, I will vote for that bastard, but if you talk nonsense everywhere, aren't you afraid of being laughed at! "

Will obediently kept his mouth shut. Gary has been promoted to be the team leader due to his meritorious service. Now he is not only his senior, but also his chief.This veteran who grew up on the Great Wall was stabbed by a strange ghost two years ago. In order to save him, Master Aemon cut off a lot of frostbitten and necrotic flesh in the wound.Because of the lack of chest muscles, his skill is no longer what it used to be, but such things as qualifications and experience will not disappear with the injury - among the low-level rangers, Gary's words are sometimes more useful than some middle-level officers.