The king on the Great Wall

On the wall, Iger saw the black bat flag belonging to the master of Harrenhal, the silver trout flag of the former lord, the blue falcon flying above the flags of the princes in the valley... and the tree in various colors. The tallest and most conspicuous silver-gray direwolf.

Robb Stark marched swiftly, and arrived at Harrenhal after withdrawing from the battlefield in the west for a few days!

-

Chapter 201 Conference

Here, Iger lost the recognition and deterrence of the "Godfather" of King's Landing, but the reputation of chief logistics officer and the natural favorability bonus brought by black clothes among soldiers in the north still work.Without much effort, he brought the guards and Arya to the tower where Robb and the princes and generals were meeting. After a briefing, he was allowed to enter alone.

In the room, the princes of the three lines of the Northland were sitting together. Iger looked around and greeted: "My lords, good afternoon."

"Hey - the night watchmen have one good thing, that is, they run fast. We haven't discussed anything here, and you're all here." A northern noble with a familiar face to Iger glanced at him, and said harshly: "This Alright, we have to quickly come to a conclusion on how to deal with the 'Kingslayer', otherwise, it would be impolite to ask the Chief Logistics Officer to wait for us at Harrenhal for a meeting."

"If there is anything to discuss, let him lure the Kingslayer over and kill him on the way."

"The reputation of the night watchman will be ruined if you do this, can you ask the chief logistics officer if he agrees?"

Iger naturally ignored the bad ideas of these nobles, and he looked directly at the person in charge, Robb Stark, who had some friendship with him.

The young wolf lord knocked on the table to signal silence, and then briefly introduced the situation: "Tywin Lannister, after our army and the Dornish army withdrew from the Western Territory, the fire speed army recovered most of the territory, and now there are more than [-] troops stationed Golden Tooth City Fortress, and sent a message, claiming that he would support the one of the two kings who allowed his son, Kingslayer, to wear black. Iger, you must have come here this time for this purpose, what do you think? ?”

Ask for your own opinion?For a while, Iger felt a little flattered. Is this a manifestation of his gradually gaining influence and the right to speak, or is it because Robb believes in his own intelligence and judgment?

……

"The savages have arrived at the Great Wall of Desperation. When I received the news, I was leading the recruits along the King's Avenue north back to the Great Wall to participate in the defense outside the Great Wall." Iger first explained the reason why he came so quickly, and then expressed his position: "As a Chief logistics officer of the Night Watchman, I have no personal relationship with Jaime Lannister. But I want to emphasize one point, what the lord said just now - I will never agree to the plan of using me to fish out the kingslayer and murder him. Rules And the bottom line, which cannot be broken at any time."

"What kind of rules and bottom line are you talking about with someone who has no honor like a kingslayer!"

"This has nothing to do with honor, but the spirit of the contract and the unspoken rules established by convention. Agreeing to join the night watchman is a signal of willingness to reconcile. Using this as bait to lure him out and kill him by hand, this precedent has been followed by everyone. The neutrality of the night watchman is gone!" Iger has benefited a lot from the privilege of the night watchman, how could he allow others to smash his own signboard.He didn't want to have this kind of illogical discussion with a bunch of old northern guys anymore, he shook his head and reminded himself that Robb's attitude is the key: "Lord Stark, since Duke Tywin said 'support and agree with his son to wear The king in black', then I want to ask, are you supporting King Stannis?"

The house fell silent.

In fact, for most of the northern, river and valley nobles, let alone Renly or Stannis, even the king is just a distant symbol.Neither of Robert's brothers knew each other well.Compared with the two deer who were wrestling with each other, Ed Stark, the old wolf, had a greater influence.If the nobles present had voted democratically, most of them would choose to immediately go home with the gold truce they had just snatched from the Western Territory, spend it or hide it-what kind of bullshit king, whoever loves it should go.

People are realistic, and the benefits have already been reaped, who has the thought to run to the king immediately, and fight a battle in the largest city of the Seven Kingdoms...isn't it a battle that must be won?

The princes have their own thoughts, but these thoughts can only be circled in their hearts.Right now, Eddard Stark is being caught by Renly and locked in a cell in the Red Keep. Whoever dares to run home with the spoils first--the northern princes will tear you apart before the enemy.

……

"Renly is not the king." After ten seconds, Robb broke the silence, "If the two sons left by the late King Robert are indeed the product of incest, then the throne should belong to Stannis. On this point, we Same position as my father."

"If there is no battle for the throne, it doesn't make any difference to us who is the king." Roose Bolton analyzed it like no one else: "But since the two deer are fighting, we are labeled as Stannis' side. If Do nothing, and when Renly is firmly on the throne in the future, no matter what benefits, he will only think of the Tyrell family."

"What's the benefit? Thank God for not letting people go to war all the time. Who cares about Renly's benefits? The Iron Throne owes a lot of debt to himself, and everyone south of the Neck doesn't know!"

"The benefits are not only gold, but also status and influence." Roose Bolton shook his head: "Why have all the kings since Aegon deliberately kept the Tyrell family out of the core of power, and let the Reach Always 'the branches are strong and the stems are weak'? Because the potential of the river bend is too great... Now that Margaery Tyrell becomes queen, if the Rose family takes the opportunity to climb up to the Baratheon house to get rid of the status of 'weak master' in one fell swoop In order to build the River Bend Land into a "strong branch and strong trunk", in the case of heavy losses in the western region, I am afraid that the remaining five countries will not be able to do anything to it."

"Renly is only thinking of using the military and material resources of the Reach to seize the throne of his brother. I'm afraid even he himself doesn't realize that once the status of queen of the Tyrell family is given to Rose, he will be able to integrate the resources of the Reach. If there is an opportunity, it will become the real uncrowned king of Westeros." The richness of the Reach is obvious to all, and no one objected to this statement, but Edmure Tully followed this line of thought and quickly thought Now comes the more serious problem: "At that time, the person sitting on the Iron Throne will be named Baratheon, but it will be Tyrell who will actually control the Seven Kingdoms... The power center will soon no longer be able to accommodate any of the other five families... We will be marginalized, and once this situation is formed, our descendants will submit to the Tyrell family and be oppressed and ruled by them forever."

"It's not that exaggerated." Greatjon snorted coldly: "The Tyrell family has no dragons. We crossed the Neck and re-established ourselves as kings in the north. If we don't claim vassalage or pay tribute, what can they do to me?"

"There is a Neck in the North, and there is a Gate of Blood in the Valley, so what about the River?" Roose Bolton also snorted coldly: "Since Aegon unified the Seven Kingdoms, every winter the North has been able to move towards the south, especially the River." Buying food, the tragedy of 'winter population halved' hasn't happened in 300 years, and the population has reached nearly 200 million today. If you block the neck, after this winter, guess how many people can live in the northern border?"

"All right, all right, you, the skinner, are the one with the clearest mind in the entire northern border! Don't talk nonsense with you, why don't I support Stannis! Long live King Stannis! Satisfied?"

Robb waved his hand to stop the two vassals from arguing: "My lords, whether you support Stannis' ascension to the Iron Throne or not, we will discuss it afterwards. Right now my father is in the dungeon of the Red Castle. I have to lead the army no matter what." Go to the rescue. Stannis has written to give me the option of allowing Jaime Lannister to join the Night's Watch. The Chief Logistics Officer just happened to be here... Anyway, we have to make a quick decision Decide."

"There is no suspense, if we say 'no', the old lion will send troops to continue to harass the riverland when our army is heading to King's Landing, in order to 'support' Renly." Edmure Tully said: "And if We have no chance of winning if we divide our forces to fight on two fronts, so we must negotiate peace with Tywin in this way."

"Negotiating peace is cowardly, cowardly is coward." Greatjon roared, "Fuck Tywin, no matter what I say, I will not allow the kingslayer to go to the Great Wall and live his life on our northern territory." day!"

……

What followed was a continuous quarrel, and every nobleman had the right to speak. Robb Stark made the princes willing to follow with his father's prestige and military exploits, but he didn't have the deterrent power to shut everyone up.Everyone insisted on their own opinions, spat with all their strength, and expressed their opinions...

"Everyone, please listen to me!" Iger was dizzy from a group of people, shook his head, and yelled the previous sentence again with a louder voice, before he attracted everyone's attention: "The situation in front of you now is actually It’s not complicated. I just want to ask one more question. If Jaime Lannister’s application to join the Night’s Watch is rejected, which lord is willing to lead an army to prevent Duke Tywin from sending troops from Golden Tooth City to attack the Riverlands? If so, how many do you have? Cheng is sure that he can stop him, so that he can't take a step into the river, and can't hurt a river resident?"

"Afraid of sacrifice, why fight a war." Earl Karstark said.

"If you want to speak in this way, there is no need to proceed with this discussion." Iger replied displeasedly: "My lords, why did you send troops to the western border? It was to punish the criminals who attacked the king, and to prevent the Lannister army from advancing in the riverlands." Burning, killing, and looting is to maintain the dignity of the Iron Throne and protect the territory of allies, not to show the courage of the northerners who are not afraid of death! I admire the courage of several northern leaders who are not afraid of death, but you must not put the cart before the horse when doing things!"

Earl Karstark was rendered speechless by this well-founded rebuttal, he was silent for a few seconds, and sneered: "Master Chief Logistics Officer, why do you seem to be in a hurry to help Kingslayer put on his clothes?" The appearance in black? I remembered, you seem to have a good relationship with that little devil from the Lannister family..."

"This has nothing to do with the little devil or the big devil! I hope that you can negotiate a peace with the Lannister family to avoid unnecessary casualties. I hope that more northern soldiers can return home alive, and then assist the Great Wall to fight against the wildlings and white ghosts!" Blue With the survival of the Night Watchman's property in his hands, Li had to watch his face... Who are these guys from the northern border right now, and they are also here to argue?Iger knew that he must not show a timid and guilty expression at this moment, and in a flash of inspiration, he made a furious expression: "Before I took the soldiers from the logistics department and set off northward, I personally declined Renly Baratheon's 'take off' to me." Black clothes to join his imperial council' invitation! I gave up the comfortable and comfortable life in King's Landing and hastily returned to the icy and snowy ghost place of the Great Wall, intending to fulfill the sacred oath of the Night Watchman, to be the strong shield of the kingdom, and to defend the Seven Kingdoms The lives of people in the borderlands are safe...Why do some adults in the north think that the lives of soldiers, territory residents and allies under his command are worthless? If so, just say it, and I will return to King's Landing to be my Minister of Finance or Justice Go, tell the White Walkers to take you all away!"

-

Chapter 202 Fiance

Putting on the mask of "loyal night watchman" and occupying the moral high ground, and putting on a posture that I am doing it for your own good, Iger is immediately invincible

There is no doubt that if a night watchman dares to speak like this to any noble in the Seven Kingdoms except the North, even if there is nothing wrong in front of him, he will probably be punished to death in the future.But at this moment, Iger's rant will not cause any adverse consequences - the room was already full of noise, he just took part in it, and what he said was purely expressing his opinion and not targeting anyone...

Given that the people in the northern border are born with a close relationship with the defenders of the Great Wall, this quarrel feels a bit like "the family is at odds", and there is no sense of disobedience.

Iger's explosion didn't deter anyone, but the voice clearly favoring peace with Tywin was louder than the other side.The house was still noisy, and Robb had to knock on the table again to restore silence.

"The Chief Logistics Officer reminded me that I almost forgot one important thing: our enemies are not just Renly and Tywin, we can't lose too much strength or waste too much time in the south, after all-winter is coming. For the first time, Robb felt that his family language was so suitable for the situation. He paused for a few seconds and looked at the night watchman: "Iger, I agree to let James join the night watchman, but you are sure that you can manage him well and not let him join the night watchman." Does he run away or cause trouble in the North?"

"If he deserts or violates the rules of the night watchman, the legion will naturally deal with it seriously according to the rules. The lion's anger will not reach the Great Wall."

"Okay, if no one has any objections, this matter is settled. Let's go back and do what we should do. The army will rest here for today and tomorrow, and set off in the morning of the day after tomorrow to march towards King's Landing."

The person in charge has made a decision, and the remaining princes naturally don't want to talk nonsense. The three wolf and osprey families have made a lot of money under the command of Robb in this battle-and the commander who leads the people to win the battle must have prestige.And in the final analysis - James joined the Night Watchman, in fact, did not infringe the interests of any nobles present, on the contrary, it was equivalent to sending a hostage to the northern border.At least, the Hejian land no longer has to worry about being harassed by the western army.

……

The princes passed by Egger and walked towards the door, but the night watchman remained in the house, and did not go forward until Robb finally explained his affairs to Edmure Tully.

"Robb, take a step to speak."

"What?" Robb took two steps in doubt, and came to the corner with Iger.

"Arya is with me."

"Arya!?" Robb was overjoyed: "Where is she, she wasn't hurt, what happened? Why didn't she escape back to Dragonstone with Sansa and Stannis that day?"

"She's waiting outside the door." Iger told Robb exactly what happened on the day Renly sieged the city, and then added in a low voice: "Doing this violates the principle of the night watchman not to participate in the internal affairs of the Seven Kingdoms, you quietly Just take them away, don’t make a fuss. When my team returns to the northern border, I will announce the news of finding your sister, and say that she escaped from King’s Landing by herself to find you.”

"Understood, my room is upstairs here, I will keep the others away later, you bring her here." Robb grabbed Iger's arm excitedly: "You don't know how worried I am about this naughty little girl ... Not much to say, the Stark family owes you a favor again, if you encounter any trouble in the north, just mention it, I can solve it, and I will definitely help!"

"Then thank you in advance. I'll go out first and bring someone back later."

"it is good."

……

Iger left the meeting room, looked around at the door but didn't see Arya, so he had to ask his guard: "Where are the Aili people, didn't I tell you to wait here?"

"A big gray dog ​​came out of the room just now, and Ali ran away with it..."

Another person interjected: "What a big dog, that's a wolf!"

The two subordinates should be talking about Robb's wolf gray wind. Iger felt a little more at ease. With that wolf, at least Arya would not be harmed. Running around when looking for her?

No, maybe it's not running around "always when people are looking for her", but running around "anytime, anywhere".

After secretly cursing a bad girl, Iger began to ask the surrounding soldiers about the whereabouts of the direwolf.Everyone in the coach's pet army knew her. After a lot of effort, Iger found her in the stables of Harrenhal a few hundred meters away.

"Ali, what are you doing there!" Arya squatted by the wall with her back facing the night watchman, as if teasing Gray Wind.A little attendant of the night watchman has such a good relationship with Robb Stark's wolf. This girl is really not afraid of being seen by someone who cares. Iger is a little anxious: "Come here!"

"No, let me stay alone for a while!" Arya turned her head, her eyes were red, and she looked like she was about to cry. The huge gray wolf bowed its head and nuzzled the girl, as if to comfort her.

"What's the matter?" Iger approached cautiously. I have to say that the direwolf is really big. It is only one year old, and its shoulders have already reached Iger's waist.

Gray Wind raised his head and bared his teeth at Iger, but after all, he had seen Iger a few times and was held by Arya's neck, so he didn't really attack the night watchman.

Arya turned her head and buried her face in Gray Wind's fur, saying in a low voice, "I miss Nymeria..."

Nymeria?It must be the wolf that Arya was forced to drive away.Iger suddenly realized that seeing the girl's red eyes, it was not easy to accuse her of running away for a while, and sighed: "Nymeria must be living well in the wild, don't think about her now, go, go back with me See you big brother."

"No." Arya stood up, patted Gray Wind's head, the direwolf wagged his tail, went to Iger and sniffed him, then left and ran back to the tower where Robb lived. "He sold me, so I won't go back."

"What sold you?"

"Suddenly I have a fiancé, and Robb chose it for me! Without my consent!"

So, it seems that when she was arguing with the northern princes just now, Arya also heard something from the surrounding soldiers.

"This is a matter for your family. My task is to send you safely to your family. Go back to see Robb first. You can discuss it with him. Even if you can't discuss anything, he won't let you go and talk to someone right now. Get married and enter the bridal chamber."

Robb's scary big wolf left, and Iger lost his fear, and reached out to the girl to pull her back.

"Don't touch me, I won't see him!" Arya jumped up and ran towards the stables. Iger turned his head to confirm that the scary direwolf had left, and then ran after him.

"Stop! Accepting the marriage arrangement is the duty of a family member. Don't learn from your aunt... to harm others and yourself!"

"I don't care, I don't care, I want to fall in love and marry freely!" Arya ran fast, sprinting past the soldiers all over Harrenhal.

Free love?Isn't this the story I told Arya to attract her attention? Eggerton felt like he was asking for trouble. He pushed and pushed through the crowd, chasing after him. After running for a few hundred meters, he finally managed to Backed Arya into a dead-end alley and grabbed her as she tried to slip past him.

"You girl, how can you come here!" Iger dragged her back angrily.

"Master! You... if you dare to sell me with Robb... I, I, I... I will..."

"So what?"

"I... I'll just tell Robb and my fiancé that you touched my ass!"

"When did I touch your ass!"

"It's just touched anyway." Arya struggled and twisted like a live fish: "I don't care, you take me back to Winterfell, I don't want to see Robb."

This girl is smart, and she knows how to threaten Iger with things... Molesting female nobles is a felony, and if the sentence is lighter, at least one hand will be cut off, and she may be directly punished by the Stark family or Arya's future. It is possible for the husband to be killed.

It's really kind of unrewarding, Eggerton got angry, grabbed Arya and carried it on his shoulder, "slapped" twice, and slapped her buttocks twice: "I not only dare to touch, Dare to fight! If you don’t want to suffer any more, just be honest!”

Iger didn't hold back his hands in these two slaps, Arya shrank from the pain and almost cried out.For this kind of unreasonable brat, the pain was still a little deterrent. She hummed and stopped talking, her eyes were filled with tears, she tried not to shed them, and let Iger carry herself back to the previous one. Tower, into Robb's room.

-

Chapter 203 Political Marriage

"This girl refuses to come to see you, saying that you sold her, and she has a fiancé out of nowhere." Iger put Arya off his shoulders, pushed her to Robb's side, and sued before the girl could speak: " And clamoring for me to take her back to Winterfell, or tell people I touched her ass."

"Heh—" Although his hair was cut short, Robb still recognized his sister at a glance.As the elder brother who watched Arya grow up, he naturally knew the girl's temper clearly, and chose to trust Iger, an outsider without hesitation: "Alright Arya, I apologize, this matter was settled without discussing with you It's really my fault. But in this extraordinary period, this marriage is very important... But I promise, no one will urge you to get married. "

"Huh——" Arya escaped Robb's embrace, ran to the edge of the chair and sat down angrily, jumped up again as soon as her butt touched the chair, turned away tearfully, and no longer looked at the two of them.

***

In the original plot, Caitlin went to Frey’s house to discuss an alliance at the critical moment when the northern army urgently needed to go south. In order to cross the river, she had to make many concessions at a disadvantage—the condition included “Arya married to Frey’s house” and "Robb weds a daughter of Lord Frey".Now the plot has undergone tremendous changes. Even though they are already in-laws, the Frey family has unwaveringly joined the northern faction in the war, and has always been at the forefront in the battle against the western border...

And in the case that the eldest son is already the son-in-law of the Frey family, it is absolutely impossible for the Stark family to have one of the two daughters to repeatedly win over a family that is lower than their own—the marriage between the Frey family and the Stark family is already a high priority , once is to take advantage of it, it is not qualified to come twice.

Then, who will Arya marry this time?

After all, Iger was the girl's teacher in name, subconsciously felt that he was a little responsible for her, coupled with gossip and curiosity, he couldn't help asking this question.

"Harold Hutton, Robert Arryn's heir, we all call him 'Heir Harry. Me, this will make the alliance of the three companies more stable."

"It turned out to be him." Iger suddenly realized.

After Lysa Tully was driven back to Riverrun for a note of her own, her sickly manic, epileptic son Robert Arryn, Eddard Stark's nephew, became Valley and the Wolf-Osprey Alliance on the last "bloodline" connecting line.If he dies, the factual foundation of the alliance between the Valley and the Starks will disappear, and the alliance based on friendship alone is not stable.Not to mention - the patriarch of the ancestor family who is close to the northern border like Eon Royce was even taken to the Great Wall by Robert in the rebellion not long ago.

The marriage of Arya Stark to Harold Hatton will ensure that even if the current Duke of Vale dies, the future Duchess of the Vale will be named Stark... The Great League of Wolves and Ospreys will still exist.

Relying on marriage to maintain the stability of the alliance is the Duke of Hoster's forte... And seeing Robert Arryn's sickly appearance, it is really possible that he will die before leaving any heirs.In this case, what Iger is now facing is an extremely serious political marriage. It is not an exaggeration to say that Arya bears a heavy burden, and there is no room for her to be playful or willful.

***

"A reasonable arrangement." Iger quickly put on the mask of a loving elder after understanding the inside story, and thought about it from the perspective of his apprentice Arya: "But I think the little girl has the right to see her fiancé first."

"That's natural. How about this, tomorrow I will find an excuse to call Sir Harold to the meeting room downstairs, and then Arya, you can pretend to be a servant and take a good look at your fiancé." Robb looked at Elaine Lia has a short-haired tomboy appearance, and I know that it is impossible for her to formally meet her future husband for the first time with this appearance: "From my personal point of view, Sir Harold is well-proportioned and slender, and his appearance can be considered handsome. Uncle Brynden The Duke even said that he is like the Duke of Jon Arryn when he was young, just talking about appearance, but he does not wrong you at all."

Arya shook her head vigorously: "Don't look at it, don't look at it, no matter how handsome it is, I just heard from someone outside that he has several illegitimate children!"

"The illegitimate child..." Robb was at a loss for words for a moment, and having been taught by his father Ed, he naturally felt that this was a stain on his honor, but this matter really did not allow him to think about it: "The illegitimate child will not affect...you and his future heirs will have a good relationship with the valley." inheritance."

"I'm going to go to his inheritance, who is going to have a baby with him!" Arya stomped her foot, touching the place where she was spanked on her buttocks, grinning in pain.

"Spoken words again!" Iger slandered Tyrion, who led the girl badly, and glared at Arya: "You eat well, dress well, there are horses to ride if you want to learn riding skills, and there are people who want to learn sword skills Hand in hand, you made a catastrophe, and I, a night watchman officer who should be neutral, took the risk to send you home. Why? Isn’t it because your surname is Stark! Well, you can enjoy the benefits that the family brings to you with peace of mind, When it is necessary for you to fulfill your obligations to the family, you just roll around and refuse to admit it?"

These words are naturally convincing in the ears of adults, but the brat doesn't listen to your big reason: "I don't care... anyway... anyway, if you force me to marry him, I will... I I will die for you to see!"

"You girl, what are you talking about!" Robb frowned, but he has always loved his sister, and the impression in Arya's eyes has already solidified, and there is no majesty in any expression, and his words may not be as good as Iger's. make.

"What do you mean we're forcing you..." Iger also reacted at this time, and suddenly realized that he should not meddle in the internal affairs of the Stark family. Arya refused to accept the family's marriage arrangement. Swordsmanship teacher to persuade?It's like a dog taking a mouse, just adding trouble to himself.

After figuring out the key point, he did not hesitate much, and said goodbye to Robb: "Arya has been delivered safely, I will go down and prepare, and leave for Golden Tooth City tomorrow to take the Kingslayer to the Great Wall. My lord, please communicate with me in advance. The princes along the King's Road say hello, I don't want the enemy of the Lannister family to lead an army to maliciously block or even attack my northward team."