The king on the Great Wall

Stannis grabbed the water glass on the table, and almost couldn't help hitting people with things like his brother: "Money? Get out, get out as you want! Now—get out of my sight, I'm going to fight with you." My ministers are discussing something else!"

After the banker left, Davos sighed and continued to report to Stannis: "Your Majesty, the ransom that Duke Tywin paid us is about to run out, and Robb Stark has written for the third time, Request to lead troops back to the North to quell the Ironborn rebellion... Ed Stark died for insisting on your legal status as king, now half of the North is occupied by the Ironborn, and we are about to be unable to provide enough to pay the soldiers The subordinate's opinion is, why not go back to King's Landing to rest and take a breath before trying to put down the rebellion?"

"Retreat first? Then allow the man who calls himself Aegon VI to gain a foothold in Storm's End, where I was born, and pose a greater threat to my rule?"

"Your Majesty, in addition to the request on the letter raven... Robb Stark also sent someone to send another secret letter, marked that it can only be opened by you. The letter is here, Your Majesty please read it."

The advantage of marking it personally and sending it by someone instead of a crow is that the risk of possible leakage is reduced.And at this juncture, it was obviously not good news, Stannis took the sealed letter with a serious face, opened it and read it.

After half a minute he crumpled up the letter and threw it into the stove.

Under the watchful eyes of Barristan and Davos, Stannis said: "The general idea is, whether I agree or not, the northern army will withdraw from the battlefield in five days, and return north to deal with the iron people."

Quiet in the tent.

The northern army assembled twice in a year to respond to the call of the Iron Throne, and it has exceeded its obligation to protect the king... His withdrawal from the battlefield after saying hello did not violate any of the laws of the Seven Kingdoms, and even the king could not forcibly Order them to stay and continue fighting.

The matter has no turning point, and Robb Stark wrote this secret letter to prevent the news from leaking and causing the defeat of the king's army.

The veins on Stannis' forehead popped, and he knew he had no choice.Without the nearly [-] troops from the north, the Riverbend army, which had lost control, could not stop it whether it went east to break the siege of Storm's End, or went north to threaten King's Landing.It is impossible for him to gain an absolute advantage in the confrontation with the armies of the Reach and Dorne and the Golden Regiment only by relying on the armies of the Royal Land, the River, and the Valley. Getting back to King's Landing was a problem.

"Your Majesty." Barristan looked at the silent king, knowing that he had to say something to prevent Stannis from thinking wildly: "It is the greatest shame of a lord to fail to protect the territories of his vassals. Robb, as the new Guardian of the North , this move is completely understandable, it is not determined to betray you. The departure of the northern army will inevitably affect the fighting will of the Hejian and Valley armies... Rather than openly disbanding after five days and then fleeing in a pinch, it is better to take advantage of the northern army Before leaving and the armies of all countries are still united and obeying your command, withdraw from the battlefield with dignity, Xu Tu plans later."

***

"No matter how gracefully you exit the field, defeat is an irrefutable fact."

Stannis is not the kind of person who cannot accept the facts, Davos shrugged: "Your Majesty, this is just a failure to take the initiative. The three kingdoms of the Northland and the royal land are still under your rule, half of the Stormland and most of the Stormland The nobles are still loyal to you, you are the recognized king of the Seven Kingdoms, and you have the capital to fail, so why bother with this word?"

"Wait, who said that withdrawing from the battlefield must be a failure?" Barristan had a different opinion: "Why don't we just push the boat along and help the Starks stabilize the northern border first, and then claim that the reason for withdrawing from the battlefield is to shift the target First, go to put down the Greyjoy rebellion in the Iron Islands? After the sea monster is brought down, the Stark family will feel His Majesty's attention and support, and will definitely support you in fighting against the pseudo-dragon launched by the Reach and the Golden Company!"

"But we can't really put down the Greyjoy rebellion." Davos questioned: "Once we send the army to the west coast, Riverbend and Dorne will definitely march towards King's Landing with that 'Aegon VI' , the capital of the Seven Kingdoms and a few small broken islands standing in the sunset sea are more important, I don’t think I need to say more.”

……

"Wait...you two, be quiet." Listening to the conversation between the captain of the Kingsguard and the Hand of the King, Stannis suddenly had some thoughts, and his expression changed from gloomy to decisive: "Barristan reminded Me, who said failure to bring back Storm's End is a failure? Since the northern army will return north to save the family in five days...then why can't I use the last five days to make another big fuss?"

"What does your majesty mean?"

"I just thought about it carefully. For a long time before, we have all fallen into a misunderstanding - the Targaryen family is a former royal family. When someone comes out to make trouble under his banner, he must first Eliminate." Stannis said slowly: "But calm down and think about it, who made such a rule? Why am I in a hurry? Targaryen's former allies were the Reach and Dorne... Now, the two he can win They are already my enemies, and among the remaining five kingdoms, the four kingdoms are the alliance that overthrew the True Dragon Dynasty. The so-called Aegon stays in Westeros, and he can no longer win more allies to become stronger!"

Davos seemed to understand what Stannis meant: "So..."

"I don't need to fight Storm's End at all, but I should deal with the allies of the pseudo-dragon first!" Stannis was a little annoyed why he didn't figure this out until Robb Stark decided to return north: "As long as I take the river bend Land and Dorne fought until they could no longer bring out any soldiers, and then turned around to deal with the so-called Aegon VI..."

"That makes sense, Your Majesty! Use the last five days to make a fuss..." Barristan also understood what the king said, and cheered up: "We can leave a suspicious army to continue to surround Storm's End, and the main force will quietly withdraw to see if we can A surprise attack on Randyll Tarly or Oberyn Martell, no matter which one of the two is severely damaged, followed by evacuation, or going back to deal with the other, the initiative is completely in our hands !"

"That's right, it's a pity that I figured this out too late." Stannis gritted his teeth and said, "Dorne has been confronting our army. It may not be easy to sneak attack, so we can only choose the Riverbend Army. We will leave immediately. If we march quickly, we will be able to go around to the west of Tongmen City in two days, and attack the northern border army on both sides, and we will definitely defeat the enemy!"

-

Chapter 236 The Lonely Hero

Since ancient times, negotiations have mostly been carried out by the weaker party sending representatives to the stronger party's territory, and the same is true in the world of ice and fire.In the original plot, Jon Snow was forced to go to the other side's camp to "negotiate peace" when Castle Black was completely unable to defend against the wildling army... But this time, the night watchmen can stay safely in the fortress, Wait for the other party to come to negotiate on their own initiative.

The drama of "a lonely hero enters the enemy's camp" is exciting, but it is actually a sad thing to be forced to "be a hero". If there is a choice, Iger hopes that the protagonist of this kind of drama will never be himself.

The savage had no choice, but to everyone's surprise, it was the King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder himself, who finally came to the gate of Castle Black holding the banner, ready to perform the scene of entering the enemy's camp alone.

……

"Hang this traitor, and this war will be over." Bowen Marsh stood on the King's Tower, condescendingly looking down at the gray-brown-haired, well-built savage Mance who was being searched tens of meters away. Make sure you're not carrying any weapons that could threaten the upper echelons of the Night's Watch.

"That's true, but after that, we will have to watch hundreds of thousands of wildlings being chased to death by the ghosts in the ghost forest, and then face an increase of the same number of dead people in the future." Iger shrugged, "These we More on that later, right now what I want to know is: does anyone recognize this guy...how can we be sure this is the King Beyond the Wall and not a fake?"

"Mance Rayder defected before I joined the Night's Watch..." Although Mormont was old, he joined the Night's Watch after his son came of age to make way for him, and he didn't grow up on the Great Wall.He didn't know the guy who had defected beyond the Wall under the former commander: "Can Castle Black find an old soldier who knows Mance Rayder?"

The chief affairs officer nodded: "It should be possible... Jon, go and call all the veterans in Castle Black who have been dressed in black for more than 20 years."

"It doesn't need to be so troublesome. Even if someone knows Mance when he was young, he may not be able to recognize it after more than ten years." Iger shook his head. "But the savage tied this guy up, and then brought up the female savage who was still in the prison, and told her that we took the initiative to attack, defeated the savage and captured the king beyond the wall. You can tell if this guy is real or not by looking at her expression and reaction gone."

"I see." Mormont thought for a while, then smiled knowingly: "Good idea, let's do it this way."

……

Soon, Mance Rayd was held down by several night watchmen with a blank face and tied to the pillar in the center of the yard with a rope, making a look of preparing for execution.Ygritte was taken out of the prison again with a full face of anger. Mormont took her to a place where she could see Mance tied up, and repeated to her what Iger had made up.

It is impossible for the wildlings to guess that the Night Watchman will use this trick to distinguish the true and false King Beyond the Wall, not to mention that the female wildling has been locked in the tightly guarded ice prison of Castle Black these days, and it is absolutely impossible to know that Mance Rayder personally If she sneers and tells everyone that they have arrested the wrong person, it means that the person who came is Mance Rayder, and if she is shocked or ashamed, it means that the person who came is really "Beyond the Wall". King of".

The principle is simple, and the plan went very smoothly, but the reaction of the test subjects was a little out of control: Ygritte went crazy and broke away from Jon's hand when he saw Mance Rayder who was tied to a pillar and gagged. Taking control, he lunged at Jeor Mormont.His hands were handcuffed so he couldn't use them, yet he opened his mouth and bit the commander-in-chief's face...

Because the distance was too close, Jeor Mormont was completely defenseless, and at the last moment he blocked it with his arm, and was bitten on the arm by the wild woman.

Egger and Bowen, who were standing beside Mormont, were the first to react, and together they pulled the female wildling away and pinned her to the ground.

"You crows, you should go to hell!" Ygritte's face was pressed against the cold ground, and she roared, "Don't let the free people enter the Great Wall, even if we are killed by white ghosts and become walking corpses, we will die!" Remember the one who came to seek your revenge!"

"What are you doing, Jon!?" Mormont stepped back and rubbed his arms, staring at Jon with dissatisfaction: "It is indeed a good habit to be gentle with ladies, but this is our enemy! Or do you even have a woman?" Can't even catch it?"

Jon was in extreme embarrassment, and quickly helped hold down the wild woman: "Sorry, my lords, I...I didn't expect her to be so strong."

"Take it off!"

Jon recaptured Ygritte, who was still swearing, and dragged her away from the officers.Looking at his back, Oser shook his head: "This child... actually wants to explain the reason to the wild woman to appease her. It's just absurd. I'm worried that this wild woman will lure him to break his vow. Geo, you How are you, are you okay?"

"The arm is not broken, but fortunately the clothes are thick." Mormont joked lightly: "At the price of being bitten, we at least know that the wild man who came to negotiate is indeed Mance Rayder. To be honest... What a surprise."

"How to deal with this traitor?"

"Out of respect for courage, give him a chance to speak." Iger said: "Not to mention, we also need the food in the hands of the savages to spend the gap before the arrival of Braavosi's aid Expect."

Mormont rubbed the wound on his right arm bitten by the wildling, and nodded: "Bring him to the conference room."

***

After a short while, Mance Rayder, who was untied, was escorted by two rangers to the Night Watchman's Hall, where he sat in front of a group of Night Watchman executives.

"It's so powerful." A moment ago, the King Beyond the Wall thought that the night watchmen tied him up and planned to hang himself. Although he regarded death as home, it was impossible to say that he was not in a panic.After being tossed about for a while, his complexion was extremely pale, "It's unimaginable... This is the attitude of my sworn brothers to the negotiators."

"Do you remember that we used to be your sworn brothers?" Jeremy sneered. "Then you should be clear that the Night Watchman has only one way to deal with deserters and oath-breakers."

"After so many years, the night watchmen are still the same. No wonder they have been reduced to the point where they need to move the mountain clans and tribes as reinforcements in the face of the free folk's attack."

"Mancerad." Iger said, "At this juncture, is there any point in showing off your tongue? You better understand the situation. If the night watchmen bite you to death and don't let you pass, then the hundred thousand savages... Except for those who have fled to the south over the wall, none of them will survive. Now, you'd better quickly put all the chips you can get on the table obediently, so that we can discuss and decide whether we should hang you or give you people a chance to survive."

Mance Rayder's coming in person not only exceeded Mormont's expectations, but also made Egger a little nervous: As Bowen said, as long as the famous Deserter of the Night's Watch and the King Beyond the Wall are hanged in front of him, the war will be over. it's over.If Mormont had decided on this simple plan... a whole host of his own plans would have been aborted.

It is very difficult for him alone to persuade many colleagues to abandon the once-and-for-all method and take a detour. Now he hopes: Mance Rayder is not here to die, but he himself can come up with something convincing, so that he can Find a breakthrough.

Chapter 237 Peace talks?surrender?

Iger exposed the other party's details with one sentence, and Mance Rayder was speechless immediately. He was silent for a moment with his arms crossed on the table, and said with a calm face: "The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder and colder. The activities in the forest Those ghost things are also becoming stronger and stronger. Not only is the range of activity getting closer and closer to the Great Wall, but the killing effect of flames and obsidian on them is also getting worse. If we don’t try to pass the Great Wall again, my people and I will all die. Died in the ghost forest and became a puppet of the ghosts..."

After being choked for a while, Mance finally stopped playing tricks and made a new, more frank opening speech. Jon stood aside and pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword, while the senior leaders of the night watchman focused their eyes on each other.The chief ranger shrugged without any fluctuations in his heart: "That's really good news. From then on, the Night's Watch and the residents of the Seven Kingdoms will no longer have to worry about the threat of wildlings."

"I admit that the Great Wall's defense organization is very complete and thoughtful. If you don't let the free people pass by themselves." Mance did not reply to Jeremy's words, but continued: "But I dare to pass today." Coming here means that everything has been prepared—don’t you wonder why I chose the Frost and Snow Fang so far away from the Great Wall as the gathering place, and after gathering a hundred tribes together, How long did it take to get to the Wall? Guess what my men and I were doing north of the Wall all this time?"

"Didn't you bring too many things, which slowed down the journey?" Mormont said displeased: "A few months ago, Qhorin Halfhand of the Shadow Tower tortured the captured prisoners and warned me that you might be looking for Some kind of mysterious means to break through the Great Wall. I was planning to organize an expedition to find out, but in the end I gave up the plan because of series reasons... I don’t mention this, I want to give you a suggestion first-don’t use this kind of question Come continue our communication, we are gathered here, not to chat with you."

"Okay, okay." The situation is stronger than people, Mance Rayder helplessly raised his hand to express his understanding, and quickly revealed the answer: "Colin Halfhand is right, as my old boss, he really knows me too well Yes. I took a hundred tribes and slowly went south along the Frostfang Mountains and the Milk River, digging three feet all the way, digging up countless graves, just to find a legendary item-the Horn of Winter. This thing is also called Qiaoman’s horn, in the ballad, 1000 years ago, the king beyond the wall, Qiaoman, blew it to wake up the giants in the ground, and it is said that as long as you play it close to the Great Wall, you can collapse the Great Wall.”

"Hey——" Jeremy laughed, "I've heard this story too, but if this thing really existed, why didn't Qiaoman blow it back then? Do you want to say——you found that horn, If we don't put you back alive this time or open the gate to let the wildlings into the Wall, the people you have arranged will sound the horn and bring the Wall down? Are you a fool for being a night watchman!"

"I've always been dubious about the stories in the ballads. Who knows if the horn will work or not." Mance shrugged. "I do have a subordinate who wants to try it, but I stop it. What if the Great Wall really falls? Now, what else can stop the aliens from going south to exterminate mankind? No matter what happens, I don’t want that ghost thing to pass through the Great Wall and destroy the entire human world..."

Mormont was amused: "So you've found a fabled horn, but you're not sure it can bring down the Wall, and you don't intend to try... so what's the difference between the thing and the fact that it doesn't exist?"

"Because I know the importance, and know which is more important between my own safety and the survival of human beings." Mance said, "Yes, I was a member of the Night's Watch, but in the end I escaped from the Shadow Tower and joined the people outside the Wall. Here, I am a traitor without a doubt... But what about the many free people outside the Great Wall? They also have parents, lovers, and children... They also eat and drink water. What is the difference between them and the people living in the south of the Great Wall? ?”

"What's the difference?" Bowen Marsh interrupted with disgust. "People who live on the south side of the Great Wall don't cross the Wall like raiders and go north to kill people and steal your women for wives."

"That's because the climate in the south of the Great Wall is much milder than that in the north, and the resources are far more abundant than in the north. You can live well without taking risks!" Mance's voice rose a lot: "But even in such harsh conditions, the raiders It is only a very small part of the free people! A group of passionate men prove their courage and improve their lives by crossing the Great Wall to bring back the loot... This is essentially the same as those who hope for honor and swear to join the Night Watch, or who can’t survive and commit crimes. Is there a difference between those who put on black clothes because of sin? Not to mention, these men have almost died in the battle to attack the Great Wall, and the rest are almost innocent people! Why would you rather let the free folk die in vain? Turning into an enemy of the living, and unwilling to give a way of life, let us pass the Great Wall and fight death with you side by side in the near future?"

"Sounds good, it's easy to open the gates and let you pass, but what next? Let the fortresses along the Great Wall be reduced to mole villages, let giants camp in the ruins of Winterfell, and cannibal tribes slaughter the mountain clans and occupy Wolfwood, raiders go deep south to White Harbor and Neck to steal the daughters of the northerners and rape them as their wives?" Bowen snorted coldly: "The Night's Watch doesn't need outside help to stop the White Walkers Beyond the Seven Kingdoms!"

"It's very possible, but it's those thousands of mountain clansmen who gave you this confidence." Mance didn't answer directly, but turned to another matter: "Your allies have indeed played a big role, but I have skinchangers with me, they can enter the body of the eagle, soar over the land grant and the north, rely on its eyes to see the situation. With their help, so I know that although you rely on the help of the mountain clan to defend the Great Wall, Facing huge food pressure. Right now, the northern border itself is also facing trouble, and it is difficult to continue to support the consumption of the Great Wall..." He asked solemnly, "Since you already know the existence of the real enemy, why would you rather hold on to the long-held not let go of your prejudices and hatred, nor accept a new helper who wants to stand with you in the fight against death? I give up! Let us come in, we have all our winter reserves, even if it is divided among you, there will be enough for all Eat for a while."

***

Iger breathed a sigh of relief: Fortunately, Mance adopted a cruel and convincing method... When I heard him mention the Horn of Winter just now, Iger thought that the King Beyond the Wall was so stupid that he planned to use threats to force the Night Watchman open the door.If the other party adopts this plan, then the negotiation will come to a dead end, and no matter how much you want to subdue the wildlings, how much power to speak and new ideas you have, you will not be able to reverse the outcome—your words do have weight, but the Night Watchman Legion is not yet. His eloquence.After all, the Black Legion is an organization composed of soldiers. Even if the Horn of Winter is real, it will be difficult for the defenders of the Great Wall to accept the threat and open the door to allow the enemy to enter.

"No one would rather let you die than ask for your help." Mormont listened carefully to Mance's words: "But there are two questions--first, who can guarantee that the wildlings will be safe after entering the customs? Second, the wildlings It is said to be [-], the amount is so huge, even if you bring food, it is difficult to feed yourself, how much reserves do you have, do you dare to say that you can feed everyone for a while?"

"I've never controlled a hundred thousand wildlings. Maybe there were so many people north of the Great Wall, but when the free folk realized what was constantly attacking and killing us in the forest, they gathered together to protect themselves. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and many more people have fled and cannot be contacted... When I finally gathered a hundred—actually, this number is an estimate—tribes in the Frostfang Mountains, we had a total of about There were 7 people, and many more gathered on the way south, but at most it didn’t reach [-].” Mance answered the second question first: “And these people, after this period of consumption, have only half left. "

"You lost forty thousand men attacking the Wall?" Mormont asked. "But we didn't kill that many."

"Only a few people were lost in the attack. The ones that pose the greatest threat to us are those that lurk during the day and act at night." Mance's expression was uncertain, as if he was still reminiscing about the fear when he was attacked by the aliens: "In order to avoid them, we We have to get as close as possible to the Great Wall, but in order to prevent you on the top of the Great Wall from seeing our direction, we have to keep a little distance from the Great Wall. Although we have the knack of dealing with the living dead, they are still almost invisible under the leadership of the White Walkers. There will be a sneak attack every night. If we are lucky, we will be able to repel and cremate the corpses of the dead. If we fall into chaos in the dark and fail to win quickly, then the next day our enemies will have dozens or even hundreds more... casualties Some, more, people who left the congregation, fled out of desperation and fear."

Although the tone of Mance's remark was flat, everyone present could hear the fear and hopelessness in it. Fortunately, they were not the ones who faced the White Walkers outside the Great Wall.

"So, you have less than 4 people left?"

"These days, seeing that there is no hope of breaking through the Great Wall, in order to give the next generation a greater hope of survival, I have made a difficult decision-to let the wounded, sick and old people who have aged to a certain extent end their lives in order to Lighten the burden on others." The King Beyond the Wall said with a blank expression, "This is nothing new. Every time in the past, some people with limited mobility who were about to be buried in the ground would take the initiative to enter the forest empty-handed and give their lives to the old gods... But this is the first time it has been carried out in batches. In order to prevent becoming the living dead, we chose to take poisonous fruit and let the living people burn their bodies after falling down. Now, we have 3 people left.”

So, Mormont nodded: "But you didn't answer another question, how do you ensure that the wildlings can keep themselves safe after passing the Great Wall, instead of threatening us and even going south to invade the North?"

"I think I have answered this question just now." Mance said: "Thirty thousand people, although there are no old people, but there are still babies and children after all... In the case that a large number of soldiers have died in the process of attacking the Great Wall, We cannot threaten the entire northern border. In addition, when the command to attack the Great Wall failed and 3 to 3 people fled, I proposed to let the free folk who might drag others down to kill themselves, and hundreds of people still did it. This is What? It is a manifestation of prestige and control, I can and will manage my people well!"

***

The savages reduce their burden by self-determination, and control the number of people to a certain level, so as to ensure that the remaining resources are enough for their own people to eat. Mance patted his chest and assured the night watchman that he can help solve the food crisis on the Great Wall !

As soon as this remark came out, all the high-level night watchmen in the hall were momentarily speechless.Some of them, such as the chief affairs officer Bowen Marsh and the chief ranger Jeremy Lake, were shocked by the decisive and tragic choices the wild people made in order to survive; while others, such as Jon Snow, etc. The young new entrants, who had no enmity with the wildlings, could not help feeling compassion.

Only Iger was greatly disturbed—the savages actually took the initiative to eliminate the old, weak, sick and disabled who lost their ability to work and fight!They actually did this kind of unthinkable thing in a civilized society, and Mance who proposed this plan has not been killed by his own people!

Imagine: a high-quality labor force group composed entirely of young people, extremely cheap, and free of pension pressure for at least 20 years... This is the dream of the ruling class of many countries!

The most important thing is: if what Mance said is true, the number of wildlings has now been reduced to the point where the Night's Watch can control it, and the logistics department can also rely on Braavos' aid for food.

And now, the opportunity to take this nearly perfect group for his own use is right in front of him!

Unbeknownst to Mance Rayder, his words inadvertently tickled one of the most powerful voices in the Night's Watch.He threw all his chips, and now... it just depends on whether the night watchmen agree or not.

"Your prestige among the savages is high, no one of us doubts that." The chief ranger said, "But it is because of this that I am afraid-you will rely on this influence to turn the enemy into the main after passing the Great Wall and command the savages to attack us."

"The wildlings rallied around me because I promised to take them across the Great Wall and take refuge in the south." Mance replied, "But I couldn't do it. In the end, I negotiated to persuade you to let us pass the Great Wall. Under such circumstances, I have no ability to persuade the free folk who have gone through blood and fire and settled down through the Great Wall to take up arms again and continue fighting... If you are really worried, then leave me in Castle Black as a The hostage is ready."

"Please allow me to interrupt." Iger raised his hand: "One thing, I don't know why no one mentioned it... I don't think the savages are qualified to negotiate with us at all, and I prefer to use another word to describe it Now this conversation - the surrender ceremony."

"Does it make a difference? Peace talks, or surrender, whichever word you use, I just ask for me and my people to be let through the Great Wall."

"No, there's a big difference." Iger smiled lightly: "If the... free folk want to surrender to the Night Watchman, then I think we have the right to put forward various conditions. Mance Rayder, if you agree I have the following two points, so that I can represent the Night's Watch's logistics department first and support the release of you and your people through the Great Wall."

"Say."

"One, hand over all weapons before passing the Great Wall, and keep them in the custody of the Night Watchmen; second, after passing the Great Wall, you will become new land-grant residents, and you must fully abide by the land-grant laws formulated by the Night Watchmen and obey our management."

"Surrendering all weapons is negotiable, but the law?" Mance laughed, "The free folk have their own laws, and they won't kneel down. Even if I promise, I won't be able to enforce it."

"This is not a discussion. I'm afraid it's not their turn to choose whose law to abide by." Iger didn't smile, "If you don't want to follow the land-grant law, just stay outside the Great Wall with that bullshit 'freedom' and so on. Die. If you want to pass the Great Wall, you must fully accept our conditions!"

……

Mance put away his smile and stared at Iger.Judging from the fact that the other night watchmen did not interrupt him, the words of the chief logistics officer in front of him are very effective, which confirms the piecemeal information provided by the subordinates: "I said it, even if I agree, it will not be carried out."

"There will naturally be punishments for non-compliance in the laws and regulations. As long as you promise, whether you can implement it or not is a matter for the law enforcers. It is not your turn to predict the future."

"Since you are so confident, then I promise, when will you be able to open the door?"

"He's not the Commander-in-Chief." Bowen interrupted, "If it's a vote, then on behalf of the Night's Watch Officer, I'm opposed to letting wildlings cross the Great Wall."

"I also think that further discussions are needed." The Chief Ranger also said, "but respect the opinion of the Commander-in-Chief."

Mormont and the chief craftsman did not make a statement, and Egger had an idea, and whispered in Mormont's ear: "My lord, promise first, once the wild people gather outside the gate of Castle Black and wait to pass through the Great Wall, how will the land-grant law be determined at that time?" , or even open the door to let them in, or sneak attack to grab a wave of food and let them fend for themselves, isn’t it all up to us?”

The two had already discussed this point in the previous conversation, and Mormont nodded slightly, pretending to hesitate for a while, and as the commander-in-chief, he gave the final answer of the Night Watch Legion.

-

Chapter 238 Big Chess and King's Blood

In front of Mance Rayder, an outsider, no one publicly questioned the commander in chief's decision.When the soldiers escorted the King Beyond the Wall out of the conference room and took it to the top of the Great Wall to put it back in a hanging basket... Bowen immediately objected: "It's decided like this? I don't know what Iger said in your ear just now, But giving an answer in such a hasty way is too hasty! These are [-] savages, even if they disarm, just holding sticks and stones is a huge threat, not to mention there are giants among them!"

"Don't worry, Master Bowen." Iger smiled and comforted: "You must still remember that the agreement I made with Mance just now was that he promised me 'two conditions'."

"Surrender your arms, and obey our laws—don't you think that's too easy, too casual?"

"Yes, the two conditions seem a bit small...but the first one is actually a cover, and the second one is the key. Think about it—why do I emphasize that the wildlings must abide by the 'land-grant law made by the night watchman', Instead of the laws of the Seven Kingdoms at Winterfell or King's Landing?"

Bowen was stunned for a moment, this hint was already too obvious, he thought for a while, and quickly figured out the meaning: "Uh...you mean, this law will be enacted by us soon?"