The king on the Great Wall

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Chapter 250 Funeral

Most of the "insiders" have already confirmed that they will follow and support him, and there is no need to fight for it. As long as Iger takes a breath, he will naturally do what he said.However, there are exceptions. The candid conversation last time when I visited the mountain clan tribe made the distance between Iger and James a lot closer, but the chief logistics officer did not completely draw the kingslayer into his small group, but Now, if he wants to use the leverage effect to exploit the loopholes in the election rules, Iger has to bring everyone who can be won into the game.

It's a pity that the answer given by the kingslayer made Iger almost spit out a mouthful of old blood:

"The brothers who came to the Great Wall with me used to be my father's subordinates, but now, they are the men of the Night Watch Corps. They have the right to decide how to vote, who to listen to and who to follow."

……

"It's a good one who has the right to decide for himself, James, I will obey you in this world regardless of the degree of innocence." Egerton suddenly became angry, "You said that those people have the right to freely choose what to do, but have you ever thought about it? When they accompanied you to the Great Wall, did they have the right to choose whether to come or not?"

James froze.

"Did Duke Tywin issue an announcement to recruit people willing to accompany you to the Great Wall after you decided to put on black clothes? I'm afraid not. Let me guess that he probably asked his subordinates to directly pick out fifty elite soldiers. Buy them with a lot of money or use various means to force them... In a word, you have to come if you come, or you have to come if you don’t come!" Iger looked straight at James unceremoniously: "I never thought about this problem, Right? For you who have been the favored child of heaven since childhood and grew up as the future heir of the Lannister family, your parents are human beings, your sister and younger brother are human beings...others? The young man who accompanied you to the Great Wall probably isn’t even a person in your subconscious mind, it’s just a number, right?”

"No...they...they are my sworn brothers now too..."

"These people who are both your fellow countrymen and your sworn brothers, how many of you can name them? And are they... honored to be your 'sworn brothers'?"

Iger pressed on every step of the way. A heartless young man like James Lannister who doesn't care about anything can't touch him without saying something important: "I admire and respect your idea of ​​being a good night watchman. But you also have to think about those lads from the West who accompanied you to the Great Wall! No matter how your father 'convinced' them to accompany you to join the Night's Watch at first, the fact is to ensure that you will not be alone in the Night's Watch and be bullied , there are fifty young people from the western region who have nothing to do with your mistakes. They gave up their old lives and ran to this icy and snowy Great Wall... They are destined to live and die here without marrying wives or having children! You feel that you have committed too many crimes You made a mistake, you brought too much crisis and trouble to the family, so you decided to make atonement here. The fifty people who accompanied you... are only in their early forties now, and you sacrificed for those who died outside the gate of Castle Black. Have you ever thought about the forty or so people who survived?"

"Okay, don't think that you are the chief logistics officer, so you can tell me what to do!" James patted the table in annoyance. Fortunately, although Iger's words were heavy, he didn't attack his most sensitive sore spots after all. He just Being exposed as a little cautious, he would not be angry: "Even if I let them all follow your orders, can you guarantee that they can take off their black clothes?"

"I can guarantee it! The Night Watch Corps will definitely have an exit mechanism in the future. Whether you enjoy it or not is up to you." Iger insisted. He didn't want to lose control of these more than 40 tickets just to be honest, " Even if you don't believe me, you have to tell your people about my promise, and according to you, they have the right to decide whether to trust me or not."

"Okay, you are so annoying." James waved his hand, "My people and I will all vote for you, are you satisfied?"

"Thank you." Iger breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on his face again: "But I don't plan to participate in the election from the beginning. As for who to vote for, I will send someone to inform you..."

"You don't participate? What kind of tricks are you doing?" Kingslayer asked with a frown, and shrugged after thinking about it: "Forget it, I don't want to know either."

***

"He was the Earl of Bear Island, the patriarch of the Mormont family, and joined the Night's Watch for honor and faith. In the ten years after he put on black, he was loyal to his duty and did his best to lead all the brothers through a period of time. a crisis and a difficult time..."

On the high platform, Amon Targaryen began to read Jeor Mormont's eulogy in a low voice.He was over a hundred years old, and he thought that Mormont would be the last commander-in-chief he assisted. Who would have thought that Jeor Mormont, who was always energetic and healthy, would suddenly encounter such an accident without warning.While reading the eulogy, he felt the constant sense of weakness coming from his aging body... The blind bachelor suddenly had the feeling of a white-haired man giving away a black-haired man.

From the perspective of age, the same can indeed be said.

In the square in the middle of Castle Black, Iger stood in the crowd, silently watching the old boss lying on the cremation pile in the center of the venue, feeling filled with emotion.

Before crossing, as a member of the mortal beings, Iger, like many ordinary people, felt that leaders should be close to the people, and they should go to the masses... Hugging before the trip, guards clearing the field, and security checks are strengthened. Putting on airs and causing trouble for the people.

But after experiencing the lesson of the accidental death of Xiong Lao, Iger really understood this truth: from the moment he became a high-level management or even a leader of a party, the life of an individual is no longer his own, but the life of the entire organization of.If you don't pay attention to safety and are taken advantage of by people with intentions or unintentional intentions, you will eventually be like Mormont, ruined by a mob and the whole situation will be ruined, leaving a whole mess for followers and supporters.

Even if you are thinking about others, you have to pay attention to your own safety.

With this mentality, Iger is now standing among the trusted soldiers he brought to the Great Wall, surrounded by Jon and his friends, as well as James and his bodyguards... secretly swearing: If necessary, I will be a leader for the rest of my life. A "counsel" person, suspicious and cautious, never giving anyone a chance to hurt himself.

……

"He is Jeor Mormont, and his watch will not end until he dies, so it's over..." In a daze, the blind maester had finished reading the last sentence of the eulogy, coughed twice, and left the high platform with the help of an assistant .

A ranger walks up to the funeral pyre with a torch and lights the pyre.Because of his special status, Mormont could not be cremated on the spot at the Nightfort, a place not guarded by the Night Watchmen, and the person who transported the corpse was afraid that the corpse would be "resurrected". The Night Watchmen wrapped up the former Commander like a mummy... Fortunately, as the dead are gradually engulfed in flames, at least everyone no longer has to worry about the former leader becoming an enemy.

The flames burned hotter and hotter, and the figure in it soon became invisible.Iger stared blankly at the flames, waiting for the fire to subside before announcing the next important news...

But someone spoke first.

"That's it?" asked Jon Royce loudly. "Burn Commander Mormont, and everyone is happily running for the next Commander-in-Chief? What about the guy who came up with the idea of ​​bringing in the wildlings?" , shouldn’t you be punished for this?”

Can't dodge.

Iger frowned, missing the living Bear Old Mormont very much. Knowing how many nobles in the valley came to the Great Wall, he didn't want the night watchmen to fight each other and consume each other. All the members of the "League of the Righteous" were sent to Donghai Watch, which made everything after Iger returned to the Great Wall so smooth.

But now that Mormont is dead, the commander of Eastwatch has brought someone back to Castle Black in the name of voting.

This is aimed at myself, this gust of limelight is too much!

Iger sighed. Fortunately, he is the chief logistics officer, and his position is no lower than anyone in the current Night Watch Corps. He also has his own power in Castle Black, and he is not completely at the mercy of others.

"The ashes of Commander Mormont are still hot, and Lord Royce is anxious to engage in internal strife to avenge his personal revenge? The Lord Commander did accept my suggestion before accepting the people outside the Great Wall as land granters, but please allow me to remind: Wherever in the world... those who make suggestions are innocent. Even if you want to use this as a reason to punish me, you must first win the position of commander-in-chief."

Sir Royce snorted coldly, and did not continue the unnecessary verbal dispute: "I will not run for the commander-in-chief."

"Coincidentally, I don't participate either." Iger replied with a smile: "There is one more question... Commander Mormont ordered that there is no such thing as 'savage' in the land-grant, and now you are using this in public in Castle Black. A word, but a violation of the rules of the Night's Watch."

"Yes, we should say, 'New Grant'." Carter Pike laughed in a rough voice: "The group of New Grant who stoned Commander Mormont to death within a few days after we put them in the Great Wall Citizens!"

"There is no 'that group', only 'that' murderer who threw the stone." Iger took the opportunity to lead the topic to what he wanted to say just now: "In the place where I come from, there is a saying called 'the wrong has its head, and the debt has its own. Lord'... Now, the murderer has been arrested by Sir Buckwell. If your lords want, we can have a trial before the next Commander-in-Chief campaign begins."

Chapter 251 Conservative Alliance

Warner Bookwell brought more than [-] soldiers to the Nightfort, and the Flint clan also sent hundreds of soldiers to help out, which made the operation well manned and proceeded quite smoothly.

Iger didn't want to know the specific process of entering the village where the incident occurred to arrest the murderer, so he didn't ask Warner to report in detail at all... But there is no doubt that the operation was blocked and made things difficult as expected.It's a pity: one side is fully armed soldiers, and the other side is villagers who can't even take out decent weapons. As long as the soldiers who lead the army show half the determination and action of the soldiers who attacked the Red Castle and attacked the Stark family that day, the riots will be easily quelled .

The tribes of the original people outside the Great Wall are like a big family. In order to survive in the harsh environment in the northern part of the Great Wall, the degree of internal unity is beyond the imagination of people south of the Great Wall, but... the unity among the tribes The level is far lower than what the night watchmen feared at first.

After a bloody capture and siege, Meera Reed was almost violated and Commander Mormont had an accident. The small tribe named "Tour" with no more than [-] people - adult The number of men was reduced to zero, women and children were forcibly assigned to dozens of other tribes, and have since been removed from the world... In this regard, the other new land-grant villages not only remained unchanged, but those that Jon visited with two female wildlings He even decisively sent representatives to Castle Black to attend the funeral of Commander Mormont, and publicly expressed his support for the way the Night Watchmen dealt with the Tur tribe.

……

And the so-called "true culprit" had already lost the ability to defend himself when he was brought in front of a group of Night Watch officers.The inhuman appearance made Iger and a group of high-level executives a little bit unbearable... They frowned and sentenced the murderer to death for violating the land-grant law and the rights of guests, and then hurriedly gave the man a good time. on the gallows outside the gates of Castle Black, as a warning and deterrent to the rest of the New Grants.

Truth and justice?In the face of the big picture, farts are nothing.

***

Strictly suppressing and hanging corpses in conspicuous places on traffic arteries as a warning, this is the picture and barbaric method that Iger only saw in games and movies before crossing... In this backward world, it is the simplest The effect of the cost-effective warning method is better than how many legal awareness campaigns Aige sent employees to carry out.

According to Buckwell's original meaning, in fact, he wanted to hang all the mobs killed in the suppression to gallows or trees, along the Great Wall and Castle Black to the King's Road in Houcrown Town, every once in a while. Hang one a few miles away, so as to ensure that every new land-grant citizen can always see the consequences of rebellion... But Iger thought about it, and finally felt that doing so was too unfriendly, and it would do more harm than good to stability, so he rejected the proposal .

"The culprit has already been punished. Before the election of the next commander-in-chief, I would like to apply to add some content to the land-grant law-establish a strict joint sitting mechanism. If one person breaks the law, family members, relatives, friends and neighbors will be jointly punished." Iger said, "In this way, the mutual supervision among the new land grantees can be used to greatly reduce the pressure and cost of law enforcement on land grants after resettlement."

"A good proposal." Dennis Mallister, the commander of the Shadow Tower, said with a smile, "but I have different ideas with Lord Carter Pike and Lord Bowen Marsh—the three of us have reached an agreement. : Suspend the land-grant resettlement plan.”

The three leading conservative figures have agreed?

Iger's heart trembled, and his face remained calm: "Oh? Then Sir Mallister, you have already decided what to do with the newly gifted land dwellers who have passed the Great Wall?"

"Send it back to the north of the Great Wall...Of course, they are definitely not happy, but there are other ways. Haven't you already reached an agreement with the Iron Bank to use loans to provide food aid? The Braavos ship brought food, It must be an empty boat when we go back, so let those savages...hehe, well, the newly gifted people, take a boat to the opposite side of the narrow sea, and make a living for themselves."

"Make a living by yourself?" Iger laughed forcefully: "It's impossible for you adults to not know what it is like on the other side of the narrow sea. When the newly granted land residents arrive there, they have no other way out except to become slaves... This is equivalent to As for the slave trade, I remember the son of Commander Mormont... Jorah Mormont, who was sentenced to death by Lord Eddard Stark for this crime."

"We don't charge money, so how can it be regarded as slave trading?" Bowen Marsh changed his rigid expression in the past, and there was a strange expression on his relaxed face: "And, no matter what, it is better to be a slave than to be a slave." It’s better to kill the White Walker and pull it back up again... If the master you meet is generous, maybe your life will be more comfortable than ours.”

……

Strong words, Iger's forte, but now this trick has too many side effects-even the opponents have learned it!

Fortunately, Iger still has the last line of defense to stick to: "Understood, but what I want to ask is—several adults, have you reached an agreement on the candidate for the next commander-in-chief?"

"Not yet, but we'll do it no matter who gets elected."

"'No matter who is elected'? It means that no agreement has been reached yet." Iger clenched his fists: "I'm sorry, my lords——I, the head of the land-grant resettlement plan, only obey the orders of the commander-in-chief of the night watchman. Once the new The Commander is born, and I will obey orders, but until then, I am only responsible for orders that Commander Mormont has given."

As soon as the trump card came out, everyone was speechless.In life, many things will be impossible or troublesome if they are completely in accordance with the regulations, but if someone insists on being so persistent, no one can say no... Iger is playing such a role now.

……

"In this case, if we think about it, we can only elect a commander as soon as possible." Dennis Mallister said with a smile, looking at Carter Parker: "Next, let us have a fair and just battle." Let's vote."

"I think so too." The commander of Donghaiwatch met the eyes of his old enemy unceremoniously.

***

As the elders of the Legion who ran for the Commander-in-Chief with Jeor Mormont, Carter Pike, Bowen Marsh and Dennis Mallister knew very well: if nothing else, this Commander-in-Chief will definitely come from Born among them.

Originally, they were worried that the "Chief Logistics Officer" who appeared suddenly would come out halfway as a dark horse, and they agreed to squeeze Iger out of the game together first-for this reason, Carter Parker specially brought the princes of the valley from East Sea Watch.But now, with the latter announcing in public that he will not participate in the commander-in-chief election, he punished the "murderer" who killed Mormont with astonishing decisiveness and swiftly, giving all the night watchmen an explanation...

Now, not to mention Bowen Marsh, at least the two commanders of Eastwatch and Shadow Tower have no reason or means to deal with Iger.

After all, they have no personal enmity or grudge with Iger.

……

After successfully shifting the accusations of the old guys away from him and pointing them at each other, Iger, who walked out of the conference room, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.Samwell Tarly's suggestion, by mistake, actually saved him from a big trouble: it is conceivable that if the other three main commander-in-chief candidates conspired to deal with him, if he rolled up his sleeves , intending to lead the severely underpowered reformists to a decisive battle with the conservatives, and directly participate in the election... What awaits him may be a storm of targets.

At that time, don't talk about the gray history of running away when your colleagues were fighting the White Walkers, hooking up with Lannister and going to King's Landing to enjoy the blessings... I'm afraid that even in King's Landing, you may have "raised" a lover, and once Black materials such as fucking a "little boy" until his pants are covered with blood will be turned out.

Even if he wasn't knocked down, he must have been overwhelmed and couldn't spare enough energy to do business.

The strength and means of the conservatives have exceeded expectations. Although I have managed to avoid a big trouble, I plan to temporarily continue to advance the land grant resettlement plan by provoking them to compete with each other, but this is only a stopgap measure after all... With the coming of winter and the continuous progress of building a pocket kingdom, in the end, the land grant must have an authoritative figure who can speak effectively.

If you want to continue playing the big chess game in your plan, you have to become that person, and if you want to do this, sitting in Castle Black and issuing an election manifesto to win people's hearts is far from enough... You must speed up footsteps.

Iger once again experienced the feeling of being driven forward by the whip of fate, and in order to prevent the pile of betting chips that had been put into the game from turning into juice...he had to run obediently.

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Chapter 252

In the absence of a new commander and the failure to reach an agreement within the high-level, the Night Watch Corps is like a giant beast without a brain, and all parts are operating under the command of its "secondary nerve center"... As for the various high-level officials How much part of the body can be commanded to move, it can only be the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing their magical powers.

It’s not all bad news—except for a bunch of unfriendly Shadow Tower and East Sea Watchers, Iger was surprised to learn that he still has a group of supporters who he hadn’t contacted before. After entering the Great Wall, seven abandoned but still intact fortresses were activated, and another nine that were almost in ruins were activated after the wildlings passed the Great Wall... the first seven fortresses settled by mountain clans, each of which was stationed by Mormont Five to ten night watchmen were appointed to supervise and lead, and the last nine originally planned to send black-clothed brothers to supervise and manage after the new land residents settled down... Originally, even the candidates were selected, and they just waited to go, but the result Everything was stranded because of Mormont's accident—these soldiers and middle and low-level officers who had been or were about to be stationed in the newly activated fortress became staunch supporters of the land grant resettlement plan at this moment.

As for why this group of people suddenly supported Iger, there is actually no awareness or overall view... The reason is very simple, two words: interest.

……

Those black-clothed brothers who have been or will be stationed in other fortresses are no more than chief soldiers or squad leaders in Castle Black, but once they are dispatched to other fortresses, not only will their ostensible title immediately rise to "Fortress Commander", but also Out of the surveillance of many great leaders in Castle Black.Not only are daily activities more free and easy, but you can also manage and command hundreds of newly added local residents... As long as you have a little tricks, it is not a problem to earn a little money to improve your life.

For these reasons, it is conceivable how disappointed and dissatisfied this group was when they heard that Iger was not running for the commander-in-chief, and no matter who the next commander-in-chief would be, he would terminate the land increase resettlement plan.

Fortunately, the commander of the Long Night Fort found Iger before the election began, and asked him why he did not participate in the election... After a few chats, Iger quickly discovered that he still had a group of hidden allies.He quickly stabilized the other party's emotions... and revealed his plan a little bit, telling them: As long as they follow their own arrangements, the land increase resettlement plan will never stop.

Iger quickly contacted and won more than a dozen fortress commanders or elected representatives who were not stationed by the Night Watchmen... Although the number of votes held by these people was only a few dozen, the total number barely broke through a thousand after the Night Watchmen were replenished repeatedly. Under the circumstances, it is also a force that cannot be underestimated.

***

After packing away the ashes of Commander Mormont, the election of the successor was held in the Great Hall of Castle Black. Except for the sentinels on duty, most of the people in the fortress gathered there...but Egger didn't go - afraid and The meeting of the gang of enemies was one aspect, but more importantly, he was busy planning the southward movement of the Night Watchmen.

Without the order of the commander-in-chief, the chief logistics officer obviously has no authority to command the chief affairs officer. Bowen Marsh has closed the warehouse of Castle Black and refused to sell any supplies to the wildlings who came to purchase... Fortunately, due to the black The cellar of the castle is not big enough. Some of the materials handed in by the savages when they passed the Great Wall a few days ago were transported to Houguan Town for storage. In addition to the part that Iger urgently purchased from the northern border before the Ironmen invaded, the amount of materials in Houguan Town is temporarily sufficient. .

He announced the news: the new Land Grants outside the Wall went to Houcrown to purchase supplies, and the former Mountain Clansmen went to Castle Black—at least, Bowen Marsh had no excuse not to feed his friends who had been with him for many years.

The amount of supplies in Castle Black and Houguan Town is comparable, and Iger can even mobilize slightly more... But the former only needs to provide for a few thousand people, while the latter has to support tens of thousands.If we don't try to solve the urgent need, the plan to build a small land-grant society will soon collapse under the pressure of food.

Hundreds of clansmen and savages have already gathered outside Houguan Town under the conscript of Aiger, and lived outside the wall of the logistics stronghold with wages for a few days, waiting for the order of the person who hired them to leave Do any work anywhere, and things can't be delayed... Just make sure that Castle Black can't elect a new commander-in-chief in a short period of time, Iger thought... maybe it's time for him to leave for a few more days.

……

The noise from the direction of the hall was so loud that the door could be heard even when the door was closed. After staying up all afternoon, Sam sent today's election results in the evening: 250 votes for Sir Dennis Mallister, 190 and 87 votes for Carter Pike , 51 votes for Othel Yawick, [-] votes for Warner Bookwell, [-] votes for James Lannister, [-] votes for Melancholic Eddie, and [-] votes for Three-Finger Harb.

Iger didn't know what happened to the eight votes for the chef of Castle Black. According to Eddie, it might be the brothers who thought Harb's cooking was too bad and wanted to drive him out of the kitchen... and the rest voted for Warner. The votes of Bookwell, James Lannister, and Eddie were all smoke bombs deliberately placed under his instruction. This totaled 160 two votes, which can roughly be regarded as the number of votes that he can actually control.

It is true that if Iger prepares well and personally participates in the campaign, based on what he did as the chief logistics officer, he can get more than 160 votes, but as long as the command of East Sea Watch and Shadow Tower If the official holds the power to vote for more than 400 brothers in these two fortresses, he will never be able to be elected as the commander-in-chief.

Rather than staying in Castle Black and foolishly wasting time with a bunch of diehards in a long and hopeless election, it's better to leave for a while and do something meaningful.His departure will not only reduce the vigilance of the conservative camp, greatly increase the success rate of delaying the plan, but also take advantage of this opportunity to accumulate strength... When he is sure, he will return to the Great Wall in one fell swoop, catching his opponent by surprise.

……

"It's all in the plan, that's great. Get James and Eddie out of the election tomorrow, and he and his people vote for Carter Parker. Warner Bookwell continues to run, though I'm out for now , but the supporters of the land-grant resettlement plan must continue to keep a flag.” Iger nodded and breathed a sigh of relief: “How to ensure that the next commander-in-chief cannot be born in a short time is up to you. Next, I have to leave Castle Black, go and do something else."

"Ah?" Sam looked a little flustered, "But... Jon is not here, so you go... Isn't it on our side..."

"Isn't there no one who can carry the banner, right?" Iger smiled: "That kind of existence is indispensable when needed, but right now, it is not indispensable... Believe in yourself, use your mind , I will definitely be able to complete this task until I come back."

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Chapter 253 Persimmons must be picked softly

While a lot of bullshit was happening on the Great Wall, the rest of the world of ice and fire didn't stop functioning.

In Westeros, south of the Neck, winter has not yet come, and the war between Stannis, who sits on the Iron Throne, and the pretender to the throne has not stopped.

The rebel side: Even though the Hewan land, which has been defeated, has a rich family, the determination and will of the city lords and earls who control most of the resources to follow the lord's rebellion have almost been exhausted; , although occupying one of the famous strong cities in Westeros, Storm's End is not King's Landing after all, and the Lords of the Stormlands are not royal nobles who have always been loyal to the Targaryen family. Occupying the opponent's lair, but completely unable to control the land that has been loyal to the Baratheon family for generations; as for the last potential ally, Dorne, although he has sent troops to help out on the surface, he has not really moved with Stannis After one knife and one shot, even today the rebel flag has not been publicly raised in diplomacy. Once the goal of lifting the siege of Storm's End is achieved, they immediately retreat to the bone like a loach. Tigers fight each other.

The situation seems to be good for the owner of the Iron Throne, but Stannis can't take the opportunity to unify the forces of the Seven Kingdoms at this moment: after the mutiny of the League of the Righteous, Jaime's confrontation with the West after the king's murder, and his brother Renly's battle After the battle for the throne, the power of the king's land, the valley, and the river has been greatly reduced.The only northern region that retains its vitality is still turning north after exiting the battlefield of Storm's End, preparing to save the family... What's more terrible is that the Iron Bank refused to issue new loans to the Iron Throne. The king of Westeros is now facing a crisis. With unprecedented capital turnover difficulties.

……

Iger had already known the above situation in Castle Black, but the night watchman could not and could not intervene in this matter.After rectifying the two thousand land-grant residents in Houguan Town, he led them south along the King's Road.

Once upon a time, he naively conceived: to train the new army according to the modern model, and then take the route of elite soldiers, relying on an invincible iron army to sweep the world... It's a pity that the plan always fails to keep up with the changes, and for the first time in his life The real leader of the army is a group of thugs who are only slightly stronger than the peasants.The only good thing is that the elite soldiers who were originally trained in the industrial park outside the city of King's Landing can now be used as grassroots officers, and the original plan is not in vain.

Combat strength aside, the land-grant army, which has a group of professional soldiers as its skeleton, is at least as good as any army in Westeros in terms of orderliness and orders... Of course, the "small scale" of this also accounts for Most of it.