The king on the Great Wall

Page 164

"Commander-in-Chief, at the backyard of the main castle of Ingleside City, we found a nitrate boiling room built by the original residents. There is still a large amount of nitrate in it. How should we deal with it?"

-

Chapter 459 Northern Lords Conference

The army of Winterfell gathered.

Up and down the wall, inside and outside the castle, dozens of hundreds of flags with various patterns fluttered and fluttered against the cold wind... The soldiers were noisy, coming in and out, and exchanging with the residents of the wintering town outside the city wall. All kinds of information and items, crowded with people, I don't know how many people there are.

Even with the heavy casualties in the final battle against the White Walkers, it was the most complete assembly of armies and nobles since the North withdrew from Storm's End.

Needless to say, those nobles who fought side by side with Robb Stark and survived from the Long Lake together, but there is also the other half of the family... Ten days ago, after receiving the alarm from the Great Wall and the general mobilization order from the lord, they hurriedly The soldiers gathered and came, but because it was far away from the Great Wall, they finally waded through the snow and the cold wind along the king's road to the wolf forest or rushed to the foot of Winterfell, but what they waited for was the news that "the war has ended victoriously".

But no one ran in vain: Although the original reason for summoning the princes had expired, the young Guardian of the North just happened to hold a meeting of lords to discuss "the Lord Commander of the Night Watch swears allegiance to Targaryen".So, after the confluence, the number reached nearly ten thousand again, and the armies that were originally scheduled to rush to the Last Hearth City to gather and go north to the Great Wall to fight against the White Walkers took advantage of the situation and stayed in and around Winterfell, waiting for their lords to discuss come up with the final coping strategy.

……

"That damned Igger West!"

Earl Karstark’s loud voice could be clearly heard even through the walls of the castle, just as Iger was worried—he pretended to retreat back to Kahuo City on the surface, but in fact turned around as soon as he left Last Hearth City and crossed the Mo River , bypassing the Lonely Mountain, passing in the direction of the Dreadfort... After a large circle, he arrived at Winterfell, and at this moment he was roaring angrily at the Lords Conference where almost everyone was gathered.

"It's just a watchdog of the northern border. How dare you lick the soles of the mad queen's boots without saying a word, turn around and bite your master!" Using such bad words to describe the Lord Commander of the Night Watch in public, but right now, the old Karstark who has just been forced by the former to give up a castle in his hands has obviously reached the MAX index of rage, and his sanity is almost non-existent: "This time If we don’t teach him a lesson and let him know that the sky is high and the earth is thick, the fire in the backyard of the northern border will never be able to be extinguished!”

"Cough cough!"

Because he was injured in the Battle of Long Lake, Robb is still wearing a sling on one arm at this moment. He coughed while sitting in the chair, covering up his embarrassment and interrupting the old man, "Lord Rickard, you also said, Iger was confiscated at the Last Hearth City on the grounds of 'finding a place for the dragon to recuperate'. Although the threats were harsh, he had a theory. He sent news yesterday with the letter crow and sent someone, saying—— The dragon's injury has improved, and the castle must be returned to the north."

This is an internal discussion among the nobles of the northern border, and there is no need to stick to whether the words are appropriate or not. As the host, Robb should not speak for the protagonist of the discussion... However, there are not only nobles from the northern border in the room at the moment, There was also a Night's Watch in black—his bastard brother Jon Snow.If Earl Karstark's anger that "the commander-in-chief of the night watchman is the watchdog of the north" is not acquiesced, then what are the other night watchmen under Iger, you son of a bitch?

After the land-grant army occupied Last Hearth City, they sent many groups of night watchmen to various parts of the northern border to receive the previously agreed saltpeter and dragonglass weapons. I don't know if it was deliberate, but Jon Snow was appointed by Egger to bring people to come Winterfell and the neighboring city of Seven carry out missions.

As a night watchman soldier with three or four years of military experience and the commander of Castle Black, Jon definitely knows the current situation of the Great Wall and the land grant better than anyone else present. Tucker is an authentic northerner, and Robb completely trusts Jon.This complicated and chaotic relationship is the reason why Robb sent someone to call Jon, which led to the funny situation in the room of "the night watchman attended the meeting to discuss the position of the night watchman".

However, in addition to knowing the situation from Jon, Robb called the illegitimate brother here for another reason: at the moment when the threat of the White Walkers has almost disappeared, the North's first response to the Lord Commander of the Night Watch The requirement has changed from "capable" to "loyal and reliable", and for the guardians of the northern border, it is undoubtedly the best choice for one's own family to be in charge.Bran is inconvenient to move, and he is probably incompetent... If the final result of the discussion is to replace Iger, then Jon is the candidate for the next commander-in-chief of the Night Watch in Robb's mind.

With such a consideration in mind, he couldn't let Karstark say anything.

"Jon, the work of collecting dragon crystal and saltpeter has been arranged?" Robb didn't hesitate after speaking out, and began to guide the direction of the meeting, "I have ordered the residents of Winterfell and Seven City to cooperate with the night watchmen to protect the dragon crystal. You don't need to worry about not being able to complete the mission. Now tell everyone what you have... about the relationship between Iger and Daenerys Targaryen."

"Yeah." Jon nodded, "The Lord Commander-in-Chief has not disclosed this information, even most people in the Night Watch Corps didn't know anything before hearing the news that the Queen is riding a dragon in Queenstown. I don’t know. However, I didn’t discover the clues in advance... It doesn’t prevent me from piecing together the news circulating among the brothers to guess what happened. The commander-in-chief came by boat from across the sunset sea on the west side of Westeros, but Essos is in the east—I think they have never met each other before, and the only possible starting point for their relationship is Dragonstone Island." Jon said with a solemn expression, "The Lord Commander a few months ago He went south once to ask for help from King Stannis and brought back some saltpetre from King's Landing. According to the sailors who boarded the Blackbird on the East Watch, the ship was once flagged with three dragons when it entered Blackwater Bay. The Targaryen warship intercepted and brought back to the naval port of Dragonstone Island, and the commander also entered the castle to meet the queen who occupied there once..."

"So, these two guys hooked up on Dragonstone?" concluded one nobleman.

How did it become a hookup?Jon didn't like the insulting tone of the speaker, but he didn't want to argue with a northern nobleman in this room, so he could only pretend he didn't hear: "The first time the Queen came to the Grant with three dragons, it was in the White Walker A few days before the attack, Eastwatch and the Grand Canyon were invaded on the night she led the dragon out of Houguan Town. What a coincidence! For some reason, she suddenly shifted the direction of attack to Houguan Town but hit a wall, so after going south, the queen brought the dragon back to Houguan Town in the early morning when all the armed forces of the land-grant were assembled to prepare for the pursuit, and then participated in the entire process of marching and chasing. From the point of view of time, the queen flew back to King's Landing and returned to assist the night watchmen immediately. Many adults here participated in the battle of Long Lake in person, so I don't need to say more...I'm just talking about my own speculation : Lord Commander went south to seek help from King Stannis to no avail, but informed Queen Daenerys of the crisis that the Great Wall was encountering. The Other Walkers will control the dragon to assist in the battle, and fulfilled this agreement within a few days."

……

I thought that Robb Stark asked his illegitimate brother in black to attend the meeting because he found an "insider" to overthrow the current commander-in-chief of the night watchman. How can I hear a few paragraphs...Jon is talking about it throughout the article A nice word from Iger and the mad king's daughter?

The northern princes in the house briefly looked at each other in blank dismay and fell silent for a while, then began to whisper among each other.

"Oh, that's right." Jon probably remembered something, and quickly added: "I guarantee my honor and personality. On the day of the Battle of Long Lake, we were traveling at full speed all day except for eating, and we arrived at the battlefield. After that, he joined the battle without pausing even for a second, and there is absolutely no plan to 'wait for the White Walkers and the North to take advantage of both losses'!"

"The illegitimate child has a fart's honor and personality!" Rickard Karstark roared angrily, "Then according to you, Igger West is a good commander who is dedicated to fighting the White Walkers, The mad king's daughter is a good queen who cares about the people of the North and the Seven Kingdoms? Not only should we not think about how to deal with them here, but we also have to give them an award and treat them as heroes?"

(They are heroes in the first place, do you need them?) Jon thought to himself, he was irritated by the other party's offense, but fortunately, he finally resisted the urge to contradict with perseverance, and kept a straight face without saying a word.

"Rickard, that's too much." Earl Glover reminded unhappily. It's human nature not to wait to see illegitimate children, but anyone with eyes can see Robb's closeness and trust to Jon. Karstark Why is this old man so outspoken? "Right now, the city of Last Hearth is occupied by the Night Watchman and the Mad King's daughter, and it's not your Kahuo City. Why do you look like you've swallowed wildfire!"

Rickard also realized that what he said was inappropriate, but he is the patriarch of one of the largest families in the northern region, and he is too old to apologize to an illegitimate child, so he can only change the subject bluntly: "I'm just telling the truth That’s all! Yes, it’s a good thing that Iger and the mad king’s daughter’s dragon defeated the White Walkers together. But firstly, it’s the duty of the Night Watchmen to deal with the White Walkers, and secondly... the shit queen wasn’t the one we asked her to help, Do you think that with some kindness, we can occupy the land of our northerners? Without her dragon, we northerners can wipe out those ghosts by ourselves!"

This is a majestic statement that no one would object to, but it is a pity that Rickard forgot a few points: first, the Karstarks did not make it in time to participate in the Battle of Long Lake; second, the northern army suffered considerable losses in this battle. Thirdly, the people here are different from Iger. They are from the noble family, and they have been educated by their fathers and bachelors to fight for and defend every inch of land and every interest—before they learned to speak and walk. I understand that Rickard was forced by the dragon to give up the anger of Last Hearth City, but most of them would just sneer or gloat instead of fighting against the enemy.

After all, most of the northern nobles are unlikely to benefit much from the destruction of the Amber family.

"It's easy for you to say." The new Lord Seven, who lost his father and several relatives in the bloody battle that night, said in a mocking tone, "Then ask the Karstarks to send troops north to take the last few that escaped." Destroy the aliens!"

Clay Seven did yell at Iger on the night when the bloody battle at Long Lake ended because he suspected that the night watchman had deliberately released water, but there was no information barrier between the northern border and the land grant to prevent everyone from understanding the situation. The battle ended more than a week ago, everyone Basically, I have learned everything I need to know and what I can understand. Knowing that the Night Watchmen lost far more than the Northern Territory in the battle against the White Walkers, I am very resentful at this moment... Although it is not yet true I am leaning towards Iger, but I can barely be objective and neutral.

"You!" Rickard blushed at the sarcasm, and tried to fight back based on his seniority, but he couldn't think of any punchlines for a while, so he could only spit out a few words of you in a row, and shouted in despair, "send troops Send troops, if Lord Robb orders the army to go north to quell the rebellion of the Night's Watch, I, the Karstarks, will be the vanguard and go forward!"

"Squeeze the night watchman's rebellion?" Wyman Manderly said with a smile, rubbing his big belly, "Isn't it still definite, I heard that Mrs. Catelyn Stark and the lord's little sister are guests on the Great Wall , I wonder if these two are safe and sound, and can they return to Winterfell smoothly?"

"The commander-in-chief has sent someone to inform Arya and Lady Stark to return to Winterfell as soon as possible." Jon replied without hesitation. He didn't think Iger would detain his little sister at all... If it was true If it happened, he would go to trouble the commander-in-chief first, without the gentlemen of the northern border present here. "They'll be home soon."

……

Robb scratched his face with his good hand, troubled and confused.

(No wonder Iger dared to send Jon to Winterfell to collect dragon crystal and saltpeter!)

I was thinking about learning about the internal situation of the Night Watchman from the half-brother who is the Night Watchman so that I can know myself and the enemy, and by the way, I called him to the meeting as the next commander-in-chief. Why is he so loyal to Iger? appearance?Could it be that the night watchman's loyalty to Iger is really so high, and they generally agree with his behavior of "bowing the knee to the queen"... Is it because I am ungrateful?

"Well, Jon, I believe what you said. The Night Watchman probably has nothing to blame in this war against the White Walkers." Robb frowned, hesitated for a while, and then asked in another way. "However, after all, the Night Watchman swore to be neutral and not to participate in the internal affairs of the Seven Kingdoms. Iger has now broken this oath and swore allegiance to the Mad King's daughter on his own initiative. What do you think about this matter?"

-

Chapter 460 Northern Lords Conference

What do you think?

Jon Snow was at a loss for words.

This matter, viewed from different angles and different standpoints, can lead to completely different conclusions: the Queen controls the dragon to fight for the Night Watchman, and in return the latter supports her claim to the Iron Throne... This mutual benefit is both reasonable and reasonable, It would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone is happy - the obstacle is: the night watchman, or the commander-in-chief of the night watchman, is not qualified to conduct this transaction!

Iger has the same status and authority as a lord in the land grant and the Great Wall, but he is not a real lord after all. He does not "own" the land he rules. From this point of view, he is actually not even a property knight. It's better - he has no right to join any party with a land grant!

Under such circumstances, he violated the sacred oath he swore and destroyed the long-standing neutrality of the Night Watchman... There is no way to wash away the certainty of breaking the oath and breaking the law. How should I answer it?

Jon's mind was a mess, and he had no idea at all.

As a "volunteer" Night Watchman who volunteered to join the Legion in pursuit of honor, Jon was prepared to guard the Icy Great Wall for the rest of his life.Roughly speaking, he should have been one of the most opposed to Iger's crossing the line within the Legion.But today, he spoke out for him at the meeting where he was supposed to "provide internal information to facilitate the Northern Territory's dealing with the current commander-in-chief"-except for the personal friendship, friendship and unilateral admiration between the two In addition, a large part of the reason is the queen whom Iger is loyal to.

This started almost a month ago.

……

On a cold and unusual day on the Great Wall, Mrs. Catelyn, who represented the Stark family going north to visit the Great Wall to encourage the spirit of the Night Watch, rushed from Houcrown Town to the first stop on the front line - Castle Black according to the itinerary plan.As an illegitimate child who was not liked by her since she was a child, the fortress commander Jon originally arranged for the chief affairs officer and others to receive this special guest who was "father's wife but he couldn't call her mother" to avoid embarrassment.But for some reason, Lady Stark was uncharacteristically insisting on seeing him this time.

He couldn't hide it, so Jon bit the bullet and came forward, but to his surprise, Mrs. Caitlin acted very kindly when they met this time: she hadn't given him a good face in the past 20 years, but this time she did She was kind and kind like an old mother, and when the two of them were alone, they sat face to face with goosebumps and grabbed his hand intimately...

Then told him a shocking secret.

Jon Snow was never the illegitimate son of Ed Stark and Catelyn's husband, but the sister of his "father", the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, the son of the Mad King!

His real name should be Aegon Targaryen, he is Ed and Caitlin's nephew!

Bran, who incarnated as the Green Prophet, saw all this from the heart tree, but he didn't know how to speak to Jon. He could only use evidence to prove his ability to his mother and then tell her about it, and she decided what to do.

Reason told Caitlin that it was the best choice not to tell Jon about this and to hide it from him for the rest of her life, but suddenly she found that the child she had treated harshly for more than ten years was not her husband's illegitimate child but their nephew, all her indifference and resentment Caitlin, who has vented to the wrong person, feels unbearably guilty. This self-blame and shame made her make a decision that may not be appropriate, but she can relax herself after a night of thinking: Everyone has the right to live clearly.

In this way, Jon learned his true life experience from her mouth.He is the commander of Castle Black, and the fortress under his jurisdiction is located at the northern end of the newly renovated King's Road. Among the nineteen fortresses along the Great Wall, it is the closest to Houcrown Town and has the most convenient transportation. After the defensive battle ended and the commander-in-chief issued a call to "gather all forces to pursue and destroy the enemy in one fell swoop", they were the first night watchmen along the Great Wall to respond and catch up with the large troops going south.Although he did not witness the historic scene where Iger bowed his knees to Daenerys, he could see the Queen every day during the snow march that almost broke his legs...

After knowing her true identity, Daenerys in Jon's eyes brought indescribable kindness: this is his own aunt, the woman closest to him among the people still alive in the world, and the last one to be with her. People with the same surname themselves.Even putting aside this relationship and observing from the sidelines objectively and neutrally, Jon also found that this queen, who was demonized by the population of the Seven Kingdoms, especially the northern border, and always mentioned with the prefix "Mad King's Daughter", is not only beautiful and extraordinary And there are three dragons, and she is quite kind and easy to get close to, caring about the soldiers and caring for the people... Not only is she not crazy, she has all the qualities that a good queen should have.

[Should I, how, when and where should I meet her? 】

Jon has not yet figured out the meaning of the above question, and a more cruel and imminent problem is before him: Targaryen, Stark, dragon and wolf, two big families connected by his blood, on one side is his last kinsman, On one side is the family who gave birth to him and raised him. Now they are on the brink of war with each other. How should I answer to prevent this disaster from happening?

***

Under the gaze of a large group of rough men and women from the north, Jon's mind went blank for a moment, and he had nothing to say.

No, no, no, it can't be like this... How can I get stuck at such a critical moment?Jon suppressed his trembling and tried to piece together words. He missed Iger very much at this moment.It would be great if the Commander-in-Chief was here by himself. With his eloquence and reaction speed, he would definitely be able to explain clearly to everyone in the room.

If the commander-in-chief was here, what would he do?

Jon racked his brains to think, and a memory entered his mind: Iger once taught himself casually, when a topic doesn't make sense, then try to change the topic and bypass it!

Robb asked "what do I think of my broken oath to Iger"...how can I think about a wrong thing?If you want to continue discussing the tainted topic of breaking the oath and try to convince others that "it is reasonable for the Night Watchman to break neutrality", you will definitely end up in embarrassment. The best way right now is to avoid talking about it and answer from other directions.

The general idea is in place, but persuading people is not Jon's strong point after all. He hesitated for a while, and finally made up his mind: "I heard that the queen arrived in Houcrown Town on a dragon, and was going to join the land-grant army to fight the White Walkers." During the pursuit, Iger was asked to swear allegiance in public, and then he brought the dragon to join the army..."

Mrs. Barbaret Dustin snorted coldly and interrupted him meanly: "Yes, but the kid swore to join the Night Watchman first and serve the Queen second. The mad king's daughter asked him to swear the oath is invalid at all. of!"

"When two oaths conflict, which one is valid and which one is invalid, who has the final say?" Jon retorted reluctantly, "Madam, do you mean that it is understandable that the Lord Commander agreed to the Queen's conditions due to the situation at that time, but when the Queen A dragon died in vain, and the people being helped should tell her after she wasted time and sacrificed her dragon to help the Night's Watch and the North win this war: 'I'm sorry my previous oath is invalid, where should you go back? Where are you going'?"

"He decided to abide by the agreement with the queen, and it is no problem to be a person who keeps the promise." Robb said in a deep voice, "but the problem now is that his decision has deviated from his identity and responsibilities, and is endangering the northern border. interests, we cannot sit back and watch him become a threat just because he keeps his word."

Great, the trick of changing the topic really worked. Even if it was used by a rookie like myself, it successfully changed the topic from "Iger's oath" to "Northern interests".

Jon was overjoyed for a while, but he didn't relax. His mind was running fast, and his thoughts quickly became smoother unexpectedly: "Harming the interests of the North? But the commander-in-chief's request is that the North make way for him to lead the army south." The promise to the Queen, how much harm does this do to the North?"

"People who are supposed to guard the Great Wall cross the territory of the northern border to help the mad king's daughter conquer the world. Isn't this a danger to the northern border?" After passing through all the castles in the northern border including Winterfell, who knows if that kid will sneak attack? Even if they pass through the border without incident, they will have to pass through Luanhe City and most of the riverland before arriving at King's Landing. , They are the in-laws and loyal allies of the northern border, but they are the queen's enemies! Should we allow them to be attacked by the queen, or persuade them to make way for Iger and the queen?"

Such a sharp question, Jon couldn't stand it after a series of blows, so he could only bite the bullet and talk to himself: "My lord is right, but aren't we discussing the interests of the North? Two choices: Accept the request of the Commander-in-Chief and make way for him to follow the Queen to go south, or refuse and become an enemy of him. Let's think about which of these two choices is more beneficial to the North, or to the interests of the North Wouldn't it be better if the damage was less?"

Afraid of encountering more questions and not knowing how to answer, Jon immediately continued.

"Accept, sending an army across the northern border to the south to deal with the kings you originally supported... It is indeed a bit embarrassing, but that's all. Mrs. Dustin's worries are actually unnecessary: ​​neither the night watchman nor the queen Sneak attack on the Northern Territory under the circumstances that everyone offered to give way: Moral reasons aside, the Northern Territory is too large, accounting for one-third of the territory of the Seven Kingdoms. If the Commander-in-Chief and the Queen want to continue to If you go south with confidence, you must win the war. It is not easy to march and fight in the cold winter. Even if they can lead the army to win a battle wherever they go, it will take at least a few months to occupy the whole area north of the Neck. The environment—after such a long time, unforeseen changes must have occurred in the southern war, and the queen is eager to go to the battlefield of King's Landing, so it is impossible to take the initiative to do unnecessary things that cause unnecessary complications."

"And refuse?" Jon himself was surprised that he could say so many words at once, "Face to face, there are indeed more people and troops in the northern border, and the soldiers are more sturdy and elite, but with all due respect , the land-grants live farther north than the north, they are not weak southerners, and have just won an incredible war, and the queen's dragon! There is no chance of winning militarily, but outsmarting? The Commander, from a penniless survivor of a shipwreck who has done so many major events well-known in the Seven Kingdoms in just a few years, and finally climbed to the position of the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watchman, has no doubts about his ability and scheming. I do not despise you, but Please forgive me, but I don't think I can compete with him here..."

"Fart, that kid is a bit crooked, we all admit that. But he can be the commander-in-chief of the night watchman, without the acquiescence and support of the North, can he win the election by himself?" Karstark growled, "If it weren't for Dennis Mallister didn't want the election to drag on without limit and voluntarily quit. The Night Watch Corps still doesn't have a commander-in-chief! If Dennis had become the commander-in-chief, Iger would have died in the Shadow Tower instead of him. How can there be such a mess right now? You are not thinking about the interests of the northern border at all, but are threatening us for that boy Iger!"

Jon opened his mouth to refute, but hesitated before he could speak: Even if Sir Mallister was elected commander-in-chief, Iger would definitely continue to preside over the logistics work and would not be able to garrison the Shadow Tower.However, the details of the inner workings of the night watchmen could not be understood even if they were explained to the northerners.After thinking about it, Jon had no choice but to speed up his brain again and come up with a new response... But at this time, other northern nobles unexpectedly came forward to help.

"Lord Karstark, what are you talking about? People are just expressing their own opinions. How come you become a threat? I was scared by a dragon just now and gave up a castle that didn't belong to you. Is it a threat to you? Jon is Lord Eddard's blood, and he can still cheat his brother!" Earl Glover said righteously, "I think his analysis makes sense! King Stannis and North He has neither old friendship nor marriage, nor has he brought us much benefit. Why should we let us northerners risk blood and fire to deal with the enemies he has not dealt with in the south? The northerners died There are enough people, Iger is our friend, as long as he can persuade the Mad King's daughter, don't be as stupid as her father, let her go to grab the Iron Throne, it will hurt your ass Thing, who cares about it! As long as you don’t mess with us, whoever loves the vain name of the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms will go!”

"That's right, let the dragon and the deer fight each other, what's the matter with us, quickly send these evil stars away and bring them down, they're all out of sight!"

"Maybe we can talk to the Queen about conditions, and fight for the independence or self-government of the northern border... Hey, by the way, if she is willing to marry a bachelor in our northern border, we will support her as the lord of the seven kingdoms." how!"

Residents in the north of the Neck have always boasted that they are tough and good at fighting. Such a group of rough men and female men would gather anti-war remarks at the lord meeting, and even get support from some nobles. That would have been impossible two years ago.But as Earl Glover said, enough blood has been shed in the North, from the common people to the nobles.Some people took the lead, and people with the same opinion who hadn't dared to be the first bird popped up all at once.

The room became lively again, but this time it turned into a war of words between the war faction and the anti-war faction.

……

Roose Bolton looked around and realized that the situation was somewhat different from what he expected.

Stimulated by the unexpected position and statement of Jon, the "catfish", the anti-war trend of the northern princes was actually awakened.From the current point of view, the nobles such as Rickard Karstark who clearly demanded to fight the Night Watchman accounted for nearly a quarter of the attendance, while slightly fewer people agreed with Galbert Glover's point of view. Because the leaders who participated in the battle of Long Lake actually have a greater right to speak... In terms of numbers, the total number of pros and cons is less than half of the participants, and most of the rest are actually muffled Make a fortune and hide aside without speaking.

If this is a vote for the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, there's not going to be enough votes for any candidate to win.However, this is a discussion lord meeting. In such a meeting, the abstention of "no statement" itself is a negative attitude, implying that they don't want to fight, but they don't want to take the initiative to admit defeat. The lord is in charge.

Looking at Robb Stark's thoughtful expression again, Roose Bolton secretly cried out that it was not good.

Young Wolf Lord's talent and decisiveness in commanding battles and pursuing the opposite sex are impressive enough for anyone, but his immaturity and innocence in the face of complicated interpersonal affairs are hard to compliment. He is an emotional person, and he is especially easy to get close to. The influence of human beings - it is conceivable that he was faced with a dilemma because he was saved by the queen, but now he finds that the princes in the north generally do not want to fight any more, and his illegitimate brother, who he originally chose as the next The commander-in-chief of the night watchman is also loyal to Iger and does not want to conflict between the northern border and the land grant. Which side will his final decision lean towards.

Accepting Iger's conditions, maintaining neutrality in the war and letting the land-grant army go south... From the current point of view, it may be the most beneficial choice for the northern border, but it is by no means the most beneficial outcome for the Bolton family.Once this happens, as a minister, even if I have a lot of plans, where should I start to use them?

Under no circumstances should this be allowed to happen!

-

Chapter 461 Northern Lords Conference

"Lord Robb!" Amidst the commotion, a deep male voice with low volume and penetrating power suddenly sounded, and Roose Bolton spoke with a mask-like smirk. "There is a neutral opinion provided by a person with no interests, which is of reference value at any time. What Jon said and the opinions of the adults have their own reasons. This matter should be carefully considered and fully listened to. Make a decision after thinking about it... But I have a small suggestion here: Lord Jon has completed his mission as a special participant to clarify his point of view, and thank him for taking his precious time to provide us with advice. But next, is Isn't it up to us northerners to make the vote?"

Although the words were polite, the meaning could not be more obvious than chasing customers.However, after all, this is Winterfell, not Dreadfort, and the owner is Stark, not Bolton... Robb shook his head after thinking for two seconds, and rejected the proposal: "Jon is my brother, and he is also from the North." Part of it. Even if he doesn't speak, he has the right to remain in this room."

"No." The host couldn't hold back his face, but the guest himself couldn't stay any longer.Strong words are really not easy for a thin-skinned person, and Jon feels that his face is about to burn... He has just achieved a perfect performance within the scope of his personal level, and if he continues to stay, he will be forced to face more questions. I'm afraid it will only make the final result worse... He stood up slowly, bowed his body and apologized to the northern princes: "My lords, I still have official duties to attend to, so I won't stay any longer, I will go to work first, and I will leave!"

He was neither Jon's lord nor his chief officer, so he couldn't force him to stay without a proper reason, so Robb had no choice but to watch his illegitimate brother turn and walk to the door, took the coat handed over by the servant, put it on his body, opened the door and walked outside in the howling wind.

The door was gently closed to block out the wind, and Roose Bolton, who also watched Jon leave from the corner of his eye, lowered his head, with an imperceptible smile on the corner of his mouth: Even as the commander of Castle Black , A child is a child, too young and too childish.It can be seen that Jon doesn't want to be the commander-in-chief of the night watchman at all, but really wants to prevent the conflict between the northern border and the land grant, but if he is alert and experienced enough, he should know: at this time, even if he is put on a knife On his neck, he should just sit in the same place, how could he leave without hesitation just because of a small hint from himself, who is not the master, to let the next trend of this lord conference progress? All become unknown, out of control?

Put away the smug sneer, and the old peeling put back his serious mask in a second-a few words to drive away the biggest unstable factor, and next, it is time to bring back the big ship of the northern border so that the Bolton family can take advantage of it heading.

……

"I disagree with the opinions of Lord Karstark and Glover—whether it is a war with the land grant or neutrality is not a good choice!"

Before everyone could react to Jon's voluntary departure from the meeting, they were immediately re-attracted by Roose Bolton's blockbuster. The rest of the other half of the northern nobles also became interested, and countless eyes focused on the face of the Lord of the Dreadfort.

"Then tell me your opinion!?" Karstark shot Bolton a hard look.

"I don't dare to say a good opinion - war is not a child's play, I just try to provide Lord Robb with a calm perspective that is not affected by emotions." Roose Bolton said modestly with a half-smile, "War with the gifted land is a The worst decision, the savage surrendered to the Night Watchman, was originally desperate, and wanted to keep warm with the living people in the south of the wall and cooperate to fight against the aliens. Neither the north and the south of the wall, nor the savage tribes were united. If Mao provokes a war rashly and threatens the outside world, the pressure will force them to continue to hug each other for survival... Maybe we can avoid the dragon's edge through clever deployment and division of troops, but we can't run away. The castle. The Dragon Queen is flying in the sky. If we can't shoot her, we will be in a situation where we can't win. The only difference is how badly we lose. The best ending is to rely on the huge territory of the northern border, relying on the northern border Human life dragged her so much that she missed the opportunity to take King's Landing... Hurting others and not benefiting herself, what is she trying to do?"

"Isn't life just a matter of fighting for breath!" Rickard roared again, "Everything is done carefully considering this and that, what's the point of living! White ghosts can shoot dragons, why can't we? You always do things Be cautious and consider everything, why don’t you see that your Borton family is thriving? Many people are born by birth, not by living!”

"Lord Karstark!" Robb said impatiently, interrupting Rickard's rude taunts and poking at Roose. "Please, let Lord Bolton finish his speech."

If Ed Stark had just passed away two years ago and Robb had first ascended the position of Lord of the North, the quarrel between the two great vassals might have left the young wolf lord at a loss, but now, after so many storms Rain or shine, he has begun to get used to his status as a monarch, and gradually has the power to match his status.

Rickard blushed after being teased lukewarmly, but in the end he didn't retaliate or walk away.Without his distraction, Roose Bolton continued to make his point.

"It's not advisable to go to war directly, and it's not advisable. Neutral... hmph, it just seems safe for the time being, but it's extremely stupid in the long run." The Lord of the Dreadfort made a disdainful expression, "Lord Robb thinks that the northern border is a Is it possible to be truly 'neutral' as part of the Seven Kingdoms?"

"The answer is impossible! We are not Braavos or Pentos across the Narrow Sea, able to stand completely or nearly completely out of the way. Once you order the way to the south for Iger's army and the queen, the North is actually standing The opposite of King Stannis. Even if you don’t support the Targaryen army with a grain of food or a soldier in the north, it’s false neutrality! And the worst thing is, you didn’t stand in the queen’s camp at the same time. Dead people are certainly a good thing, but this kind of 'pseudo-neutral' state that no one wants to see is actually a big taboo for one side!"

The Opposition had been ordered by Robb not to intervene, and most of the room listened.After taking a breath, Roose Bolton continued: "The battle for the throne is not like a conflict between ordinary lords over a certain forest or a small river. It has no possibility of a peaceful end. The superiority will inevitably try to completely eliminate the other side to end the war. In this atmosphere of endless death, the war in the south, if there is no major accident, is nothing more than these three endings: King Stannis retains the throne, the Dragon Queen or that little Aegon prince Sit on the throne. No matter who wins, they will definitely give out land and property to reward the heroes. Think about it, where do these reward land and property come from?"