The king on the Great Wall

Page 165

"From the defeated side...and those so-called 'neutrals'?" A small man with a crocodile-shaped emblem on his chest who had never spoken in the meeting before answered the question.The younger nobles here may not know the speaker, but Howland Reed, as the commander of the neck and the master of the gray water watch, guarding the passage from the north to the six countries in the south, is the loyalty of the Stark family for thousands of years. Although the subordinates are neither rich nor powerful, they still have the right to speak in front of the lord because of their loyalty and hard work in defending the northern and southern gates.

"That's right, it is impossible for the final victor to recognize the so-called neutrality declared by the Northern Territory!" Roose Bolton said firmly, "Little Aegon sits on the throne, so let's not discuss this. The main force of the Golden Regiment has fought head-on, but they have been enemies from the beginning to the end; if the Dragon Queen wins, although we can be regarded as cooperation by letting us get out of the way, she will definitely feel that we are forced by the dragon's deterrence rather than out of support and love... Even if you don't regard us as enemies, you will definitely not have the slightest gratitude or closeness; and King Stannis won? Even though the North has fought for him countless times and paid a lot of sacrifices, as long as you are an enemy once , so many old feelings in the past will disappear, and maybe the hatred for us will still be above Hewan and Dorne-after all, for people: "betray at the most critical moment" is comparable to "different from the beginning ' Much more hateful!"

"In the middle of the war, you suddenly become neutral. Not only will all the previous efforts be in vain, but the long-standing "Northern Alliance" with Hejian and Valley will also collapse. Treating the victor as the enemy, but together with the defeated party's sympathy and hatred No one can be found, and is despised by both the victor and the loser... This kind of political environment and emotional tendency may cause long-term damage to the future interests of the northern border, far exceeding the possible casualties of participating in the war! Obviously, he is a member of the Seven Kingdoms But wanting to be neutral in the Seven Civil Wars seems to be peace-loving, but in fact it is pre-booking the treatment of the defeated party, and even worse. In the Battle of the Throne, we, as part of the Seven Kingdoms, have no choice but to You have to choose a side, and you can't take any chances!"

Karstark finally couldn't stand Bolton's deceitful words to confuse the crowd: "According to what you said, it's not okay to fight, or not to fight, so why don't we just put on the three-headed dragon flag to support the mad king's daughter? Anyway... Two dragons and half of Westeros, even a fool can win!"

Rickard was sarcasm, who would have accidentally become the perfect double-reed matcher for Old Peeling.Roose Bolton nodded with a smile, but did not retort: ​​"If you want to stay alive without participating in the battle, unless the North is really separated from the Seven Kingdoms independently, it is impossible. But no matter which king wins the Iron Throne, it will definitely not It may allow the country to shrink by one-third... The natural barrier of the neck may be able to stop the thousands of troops from the six southern countries, but without the food support of the river valleys, the land and climate in the north cannot support millions of people. Therefore Lord Karstark is right: If you don’t want to be embarrassed after the war, you must fight to the end for King Stannis in the North, or simply change your court to support the queen. You can choose whatever you want. In short, don’t think about neutrality that pays nothing , there is no such a good thing in the world!"

-

Chapter 462

After a moment of silence to digest what Roose Bolton said, many nobles in the room, including the former Mufflers, quickly started a new round of discussions with a higher participation rate.

No one jumped out to rant and question Lao Bopi's ulterior motives anymore, because—at least on the point of "the northern border cannot be truly neutral", he didn't talk nonsense.There are no new lords here who have no background, and all of them are ancestral or hereditary "proprietorships". "It's just compared with the southern aristocrats.To be honest, the people present were more or less educated and trained in governance and political struggle.

Roose Bolton is right. Even though the people in the North who don't play politics much can't think of it at the first time, if someone brings it up and just has no ability to judge right from wrong, then it is not sincerity, but stupidity. up.No, even Rickard Karstark only kept his mouth shut and meditated to refute the arguments, rather than stubbornly ignoring them.

Could it be that the only choice left for everyone is to join the Dragon Queen?

Half of the people in the room fell silent, while the other half started talking anxiously and helplessly.

Daenerys has indeed gained a lot of impression points for herself by driving the dragon north to support the Night's Watch, but there is still a long way to go before filling the hole dug by her mad father.When Robb Stark's uncle and grandfather were both tortured to death by Aerys Targaryen, the northern border resolutely joined the battle of dragon slaying... I don't need to mention how many sacrifices and blood shed, the key is that more than half of the people present Having participated in that war, he is a "rebel" in the eyes of the Targaryen royal family.

After more than ten years, the mad king's daughter returned, almost with a group of people from the north... Are they going to rush to help her regain the throne?

What is this called!

"Lord Bolton is right. Neutrality is a passive and unwise choice. But... whoever says that he is not the opponent of the dragon must fight for her?" After a while, it was still Huo Lan. Reed was the first to speak to break the deadlock, "Lord Robb, do you remember what your father-in-law, Lord Walder Frey, did in the Reaver War?"

***

Walder Frey, the patriarch of the Frey family, the owner of the Twin River City and the Lord of the River Ferry, the upstart and bumpkin recognized by the Seven Kingdoms.Due to his delay in responding to Lord Horst Tully's call in the War of the Reavers, the Battle of the Trident River had already been fought by the time he arrived at the battlefield, so he gained a famous nickname in the Seven Kingdoms - "Late Marquis" ".

Just as some people are more accustomed to calling Daenerys Targaryen the "Mad King's Daughter" than the "Dragon Queen", the North has used the nickname "Late" to refer to Walder Frey for more than a decade. The frequency is even far above its name, as if the only way to show contempt and draw a line.This situation did not begin until Robb Stark took the initiative to propose to Robert and married Roslin Foyle, and the "Late Marquess" became the "Northern Father-in-Law". Get better and disappear.

So, here comes the question. Being late for the army is a common occurrence in this era. Why did Horst Tully insist on humiliating Walder Frey, his most powerful vassal, so as to plant factors of instability for his future rule?

Because Luanhe City is adjacent to the Trident River and is very close to the battlefield, the Frey army can reach the battlefield by going down the river, and there is no possibility of getting lost or going in the wrong direction... Even in this case, it is still late, as if the castle is next to Winterfell It is as absurd that the Severn family in the city and King's Road did not catch up with the large army in time in the battle of Long Lake against the White Walkers not long ago.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that they are talking nonsense.

Howland Reed suddenly mentioned the black history of Robb's father-in-law at such a time, of course, it was not a sudden thought to humiliate himself as a king, but to remind everyone of the choices made by others when faced with similar situations, and the results : Even in the situation of "everyone thinks you were late on purpose", the Frey family still did not receive any fief or property punishment after the war. Why?Because the Frey family didn't publicly declare their neutrality or hide in the castle before, but assembled a large army and rushed to the battlefield... and claimed to be responding to the king's call!

Everyone obviously has reason to suspect that if Robert Baratheon lost at the Battle of the Trident, the Frey army would not hesitate to declare to Rhaegar Targaryen that they were here to protect the king .It's just that no one has any evidence.

Without real evidence, even if Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark, and Hoster Tully, the anti-Targaryen triumvirate, can't really do anything to the Freys—— On the one hand, his own strength is good, but on the other hand... the opening of "punishing a lord of one's own side based on suspicion" will far outweigh the long-term harm to the unfinished war and the entire feudal system of Westeros Punish the Frey family with a bad meal, and the latter should be the priority when decision makers think about problems.

Therefore, even though Walder Frey had no share in the spoils after the war and was given an insulting nickname, he was one of the victors, and he retained his status as Lord of the River Crossing without any suspense...without a single soldier One pawn, without taking the slightest risk, becomes part of the winners!

***

"Lord Walder Frey collects bridge tolls at the river ferry. This is a business that is worthless and infinitely better than farming and collecting rent. He does not desire or need new territories at all, and no one sits on the Iron Throne. I don't care... How similar is this lack of desire and desire to the current situation in our northern border? But, even if there is no reason to join the war, he did not dare to squat down after receiving the order from Duke Horst in the War of the Snatchers. "Neutral" in the castle, doesn't it mean that you understand that if you are in a game but don't take sides, you are actually choosing the loser? Why don't we..."

"Why don't you learn from Walder Frey, and get a nickname of 'Duke Late' to make up the 'Late Family'?" Earl Wyman Manderly said to Robb nervously: "My lord, I don't mean to offend, but We in the northern border are not upstarts, shame! Rather than being unable to hold our heads up in front of people for the rest of our lives, we might as well fight the dragon to the death!"

This position has been widely endorsed, and many participants who were previously silent also echoed it.

"Lord Wyman, please be patient, I am not telling Lord Robb to be late." Howland Reed's temper was obviously good, and he continued where he was interrupted without anger, "We can definitely talk to the Mad King. The daughter said: "We are willing to support her to repay the grace of rescue, but the northern border has just experienced heavy losses in successive wars and needs to recuperate", so as to ask for a suspension of sending troops. The news gathered from various aspects and the description of Jon Snow From the looks of it, this little queen is definitely impatient. She can never really wait for us to finish recuperating. When she can't wait to go south to attack King's Landing...we can contact King Stannis and tell him that the North is forced by the queen dragon Threats will give way, as long as he sticks to it for a few days, we will definitely send troops south to attack the army of the Unsullied with him from north to south."

"It is true that the Northern Territory has just experienced heavy losses in the war, and it is true that it was forced by the threat of the dragon and did not dare to resist. Use these legitimate reasons to delay the time, wait until the decisive battle between the two kings is over, and then lead the troops to the battlefield. With the help of a large number of fresh troops Advantages——If the outcome has already been determined, then we will help the winner to clean up the mess. If the male and female have not yet been determined, then whichever side has the upper hand will help. In this way, a lot of bloodshed for the people in the northern border is avoided, and it is ensured that the Standing on the winning side in the battle, why not do it!"

"Being a double-dealer?!" There was a stir in the room. It is a good idea to finally join the battle and reap the benefits, but it is destined not to receive support under the background of this region, culture and time. "It's not as good as 'being late'!"

"Bah, both are bad ideas, where is the argument that one is worse than the other? I support Lord Rickard's point of view, people in the north deserve to die dignifiedly even if they die, never use such dirty methods!"

……

"Everyone, be quiet! The North will never resort to such means!" Robb patted the table with his uninjured hand, and everyone in the room was stunned. "Master Huo Lan, your suggestion is very feasible. But people live in the world, do something and don't do something, such a method that seems clever but can't be put on the table, please don't mention it again!"

Amidst the relief and approval, Roose Bolton's heart returned to his stomach.

In fact, he had already thought about the next step, but he originally planned to wait for other people in the room to discuss it before throwing it out. He never expected that Howland Reed would come up with such a "coupling"... Neck is so wet It is an almost gloomy place, and indeed even the raised people are more sinister and cunning than other places in the northern border.If you only analyze the gains and losses without considering the face, whether it is "being a late duke" or "sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight", it is indeed a good idea.Fortunately, with the temperament of Robb and the northern princes, it is absolutely impossible to adopt such a good strategy, otherwise, he really doesn't know how to proceed with his plan.

After being frightened by this, Lao Pepi didn't dare to procrastinate any longer. After coughing quickly, he came up with his own plan: "My lords, the matter is actually not that complicated at all. I really don't agree with going to war with land grants, nor do I support forcing Neutral. But, who said that, we only have one way to join the Dragon Queen's camp? In this world, there is another way to fight against the enemy - called strategy!"

-

Chapter 463

"Strategy strategy, it sounds nice." Madam Dustin curled her lips angrily: "Bolton, we all admit that you have a bright mind, but don't be like Holland, under the banner of strategy, but give Lord Robb all the money." bad idea!"

Roose Bolton smiled lightly, nodded slightly, and then got straight to the point: "After the Battle of Long Lake, Iger still 'seemed unprepared' to open various communication channels between the land grant and the northern border, and specially sent night watchmen to rush to The various castles carry out procurement missions. Among them, the collection of dragon crystal saltpeter and other materials is probably just a cover, and the real purpose is actually—to use the mouths of everyone to spread public opinion favorable to him throughout the northern border and the Seven Kingdoms."

"This move is quite clever. It is conceivable that if we hadn't learned from Jon the ins and outs and ins and outs of the Dragon Queen's flight to the north to aid in the war, there might still be an angry discussion in this room about how to deal with the Mad Queen. Dragon? But through the mouths of countless night watchmen like Jon, the northern border has lost the favorable conditions for fighting the land-grant emotionally. against the heroes of the Seven Kingdoms and all mankind." Bolton narrowed his eyes to hide the coldness in his eyes, "We have lost the lead on this point. While we are sitting here noisily, each with his own ideas At the moment, the news that Iger wanted to spread has spread like water ripples. The Night Watchman has done his best in this war against the White Walkers, and he has performed well. It is impossible for us to block the mouths of thousands of people and forcibly black He—everyone was discussing the comparison of military power between the land-grant and the northern border, but I want to say that the fact is: even if the northern border can fight the land-grant, this war will be difficult to organize, because the opponent has already used tactics to collapse Resistance within us!"

Under the watchful eyes of dozens of pairs of eyes, Bolton paused for a few seconds before changing the subject: "It's a great move, but the person who made the move forgot: the opening of information and personnel flow is two-way! Iger can use public opinion to silently influence the northern border." , we can also take this opportunity to reversely affect the land grant and the night watchman!"

"Well said, what to do?" Karstark rolled his eyes, "We also sent people to the land grant to tell those savages from outside the Great Wall that it is illegal and shameful for Egg to be loyal to the queen and fight for her throne Behavior...and expect these guys to join forces to stop him? Haha!"

"No, Mr. Bolton should mean—secretly contact people who are motivated to oppose Iger in the land grant, and use their power to overthrow him from within at a low cost!" When most of the northern nobles were still in a daze , Holland Reed was the first to catch up with the old skinning idea, but before he finished speaking, he quickly showed doubts, "Wait...Master Bolton, I heard that you have always supported Iger this time. Man, why would you take the initiative to deal with him this time?"

"I have no personal relationship with Iger. At that time, I supported him because he was the only one who had the ability to lead the Night Watchman against the White Walkers and protect the North, which has been proved to be the case; and now, it is also because he has what he shouldn't have. I no longer protect but shake the northern border, and it is also my interests...Whether it is support or opposition, it is all for the sake of the northern border, and has nothing to do with personal feelings." Old Bopi replied with a blank expression, and then revealed it This topic, "Isn't the Night Watchman organizing an expedition beyond the Great Wall to try to eliminate the remaining White Walkers? I can probably guess the purpose of Iger's move: He thought that as long as he completely wiped out the White Walkers and ended his mission as the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watchman, We have no reason to prevent him from taking off his black clothes to serve the queen. It is a beautiful idea, but it gives others an opportunity - we can do whatever we want, pretend to agree with his conditions, and even fully support and cooperate He goes on this expedition, makes his exodus go smoothly...and then, fiddles with him while he's gone!"

Lao Bopi's mind is more careful than most of the nobles in the northern border. When everyone else in the house is still thinking at the level of "whether or not to go to war with the land grant", he has already relied on the calculations he started early. He and several days and nights of deduction found the best way to deal with Iger, and naturally he appeared to be better than everyone.Even Earl Glover and others who supported the neutral plan turned their heads with great interest, intending to hear what kind of trick he had in mind.

"'White Ghost Killer', 'Prince in the prophecy', 'the first commander-in-chief to face the cold god in thousands of years'... these names are too famous, but his achievements are really worthy of these nicknames Iger's prestige and control in the land-grant are quite good, and it is difficult for outsiders to shake him. If he is still inside the ice wall, he wants to reverse infiltrate the land-grant and the night watchman army, and persuade the residents of the land-grant and the defenders of the Great Wall to oppose him , not only does it get twice the result with half the effort, if he finds out, it will inevitably lead to fierce backlash. However, it is impossible for anyone to know everything and do everything. Once he leads the army north to the Great Wall..."

"Okay, okay, once he leads his army north out of the Great Wall, leaves his stronghold of power, and uses what you call 'strategy' to weaken his authority and influence, it will be much easier to find internal opponents who can handle things. We're not fools, so we don't need to explain everything!" Mrs. Dustin urged impatiently, "But what we were worried about was never Iger and the land grant he commanded, but the Queen's dragon, I only ask you—that you How are you going to solve it?"

"Dragon?" Roose Bolton raised the corner of his mouth, this time he did not answer directly, but asked a rhetorical question: "Madam, do you think... when the Night Watchmen were pursuing the White Walkers and the expedition beyond the Wall, the Queen and her What would the dragon do?"

"Isn't there definite news that the two dragons were injured, and one of them couldn't even fly?"

"That's right, many people from the land-grant said so. The news is very reliable, but since most people haven't seen it with their own eyes, so be conservative. The situation can be roughly divided into two possibilities." Roose Bolton nodded , answered without thinking: "Either he can fly, then he will definitely participate in this expedition and assist the Night Watchman to eliminate the remaining White Walkers; or he can't fly, and stay in Last Hearth City or Land Grant to recuperate. Iger this guy , always has the ability and ability to please people, before Jeor Mormont, then Lord Eddard and even King Robert... I don't know what enchanting soup he poured into the mad king's daughter to make her willing to throw Lower King's Landing came to help him burn people to death. But what is certain is that she is very fond of Iger now-and if the Queen really wants his loyalty, it is impossible to ignore the latter's ideas. Iger doesn't want to go to war with the North, It is impossible for the Dragon Queen to burn us with dragons on her own initiative while he is away..."

"So, the question before us is actually not 'how to deal with dragons now', but 'how to quickly master the ability to deal with dragons during Iger's expedition to the fortress'! Everyone may wish to think carefully, Is this the truth?"

The echo of Earl Bolton's words gradually dissipated, but the new ideas provided by his speech did clear up the minds of the other nobles who were thinking in the room.

"That makes sense! The dragon hunting crossbow that King Stannis has built in King's Landing cannot be quietly transported to the north, but if you just want to smuggle the blueprints, it will be much easier. We can contact the south as soon as possible and try to get the blueprints." Hurry up and work hard!" Earl Mandalay slapped his thigh, "When Iger returns to the land-grant after his expedition beyond the Great Wall, he will be surprised to find that we have not only weakened his absolute control over the land-grant and the Great Wall, but also built a good As long as the countermeasures are in hand, the next step is to force the queen to go home obediently, or simply use tricks to destroy her and her dragon, the initiative is in our hands!"

……

Still a repulsive machination, as proposed at the outset by Joluce Bolton, which required some debate and disapproval.But this time, with Howland Reed's two big damage moves that both people and gods were angry with each other as a backdrop, the plan proposed by Lao Bopi seemed surprisingly acceptable.

The aristocrats who gradually understood due to differences in understanding abilities began to whisper to each other, discussing the feasibility of the plan.As the master, Robb sat on the first seat with a straight face, without saying a word...

Not because of maturity and stability, but because in his mind, two villains are fighting fiercely.

As the lord of Winterfell, he understands that for the overall benefit of the Stark family and the North, Daenerys and Iger must be restrained from trying to direct the land-grant power to the south to fight for her throne; That him, after being rescued by Daenerys from the tide of corpses, and after learning from Jon that the night watchman did not release the water on purpose, then asked him to use dirty tricks to deal with his benefactor and former friend. Can't bear this psychological pressure... For the first time in his life, Robb Stark encountered a problem that his genius tactical mind could not solve.

The boss didn't agree with this plan, and the other nobles were self-indulgent no matter how intense the discussion was--Old Peel saw Robb's expression in his eyes, and was secretly anxious.He can probably guess what's going on, the Young Wolf Lord is a person with a lot of emotion, and at this juncture of inner struggle when he has to make a major decision about his former friend, someone must push him behind him.

Turning his eyes slightly, he had an idea.

"My lord, I understand that you don't want to avenge Iger and the Queen of Dragons, but you have to understand... Only with the ability to 'destroy' can you have the power to 'choose kindness'! This suggestion I made does not put them at risk. The necessity of death, with the means to contain Iger and the method to deal with dragons, to put it bluntly - you can use chips to force Iger to step down as commander-in-chief, and make him lose the authority to command the night watchmen to participate in the war between the two kings. Preserve the integrity of our armed forces in the northern border; on a larger scale, you can also ask the Dragon Queen to take only the people she wants to take a boat from the East China Sea to leave and return to the south, instead of borrowing from the northern border - there is no large army King Stannis can't blame you for swaggering past your territory and throwing himself into the war in the south, and the north can at least maintain maximum neutrality!"

"Going further, as long as the person you choose controls the armed forces of the land-grant instead of Iger, then the strength of the land-grant can be regarded as the strength of the northern border, and we have weapons against dragons... Under the circumstances, whether it is Daenerys or Stannis who wins the Iron Throne in the end, they will be afraid of the strength of the soldiers in the north, and they will not dare to use our interests to reward heroes. For the sake of your family and children, you must at least have the ability to protect yourself Ability, don't be emotional!"

Those who supported it echoed, and those who opposed couldn't think of a suitable reason to say it. After thinking for a while, family, children... These two words finally overwhelmed the hesitation. Robb, who had just had his own son, finally gritted his teeth and made a decision .

"Didn't all the high-quality wood in the north support Icefjord Harbor... for the craftsmen of Bear Island and White Harbor to build ships?" Robb said slowly with a serious expression, "We can be in the Night Watchman's round of expedition Can I get the blueprints and gather the raw materials to make the finished product within the time? Also, if Jon is my brother and he refuses to betray Iger, is there anyone else in the Night Watch who is suitable to replace Iger?"

"Materials are not a problem." Ask about the possibility of implementation, and that's a yes!The Earl of Mandalay took the initiative to answer: "White Harbor is the largest transit point for foreign trade in the northern border. There are all kinds of resources in the warehouses in the city. It is enough to build a few fleets to support it. Are you afraid of a few dragon hunting crossbows? The east and west Mandalay families only have the right of custody rather than ownership, but the things are in my hands, and who can stop them from requisitioning temporarily for the safety of the northern border? As for the candidates..."

"Candidates?" Roose Bolton, who watched everything go smoothly, showed a rare smile—sincerely, "Don't forget, the most important part of the current land-grant residents—the Mountain Clan, have sworn allegiance to the North They are obliged to obey the orders of the Stark family and fight for the interests of the North. As for the new commander in the land-grant future... If Dennis Mallister is not dead, he is naturally the best choice, But the dead cannot be brought back to life. In terms of seniority and rank, only Commander Carter Parker of East Sea Watch can barely handle the job. Let's discuss now, who in this room is more familiar with him, and the work is more reliable and convenient. Be willing to negotiate with him in secret."

Most of the neutral factions have a good relationship with Iger and do not want to fight against him; while the main combat faction can't understand Iger's actions and firmly opposes him leading the night watchman to intervene in the Civil War of the Seven Kingdoms; Pai... Not everyone can afford to have a big family. They have been exhausted by two or three years of non-stop wars. As long as they don't fight, they can talk about anything.This set of plans perfectly balanced the needs of the various factions, and finally won the support of most of the northern nobles after being approved by Robb Stark, and became a fixed plan.

Seeing dozens of northern nobles in the house discussing the details of the implementation of his proposed plan, Roose Bolton suppressed his smile, picked up the water glass on the table, and drank the already cold water in it.

There is no problem with the plan, no matter how much the smartest person in the world thinks about it, he can't smell the slightest abnormal smell - because when I designed this plan, I really conceived it from the standpoint of the North.

And turning this set of strategic decisions, which have been protecting the interests of the Northern Territory from beginning to end, into the biggest opportunity for the Bolton family to turn around in thousands of years, is infinitely simpler than itself: the final discussion results of this meeting , remove the part of "I didn't want to hurt the life of the Dragon Queen", slightly modified and added oil and vinegar, managed to stab Daenerys Targaryen, and told her-this was Robb Stark's own idea.

He'd love to appreciate Dragon's Wrath one more time—especially if it wasn't directed at himself.

-

Chapter 464 War Preparation

In the modern world before crossing over, certain hotspots often burst out such things as: which armed force used a certain domestic seamless steel pipe to assemble a cannon, which force changed a certain domestic gas pipe into a rocket... or Liquefied gas tanks are used as grenades, and toy drones are turned into battlefield reconnaissance tools-it sounds funny, but it is not a joke news.But apart from being interesting, behind the appearance of these jokes is actually a manifestation of the advanced metallurgy and manufacturing level of the modern world: when both of these reach a certain level, the boundary between military and civilian use will indeed become bridgeable.

Regrettably, at this stage, the height of the basic technology tree in the world of ice and fire is still far from the "line of doing whatever you want".

The first batch of gun barrels produced by the No. [-] foundry in Houguan Town had been poured and cooled two months ago, but they were ordered to be sealed up without even a real test firing. The reason why Iger did this was not to hide it deliberately Tuck wanted to keep a big killer to deal with the living, but he did encounter difficulties.

The current technology of casting gun barrels is actually basically born out of... no, it should be said that it is completely the existing bell casting technology in Westeros.The general operation process is as follows: in big cities such as King's Landing and Old Town, spend a lot of money to openly recruit experienced bellsmiths, and when they get the land grant, show them the schematic diagram drawn by Iger himself, and ask them to start work according to their needs.After a busy work, you can say that it is a copper cannon, but it is essentially an elongated + slender version of the copper bell. There is no suspense that it can ring immediately when it is hung a little higher, but it can be turned into a cannon. But still many steps away.

Since the material is copper with better physical properties rather than iron, risks such as fracture and bombing can be lower on the priority list.But "Bronze Bell Transformation Cannon" needs to go through at least the following steps: First, use a grinding tool such as a file to polish the surface of the metal barrel, remove the burrs and holes that are likely to cause stress concentration, and then use a boring tool to clean the barrel. The interior is bored to make it as straight as possible to ensure the firing speed and accuracy. Finally, a fire door hole is drilled at the tail of the "bronze bell", and a copper cannon that can be fired is roughly completed.

As long as you are willing to spend time and energy, the above operations can still be done with the technical level of this world.These are not the biggest reasons that hinder Iger from putting the artillery into practical use before the attack of the White Walkers. The real obstacle is: gunpowder...to be precise, there is a serious shortage of nitrate.

……

Even if a real cannon is successfully cast and processed, no one in this world will use it. It is also a gunpowder weapon, and anyone can throw explosive bombs. To operate a cannon, you have to train specialized artillery.The latter requires a lot of teaching, practice, and live ammunition shooting, so that it is possible to test the reasonable charge and use method of the gunpowder produced by the Night Watchman Industry, and let the soldiers thoroughly remember the correct gun operation process, master basic ballistics, and observe and aim. Know your skills.

Of course, there is the most important thing - relying on getting used to it, to ensure that one's own people will not be frightened by the roar of artillery during wartime.

There is no theoretical difficulty in the above conditions, but only the consumption of gunpowder can be carried out.As the land-grant has not yet established a stable gunpowder supply chain, and only the less than two tons of saltpeter brought out by Iger from the King’s Landing Industrial Park at risk, forcing the launch of the artillery launch plan will inevitably face one of the following two outcomes:

Either they rushed to the battle without training qualified artillery, and as a result, they were in a hurry on the battlefield, unable to exert the real power of projectile thermal weapons; In the process, too many gunpowder resources were consumed, resulting in no gunpowder to be used in the actual battle, and it was difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice.

Not to mention, the efficiency and reliability of artillery in dealing with hordes of ghouls and other ghosts is not necessarily as high as the simple and crude "bomb + wildfire".Not to mention anything else, the Night King who hid 300 meters away in the dark during the defensive battle of Guanghouguan Town was the target that the Dragonglass Cannon could never deal with. ... Just a small fuze is simply not something that can be produced in a short period of time.

There is no need to explain too much, the Longsteel explosive bomb projectile made meritorious service in one fell swoop, and the entire land grant after the Battle of Changhu added up to less than a hundred dragon crystal explosive bombs. decision is correct.

However, the right decision also has its timeliness.Although explosive bombs are useful, they can't be used to conquer the world. With the discovery of saltpeter produced in the furnace city's nitrate field and the news of the smooth progress of resource collection in other places in the northern border, the one that was suspended from freezing, The mysterious project whose name cannot be said is finally time to restart.

***

It is not complicated to prepare for war, but if you want to do it secretly... you can't do it remotely with Iger.Even though he understood that it would be impolite to leave the queen in Last Hearth City, he still had to explain in person and bid farewell temporarily—while leaving Warner Bookwell to lead thousands of reliable elites to protect Daenerys and the injured After the dragon, Iger rushed back to Houguan Town with the remaining large troops and dragged the first batch of salt.

As long as life is endless, strategic flickering cannot stop.The first thing Iger did after returning to Houguan Town was still acting: he didn't even mention the fight for the Iron Throne for the Queen, but went straight to organizing the "Expedition Beyond the Wall".

The simple and short celebration ended, and the first batch of land-grant orders after the bloody battle in Changhu came to an end, led by ravens and messengers, to each fortress.The Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watchman solemnly announced that this war against the White Walkers has officially shifted from the stage of strategic defense to the stage of strategic counter-offensive... The series of specific orders are as follows: 1. To mobilize personnel and troops, to recover and repopulate the previously active Many fortresses between the Grand Canyon and the Nightfort were abandoned or destroyed by the White Walkers; 2. Resume pre-war patrols, strictly prohibiting soldiers from leaving the garrisons and areas of responsibility without permission, resume daily drills and even increase the intensity, and choose strong and powerful Residents expand the ranger force; 3. Order the rebuilt Shadow Tower, Castle Black and Eastwatch to dig through the wall tunnels that were blocked with water before the war as soon as possible to prepare for the expedition.

After arranging this series of work that can be used as smoke bombs and strengthen his control over land grants, almost all the weapon research and development departments he sent to convene in advance have arrived in the hall.Iger left his personal office and went to the meeting place, and held a meeting that was not lengthy but full of information. In this seminar, he followed the plan that he had planned long ago, and informed all the technical administrators of Houguan Town Personnel groups and sub-departments arranged many tasks such as artillery actual fire test, recasting improvement and artillery research, writing and training...

With the change of identity and status, the advanced concepts and knowledge of modern people in his mind are no longer Iger’s only cards and reliance. On the contrary, the time and cost of trial and error for his subordinates are all borne by him. Undertaking——so, not only did he assign tasks, but he also unreservedly took out all the pitiful, popular science-level relevant knowledge in his memory, and taught them all for the group of "ancient" scientific researchers in front of him. They pointed out the general direction and hoped that they would take as few detours as possible.

The launching of artillery is the "hard" part of war preparations.But obviously, in launching a war, the "soft" part actually covers a wider range.After the seminar was over, Iger dismissed most of the participants, leaving only one outsider—Tobe Mott, an outside metallurgist from King's Landing.

When he personally invited him from the capital of the Seven Kingdoms to recast the "Bright Messenger", Iger offered a high price of one-fifth of the dragon steel for the whole sword, but at the same time asked to pay the reward after the war was over.Tob Mott was afraid that Aigre would renege on his bills and chose to stay in Houguan Town and wait for his reward - being idle is also idle. After thinking about it, he also accepted the high salary offered by the former, and paid to the night watchman during the waiting time. The technicians in the industry impart metallurgical knowledge and experience... I was just looking for something to do, but I was infected by the vigorous spirit of the entire land-grant capital (of course, money is essential), and I really put some thought and effort into it. The "apprentice" with energy, came and went, he gradually changed from an external expert to half an internal staff, and his relationship with the night watchman became much closer as if he had known each other for many years.

……

"Master Mott." Iger stretched out his hand and asked the other party to sit in the seat in front of him, and said with a smile on his face, "Thank you for giving up the good environment of King's Landing and running to this cold ghostly place to support the Night Watchman, without you Serious and effective work, even if the night watchmen can still win this battle, they will have to pay a higher price. This credit cannot be exaggerated. Now, the war is over... it is basically over, let's talk Good one-fifth, one-fifth of 71 is fourteen and one-fifth, I..."

"Just ten." Thinking that Iger wanted to talk about how to deal with the extra fifth, Tob Mott also replied with a smile on his face, "Can we turn the tide with the Night Watchman in such a battle to protect the Seven Kingdoms?" It is the greatest honor of my life to stand side by side in the great battle. I can let my grandson brag about the experience of the night when Houguan Town was attacked by the dead—the extra four and one-fifth dragon steel arrows , can be regarded as my respect and respect for the Night Watch Corps!"

Fighting side by side is obviously a good way to say it, but the fact is: Tob Mott was shivering in his room in the inner castle on the night of the defensive battle of Houguan Town, shivering under a quilt, not even seeing a half of the ghouls. He was still scolding Iger for bringing him to this ghost place, and regretted why he hid back to King's Landing without finishing his work.

But as the sun rose from the east again, he walked out of the room where he had been hiding all night, looked at the almost ruined outer city of Houguan Town, which was still emitting green smoke, and saw the piles of corpses piled up outside the wall that could not be exhausted. , Smell the stench of protein and fat burning in the air... Witness the queen riding a dragon descending from the sky, and watch the Houguan Town troops go away after the rest of their lives and dare to organize to chase the enemy.All the fear and annoyance turned into shock and pride—although he did not kill half of the moving ghouls, but he did go through this battle, didn't he!

As long as Eggken admits in his official capacity as the Night's Watch that he forged the arrow that shot the White Walker, it doesn't matter if he doesn't want to be paid.After getting to the top position in an industry, he doesn't care much about money and other extraneous possessions. Fame and bragging capital are what he values ​​most!

"Ah? Oh, you misunderstood me. I'm not entangled in fractions." Iger was stunned for a moment, and then smiled even more, "I'll give you one, fifteen! You can choose fifteen Lightbringers to bring back Go to King’s Landing, as long as you accept the official ranking and naming of the Night Watchman, you can collect or sell it as you like. But I still want to ask you to do me a favor.”

"Your Excellency, as long as I can do it, I will do it!" Tobe Mott felt that no promise could be said so sincerely.

"The real 'Bright Messenger' has only been cast into 71 pieces, and I asked you to make up the other six pieces with scraps of tile steel. In addition, after the White Walkers broke through the canyon and captured a series of fortresses along the Great Wall, we temporarily made 51 of them The guns were taken out, cast into pieces and stuffed into the bombs. In other words, there are only [-] real Lightbringers left in this world. Only a small group of insiders know this. I asked you to keep it a secret. You Shouldn't you be talking about it?"

"That's natural, we're not children, what can be said and what can't be said is still unclear!"

"Thank you for your cooperation... Unfortunately, the bad news is that even these 51 real light emissaries were all used in the war. Although I ordered to recover as much as possible, in the end, only less than half of them were recovered, less than three Ten. As for whether the remaining 20 or more were really damaged in the melee, lost or secretly hidden by the soldiers to sell for money, I will never know, and it is impossible to pursue them with great fanfare.” Iger sighed In a tone of helplessness: "It is conceivable that when the war is completely over, there will soon be a group of people holding the 'Light Messenger' who don't know whether it was stolen, picked up or hidden, and who can't tell whether it is true or not, claiming I picked it up on the battlefield, and then sold it everywhere, trying to make a fortune from the heat of this legendary victory of the Night Watchmen. Instead of allowing such chaos to occur, the value of the remaining 'True Lightbringer' in our hands has shrunk, and the legendary Feeling and authenticity are also compromised, so why don't we just eat the bonus ourselves?"

Ok?

Tob Mott is over half a century old, so shrewd and sophisticated. After listening to it and thinking for a while, his eyes gradually widened: "Could it be... I will cast another forty fakes, and get 77?"

"In the place where I come from, there is a saying that history is written by the victors." Iger smiled, neither nodding nor answering positively, "The truth of the Lightbringer is not the same as the so-called 'truth of history' The same? True or false, it doesn't matter at all, as long as we both admit it is true, even if it is false, it is true, on the contrary, even if it is true, as long as we do not admit it, then it is false! True true false False, unreal, the two of us—the founder and the first owner—have to say it!”

-

Chapter 465

People who understand digital currency must have heard this story: There was once a programmer who bought two pizzas with 1 bitcoins and ate them all in one meal-and these [-] virtual coins that were "worth only a penny" at the time Gadgets, later the highest rose to [-] US dollars each.