Chapter 251 Kuroshio
The banks of the Trident River.
"The ironborn captured Winterfell?"
Duke Ed Stark looked at the messenger who came to deliver the letter with disbelief.
"Yes, my lord."
"How did the Ironborn take the castle? Where's Robb?"
"At that time, Lord Robb heard from Theon Greyjoy that the Ironborn intended to attack Cailin Bay, and led the army to support it, but was not in the city. However, after receiving the news of the fall of Winterfell, Lord Robb realized that He was deceived. And he guessed that the iron people were able to attack the city so quickly because of Theon's internal support."
"Theon..." Duke Ed chanted the name of his adopted son, with sadness and anger flashing in his eyes.
After a long while, he asked again: "How many ironmen are there?"
"At the beginning there were nearly 2,000 people, but a group was withdrawn later. It is estimated that there are less than 500 people left in Winterfell."
"A group of ironmen evacuated? But there are still a group left?"
"Yes."
Duke Ed frowned. In his opinion, after the Ironborn captured Winterfell, they had two choices, either grabbing it and retreating, or standing still and waiting for reinforcements.
Now, what does it mean that it has been withdrawn and not completely withdrawn?
But at this time, he couldn't think too much, after all, his wife and children were in the city, and Duke Ed was very anxious.
He immediately asked the family knights to reorganize the army, and prepared to lead 3,000 soldiers and horses back to rescue.
But before leaving, he had to arrange for someone to replace him in command of the three-border coalition forces.
After thinking for a moment, Duke Ed said to the attendants:
"Go and invite Earl Roose Bolton, Countess Anya Waywood, and Earl Jason Mallister."
"yes."
The attendant led the order to leave, and first came to the camp with the pink flayed flag flying—
That's the camp where the Dreadfort army is.
The current lord of the Dreadfort is Lord Roose Bolton, known as "Lord Leech" because he likes to **** his own blood with leeches.
When the attendants found "Lord Leech", he was lying naked on the bed, his pale chest was covered with leeches, and these soft and waxy insects were gradually turning bright pink.
The attendant endured the fear and anxiety in his heart, and said cautiously: "Lord Luce, Lord Ed, please go."
"Okay." Earl Luce's tone was so light that one had to listen carefully.
He motioned for the bachelor to take the leech off his body, and took the coat from the servant to cover the pale body without a trace of blood.
The attendant didn't dare to stay longer, and hurriedly left after delivering the order.
Earl Luce drank a glass of red wine leisurely before getting up and going to the camp of the Chinese army.
"Master Ed, what do you need from me?"
"Yes. Sit down, someone will come later." Duke Ed said.
To be honest, if there is a better choice, Duke Ed does not want to hand over the command of the army to Roose Bolton at all.
But Earl Jon Umber was too reckless, Earl Wyman Manderly was too fat to ride a horse, and Earl Rickard Karstark was too old, and he had fever during the expedition to Dorne. illness, he had already returned to Kahuo City to recuperate in advance, and the other northern nobles did not have enough prestige.
Although Duke Ed doesn't like this person, he has to admit that Earl Luce is the most suitable candidate for commander in terms of means and prestige, and only this person can restrain the northern princes after he leaves.
Of course, in order to check and balance this person, Duke Ed also found a leader from the nobles of the Riverland and the Stormland.
After waiting for a while, Mrs. Anya and Earl Jason also arrived one after another.
Duke Ed just opened his mouth and said:
"I just received the news that Winterfell was captured by the iron people. I am going to take 3,000 people back to drive them away. During my absence, the troops of the Three Realms will be under your command."
"Thank you for your trust." Earl Luce leaned slightly, and then asked, "Is your family okay?"
"It's not clear yet." Duke Ed's heart ached when he thought of this.
He couldn't imagine what would happen if the enemy really killed Winterfell, so he could only pray to the old gods, praying that Theon Greyjoy would still remember his nurturing love for more than ten years.
"Is it enough for you to bring only 3,000 people back? Do you want to bring more people?" Mrs. Anya asked.
"No. Most of the Ironborn have withdrawn, and fighting in the northern border, we naturally have an advantage."
"Indeed, I have also received similar news. The Ironborn suddenly evacuated from the northern border. Maybe Baron finally realized that there is nothing to grab there." Earl Jason said, his territory was on the front line against the Ironborn.
"Just in case, let me ask the Dreadfort to send troops to help you." Earl Luce suggested, "The Bolton family can still raise an army of about a thousand people, and I will write to my illegitimate son Ramsay Snow No, let him cooperate with you to take back Winterfell."
"Okay." This time Duke Eddard did not reject the kindness of the Dreadfort, "The Stark family will remember the help given by the Bolton family."
"You are welcome. This is what we should do." Earl Luce said. There are no wrinkles or expressions on his face, no matter whether he is angry or happy, he looks the same.
Duke Ed paused for a moment, and then warned: "During the time I'm away, you are in charge of military affairs together. Remember that as long as you keep the camp, you don't need to take the initiative to attack, and don't pay attention to the lion's provocation. Everything will be discussed when I come back."
The three nodded in response.
After the brief meeting, Earl Luce returned to his camp.
As soon as he entered the camp, he found his servants and asked them to serve him and put on the armor:
"My lord, you'd better bring more people." The attendant suggested, "I heard that there are wolves in the forest. They even broke into the camp last night and killed a war horse."
"It is wolves that I want to hunt. They make me unable to sleep because of their noise." Earl Luce put his long sword on his waist, "It is said that in the northern border, direwolves once wandered around in packs of hundreds, and they were not afraid of people. , not even afraid of mammoths. Terrible and terrible stuff."
"Bad times breed bad things." The old bachelor said.
"Are these times bad?" Earl Luce asked.
"Isn't it? Westeros is full of wars, and there are already three kings, and there may be more in the future."
"It would be bad if there was only one king." Earl Luce's icy pale eyes flickered, "Three would be much more interesting."
He fastened the buttons of his cloak and said to the bachelor:
"Send a letter to dear Mrs. Varda, saying that I can't wait to have a child with her."
"Yes, my lord."
"By the way, remember to send the raven to the Twins, not the Dreadfort. My lady is visiting her grandfather."
"Okay." The maester knew that Earl Luce had just married the granddaughter of the Lord of the Twins, Lord Walder Frey.
When the two families entered into a marriage contract, Lord Walder asked Earl Luce to choose one of his many granddaughters as his wife, and promised to give the bride a silver equivalent in weight as a dowry. Therefore, Earl Luce chose the Frey family. The fattest Mrs. Varda.
This Mrs. Varda looks like a pink ball, and her appearance is not very good.
But she did bring Earl Luce a handsome dowry.
It seems that she will also bring a new heir to Earl Luce.
—————
The Shield Islands are located at the mouth of the Mande River, west of High Court, and have always been the "shields" to prevent sea enemies from invading the Mande River Basin.
Along the jagged coastlines of these islands, watchtowers have been set up, in which there are "old men with gray beards" who follow the ancient tradition and keep vigilant. Once a ship of unknown origin is found at sea, they will light the beacon in the lighthouse to send out the dangerous message.
Asta has been the "gray bearded old man" for more than forty years, and this watchtower has almost become his second home.
Today, he came to the watchtower as usual, changed shifts with his companions, and then cooked oatmeal, while not forgetting to pay attention to the situation at sea from time to time.
Having been an "old man with a gray beard" for so many years, Asta knows the sea area he is in charge of well, and he also knows every ship passing by, even if he doesn't look at the flags flying on the ships, he just relies on the appearance of the ships By looking at their characteristics, you can tell which family they belong to, and even which captain is at the helm.
Of course, Asta knew that the pirates were the ones he needed to watch out for most.
But since the Iron Islands were brutally suppressed ten years ago, the Shield Islands have not seen those **** ironman longships.
Asta has also fought wits and courage with those smugglers in recent years.
However, I heard that the Iron Islands have become restless recently.
Although the ironborn are now going to the north to plunder, who knows if they will come to the Reach one day.
You know, compared to the barren northern border, the rich river bend has always been "favored" by the ironmen.
So in recent days, Asta has been extra vigilant.
The oatmeal was cooked, and Asta was about to have breakfast when he heard footsteps coming from the spiral staircase.
He leaned out and looked down, and saw a tall knight in armor walking up step by step, with three leaves tattooed on the cloak behind him.
is a knight of the Oakheart family.
When the man came up, Asta quickly got up and saluted, and said with a smile:
"Sir Togan, why are you here?"
"You know me?" Sir Togan was a little surprised.
"Yes, I met you when you married the Earl of Chester's daughter three years ago."
The Earl of Chester is the lord of this Green Shield Island.
Sir Togan nodded, and stood in front of the lookout: "Did you notice anything unusual?"
"No, no." Asta said with a smile, "If there is any abnormality, I will light the beacon."
"Well, be vigilant." Sir Togan reminded, "The ironmen have evacuated the northern border, and I guess they are likely to go south."
Asta actually wondered why the knight of the Oakheart family suddenly cared so much about the situation in the Shield Islands.
Although this person is married to the daughter of the Earl of Greenshield Island, he usually lives in Ancient Oak City and rarely comes to the island.
Ashtar can only be attributed to Sir Togan's fear of the sudden appearance of the Ironborn, and went up the Mander River to plunder the heartland of the river bend.
"Okay, Master Togan, don't worry, I will always pay attention to the situation at sea."
Ser Toggan nodded in satisfaction, turned around as if preparing to go downstairs.
Asta bent down again to salute and see him off, but just as he lowered his head, he saw a flash of light on the ground.
The old man raised his head in surprise, and saw that the knight on the opposite side had drawn out his long sword. The blade of the sword reflected the sunlight, dazzling and deadly.
Chi—
Until he was stabbed in the chest by a sword, Asta still couldn't understand why Sir Togan wanted to kill himself.
The tired old man did not see that long ships suddenly appeared on the sea level outside the lookout port.
The jet-black flag fluttered in the wind, with the golden sea monster's coat of arms faintly visible on it.
(end of this chapter)