Chapter 437 Crossing the River
"My lord, the army on the other side is gathering and mobilizing, and it should be crossing the river!"
Hearing the news, Duke Tywin Lannister was not surprised but delighted.
"Where are they crossing the river?"
"Upstream at Ram's Ferry."
"Immediately send someone to inform Tormo Frega and let him lead the Sea King fleet back to the Blackwater River."
"yes!"
"Inform Sir Lancel Lannister that I appoint him as the vanguard officer in the name of the Hand of the King, and let him immediately lead three thousand cavalry from the West to Ram's Ferry."
"yes."
"Notify Duke Roose Bolton, Countess Anya Waywood, and Sir Edwin Frey to reorganize the army and prepare to go."
"yes."
"Appoint Tyrion Lannister as the acting Prime Minister. When I am away, he will take charge of the government affairs of King's Landing."
…
Duke Tywin quickly issued a series of orders while wearing the armor with the help of his attendants.
When these orders were passed on, the war machine composed of the four northern regions finally slowly woke up from its deep sleep and began to show its ferocious face.
"...Remember, maintaining food supplies for the army is your most important task." Duke Tywin made his final confession to Tyrion. Although he didn't like this son, at this moment, he couldn't find a more suitable one. The people who came to replace him sat in King's Landing.
Although Tyrion has various flaws, at least he has abilities.
"I will leave you with 3,000 troops, plus the capital garrison, enough to stabilize the situation in the city. Remember, any signs of turmoil must be suppressed with the strongest means..."
Tyrion listened to his father's explanation, but seemed a little absent-minded.
"Have you memorized everything?"
"Remember it." Tyrion nodded, and couldn't help asking, "Where's James? Didn't you say he'd be back soon?"
The corners of Duke Tywin's eyes trembled slightly, as if he was holding back his great anger:
"He still won't come back."
"Didn't you send someone to forcibly tie him back?"
"He sneaked back halfway by himself."
Tyrion was speechless for a while.
Brother James is determined not to break his oath again this time?
"I don't have time to deal with these **** things now." Duke Tywin controlled his emotions and regained his composure, and said, "Don't think about these anymore, just hold the rear for me, and everything will be fine when the army defeats Caesar of."
Tyrion lowered his head, swallowed a fatal question that was almost blurted out, and said:
"good."
Duke Tywin hurriedly left the Red Keep and came to the barracks outside the city.
He summoned the nobles from all over the world, quickly assigned tasks, and then personally led a cavalry to rush to the front line.
When Duke Tywin arrived at the ferry, he saw the banners on the other side like dark clouds, and the neatly arranged army spread out from the river for several miles, with almost no end in sight.
"My lord," Sir Lancel, the vanguard officer, pointed to the upper channel, "the enemy is building a pontoon bridge."
Duke Tywin looked up, and saw more than a dozen strange-looking boats were connected together by iron cables, going down the river from the upper reaches.
The deck of the boat is very wide, the draft is also very deep, and the canopy is raised high, forming a triangle on the deck. More than a dozen boats are connected together to form a not-so-spacious corridor on the river.
When these ships arrived at the ferry, they dropped anchor one after another. The people on the boat near the south bank threw two thick iron chains, and the people who had been waiting on the shore rushed up to drag the chains and nailed one end of them to the ground.
In this way, a simple pontoon on water is built.
Moreover, there are dozens of steps between the pontoon bridge and the opposite bank, which seems to be shorter.
Building pontoon bridges and crossing the river to attack the enemy is a common method in war.
This is not a black technology in the background of Westeros, so no one thinks that the craftsmen under Caesar are incapable of completing the construction of a pontoon bridge.
Sure enough, under the watchful eyes of the soldiers on both sides, another big boat floated down from the upper reaches, and the boat was full of soldiers in armor holding strong shields.
Obviously, this boat is to make up for the short part of the pontoon bridge.
Of course, Duke Tywin would not just watch the opponent complete the construction of the pontoon bridge, and immediately gave the order to attack.
The low-pitched horn echoed on the north bank of the Heishui River, and the soldiers of the Northern Army drew their bows and arrows one after another. The arrows rose and fell like raindrops and shot into the pontoon bridge in the river.
However, since the soldiers of the Southern Army on board were all armed to the teeth, the rain of arrows did not cause any damage.
A pontoon bridge has already formed on the river, just waiting to cross the river.
Samwell, who was on the south bank, nodded with satisfaction when he saw this, and immediately ordered:
"Beat the drums, order the whole army, and cross the river!"
The sound of the war drum rumbled, becoming the note that played the prelude to the war. Whenever it appeared on the battlefield, it meant that countless blood would flow out.
The flag of the double-headed eagle began to move forward slowly, and the roar of the vanguard continued. Groups of heavily armed soldiers, led by officers, lined up on the pontoon bridge one by one, and quickly marched to the opposite bank.
The pontoon bridge is wobbly, but it is still stable after all, and the connected boat canopy will block the arrows on the opposite bank, so that the soldiers crossing the river will not be attacked.
On the frontmost ship, hundreds of heavy armored infantry jumped off the bow one after another, walked into the shallows, and began to deploy.
There are two other people pulling the iron cable to nail the other end of the pontoon into the ground, completing the last process of the pontoon.
However, at this time the Northern Army's attack has also arrived.
Teams of cavalry rushed to the shallows, and the rain of arrows suddenly became dense, and many soldiers of the Southern Army fell to the ground wailing among them.
But more people put up strong shields to resist the enemy's attack.
But at this time, the number of the Southern Army on the north bank was still too small, and the front line of defense could not help but be compressed by the Northern Army, and soon they gathered together and kept retreating.
And casualties suddenly began to surge.
Although the follow-up support is constantly rushing to the north bank through the pontoon bridge, due to the compression of the army formation, the reinforcements in the rear almost have no place to stand.
The Northern Army launched a continuous offensive, which seemed to push the enemy down the Heishui River in one go.
But at this moment, a loud dragon chant sounded from the south bank.
Immediately afterwards, the soldiers of the Western Territory on the north bank saw a huge white dragon soaring into the sky, flying over the Blackwater River, and swooping down towards the fiercely fought beach.
"Shoot! Shoot!" The knight in the western region uttered a terrified cry.
But the arrows shot by the bow obviously cannot pose a threat to the white dragon of this size.
Cleopatra flapped her wings and made a thunderous sound, her huge mouth opened, and lava-like flames gushed out from the depths of her throat.
Duke Tywin frowned slightly as he watched the spears of fire descending from the sky, igniting the cavalrymen of the western region one by one.
The white dragon was just as Varys had said, it was bigger than expected.
Since this is the case, the plan to launch a surprise attack before the Southern Army has a firm foothold can only be abandoned.
"Order the former army to retreat temporarily!" Duke Tywin ordered decisively.
Although the withdrawal of troops was ordered, the battle is far from over.
The speed at which the Southern Army transported troops through the pontoon bridge was limited, and the Northern Army still had an advantage in strength for a period of time.
In addition, heavy attack equipment such as giant crossbows will soon follow the follow-up army to arrive. By then, Caesar's white dragon will not be as unscrupulous as it is now.
Not to mention, the Braavosi fleet...
Duke Tywin turned his horse's head and retreated temporarily, staring fixedly at the looming figure on the white dragon with a gloomy expression.
Caesar, our war has only just begun.
(end of this chapter)