The Storm Is Brewing

Robert was so angry he was trembling.

"This, this...this is a traitor who uses hostages to deceive the emperor, a man who imprisons his own parents and murders his husband."

"How dare you order me around!"

Paisell stroked his beard and cautiously peeked out.

"Is His Majesty referring to Lady Nalysa?"

"Exactly! Look!"

Robert casually tossed the letter onto the long table.

"Ryza sent me a handwritten letter saying that she didn't believe it was Littlefinger's genuine accusation."

"She insists I take her to the Eyrie for a face-to-face confrontation before she'll release her!"

He slammed his fist on the table, causing the wine in his glass to spill out.

"What kind of thing is Lysa?"

"Originally a powerless woman, she falsely claims to be the regent of the valley, deceiving the world and stealing a reputation!"

"She took advantage of her husband's death to steal the entire Eyrie, and she's still not satisfied? She even dares to make demands of me!"

"This is intolerable!"

Paisell shook his head slightly: "The world is going to the dogs, and petty people are getting ahead."

Watching the chaos unfold in the council chamber, Joffrey silently made his plans.

Reuniting Lysa and Littlefinger at the Eyrie was part of his plan.

Joffrey originally thought he would have to wait a while longer and go through some more trouble.

Unexpectedly, Ryza herself took this matter a big step forward.

At this moment, Lanli stood up and said loudly.

"Ryza is hateful."

"Disregard for royal authority and insubordination constitute treason. Your Majesty, please send troops to quell this!"

Robert also stood up.

"Order your vassals in various regions to assemble their soldiers."

"I will personally go to the valley and raze the Eagle's Nest to the ground!"

Only now did his true intentions become clear.

It was not because someone disobeyed the king's orders that he was furious.

They just took the opportunity to find a respectable excuse.

This would give him the opportunity to rise from the Iron Throne and fight a great battle.

Ed also stood up.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't! You absolutely mustn't!"

"If you were to personally lead the expedition to the Valley, how would the nobles of the seven kingdoms view this matter?"

"Ned!" Robert interrupted sharply. "I've already been more than generous to her for your sake."

He stretched out his right hand, making a fist in the air as if he were weighing the warhammer that had not been used in battle for a long time.

"Do you know how I've lived these past years?"

Ed remained silent.

"Drinking, hunting, listening to them read their ledgers." Robert gestured with his chin toward the others.

"I'm getting a headache just listening to who's married into whom, who's a feud with whom."

Robert clenched his fist.

"Fighting is so much easier. If there's an enemy standing on the other side, just swing a hammer and smash them. If you win, that's it."

"This time is different," Ed said in a low voice. "This time you're going to fight your own vassals."

"So what?" Robert said nonchalantly.

"Back when I crushed Rhaegar at the Trident River, did anyone care whether he was a vassal or a prince?"

"Nine years ago, when we joined forces to fight Greyjoy's betrayal, you didn't have this much to say."

He glanced at Ed sideways, a hint of mockery in his voice.

"You're not that old, why are you being so fussy?"

Joffrey lowered his eyes, hiding his expression in the shadows.

Lysa's second letter completely escalated the issue from whether or not to fight to how to fight.

But Ed's reason for not backing down is quite simple.

The Iron Throne is currently penniless, and if war breaks out again, Robert will certainly have to borrow money from all over the place.

However, no matter how hard Ed argued, he couldn't change the king's mind.

"Your Majesty, Greyjoy has committed treason and should be crushed with overwhelming force."

"But attacking the Eyrie is different; it has never been captured by force before, so it is destined to be a protracted war of attrition."

The king simply clenched his fist and said boldly.

"Then let me accomplish this feat!"

"Your Majesty, Lady Lysa is still holding hostages. What if..." Ed pleaded again.

Robert laughed.

"Ned, you know those are hostages."

Ed was about to say something more when Robert simply raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Alright, alright, I've let you get away with this for so long, have you rescued the person yet?"

"I still have to take a hard line with her!"

……

Time flows.

Ed's persuasion worked.

Littlefinger, tasked with persuading Lysa to surrender, boarded a ship in King's Landing three days ago, sailing by sea to Gulltown, and from there to the Eyrie.

To prevent him from escaping en route, Sir Robert Royce personally accompanied him.

When they arrive at Runestone, Bronze Yorn will lead his army to escort them.

But the king did not stop assembling his army.

His orders swept through the seven kingdoms like a storm.

The king and the feudal lords responded most enthusiastically.

Although the population is not large, it still has more than 10,000 people.

Stokeworth, Rossby, Bookwell, Lake... more than a dozen families sent their knights and conscripts to support the king.

Within ten days, the King's Road was lined with flags of all colors.

After all, this place is close to King's Landing, and the number of people from each family who come will be clearly seen by the king.

However, the number of troops from the seven kingdoms that come depends entirely on their loyalty to the royal family.

In the feudal system of Westeros, vassals were loyal to the overlord, protected by him, and also required to obey the overlord's coordination and decisions among the vassals.

In times of war, vassals are obligated to provide military support to their overlord and to obey his command.

However, because of the hierarchical system of lords, Robert did not have the authority to directly command the minor nobles outside the royal domain.

We can only wait until these dukes have assembled their armies before bringing them together.

But Baratheon's own family put in a lot of effort.

Lannister rushed back to Windbreak Castle in the dead of night, rallying his vassals in Stormlands to rise up in support of the King.

When the people heard that the king was going to personally lead the troops, they flocked to respond and immediately brought out 20,000 warriors.

The North is different.

Ed knew that the valley was not a suitable place to operate, and that sending too many people would be useless.

Each lord was allowed to lead their own standing guard and a small number of elite troops, totaling more than 6,000 men, and Robb was to lead them south along the King's Road.

Stannis remained holed up on Dragonstone and refused to come out.

He claimed to be ill and only sent his wife's uncle to take charge of the royal navy, leaving the fleet anchored at Blackwater Bay on standby.

And then nothing more was heard from it.

As for the Reach and Dorne.

Because of the long distance, Robert didn't expect them to do much.

Duke Tyrell still dispatched two thousand cavalrymen to rush to the aid overnight, and claimed that tens of thousands of infantrymen and supplies were still behind, heading north along the Rose Road.

Dorne, in comparison, seemed much colder.

Prince Martell only sent a thousand soldiers to make an appearance, and no one knew when they would arrive at the Blood Gate.

But the Iron Islands' response was the most perfunctory.

Baron sent only twenty-odd longships, carrying a few hundred Ironmen across the ocean.

They had probably just drifted to Qingting Island at this point.

As for Hejian, which was the closest and the most vocal, it did not send out a single soldier.

Edmure concentrated all his troops at Riverrun and confronted the Western Frontier Army.

His cawing birds almost filled the cages in the Bachelor's Tower.

One letter implored His Majesty to allow the Lannisters to find another way, rather than the River Road; another accused the Westerlands army of trampling wheat fields and ruining all the people's food.

Another alarming report came in that Kevan had led his vanguard past Goldtooth and was now pressing on the walls of Flowing River.

Robert simply drafted two decrees.

One of them is just a lie.

He instructed Tywin to provide some compensation to the lords along the way as appropriate when he passed through the territory.

However, the amount of compensation and when it will be paid were both vaguely stated.

Another decree suppressed all discontent.

Robert ordered the Western Frontier Army and the Riverlands Army to remain in place until he personally went to the front lines to take command, and then led both armies to the Valley.

That's not right.

The king is gone, what will happen to the soldiers in the royal territory?

Joffrey, who had been silent all along, suddenly had a premonition.

He raised his head.

They made eye contact right then and there, just like Robert.

"Xiao Qiao".

"You take him to the Blood Gate."