A Plan to Turn the Tide

"I saw it coming a long time ago."

Cersei's voice is very shrill.

"Ed is a great villain who appears loyal, and a great hypocrite who appears true."

"On the surface, he appears virtuous and respectable, but in reality, he harbors malicious intentions; he is a hypocrite rarely seen in the seven kingdoms!"

As soon as Eddard's army left the city gates, she eagerly approached Joffrey and began to slander him.

"Before he and his two daughters entered the Red Keep, King's Landing was peaceful; after they entered, trouble arose constantly."

"First Robert appointed him as Prime Minister, then a bunch of secret letters suddenly appeared in the city defaming our identities."

"And then today, despite being outnumbered, he insisted on sending troops!"

"I think he's either Stannis's spy or Renly's spy."

"Or perhaps he's a spy for both of them!"

Joffrey gave a cold snort.

"Should we have Sir Ilyin take his sword and behead him to dispel Mother's suspicions?"

Cersei was startled: "Joffrey! How could you have such a terrible idea?"

"I just want to tell you not to trust him too much."

"I'm not telling you to just chop someone's head off like that. He's your father-in-law!"

Oh dear, how much longer will we have to endure this?

Joffrey sighed inwardly and patiently explained.

"Don't worry, Mother."

"Although I rely on Lord Ed very much, he can never replace you in my heart."

Then he looked around and, finding only the hounds present, lowered his voice and whispered.

"Moreover, we are not actually sending troops."

Cersei's eyes widened.

"It's not true? Then why is it being promoted so convincingly?"

Joffrey simply gave a vague answer, saying that the fewer people who knew about this, the better.

Some of the Lannisters are the moral sewers of King's Landing.

Ed is the moral ceiling.

Although the vile gossip that Renly spread was a source of great amusement for people.

But neither nobles nor commoners would believe that a prime minister known for his integrity would lie because of such a thing.

Ed did indeed lead his army out of the city, and he did indeed head north.

But his army will only advance slowly along the coastline and wander around the north of King's Landing, creating the illusion that the main force has already moved.

This puts the problem back in Stannis's hands.

He could either ease the siege and allow the remaining troops to land directly to confront the reinforcements.

Or they could ignore it completely and take the opportunity to attack the vulnerable King's Landing.

But Ed would never take anyone far.

Moreover, he deployed scouts extensively to keep a close watch on the enemy's movements, ensuring that he could withdraw at any time.

James successfully volunteered.

His task was simply to lead his cavalry to patrol around Duskvale and put pressure on Stannis's siege forces.

To help Dusk Valley Town hold on for a few more days.

All of this is to put on a certain posture.

The Iron Throne will not abandon any vassal.

But in reality, no one will go to rescue Dusk Valley.

Cersei couldn't tell.

Even the grateful Earl Riverley couldn't tell.

However, Melisandre is on Dragonstone.

Joffrey could only hope that her prophecy of fire wasn't as exaggerated as it seemed.

It's at least not several orders of magnitude higher than [Stargazing], as it can even predict their future movements.

In any case, all Joffrey can do now is play along.

If Mugu Town is lost, it's lost.

If it can tie down half of the enemy's forces, its mission is accomplished.

Stannis pretended to divide his forces to fight, and they also pretended to send troops to rescue him.

Everything was done to buy time.

In order to stall for time until reinforcements arrive.

However, this is not easy.

Because their enemies are not only Stannis.

The little devil's plan to use the iron chains to block the river has completely fallen through.

With a tight schedule and heavy workload, the stone pagoda on the north bank was not even half completed in just one or two weeks.

The situation on the south bank is even worse.

The foundation had just been laid when it was completely demolished.

The lords of the northern part of the Stormlands have openly set up camp on the opposite bank of the river.

With the deafening sound of gongs and drums, a stove every ten steps, and a constant stream of carts carrying grain and fodder, and teams of people coming and going.

And Varys once again proved his indispensable importance.

"Your Majesty, Renly's army is not there at all; it's just a few minor lords bluffing."

"They send people out at night to sneak out and then return during the day disguised as reinforcements. Oh my, Lord Elor is truly shrewd."

Joffrey smiled with gratitude, but inwardly he was even more wary.

It is said that eunuchs can even find out what you ate for breakfast three days ago.

Despite this, King's Landing still couldn't spare any troops to drive them away.

After Velas's Red Guards were also incorporated into the garrison, Cersei constantly felt unsafe.

But the Golden Robe had just been purged by her.

A small number of loyal and brave men were also selected by Ed and mixed in with the new recruits for reorganization.

These people were also taken away.

Now, only Genos remains in the city, along with the thugs he summoned and the mercenaries Cersei hired over the past two weeks.

These two groups are mixed together, and their loyalty is touching.

If they fall into a disadvantageous position, they will readily betray their masters and defect to the enemy.

Ed still confidently distributed weapons and equipment, letting these people take over the defense for the past few days.

Because their opponent is Stannis.

The Duke of Dragonstone would verbally reward any traitor who surrendered the city.

Then the leader's head was chopped off on the spot, and the rest were made to make a choice.

Either lose a hand, or roll to the Great Wall.

Joffrey had these things publicized every day, and the archbishop even personally endorsed them.

Even if Stannis wasn't that kind of person, his image in the hearts of the residents of King's Landing wouldn't be much different.

Moreover, for every mercenary Cersei hired, Tyrion would send Bronn to bribe one.

The siblings were still outwitting each other at this time.

So the all-powerful Varys reported it to Eddard.

Ed relayed this to Joffrey.

Now that he had some time, he called over the mercenary leader to ask him questions personally.

The leader was dressed in a very impressive manner.

He wore Lannister red plate armor, but on his back was a white cloak embroidered with the emblem of a direwolf.

The helmet was removed, revealing the face.

Joffrey was speechless.

"A prince became king and became very busy."

"Why are you thinking of someone now?" Jaqen brushed aside his half-red, half-white hair.

A few days ago, this guy kept trying to get close to Arya, which made Syrio very unhappy, so he went and complained to her.

The prime minister intended to send the man away, but Jaqen knocked down three guards on the spot and volunteered to help.

Arya brought up the previous incident a couple more times, and Ed came to ask Joffrey's opinion.

"This guy is pretty honest... probably pretty honest, but he's got a screw loose."

"But his strength is extremely high. Lord Ed, many of your guards have already been sent out, so why not just take him in?"

If Jaqen is just looking for information at the Red Keep, there is indeed no danger.

There's nothing wrong with doing a favor for the Faceless Ones.

But that's been a long time, and Joffrey hasn't had time to ask what Jaqen has been up to lately.

"How did you manage to infiltrate the mercenary group? And why are you dressed so inappropriately?"

"The Prime Minister sent someone." Jaqen grinned.

Then he twisted his shoulders.

"Doesn't it look good? This color suits someone's hair so well."