Indecisiveness

Joffrey stood in the corridor, gazing north of King's Landing.

Under the starry night, countless bonfires lit up the horizon, forming a burning galaxy.

Before the real war begins, the first battles will be fought in the information war.

Renly and Stannis completely aligned their stories and began to preach together that Joffrey was dead.

And the messy affair between the Prime Minister and the Queen Mother.

And indeed, Edmure sent a message.

Paisell intercepted it beforehand and delivered it to Joffrey.

"Brother-in-law, my sister loves you so much, you wouldn't really abandon her, would you... The whole of Hejian is saying that you conspired with the Empress Dowager to seize power and harm His Majesty..."

He was frozen in the North for so many years and angered by Robert for so long.

This was the first time Joffrey had ever seen Ed's face turn that purple.

The Prime Minister immediately wrote back, ordering Edmund to stop waiting for those dawdling vassals and lead his army south immediately.

Furthermore, he planned to personally visit Riverrun after the war to properly educate his brother-in-law on how to become a better lord.

Robb, on the other hand, was efficient.

Upon receiving the news, he abandoned all the infantry in the north and personally led four thousand cavalrymen on a gallop along the Kings Road.

finally.

Reinforcements from the North, the Riverlands, and the Vale once again converged at the mouth of the Trident River, heading south under cover of night towards King's Landing.

"Xiao Qiao".

A soft call came from behind.

Joffrey turned his head and saw Cersei standing in the moonlight, wearing a light red cloak.

"Mother, it's past midnight, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"You're not asleep either," Cersei said, walking up to him and gazing into the distance side by side. "At a time like this, who knows how many people are also unable to sleep."

"Xiao Qiao, do you still remember your father's last words?"

Joffrey paused, startled. "Which last words?"

When he discovered Robert's faked death, he was so angry that he completely forgot all those touching words.

"When in doubt about internal affairs, consult Ed."

"When in doubt about foreign affairs, consult Ed."

Cersei repeated slowly, her tone tinged with displeasure.

"How could you act on your own today and tell those nobles the real information about what's happening outside the city?"

Since Jaime has been unable to wield a sword and with a large army pressing in from the outside, Cersei has become much more restrained lately.

They couldn't even care less about the power struggles and scheming in the palace; they were wholeheartedly cooperating with Ed to defend the city.

Joffrey hesitated for a moment.

"That's why I'm telling them the truth."

"Those soldiers can't lie; a thousand went out, and only three hundred came back. Rather than letting them spread rumors, it's far better for me to settle the matter myself."

"Besides, I'm not just worried about Stannis's army." His eyes reflected the distant firelight.

"What I'm worried about is the hearts of the people in King's Landing."

"Half of the main force defending the city was lost in the blink of an eye, and all the officials buried the pressure in their hearts."

"So after I belittled Stannis's army, Lord Eddard took the opportunity to spread the news that reinforcements were coming, thereby boosting morale."

"This will let them know that if we persevere for a while, we will eventually achieve victory."

Cersei nodded slightly.

"I'm relieved to hear that."

"I can go to sleep now, you should get some rest too."

The pale red figure gradually disappeared.

But Joffrey still couldn't sleep.

He felt a tightness in his chest, as if a large breath was blocking his neck.

I wanted to shout, but it seemed too strange to do so in the middle of the night.

So he wandered around the Mega Tower twice, and then, as if possessed, stumbled out and headed towards the Prime Minister's Tower.

"Jakhan isn't here?"

The Prime Minister's bodyguard nodded.

"How the hell isn't Jaqen here?" The gatekeeper wasn't angry, but the hound that had been woken up started cursing first.

"Everyone's sleeping, keep your voice down." Joffrey raised his hand.

The guard glanced at him cautiously and then spoke.

"Ever since the master sent him to manage those mercenaries, he's been elusive and hasn't been seen much these past few days. Even Miss Arya can't find him."

Joffrey frowned.

He had never even considered using Jaqen before.

But with the enemy at their doorstep, their minds inevitably started to wander. If the battle became too intense, they might be able to get this Faceless One to do something.

Although their cooperative relationship was maintained solely by an unspoken understanding.

Joffrey only received a simple promise in return for releasing him from the dark cell.

It's always good to have an extra layer of insurance.

Unfortunately, there are too many.

"Is the Prime Minister asleep?" Joffrey asked.

The guard shook his head: "Probably not."

"Lord Tyrion arrived a long time ago and hasn't left yet. Lord Varys came along with him."

Joffrey hurried upstairs and pushed open the door to the study.

"Ranly's troops are encamped on the south bank. Although they have not crossed the river, they have cut off the Golden Road."

"Lord Tywin Lannister and Randyll Tarly are locked in combat, and the Reach army won't be able to get here anytime soon..."

The room was brightly lit by candlelight, and three men with sunken eyes looked over together.

Joffrey pulled up a chair and sat down against the wall.

"Gentlemen, why are you still discussing military affairs so late?"

The eunuch chuckled softly: "His Majesty hasn't slept either."

"Lord Tyrion instructed me to report to him as soon as the little bird brought any news, and since the Hand of the King was also in a meeting, I decided to come along."

Joffrey glanced at the Prime Minister's study.

Two people were lying on a table piled with maps, while another person was standing on a chair.

There are many more things here than last time I came.

Several paintings hung on the wall, a grinding wheel sat in the corner, and several longswords and pieces of ice were placed next to it.

But I didn't see a single book.

Inappropriate thoughts inevitably surfaced in Joffrey's mind.

For example, burning a book after reading it, or having an extra second or third uncle compared to you.

He quickly shook his head to clear these distracting thoughts.

Varys cleared his throat and continued his report.

"Stannis has been capturing villagers on a large scale outside the city and forcing them to cut down trees to build siege engines. As far as I know, at least two siege ladders are almost ready."

He held up his fingers, which were still covered in face powder: "Our main attack targets are the Steel Gate and the Dragon Gate to the northeast of King's Landing."

"It mainly consists of the Valerian family's Sea Serpent Army and the Setiga family's heavy infantry."

"Stannis himself is not at the camp outside the city; he appears to have gone to command the fleet anchored in Blackwater Bay."

"But the woman in the red robe was outside the city, and she even set up a platform."

At this point, the eunuch gritted his teeth, a rare occurrence for him, his tone filled with suppressed anger.

"We were all fooled by Soros before, thinking that all the followers of the Red God were like him, but we never expected there to be someone like the Red Woman!"

"The previous news was true! I thought it was an exaggeration at the time."

"Once my little bird is discovered, she ties her directly to that platform and sacrifices her to her alien god..."

He raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his bald head with his sleeve.

"My God, Your Majesty, I can hear their screams even from here!"

Varys turned around, his usually shrewd eyes now glistening with tears: "Your Majesty, after the war, you must severely punish this woman in red!"

"And...and as far as I know..."

He hesitated, as if considering whether or not to tell the story.

What do you know?

Could that platform be called the Tongque Platform?

Although Joffrey's nickname is Little Joffrey, there's still one missing.