Chapter 288
2021-01-06
Chapter 288 Take the leadAll eyes were on Igor.
He was sent south by Mormont as a logistics officer, and he was away from the Wall for a long time, resulting in a natural lack of grounding among the black clothed brothers, so that the Mormont commander who supported him immediately got into trouble when an accident happened...but there must be mistakes. The income, what he did and experienced during his expatriate business trip, was far more than just "growing the Night's Watch industry, a cash cow in King's Landing" - taking advantage of the opportunity of Robert to convene the Seven Kingdoms to raise funds. , to make friends with almost all the nobles of Westeros; rely on public opinion and public appearance to create personal popularity and improve the image of Night's Watch; use the convenience of position and leisure time to understand the customs and political ecology of Seven Kingdoms, and the general situation of the world is under control...
All of this has led to a result: the same Night's Watch, his reputation and recognition are far from comparable to other Night's Watch executives or fortress commanders who also bear the title of "Chief".
Not to mention, almost all of the North nobles present recognized him, and understanding and contacting him is not as simple as just a face and a name.
Galbart Glover smiled at Igor nodded: "Lord Chief Logistics Officer, you took back Deepwood Motte and rescued my brother's family, and you captured Yara Grejoy and handed it to me as a hostage, I owe you more than one favor It stands to reason that I shouldn't embarrass you...but the land-grant resettlement plan is very important, if the situation I see on the inspection tour in two days is too outrageous, I will be an imperial and incorruptible person again."
"That's natural." Igor nodded the speaker gratefully. He had led the troops to relieve Deepwood Motte, but now he jumped out and took the initiative to claim responsibility under the hat of Commander Mormont's heir, not just for these words. ? It can't be too outrageous - from another direction, doesn't it mean to make a public statement: as long as it is not too outrageous, the Glover family will support the land-grant resettlement plan?
At this time, Roose Bolton also interjected lightly: "We have all seen the ability and mind of the chief logistics officer. I think it is not a problem for him to settle a wildling."
......
If Igor expected the support of Glover count, then Old Flayer suddenly came up with such a compliment at this time, which made him a little flattered and confused. Is this the truth? , or did you know the relationship between oneself and House Stark before you made a deliberate gesture to get closer?
Igor hanged one of their illegalimate children, Ramsay Snow, pretending to be a stinker, in Queenscrown a few months ago. Looking back, in this little Castle Black, there were two men who had sons who died because of oneself. Among them, Yohn · Royce has regarded oneself as an enemy, and now he is facing another Roose Bolton... , to say that you are not guilty is false. Up to now, I can only hope: This guy still thinks Ramsay was killed by the Winterfell army led by Rodrik Ser, and the one sent to Wall is a real stinker.
Based on his memory of the plot and what he has heard, Roose Bolton does not seem to know the situation, even more how he is now married to a woman from the Frey family, with an orthodox pregnancy in his belly. child ... probably won't track down the whereabouts of oneself that illegitimate child executed by House Stark.
The inspection has not yet started, and two of the four companies are clearly inclined towards Igor. It seems like a coincidence, but in fact it is an inevitable result. The conservatives who saw all of this in their eyes looked extremely ugly, exchanged glances with each other silently, and did not speak any more.
"Okay, trust me, Igor's ability, I know more than everyone here, but what the land grant resettlement plan is, I must see it." Robb Stark waved his hand and hit Stop the discussion: "Okay, today's dinner is for the four adults to take care of the wind and dust, and let's not talk about business affairs. I will give you a toast first. I wish you health and safety, and I hope that the winter will be short and the summer will be long. Stay here!”
In a cold place, the toast is also unique. This is a commonly used blessing by North, and it is also the sincere wish of most North people. The wine glass: "May the winter be short and the summer be long!"
...
Although Robb is young, he has already gained a reputation for oneself with two wars, he said Let's not talk about official business, so everyone will not talk about it during the rest of the banquet. The princes of the North are not aware of the open strife and veiled struggle that the conservatives and reformers in Night's Watch are going on - in fact, except for people like Roose Bolton who have a more sensitive sense of smell and sinister vision, most of them may even be divided into Night's Watch. Neither faction is clear.
The joy of returning alive from the South with lots of loot and countless glory has not faded, and now it's the warm air and safety of the fireplace on the grounds of the closest Night's Watch ever. Surrounded by the feeling, they ate large pieces of meat and drank in large bowls, and quickly entered the state.
Drinking fever, Glover count suddenly remembered something, put down the glass, turned his head and said to Robb: "Master Robb, there is one more thing, I have to report to you... no no no, it has nothing to do with Wall, It's the Iron Islands. I took Yara Grejoy, whom Lord Igor had captured at Deepwood Motte, back to the castle, ready to exchange for Robert's two children, but before we sent out the letter asking for the exchange of captives, those pirates Just sent Gavin and Ina back ahead of time."
"en?" Robb also put down his glass and became curious: "Impossible, how many days does it take from Iron Islands to Deepwood Motte... ...the two children...I mean, are they all right?"
"Apart from being a little offended, they have no hands or feet—in fact, not a single hair is missing." The father of the two children, Robert Glover shrugged and replied. From his relaxed expression, it could be seen that the two children were indeed fine. "The Ironmen who brought them back also brought back a message from Uncle Yara Grejoy - let's release the female pirate directly, don't send them back to the Iron Islands."
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The lobby It was still lively, but the table full of key people was quiet. The Night's Watch officers who had been in the Wall for a long time had no idea what the North nobles were discussing, while the rest of the North people...including Igor, were completely unaware of what the North nobles were discussing. I fell into a situation where the two monks couldn't figure out.
Since Aegon conquered the continent on his dragon, the conflict between the Seven Kingdoms has dropped drastically in both frequency and intensity compared to before unification. But the feudal essence of Westeros has not changed: among the noble lords, some things are still as sacred and inviolable as the "equality of all" shouted in modern society - among them, the way of treating and disposing of captives is very important part.
In war, no one can guarantee constant victory and unbeaten defeat, and everyone may be captured alive. Nobles hope that oneself can be fed and clothed when captured, can gain basic respect, and can finally return home safely... Save others by themselves, when dealing with captives caught by oneself, nobles often guarantee certain treatment. It's called "Knight Spirit", even if the essence is "what you don't want done to you, don't do to others".
Among them, especially on the exchange of prisoners, the nobles have a complete set of unwritten rules:
What level of prisoners corresponds to what level of price. Civilians, Knights, lords... ranging from a few Silver Coins to thousands of Golden Dragons, the more prominent the status and the richer the family, the more the ransom is worth. Although the price is unknown, the amount will definitely be controlled within a "reasonable" Within the range, there will never be a lion's big mouth, and it will go to the level of forcing people to go bankrupt in one fell swoop.
In addition to the ransom, there is another kind of exchange, that is, "bargaining".
Captives of the same level can be exchanged - House Head to House Head, heir to heir, common member to common member, if there is obvious disparity between each other, you can also exchange multiple, Or add a little Golden Dragon as a bonus for every change, just to be fair.
For example: In the original plot, James Lannister was captured in the battle of Whispering Wood, if House Stark used him to exchange for Eddard Stark, his own patriarch, then this would be an occupation. cheap deal. It is precisely because Cersei and Pycelle are unwilling to suffer losses that they refuse to directly exchange prisoners, and instead ask Ed to put on black clothed and withdraw from politics as an "addition" to this unequal deal.
But the fact is - the plan went out of the setback at the last step, and Ed was beheaded by that idiot Joffrey, and there was no way to change it.
Negotiations broke down and the two sides continued their desperate efforts. In this case, Catelyn Tully turned to Kingslayer in exchange for oneself's two daughters. Unfortunately, this is a completely unacceptable exchange: James, as the only son of Tywin, the heir of the latter in mind Westerlands, is also a famous fighter expert in the Seven Kingdoms and one of the main enemy generals. Controlling his political and military significance is by no means equal to House Stark's two daughters... This has nothing to do with feelings, but a recognized fact.
Robb is aware of this, and will endure his worries about the two younger sisters and continue to detain James.
...
But in this world, is North trading Yara Grejoy for Robert Glover's sons and daughters, a fair deal?
House Greyjoy is the lord family of the Iron Islands, Asha is regarded as the heir by Balon, her rank is "Duke heir", and James is on the same level 1.
On the other hand, the North side: Robert is not the lord of Deepwood Motte, but the younger brother of Glover count, the latter's heir. His child is an important member of the family, but it is not the most core person... He doesn't even reach the level of "count heir", he is just a child of "count heir".
It seems that this is a completely unequal exchange, and even if one exchanged two, North suffered a big loss.
Fortunately, Asha's situation is special and she is not a normal "Duke Heir" level captive. In this patriarchal world, her daughter made her worth automatically drop First Rank, and the Iron Islands changed again and was occupied by her Uncle. A woman who can no longer inherit the Iron Islands has also fallen to the level of "important but not core".
Now, it would be a fair deal to exchange her for two children, a boy and a girl in the Glover family.
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A fair deal is often satisfactory to both parties, and a deal that is satisfactory to both parties generally does not cause problems - this means: as long as the Iron Islands agree to exchange prisoners And send the two children back, Deepwood Motte will definitely follow the agreement and hand over Asha safely and safely to the person who receives her, and there will be no thought of tearing up the ticket or breaking the contract at all.
But now the strange thing is: before the negotiation started, Iron Islands took the initiative to send back two children and threw away all the chips of oneself.
How can there be such a good thing in the world?
Even Roose Bolton, who was always expressionless, had a puzzled look on his face: "It doesn't make sense, why would House Greyjoy do that?"
"I'm asking After investigation and investigation, there is a slight eyebrow. This is not what House Greyjoy means, but Roderick Hal Luo, Asha's uncle - her mother's brother, the leader of Hal Luo Island and Ten Towers City, and the Hal Luo Family Patriarch's personal decision." In Westeros lingua franca, Uncle and Uncle are indistinguishable, which is why Robert has to explain: "We all know that if Asha returned to the Iron Islands in exchange for captives, she would most likely be taken by her. Uncle - Euron Greyjoy that lunatic under house arrest or even killed. Roderick probably didn't want oneself's niece to end up like this, so he made his own decision and sent the chips back before we made a deal with Euron."
"so that's how it is, it's really touching family." Robb heard the story of scholar Roderick, and after hearing nodded: "Since the child is all right, then you can release her as promised, and you don't need to report to me. "
"No, my lord, that's what I thought. If I release Asha and she'll be homeless, there's a good chance she'll call in some stragglers to make a living as a pirate on the west coast of the North— —It's not good for me North, so I ordered her to be sent back to Winterfell, waiting for you to deal with it."
...
Robb frowned displeasedly: "Since they sent the child to Winterfell. Back, how can we go back on our promises because of some unfathomable mystery worries, and carry the stigma of being unfaithful? Let her go, if she chooses to be a pirate to harass the North coastline, then next time we meet, we won't let her die Yes!"
Roose Bolton didn't drink much, and he shook his head calmly: "My lord, didn't you hear Glover - the Hal Luo Family got together before Deepwood Motte asked to exchange prisoners. After sending the child back, the two parties have not yet started negotiations, and there is no agreement, so naturally we can't break our promise. We won't let them go, so there is no problem at all."
"Have you not started negotiations yet? ?" Robb was relieved, and after pondering for a while, he said again: "That's good, what do you think, my lords, what should I do with him." of food . "
"Keep it, the Iron Islands are going to war everywhere under the leadership of that lunatic Euron, and maybe they will get us in the future. If someone is captured, they can get a few people back." Come! "
"Crow's Eye wish we could shut up her niece for the rest of her life and change her fart!" "
"Not to mention, the Hal Luo Family's captives can definitely be exchanged for two. "
"Haha, Asha's nerdy uncle brought back the two children of the Glover family on his own initiative. 'King of the Iron Islands' must be so hot that he must think about how to save oneself's life first." Then consider that we North are here to grab money and food! "
...
The North princes talked at once, while Igor silently poked at the food on the plate with his fork, without saying a word.
Before the exchange of prisoners started, the two children of the Glover family were released. It seemed strange, but it was explained clearly that it was actually the case. To sum it up in one sentence: the tangled and the tangled inside the Iron Islands. A complicated faction fight.
Asha is to the Iron Islands what Joffrey is to Westeros and especially House Lannister: when the time comes, give her a yellow robe and make it Big article - those Iron Islands who are still secretly opposed to Euron Crow's Eye, don't want Asha, such an important pawn, to be killed by Euron so inexplicably.
With what he knows about Robb, killing prisoners This kind of thing is definitely impossible... but if Asha is really released, this woman will most likely want to go to the Mother of Dragons, in case the North's enemy will return with the True Dragon flag and the three dragons of House Targaryen in the future. Westeros, it's bound to be another big trouble for North and oneself.
Igor's heart is bright, but this matter has nothing to do with him, so he eats melons and plays in peace, and observes the table by the way. Other Night's Watch.
But things suddenly became related to him.
"Wait, isn't Yara Grejoy captured by our Chief Logistics Officer, Lord Igor, How come after a long discussion, no one wants to ask his opinion? ”
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(end of this chapter)