Chapter 462
2021-01-06
Chapter 462 Divine Ability (Part 1)After a quiet moment to digest what Roose Bolton said, inside the room Many nobles, including the former Muffler faction, soon began a new round of discussions with a higher participation rate.
No more jumping out and ranting and questioning Old Flayer's ulterior motives, because -- at least on the point of "North can't be truly neutral", he's not talking nonsense. There are no new lords with no background here, all of them are ancestral or hereditary "property classes". Although affected by the environment of North, most of the nobles north of The Neck are not good at playing power, but this "not good" Only in comparison with the southern aristocracy. To be honest, the people present were more or less educated and trained in some aspects of domination, political struggle, etc.
Roose Bolton is right, the North people who don't play politics very much can't think of oneself immediately, but if someone brings it up, it's not possible to judge right or wrong, then it's not sincerity, but stupid. No, even Rickard Karstark only keeps his mouth shut and thinks long and hard to refute the arguments, instead of ignoring it.
Could it be that the only choice left for everyone is really the only way to go to the Dragon Queen?
Half of the people in the room fell silent, while the other half whispered anxiously and helplessly.
Daenerys' dragon ride north to support Night's Watch did give her a lot of impression points for oneself, but she still has a long way to go to fill the hole dug by her Mad King father. When Robb Stark's uncle and grandfather were both tortured to death by Elis Targaryen, North resolutely joined the battle of dragon slaying... I can leave aside how much sacrifice and bloodshed, the key is that more than half of the people present participated in that war, yes A "traitor" in the eyes of the Targaryen royal family.
After more than ten years, Mad King's daughter returned, almost the same gang of North people... Are you rushing to help her regain the throne?
What is this called!
"Lord Bolton is right. Neutrality is a passive and unwise choice. But... who said that it is not a dragon's opponent, so he must fight for her?" After a short chatter, It was still Howland Reed who broke the deadlock first, "Master Robb, do you remember what your father-in-law, Walder Frey Marquess, did in the Battle of the Reavers?"
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Walder · Frey, Frey family patriarch, owner of the Twins and Lord of River Ferry, recognized upstart and country bumpkin up and down the Seven Kingdoms. Due to the delay in responding to the call of the monarch Hoster Tully in the Battle of the Reavers, the Battle of Trident had already been played when he arrived at the battlefield, thus obtaining a famous nickname of Seven Kingdoms - "Late Marquess".
Just as some people are more accustomed to referring to Daenerys Targaryen as "Crazy King's Daughter" rather than "Dragon Queen", North has used the moniker "Late" to refer to Walder Frey for over a decade The frequency is even far above its name, as if the only way to show contempt and draw the line. This situation was not until Robb Stark took the initiative to propose to Robert and married Roslin Frey, and the "late Marquess" turned into "North's father-in-law", and then the light of the husband's family gradually began to improve and disappear.
So, here comes the question, late arrival of the army is obviously commonplace in this era, why did Hoster Tully have to humiliate Walder Frey, the most powerful bannermen under the oneself, and planted a destabilizing factor for future rule?
Because Luanhe City is close to Trident and very close to the battlefield, Frey's army can reach the battlefield downstream, and there is no possibility of getting lost or going in the wrong direction... In this case, it is still late, just It's as absurd as if Severn's house, whose castle is next to Winterfell and Kingsroad, didn't catch up with the big forces in time for the battle of Long Lake against the Others not long ago.
Anyone with discernment knows he is talking nonsense.
Howland Reed suddenly mentioned the dark history of Robb's father-in-law at this time, of course, not because he wanted to humiliate oneself Fengjun, but to remind everyone of the choices others made when faced with similar situations , and the result: even in this "everyone thought you were deliberately late" situation, the Freys received no Fiefdom or property penalties after the war, why? Because the Frey family did not publicly declare neutrality or hide in the castle before, but assembled army and rushed to the battlefield... and claimed to be responding to the call of the emperor!
There is obviously reason to suspect that if Robert Baratheon had lost the Battle of the Trident, the Freys' army would have declared to Rhaegar Targaryen, without the slightest hesitation, that they were the King of Kings. It's just that no one has any evidence.
There is no real evidence, and even if the anti-Targaryen triumvirate of Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark and Hoster Tully is so hot, it can't really tell how the Frey family is - the Frey family itself is strong on one hand, and on the other hand. On the one hand... "Punish a lord on the basis of suspicion", the long-term harm to the unfinished war and the entire feudal system of Westeros is far better than punishing the Frey family. The latter should be Decision makers should take priority when thinking about problems.
So, although Walder Frey didn't have a share in the post-war division of the spoils and got an insulting nickname, he was ranked as the victor, and he kept his identity as the lord of the river ferry without any suspense... … without a fight, without taking the slightest risk, to be part of the winner!
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“Walder Frey Marquess collects bridge tolls at the river crossing. This is a business that has no capital and profits and is countless times better than farming and renting. He has no desire at all. There is no need for new territories, and whoever sits on Iron Throne doesn't care... This kind of no desires or demands, how similar to our North's status quo? But, even so, there is no reason to join the war, he took over in the slayer war After arriving at Duke Horst's imperial decree, I didn't dare to squat in the castle to be 'neutral', but I just understood: being in the game but not standing in line is actually choosing the loser to end? We might as well..."
"Why don't you learn Walder Frey, and then get a nickname of 'Late Duke' and make up 'Late Family'?" Wyman Manderly count said nervously to Robb: "Sir, no offense, but we North are not upstarts, What a shame! Instead of being able to raise your head in front of people all your life, you might as well go and fight Long Jue to the death!"
This position has been generally agreed, and many previously silent attendees also talking at once.
"Lord Wayman don't be impatient, I'm not making Lord Robb late." Howland Reed, clearly in a good temper, continued where he was interrupted, "We can absolutely Said to Mad King's daughter: 'We are willing to support her to repay the kindness of rescue, but North has just suffered heavy losses in successive battles and needs to recuperate', so as to request a delay in sending troops. Information gathered from various sources and Jon Snow's description Looking at it, this little Queen is definitely an impatient, she is absolutely impossible to wait for us to recuperate. When she can't wait to go south and attack King's Landing first... We can contact King Stannis again and tell him that 'North was forced to let the Queen dragon's threat. Daotongtong, as long as he persists for a few days, we will surely send troops south to attack the Unsullied army with him.”
“North has just suffered heavy losses in the war, and it is indeed because of the threat of the dragon that he dare not resist. Use these untrue reasons to delay the time, wait until the decisive battle between the two kings is over, and then lead the troops to the battlefield, relying on the advantage of a large number of new troops - if the victory or defeat has been decided, then take advantage of the situation to help the winner clean up the mess, if it has not been decided yet. Male and female, whoever has the upper hand will help. In this way, it not only avoids a lot of bloodshed by the North people, but also ensures that they will stand on the victorious side in the war, so why not do it!”
“When Two-faced?!" The room exploded, and it was a good idea to finally join the battle and reap the benefits, but in the context of this region, culture, and times, it was destined to be unsupported. "It's better than being late!"
"Bah, both of them are bad ideas, which is worse than the other? I support Lord Rickard's point of view, even if North people die, they should be dignified. , never use this dirty method!"
......
"Everyone, be quiet! North will never use this method!" Robb slapped the table with his uninjured hand, Everyone in the house lived. "Lord Holland, your suggestion is very feasible. But people live in the world, and they do things and do not do things. It's like a method that looks ingenious but can't take the stage. Please don't mention it again!"
In a sigh of relief and approval, Roose Bolton's heart in his throat came back to his stomach.
In fact, he had already thought about the next step, but he originally planned to wait for the others in the room to discuss it for a while before throwing it out. Absolutely didn't expect Howland Reed to come up with such a "coup"... The Neck is a dark and wet place, and even the people raised are more sinister and cunning than other places in North. If you only analyze the gains and losses without considering the face, whether it is "When Duke is late" or "sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight", it is indeed a good idea. Fortunately, with the temperament of Robb and the North princes, it is impossible to adopt such a good strategy, otherwise, he really doesn't know how to continue the oneself calculation.
Eating this scare, Old Flayer didn't dare to delay any longer. After coughing quickly, he came up with oneself's plan: "Everyone, things are actually not that complicated at all. I really don't agree with gifts. We don’t support forced neutrality. But, who said that, we are left with the only way to join the Dragon Queen’s camp? In this world, there is another way to fight the enemy-called strategy!”
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(end of this chapter)