Chapter 237 Dilemma
The wheels were stuck in the mud, and the usual potholes turned into quagmire after a night of heavy rain, making the soldiers marching and camping in the valley miserable.
The farmer knelt down on the side of the King's Road and stood motionless, staring blankly at the messy farmland.
The patrol scouts in the valley stayed away from the main force in the rear and ignored this scene. They just glanced at it slightly and rode past.
There are more and more farmers like this. Some are groping in the fields, but from a distance it looks like they are in a lake. The heavy rain has swallowed up almost everything here.
A valley veteran stopped his horse, white mist pouring out of his mouth every time he took a breath.
Thick red hair covered his face, and his lips could only be seen when he spoke, "After a week of frost, there's another heavy rain..." He turned his head and looked to the northeast worriedly, and flicked his riding crop irritably, "Only the Seven Gods know Can we return to Erin Valley before the heavy snow closes the mountain?”
"Don't worry," the cavalryman on the side took off his helmet, carefully picked out the mud stuck on it with his fingers, and used the accumulated water in the helmet to clean his hands, "When the river at the ferry ebbs, we can arrive in winter. Before rushing back to the castle and hearth of Arryn Vale..."
Another cavalryman who had just arrived behind them shrugged slightly, and said in a tone that didn't seem to care, "My brother will go home and stay at the fiefdom on the Bright Moon Avenue, and I," he pointed at the end of the King's Road with his whip, " For me, the second son, the Green Fork River is home.”
The veteran looked at the wrapping cloth hanging on his saddle and muttered, "This harp is rarer than your sword. It is inseparable all day long."
The second son who stayed on the Green Fork River didn't care. There were old antiques everywhere in the army, and there were even idiots who refused the Green Fork River fief and insisted on returning to the Erin Valley fief to retire. He took out his harp from the wrapping cloth and played the strings. There are still some drops of water on it.
"Hedang!" The cavalryman who was a war poet played the strings slightly, opened his mouth slightly, and his refreshing voice echoed on the King's Road.
No one stopped him. In the war era, apart from drinking and sex, such quiet and comfortable entertainment methods were rare during the war, so the resident singers at the crossroads were snapped up.
"King's Road, King's Road ~ a long and narrow road in the lake, where the knights of the canyon shuttle ~"
"Farmers are busy in the lake! Harvesting frost residue and mud! Knights of the canyon march beside!~"
"Without the ears of rice, who will see the iron chair? Let the buttocks of that bastard-raised White Walker stick to it, and the cold wind will pierce your bones!"
The cavalry sang loudly, and no one cared how many words rhymed with it, because everyone only heard one word...
"Raised by a bastard!" The veteran raised his hand slightly and made a toast-like greeting.
A line of cavalry moved slowly through the flooded farmland toward the designated patrol area.
……
"The lord of the valley north of Hongge City has issued a mountain closure order, and there is also a tendency for ice to form on the valley road." Sir Marvin Bellmore, who resigned from the captain of Attis's bodyguard, took his father's report and said to him Attis Arryn said.
Marvin Bellmore looked at himself, frowning, "The valley is not afraid of lions and direwolves, but the heavy snow that seals the mountains has been our enemy for thousands of years."
"The Gaoshan Clan has also been our enemy for thousands of years, but..." Weimar looked outside the tent, and the noise and fighting of the Gaoshan Clan soldiers could be clearly heard, "We can still conquer them." "The gods know that we are How to conquer it?" Marvin Bellmore looked at Weimar with a thoughtful look, "It was not through our own strength."
Weimar didn't say much, he frowned rather dissatisfied.
Attis stared at the map in his hand. The only land route from the valley to the Riverlands was the Blood Gate. The original order to widen the road and integrate the Arryn Valley Road was more to facilitate the mobilization of the valley army and to strengthen the Arryn Valley road. The integration of the various castles in the Ring Valley rather than relying solely on tradition to connect them to each other.
If winter comes suddenly, the mountains will be blocked by heavy snow, and the army will be trapped in the riverlands and it will be difficult to return to the Arryn Valley.
By sea... Attis immediately rejected this proposal. Since Aegon's conquest, the navy in the valley had no achievements except for a few families' own warships to protect trade.
Count Grafson's letters were like addictive poppy milk, tickling Artis's heart.
"King's Landing is undefendable. The royal navy is a piece of paper and a ruined sea. Stannis's Dragonstone fleet and pirate ships control the Narrow Sea. The royal power is empty. In order to protect the waters of the Vale and fulfill the kingdom's duty of guarding the East, The Vale needs a naval fleet comparable to the era of Aegon the Conqueror. The Seagull Town shipyard is well-equipped and has sufficient long-term trade funds to undertake fleet production..."
Attis put down the letter. This was not the only letter he had received in the past few days. The letter from Prime Minister Tywin was also full of meaning.
"Prince Tommen was assassinated. Lord Rosby failed to fulfill his obligation to serve as a guest. The truth is confusing. The Royal Council sincerely invites Attis Arryn, the Minister of Justice of the Kingdom, to participate in the trial..."
A trial, not an investigation, Attis noted in its textual details.
He raised his head and gathered the letters together.
Marvin Bellmore and Weimar stood on one side, watching Artis silently, neither of them knowing the Duke's next decision.
Artis paused on Marvin's face for a moment, and he knew that Marvin Bellmore's dissatisfaction with the Alpine clan and the red-robed woman was not an exception, but represented a large group of people, even though they could now linger in a series of We don’t take those contradictions into account in victory and results, but if winter really comes and the main force of the valley army is still trapped outside and consumed for no reason, the mentality of these groups will definitely be greatly affected, and negative impacts will definitely follow. .
Ever since Stannis' defeat was reported, he knew very well that the head-to-head competition on the chess and card table had temporarily come to an end, and the political game belonging to the palace had quietly begun.
Obviously, Attis looked at the other end of the table, and the golden rose emblem was silently left on the corner of the envelope.
Margaery Tyrell and Joffrey on the Iron Throne have already made an engagement and will get married on a certain date.
It is difficult to guess the thoughts of the Rose family. This kind of invitation is supposed to be sent out as a courtesy after the royal invitation letter is sent, but it seems that the Duke of Metz is very concerned about the thoughts of the Arryn family, even though Attis thinks that he has not been exposed yet. Showing a very obvious ambition to pursue the Iron Throne.
Showing kindness is also showing weakness. Attis looked at the rose emblem, which was a little dazzling, but what he felt more was the lingering fragrance of the sharp thorns under the rose. If poison leaked into it, it would be fatal.
(End of chapter)