The king on the Great Wall

Outside the window, the sky is still dim.Through the glass and curtains, the house was still dark.The brightness is far from enough to wake people up. Even considering the weather, it should still be early.

He blinked in confusion, why did he wake up?

The Eastwatch delegation came to Castle Black to participate in the campaign. Their mission was to canvass votes and collect information about their opponents. Naturally, they didn’t need to get up on time every day like local soldiers, assemble, roll call, and then train or undertake defense tasks such as patrols and sentries.From a physiological point of view, this election can be regarded as a paid vacation, a trip at public expense, and no one cares about sleeping until dawn every day.

It is true that Carter was under a lot of mental pressure after several deflations and setbacks, but he is a tough fighter. If you have something on your mind, you want him to sleep well?nonsense.

Lying on the bed and thinking for a few seconds, he soon realized that he didn't wake up naturally.

Someone was yelling outside, and it was hard to hear what they were yelling through the wall, but the tension contained in it could be conveyed without hearing the words clearly.

what happened?

……

As if in answer to his question, the horn sounded.

Due to the slight difference between the instrument itself and the way it is played, the tone of the siren is slightly different from that of Donghai Watch, but the effect is generally the same. People wake up too.Generally speaking, people who are awakened will lie on the bed and wait. If there is no second sound, they will turn over and continue to sleep. I don't know how long it's been...

That couldn't possibly be the signal for the Rangers' return.

The drowsiness disappeared in an instant, and Carter Pike rolled over from the bed, pulled off the coat on the hanger, and put it on his body. Years of night watchman career made everything so skillful and fast. When the second horn sounded, he Already grabbed the weapon and opened the door and walked out.

Less than a beat slower than him, the entire Castle Black also woke up quickly.In a moment, the nervous shouting of orders, chaotic footsteps and the sound of metal friction and collision caused by rummaging for weapons shattered the tranquility just a moment ago, turning into a chilling and tense atmosphere that filled the entire fortress.

Thankfully, the sound of the horn did not come from the top of the Great Wall, nor did it sound the soul-stirring third sound.

Carter caught a soldier who was running through the yard in a panic. This man looked nervous but was well equipped. He obviously didn't just get up. He should be a sentry on duty: "Hey, what happened?!"

"Suddenly a large number of people came outside the fortress. There were at least several hundred of them. They were unknown, and they were probably savages!" The night watchman who was held back broke away from Carter's hand: "I'm sorry, my lord...but I have to hurry To inform the other officers—to open the armory."

The sentry hurried towards the tower where the officers of Castle Black lived, leaving Carter wondering.

Savage rebellion?Isn't this the effect he planned to create and pull Aiger to step down, but the King Beyond the Wall has been transferred to Houguan Town, so how could the wildling still make trouble?Could it be... something went wrong with the kingslayer during the escort process, causing Mance to run away, and the former wildling king gathered his men again, and fought back to avenge his shame?

Wildlings gathered under the leadership of a respectable man are much more difficult to deal with than scattered sand!

Carter didn't know whether this was good news or bad news for a while, but at least one thing was certain: the enemy must not let the enemy break through Castle Black, or he would lose his life!

Of course, the officers of Castle Black would not be slower to react than the outsiders. When Dong Haiwang and his group simply dressed and armed and rushed to the wall that was so short compared to the Great Wall, the three chiefs also followed suit one after another. Almost there.

……

"Have you figured out the identities of the people outside?"

"No, maybe the ironborn came to retaliate for our previous meddling, or maybe it was the wildlings raiding the brigade." A sentry shook his head, "But it doesn't look like it, the wildlings...wouldn't be so neat."

Indeed, under the still snowy dim sky, against the white background of snow, the unknown army outside Castle Black was particularly conspicuous.They were dressed in dark clothes, and they were gathering together on both sides of the King's Road at the moment. It seemed that they were gathering the whole team after the march.

Then soon, they spread out to both sides in a fairly orderly manner, slowly changing from a mass to a belt shape, encircling the small Castle Black in a fan shape, showing a rather impressive training speed with every gesture.

Oser quickly realized something was wrong: "This...why does it seem like they are going to surround us?"

It can be seen without him reminding everyone that the chief ranger frowned: "The visitor is not friendly, go—except for those in the kitchen, let everyone be armed, and the cooking staff should also speed up, and deliver breakfast to everyone as soon as possible." On the front line. The enemy will attack at any time, and I don't want the soldiers to meet the enemy hungry!"

"Yes!"

Bowen Marsh looked outside the wall, trying to estimate the number of troops outside the city. The black dots on the white snow field were quite clear and easy to distinguish. He was soon relieved: less than a thousand, although half of the night watchmen in Castle Black are The old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, but the existence of the wall greatly compensated for this disadvantage. As long as they did not take the initiative to attack, twice as many enemies could resist it.

For the first time, he felt that it was a wise decision for Xiong Lao to order the construction of the wall, but he still didn't dare to show carelessness: "There are not many enemies, but they seem to be well-trained, so don't underestimate them! Go inform the bachelor and fly to the nearby fortress The crow asks for help. Oser, you go and arrange to move out all the things that can be used for defense, including kerosene and wildfire! In addition, ask someone to go to the top of the Great Wall and move the ballista facing the north of the wall to the south. Come, it will come in handy later!"

"Okay." The chief craftsman nodded quickly without hesitation, turned and left.

After making a series of arrangements, Bowen Marsh turned to Commander Eastwatch again: "Lord Carter, if there is a battle later, please lead the brothers in Eastwatch to help our people defend the gate."

"Hmph, I can see where people are needed, so you don't need to worry about it. You should quickly find out how these guys from outside the wall came out and what their purpose is!"

……

After all, it was a professional army that practiced every day. It didn't take long for teams of men in black to put on their equipment and climb up the towers and walls.

Accustomed to the majesty and majesty of the Great Wall, the less than ten-meter-high walls of Castle Black really did not give the night watchmen much sense of security.They looked and paced anxiously, shouting needs to each other: here they want arrows, there they want crossbows; Praying, begging for strength from the soldiers; the brothers in the kitchen also began to carry the black bread and onion broth out of the kitchen in buckets. For defense.

After being busy for a long time in full swing, the enemy did not take the opportunity to attack.Until the defensive work of Castle Black was nearly completed, the mysterious army outside the city did not take a step closer to the wall, but spread out and set up an encirclement circle in a stone's throw away, and confronted Castle Black from afar.

Just when the night watchmen began to discuss whether they should send someone out of the city to investigate the other party's identity, the sharp-eyed soldiers shouted: In the blockade line that has been laid out outside the city, a figure walked out of the array and stepped on the snow towards the city. Come to the main entrance of the fortress.

All eyes fell on the person who came. When they got closer, the night watchmen on the top of Castle Black's wall were surprised to find that the person was also dressed in black, and many people even knew him.

Not a sworn brother, but one of his own—one of the top leaders of the Night Watchman Industry in the land grant, "Mayor of Houguan Town" Yam.

***

"My lords!" Yam went to the wall and raised his hands to signal that he was not a threat: "According to the instructions of Lord Stark, the Guardian of the North, and the Chief Logistics Officer, Iger West, I will bring people here to deal with some of the 'unidentified Attempt to kill the surrendered King beyond the Wall' case. According to the request of the Duke of Winterfell, no one is allowed to leave until he finishes his tour of the Great Wall and returns to Castle Black to investigate the matter in person. Please forgive me for disturbing and offending !"

"What are you talking about?" Carter Pike leaned over the edge of the wall with his hand on the stone bar, and growled, "Rob Stark would give such an order? Even if it is true, he has no right to restrain the vigil The action of the Human Legion!"

"I don't know if Lord Stark has the qualifications to do this, but I serve the Night Watchman industry and get the salary of the Night Watchman Logistics Department. Naturally, I obey the orders of the Commander-in-Chief and the Chief Logistics Officer and are responsible for the Night Watch Corps. Please cooperate.” Yam does not know Carter Pike, but this does not prevent him from responding—the lines have already been preset, and whoever comes forward and says something, he will give a fixed answer like a machine. reply. "In addition, there is another point that must be declared: the troops mobilized in Houguan Town on this trip are all from the mountain clans and tribes, and no new land grant people are involved. No matter what happens, we will never pose a threat to the friends of the night watchman at Castle Black. Apart from not being able to leave Castle Black, brothers can only train and guard the Great Wall as usual, there is no need to be nervous!"

After saying this, the mayor of Houguan Town bowed slightly and saluted. Regardless of the reactions of the officers on the Castle Black wall, he turned around and walked away swaggeringly, returning to the queue of the besieging party.

……

"That kid is crazy!" Carter Pike's eyes were wide open, and he slammed his fist on the stones of the wall, making a muffled thud. All the idiots voted for him? It's just whimsical!"

"No, he didn't want to use force to force the night watchmen of Castle Black to vote for him, but to prevent you from returning to Eastwatch!" Jon Royce was shocked, and immediately understood Iger's plan.There was a faint chill on the back: This guy, is it really a roundworm in someone else's stomach, otherwise how could Carter take measures to prevent it even if he didn't start the plan that he had planned in his mind?

"Donghai Wangzhong voted for him far more than expected. He doesn't want to lose these dozens of votes, so he will stop you from returning east at all costs!"

"If this is the reason, then he may have miscalculated. Such a rampant and open troop move to target his sworn brothers will cause him to lose more votes in Castle Black than all the votes he got in Eastwatch Many." Bowen Marsh's face was cold, but his tone couldn't hide his anger. As a soldier, no one would bear this kind of offense: on his own territory, surrounded by people... even the door is closed Can't get out!

"Although the man came to show his identity and claimed that there were no savages in the army outside, no one can guarantee that this is true. The defensive preparations that should be made will continue as usual!" The chief ranger ordered loudly with a solemn expression, "Master Carter, I don't know if Iger's move is aimed at you, but for your safety, I suggest that you cancel the arrangement of returning to East Watch today."

Cancel the trip?Carter Pike only felt a rush of blood rushing to his forehead. In his decades of life, he hadn't never confessed and compromised.But like this time: he had already suppressed and refused to admit that he couldn't beat Iger, and planned to go home in despair to fight passively, but the opponent still refused to let him go, this was the first time.

Simply deceiving!

"Why, as the commander of East Sea Watch, now even when I go back to the fortress I manage, I have to look at a bullshit logistics officer? I'm going out from the gate today. I want to see, who dares to stop me! "

……

In theory, no one can stop him.

The Commander of Eastwatch and the Chief Logistics Officer have similar ranks in the Night Watch Corps system, which means that although he is not directly subordinate, Carter Pike is the superior to Yam, and if the latter dares to do something, he will be the subordinate.

As for the fact that the participants in this operation are all mountain clans, there are no new land-grant people. Even if this is true, the mountain clan is also a guest in the land-grant, but Carter Pike is the "master" that is fake.According to the guest's rights...no matter what the reason is for a guest to harm the host, it is outrageous and outrageous, and it is unacceptable in nature. If the mountain clans still want to mess around with the gifted land, they will never dare to do such nonsense.

But in fact?In the blockade outside the city, at least one person would definitely dare to stop him.

"The Kingslayer took Mance Rayder to Houcrown Town yesterday, but he didn't come back. He is probably outside the city at this moment." Bowen Marsh said helplessly, "If he stops you, he will say the same thing as yesterday 'Those who want to leave, step over my dead body', what should you do?"

As if a basin of cold water was poured over his head, Carter Parker's anger was mostly extinguished immediately.

That's right, neither the employees of the Night's Watch industry nor the mountain clansmen living in the land grant would dare to harm a senior Night's Watch officer.But if someone on the other side is so skilled in martial arts that he can "defeat or capture him without hurting him", then the situation is different.

Unfortunately, there really is such a person on the opposite side.

Rushing out and being humiliated and then being driven back, or obediently being a coward behind the fence... This is really a dilemma.

"What's your plan?" Carter Pike's face changed: "Are you really planning to be obedient and not step out of the gate of Castle Black until the other side withdraws?"

"Lord Carter, I understand what you're thinking." The chief ranger shook his head helplessly: "Lead the brothers out to fight, make things out of hand, and then let Robb Stark come over and end the fight." Punish the instigator... It's really cool to think about it. But bloodshed for no reason, weakening the defense of the Great Wall, will give the strange ghosts an opportunity! We are the strong shield guarding the human beings. And suffer heavy losses or even extinction, who can bear the responsibility?"

"Yes. Take care of the overall situation! Take care of the overall situation!" Carter Pike roared with a flushed face: "Don't talk so much nonsense, anyway, you are going to use this name to continue to indulge that kid's arrogance until he destroys the night watchman Legion!"

"Lord Carter, calm down." The other party's anger is completely understandable, even Bowen Marsh has to admit that his side has compromised to a certain extent, and Iger is also a little too aggressive. "But the fact is that there are tens of hundreds of soldiers born in the mountain clan in Castle Black, and no one has such prestige right now: he can still lead the entire fortress to attack when the brothers know that the outside is not an enemy. Even Yes, we can’t win either. They can mobilize as many people as the entire Night’s Watch Corps with a single word, so if you still think about going head-on and head-to-head in this situation, isn’t it self-inflicted?”

Carter sneered: "Okay, what's your opinion, chief affairs officer?"

"At least one thing we can agree on - as the Guardian of the North, Robb Stark can't order the Mountain Clan to send troops to surround Castle Black. I bet he is [-]% ignorant of this, and Igger is holding his The name scares people. It can even be further inferred-the letter we sent yesterday failed to reach his hands. Compared with the bloodshed in the infighting, I would like to see if we don’t write the letter and send someone directly Report the situation... This time, how will Iger explain his behavior in front of the Northern Guardians."

-

Chapter 303 Change of Land Grant

The top management of Castle Black insisted not to use force, but the 30 people of the Eastwatch delegation could not support it alone.The Conservative officers finally agreed to try: to send a word of mouth from someone they could trust, to make sure Robb Stark knew what was going on at the Wall.Relying on external forces to deal with a logistics officer who is completely out of control of the night watchmen.

The plan is clear and easy to implement, but the implementation is not smooth.

On the ground, the army of Houguan Town, which was carrying out the task of blocking Castle Black, refused to communicate and negotiate. They only carried out orders and ignored everything else. Whoever you support in the campaign—no one is allowed to leave Castle Black.And those who tried to leave Castle Black or send a message from the top of the Great Wall were not long after they set off... they were strongly stopped by the mountain clan warriors at Queen's Gate and Sable Hall.

The besieged once again experienced the opponent's exhaustive strategy.

So they put their hope on the weather instead, hoping that the cold and hunger brought by the increasing snow will finally drive back the mountain clans outside the city.However, the situation changed again in the afternoon: the second and third batches of hundreds of people came one after another from the direction of Houguan Town. There were men and women, driving cars and goods. start.After a lot of enthusiasm, tents were erected in the ruins of the original Mole Village, and a fence was erected, and a simple military camp was built-the sky was still dark, and the smoke was already floating in it!

……

So far, the number of Land Grant Army outside Castle Black has exceeded the entire Night Watch Corps, and combatants, logistical support are all available, and the system is complete. It seems that it can operate independently without any external support.All the conservative military officers saw this on the fence, and although they didn't say much, they were already beating drums in their hearts, and the most regretful among them was the chief affairs officer-Bowen Marsh.

He began to vaguely realize that it was the resource consumption war that he started after the accidental death of Commander Mormont, intending to drag down the land grant resettlement plan, which caused the current situation.

Under his instruction, Castle Black strictly controlled food and supplies, but now it could only guard a warehouse full of people, surrounded by people but unable to do anything.And what about Houguan Town?Relying on the support of the night watchman industry, he managed to support 80% of the living people in the land-grant. He struggled with how to fill the empty warehouses every day. He seemed to be in a mess, but he had unknowingly controlled the entire land-grant and became a A veritable leader here.

Bowen didn't feel that he had done anything wrong, but he had to admit that in this war of attrition, he failed to achieve his strategic goals.

Worse than the feeling of losing is that the undefeated opponent becomes stronger.

***

"When those people appeared outside the city in the morning, and we didn't react decisively when our foothold was not stable, we were doomed to be at a disadvantage. It's too late to say anything now! Next, we will either hope that East China Sea Watch and Shadow Tower can receive the The news of Feiyao will be conveyed to us later, or we can only stay here and wait for the situation to change."

"The foothold is not secure? To put it lightly." Immediately someone said sarcastically: "When the people outside the city were 'unsteady', we didn't even have clothes on. I'm glad they didn't take the opportunity to launch a fierce attack!"

……

After various attempts to send a message had failed, a second meeting was held at Castle Black.But apart from some meaningless debates, no one was able to put forward any constructive opinions.

It's not that they have no idea, but at this moment they - they really can't do anything:

Although the night watchmen who knew that there was no mortal enemy outside the wall were still carrying out their orders and preparing for defense, after realizing that this was purely a high-level wrestling, most of them were mentally relaxed; and Castle Black only had one gate, and the people outside the wall Roadblocks and blockades with overlapping shifts of guards make the possibility of sneaking out of the encirclement infinitely small; as for the snow that is getting bigger and bigger, the snow that has been piled up on the field to cover the calf has even more strangled the sneak attack. Breakout...any military action is theoretically possible.

"What's the use of discussing things that have passed? We have to find a way now, and we can't continue to let the gang of mountain people outside the wall trap us!" Jon Royce was once the Earl of Runestone City, the number two figure in the valley.As an aristocrat who has been in charge, he has a better understanding of public sentiment than most of the people present: "It is a good thing not to shed blood, but as time goes by, we still do not respond or fight back, brothers It will gradually change from being angry and dissatisfied to adapting to the status quo, and countless pairs of eyes are staring at this place. Once everyone finds that we can’t help Iger, they subconsciously accept that ‘he is the boss in the land grant’ ' This concept is too late!"

"Could it be that letting everyone understand that he is the boss is the reason why Iger did this?" Oser glanced at the head coach Sir Andrew suspiciously, and said meaningfully: "But, he relies on the votes of recruits , isn’t he already about to win the election, isn’t it worth the candle to cause trouble at this juncture?”

"His purpose is not important! I only know that with this guy's meticulous character, which never leaves any loopholes, I'm afraid there will be corresponding actions against Eastwatch and Shadow Tower." Jon Royce met several top officials He didn't speak, and continued to speak regardless of his low military rank. "We must counterattack as soon as possible, and if we want speed, we can only rely on ourselves! After thinking about it for a long time, I found a guy who was in the dead corner of everyone's thinking, and that kid was absolutely unexpected—even if he thought of it, he couldn't prevent it." The way to live, you can send a message!"

"Oh?"

"tell me the story."

Jon waved his hand and quickly revealed the answer: "Iger blocks the two roads inside the wall and the top of the wall, but there is a huge world outside the wall, why do we turn a blind eye to it?"

……

The huge world outside the wall?Sending letters through the wall north?After a brief silence, several ranger captains sneered.

"I thought you suddenly came up with a good idea, so it's this." A ranger officer from Castle Black snorted disdainfully, "Why do you think we have to seal the tunnel out of the wall? God knows the ghost forest is now How many dead people and ghosts are there, just waiting for us to die!"

"Beyond the wall is very dangerous now, I don't doubt it." Jon Royce insisted: "Stop patrolling outside the wall, seal the tunnel...all measures are to reduce losses. But I read all the reports of encounters with strange ghosts , They all claim that they are intelligent beings, and their thinking ability is by no means inferior to that of human beings... Such a creature, knowing that we will not go out of the wall, is still dying on the edge of the ghost forest, waiting to die People' show up?"

"Are you sure you want to speculate on the monster's thoughts and put your life on this inference? God knows if they are lying in ambush on the edge of the ghost forest? The living will be irritable if they can't wait for the target, but the dead don't miss time!"

"Mance Rayder only took thirty thousand wildlings to surrender, and thousands more chose not to believe him. These people scattered and fled beyond the Wall. If I were the White Walkers, I would bring my army of dead men, first Find all these people who have nowhere to escape and strengthen yourself, and then wait for the right time! What did the report say?——As the winter comes, they are becoming stronger and more active Close to the Great Wall."

"I don't care what you think." A Ranger captain of Castle Black shrugged: "Anyway, don't want us to send people out of the wall as death squads. I would rather be hanged by military law than go out and die in vain. Come back in another way."

Jon ignored the objectors, but continued to look around at the other Night Watch officers present: "Whether it's Egger or the White Walkers, they would never have imagined that we would send people out of the wall at this time... send one or two people down in a hanging basket, along the way. Go west from the foot of the Great Wall, bypass the mountain people at the Queen's Gate, and let the sentries on the top of the Great Wall pull us up after crossing the blockade. If we go faster, we don't even need to spend the night outside the Great Wall. This is very dangerous... yes , but if my guess is correct, it may not be as inevitable as our intuition!"

"Then what if all the fortresses along the Great Wall have Iger's order to stop anyone coming out of Castle Black?"

"Then they will only choose to detain people instead of refusing to drag people to the Great Wall. If that kid really considers this impossible situation, then I admit it!"

"I object." Oser Yawick directly expressed his opinion, "I will not sit back and watch this kind of plan that allows some brothers to take unnecessary risks to pass, in order to decide who will be the commander-in-chief and gift Whether the land resettlement plan should continue, the Great Wall has indeed had enough farce... But it's just a difference in concept—"

"The idea I came up with, I will take the lead." Jon Royce interrupted the chief craftsman's chatter, "I will seek volunteers to accompany me, if not, I will act alone. Lord Carter, do you approve my action? ?”

Carter didn't expect this man to be so desperate. After staring at him for a while, he said slowly, "We all know that bit of enmity between you and Iger, Jon, but it's not worth it. You managed to get the news It is impossible for him to kill Iger if it is delivered to Robb, but if you guess wrong and never come back, he will only laugh so hard afterwards that his stomach hurts."

Without saying no to approval, Eoin Royce was firm: "I understand the risk and decided to take it. Iger West used various means to drive us into a corner step by step. If he didn't come up with some unique counterattacks, he Will think that we are all fools who are easy to bully!"

***

In Castle Black, a small group of conservatives are planning to take an unimaginable adventure as a counterattack to Iger's sudden attack.But the night watchman's harbor, which is far away at the easternmost end of the Great Wall, is immersed in a joyful and peaceful atmosphere at this moment.

Conflict and competition among high-level people is the business of the big men, and the brothers at the bottom will not regard each other as enemies just because they voted for different people-especially when one party is the first to show favor.

The actual control of the night watchman is also the first settlement that can be called a town in the land grant: the logistics officer of Houguan Town led the employees of the night watchman industry to come to work again after a few months, and brought a carload of rich All kinds of meat and several large barrels of fine wine, claiming that this is a reward for the Donghaiwatch brothers for sticking to the Great Wall.

The days of looking at the Great Wall are really boring, and when this kind of good event happened, the commander happened to be away, and the dinner party suddenly turned into a carnival: on and off the ice wall, in and out of the hall, people everywhere were pushing glasses and feasting; The employees of the people and logistics department hooked up shoulder to shoulder, calling each other brothers, bragging about their experiences; those who were drunk leaned against the wall, humming vulgar and ambiguous zither tunes. Although there was no musical instrument accompaniment, there was no rhythm .

The wall blocked the cold wind, and the temperature emitted by the banquet crowd and the warming coal fire formed a pocket heat island in the small coastal fortress, as if even the snow had been forced to retreat outside the fortress.The aroma of the wine is mixed with the smell of fat and spices from cooking meat, creating a pleasant smell.

……

Since the beginning of the commander-in-chief campaign, this place has not been lively for a long time.It's just that, right now, that's a little too much.