The king on the Great Wall

Iger also snorted, completely tolerating Asha's presumptuousness.

She was right in guessing that if he had discussed with herself beforehand or applied for approval of this action, he would definitely veto it without even thinking about it.

Dragon Steel Armor may indeed be a treasure, but it is by no means more important than "killing Euron" and "victory at the Battle of Blackwater Bay". He would rather let this treasure be buried in the bottom of the sea until the end of the world than In order to obtain it, increase the difficulty and casualties of this war...even if it is only a half point.

Ask him if he agrees with this plan, he definitely does not agree.

But asking him if he wants it after the deal is done is another matter.

It is true that with his character, even if he really assembled a suit of invulnerable armor, he would never personally charge into the battle tomorrow to take part in the siege - Asha was in a hurry to deliver this thing today, but it was meaningless.

But having said that, what man can resist the temptation to own a fabled dragonsteel armor?

Recasting "Dark Sisters" as "Lightbringer" is a regrettable move, but now...

"Does the Queen know about this?"

"It's not like I stole it from her arsenal. There are many people who watched me pick up the body, strip off the armor and throw it back into the sea." Asha raised her head, "It's just that they are not as good as your witch." With extensive knowledge, I can tell at a glance that this thing is made of tile steel. The plan to bomb the "Serenity" was proposed by me, and the risk was taken by me. The Crow's Eye I killed personally has the same surname as mine ...this is my prize, the treasure of House Greyjoy, and what is the queen's business?"

Iger slapped his head.

He did ask a stupid question.

The culture rooted in the bones is at work again.

Daenerys is not the emperor of a unified dynasty. In this era, even the queen will never and cannot snatch spoils from her followers, let alone a Greyjoy from another Greyjoy. Yi hand took something away.

Asha wanted to gift this dragon steel armor to herself, which was completely reasonable, reasonable and legal, but there was only one question that could not be answered.

"You fished up Euron's body and threw it back into the sea?"

"Otherwise, even if there is a blood feud, it is my uncle, my blood relative. Do you want me to cut off my head and bring it to you?"

"Okay, sorry, allow me to reorganize the question." Iger shrugged and gave up the topic, "Why don't you dedicate this armor to His Majesty? What I can give you, the queen can definitely give you."

"My lord commander." Seeing that the two were arguing back and forth over whether to accept this gift, Melisandre interjected eagerly and unhappily, "This scale armor appears It is no coincidence here, it must be the reward and self-protection given by Ms. R'hllor to her agent. It is destined to belong to you, and Ms. Asha just took on the last link in its turnaround!"

The witch had no idea what they were talking about.

Both of them secretly rolled their eyes, neither responding nor refuting the red-robed woman's self-talk.

Asha raised her head and looked directly at Iger: "Would you believe me if I said that it was out of gratitude for how you took care of me when I was trapped in Houguan Town?"

Iger narrowed his eyes and didn't even move his lips - he didn't like this kind of unnutritious jokes and tricks.

"Okay, okay." Really boring, Asha curled her lips, realizing that she had made a fool of herself, "There is indeed a little gratitude, but it is only worth a tile-steel dagger. The second reason is that this scale The armor is a men's style, and she can't wear it even if it's dedicated to His Majesty... As for the third reason, Commander-in-Chief, you must not forget the grand ideal I once confided to you, right?"

What grand ideal?

Iger didn't think about it for a while, and after thinking hard for a while, he vaguely guessed.

With an affirmative tone, he gave a tentative answer: "Lead the Iron Islands to a better tomorrow?"

"That's right, the Queen can pardon me for the crime of invading the Northern Territory, help me get rid of my status as a night watchman, support me as the Countess of Pike City, reward me with shocking wealth, and even make me a 'Guardian of the Islands'... But she There is no way to make the archipelago prosperous and strong, which is beyond her will and ability.” The man still remembered what he said, which made Asha very relieved, and she paused with a smile, “But you can do it.” At this point, I choose to present this treasure to you instead of dedicating it to Her Majesty the Queen."

-

Chapter 617

Are you serious?

-----

Iger almost asked. Asha had confided this thought to him many months ago, but at that time, he thought it was all a rhetoric made up by this girl to let him let her go. Who would have thought... ...was she joking?

It took half a second to digest the surprise in his stomach, and when he really spoke, his tone had been adjusted to be quite calm.

"Are you sure? Even after all that has happened?"

"What I love is not anyone on the Iron Islands, but this land where I was born and raised." Asha's eyes were clear and firm, "This kind of love will not be broken because of anyone's misunderstanding or prejudice against me." Changed—I'm sure."

(Good middle school lines.)

Iger had a few goosebumps and suppressed the urge to tremble.

It was a difficult task for an egoist like him to comprehend Asha's unselfish, Madonna-like love.The dark speculation of the lever was formed in the mind almost instantly: for the daughter of the sea monster who had nothing left, "deep love for the land of the Iron Islands" was probably the last motivation to support her life.She didn't really love the Iron Islands at all, but forced herself to think that she loved the Iron Islands, so as to create a life goal for herself, so that she could stick to it.

But to get rid of the villain's heart and judge the gentleman's belly, Iger will never forget: In addition to the layman like himself who regards everything as a business and transaction, there are also Aemon Targaryen and Benyan Stark, And Dennis Mallister... and all that kind of really upright guy.

Even if he can't be in awe of aliens, he is at least willing to respect other people's choices.

Iger let out a long sigh.

This gift is not easy to take.

Dragon Steel Armor is certainly a priceless treasure, but "making the archipelago prosperous and strong" is also a vague and hard-to-define goal: to what extent is it prosperous, to what extent is it rich and strong... How to fulfill the promise and complete the transaction, and who should do it? What is the final say?

He began to search for memories in his subconscious—is there any road to wealth suitable for the people of Iron Island in the programs of CCTV [-] that he liked to watch?

……

"Thank you for your gift, Miss Asha." After much deliberation, Iger decided to practice Tai Chi first, not to talk too much, "I don't dare to make too many guarantees for your ideals, I can only promise: We will give our full support to the best of our ability.”

It wasn't the most wanted answer, but Asha was basically satisfied: the guy in front of him was a complete bastard, but he wasn't shameless enough to take his things for nothing.

"Besides presenting this armor, I have another matter to report to the Commander-in-Chief, which is an internal secret of the Night Watch. I hope that my lord can screen out irrelevant personnel."

There were only three people in the room, and Asha could figure out who the irrelevant person was referring to with her toes.

The red-robed woman looked at Iger expressionlessly, and saw that the man hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded slightly at her, and gave her a wink: "Ms. Melisandre, please go back to the next room to rest, if you still need Where you are, I will send someone to summon you."

"As you wish, Lord Commander." The witch nodded in agreement, turned and walked towards the door, took Asha's hand the moment she passed by, kneaded it, and then let go of it with confidence. Room.

Iger keeps the witch with him at all times in order to avoid the threat of extraordinary power: most of the spells Melisandre can detect abnormalities in the air, and after physical contact, "most" will become " Anything" - as long as Asha is neither a hit nor a disguise, then she will not pose a threat to Iger.

"There are no 'irrelevant personnel' anymore, go ahead."

Asha rubbed the hand that was touched by the witch. She didn't know whether she was nostalgic for the touch or disgusted by being touched by the same sex. She took a deep breath: "Master Commander, do you know that now I am called the why?"

"Probably not a good word." Iger curled his lips, completely uninterested in making guesses, "Humans always have infinite creativity in insulting each other."

"The night watchman's cousin." Asha said in a flat tone, "This is a veiled name because of your fierce reputation. If you are not afraid of death, you will directly say 'Iger's cousin'."

What kind of internal secret is this?Could it be that both parties in the scandal are Night Watchmen, so it is the Night Watchman's internal secrets?

Iger tilted his head indifferently: "Slander and slander, the more you care about it, the more lethal it will be to you. If Miss Asha really wants to bring the Iron Islands to a bright future, she must first learn... What others say is fart."

"I'm not indignant because I was slandered and slandered." Asha gave Iger a white look reproachfully, for his inexplicable comfort and enlightenment, "Ironmen think I am incompetent, a traitor, and a kinslayer. No complaints, at least these accusations are based on facts... But since I was captured by you in the Battle of Deepwood Castle, I haven't touched a man in the past two years, and I'm even more chaste than a nun. "

"Then what do you want?" Iger was a little puzzled, and snorted, "Pull out the tongues of all the people who poured dirty water on you, or cut off their heads? The mouth of the people is better than that of the river, and the mad king's coma I invite you to come up with one at random, and you will never even think about leading the people of the archipelago to a better tomorrow in this life."

"Of course not." Asha denied it outright, and raised her head, with an expression of inexplicable meaning suddenly appearing on her face, "What I'm thinking is: Anyway, the stigma can't be shaken off, so why bother to be scolded in vain?"

She came prepared.

There is almost no psychological desire between the two; physical needs barely exist.

After going through hardships, the "strong female leader" character that Asha once wanted to build has already collapsed into dust and can no longer be restored.

But there is another way to capitalize on the cult of the strong in Ironborn culture.

Take the next step.

Now that it is impossible to make the ironmen fear and obey themselves, let them respect and obey...the man behind them.

……

Oh?

Iger raised an eyebrow.

A man and a widow live in the same room, and there is a woman who has recommended herself to him twice. Iger understands that his thinking is definitely not an illusion.

Anyway, this time, at least her method is much better than the last time she yelled at him in public, "I can do whatever you want", and last time she proposed "use your body to pay in advance"...

He didn't resent it.

The man squinted at the woman, and the woman boldly stared back. After looking at each other for a few seconds, Asha, who didn't wait to refuse to answer, folded the corners of her mouth, and lifted the scales with both hands with a smile: "My lord commander, no! Bringing up those unpleasant topics, please allow me to help you... Try this Valyrian steel armor."

-

Chapter 618 The Destruction of the Stag

Big ups and downs.

This is the summary of "Iron Hand" Jaslin Bywater's life trajectory.

He was born in the last branch of the collateral line. Due to the poor conditions of his family, he was born in a noble family, but his life was once so embarrassing that he could not afford horses, weapons and armor. When he was young, he couldn't find a noble who was willing to make him a knight... until he was drafted into the army and participated in Robert Baratheon's suppression of Greyjoy's rebellion as an ordinary soldier in his middle age He fought bravely in this battle and lost his right hand, so he was knighted by King Robert for his meritorious service, and was rewarded with an officer post in the City Guard.

With an upright nature, he is not good at deception, flattery, and has never been favored by officials at all levels. Fortunately, he has the halo of "canonization of the king" to protect him, and he is able to sit upright and never fall into the trap of others. Only then was he able to go through the qualifications smoothly and abruptly become the captain of the Mudmen or Linhemen's defense, which can be regarded as a small status and prestige.

Originally, for a small character with no solid background and only a bit of shit luck, he would probably retire honorably in this moderately high position. Who would have thought that by chance, his hair would start to turn gray at a very old age? However, he accidentally witnessed and was involved in the open and secret struggle between the night watchman industry and the then commander of the garrison, Janos Slynt.

On the night of the civil strife in King's Landing, Iger, who was chased and killed by Slynt's men, fled to the Linhemen barracks and asked him for help. Sir Iron Hand, who had endured the pig's head for a long time, waved his hand and bet all his chips on the Night Watchman and Lannister. On the other side, he changed his usual caution and obedience, and carried out the following crime that he still feels a little passionate about in retrospect today: he sealed off the camp, led his cronies and subordinates to confront the aggressive commander-in-chief Slynt in an armed confrontation, in order to fight at all costs His imposing manner just protected the little night watchman who had fled into his camp in a hurry at that time. Finally, relying on this gold-rich "nomination certificate", he won the unanimous support from the army and the people, including the funder behind the night watchman industry and the chief of the garrison. Supporting the election, he successfully succeeded the boss who was overthrown by himself, and succeeded the commander of the King's Landing Garrison.

The king is directly under the command of the armed forces, the supreme commander of the king's army, and the guardian of the capital of the seven kingdoms...

That was the brightest moment of his life. It is no exaggeration to say that he revived the fortune of the family, but unfortunately this beauty did not last long.

After King Robert succumbed to his wounds, Bywater turned his allegiance to Prime Minister Eddard Stark and his rightful successor, Stannis Baratheon.For a person without too much aristocratic background, this is obviously the best choice without any suspense. However, in the ensuing "two stags", the king's brother Renly Baratheon brought Storm, River The forces from Taiwan and Taiwan swept in, aggressively attacking King's Landing with the intention of usurping the throne.

Sitting in the city and ranking in the orthodox, that was a defensive battle with a high chance of winning. Bywater wanted to show his skills in this battle to gain the approval of the new king. Who would have thought that there would be rebels in the garrison? Stannis actually lost the war in a daze, and gave up the Iron Throne for no apparent reason.

The north gate opened by the rebels was not in Bywater’s old sphere of influence. The traitors made a big mistake because they were instructed by the royal nobles. This matter has basically nothing to do with Bywater...

However, this just put him in the predicament of "both ends are not happy":

For Renly, he was a former court official who had served his elder brother. Even if he had no grudges, it was absolutely impossible for him to continue to be reused in the capital guard.

For Stannis, the defeat that led to his brief loss of King's Landing was due to his lax commander in chief and his failure to detect changes within the garrison in time.

Therefore, after a short one-month experience as Commander-in-Chief, Bywater was not only dismissed by Renly to the end...even though the situation was reversed again soon after Renly inexplicably killed Stannis and re-entered the throne without bloodshed In King's Landing, he was only able to return to the Blackwater River to guard the familiar Mud Gate because of the lack of manpower, and he has been sitting on the bench as the captain of the single-door defense until today.

But this time, another big ups and downs of the fork in the road before him.

The little officer of the night watchman who was rescued by a sudden rush of blood a few years ago, now actually leads the army, and has returned from the extreme north thousands of miles away with the mad king's daughter in his arms!

***

"My lord, you have saved the life of the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch in the past. If you manage to connect with him this time and sacrifice Linhe Gate at the critical moment of the queen's attack... it will be both related and creditable, let alone the garrison. Commander, it is not impossible for the Bywater family to become one of the great princes with vast estates even if the soil is cracked to seal the title!"

This was a suggestion that a close friend who had followed him for many years quietly proposed to Bywater a week ago. At that time, Sir Iron Hand vetoed it without hesitation and severely reprimanded the speaker.

Eat the king's salary and share the worries for the king.Even if King Stannis didn't give him the post of garrison commander, at least he rewarded him with his job. In the past two years, no matter how difficult the finances are, he has never been in arrears with his military pay and allowances like in the Slynt era. He " Sir Iron Hand" has been upright and upright all his life, how can he do such a nasty thing?

But in the dead of night, lying under the quilt and staring at the ceiling, the slight unwillingness and wavering also once troubled him.

Eat marrow to know the taste.

He was the commander-in-chief of the garrison, and he knew what it was like to be above everyone except the king and the prime minister.Having tasted the sweetness of power, how could he willingly return to the dust and quietly do the day-to-day gatekeeping work until he is buried in the ground?

I don't know if he noticed his thoughts or if he had a long memory after tasting the taste of betrayal. Not long after the land-grant army arrived outside the city, Stannis sent his confidant generals and guards to the garrisons of the guards to supervise the army. Identity took over the job of opening and closing the city gates, as well as the higher command in wartime.

This was originally an expression of distrust, but Bywater secretly heaved a sigh of relief in spite of his displeasure: that's fine, if there is no chance, he can resist the temptation instead, and will not degenerate into the person he once despised the most because of his greed for glory and wealth. species of people.

……

"My lord, let's surrender! As long as we show our identities, with the relationship between you and Iger West, no matter how bad it is, we won't lose our heads. The worst thing is to put on black clothes and leave the Great Wall. Maybe there are night watchmen Under the care of the Commander-in-Chief, he is still an officer at Castle Black!"

This is what the same person who persuaded him to cooperate with the enemy and rebel is speaking to Bywater at this moment.

Different from a week ago, this time the exhortation took place in the public, in front of countless brothers, and both the speaker and the listener were disheartened and panicked to the extreme.

The biggest difference is that this time, Bywater almost nodded in agreement.

They've just been through a battle they can't win.

It was an incredible siege battle: Arrows and projectiles flew horizontally, their density and power were higher than them; the dragon was passing by at a height beyond the reach of the dragon hunting crossbow, and it would explode after a while. The objects fell on the far or near sections of the city wall, blowing up the soldiers crying for their fathers and mothers; but what filled the entire auditory world was neither shouts of killing nor screams, but strange and familiar sounds. "Boom".

If I still have a chance to survive today, I will definitely tell my listeners this way when writing or dictating my memoirs in the future: Watching the artillery show off its power against the Golden Group and the Iron Fleet by the Blackwater River or in the bay from a distance, and facing this legendary weapon directly The target they aim at and bombard is a completely different feeling!

They mustered up their courage, they fought bloody battles, and they fell one by one... Although they tried their best to stop the enemy's advance, they still made the enemy approach the city wall under the overwhelming firepower of hot and cold weapons.This is a common and acceptable situation in city attack and defense. Bywater judged that his side could repel at least five or six attacks from the enemy. Retreat from the first line of defense, the city wall.

But after a loud bang that almost stopped his heart beating, all predictions and conjectures came to nothing.

The attack that sank the flagship of the Iron Fleet in the bay the day before yesterday can be used in land battles, even on the city gates!

It's not that they haven't worried about this possibility, but they don't even know what the enemy's weapons are, so how can they formulate countermeasures?

The "mud door" that Bywater had been guarding for nearly ten years, ordered to open or close thousands of times, and he knew exactly how many copper nails there were on it, collapsed inward after the sound. The wooden and stone pillars behind the door for reinforcement and support did not delay its fate of being destroyed by the bomb.

What is "destruction and destruction"?What is unstoppable?What is a bang?What is the autumn wind sweeping the fallen leaves?

Sir Iron Hand saw you today.