Game of Thrones: Joffrey the Chosen

Chapter 101 The Enemy is at the Gates

Unlike Arryn, whose lineage was almost exclusively single-lineage, the Lannisters had countless branches; Joffrey could throw a stone at any time and hit a distant cousin who was completely unrelated to him.

The Frey family, on the other hand, was a different kind of thriving family.

It was only through Marquis Walder's decades of diligent work that he managed to amass a considerable fortune.

In Westeros, a society based on monogamy, he married eight wives, and the sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, illegitimate children, and illegitimate children of his illegitimate sons that could be piled up into a mountain.

So nobody cared if a few Freys died.

However, Steve took it very seriously because he had been the heir for sixty years.

Sixty years! Enough for a person to grow from a newborn baby to an old man with white hair and beard.

He has three wives and three sons.

But his second son, Aegon Frey, was an idiot, and his third son was far behind in the succession.

Now that she sees little hope left for herself, she can only place all her hopes on her eldest son.

But the eldest son and eldest grandson were arrested, and the fate of the second grandson is unknown.

If anything goes wrong, his brothers, nephews, and cousins ​​will definitely take advantage of their family.

Fortunately, nobles still maintained some semblance of decorum.

If the other side's heir is captured, they are usually treated well and well. The winning side makes a fortune from the ransom, while the losing side spends money to buy the person back.

Some camps, with a strong sense of honor, even allowed prisoners to be released on parole before paying ransom, allowing them to go back and raise the money themselves.

Everyone takes guest rights very seriously.

"They weren't arrested by nobles." Joffrey scratched his chin, reminding Steveren to keep reading, "They're called the Nameless Brotherhood."

The letter also included a finger, with a clean cut, wrapped in a piece of cloth embroidered with the double tower emblem.

The cloth was originally probably grayish-blue, but now, soaked in blood, it had turned dark brown.

The rest is explained very clearly.

If the wolf cubs or trout don't leave, they'll send out one finger a day. When they run out of fingers, they'll use their toes. When they run out of toes, they'll use the last one.

Steve Ren opened his mouth wide and howled, "My son!"

"Your Majesty, my lords, please, we beg you to find a way to save them!"

The old weasel's weeping was so moving that the nobles present all turned their faces away and covered their faces with their sleeves.

However, their shoulders were shaking violently.

The kind-hearted Earl Genos stood up, pursed his lips, walked over to Stevieren, bent down and patted him on the shoulder.

"Please accept my condolences, my friend." He said these polite words, but his actions were swift and decisive. He half-dragged, half-carried the man to his feet and led him out of the tent.

The moment the curtain fell, the remaining nobles exchanged meaningful glances.

GreatJon grinned: "I was just about to go and comfort him, but someone beat me to it. Lord Genos is really kind-hearted."

“Indeed,” Jason Mellist added. “The Blaken family has always been willing to lend a helping hand to their neighbors in distress.”

"Although Luanhe City is next to our Haijiang City, it is more than a hundred miles away from his home."

A suppressed chuckle rose from inside the tent.

From the icy plains of the North to the deserts of the South, the Freys are infamous.

Does a nouveau riche who makes money by collecting bridge tolls deserve to sit on equal footing with these ancient noble families who have been passed down for thousands of years?

Haha.

Good death.

This is completely beyond saving; everyone knows that.

What bandits could be found in the river bend?

The letter didn't even specify where to look for him; it was purely meant to intimidate Frey.

Moreover, it was made of the finest parchment; real bandits would be lucky to even send a piece of bark.

Big Jon clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.

"Your Majesty, let me lead the troops to twist the heads off these people from the underworld, so they won't cause trouble behind our backs."

"No need." Joffrey shook his head. "The main force can't be moved. Just send some scouts out to find out where this nameless brotherhood comes from."

"Besides, if you leave now, I'll just hand over the vanguard of the siege to someone else, right?"

Great Jon chuckled twice, then sat back down. "No, Your Majesty. I won't go."

Ed tapped the table lightly with his fingers: "This is probably Randall's backup plan."

"He abandoned the nameless river defense line too decisively. It's impossible that he didn't leave some spies behind. If it were me, I would also plant some people behind enemy lines."

Count Mattus cleared his throat: "Your Majesty, there are indeed no powerful bandits in the Reach; this must be a recent development."

"What?" Great Jon Snow widened his eyes. "You mean our arrival is what caused this silence in your tent?"

Everyone lowered their eyelids.

If you see through something, don't say it. Why are you, a reckless fool, bringing this up?

That's probably the case.

The soldiers of Westeros, no matter where they come from, are all the same.

Those like Eddard, Randyll, and Stannis, who were strict in managing their troops, were slightly better in terms of control, but they could only see what was right under their noses.

They're far away now, who knows what they've been up to?

Joffrey clapped his hands, stopping a potential argument.

"It's getting late, everyone go back and rest."

The next morning, a thin mist enveloped the Mandeb River.

From the Bridge of Bitterness, Joffrey's journey is mostly through muddy, rugged, and murky stretches of river.

As they approached the vicinity of High Court, the river suddenly widened, becoming clear and calm, shimmering with light.

-

It's too wide.

It was wider than the Blackwater River, and the river was also completely empty, without a single bridge.

It's impossible to build a pontoon bridge.

When Joffrey arrived, he tried to collect some ferries, but the villages along the way either sank them or towed them away and hid them.

Ed went to great lengths but only managed to get a few dozen planks from Golden Tree City.

Fortunately, although there weren't many forests nearby, building some simple rafts would be enough.

Even better, the allied forces were located upstream, so they didn't have to worry about Renly hiding some fire ships that could ram them halfway.

Great Jon Snow stood on the bank, pouring a bucket of yellow liquid onto the river, the water column rising in wisps of steam in the morning light.

He pulled up his pants and yelled at the soldiers behind him, "Get your act together! Nobody's going to fish anyone who falls into the river!"

The men of the North responded with a resounding roar, but their hands never stopped moving as the raft entered the water, creating huge waves.

The first group to cross the river were three thousand northerners. They were to establish a position on the opposite bank and control the crossing point in preparation for the arrival of the main army.

If the Duke of Metz had any courage, he could send troops to attack while the enemy was crossing the river, and they would suffer heavy losses.

But Mays clearly didn't dare to do that.

At the same time, Genos led the army of the Riverlands across the nameless river, advancing southwestward, sweeping through villages and outposts along the way, and heading straight for the coastal road.

Cutting off this road would completely sever the connection between High Court and West Bay.

As for the direction of Yangji Hall, the troops originally sent to Xihewan have withdrawn, leaving only a small number of scouts to deal with the garrison.

The rest of the group began their journey south under cover of darkness, preparing to join Genos's men and form an arc that would blockade Highgarden from the north.

Ed and Joffrey led the remaining 10,000 men as a reserve force, staying at the main camp to provide support to both sides of the strait at any time.

Under such pressure, Mays completely backed down, and his 10,000-strong army didn't even send out a single scout.

Joffrey gazed at the white castle on the opposite bank, and a sense of melancholy suddenly welled up within him.

Highgarden, oh Highgarden.

I never expected that the enemy would be at the city gates so quickly.

I wonder where James is now.