Game of Thrones: Joffrey the Chosen

People cannot be generalized.

For example, Joffrey, who had no experience in leading troops, was assigned an army of tens of thousands of men on his first mission.

Fortunately, Robert wasn't so heartless as to leave Barristan to him.

"Sir, I will need your guidance on this trip."

Joffrey wasn't actually that arrogant; his earlier haughtiness was just a forced act.

Therefore, he was willing to ask questions about everything, no matter how small.

"Your Highness is too kind. It is my honor to travel with you."

Barristan was happy to deal with Joffrey.

After all, serving as a military instructor to the heir to the kingdom would be a significant addition to his legendary life.

They are currently heading to a camp west of Rossby, where the lords closer to King's Landing are gathering.

Joffrey didn't just leave the city alone; he brought over a hundred followers with him.

Twenty of them were from Casterly Rock.

They were Lannister elites whom Lord Tywin Lannister had brought to King's Landing to protect Cersei; there were a total of one hundred of them.

When Cersei learned that Joffrey was going to war, her first reaction was to oppose it.

But Robert insisted that he go, and Joffrey was also willing to go.

Unable to stop him, she assigned these twenty people to support him.

These people were dressed in uniform steel plate armor, painted entirely red, complete with shoulder, neck, hand, and shin guards;

The lion-patterned helmet on his head has a nose guard and cheek guards, and the top of the helmet also has a raised arc decoration.

The longsword and shield adorned with a lion were also specially crafted, and he was draped in a magnificent red cloak.

Therefore, they are also known as the Red Robes.

This complete set of equipment could not be acquired without ten gold dragons, but the Lannister family distributed it uniformly, without the soldiers having to pay a single copper coin.

The other attendants wore gold robes.

In theory, the capital's garrison should not be sent on an expedition.

But Robert, seeing that Cersei had sent men, didn't want to lose face.

Unfortunately, this king with a big heart didn't arrange any Baratheon guards in King's Landing; the few dozen Storm's End guards he had were Renly's men.

However, Robert could mobilize the troops of the Capital Garrison.

So he wrote down one hundred spots and let Joffrey choose whichever he wanted.

Isn't this just meat that's been fed right to their mouths?

Joffrey decisively selected those more upright and decent young men, intending to personally train them under his wing for a period of time.

When the officers in gold robes are replaced in the future, they will be promoted.

However, compared to the Lannisters' red robes, the gold robes' equipment was significantly inferior.

They have a total of two thousand people, and the demand is huge.

And since it is mostly used for maintaining order within the city, it does not require overly sophisticated armor.

In addition to layers of corruption and restrictions, most people wore only a black chainmail that reached their hips, lined with padded cotton armor.

A few people would pay for extra metal plates to be added to their chests for added protection.

The helmets were just ordinary black iron helmets, and there was no way to get hand guards; most people just wore a pair of leather gloves.

After all, those who stick to their lot in the community can't earn extra money.

The only thing they all wore in common was their conspicuous khaki cloaks.

Although all of these hundred-plus men had horses, not everyone could fight on horseback; most were mounted infantry.

Even so, they acted very quickly.

They set off at dawn and arrived at their destination in no time.

"Your Highness, the Earl of Rossby's camp is just ahead." Barristan pointed to the messy tents in the distance.

"Mrs. Stokeworth's men are there too; the two families have always been very close."

After a moment's thought, Barristan began to explain to Joffrey the complex relationships between these nobles.

"The Earl of Gails Rossby had two wives but no children, so his adopted son has a certain right to inherit the city of Rossby."

"But because Countess Tanta Stokworth was the aunt of Earl Gays' second wife and also a distant cousin of Earl Gays himself, the Stokworth family had some reservations about this."

Although Joffrey had read about it in books and heard Paisell talk about it, his mind was still a little foggy after hearing this long explanation.

One can only admire him in secret; Barristan truly deserves his reputation as a legendary knight who has been famous for many years.

That's a great lung capacity.

After Lema stood on a low hill, Joffrey and his companion began to survey the army that belonged to the royal domain.

There were quite a few flags, though.

Against a green background, a white lamb holding a golden cup hangs listlessly on a flagpole, looking as if it has just been slaughtered.

Next to it were three red stripes on a mink coat, also crookedly stuck in the ground, looking sickly like its owner.

As for the two crossed black warhammers in a blue background with a white diagonal cross not far away, and the green fretwork on a gold background...

The flags of seven or eight families were crammed together, a colorful and chaotic mess.

Excluding the troops from Crab Claw Peninsula, this area probably contains more than half of the royal territory's military strength.

"They've set up their own camps?" Joffrey asked.

Barristan nodded: "That's always been the case with the princes of the royal domain."

"Their foundation is far inferior to that of other great families, and they do not have a prominent nobleman who can command everyone."

Joffrey rode down the mountain, leading more than a hundred fully armed soldiers, and slowly approached the camp.

They encountered no obstacles along the way.

Only a young servant who was emptying his bladder looked on curiously.

I never imagined that the military development of our country had fallen to such a state.

Joffrey made the hounds howl and unfurled the royal banners.

The crowned stag swayed in mid-air, finally causing a sensation.

Count Gails, disheveled and stumbling, came running out.

"Your Highness! Cough cough..." The old man, hunched over, gasped for breath after every few words, "We've finally been waiting for you, cough, you've arrived!"

"How is Your Majesty's health? Cough cough cough... This expedition must have been arduous, truly arduous..."

Joffrey didn't reply, but simply walked past him, looking at the sparsely assembled troops.

At the head of the procession was a small squad of knights, their full plate armor gleaming, their robes impeccable, and their horses well-fed and glistening.

The Earl of Rossby and his subordinate barons had a private army of about two hundred men, with just over half of them wearing iron armor.

Only a small number of them were wearing very old plate armor.

After removing those who only have a breastplate or chainmail, the rest are all hard leather armor.

The five or six hundred conscripts behind them looked even worse.

Those in armor were at the top of the line, all wearing blackened leather armor; the people in the middle wore dirty military uniforms, which could barely be considered as providing any protection.

The last half of them seemed to have arrived dressed in their usual clothes, giving the impression that they had been forcibly brought in to make up the numbers.

As for helmets, forget about them; anyone with a pot-shaped helmet is considered an elite among elites.

Most people were only wearing small leather hats, with half of their messy hair showing.

Each person had a spear.

But the spear shafts varied in thickness and length, with some being even shorter than a boat pole.

Joffrey then looked at the other camps.

The tents were pitched haphazardly, or a few tattered pieces of cloth were draped over the wooden poles, barely enough to block out the sun.

Smoke rose from more than a dozen different directions, some thick and some thin, and no one knew where to start a fire and cook.

The hitching posts were scattered here and there, with warhorses and dwarf horses mixed together. Occasionally, a bad horse would neigh, prompting the knights nearby to curse and rush over to whip it.

Several conscripts were wrestling in an open space, surrounded by a crowd of people cheering them on.

In another corner, someone was gambling, coins rolling around in their dirty palms.

No one came out to maintain order.

Nobody thought there was anything wrong with it.

Joffrey took a deep breath.

No wonder when King's Landing was besieged, the royal family preferred to recruit local thugs and ruffians rather than recall the royal army to protect them.

He turned his gaze away and looked at Barristan.

The old knight's face was expressionless, but his slightly lowered gaze said it all.

"You'll get used to it, Your Highness."

That won't do.

He will rely entirely on these people to build a standing army in the future.