Game of Thrones: Joffrey the Chosen

Tywin has never smiled since his wife Joanna Lannister died.

Having successfully avenged himself on his best friend and enemy, the Mad King Aerys, he now has only one goal left.

How can we strip Jaime of his white robes and let him inherit Casterly Rock?

But this whole family has the temper of a donkey.

If Cersei doesn't leave, Jaime won't leave.

Cersei, however, is obsessed with the power in King's Landing and refuses to relinquish it.

So Joffrey sometimes wondered if there was a way to get them to willingly return to Casterly Rock.

"Summon Tywin Lannister!"

Give me a couple of laughs!

This is truly a win-win, or even a triple or quadruple win situation.

Unfortunately, such a good thing doesn't exist now.

With a formidable enemy at hand, Eddard would never do something like killing a general in the heat of battle; his treatment of Jaime was both swift and decisive.

Everyone in the Red Keep knows what kind of people these Lannisters are.

To admit a mistake and correct it, but not to admit it.

However, this refers to the two younger brothers.

My older sister is someone who doesn't know she's wrong, doesn't correct her mistakes, and doesn't admit her mistakes.

Varys's little bird reported that when James went to comfort the families of fallen soldiers, he took all the blame upon himself.

But as soon as he returned to the council chamber, his story immediately changed to that the defeat was entirely due to the enemy's trickery.

Joffrey could only shake his head after hearing this.

"The Spider," he asked, "which lords of the Stormlands have replied to us?"

Varis responded softly.

"We can try to win over the Selmy family of Harvest Hall, after all, our Ser Barristan personally rebuked Lord Renly for his lies."

"The Clintons' attitude was ambiguous. Although King Robert returned their fief, Eagle's Nest, they stripped their vassals of their titles."

"Their meaning is that they are willing to turn against their country in war if Your Majesty returns their former territories."

In addition, many minor lords secretly corresponded with King's Landing.

However, due to their vassal duties and geographical pressures, they dared not make it public.

A whooshing sound came from outside the city, causing Varys to purse his lips: "Your Majesty."

"Lord Stannis really doesn't want to have any peace and quiet."

Joffrey couldn't help but look outside.

Several catapults were set up outside the city and were hurling stones at the city walls from a distance.

Most of them crashed onto the open ground outside the city. Occasionally, a few pieces hit the city wall, but only a little bit of mortar was knocked off.

The defenders also used catapults from the city walls to bombard them, but both sides were extremely inaccurate.

The giant catapults of King's Landing were built in the plaza beneath the Mud Gate to defend against Stannis's fleet.

So they are somewhat helpless about these things on land.

After Jaime withdrew to King's Landing, Duskwood fell after only three days.

The Lake family's soldiers all retreated into their fortress, leaving the pirates to plunder their markets and villages.

Since even the highest-ranking vassal in the royal domain dared not launch an attack, the feudal lords whose household troops had been taken away remained secluded at home.

So Stannis led his army south overnight.

He swaggered across several castles in the royal domain and established a long stretch of camps north of King's Landing.

Even more disturbingly, he also dispatched hundreds of ships to anchor in Blackwater Bay to the east, completely blocking all waterways in and out.

The crowned stag flag also flew on the south bank of the Blackwater River.

It was just Renly's, echoing the banner hanging above the Red Keep.

Unfortunately, this uncle held back and did not rashly declare himself king.

Otherwise, given their kinship, this battle at King's Landing could be considered a three-kings war.

That night, Joffrey summoned the nobles, knights, and commanders of all ranks in the city for a final mobilization before the battle.

Ed whispered some instructions before the meeting.

"Your Majesty, please remember, never say in front of them that Stannis has a large army and many generals, and that morale is the most important thing."

"I understand, I understand," Joffrey nodded.

I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it.

The hall was brightly lit by candlelight, and everyone took their seats, each with a different expression on their face.

After saying a few words, Joffrey allowed everyone to speak freely.

"The Earl of Riverley asked with concern."

"Ser James and Stannis fought a fierce battle in Duskwood, but were forced to retreat due to the arrival of enemy reinforcements."

"So, Your Majesty, could you please tell us exactly how many soldiers Stannis has?"

Joffrey looked around and noticed that everyone below had the same question.

"Since that's the case, I won't hide it from you anymore."

"Stannis's naval infantry probably number between ten and twenty thousand."

A chorus of low gasps came from inside the hall.

Ed turned his head sharply and looked at him in disbelief.

But Joffrey gave a mysterious smile.

"Before Stannis rebelled against me, he already had two or three thousand soldiers on Dragonstone, and if you include his vassals, there should be five or six thousand."

"In the following six months, he recruited mercenaries extensively, from the free trading city-states across the Narrow Sea to the pirates of the Steps Islands, and recruited another six thousand men."

"After the fall of Mugu Town, he joined forces with the rebels on Crab Claw Peninsula."

"In total, there are indeed 15,000 soldiers."

Ed coughed twice beside him, his voice much louder.

"And what about Stannis's knights?" someone else asked.

Joffrey's voice was steady and powerful.

"Stannis boasted that he had thousands of knights, but that was a lie."

"However, there are about three hundred skilled warriors among them."

"Let me give you a few examples."

"Count Morford Valerian of Tidehead Island, a handsome young man."

"Adrian Setiga, Earl of Crab Island, also known as the Red Crab, is exceptionally brave and wields a Valyrian steel axe."

"In addition, there are the infamous Salad pirates, the cunning Onion Knight, and the Red Woman who wields magic."

"Wait, wait, wait, they're all tough characters."

With each name Joffrey called out, the atmosphere in the hall grew more somber.

When the woman in the red robe was mentioned, someone drew a prayer gesture in the corner.

Joffrey looked around, taking in everyone's expressions.

The atmosphere has been set quite well.

So he slammed his hand on the table.

"Bang!"

Everyone was startled.

"But to me, Stannis's army looked like ants on the ground."

"With just a flick of the wrist, the ants will be reduced to dust!"

Everyone stared at him in a daze.

"A dozen days ago, Stannis falsely claimed that my father was dead, causing chaos in the Seven Kingdoms."

"Now the world is divided into three, but we alone control five kingdoms and the royal domain."

"Only the remaining two countries and Dragonstone were deceived by my two uncles and joined the rebellion."

Please make your own judgment.

"King Robert himself issued a decree, choosing me as the heir to the Iron Throne. Those two traitors are just making baseless accusations."

"If I lead the soldiers of various states to fight them, wouldn't their vassal lords don their armor and bow down, surrendering at the mere sight of them?"

Some people started nodding.

Joffrey raised the first finger.

"Moreover, Stannis's soldiers are mostly naval forces, and their combat strength will be reduced by 20% to 30% once they go ashore."

He then raised his second finger.

"Secondly, the army that Stannis assembled was mostly composed of pirates and mercenaries who only wanted to plunder."

"Although these people have joined his ranks, they will not be wholeheartedly loyal, and their fighting strength will be reduced by 20% to 30%."

Next is the third finger.

"Then, Stannis marched on a long march, under the stars and moon."

"They rushed to besiege King's Landing right after conquering Duskvale, and they're already at their last gasp. Their fighting strength will be reduced by another 20-30%."

"Therefore, Stannis's army can only be considered as about 10% of his fighting strength, which is only about 2,000 men."

As soon as he finished speaking, a buzz of discussion arose in the hall.

Joffrey clenched his fist.

"Finally, and most importantly."

"Stannis just thought he had won a great victory and has become arrogant."

"An arrogant army is bound to be defeated!"