iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 573 The King's Strategy

In addition to Tywin, Jon and Robert, Stark is naturally one of Princess Arianne's targets of hatred.

Sometimes, she even felt that the culprit of the rebellion was the extremely stupid Stark.

Love is both wonderful and impulsive.

Rhaegar just found a Stark daughter as his lover, but Rickard Stark (Edward's father) had to rush into the Red Keep and question King Aerys about the king's heir? !

I learned from my father and uncle that Aunt Ilia had a happy marriage.

Moreover, my aunt has given birth to a Targaryen heir with Martell blood for Prince Rhaegar. So what if Rhaegar has a battalion of lovers?

This should have become one of Rhaegar's anecdotes throughout the Seven Kingdoms, but due to the recklessness and stupidity of the Starks, it eventually turned into a rebellion in the Seven Kingdoms, leading to the tragic deaths of her aunt, niece, and nephew.

Princess Arianne tightened her grip on the armrest of the chair.

She grinned. "To be honest, I can't expect anything from Stark."

Prime Minister Mace, who was sitting opposite Arianne, rarely agreed with her point of view. He stroked his carefully trimmed triangular beard and said solemnly, "If Winterfell can behave more positively and take the initiative to move closer to the Red Keep, this will be a good start for both sides to rebuild trust."

Duke Brynden Tully attended the royal meeting as a royal advisor. After listening to the speeches of the Prime Minister and the Lord Chancellor, his lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he remained silent in the end.

Grand Maester Pycelle secretly observed the King's expression. His necklace jingled softly, and his old voice rang out: "Your Majesty, my Lords, the Kingdom has entered autumn, which means that winter is about to come. Moreover, the Kingdom has just stabilized. At this time... perhaps negotiation is the wisest choice."

"uh-huh?"

Arianne turned her head to look at the old maester sitting next to her and raised her eyebrows. "So, it is precisely because winter is coming that Winterfell will be fearless, right?"

After a pause, Pycelle stroked his white beard and responded slowly, "Your Highness Arianne, as the King's advisor and Grand Maester, I must provide wise advice to His Majesty. I am fulfilling my duty."

“Oh?” A sneer crossed Arianne’s red lips. “If Stark finally betrays the goodwill of the Red Keep, then… how will you fulfill your duties?”

The old scholar moved his lips and said, "If this is the case, then negotiations will naturally lose their meaning, and the Red Castle will have no choice but to choose war to maintain the dignity and order of the royal family."

Princess Arianne nodded slightly. She stared at Pycelle for a moment and asked, "But by then... according to what you said, the kingdom will have entered a cold winter. Can we still march to the north smoothly under the cover of severe cold, old maester?"

As she spoke, she swept her eyes across the people present and continued, "I would like to remind your majesty and everyone else that if we continue to delay, we will lose the precious opportunity to start a rebellion."

Prime Minister Mace once again echoed Arianne's words. He nodded and said, "Queen Daenerys, King Green, if troops are needed, the Tyrells will obey orders and immediately mobilize the troops of the Reach to serve the kingdom."

Then, when Prime Minister Mace was thinking about how to tactfully strive for the position of commander-in-chief of the Northern Army, the voice of His Majesty Green came.

"Lord Brynden."

His brown eyes moved slightly. "Could you please write another letter to Winterfell and tell her or him that the Red Keep's patience is running out?" "Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for your trust."

Lord Brynden had a resolute expression. He stroked his chest and continued, "I believe the Lady of Winterfell will make the right choice and avoid disrupting the peace of the kingdom."

Green nodded his chin, paused, and said, "Please tell them that the Red Castle has begun preparations for war. If war is unavoidable..."

He pondered for a while, then sighed and said, "Because of the old friendship between Crab and Stark, I will leave two bloodlines for the Stark family."

As soon as he finished speaking, Prime Minister Mace and Princess Arianne showed excitement almost at the same time, while Lord Brynden closed his eyes, trying hard to suppress the worries that were surging in his heart.

Green raised his hand to stop Brynden from speaking, and shifted his gaze to Matus Rowan, who was sitting next to Prime Minister Mace.

"Count Matus, I want to hear your thoughts."

"This is my honor, Your Majesty Green."

Earl Matus nodded slightly, paused, and continued, "If a war must be fought, whether our army can quickly cross the Neck and occupy Bay Kalin will be the key to determining the outcome of this battle."

After a pause, he continued, "If we are trapped in the Neck Swamp, it will not be the people of the swamp who will drown our army, but the cold wind and the snow. So my suggestion is..."

[The Swamp People are a group of people who live in the Neck Swamp. They are used to using poisoned weapons and are good at sneak attacks and guerrilla warfare.]

While Matus was speaking, Green, who was sitting upright in his chair, glanced at Daenerys beside him. Noticing his gaze, her purple eyes moved slightly and she blinked at him gently.

Green couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth slightly. Queen Daenerys, who was listening quietly, was like a good student. Thinking back... her growth rate was already amazing enough.

"Winterfell is one of the most difficult castles to attack in the Seven Kingdoms. We cannot be optimistic about the casualties in the siege. If it is coupled with severe cold, our army is likely to collapse in an instant. Therefore, we must prepare to bring enough cold-resistant items, which is also one of the keys to victory in the war."

Hearing this, Prime Minister Mace suddenly said: "If we focus on besieging Winterfell, we can avoid a large number of casualties among the soldiers."

As the Duke of Highgarden's voice fell, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

After a pause, Green's voice sounded: "Then we will fall into another war of attrition. If there are not many food reserves in Winterfell, we can end this war with a small number of casualties."

Tapping the armrest of his chair, he added, "But it is obvious that if Winterfell has sufficient food reserves, a siege will put the kingdom's army in a very unfavorable situation."

Lord Matus nodded and continued, "Yes, Your Majesty is wise. It is said that the hot springs under Winterfell can transport hot water through pipes. It is a harsh winter outside, but it is warm as spring inside the castle."

He spread his hands. "However, the amount of wood needed to burn the army outside our castle is beyond my imagination. In addition, there are reinforcements from Stark's vassals coming from all over the North..."

Green nodded slightly: "Therefore, time will be our 'enemy'."

(End of this chapter)