Game of Thrones: Joffrey the Chosen

Chapter 104 shrouded in mystery

More than a hundred fully armed cavalrymen charged out from behind the hills to the south, raising a cloud of dust.

As the bugle sounded, the Northern soldiers, who were resting, grabbed their weapons.

Greatjon's massive body pushed through the crowd like a bull, charging to the very front.

As the smoke cleared, the two sides faced each other at a distance of about a hundred paces.

The northern soldiers formed a shield wall behind the barricades, their spears pointing outwards, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"Friendly troops, we are friendly troops!" someone shouted from the other side, their voice tinged with urgency.

Big Jon spat on the ground.

"Do you think we're fools?" His voice was so loud that everyone could hear him.

"There are deer on both sides, how are we supposed to know which side you're on? You won't even bother with some disguise. We don't have armor decorated like that!"

That's true.

The knights opposite them wore gleaming plate armor, with intricate vine patterns engraved on their chests and shoulder armor, bearing a distinct Reach style.

The lead knight paused for a moment, then removed his helmet.

"Oh dear! A tyrant!" Great Jon Snow was stunned.

What happened to your face?

James' left cheek twitched.

He was already annoyed by the question along the way; it was asked of everyone, whether they knew him or not.

He had already made up his mind that if anyone else came up and asked about this, he would definitely slap that person in the face.

But after taking a closer look at Great Jon's physique, he realized that the guy was already up to his chin just standing there.

It seems like we might not be able to win.

Let's forget about it then.

"Where is His Majesty?" He avoided the question. "I need to find him."

Joffrey was studying a map in his tent when he suddenly heard a commotion outside.

He lifted the tent flap and saw James dismount.

In that instant, my gaze was fixed on his face.

What happened to your face?

Joffrey pondered the scar, feeling a sense of déjà vu. After thinking for a long time, he realized it resembled a certain big bad wolf.

James's face twitched again.

"Your Majesty, we have come all this way on your orders, and this is how you greet us?" His tone seemed somewhat sarcastic.

Joffrey temporarily suppressed his curiosity and let James into the tent.

"How could that be, my dear uncle?" He put on a concerned expression. "I'm just surprised you got here so quickly."

James didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down in the chair.

"If we hadn't gotten lost, we could have gotten here much faster, and there was this idiot trying to scam us."

"I asked for directions, and he told me to go to the left, but it turned out to be a large swamp."

Joffrey raised an eyebrow: "You didn't believe me, did you?"

"Do I look that stupid?" James rolled his eyes. "I sent scouts to check both sides, and it turned out there was a big river on the other side."

"That old farmer wanted to lead us into a dead end so that his master could wipe us all out."

"and then?"

"Then we stayed at his master's castle for a few nights."

"And they discovered that the place was called Baiyangtan, which was located in the middle of the Zhouxi River."

Joffrey clicked his tongue.

Within half a month, they marched 300 li, passing through several enemy-occupied castles, and even captured one of them.

Ser Jaime, who will one day lead a large army directly from the Westerlands to Highhold, is a man whose achievements are worthy of being recorded in history.

"How swift!" Joffrey couldn't help but exclaim. "Entrusting this task to you was definitely the right decision."

But James didn't look particularly smug.

"Only a few hundred of us have arrived," he said. "The rest are still behind."

Joffrey's smile froze: "Then why did you come here? Why did you abandon the army and leave?"

"They're harvesting wheat in the back," James grinned, showing his white teeth. "That's their old trade."

"In order to save time, we threw away all our baggage and ate as much as we could along the way. By the time we reached Baiyangtan, we were almost out of food."

"We stayed there for two days, letting the soldiers harvest wheat on their own, and also borrowed the watermill to make some bread."

"Since they have to pay taxes anyway, I'll collect them in advance and waive their rent for this year in your name."

Joffrey opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

James glanced around, leaned forward, and lowered his voice.

"Little Joffrey, after that we traveled south along the frontier and found a large number of Dornish soldiers at Prince's Pass."

"I suspected their motives were impure, so I pretended to be Renly's reinforcements and tricked them into opening the gates of Nightsong."

, 7

"And I've ordered Bronze Yorn to lead troops to guard the area. I've come to discuss the situation with you as soon as possible."

Joffrey's expression turned serious.

Prince Doran's intervention was entirely expected; Tyrion had contacted him before, saying he wanted Tommen to marry into the family.

But he wasn't happy about it, and that was the end of the matter.

After thinking for a while, Joffrey sighed.

"Let's focus on what's in front of us first."

After sitting for a while, James, listening to the shouts outside, started to get restless.

"One two one, one two one.

The sound of neat chants came from afar, carrying a strange rhythm.

He lifted the tent flap and peered outside.

What are these people doing?

"train."

The two walked out of the tent.

On a wide, flat area, thousands of soldiers stood in neat square formations, while groups of people were doing morning exercises.

They wore identical armor, some new and some old, but all were polished to a shine.

They lacked the laziness and apathy of conscripts, and the roguishness of mercenaries; instead, they possessed an arrogance that Jaime had only ever seen on the faces of the Lannister Guard at Casterly Rock.

Something only the elite possess.

"Whose people are you?" James couldn't help but ask.

No one cares about him.

"Tell the lord, whose people are you?" Joffrey began.

"We are King Joffrey's men!" the crowd shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

James turned his head and looked at him, his eyes clearly saying, "Did you send them here to mess with me?"

Joffrey smiled slightly.

They were provided with the best food and drink, given plenty of silver deer, and were the king's personal guards; of course, their ideological work was done very thoroughly.

James began to wander around the camp.

"The road is well-maintained and flat; even the stones have been removed." He squatted down and scratched the ground.

"Did Ed teach you that? I didn't know he had that trick up his sleeve."

He lifted the curtain of a tent.

Then he stepped out, lifted another one, and yet another.

The bunks inside were neatly arranged, the weapons were arranged according to length, the wooden shields were stacked in the right places, and even the blankets were folded up.

"Now I'm sure Ed didn't teach you this. Where did you learn this skill from?" James asked.

There's nothing to be confused about; it's just a very clichéd plot.

Joffrey brought over his military training gear.

But the "tofu block" rule was too strict; he didn't require it to be that deep, since most soldiers didn't even have blankets.

As long as it's not just rolled up into a ball and left there, it's fine.

A piece of bark with a timetable engraved on it was hanging on the tent's stake.

Getting up, eating, training—everything was clearly marked.

"Are they all following this schedule?" James asked.

Joffrey nodded smugly.

Although it falls short of his ideal military strength, he believed that no one else in Westeros had achieved this in such a short time.

"Why would they agree?" James asked again.

Eleven strokes.