Ice and Fire: Conquering the World Starting from the Wall

It is always beneficial to have a conversation with an elderly and wise person.

Lynn had to admit that he had underestimated the situation before.

He thought that by presenting the facts, reasoning with people, and offering enough concessions, he could get ordinary people to fight for him.

Looking back now, it's astonishing that he couldn't even manage to get the savages to reorganize their marching ranks, despite being hailed as their savior.

In Westeros, a land virtually indistinguishable from the Middle Ages, the common people have been disciplined for millennia, and weakness and obedience are ingrained in their very bones.

As an outsider, Lynn's attempt to win over the hearts and minds of the people from the lords to whom they had served for generations was likely far more difficult than he imagined.

Perhaps, as Eamon said, a simple rumor was enough to make them avoid Lynn, this so-called "Guardian," and the mere perspective of the savages was enough to instill fear in everyone south of the Wall.

These Southerners forgot that the savages were not natural enemies, but rather humans who had been unfortunately abandoned on the wrong side. Thousands of years of isolation and demonization, coupled with the brutal raids of a few raiders, led the Southerners to regard them all as wild beasts.

"So, ultimately, we still have to engage in dialogue with them through a war of conquest?"

Lynn said in a low voice, his tone both as if he were asking Eamon and as if he were talking to himself.

As Lynn left the raven's nest, which was covered in bird droppings, ravens were released one after another behind him.

Lynn left the remaining letters to Aemon, who, with Samwell's help, would find out which southern lords' ravens remained at Raven's Nest and then send them out one by one.

Since Lynn did not yet have his own coat of arms and insignia, Aemon suggested that the letter be sent in the name of the Night's Watch, to which Lynn had no objection.

Outside Raven's Nest, Black Castle had become a bustling construction site, with giants, Therons, and clan soldiers erecting a wall of earth and wood in almost a single day.

In this kind of weather, there's not much difference between frozen mud and stones.

But Mans felt it wasn't secure enough and planned to increase its height and thickness, and build towers, making Castle Black a true walled fortress.

At the other end of the tunnel, more free people cut down trees and built camps, preparing to welcome a large number of their people.

Currently, only Castle Black and Shadow Tower have tunnels connecting the inside and outside of the Great Wall. The tunnels of other castles were filled in and blocked when they were abandoned. Eastwatch has always relied on ships to travel around Seal Bay to achieve transportation between the inside and outside.

At this point, it was still uncertain whether Shadow Tower would fight or surrender, and digging those blocked tunnels would be time-consuming and laborious. Therefore, the subsequent teams could only rely on the Black Castle Tunnel to pass through the Great Wall.

Fortunately, it won't take long for 100,000 people to pass through the tunnel.

When Lynn visited some large tourist attractions, she noticed that many places could receive tens or hundreds of thousands of tourists in a single day.

Considering the varying number of entrances and the issue of order among the free people, Lynn believed that multiplying the number tenfold would give them at least ten days to get through the tunnel.

The next challenge is the more difficult issue of resettlement.

Mans' plan was to settle the free people in abandoned castles along the Wall according to the size of their clans, and to make use of the abandoned farmhouses and towers on some of the lands that had been given away.

Although the castles had been neglected for centuries, many of the stone buildings remained intact, and the dilapidated wooden towers had solid foundations for reconstruction, so it shouldn't be a problem for the free people to settle down.

However, as long as the food problem remains unresolved, the free people may cross the granted land at any time to plunder food from the northern villages.

Hungry people are devoid of reason; death and destruction will follow them relentlessly.

This kind of destruction is not temporary; it not only brings death, destroys houses and fields, but also shatters people's confidence in the land, which often takes generations to rebuild.

The most terrifying thing is that people don't wait until the food is all gone before they start looting. As soon as the stored food drops to a certain warning level, they will instinctively panic and then look for a way out on their own.

Therefore, no matter how much the freemen saved their rations, Lynn would not have more than three months.

He found Mans on the top of the Great Wall.

For safety reasons, Lynn did not ride the faster pulley cage, but instead walked up the wooden stairs. He simply could not trust the mechanical manufacturing technology of this world.

The staircases, built of thick wooden beams, were much more reliable; they were driven deep into the ice wall and frozen solid.

On the city wall, more than eighty Thane warriors stood guard, protecting against possible attacks from Shadow Tower and Eastwatch.

He and Mans finally had some free time, and the two stood side by side on the Great Wall looking north. This was a different scene from what he had seen when he was attached to the dragon.

Lynn was certain that when he entered the Wall at dawn, there weren't so few trees outside, and in less than a day, the Ghost Forest directly opposite the tunnel entrance had been cleared away like melted grease.

The clan soldiers, like ants, moved back and forth below, constantly transporting various kinds of timber.

The free people conquered the Wall, a formidable barrier that had separated them for millennia. Their unprecedented sense of accomplishment fueled their enthusiasm, and their work efficiency was astonishingly high.

They built an impressive camp at the tunnel entrance, which is now only in its initial stages, but we can already foresee what it will look like when it is completed.

"The last time I stood here was ten years ago."

Mans said to Lynn with deep emotion.

"Who would have thought that one day I would lead the savages to conquer the Great Wall that I once swore to defend with my life?"

"Fate always likes to make people go in circles."

Lynn gave a perfunctory reply, then squinted at the distant gray-black horizon.

"How long until the main force arrives?"

"It will probably take at least another seven or eight days."

Mans shrugged.

"I sent Hammam personally to deliver the message; I believe the news of victory will spur them on."

Lynn took a deep breath, knowing that the real challenge was just beginning.

If, as Aemon said, they are unable to gain the support of the common people of the seven kingdoms, then the only option left is to launch a war of conquest.

When will the siege of East Seaview begin?

Lynn asked, "This concerns the question of dragons and mammoths crossing the Great Wall."

Mans grinned:

"There were too many things to do, and I forgot to tell you. Somehow, those sailors got the news and have already sailed away."

Before they ran away, they emptied the storage rooms and armory, which enraged Tormund so much that he cursed Carter Parker as a spawn of a sea squid.

Carter Pike is the commander of Eastwatch. His surname "Pike" indicates that he is a bastard from the Iron Islands, which is why Tormund called him the son of a squid.

In Westeros, the surname of a bastard child is not determined by who the father is, but by where they grow up or are born.

This custom mainly applies to illegitimate children whose parents are at least one nobleman. If both parents are commoners, their illegitimate children will not have these special surnames and will be like ordinary people without surnames.

Each region of the Seven Kingdoms has its own specific surname for bastards. For example, bastards in the North are all named Jon Snow, which corresponds to the North's perpetually icy and snowy natural environment.

Jon Snow is like that (theoretically, Jon should be surnamed Shad because he was born in Dorne's Tower of Joy), and Ramsay Bolton was also surnamed Jon Snow before he was legitimized by Tommen.

Correspondingly:

Dorne-Shad is named after the deserts that cover the Dorne region.

Hejiandi-Hewen is named for the numerous rivers within its borders;

The name "Gudi-Shidong" originates from the mountainous and rocky canyon terrain of Gudi.

The western border – Mount Hishi, is named after the undulating hilly terrain of the western border;

The Iron Islands – Pike, derived from the name of the main island of the Iron Islands, means "pointed peak" or "mountain peak".

River Bend Land – Buddha Flower, corresponding to the fertile and abundant scenery of the river bend land, where flowers bloom in profusion.

Stormlands – named for the storms that ravage the area year-round.

King's Landing—named after the Blackwater Bay, which lies near King's Landing and the surrounding area.