Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

He admitted that he had indeed underestimated his younger brother. The impression Yin Meng had given Heros was that he was playful but not particularly mischievous, had no real abilities, and associated with some shady friends, nothing more.

Compared to himself, Yin Meng's power was insignificant. It wasn't until Yin Meng suddenly defied him that Heros began to think more highly of Yin Meng.

But now Yin Meng is proving his own brother wrong with his actions.

"I admit I underestimated him; my brother isn't as stupid as he seems..."

Inside the Royal Council Chamber at the Red Castle.

The dark-haired young man sat calmly in a chair at the head table of the Imperial Council. He glanced at the many Imperial Council ministers on both sides, then tossed the intelligence report in his hand aside and began to speak.

"We can't give Yin Meng any more time to grow."

"Otherwise, the rebellion will be even more difficult to quell, and may even encourage other factions to follow suit."

"Now that Queen Daenerys is distracted by the earthquake in Norfolk, this is our best opportunity."

Although his younger brother's performance is indeed amazing, it has caught Heros somewhat off guard.

But this was not enough to make him panic, after all, there was still a big gap in strength between the two, and Heros was in the dominant position and still had enough confidence to suppress Yin Meng's rebellion.

After he brought his younger brother Immanuel and older sister Diana back to King's Landing, he was able to pull out his father's dragon spear and officially become the second emperor of the empire.

Heros declared war and, a month later, after the New Year of the year 323 in the Yin Geng calendar, officially launched a war against Highgarden to quell the rebellion led by his brother, Immon Targaryen.

Just as the Regent Prince was about to speak, Vilas Tyrell, the Prime Minister sitting next to Herros, kept his head down and remained silent.

Even though the situation in King's Landing has been extremely tense lately, shrouded in bloody terror, Velas remained remarkably calm and did not reveal any weaknesses.

Chapter 1033 Split into Two Groups

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the end of Yin Gengli's 322nd year had passed, ushering in the new year of 323.

However, there was little festive atmosphere in the capital, King's Landing, for everyone knew that a civil war was imminent.

This might not be obvious across the vast territory of the Eastern Continent Empire, where there is the powerful suppression of Queen Daenerys, but in Westeros, the heart of the empire, even passersby and beggars know it.

The regent prince, Heros, who now controls the court, is about to take action against the second prince, Immon Targaryen.

The eldest prince's sphere of influence extends to the Vale, the Riverlands, the Royal Country, and Dorne, while the second prince's power is much weaker compared to his brother's.

The second prince's power is mainly concentrated in his fiefdom of Highgarden and his recently allied partner, Casterly Rock.

However, there have been increasing reports recently claiming that the Clinton family of Storm's End is about to side with the second prince.

It is said that it was at the urging of Jon Torn, the Lord Governor of the West, and the main reason was said to be that the Torn family, the Clinton family, and the Bracken family of the Twins were all illustrious figures who had helped His Majesty the Emperor conquer the land.

The three families had a close relationship and shared a common hatred of the enemy, together forming a new elite in the imperial aristocracy.

After all, the Toyn family, the Clinton family, and the Brecken family have no glorious history in the past thousand years, but now they have risen to high positions.

A few years ago, however, a great plague struck the Riverlands. The Brecken family, who were supposed to be the closest to the royal family, were stripped of their governorships, and the old Earl Brecken's only son was poisoned to death.

Furthermore, Heros also gave the position of governor of the Riverlands to the Tully family of Riverrun, who had been the main enemy during the conquest war.

The Emperor set the tone that the Tully family would never rise again, after all, he had almost burned down Riverrun in a fit of rage, wiping out the Tully family's bloodline.

A coup then occurred in Riverrun, Horst Tully died, and his son Edmure seized power and decisively surrendered the city, thus preserving the Tully bloodline.

But now, the actions of the eldest prince, Heros, have dealt a blow to the meritorious officials and rewarded former enemies, which has made the Toyn family and the Clinton family, who also made contributions in the conquest war, feel a sense of impending doom.

Although none of them dared to openly oppose imperial power.

However, they remained wary of the eldest prince, Heros, considering him a ruthless and extremely dangerous individual.

Therefore, the Toyn and Clinton families had been patiently waiting for this opportunity.

If they had to choose between the eldest prince and the second prince to support in ascending the throne, they would undoubtedly choose the second prince, Yin Meng, without hesitation.

After all, the second prince, Yin Meng, was more gentle than the first prince, Heros.

Besides the two major families, the governor of Pentos, far across the Narrow Sea, is also about to send an army to break through the Crown Prince's blockade of the sea.

This army is suspected of landing on land near Stormland Tass Island to participate in the war, and it is also supporting the Second Prince, Yin Meng.

With so many forces involved, the Second Prince gradually gained more confidence in facing his elder brother. At least with everyone's help, he had the confidence to go toe-to-toe with Heros.

Therefore, in the current environment, the atmosphere in Westeros, the heart of the Empire, is becoming more and more tense every day.

Heros ordered the army to prepare for war, while Yin Meng also dared not delay, actively preparing supplies by relying on the sea outlets such as Old Town and Lannisport.

Although Yin Meng occupies the wealthy river bend, he is not as rich as his elder brother Heros, who controls the treasury of the Kingdom of Kings.

Fortunately, the Reach was a fertile land and the empire's "granary." As the signs of war began to emerge, the Reach had already cut off the supply of provisions to the capital.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Narrow Sea, Pentos was also an important hub for the flow of goods to King's Landing.

However, Pentos has also cut off the supply of food and vital military materials to King's Landing.

These measures greatly impacted the Crown Prince Heros's military preparations, delaying the progress and buying more time, since time is of utmost importance to Yin Meng right now.

Besides these, it also had some impact on the stability of King's Landing, with commodity prices soaring and food prices tripling in a week, etc.

These methods were actually the work of Tyrion Lannister, the "Little Imp".

"It's truly a waste of your talent that Father didn't make you Prime Minister."

Yin Meng was deeply impressed by Tyrion's wisdom, vision, and strategic thinking, and thus exclaimed sincerely.

However, although Tyrion's methods were ruthless, the imperial capital had too deep a foundation, and Heros was not an easy person to deal with. He eventually overcame these difficulties through a series of means.

Then, in the 323rd year of the Yin Geng calendar, the 30th year of the new calendar, just one month after the New Year.

Crown Prince Herlos officially announced the dispatch of troops to suppress his younger brother's rebellion, citing his disobedience in failing to arrive in King's Landing on time to report for duty.

The eldest prince, Heros, led his army in two separate groups this time.

One of the routes was led by Harry Strickland, commander of the Third Army, who set out from their base in the Riverlands and launched an attack along the wide Riverlands Road toward the fortress of Golden Tooth, nestled in the mountains.

The western frontier is naturally easy to defend and difficult to attack because of the continuous mountain ranges that made Oberyn so troubled. He went to great lengths to deal with Tywin and catch him off guard.

There are only two routes to invade the western border. One of them is to launch an attack from the River Road and attack the western border fortress of Golden Tooth City. Golden Tooth City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it a tough nut to crack.

On the other side was the route Oberyn had taken: along the coastal road, he seized the Rocky Hall and then, like a long sword, plunged straight into the interior of the West.

Everyone knows the second path is easier, but Harry Strickland had little chance of getting there.

After all, the detour would be too far, and it might not be able to keep up with His Highness Heros's advance plan. Moreover, the important routes to the coastal highway were under the control of the enemy, making it easy to fall into an ambush.

Harry Strickland lacked Oberyn's military skills and courage, so he dared not take any risks and instead obediently attacked Golden Tooth.

His Highness the Regent promised him that the Westerlands were fighting for him, and that if he could conquer the Westerlands or delay its reinforcements, he would one day have Casterly Rock stripped from Harry Strickland.

Heros divided his forces into two groups. One group, led by Harry Strickland, attacked the western border, while the other group was personally led by Oberyn, his most trusted commander.

Oberyn's army was the main force of the First Prince Heros Targaryen, and it marched menacingly toward Highgarden.

On the other hand, Yin Meng personally led his troops to meet the enemy on the Second Prince's side, and a great battle was about to break out.

Chapter 1034 Low Morale

Prince Oberyn of Dorne has always enjoyed a very prestigious reputation in the Imperial Army, and many soldiers regard him as an idol because of his achievements and seniority.

This time, Oberyn once again personally led the army, commanding 30,000 legionary soldiers. If auxiliary soldiers, attendants, laborers, and so on are included, the total number could reach a terrifying 100,000.

In the name of Prince Regent Heros, he set off from King's Landing in a menacing manner, heading straight for Highgarden.

When the eldest brother finally made up his mind to take action, the second prince, Yin Meng, naturally dared not be negligent and also personally led all the soldiers he could gather and recruit to hastily engage in battle.

Because of the reforms implemented after the establishment of the empire, a system of large armies directly under the emperor was established, which prevented ordinary nobles from having too many private armies, thus weakening their original strength.

If war breaks out, an army will be hastily assembled by temporarily conscripting peasants, and such an army will certainly not be comparable to the empire's standing army, which consists of highly trained professional soldiers.

Therefore, when Oberon led the Second Imperial Legion southwestward along the Rose Road, a large number of nobles from the River Reach surrendered without any desire to resist.

Tengshi Town is located southwest of Junlin, about fifty or sixty miles away, near the source of the Mande River.

This is the ancestral home of the Fudeley family in the Reach. The Fudeley family coat of arms is a black pear with silver caltrops, and their motto is 'Act with caution'.

The land of Tengshi witnessed the most somber, bloody, and important part of the Targaryen civil war, the Dance of the Dragons.

This place has witnessed two major battles in history, an extremely frenzied and bloody massacre and plunder, the betrayal of the dragon race, their self-declaration as king and their demise, and the deaths of three dragons, among other significant events.

However, Tengshi Town surrendered without a fight when faced with the attack of the Oberon army. The Oberon army then easily occupied the town, steadily established a logistics supply station, and then continued to advance.

On the other side...

The army personally led by the second prince, Yin Meng, also went up the Mandeb River and had reached the middle reaches of the river, a fortress called the Bitter Bridge.

Bitterbridge was the home and castle of the Cassway family in the Reach, and a key point on the Rose Avenue that spanned the Mandeb River.

A wide, ancient stone arch bridge spans the Mandeb River. The Bitter Bridge is named after this bridge, and it is the only passage within a radius of many miles that allows large armies to cross the river, making it extremely important.

In fact, the Bitter Bridge was not always called the Bitter Bridge. Before the armed religious group's uprising, it was called the Stone Bridge.

Then the famous Battle of Stone Bridge broke out, in which six armies led by nobles ambushed and massacred more than nine thousand soldiers who were gathered by poor people.

It is said that the Mande River was stained red with the blood of fallen soldiers, stretching for a full twenty miles, and the stone bridge was renamed the Bitter Bridge because of this.

River Bend is flat and has almost no natural defenses, so Bitter Bridge is one of the few places that can be defended to the death.

Yin Meng didn't have much experience in commanding, but fortunately he had followed his mother, Daenerys, and his teacher, Bessie, and had also graduated from the Imperial Military Academy.

Therefore, Yin Meng's decision to station his troops at Kuqiao and hold out was definitely a sound choice.

But facing a seasoned veteran like Oberon, especially one whose illustrious reputation he had grown up hearing about since childhood, Yin Meng felt immense pressure and easily lost confidence.

Moreover, when facing an opponent like Oberyn, simply avoiding mistakes is far from enough.

"Red Viper" is known for his unpredictable tactics and quick thinking. His greatest strength lies in his ability to play by his own rules and catch the enemy off guard.

When Tywin Lannister faced Oberyn Martell, he stubbornly defended the Westerlands, a region with complex terrain that was easy to defend but difficult to attack. However, Oberyn Martell eventually outmaneuvered him, found a breakthrough, and penetrated the heart of Casterly Rock.

How does Immon Targaryen, a rookie just starting out, compare to the cunning Tywin Lannister of yesteryear?

Moreover, Tywin has the Westerlands, a strategically important and rugged region, to defend, while Yinmun only has flat river bends with no natural defenses. Even a simple stone bridge like the Bitterbridge is treated as a natural fortress.

Where is Lord Bessie's army now?

Meanwhile, the army in the Bend of the River was stationed in the camp at Bitter Bridge.

The generals of the many river bend armies sat around a table with a map spread out on it.

The Second Prince, Yin Meng, was dressed in gray-brown leather armor, with long silver-gold hair hanging down and a sword hanging at his waist. His expression was serious as he asked the question.