Game of Thrones: Digger of the Dreadfort

"Oh my God! You have lost a hundred soldiers. Do you know how much pension each soldier has to pay? Especially those knights with titles..."

"What exactly does your father want to do? Is he colluding with the big nobles in the valley and preparing to deal with us orphans and widows!" Lesa reprimanded loudly, "I know he is resentful that I did not accept his proposal..."

The fire was blazing in the fireplace, but there was no warmth in Lysa's voice.

"This?" Alba couldn't believe his ears.

For God's sake, his father, Nestor Royce, has been loyal to the Arryn family of the Eagle's Nest for more than ten years.

How come in the eyes of Duchess Lysa, she is just a seller seeking glory.

"Mom?" said a small voice.

Lysa spun around, her heavy robe spinning with her.

Robin Arryn, the young Duke of the Eyrie, stood by the door, holding a torn stuffed doll and looking at them with wide eyes.

The child was pitifully thin, smaller than other children of the same age, with a sickly face and trembling from time to time.

Alba knew that Maester Colmont called this disease epilepsy.

"I heard voices," said little Robin.

It's no wonder, Alba thought, because Lady Lysa was almost yelling just now.

"Little dear, come to mommy." Lysa adjusted his pajamas and brushed his hair.

"Ser Albar, do you think he is handsome? In fact, he is also very strong. Don't listen to the rumors outside. This is old Aelin's son. When he grows up, he will become a strong man and become the guardian of the valley. By."

"Mrs. Lysa, now is not the time to care about this."

Alba said bravely, "The mountain people from the Alpine Clan tribe are coming fiercely. They have occupied Donggu Town. We should take action quickly and send reinforcements..."

"Don't talk about this in front of my baby." Lysa said, "I didn't want to send troops to deal with those mountain people earlier. It was your father's insistence that I sent him 600 soldiers, but he lost 100 of them in the blink of an eye. , and now he has the audacity to ask me to send reinforcements..."

"But," Alba reminded her, "if all the surrounding towns fall, then the Eagle's Nest City will become an isolated city."

"Shut up!" Lysa yelled angrily.

Little Robin glanced furtively at Alba over her mother's shoulder, and then began to tremble.

His doll fell to the carpet and he hugged his mother tightly.

"My dear little baby, don't be afraid."

Lysa ruffled his hair.

Alba was speechless.

This turned out to be the son of old Lord Arryn, the future "Guardian of the Vale", he thought in disbelief.

He thought of his youngest son, who was only three years old. He was only half the age of this boy, but he was energetic enough to be several times as big as him.

No wonder the nobles of the valley were anxious.

He finally understood why the little lords and knights in the territory did not respond to the call, because such a monarch has no future...

"We'll be fine here," Lysa said.

As for whether this was said to him or to the child, Alba was not sure.

"Ma'am, you are so whimsical."

Alba couldn't help but said angrily, "Do you think that by hiding here, the mountain people will forget your existence? You are so wrong. They once killed King Roland Arryn!"

Lysa reached out to cover the boy's ears and yelled angrily: "Even if the mountain people lead their troops into the mountains and pass through the Blood Gate, it is impossible to attack the Eagle's Nest City. You have seen it yourself, no one can attack here."

Alba had the urge to slap her.

When going up the mountain, Mia tried to warn him, and then he understood the reason, "Madam, there is no unbreakable castle in the world."

"This castle is unbreakable," Lysa insisted, "and everyone knows it. The only question now is, what should I do with your father? He has already cost me 100 soldiers!"

"Is he a bad person?" Little Robin asked, letting go of the red and moist granary in his mouth.

"He's a very bad old man who wants to be your stepfather all the time." Lysa told him as she got dressed.

"Tell your father that I will not send him another soldier, but he must destroy those mountain people for me, otherwise he will not come back again. The Gate of the Moon will have a new guardian!"

Alba didn't even say goodbye, and left with full of anger...

Chapter 168 Desire is the soul of man

Follow an unknown river, past woods, poppy fields and a tall wooden windmill.

The windmill blades moved and creaked like an old man's bones.

The sun goes down.

A group of well-equipped cavalry walked slowly along the field road north of the Mingyue Mountains.

They were tall and had serious eyes. They were in groups of two and kept pace with each other. Their armor was heavily armed with the coat of arms of the Skinned Man printed on it.

This kind of formation, which looked like a big lord traveling out, attracted the farmers working in the fields to bow and salute in their direction.

Domeric, wearing a jet-black armor and a black satin star-patterned cape, rode at the front of the team.

He turned to ask Varys on the side, with doubts in his tone:

"The climate here is suitable and the land is very fertile. Why are there not many fertile fields cultivated? Do the people in the valley prefer to go hunting in the mountains instead of farming?"

"Hehe." Wallis covered his mouth and showed a sweet smile, "Lord Domeric, you don't know something. According to my information, the natural environment of the valley is very suitable for the development of agriculture, but the problem is the lack of population."

Domeric understood immediately.

The reason why the Riverlands and the Riverlands can become the food-producing areas of Westeros is because they are not only large in land, but also densely populated.

The climate in the valley is suitable and there is no shortage of fertile land. The only problem is that the population is too small. This is the biggest problem restricting the development of agriculture in the valley.

"Then why is there a lack of population in the valley?" Domilik wondered. In his opinion, if there are fields, there will be food, and if there is food, there will be people.

Varys slowly explained: "This starts with the history of the Valley people.

During the period when the ancestors ruled the valley, the valley was divided into several small kingdoms, such as the King of Five Fingers Peninsula, the King of Runestone City, the King of Seagull Town, etc.

The valley was the first place where the Andals landed. The ancestors were unaware of the threat from the Andals. Several kingdoms even helped the Andals cross westward, hoping to use the Andals to expand the strength of their kingdoms.

When they realized their mistake, King Robert Royce of the First Men and Attis Arryn, the winged knight of the Vale, engaged in a decisive battle at the Giant's Lance.

In the end, Attis Arryn was victorious,

House Arryn became the oldest surviving descendants of Andal nobles, and brought Andal chivalry to the Vale.

Therefore, the Vale is the birthplace of chivalry in Westeros.

The people of the Vale perfectly inherited the chivalry of the Andals, and also inherited one of their customs - dueling. "

Domeric is no stranger to duels. "Trial by combat" is a kind of judicial duel, but the conditions of "trial by combat" are too restrictive.

Varys seemed to see through Domeric's thoughts, scratched his bald head, and said: "Valley people's duels are not limited to trial by combat!

You should know that it is not an easy task to hold a trial by combat. It must first obtain the permission of the local lord, and then one of the parties will be the plaintiff, and the other will be accused of the crime...

But the people of the valley don't care about this. Even if they fight to the death for the slightest offense, all the people of the valley are wearing long swords and are ready to fight to the death with others. A little squabble, a curse, a look..."

The image of "What are you worried about? What do you think of you?" appeared in Domeric's mind, and he resisted the urge to laugh.

He paused slightly: "So these valley people are too keen on dueling, and too many people died, causing the population to never increase?"

"That's right." Wallis sneered. In the eunuch's view, this was indeed ridiculous.

Domeric immediately thought, this is probably the reason why the "Valley Knight" ranks first among the Seven Kingdoms!

After all, they went through a round of screening from the beginning, and those who survived were all strong in a sense.

In order to increase the population of the valley, severe punishments at the kingdom level must be adopted to curb the proliferation of civil duels.

However, Domeric also realized that in Westeros under the feudal system, it would not be easy to implement this decree smoothly.

The importance of population in a medieval society like Westeros is self-evident, almost equal to the potential for war.

Domeric knew that if he wanted to dominate the continent, the northern border alone would not be enough.

What's more, the Stark family has its own interests to weigh, and may not always agree with them.

Strictly speaking, the only people who truly support him without hesitation are half of the North. The Bolton family in the Dreadfort, the Dustin family in the Barrow Cairn, the Ryswell family in the Streamlands, and the Karstark family are also considered to have fallen in love with him. Chariot, now almost all the residents of Kahuo City have gone to Gushan Ridge...

Although Domeric occupied King's Landing, he temporarily suppressed many nobles in Wangling through some efforts to win over and divide them.

Domeric can rely on the power of Wangling nobles, but this borrowed power is unreliable.

Although the nobles in Wangling have already supported him as Hand of the King and Prime Minister, they all expressed their loyalty to the new regime of "King Joffrey".

But Domeric knew very well that the loyalty of these people might not stand the real test.

It would be fine if everything went well, but if there were setbacks in the future, those Wangling nobles might not be willing to risk their lives to serve him.

He needs power that can truly be controlled by him.

……

Soon, Domeric, Wallis and others returned to the camp.

This camp is located between the Mingyue Mountains and the Eagle's Nest City. It has a strict and orderly layout.

Deep trenches were dug around the military camp and sharpened wooden stakes were installed in them. Tents were arranged in rows in the military camp, leaving wide passages.

The toilet is built near the water, and all excrement is washed away by the water.

Flags of the Foundation Skinners flew high on long poles around the camp.

Sentinels covered in armor and holding spears patrolled back and forth under the banner, monitoring the surrounding areas.

In the thick canvas lord's tent, the fire was bright.

Domeric summoned all the officers.

"Leader Zira sent someone to report the military situation. The Alpine Clan tribe has occupied Donggu Town in the Eagle's Nest City. It is said that they have also annihilated the 100-man forward of Nestor, the general manager of the valley..."

Wendel, Jon and others were happy for a while and seemed relieved.

This group of mountain men is more reliable than expected.

Only Intelligence Chief Wallis said with a worried look:

“But Nestor Royce, the warden of the valley, still has more than 500 soldiers, and he will definitely ask for help from the Eagle’s Nest City.