eurekapd Chapter 136 Stannis's Battle Report and Jon's Choice
Chapter 136 Stannis's Battle Report and Jon's Choice
That night, the lights in the garrison commander's tower at Donghaiwang were always on.
Most of the matters that had accumulated since Leon's departure had been dealt with by Grand Maester Aemon and Sam.
But there are still a considerable number of matters that must be handled by Lyon.
"First, Lord Commander Lyon, I would like to read you the battle report from Stannis."
In the spacious meeting room, although Grand Maester Aemon was old, his memory was exceptional. He did not need to look up any written materials, but could tell the whole story clearly just by oral narration.
What is even more admirable is that he can accurately mark Stannis's movements on a huge map of the North, so that everyone present can have an intuitive and profound understanding of the current war situation.
"Since your departure, Stannis has sent a call of allegiance by ravens to all the houses of the North."
"However, so far only Alf Karstark, castellan of House Karstark, has publicly pledged his allegiance to Stannis."
As he spoke, Grand Maester Aemon pointed to the location of the Karstark family's city of Carhor. From the map, this place was not far from the Great Wall and was a must-pass place for Stannis' army.
"As for the other northern lords, most of them choose to remain neutral, or tend to stand on the side of the new guardian of the north, Earl Roose Bolton."
"It is worth mentioning that Arf Karstark proposed to Stannis through ravens to attack the Dreadfort and expressed his willingness to contribute his own forces to this action."
"Stannis had agreed to attack the Dreadfort when Ramsay Bolton marched south to attack Moat Cailin."
"However, when the ranger Jon Snow, who was accompanying the army, heard about this plan, he urged Stannis to abandon it, arguing that even if the Dreadfort was weakly defended, it would be difficult to break through."
"So Stannis decided to attack the ironborn-held Deepwood Motte instead."
Grand Maester Aemon pointed to a castle in the North, near the Iron Islands, which had been hit hard.
"Jon Snow advises him to travel through the Wolfswood, passing through the territory of the mountain clans and win their support, as these clans have long been loyal to the Starks."
"Stannis once again succeeded in gaining the support of some tribal leaders. After receiving about 3,000 reinforcements, he successfully rescued Deepwood Motte, which had been harassed by the Ironborn."
"Stannis captured several ironborn, including Asha Greyjoy, and returned Deepwood Motte to the Glovers."
"This move won him the favor of the Northern families and the support of the Glover and Mormont families, while also attracting many Northerners to serve him."
The castles that Aemon pointed to all had one thing in common, that is, the family's fiefdoms were all adjacent to the sea.
"Currently, Stannis's army consists of approximately one thousand Dragonstone cavalry, one thousand five hundred free folk, three thousand mountain clan warriors, thirty-five northern fiefdom knights, and eight hundred knight retinues."
"They total about 6,000 men, and Roose Bolton's army near Winterfell is quite weak according to intelligence."
"So, Stannis could not wait to order the army to march towards Winterfell, but encountered a blizzard on the way, which slowed down the journey."
Grand Maester Aemon carefully mapped out a path from Deepwood Motte to Winterfell through the Wolfswood.
At this moment, although the wind and snow in Eastwatch by the Sea have subsided, the temperature is still freezing cold, enough to make people shiver. In the past two days, merchants from Braavos have begun to purchase furs in large quantities to cope with this severe cold weather.
Lyon couldn't help but imagine that the marching environment Jon was in at the moment must be extremely difficult.
"Send a raven. No, send someone to call Jon back. This is not our war. It's enough to have come this far."
"I'm sure His Majesty Stannis will not listen to my advice. If Stannis asks, tell him that I don't think the weather is suitable for a forced march."
After listening to Grand Maester Aemon's story, Lyon nodded and gave orders.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he was immediately opposed by Davos.
"Lord Commander Lyon, why do you want Jon to return? He and the free folk are the foundation of His Majesty's army and cannot be shaken."
"Now is the best time to defeat this traitor Roose Bolton in one fell swoop!"
Davos couldn't help but stand up and express his opinion loudly, but everyone present was Lyon's Night Watch, and no one supported his opinion.
"Davos, you should go out and take a look. If you march in this weather, even if Roose Bolton doesn't send an ambush, your king will probably be at the end of his rope by the time he reaches Winterfell."
However, Davos's speech was unanimously opposed by the Night's Watch.
Despite the indifference of all the night watchmen, it was Lyon who spoke up to answer his questions.
In fact, Davos understood this without Lyon saying anything. His lord was as stubborn as a rock and would not repent even if he hit his head against the wall.
If he had stayed with Stannis, he might have had a chance to offer his advice.
However, this time it was he, not the Scarlet Witch Melisandre, who followed Leon to Braavos to raise food.
This proves that Stannis has long been dissatisfied with Davos. Even if this incident had not happened, I believe he would have assigned him other tasks.
In short, due to Davos's previous rebellious actions, such as releasing Robert's illegitimate son, Stannis has completely lost his trust in him. Therefore, Stannis neither wants to listen to his advice nor keep him around.
So, after Davos figured this out, he couldn't help but sit down on the chair dejectedly, his eyes empty and lifeless.
There is nothing more despairing than watching someone you regard as a god step by step towards the abyss.
To Davos, Stannis is his god.
However, before he could make the decision to follow his master through life and death, Sam spoke.
Before he spoke, he looked at Leon with an embarrassed expression.
"What's wrong? Sam, you look terrible."
"I'm fine, Lord Commander, but I don't think Jon will come back easily."
After hearing Sam's words, Leon frowned and asked why:
"Because Bran and Rickon, Jon's two younger brothers, died at the hands of Theon Greyjoy, the Ironborn, who attacked Winterfell. Jon was furious and vowed to avenge his two brothers..."
"In addition, His Majesty Stannis also mentioned that Jon's sister Sansa Stark is currently in Winterfell. In view of this, I am worried that he will not easily give up attacking Winterfell before Jon successfully rescues Sansa."
After hearing Sam's words, Lyon seemed to be able to imagine that Jon, who was loyal and regarded his family as his life, would follow Stannis to attack Winterfell without hesitation after learning the news.