pappabearbooks #192 - Chapter 2: No Escape from Death
#192 - Chapter 2: No Escape from Death
The scouts of the Westerlands are ubiquitous, and they quickly grasped the movements of the Northern Army. Tywin also acted quickly, and the Westerlands army began to advance towards the Blue Fork area!
He sent Gregor with five hundred cavalry to destroy the bridge at Fairmarket. This would force the Northern army to travel three days further downstream along the Blue Fork River. At the same time, he sent Tyrion to lead the mountain clans as the vanguard of the entire army. He led the main force to follow, with the goal of reaching the Trident River crossing: Ruby Ford. This was the site of the decisive battle between Rhaegar and Robert, the battleground chosen by Tywin.
Fairmarket was now billowing with black smoke. Robb Stark sent scouts around to see if he could cross the river there, but the wooden bridge had been burned down. The scouts reported that there was no suitable place to cross the river, and there were burned ships along the way, which must have been done by the Lannister army.
Robb looked at the flock of sheep in the troop and carefully looked at the bridge pile that only had stub left, lost in thought. From that day on, the Stark army's marching speed slowed down a lot. The Lannister army's scouts could observe the movements of the Northern army simply by across the Blue Fork River.
Four days passed like this, and the Stark army suddenly disappeared at night. Then, at dawn the next day, they appeared on the left flank of the Lannister army and launched a blitz. No one knew how they crossed the river.
In the early spring river beach, the silt was everywhere, which was very unfavorable to the Lannister army's cavalry. Ser Adam's left wing army was struggling to resist. Tyrion's tribe allied forces quickly supported the left wing. These clan people were very adapted to this kind of melee. Soon Tywin also led the remaining troops into the battle, and the battle gradually entered a white-hot state.
The situation of the battlefield was that the Stark army had 17,800 infantry, including 3,000 Frey troops and 2,000 gathered Tully troops. They were battle against the Lannister's left wing of 9,000 people, the central army of 12,000 people, and the tribal allied forces of 1,200 people. As for the right wing, they had gone to Ruby Ford in advance to ambush, and they could not catch back for a while.
The battle lasted from early morning until noon, and both sides were exhausted. The soldiers' energy and physical strength were about to reach their limit. If they continued, they would probably both suffer, and the two armies withdrew from the battle with great tacit understanding.
The Stark army retreated to the west, leaving nearly 2,000 Stark army corpses on the battlefield after the battle.
Tywin's side was not feeling well either, and the casualties on both sides were similar. However, the losses on the left wing, which was mainly cavalry, were great, and the loss of a large number of war horses was difficult to compensate. Overall, he was still at a disadvantage. But soon a piece of unacceptable news came: the Western Army Corps was defeated, and the army besieging Riverrun was raided by Stark cavalry. The 15,000 troops besieging the city collapsed, and the specific casualties were unknown. Jaime Lannister and many Westerland vassals were captured, and the scattered troops had retreated to the Golden Tooth line. Helpless, Tywin could only command his army to the east to rest at Harrenhal.
It turned out that Robb thought of the story Liu Yuan told him, using sheepskin to inflate and build a pontoon bridge. He concentrated all the cavalry and crossed the river secretly overnight, detouring a big circle. Eight thousand cavalry went straight to the besieged Riverrun. The remaining infantry was led by Roose Bolton, including the Frey army, the Mallister army of Seagard, and the Tully army stragglers that had been gathered. From a distance, the number was almost the same. This raid also used sheepskin rafts to erect a pontoon bridge to cross the river quickly.
On the other side, Robb played a time difference, first using a small number of cavalry posing as the Tully army remnants to lure Jaime away from the siege camp. He annihilated them between a forest and a river bend, captured Jaime and many generals alive, and took advantage of the fact that the siege camp was without a leader to collapse the Lannister army in one fell swoop. He lifted the Riverrun siege, released the Tully army in the city, and joined forces to suppress the enemies in the Red Fork River basin.
This happened too quickly, so that the news that Tywin retreated and Jaime was captured had not yet been transmitted back to King's Landing.
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Flour Street in King's Landing is located next to the Street of the Silent Sisters and is also very close to Flea Bottom. There are many intricate alleys and intersections under the street. There are many bakeries, vegetable store and meat store (mainly selling processed semi-finished meat, such as bacon and sausage, etc.) along the street. At least one-third of the civilians in the city come here to buy food, and the daily passenger flow is huge.
Arya has been wandering in the city for almost two months. Her originally beautiful little face is full of stains, and even her hair has been cut short. She is wearing the common coarse cloth linen clothes of the poor. At least on the outside, she is no different from the wild children in Flea Bottom. She can fight with other children and grab food with wild dogs in front of the Gold Cloaks.
Thanks to Pool's purse, there is a large amount of change, at least she has not been suffered hunger so far. A bread as big as her head only costs three copper coins. Honey, jam, and lemon are available in various flavors.
Arya always remember Liu Yuan's advice that anything that enters the mouth, whether it is food or water, must be clean, and the water must be boiled. Once you get sick in this world, more than 80% of the time you can't cure it.
She hide her personal items and money in several secret corners. She only has some copper coins on her body, and the Zhan Guang sword that Liu Yuan gave her is carried close to her body. She strolled to a regular go to store, sniffing the fragrance of heating flour: " so fragrant ah! Uncle Roy, today's bread has eggs in it."
The seemingly rude bakery owner: "It's Arya! The bread just out of the oven has eggs and goat milk in it. Want one? I'll count you four coins."
"Um, give me one." Arya paid the money and skillfully pulled out a copper kettle from the inner room and filled her water bottle with hot water.
Today, Roy took the bread out of the oven and did not put it on the shelf outside, but put it in the cupboard in the room. Arya asked curiously, "Uncle Roy, what are you doing? Are you not doing business today?"
Roy was busy without turning his head: "Something big is happening today. There will be a public judgment at the Great Sept of Baelor in a while. It is to deal with the former Prime Minister, Duke Eddard Stark, who committed treason. King's Landing has not punished such a prominent figure for many years! Why don't you talk? Huh! Where is she?" Turning back, Arya was gone.
Arya shuttle lithe figure in the streets and alleys, she agile dodge the front crowd and obstacles. The marble square outside the Great Sept of Baelor is crowded with people at this time, and she can only see the back of her head at her height. Soon she found the stone statue of Saint Baelor, and she climbed up in a few steps.
Sure enough, standing high, you can see far away. Eddard was pressed out by the Gold Cloaks. Four is telepathy between father and daughter. He at a glance recognize the mud monkey on the statue, it is his always worrying little daughter. He frantically hinted to Yoren when passed by: " Baelor, Baelor! North, North."
Yoren stunned了半天才想(半天才想: half a day to think) understand, looked at Baelor stone statue there have a dirty的孩子(孩子: child). immediately understand. Eddard的意思(意思: meaning) is to that child bring back North, must is missing many days Arya. he started toward there squeeze, square the people really too many了.
On the preaching stage there, Eddard in order to protect daughter, humbled himself admitted了自己的罪行(自己的罪行: his crime), only preserve the family have opportunity revenge.
Soon it was Joffrey turn to carry out sentencing, originally this kid recently mood not good, bad news one after one. now finally turn he in public front show up了: "My mother urged me to agree Eddard. Duke join Night's Watch. deprive all his rights and title permanently exile the Wall exile. guarding Seven Kingdoms peace. Sansa Miss also several times to me pleaded. but they too womanish了. as long as I still throne on day treason crime must get severely punished. Ilyn Ser give me cut his head." Cersei hold pull his arm, but by Joffrey one hand throw off, little fart kid willful energy up who also can't stop.
Littlefinger, Pycelle including Varys all on the stage forward persuade. Ilyn Ser pulled out Stark family sword‘ Ice’, neatly chopped off了艾德(艾德: Eddard) neck.