Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 196: Emergency in the South

Night had already fallen. Looking from afar, in the military camp near the King's Avenue, there were dozens of tents, more than a hundred campfires, and green flags that looked like ghostly will-o'-the-wisp under the night sky.

The Tyrell camp stretched for miles between the river and the Kingsroad.

The Duke of Metz set up a long folding table with a green tablecloth on the hill in front of the central army tent. The campfire in the central army tent was brightly lit, and the Duke of Metz had dinner with his important knights and princes.

When the princes climbed up the gentle slope and sat down in front of the camp, the cook was serving the main course of the evening.

The Duke of Metz was already seated, his servants filling his glass with wine, while the servants cut meat and arranged it for him, and placed a plate of fruit in front of him.

They have been stationed here for months and nothing has happened. Tonight, the Duke of Metz plans to get drunk.

"According to the scouts on the south bank of the Blackwater, the Targaryen army has assembled at Summerhall and Bronzegate." Lord Mace said as he watched the servants put the slices of meat on his wooden plate. "The Golden Company troops from Essos are also there. The Lannisters asked me to come to King's Landing for a meeting. How do you think we should respond?"

"My Lord, I believe I am not the only one who has received letters saying that the Dornish troops have made unusual movements on the border." Lord Randyll Tarly of Horn Hill, who had a short, stiff gray beard, said, "I think we should take this opportunity to propose to King's Landing that we return to the Reach. We can propose to King's Landing that we lead our troops to attack the Dornish border to catch Dorne off guard before it can regroup."

The Duke of Mace did not comment, but just stroked his beard and said, "Lord Lando, there will be a chance for you to show your skills."

Randyll Tarly couldn't help but glance at his lord. "Lord Mace, I thought Lord Tywin had already led his troops out of King's Landing at this moment. Either we return to King's Landing to take over the defense, or we return to Bitterbridge to regroup and wait for the situation to change. I really don't think it's a good idea to wait here."

This earl, who was known for his straightforwardness, was almost telling the Duke of Metz that if he stayed in the vicinity of King's Landing and neither advanced nor retreated, it might seem that he was in an easy position, but in fact, he would be in a dilemma sooner or later.

Everyone in the Tyrell army already knows what the Duke of Mace is planning now, but no one has spoken it out loud while ostensibly supporting the King's reign.

But Randyll Tarly clearly sensed the potential danger, and his suggestions were all pertinent and straightforward. In his eyes, the best strategy was to return to the Reach and wait for the situation to change. The excuse he gave to King's Landing was just an excuse, and anyone with a brain knew that they shouldn't take the initiative to fight the Targaryens at this time. The middle strategy was to take King's Landing directly before the Targaryens took action. The worst strategy was to wait here for the situation to change, and for the Lannisters to act first.
The Duke of Mace said, "Hey, Lord Randyll, if we take over the defense of King's Landing at this time, aren't we putting ourselves in a dangerous position?"

Lord Randyll was speechless. "Duke of Mace, I thought the sooner we make our position clear, the better. Whatever you want to do, I suggest you do it faster rather than slower. Sitting in the camp and waiting for the biggest prey in the hunting ground will only lead to nothing."

Mace curled his lips and said, "Speaking of prey, Lord Randyll might as well try the wild boar that my son Loras killed today. I specially asked the cook to prepare it crispy and delicious. Come, cut the meat for Lord Randyll."

Lord Paxter Redwyne took over the conversation: "I would rather deal with this piece of wild boar than these. Other things are neither so tender nor so fragrant. By the way, have you heard that our 'allies' were not doing well in the siege of Riverrun? Ryman of House Frey led the vanguard army in the woods north of Tengshi River outside Riverrun, but was intercepted by the Riverrun defenders. Ryman's throat was torn open by the direwolf on the spot. Now Edwin Frey of House Frey is leading the Frey army to regroup. Things are so unpredictable. One of the heirs of the Twins died for a direwolf, and the other had his throat ripped open by a direwolf. The Freys' troops retreated to Stonehedge to reorganize. Now there are only 4,000 men of Emmon Frey and Fowler Prester on the south bank of the Red Fork River, and 4,000 new troops of Davon Lannister between the River Li. It seems that our ally's plan to besiege Riverrun is going to fail. I think what Lord Tywin is anxious to discuss with Lord Mace is to ask us to send troops to assist in the siege of Riverrun. "

The heir of the Twins, Stevron, died of injuries sustained in the Battle of Oxford while fighting for Robb. Lyman Frey, Stevron's son, became the new heir. However, after the Freys betrayed Stark, the heir was killed by Arya, the "wolf girl" who unexpectedly appeared at the battlefield of Riverrun.

"A direwolf? Wasn't Robb the Young Wolf's direwolf dead? They swore that Lord Frey cut off the boy's head and sewed the direwolf's head in its place and put a crown on it."

Someone continued to change the subject: "Isn't it strange? It is said that each of Eddard Stark's children has a direwolf. This time, the direwolf belongs to the 'wolf girl' Arya Stark. It is said that the girl learned magic and sorcery from the forest witch in the riverlands, and can control a wolf pack consisting of hundreds of wolves to fight for her. She commanded the wolf pack to attack the Frey family's logistics supply and scouts outside, tricked Leman Frey out of the camp, and then took the night with Blackfish to lead the garrison of Riverrun and caught Frey off guard north of Tengshi River. They wanted to repeat the strategy of the young wolf master to rescue Riverrun, and take advantage of the situation to The other two armies stationed in the siege were defeated together. Fortunately, Ser Fowler Prest was more alert and discovered the situation north of the Tumblestone River in time. He attacked Blackfish and Wolfgirl when they were crossing the Red Fork River and forced them to retreat. This man is quite capable. Last time, he led the remaining troops to retreat after Ser Jaime was defeated by the Young Wolf. It must be that Blackfish and Wolfgirl were not strong enough, otherwise even if Ser Fowler was alert, he would be unable to do anything when he was attacked from both sides of the castle and the river mouth. However, the siege on the Tumblestone River side of Riverrun has been lifted. If the Frey family cannot reoccupy it, I am afraid that the princes watching from the river will have other ideas. "

"'Wolf Girl'? If I remember correctly, wasn't Arya Stark sent to the North by our Lannister friends to marry Roose Bolton's legitimate illegitimate heir Ramsay Bolton?" "Haha, this is the strangest part. Now, there are two Arya Starks in Westeros, one in Riverrun who calls himself the Duke of Winterfell, and the other in the North waiting to marry Ramsay Bolton. Oh, what do you think this is? I don't know which one is true."

Someone said sarcastically, "I guess the one in the North is true. After all, our Lannister friends are known for paying their debts."

Lord Mace was very happy. He stuffed a piece of wild boar meat into his mouth, chewed it twice, and added with his mouth full of oil: "If it were me, I would definitely not want a 'fake Arya Stark' to ruin my reputation in Riverrun. Lord Tywin is such a tough man. I'm sure he would not tolerate such provocation and humiliation from Blackfish."

Lord Randyll looked at his lord with a stern face, looking triumphant, as if he had won the battle, and tried to relax his brows to prevent himself from frowning. In the long twenty-year military career of the Duke of Mace, the only victory was the defeat of Robert Baratheon at Poplar Beach more than ten years ago, but that was still the credit of Lord Randyll who led the vanguard. In fact, when the Duke of Mace arrived with the main force, the battle was over. He couldn't help but look at the cautious and straightforward Earl of Golden Tree City, Matus Rowan.

But the Earl of Rowan looked depressed for some reason and sat at the long table without saying a word.

While taking a break to urinate, Lord Randyll caught up with Lord Rowan and asked, "Lord Matus, why did you say nothing at the table?" When Tyrell still supported Renly, Stannis besieged Storm's End. Lord Randyll remembered that Lord Rowan was one of the people who advised Renly to abandon Storm's End and go straight to King's Landing. Unfortunately, Renly did not accept his advice. Moreover, Lord Rowan was highly regarded by the Duke of Mace. The Duke of Mace would first consult with Lord Rowan and Lord Redwyne before making decisions on many matters.

"Lord Tarly, I heard what you said at the table." Lord Rowan saw Randyll catching up and knew what he was going to say. He said softly, "In fact, I think the same as you. There is no point in staying here."

Earl Tully asked solemnly, "Then why didn't you join me in giving advice to the Duke of Metz?"

"I will not hide it from you, Lord Tully. I have given advice." Lord Rowan smiled bitterly and whispered, "I privately suggested that the Duke directly bypass King's Landing and launch a surprise attack on Lord Tywin's camp in the north of King's Landing. Lord Tywin has only 15,000 troops in the camp at most. He left 4,000 in King's Landing, and there are new troops besieging Riverrun. Now is the time when Tywin's troops are the most dispersed and the least. We have 30,000 people. If we can defeat the Lannister army under Tywin's command, wouldn't it be more powerful than taking King's Landing? Even if Tywin escapes unscathed, we have cut off the connection between King's Landing and Tywin, which has shown enough sincerity to them."

Randyll Tarly thought he was being very radical, and he was horrified when he heard this: "A surprise attack on Lord Tywin?"

"Lord Randyll, have you never thought about defeating Tywin on the battlefield?" Lord Rowan suddenly looked at him with a strange look on his face. "You probably haven't thought about the fact that you defeated Robert on the battlefield, commanded many battles and made great achievements, and were regarded as one of the best generals in Westeros."

"This..." Lord Randyll didn't know how to respond for a moment. He never knew that this cautious and kind Lord Rowan actually had such an idea, wanting to prove himself and defeat Tywin, who was famous in Westeros.

He suddenly remembered that when he was in Renly's army, he heard that Jaime Lannister was not executed after being captured by Robb's army in the Battle of the Whispering Wood. Matus was very depressed when he learned about this. Lord Randyll didn't know if there seemed to be any grudge between this earl and Lannister, or maybe Lord Rowan just wanted to step on Tywin to prove his talent?
However, whether it was the Duke of Mace, Randyll Tarly, or Lord Rowan, tonight was the last time they could imagine the future in the false illusion that they would win no matter which choice they made.

Early the next morning.

The Duke of Metz, who had just woken up from a hangover, received an emergency letter from the south.

The letter only said one thing.

Tens of thousands of Dornish troops marched out of Prince's Pass and gathered outside Nightsong, a city on the border of Dorne. According to tradition, the leader of this army was King Targaryen himself. Scouts saw King Targaryen's dragon banner erected in the camp on the high hill outside Nightsong, and the deputy commander of this army was the Hand of the King of Dragonstone, Prince Oberyn Martell of Dorne. King Targaryen sent a raven message from outside Nightsong to the southern lords, requiring them to swear allegiance to the king at Highgarden within a limited time. Those who surrendered would retain their fiefdoms and titles, and those who refused would be stripped of their fiefdoms and killed without mercy.

It is said that when the obese Duke of Metz saw the letter, he fainted in horror.

(End of this chapter)