Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 199: Changes in Tengshi Town

"According to Lord Rowan's scouts, the Lannister army has crossed the Blackwater River and is heading south," said the Duke of Mace, looking at the map worriedly. "A new army has joined them from the direction of Stonehall. They are now in the north. The Lannister army is led by Adam Marbrand's cavalry, which is about two days' journey away from us. Lord Tywin sent Lord Lefford, Lord of the Golden Tooth, to deliver a letter saying that he would do his best to help the south repel the invasion."

After Lord Rowan volunteered to lead the rear guard, Randyll Tarly was assigned to the center by Lord Mace. Lord Mace, Lord of Horn Hill and Lord of House Tarly, said directly, "Lord Mace, have you not made up your mind yet? The Lannisters are deliberately delaying our march because they don't want us to return to the South. If you want to maintain this superficial cooperative relationship, you are leading our army to a dead end!"

The Duke of Mace said in panic: "I can ask Earl Lefford to take a message back and politely refuse Lord Tywin's help. Lord Tywin still has the Riverlands to deal with." As he said, he looked at Earl Redwyne.

But this time Redwine did not stand on his side: "Lord Mace, we must make a decision."

"But Sir Hopper and his men are in King's Landing now, and it's not certain whether they can escape the city." Margaery, the daughter of the Duke of Mace, is also in King's Landing, as well as many nobles and descendants from the southern border. They originally arranged for these people to be in King's Landing in order to attack King's Landing from the inside and outside.
The Duke of Mace wanted to hear his son Loras's opinion at this time, but Loras received a transfer order from King Tommen of King's Landing. As a Kingsguard, Loras had been stranded in the Tyrell Army for a long time, and both sides tacitly did not mention it.

But now the situation has changed suddenly, Lannister has obviously had other ideas, and has launched attacks from many sides. For the sake of honor, Loras actually planned to return to King's Landing as ordered, and now he is imprisoned in the tent by the Duke of Mace.

The Duke of Mace finally understood what it meant to ride a lion but not to kill it. Not only did the Tyrell family become a member of the Kingsguard, and Margaery almost married the King of King's Landing, but other families were also more or less involved in King's Landing. When their goal was no longer King's Landing but to preserve themselves, these originally arranged chess pieces instantly became a hindrance.

The Duke of Metz was at a loss: "What do you think we should do?"

Lord Redwyne shut up.

Lord Randyll gritted his teeth and said, "I suggest that we stop retreating immediately and turn around to declare war on Tywin. At the same time, write a letter to the South, asking the troops left in the South to surrender to King Targaryen. If we can win, we will march directly to King's Landing. If we can capture King's Landing, we will have King's Landing in our hands and can deal with it calmly."

The Duke of Metz turned pale when he heard this, and looked at the princes and knights who were discussing the matter, but no one responded to Earl Randolph's proposal. The Duke of Metz found that everyone was waiting for him to make a decision.

"This" the Duke of Metz hesitated.

Lord Tully looked at the Duke of the Inflatable Fish, and the disappointment and resentment on his face could not be concealed at all. At this point, half of the responsibility lies with Mace Tyrell, who was hesitant and missed the opportunity: "We don't want to fight, and we can't retreat. We are waiting to die."

Seeing that his vassal was so angry about him, the Duke of Metz said unhappily, "Don't be alarmist, Lord Tully. After all, we still have 30,000 people."

Earl Tully glanced at the princes in the tent and finally chose to keep silent: "Then, please make a decision, Your Excellency the Duke."

The Duke of Metz said helplessly: "Am I not asking you, seeking your opinion?"

Lord Tully was speechless.

The Duke of Mace asked, "I think we should do this. Let Lord Lefford reply to Lord Tywin and politely decline Lord Tywin's offer to help the South. We will continue to withdraw our troops towards Bitterbridge and see how the situation develops once we reach Bitterbridge. What do you think?"

Lord Tully closed his eyes to stop himself from side-glancing at him.

At this time, the tent was opened, and the dusty Lord Rowan in armor entered the tent: "The entire Lannister army has crossed the Blackwater River. The right wing of the vanguard is the cavalry of Adam Marbrand, and the left wing of the vanguard is Tywin's dog Gregor Clegane. Lord Mace, why don't you prepare the troops and let the vanguard turn back quickly? The rear army is only a day's journey away from the Lannisters, and our army can no longer retreat to Bitterbridge. I suggest that we quickly seize the hills near the source of the Mander River and send a part of the troops to occupy Tumblestone Town. We will camp in a favorable terrain and wait for the Lannister army to approach. If we march further, I am afraid we will be defeated one by one."

Lord Rowan's words made the Duke of Mace pale for a moment: "How could it be, why would Lord Tywin want to conflict with us? Aren't we allies?"

"My Lord, don't you think about how Lord Tywin could allow us to retreat safely to the South? If our army surrenders to the Targaryen king, no matter how smart Tywin is, he can't fight Dorne, the Reach, the Stormlands, and Dragonstone by himself. What's more, the Targaryen king has dragons."

The Duke of Metz panicked: "Quick, send someone to catch up with the front troops and make them turn back!"

"And there's Tengshi Town." Lord Rowan approached the Duke of Mace, his armor rustling. "We must send troops to Tengshi Town to guard our retreat. If the Lannisters in King's Landing come out to intercept us, we'll be in danger of being caught in a pincer attack!"

After the matter was arranged, Lord Tully asked solemnly, "Lord Rowan, is the rear army in danger?"

Lord Rowan replied, "I have arranged a detachment of troops to cover the rear, and the rear troops are advancing at full speed toward the center."

The 30,000-man army retreated, and the line stretched for miles. Lord Rowan volunteered to be the last one to leave, thinking that Tywin would definitely not give up.

The southern border was in danger, and everyone from the Duke of Metz to the knight commander who knew about it was in a panic and wanted to rush back to the southern border. The few days before the retreat were calm and nothing happened, which made the team relax their retreat formation. The front, middle and rear armies were separated by several miles, resulting in a disconnection.

Just when the retreating troops of the Reach were relaxed, Tywin's army suddenly moved, and the whole army was dispatched, heading straight for the Blackwater River on the west side of King's Landing. After occupying the original garrison position of the Reach, the Lannister army chose to pursue without hesitation. What made the troops of the Reach even more uncomfortable was that Tywin's army crossed the river directly using the fishing boats and the river crossing fortifications built with wooden planks that they had collected with great difficulty. This allowed the Lannister army to cross the Blackwater River quickly, and the front army caught up with the rear army of the Reach in just one day.

The purpose of such an obvious pursuit is obviously not to fight for the south as Tywin said.

It is obvious that Tywin does not intend to let the army in the Riverlands return to the South, but wants to keep the troops in the South here.

No one knew why Tywin, who had seemed to want to withdraw to the Westerly before, had suddenly become so aggressive.

But the situation has clearly changed.

The retreating vanguard of the Reach was commanded by Ser Horace Redwyne, a knight of House Redwyne and one of Lord Redwyne's twins.

Horace was plain-looking, with orange hair and a square face covered with freckles, but as a knight he was brave and courageous and despised the weak.

Samwell Tarly, the son of Lord Randyll Tarly, was once arranged to be a page on the Arbor Island. He was despised and humiliated by Horace because of his cowardice, and Sam was made to squeal like a pig. Lord Paxter was very disappointed with this, so he sent Sam back to Horn Hill.

This Horace is now in charge of the vanguard cavalry, and half of the knights and cavalry in the Reach are under his command. This responsibility was originally supposed to belong to the Knight of Flowers, Loras, the son of the Duke of Mace, but Loras was imprisoned by a transfer order from King's Landing and wanted to return to King's Landing for personal honor. Loras was forcibly taken away by the Duke of Mace, but he could not continue to be the cavalry commander, so this responsibility fell on Horace.

The duty of the vanguard was to clear the way for the troops. Before crossing the Blackwater River, Horas collected fishing boats and sampans along the river and built a floating bridge.

The next stop for the front army was Tengshi Town.

Tengshi Town is the end point of the supply line along the Mander River for the 30,000 Riverland troops that were originally stationed near King's Landing for a long time. The supplies from the south border shipped from Highgarden, Fruit Hall, and Bitterbridge are continuously transported here by the ships of the Redwyne family, and then transported from here to the garrison camp in the Riverland by land.

This place is considered a strategic point and has always been protected by a garrison.

No matter how hard Horace thought about it, he could not imagine that there would be any problems in Tengshi Town. So when the front army was about to arrive at Tengshi Town, he was thinking of going to the town to have a good rest and by the way, to find out whether his twin brother Hobber had escaped from King's Landing.

When they were still a few miles away from Tengshi Town, an adjutant asked, "Sir, the scouts we sent out to explore the road ahead of Tengshi Town have not returned yet. Should we be more cautious?"

"Why should we be so cautious about Tengshi Town? If Tengshi Town is occupied by the Dragon King's army, why do we need to retreat to Kuqiao?" Horace disagreed. "We should enter Tengshi Town as soon as possible to prepare food and fodder for the troops behind. It is important for us to collect boats as soon as possible and quickly reach Kuqiao downstream. We don't know what the situation in the southern border is yet."

"My Lord, I am worried about that side."

"King's Landing? There is even less need to worry about King's Landing. What are you worried about, the gold cloaks? Or the four thousand Lannisters? My vanguard has four thousand cavalry alone."

The adjutant was convinced: "Sir, we need to cross the river to go to Tengshi Town from now on. Instead of wasting time looking for fishing boats and sampans to build a floating bridge, why not go around and cross the river from the shallow water upstream, and the whole army will wade across the river and assemble on the other side, and then go to Tengshi Town together?"

Horace looked at him and said, "If we don't build a pontoon bridge, how can the central and rear armies cross the river? They don't have horses, so they have to take a detour? Don't talk about these meaningless things anymore. Go and see how the fishing boats and sampans are prepared. Can the pontoon bridge be built?"

"Yes."

So under Horace's order, the front army collected fishing boats and sampans from nearby fishing villages and did not start building a pontoon bridge until the afternoon. The front cavalry was stranded on the west bank of the river and could only rest and wait.

By dusk, a floating bridge over the slow stream was completed.

After crossing the river, Tengshi Town was right in front of them, so they didn't even build tents, but just waited to cross the river and rest in the town.

The vanguard army had been waiting at the river bank for a long time. When they saw the pontoon bridge being built, Horace could not wait to order the entire army to line up to cross the river and assemble on the other side.

As the cavalry began to cross the river, about five hundred people reached the other side, and thousands more were waiting in line here.

In the distance, trumpets and horns sounded.

"what happened?"

The sound of trumpets and horns came from the other side of the river and upstream respectively, resounding through the sky, wild and rapid, as if shouting something.

"Stop crossing! Messenger," Horace called out, "order the troops to battle array!"

The dim setting sun was hanging low in the west, dyeing the surface of the river golden.

The urgently integrated vanguard soldiers and horses stumbled along the river bank at dusk. They were busy fastening their saddles, jumping onto their horses, integrating from the already separated ranks, and looking for their own ranks.

However, the horns upstream and the trumpets on the other side of the river sounded again, as if urging: Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up.

Soon, a cloud of dust filled the sky on the opposite bank and upstream, and the rumbling sound of horses' hooves echoed on both sides of the river.

Horace shouted, "Quick, form a battle formation!"

But even the most efficient troops could not quickly deploy into battle formation when they were halfway across the river.

On this side of the river, only a 500-cavalry force responsible for the outer defense immediately deployed in an orderly battle formation toward the north upstream, while the other side of the river was completely caught off guard.

In the dusk, Horace saw the golden lion banner flying: "It's the Lannisters!"

How could Horace not realize at this point that an unknown Lannister army had occupied Tumblestone without the knowledge of the Reach's vanguard troops, and that they had been lying in ambush on the other side and upstream, waiting to launch a surprise attack when the vanguard troops crossed the river.

The Lannister ambushers were all cavalry. In the thick smoke and dust, they did not occupy any high ground, so it was hard to see how many of them there were.

This was clearly a premeditated surprise attack. Horace watched as the rumbling of horse hooves brought the guarding cavalry to the north, half a mile from the floating bridge, and the battle was already in full swing on the other side. Horace's cavalry had not yet prepared to charge in formation.

Horace didn't have much time to think carefully, as the rumbling of horse hooves was getting closer. But even from a distance, looking at the smoke and dust, Horace was keenly aware of the intentions of the Lannister cavalry. The Lannister army had circled the rear and flanks of his cavalry crossing the river, clearly intending to drive Horace's cavalry, who were not fully prepared for battle, into the river!

Unease crept into Horus's skin, causing his hands to twitch. The young knight drew his sword and shouted, "To the rear, line up, line up!" In an instant, the enemy appeared in the rear, emerging from the hills by the river. The enemy leaders rode on armored horses and led the heavily armored cavalry like a huge steel fist, rushing towards the cavalry that had just gathered in a panic in the direction of the ferry.

The flag bearer raised the family flag and it fluttered in the wind, flying on the long pole.

In the front was the Lannister lion flag, and a knight in golden armor was at the front of the wedge formation, charging with his lance raised in his left hand. Behind him were the flags of many westerly nobles.

Jaime Lannister.

Horace realized the identity of the knight.

The enemy was already approaching, and there was no time to prepare. Horace shouted, "Blow our horn and charge with me!"

"Charge!" As he shouted the order, thousands of people responded.

Horace kicked his horse and led the cavalry, who had just formed a line, to charge forward. Horace was the first to charge, and with him at the head, the formation naturally formed a wedge during the charge.

Amid the blaring of horns and the tooting of horns.

The horses of both sides rumbled and collided with each other on the vast plain along the river.

The horses were charging forward recklessly, and in an instant the lances of both sides collided with each other. Some men were pierced through the chest and died on the spot, while others were knocked off their horses and trampled by horses' hooves.

After all, the cavalry on Horace's side did not accumulate enough impact power.

In the first round of collision, Horace's horse was scratched by a spiked spear tip on the neck. The horse went crazy and stretched out its horseshoe-studded feet to kick out. The frenzied horses rushed into the enemy camp, and lances and spears were stabbed at it and Horace from all directions. Horace dodged left and right, barely protecting himself, but the horse stopped as the momentum of the impact, fell down with a bang, vomiting blood and died. Horace jumped off the horse at the last moment, escaping the dilemma of being crushed by the horse. He stood up in the blood and mud, holding the sword in his hand high, and attacked the Lannister army that was also knocked off the horse.

"Come on!" Horace roared, chopping down a Lannister soldier.

Around him, the battlefield shrank to a few feet around him. People were colliding with each other frantically, making terrifying shouts. He was surrounded by three enemy soldiers, but he cut off the first spearhead that was stabbing at him, and then hit another person in the face with his backhanded sword.

Just as he was about to chase the third person, the rumbling sound of horse hooves on the battlefield came closer. He looked over and saw the golden armor of Lannister flashing a dazzling light in the dusk.

"Damn Lannisters, seven levels of hell, all of you die!" Horace roared, raised the sword in his hand, and looked at the knight in golden armor provocatively.

The knight in golden armor rode forward on his horse, holding a blood-stained lance.

The knight's horse galloped towards Horus, but Horus had enough courage. Under the urging of the knight in golden armor, the lance attacked him faster than the horse. He gritted his teeth and barely dodged, but he didn't expect the horse to stand up with its hooves raised high. The man on the horse actually fell off the horse.

The situation on the battlefield suddenly changed. Horace was overjoyed and rushed towards the fallen knight with his sword raised.

However, at this moment, something unexpected happened, and another Lannister knight rushed towards him, the knight silently raised his spear. Horace wanted to dodge, but it was too late. The knight's spear instantly penetrated the weak metal protection at the elbow joint of his right hand, and a sharp pain suddenly exploded, and the long sword in his hand immediately fell out of his hand.

He reached out to pull the spear stuck in his arm, but the knight threw away the spear and drew his sword instead. The sword light circled in the air and swung towards him again. Horace didn't remember when he fell, but when he opened his eyes again, there was only sky above him. He realized that he was not dead, and quickly turned over and tried to stand up, but he was shaking with pain, as if the whole world was shaking.

Soon, someone pressed on him. The person was so heavy that he felt dizzy. "You have already been defeated, Redwine boy. Do you want to surrender?"

"Jaime Lannister, I am defeated by a man with only one hand," he said to the knight who spoke to him.

The other laughed: "It wasn't me, kid. You were defeated by Ilyn Payne."

Horace made no further reply.

(End of this chapter)