Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 230: Old Tricks
The Lannister and Tyrell forces at Tumblestone fought each other several times before finally settling into a tense standoff.

It must be said that the reaction of Lord Rowan and Lord Tully saved the army. When the Lannisters suddenly launched an attack, Jaime blocked the front and Tywin chased them from behind. Lord Rowan and Lord Tully reacted quickly. Although they missed the opportunity to counterattack, the army stood firm in the hilly area above Tumblestone, with its back against the source of the Mander River. Although the vanguard lost a large number of cavalry and suffered a setback, Lord Tully's attack on the camp also recovered 10%.

Although the Lannister army had the upper hand in the early stages, it did not have enough troops to completely wipe out the Tyrells who were already on high alert, and was forced to adopt a siege posture.

Even so, if the war in the south becomes complicated, Tywin has undoubtedly cut off the Tyrell retreat. The Tyrell army has been cut off from supplies and cannot hold out for long. Given time, when the Tyrell army runs out of food, the Lannisters will surely win.

But the war in the south did not go as the Lannisters expected. Greyjoy's fleet could not even hold off the Targaryens and the South. With the failures of the Battle of the Shield Islands, the Battle of the Blood Sea, and the harassment battle on the Arbor, Greyjoy could no longer stir up any waves in the South.

The only thing to be thankful for is that the Targaryen king did not lead his army north, but went south to Oldtown. At the beginning, everyone would have thought that there was an enemy in Oldtown that made the Targaryens go south, but the fact is that the military action of the Targaryen king this time is completely incomprehensible. There was no war in Oldtown at all. Tywin racked his brains, but he could only guess that the Targaryen military action was to suppress the Hightower family and completely win over the hearts of the people in the south.

Although he didn't know the situation in Oldtown, Tywin keenly realized that Euron, who had taken the initiative to form an alliance, could no longer be relied upon, and the Lannisters were now isolated.

Scouts from the Lannister army would go south along the Mender River every day to inquire when the southern border would gather its troops and march north.

But all I got was silence.

The more than 20,000 Tyrell troops surrounded by Mace Tyrell seemed to be forgotten, abandoned, and no one cared about them.

Tywin had fought wars for half his life and felt confused by the current situation.

Tywin didn't believe that the Targaryen King in the south still didn't know that Mace Tyrell had been besieged in Tumblestone, but the other side seemed to do nothing. The troops in the south did not move, the army in Summerhall did not move, and the army in the Stormlands looked as if it had nothing to do with it.

Could it be that the other side is just sitting back and watching the Lannister army annihilate the Tyrell army here? Or is it that the other side just wants the Lannisters and the Tyrell army here to consume each other?
But the fact is, Tywin himself knew that in order to destroy Mace Tyrell's southern army, he had to wait until the enemy ran out of food. However, the southern army's supplies were well protected by Earl Rowan in the rear army during the pursuit, so they could at least hold out for a month or so.

Euron Greyjoy, who seemed ambitious and powerful in the letter of alliance, was defeated at an unimaginable speed, causing Tywin's proactive attack to put himself in danger.

And the situation is still developing in an unfavorable direction.

Targaryen saw that it was only a matter of time to pacify the southern border, and it was only a matter of time before he attacked the north. As for the riverlands, because the reserve troops for the siege of Riverrun were withdrawn, Brynden the Blackfish and Arya the Wolf were free to actively seek battle with the Frey army, and they were constantly writing letters to summon the river lords who were still waiting. It was said that the Blackwood family and the Bracken family in the riverlands had a conflict over the flood problem, and the Blackwood family was gathering troops in the castle to prepare for war.

Flood problem? Everyone knows that this is an excuse. The Blackwoods and Brackens did not resist the orders of the Freys and Lannisters because the Freys captured their descendants at the Red Wedding. But as soon as the Lannisters and Freys loosened their control over the riverlands, the two families were ready to move. The Brackens were closer to Harrenhal and more inclined to the Lannisters. The Blackwoods chose to conflict with the Brackens at this time, and the meaning was self-evident.

This shows that some of the riverlords have begun to change their wait-and-see attitude and turn to Tully and Stark in Riverrun.

The situation in the river is not just that. Baelish and Lysa Arryn's control over the Vale of Arryn is being challenged. It is rumored that the Royce family has decided to "lend troops" to the wolf girl Arya Stark, and is recruiting ships in Gulltown, preparing to set out from Runestone City along Crab Bay into the Trident. With the Royce family taking the lead, the Waywood family, the Hunter family, the Redford family, the Belmore family, and the Templeton family in the Vale have all made some changes.

There are even rumors that the people of Braavos are spreading news about the White Walkers in the Five Fingers, Gulltown, and even in the Sister Islands and White Harbor, as well as the Targaryen dragons, and are even collecting donations for the defenders of the Wall - it's outrageous that the people of Braavos in Essos are collecting donations for the defenders of the Wall in Westeros.

As the news of Targaryen and Stark spread in the Vale, coupled with the wedding of Lysa and Baelish, the regent of Arryn Vale, Lysa Arryn, had actually lost the support of the people in the Vale. Baelish, the Protector of the Vale she appointed, had no endorsement from King's Landing and could not control the lords of the Vale. It was rumored that several major families were plotting to eliminate Littlefinger Baelish, who was now representing the King of King's Landing in the Vale.

Some changes in momentum are unreasonable. Although Viserys chose to take over the South first, his influence has inevitably influenced the decisions of decision-makers in every large territory on the continent. Although the radiation of this influence in the Valley and the North still only reaches the port, everything is only a matter of time.

In this era, if you control the propaganda outlets at the ports and create some big news, merchants will naturally spread the news to the inland. Although the people in the inland lack the means to verify and it sounds like a story, the story about Viserys will undoubtedly be the most widely spread and popular in the 300 years of the Conquest Era.

Even though Lord Tywin had experienced many ups and downs and endured countless storms in his life, facing the current situation that seemed like it was about to collapse, he could only grit his teeth with a grim expression.

In fact, at the beginning of what was popularly known as the "War of One Dragon, Five Kings, and Six Kings", Lord Tywin had been caught in a similar situation. At that time, although Tywin's conquest of the riverlands seemed to be in full swing, the young and energetic Robb was winning battles in the north, the covetous Renly was gathering troops at Bitterbridge in the south, and Stannis's fleet was blockading King's Landing in the east.

If it weren't for the two black swan events of Renly's sudden death and the Lannister army being blocked at the Red Fork on its way back to the West, Tywin would have been doomed long ago.

Now, Tywin is in crisis again. But this time there will be no more black swan events. Because the opponent at this time is a very powerful but extremely cautious person, and all the possible black swan events that may happen to him are dealt with by his strong strength.

At the beginning, when faced with the Starks in the north and Renly in the south, Tywin's choice was to return to the Westerly. However, Edmure Tully successfully blocked the attack, and the changes in the south caused the Tyrells to turn to the Lannisters, which made the Lannisters flourish for a while and had the potential to become the king.

But now, the situation will not change.

When King's Landing was within reach, Targaryen chose the South, and then he swept across the country.

Bald Lord Tywin sat in the tent, looking at the map, analyzing various intelligence, and finally made a decision: "Kevan, we must fight quickly and retreat to the West before Targaryen makes the next move."

Kevan looked at Tywin, who was always steady, and understood his intention. "Then I will go and summon Jaime to bring a group of soldiers to join us. My Lord, who will be the main force in this battle?"

Tywin's face turned cold. "Let Ser Clegane go. Randyll Tarly has been famous for a long time. He is a tough nut to crack. Let the most ferocious dog gnaw at him. Jaime will follow me to lead the reserve. Adam Marbrand will lead the left wing cavalry and wait for orders."

Kevan asked, "What if they still don't fight?"

Tywin asked, "The catapults and the siege equipment should be ready, right?"

Kevan looked deeply at the serious Lord Tywin and nodded solemnly.

Often a general offensive is a precursor to a general retreat.

Over the past few days, the Tyrell army has settled down in the hilly area and built a camp. The overall defense posture is that except for Randyll Tarly who occasionally attacks and looks for the weakness of the encirclement to try to break out, everyone else stays in the camp.

The two sides have not been in confrontation all these days.

There were still battles for some key areas. But neither side was desperate. Tywin failed to sneak attack the rear army supplies of Earl Rowan at the beginning, so he just completed the strategic encirclement and got some benefits. However, more than 20,000 soldiers were a large group, and Tywin's army alone could not handle them. One third of his troops were new troops, so he could only wait for the Tyrell army to lose its composure. Although the surrounded Tyrell army was timid in attacking because of the Duke of Mace, they were much more advanced in defense. It was obvious that Earl Tully and Earl Rowan were in charge now.

Randyll Tarly was no pushover. Over the past few days, he had taken the initiative to attack and harass the Lannisters several times, and had gradually figured out the strengths and weaknesses of the Lannister army, boosting the Tyrell army's low morale when they were surrounded. The Tyrell army had good defensive geographical conditions, so if they had to fight quickly, the two sides would have to fight head-on.

Of course Tywin was reluctant to confront them head-on here. The situation was no longer the same as when the Lannisters first started chasing and besieging them. Whether he won or lost here, he could not change the overall situation. On the contrary, he might suffer serious losses, causing the situation to collapse faster.

The current situation put Tywin under great pressure, and every step he took could not be described as well-thought-out. Even he himself could sense that the opportunity he thought he had grasped now seemed like a blind move. Tywin only regretted secretly that he should not have regarded Euron Greyjoy as a lifeline. Speaking of which, knowing that Euron had been in the South for less than half a month before being quickly pacified, Tywin found Euron very unbearable.

In fact, Tywin had already classified Euron as a clown and a boy who was not worth consulting.

In Tywin's opinion, Euron Greyjoy should follow the Ironborn tradition and conduct guerrilla raids along the coast. This way, he could at least disturb the southern coast and buy the Lannister army at least two to three months. Tywin never thought that Euron would choose to attack cities and plunder, or even take the initiative to attack and seek opportunities to annihilate the Redwyne fleet. The storm in the south was quickly extinguished by Targaryen and the southern lords in less than half a month.

Speaking of which, when Tywin heard the news of the destruction of Euron's fleet and the death of the sea monster, his already stern face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and he almost bit his teeth off.

Although King Viserys claimed that the Iron Islands had 500 ships that could invade the southern coast at any time, Tywin knew better than anyone that even if news came that Victarion, the commander of the Iron Fleet, was missing, the Ironmen would no longer be able to cause any trouble.

Kevan had already confirmed Tywin's determination to withdraw his troops. He asked calmly, "Then I will go and summon Jaime myself?"

Although Tywin had promised before that if Jaime was unwilling to obey orders, he would hand over Casterly Rock to Kevan, but Kevan knew very well the position of Jaime in Tywin's heart, so he still put the overall situation first. Summoning Jaime was naturally to take Jaime back to the Westerly.

As for King's Landing, Tywin has already planned to abandon it.

By the way, Tywin recently received a letter from Cersei, in which Cersei mentioned that the church and the Iron Bank were sending representatives to force the Iron Throne to repay its debts.

Cersei's letter was not about asking about politics, but about the solution she thought she had found: to the church, Cersei mentioned that in order to ensure the church's support for Tommen I and cancel the royal debt of more than one million gold dragons to the church, the High Septon could be allowed to reorganize the church's armed forces; and to the Iron Bank, Cersei proposed to outsource one of the three major mints to the great princes in the country, allowing them to have the royal coinage rights in exchange for a huge financial sum to ease the debt pressure.

Cersei was very excited in her letter. She believed that the Order's armed forces were liberated by Tommen and would definitely be loyal to Tommen. However, the royal mint did not have enough gold to mint coins, and it would be idle if it was kept. It would be better to exchange it for some emergency money to prevent the Iron Bank from turning to support the Targaryens.

It was undoubtedly a foolish move to liberate the Order's armed forces, and it was even more foolish to use the right to mint coins as a diplomacy. Either of these two things alone would have led to chaos in the country. But Tywin did not give Cersei a direct answer, but wrote back: "You are the Queen Regent, you can make your own decisions on some matters."

Calculating the time, the letter will soon return to King's Landing. It is only a matter of time before Cersei disrupts the political situation.

If we don’t withdraw to the western border now, when will we withdraw?

At a time when the situation is about to collapse, the more Cersei makes the situation in Westeros more chaotic, perhaps she can buy a glimmer of hope for the Lannisters.

Isn't Dragonstone promoting the coming of the Long Night and the arrival of the White Walkers? If we can drag on until the Long Night.
But Lord Tywin's dream was doomed to be shattered. At about nightfall, a messenger arrived: "Report! Letter from King's Landing!"

There are three big news right at the beginning.

"The wildfire warehouse on the west wall of the Red Keep in King's Landing caught fire, and the west wall collapsed. Varys, the chief intelligence officer, was burned to death in the fire, and the chief intelligence officer was absent for a while."

"The Redwyne fleet of the Shield Islands is heading north, and the southern border has 10,000 troops, heading north along the coastal road."

"The Oldtown combined fleet left Whispering Bay and headed north, while the army headed north along Rose Avenue."

When Tywin saw the letter, he felt a chill running from the soles of his feet to his forehead.

Varys' death aside, the other two pieces of news all indicate that King Targaryen has integrated his troops, advancing by land and sea, heading north from the Shield Islands and the Coast Road to the Westerly.

This strategy is exactly the same as the strategy that Young Wolf Lord Robb once used.

It is nothing more than forcing Tywin to return to the West for a decisive battle.

But King Targaryen's plan was obviously different. He intended to take control of the West in one battle. He had no intention of first annihilating the Lannister army outside and then going to the West to recruit surrenders and rebellions.

Of course, this is Tywin's speculation.

-

In fact, since King Viserys entered the Citadel, he has handed over the next war command to the Prime Minister, Prince Oberyn of Dorne. Although the king is still in office and implements various policies according to the old rules, he seems to be obsessed with magic, just like the old man in Oldtown, who is calculating something day and night in the secret room of the Citadel's library with a group of doctors who have been sentenced to treason and are waiting to be executed.
But compared to the existence of rebellion in the Citadel, as well as magic and strange inheritance, what is more eye-catching is the strange changes that have taken place in the Hightower family.

The old man of Oldtown went mad and lost consciousness, and the title was passed to Ser Baelor Hightower, but Baelor seemed to have inherited the old man of Oldtown's madness. After inheriting the title, he became obsessed with magic. Not only did he calculate something with the king in the Great Library of the Citadel day and night, but he was also loyal to King Targaryen as fanatically as a religion.

People privately called Baelor Hightower a "dragon fanatic" and thought he was as mentally ill as "Baelor the Blessed".

Baelor Hightower seemed to have regarded the king's dragon as a god, and was crazy about it. Not only did he donate most of the land and money to the royal family in the name of supporting the dragon god, but he also insisted on choosing a location to build a temple for the dragon god, the priest of ancient Valyria, for the king. Not only that, he also ordered a large number of knights and family members in the Hightower family to join the glorious Night's Watch and fight for humans. Sir Baelor's crazy behavior made a large number of sworn knights of the Hightower family choose to leave the Hightower, and many loyal knights put on black clothes.

Moreover, Beile persecuted his two younger brothers madly, forcing them to convert and join the Night's Watch. The king was generous and finally decided to split the Hightower family, giving back part of the land donated by Sir Beile to Garth Hightower and Gunthor Hightower. The power of the Hightower family was greatly reduced and it was directly divided into three.

And all of this is reasonable and legal.

It is really sad that an ancient family that has been passed down for thousands of years was thrown into chaos overnight by Beile, the "crazy dragon believer".

(End of this chapter)