Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 231 James's Day

After practicing swordplay with the silent Ser Ilyn, Jaime's shoulders and chest were burning with pain. A blunt sword has no edge, but Ser Ilyn was the kind of guy who knew that the harder he fought on the field, the less likely he would be injured on the battlefield. He didn't care about Jaime's broken hand at all, and only hit the right half of his body. Jaime was stabbed and chopped three or four times before he could counterattack once.

This made Jaime feel deeply frustrated. The illusion he had gained from leading cavalry raids and charging with lances on the battlefield was gradually disappearing.

After the practice, he washed himself with the help of his attendant Josmine Pike, put on his armor, and began his habitual patrol.

His camp was stationed on the west side of Tengshi Town, occupying the ferry and hills, with deep trenches and stakes properly placed. Tengshi Town was guarded by the gold cloaks brought from King's Landing - Jaime never expected these people to help him in the field, so he only arranged them to guard around the town to protect his retreat and supply lines.

Although the military camp had become increasingly strong, Jaime still kept the habit of patrolling the camp. Over the past few days, everyone had gradually become accustomed to the harassment from Lord Randyll's scouts and occasional cavalry probing.

Every day someone asks when the general offensive will be launched.

Jaime knew that they were all concerned about the situation in the south, fearing that one day they would hear the news from the scouts sent to the south that reinforcements had appeared from the southern border.

The surprise attack turned into a siege, and the siege without attacking for many days caused some bad emotions in the army. Although military experience told them that it was right to siege without attacking at this time, as time went on, there was no news of the expected war in the southern border, which made people feel uneasy in the south, as if the army would come at any time. James sent scouts to survey the southern roads and the Mander River every day. After suffering losses from scouts in the Whispering Forest, James specially arranged two scout armies to cover and guarantee each other.

There was no movement in the south.

When Kevan arrived, Jaime had just finished patrolling the camp.

"What you'd better bring is the order to launch an attack, Ser Kevan." In the military camp, Jaime did not call Kevan uncle. "I think Lord Tywin should know that the longer it delays, the more disadvantageous it will be for us." He didn't care about Tywin calling him father.

In Jaime's opinion, when they caught up with the Tyrell army more than ten days ago, they should have fought a quick battle without hesitation. But the experienced Lord Tywin wanted to wait until the situation in the south became clear, and he was reluctant to leave his troops, so he chose to siege. The two evenly matched forces ended up facing each other in camps. Neither army was in the mood for a decisive battle, and they set up camps five leagues apart. It just seemed that the Lannister army occupied the key area and blocked the Tyrell army in an area.

Kevan nodded at him. "As you wish, Jaime. I have brought you news that Lord Tywin has invited you to the center of the army to discuss launching a general attack."

"Now?" James was confused when he heard that a general attack was about to be launched. "What happened?"

"Jaime, the craftsmen have already prepared the equipment for the breakout," Kevan responded. "Even if the Tyrells are unwilling to come out to fight, we can still attack them. Isn't that what we are waiting for?"

Jaime frowned, a golden light flashed in his eyes: "Really? Are we waiting for the craftsmen to build the equipment to move the camp?" A dozen days ago, the Tyrell army's camp was not surrounded by sharpened wooden fences, nor were there sturdy tall camps, let alone three low hills standing side by side in a horn-shaped formation. Attacking a city is much more difficult than fighting in the field, not to mention that their troops were originally on par with the Tyrell army, and they did not have a particularly big advantage.

"Of course." Ser Kevan answered seriously, "Then follow me to the center of the army to discuss specific tactical matters."

Jaime stared at Ser Kevan hesitantly for a moment, then finally agreed and took several lieutenants and knights with him to the camp where Tywin was.

Jaime's garrison was more than a league away from Tywin, and when his men arrived in the night, Lord Tywin's spacious and airy tent was already full of summoned lords and generals. Jaime saw Ser Adam Marbrand.

Judging from the situation, it seems that Lord Tywin is indeed planning to launch a general attack.

"My lords," Ser Kevan stood in front of the leather map spread out in front of Tywin, "our scouts have already figured out the strength of the Tyrell army. The enemy has three camps stationed in the hills upstream of the Mander River. Lord Rowan is stationed in the west, Lord Randyll is stationed in the south, and Lord Mace is in the center. They are planning to defend themselves and avoid fighting. Our army has collected enough food and forage in recent days, and built enough equipment to capture the stronghold. So we plan to launch a general attack on the enemy at dawn tomorrow."

Collecting food and fodder?

Jaime knew clearly that the Lannister army had no shortage of food, and he couldn't help but look at the battlefield map drawn by the scouts. There were several villages and towns near this war zone, and the so-called food collection was undoubtedly looting. This meant that Tywin did not intend to control this land.

Ser Kevan was still issuing orders: "Ser Gregor will lead the attack on Rowan's camp. Ser Jaime, your troops will be responsible for holding back the Tully camp." The Tyrell army's plan was to use the central army as a reserve, so that no matter which Lannister attacked, it could respond quickly. Therefore, the general attack must be two-pronged, one virtual and one real.

Judging from the arrangement, Jaime's attack was a feint, the purpose of which was to tie down Randyll Tarly and reduce the pressure on Gregor's main attack direction.

Kevan continued, "Sir Adam, send out as many scouts as you have, in teams of four. You must eliminate the enemy's scouts tonight before dawn. Cover our whereabouts before the general attack and catch the enemy off guard."

"Did you hear everything?" At this time, Lord Tywin Lannister stood up suddenly, his voice as calm as a sword, "Go back and prepare!"

"Yes!" The princes immediately stood up and answered solemnly. James was used to obeying orders in the army, so he also stood up and prepared to leave with the others.

But Lord Tywin looked at him and said, "Jaime, you stay. And Kevan, you too."

Jaime sat back on the bench. Ser Kevan crossed the tent and approached the barrel. Jaime narrowed his eyes.

Lord Tywin pushed the untouched glass of wine in front of him towards him. "Jaime, I have another mission for you." Lord Tywin sat down. "When the battle starts tomorrow, you must not send out all your cavalry."

James finally couldn't help asking, "Are you really planning to withdraw your troops?"

James knew very well that sometimes the most ferocious attack was only possible when one was considering retreating.

"You can see that, and I believe that veteran general Randyll Tarly can see that, too." Lord Tywin was serious and his eyes were sharp. "Jaime, if the attack tomorrow is unsuccessful, I plan to retreat westward."

"Are you going back to Casterly Rock?" Jaime asked. Jaime thought of their "collection" of food and grass.

Tywin did not give a direct answer, but asked: "Do you think the Tyrell army will choose to pursue?"

Jaime had already realized Tywin's plan: "But if we retreat, there are many new soldiers and some soldiers who have lost their will to fight. If we fail to attack the enemy tomorrow and the enemy is coming in force, I'm afraid we will collapse." Tywin planned to pretend to retreat and lure the enemy to attack. This was a risky move, because such a large-scale retreat to lure the enemy was very likely to turn into a real retreat, and it would be easy to get out of control.

Tywin's eyes flashed. "So I'll give you the most important part, Jaime. Combine your cavalry with Ser Adam's cavalry, and the number of cavalry will reach 6,000. I'll be your bait. Even if Randyll Tarly chases you personally, I believe you can defeat him!"

James was solemn for a moment.

Tywin himself acted as bait, perhaps he could hold his ground when he was pursued during the retreat, but it was also a huge risk. But in fact, this kind of strategy often requires the cooperation of the enemy. Jaime couldn't help asking: "What if the enemy doesn't pursue?"

"No," Tywin answered, but this answer actually avoided Jaime's question.

James took a sip of his wine. "What happened in the south?"

"The situation is worse than you know," Tywin continued. "The Targaryen army is heading north along the sea road, and the Redwyne fleet has also set out."

James was shocked: "What? When was the news?" Normally, the news from the South would be delayed by at least one to two weeks, so it is very likely that by the time the news was received, the enemy army would have already marched for one to two weeks. The West was in danger.

Tywin paused, "Don't panic. This was the news four days ago. The news reached us as soon as we arrived in King's Landing."

"How is it possible?" James reacted, "Did the other party release the news on purpose?"

Historically, the march has always been about keeping secrets. Even if a spy saw the army gathering and marching, it would take at least a while to find out the enemy's destination. But the news from the south came so quickly and so accurately, which could only mean that it was deliberately spread by the enemy.

This was equivalent to the other party clearly telling Tywin that it was a trap.

This move is undoubtedly very ostentatious and arrogant, but the Western Territory is now very empty. Once the news reaches the Western Territory, perhaps all the castles will raise their flags and surrender.

Tywin must take advantage of the first-hand information he has now to mobilize troops to support, otherwise once the news spreads, the Westerland Army will fall apart in an instant. Even if it is a trap, Tywin must step into it. Tywin can still control the Westerland Army, all thanks to his personal prestige over the years, but once the Westerland is lost, whether this prestige will still be useful is another matter.

"In any case, I don't plan to stay here." Tywin said, "We have to get rid of Lord Mace before Targaryen arrives in the West. Even if we can't, we must at least leave the battle. If they don't chase me, then I don't have to worry about them, and I can have time to return to the defense of the West."

James couldn't help but ask, "What about King's Landing?"

Lord Tywin glanced at Jaime and pursed his lips: "Make your own choice, Jaime. I won't force you this time. Casterly Rock or King's Landing, make your choice?"

Jaime's heart was sinking. To be honest, he wanted to die on the battlefield. This time when he came out of King's Landing, he had thought of many endings, either dying on the battlefield charging Tyrell or dying on the battlefield charging the dragon.

But things did not go as planned. King Targaryen was a man who had absolute power but was steady enough to be called cunning, powerful but still used many tricks on the battlefield. The enemy had all the advantages and was leading them by the nose. Jaime's intelligence was far less than Tywin's, but from the intelligence he got, there was no hope of victory. King Targaryen was moving cautiously, and Jaime felt like a mountain was pressing down from the sky, leaving him no chance to breathe and no hope of counterattack.

Jaime asked, "We retreat to King's Landing and join forces to attack Storm's End? His queen is there! He..."

"King's Landing," Tywin said abruptly.

James' eyes widened in shock.

"My lord," Ser Kevan suddenly stood up, "I have something else to do. I will be out for a while." He bowed and left.

When the father and son were left alone, Lord Tywin continued, "Jaime, after things are settled here, go to King's Landing and take Tommen away, to Essos. Don't worry about Westeros anymore."

Jaime could hardly believe that these were words spoken by Lord Tywin. He sighed and said, "Father."

"So be it." Tywin did not raise his voice, but Jaime could sense his different emotions from his calm expression and his golden eyes.

Jaime realized that even Lord Tywin, who he thought was omnipotent, felt that he had run out of options in this situation.

"Okay." Tywin narrowed his eyes, "That's it."

Jaime stood up and walked out of the tent. When he left the camp, he saw the gallows near the camp gate. The night wind blew, and the bodies of the captured deserters swayed on the ropes. There were only a few stars and a crescent moon in the night sky. Jaime felt inexplicably sad, and felt that this scene was as thin and incomplete as the hope of the Lannister family.

However, today's affairs were not over yet. When Jaime returned to his tent, a messenger from King's Landing had been waiting for a long time.

"This is what Varys asked me to deliver to you before he died, my lord." The messenger's voice was dull with fatigue. He was one of the people Jaime left in King's Landing to monitor Varys.

Jaime took the scroll handed to him by the messenger and asked curiously, "Before he died? Varys is dead?"

"Yes, my lord," the messenger replied, "The Red Keep caught fire, near where Varys lived, and he was not able to escape the flames. When the flames died down, all that was found was a pile of dry bones and a charred body. Some said he was not dead, but the Grand Maester found a body among the bodies that matched the description of a fat eunuch. I mean, the lack of a penis and the greasy body matched the description."

James opened the scroll and found a map of Junlin City, which was covered with red circles. "What else did he say when he gave you this?"

The messenger replied tiredly: "He said he would live up to your trust and hoped you would keep your promise."

"But he's dead. Why did the Red Keep catch fire?" Jaime frowned. When he was still in King's Landing, he paid a huge sum of money to let Varys help him find out who was in the King's Landing Pyromancer Gathering and where they sent the wildfire. In fact, the purpose was to find out where Cersei secretly buried the wildfire in King's Landing, but later the military situation was urgent and Jaime led his troops out of King's Landing, so he put that matter behind his mind. How could Varys have known that?
The messenger replied, "Sir, the Queen Mother ordered the Red Fort garrison to carry wildfire into the Red Fort for emergency use. Unexpectedly, the guards failed to take good care of it and the fire broke out at night. A big hole was burned in the entire city wall. When I left the city, the Queen Mother was still looking for craftsmen to repair it."

"You have come here at a fast pace, so go down and have a rest. Remember to collect your reward." James frowned and casually sent the messenger away.

After the messenger left, James solemnly spread out the drawing and looked at it carefully. When he saw the densely packed red circles, he couldn't help but gasp.

This shocking drawing shows that Cersei has buried wildfire pots in various corners of King's Landing, ready to burn the entire city to ashes at any time. He began to suspect that Varys had dug too deep, so he was silenced by Cersei.

"I have fire too." Jaime was in a trance for a moment, remembering the cruel look on Cersei's face when she said this to him.

(End of this chapter)