"What, you asked us to go to Bitter Bridge immediately as envoys?"
Shortly after the sun rose above the sea level, in the captain's cabin of the Ocean Troll, Lord Rodrik heard Robb's order and repeated it with a very surprised look on his face.
Robb nodded and said seriously: "Yes, I heard that Renly's hundred thousand troops are camping at Bitterbridge.
Please, Lord Rodrik, you and Countess Barbera go and persuade Renly Baratheon to encircle and suppress the Lannister family together."
"Your Majesty, may I venture to ask, there are so many nobles in the north, why did you choose us?"
Barbara shook her head at her father who was about to argue, and then asked.
"I trust you very much and think that you have the ability to do this well. So, why not choose you?"
When Robb heard her words, he naturally showed a surprised expression and answered.
"Well, thank you for your trust. We will take care of this matter.
If there is nothing else, let’s go back and make some preparations, Your Majesty.”
Barbara knew she couldn't refuse, so she bowed respectfully to Robb and pulled her father out of the cabin.
Just after leaving this large warship of the King of the North, Count Rodrik couldn't bear it anymore.
He looked around and asked in a low voice: "Barbara, why did you agree to go to Bitter Bridge?
We haven't received a reply from Lord Tywin yet, and how can we report the information here to him after we leave."
"Father, the decision to let us leave the northern army cannot be changed no matter what. Even if it is not the mission to Kuqiao, he will arrange other things for us."
Barbara first tilted her head to answer her father's question in a low voice, then looked at a certain longship in the port area and continued,
"The premise of letting us leave is fine if it's just because of Luce. If it's because of Ramsay..."
"You're saying that it's possible that Ramsay betrayed us?"
Count Rodrik heard what his daughter meant, his eyes widened, and he was so shocked that he couldn't even suppress his voice.
"Shh, father, this is just my guess. Whether it is true or not, we have to test Ramsay to find out."
"Okay! Go now."
Earl Rodrik, who was impatient, immediately walked towards Ramsay's longship.
Seeing that her father was so anxious, Barbie really wanted to find out, so she followed him closely.
After the father and daughter met Ramsay, they tried all kinds of words. Ramsay pretended to be stupid and dealt with them.
When Barber saw this situation, she simply asked very directly: "Earl Ramsay, my father and I were sent to Bitterbridge by Robb Stark today. This matter should have nothing to do with you, right?"
"Huh? Are you going to Kuqiao? It has nothing to do with me? What do you mean?"
When Ramsay heard Barbaret's words, he first had a puzzled expression on his face, and then he immediately continued with enlightenment,
"Oh, do you suspect that I am informing Robb Stark?"
"Earl Ramsay, he gave us this kind of order very suddenly today. We are worried that he is looking for a reason to get us out of everyone's sight, and then..."
Lord Rodrik heard that Ramsay understood, and he simply expressed his concerns very directly.
"I swear to the gods in heaven on the honor of the Bolton family that I, Ramsay Bolton, have never informed Robb Stark."
After hearing this, Ramsay immediately swore very seriously that he had not told Robb.
The oaths of this world are, for some reason, very credible.
Upon hearing this, Barbart immediately relaxed the atmosphere with a smile on her face and said: "Haha, Count Ramsay, it doesn't have to be like this. Can we still not believe you?
We will leave for Bitterbridge soon, and I will tell you how to contact Casterly Rock. During this time, I will trouble you to pass on information to Lord Tywin."
"No problem, I'm still waiting to ask for the reward from Lord Tywin! Don't worry, as long as he can meet my conditions, I will definitely pass on the information seriously."
"Don't worry, he will definitely satisfy you. The contact information is..."
Father and daughter Barbart conspired with Ramsay for a while, and then returned to their longship to pack up. Not long after, soldiers sent by the King in the North came to urge them, saying that the King in the North was waiting for them to set off.
When the sun was in the middle of the sky, the father and daughter left Lannisport's southern district with several family members.
They originally wanted to leave with the remaining nearly 900 family soldiers, but Robb dismissed them by saying, "Take a thousand people to Bitterbridge, whether you are on an envoy or to fight!"
…
Da da da!
On the first wall of Casterly Rock, as well as all the towers and observation towers, thousands of Lannister soldiers were busy running, either holding rocks as big as their heads in their hands, or carrying arrows one by one.
quiver of arrows.
There are also a large number of male servants on the city wall, burning large iron pots filled with boiling oil.
After Stafford returned to Casterly Rock yesterday, as he currently has the highest family status and the highest official position in Casterly Rock, he naturally replaced Casterly Rock's garrison and gained overall command.
Currently, there are about 1,050 soldiers remaining in Casterly Rock City, including nearly 800 cavalry and only more than 150 infantrymen. In addition, there are nearly a hundred members of the Lannisport garrison who were lucky enough to survive to Casterly Rock City.
Stafford knew that with the number of enemies, they did not need cavalry to go out of the city for a surprise attack, so he simply ordered all cavalry to be converted into infantry to assist in the defense of the city.
There were hundreds of male servants in Casterly Rock, and he also summoned them to help them defend the city.
As someone who had followed Tywin to attack King's Landing during the Usurper's War, he still had basic military knowledge.
However, he also has the narcissistic character of Lannister, and he is very proud of his military talents.
I always feel that I am an outstanding general on par with Tywin, but I have never had a suitable platform for him to perform.
However, the two brothers James and Tyrion privately commented on him, 'Stafford Lannister is a commander with very mediocre military abilities!'
The reason why Stafford prepared various means to defend the city early was because he felt that after the northern army captured Lannisport, they would surely besiege Casterly Rock City as soon as possible.
Because Casterly Rock City will definitely notify Lord Tywin and his army will return as soon as possible to help, the northern army's only choice is to capture Casterly Rock City by force as soon as possible.
Casterly Rock City, with its high walls and strong walls, cannot be captured in a short period of time, so they will seize the time and capture Casterly Rock City before Tywin's army returns for reinforcements, which is the most correct choice.
As a result, on the second day after he returned to Casterly Rock, all the soldiers were in high spirits and waited on the city wall for a whole day.
There were only a few reconnaissance cavalry soldiers from the northern border. They took a rough look at the situation in the guarded city outside the attack range of the archers, and then turned and left.
Late that night, while Stavier was sleeping soundly in the castle, he was awakened by the noise at the city wall. He immediately jumped out of bed and went out in panic to find someone to inquire about the situation.
It turned out that it was the soldiers at the observation deck at the front of the castle who sounded the alarm immediately after seeing the dense crowd of torches outside the city.
However, this was just a false alarm. The at least two thousand northern cavalrymen came to the "Lion's Mouth" where twenty horses could pass side by side, and immediately turned back without any attempt to attack the city.
After repeated efforts like this, on the third day, the soldiers on the city wall were in poor spirits, and they were obviously not as energetic as they were yesterday.
The situation that day was exactly the same as the next day. The northern reconnaissance cavalry came during the day and harassed them at night, but this time they were awakened at a different time in the middle of the night.
During the day on the fourth day, many soldiers guarding the city actually fell asleep while standing guard on the city wall. Their state was noticed by the northern cavalry who came to investigate.
After these days of tossing, not to mention the soldiers and servants who spent the night on the city wall every day, even Stafford, who was resting on the comfortable big bed in the castle, felt a little unbearable.
In fact, it's okay to have a tight mental state all the time, but a sudden loosening and tightening like this makes it even more torturous.
On the fourth night, at the main gate of Casterly Rock, the lookout in front of the Lion's Mouth.
Four Lannister soldiers were fully armed and standing guard on a routine basis. Two soldiers' eyelids kept drooping and they were staggering and dozing off.
The other two soldiers were trying to cheer up and chat, but the deep dark circles under their eyes also showed their mental state.
"Hey, they're here again? Are you annoying?"
A chatting soldier looked at the thousands of torches moving towards them in the distance, like a long dragon, and said impatiently.
"Want to sound the alarm?"
The other chatting soldier asked.
"Don't worry, let's see if they leave as soon as they arrive like they did two days ago!
The brothers who sounded the alarm two days ago have all been punished for false alarms."
The soldier who was asked hesitated for a moment and then answered.
"Okay! Actually, they didn't need to ring the bell before. How could they attack the city if the enemies were all cavalry?
The walls of Casterly Rock are so high, how can you jump on a horse?"
The other soldier heard this, nodded, and complained about the soldiers standing guard in front.
As the torches approached, the two soldiers opened their eyes wide, trying to see the specific situation as clearly as possible.
"It seems...not a cavalry? What is that long thing?"
"I can't see clearly!"
The discussion between the two soldiers standing guard woke up a dozing soldier.
He rubbed his eyes and leaned forward to look forward. His expression gradually changed from a dazed and sleepy state to a state of shock: "They are carrying a siege ladder!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Dozens of sharp sounds pierced the air, and the four soldiers standing guard at the observation tower were instantly hit by at least two arrows.
The soldier who leaned over to check was hit by an arrow and fell to the bottom of a deep rock cliff.
A long dragon-like torch approached Casterly Rock City. Tens of thousands of northern soldiers carried long siege ladders, and every fifth person held a torch. They continued to advance towards Casterly Rock City with the faint light of the fire.
It wasn't until they were approaching the main gate of Casterly Rock that they were discovered by the mentally exhausted defenders on the city wall.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"
Loud and panicked roars rang out in Casterly Rock City, and all the soldiers and servants steeled themselves to start a life-and-death battle to defend the city.
Casterly Rock City has a total of three entrances and exits. The widest one is the Lion's Mouth main entrance located on the Main Gate Avenue. The left and right entrances are narrower, and next to them are the side entrances on the cliffs facing the sea.
Every entrance and exit in Casterly Rock is not only protected by towers full of archers and lookouts, but also by high stone walls, solid oak doors and iron gates.
As a stone castle that has never fallen, its defensive capabilities are indeed extraordinary.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The defensive soldiers on the city wall hurriedly drew their bows and shot arrows. Although their accuracy was not very good, and the northern soldiers were still wearing one-handed shields, a large number of arrows would always take away some unlucky lives.
Among the soldiers of the Laiswell family and the Dustin family who were wearing mail at the front, more than ten people were immediately hit by arrows from the gaps and fell to the ground bleeding.
This bright red blood kicked off the siege of Casterly Rock City.
The dozen or so people who were hit by arrows fell to the ground. The other soldiers behind them immediately took up their positions, raised the siege ladder and quickly approached Casterly Rock City.
The closer to Casterly Rock, the brighter the lights. Since the northern soldiers were already very close to each other, after only one round of arrows passed by the defenders, they had already reached the foot of the city wall and erected a long siege ladder.
Boom, boom, boom!
On the wall of Casterly Rock, a large number of hard stones the size of heads fell downwards, the weight of the stones themselves plus the kinetic energy of falling from high altitude.
When it fell on the one-handed shield, it instantly cracked the shield. Some shields that were not strong enough were directly smashed into pieces and turned into wooden fragments of different sizes.
The stones that directly hit the northern soldiers immediately shattered their bones and caused them to vomit blood and fall to the ground.
As for the northern soldier who was directly hit in the head, there was no chance of survival. With luck, his skull was partially smashed, so at least he could be identified.
Unlucky enough, his entire face was smashed to pieces, and his face was covered in a blur of blood mixed with flesh and brain.
In this era without soldier nameplates, such corpses cannot be identified at all. Only other comrades can finally confirm that they are missing and did not escape from battle before they can be recorded on the list of sacrifices and pensions.
Casterly Rock is indeed a castle that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if they rushed to the battle, they used all kinds of methods to prevent the northern soldiers from even touching the battlements on the city wall.
The northern soldiers who were about to climb to the top of the siege ladder were faced with a splash of steaming oil, and they suddenly fell to the bottom of the city wall with their skin and flesh covered in charred flesh.
The siege of Casterly Rock was going on fiercely, and Stafford came in a hurry, disheveled. When he saw the tragic scene, he immediately understood that this was a real army siege.
However, in front of a garrison consisting of nearly 1,500 Lannister soldiers, garrison members and domestic servants,
The northern army must at least continue to attack the city for a long time and pay more than ten times the battle loss ratio before they can capture this solid stone castle.
However, it is obvious that this is just a self-estimate based on historical siege data and paper talk.
Reality is affected by all aspects!
There is a clear difference between the Lannister soldiers who are obviously in poor mental condition and the energetic Northern soldiers who have eaten well and slept well a few days in advance.
As the intensity of the siege battle increased, the more than 800 Lannister soldiers at the main gate gradually felt that their physical strength was exhausted. The hands that used to draw the bow were sore and weak, and those who threw stones were also weak.
Even the servants who poured boiling oil lacked the speed and accuracy they had at the beginning.
A Northern soldier took advantage of the opportunity for a servant to ladle boiling oil, climbed onto the battlements of Casterly Rock, and slashed a large gash in the servant's neck with a sword.
But in the next second, this heroic northern soldier was stabbed by several Lannister soldiers with spears next to him. He was covered in bloody holes and fell under the city wall.
This situation is actually quite normal. There will always be one or two enemies taking advantage of the chaos to jump onto the battlements. As long as there is no defensive gap and the enemy soldiers can stand firm on the city wall, there is no big problem.
But Stafford was obviously shocked by this situation. He immediately ordered the messenger beside him: "Quickly transfer the soldiers from the side gate to join the defense of the main gate."
"Lord Stafford, the side door also needs to be guarded!"
Behind Stave, the former Casterly Rock defender warned.
"It's not like we have to evacuate all the people and just leave a few dozen people to guard it. The side entrance is narrow and there is a steep cliff next to it, so it is impossible to attack the city on a large scale.
If they really want to attack from both sides, then the frontal pressure will inevitably be relieved, and I can send soldiers to support them.
Okay, hurry up and deliver the order. If we are really delayed and the main entrance is breached, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Thanks to Lyrique for the big reward of 1500 points, thank you to book friend 20170727102257581 for the big reward of 1000 points, thank you to Xingshan Xueyuan for the big reward of 1000 points, thank you to Lyrique, I like early birds, 嬒囧, 雪花elves, Song Dynasty
Enkou Miaomo, Fengxwuxchen, I am Aju, the name is just what you can think of and the monthly votes voted by everyone. Thank you for voting for recommendations every day, and all the people who read this, thank you for your support!
PS: This one has more than 4,500 words. I will continue coding in the afternoon and evening, and strive for 6,000. Hehe, after calculation, I will need to code tens of thousands of words today.