The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 469: Taking Gulltown from the Mountains of the Moon

(Thanks to Headmaster [Sending Children Arhat] for the reward; today's 10,000-word update is complete.)

*

A young junior general galloped wildly along the shores of the Gods Eye, his warhorse exceptionally fine and tall. The young man's horsemanship was superb, and behind him were several black-clad men wielding heavy axes, their faces coarse, fierce, and exuding an evil aura.

There were five people in total.

The five of them galloped swiftly, heading straight for Harrenhal along the eastern shore of the Gods Eye.

The scouts along the way dared not stop them, as the standard-bearer behind the young man carried the Mountain's banner: the red smoke beast and ice sword.

The five men exuded the aura of hundreds as they charged into the gates of Harrenhal.

General Anguy stood at the window of the Tower of Dread, watching the great banner and the five warriors dismount their horses.

The young man was Comm Warner, an attendant of the Mountain. He had been sent out by the Mountain to train as a scout, and the four cavalrymen beside him were warriors from the Warner tribe of Crackclaw Point.

Although young, Comm Warner was the heir and chieftain of the Warner tribe. The most formidable warriors of the Warner tribe were always at his side.

"Your Grace, soldier Comm Warner has returned."

"Oh!" said the Mountain. "Then issue the order: the Clegane cavalry and the Mooton legion, everyone prepare to depart."

"Yes, Your Grace!"

Anguy and Julie walked out of the Tower of Dread together.

Randyll Tarly looked at the Mountain and Lord Mooton, silently drinking his wine, without saying a word.

He had been winning battle after battle in the Riverlands campaign, taking down the castles of various nobles one by one. In Riverrun, Edmure Tully and the Blackfish Brynden remained behind closed doors, relying on the natural defenses of the Red Fork and Tumblestone rivers, currently feeling secure. The northernmost Seagard and the Twins had not yet been attacked; the Reach and Westerlands allied forces needed time. Once all the territory of the Riverlands was taken, the armies would then encircle Riverrun.

Ever since Robb Stark led his army away, heading north to launch the battle to reclaim Winterfell, the generals of the Riverlands seemed to have lost their souls, leaderless. The lords were worried that their family castles would be undefended and breached by Randyll Tarly's army, so Duke Edmure Tully agreed to let the generals lead their troops back to their respective castles to defend them. This was definitely a huge tactical error. Randyll Tarly led his army to defeat them one by one, slowly and steadily advancing.

The Riverlands war situation gradually became a one-sided decline! It was impossible for Edmure to gather all his vassals again to fight Randyll Tarly's army in a decisive battle. After many castles were breached, those who did not submit were exterminated, and most nobles chose to surrender after the fall of their castles.

Despite Randyll's great achievements, the Mountain, as Minister of War, had never praised him. However, when the Mountain first entered Harrenhal, Randyll had faced the Mountain with arrogance, refusing to cooperate with the demands of the supreme military commander. The Mountain had lifted Randyll up and smashed him against a conference table. Randyll had enjoyed the Mountain's fist greeting once, a rare privilege.

After that wonderful beginning between the two, Randyll Tarly silently watched the Mountain's comings and goings, strictly adhering to the four "no" principles: no questions, no refusals, no welcomes, no farewells.

The Mountain and Lord Mooton got up, taking their guards and also taking two ravens for sending messages, and left the Tower of Dread. The army formed several columns and slowly marched out of Harrenhal.

General Randyll and the maester, along with the family knights, all came to the window, looking down at the Mountain and Mooton's legions as they left Harrenhal again.

No one asked any questions. Everyone knew that General Randyll was in a bad mood and felt quite sympathetic, but to save General Randyll's face, this sympathy could not be shown in their eyes or expressions, but only kept in their hearts.

*

Under the watchful eyes of Randyll's scouts, the Mountain and General Mooton headed north, slowly moving towards the Inn at the Crossroads.

The Inn at the Crossroads, which had been destroyed in the Battle of the Green Fork, was later rebuilt by the Brotherhood Without Banners. Because of the night ambush and massacre of Duke Tywin's party, the Inn at the Crossroads was destroyed again. Now it was deserted, with no innkeeper selling wine or food.

The Mountain's light cavalry and the Mooton legion advanced unhurriedly towards the Inn at the Crossroads.

Captain of the Guard Alyn and his guard brothers, including Marwyn, had been stationed at the Inn at the Crossroads for some time, guarding the crossing of the Trident River. At the crossing, many boats of various sizes had been requisitioned along the river. The boatmen lived with Alyn and the other warriors at the Inn at the Crossroads, waiting for the arrival of the Mountain's party.

Not long after the Mountain left, Randyll Tarly received news from his scouts that a legion of infantry was coming along the road east of the Gods Eye, flying the stag and lion banner of the King and the red smoke beast and ice sword banner of the Cleganes. A scout team from the Mountain's light cavalry was with this infantry legion, heading towards Harrenhal.

Randyll did not understand the purpose of this suddenly emerging Clegane infantry legion in the Riverlands. He ordered them to be on guard and not to provoke the Mountain's soldiers. Since the Mountain had already left Harrenhal, this legion was probably just passing through.

The Tyrells and Cleganes were outwardly at odds, but secretly the Mountain and the Tyrell family had reached an underground alliance through Littlefinger. Although Randyll did not know the specific details of the alliance, he had some idea in his mind.

Randyll had no desire to delve into the power struggles between the higher-level nobles. He preferred to lead troops to win battles and earn glory for himself militarily. Randyll had much less enthusiasm for political maneuvering.

This infantry legion, which was marching very quickly, did indeed just pass through Harrenhal. The sound of their footsteps echoed along the road outside Harrenhal, and they did not stop at all.

The Reach scouts who were monitoring them maintained a reasonable distance, as their commander-in-chief, Randyll Tarly, had been lifted up by the Mountain and slammed onto a table in the Tower of Dread, causing every soldier to develop a mentality of avoiding the Cleganes.

For the Clegane soldiers, not being afraid or provocative, and avoiding them if possible, was the consensus of the Reach soldiers stationed at Harrenhal.

This infantry legion of over a thousand men was the mountain clans from the Mountains of the Moon: the Burned Men, the Black Ears, the Stone Crows, and the Moon Brothers.

The soldiers of the four legions felt no fatigue after walking on the road for several days.

Marching on the flat road was much easier than hunting wild beasts in the mountains. When hunting wild beasts in the mountains, the clansmen mostly went barefoot. Their swords and sabers were also incomplete, and some used sharpened wooden sticks as weapons.

Half a day later, this legion caught up with the Mountain and Lord Mooton's legion. The two legions joined forces, bringing the total number of troops to nearly three thousand: two thousand seven hundred and some men.

The clan chieftains and guards who had horses, together with the Mountain's light cavalry and Lord Mooton's knights, squires, and guards who had horses, could quickly concentrate all the horses in wartime to establish a cavalry force of eight hundred men for flanking maneuvers.

A day later, the army rested at the Inn at the Crossroads.

The wildness of the five clan leaders—Tymor, Chella, Shagga, Connor, and Gunthor—gave Lord Mooton the feeling of encountering wildlings. He ordered the Mooton soldiers to avoid camping with these rough-talking soldiers full of wildness, to avoid unpleasantness between the soldiers.

The mountain clans of the Mountains of the Moon became famous in the Battle of the Green Fork, but that battle also resulted in heavy losses. Three thousand men were reduced to just over a thousand. This was due to the lack of tactics, armor, sophisticated weapons, and warhorses, resulting in a pyrrhic victory.

The mountain clans of the Mountains of the Moon, who were completely looked down upon by Duke Tywin and the Westerlands nobles, were transformed by the Mountain into something miraculous, repeatedly making contributions and defeating many noble legions. Moreover, after the Battle of the Green Fork, two out of every three men had died. Basically, those who should have been lost in battle had been lost. The remaining were all battle-hardened veterans. In the Mountain's successive battles, this legion had the fewest casualties in each battle.

Lord Mooton had keen eyesight and saw that the banditry of this legion was in the same vein as Duke Mountain. He knew that the Mooton soldiers could not afford to provoke them, so it was best not to provoke them. But fortunately, they were comrades-in-arms with this legion. If they were enemies, Lord Mooton understood that his soldiers could not stop this legion that exuded the aura of wild beasts, just as he could not stop the Mountain's big fist.

Although Randyll Tarly's scouts and generals secretly feared this legion, and although Lord Mooton also secretly feared this legion, the noble soldiers still looked down on these barbarians who had no rules or hierarchy in their hearts.

Randyll Tarly in Harrenhal was closely monitoring the Mountain's nearly three-thousand-man legion. The scouts were working day and night, with shifts but no changes in personnel, watching the team from a distance.

What was this team going to do? This was the secret that Randyll wanted to know but did not know.

*

"Maester."

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Send a raven letter to Lord Mace, reporting the Mountain's situation clearly to him."

"Yes, Your Grace."

*

The next day dawned, and the Mountain's legion began to cross the river unhurriedly.

Although the river was still swollen, the peak period had passed. The legion formed columns and crossed the river carefully. Randyll's scouts were watching from a distance, watching for the entire day. The Mountain's legion did not completely cross the Trident River until it was completely dark.

The scouts faced each other across the river, watching the torches of the Mountain's legion light up, heading east overnight.

The scouts divided into a group to cross the river and continue monitoring, and a group to return to Harrenhal to report the situation.

Randyll Tarly, who received the scout's report, pondered in the Tower of Dread.

The east that the Mountain's legion was going to was the Vale of Arryn.

A hundred miles ahead, the Bloody Gate, a natural chokepoint, blocked the way.

The Bloody Gate, like Moat Cailin in the North, was a natural chokepoint that could not be breached by human force.

The Bloody Gate—

In the middle was a narrow mountain road, with cliffs on both sides, very steep and difficult for humans to climb. On the cliffs, the Arryn people had built a series of defensive works consisting of battlements. Above the Bloody Gate were two watchtowers, located on the rock walls on both sides, almost suspended in the air. The two watchtowers were connected by a weathered gray stone closed arch bridge.

Historically, the Andals from across the Narrow Sea broke through the Bloody Gate because their leader rode a giant eagle that was fiercer than a griffin. The giant eagle knight was the ancestor of the current Arryn family.

In modern times, the Targaryen family, also from across the Narrow Sea, broke the Bloody Gate because the Targaryen family had dragons. The Bloody Gate, which could not be breached from the ground, was attacked by dragons from the sky.

From ancient times to the present, the Bloody Gate had fallen twice, both because the enemy could attack from the air: one was a giant eagle, and the other was a dragon.

But the Mountain's legion could not attack the Arryn Vale soldiers guarding the Bloody Gate from the air.

The military fortresses built on the cliffs could not be attacked. The soldiers in the fortresses looked down from above, and no matter how many invading enemies there were, they could only be shot to death before the Bloody Gate.

However—

Outside the Bloody Gate, there were some Arryn Vale nobles, such as the territory of House Redfort, which was located southwest of the Bloody Gate. In addition, Gulltown was also outside the Bloody Gate, on the coast of the easternmost sea, with a road connecting the Bloody Gate and Gulltown. This road branched off to the west midway, leading directly to the crossing of the Trident River.

*

Gulltown was the port city of the Vale of Arryn, a prosperous and wealthy place, ranking as the fourth largest port city in the Seven Kingdoms. Littlefinger Petyr Baelish rose to prominence in Gulltown.

From a young age, Littlefinger and Lysa Tully, the wife of Duke Jon Arryn, had maintained an underground lover relationship. Lysa Tully recommended the poor Littlefinger to her husband—the then-Prime Minister Jon Arryn—to be the tax collector of Gulltown, and Jon Arryn agreed.

In a short period of time, Littlefinger increased the tax profits of Gulltown tenfold.

Lysa Tully once again recommended her underground lover Littlefinger Petyr Baelish to her Prime Minister husband. Jon Arryn was impressed by Littlefinger's economic talent and directly promoted Littlefinger to be the Master of Coin of the kingdom, an important minister of the Small Council.

The poor boy rose to prominence from then on, entering the Red Keep of King's Landing and becoming a hot minister, controlling the economic lifeline of the country, including the Royal Mint.

*

After crossing the river, the Mountain's legion headed east with torches lit overnight. If they went straight, they would attack the Bloody Gate; if they went southeast, they would attack Gulltown.

Randyll Tarly suddenly became somewhat envious. The Riverlands had been at war for two years, having been pushed horizontally once by Duke Tywin, and then pushed back again by Robb Stark leading the Northern and Riverlands allied forces. Now it was being pushed horizontally for the third time by him. The wealth, grain reserves, and spoils of war on this land had been greatly reduced. The people were suffering and had no fixed place to live. Every time a family's castle was taken, the fruits of victory were very small. But the Mountain was indeed a devil, unexpectedly launching a surprise attack on the most prosperous port city in the Vale—Gulltown!

Randyll Tarly once again ordered the maester to release ravens overnight to report the Mountain's military actions to King's Landing, and concluded that the Mountain would attack Gulltown in the Vale two nights later, making a fortune!

This was really fucking outrageous! Randyll thought bitterly, and regretted why he hadn't thought of secretly dividing a force to rob Gulltown.

The Mountain had taken the lead, taking it all for himself. It was impossible for him to get a share!

The only thing Randyll could do was to release ravens to report the Mountain's illegal actions without the Prime Minister's authorization to King's Landing.

*

Morning, sunny. King's Landing. Maegor's Holdfast. Ballroom of the Queen Mother.

Suddenly, three Lannisters showed unprecedented unity.

Due to the mediation of Uncle Kevan, Cersei and Tyrion decided to put aside all their old and new hatreds and jointly deal with their enemies and solve the most troublesome problems at present.

The Prime Minister received sufficient financial support, ordering Bronn to quickly recruit three hundred warriors, one hundred free riders, and one hundred mercenaries on the lands of Stokeworth, forming the Prime Minister's personal guard.

Only with five hundred people protecting him did the Imp truly feel safe.

Cersei, Kevan, and Littlefinger reached an agreement not to reveal the Imp's treasonous crime of privately releasing Sansa Stark before the King's wedding.

The Imp, with the assistance of Kevan and Cersei, truly regained the power of Hand.

*

Joffrey also participated in the administration this time. This child cannot always be marginalized. He needs to be involved in some government affairs from time to time so that he can feel the supreme authority of the king, and then he will be more obedient.

On the table was a letter sent to King's Landing by Randyll Tarly.

Harrenhal is not close to King's Landing, but it is not so far away. A swift raven can deliver the letter in a straight line in half a day.

"The Mountain has gone to attack Gulltown!" Kevan said. "This is not a good sign."

"The people of the Vale of Arryn should all die. Order the Mountain to kill them all," Joffrey said decisively, his voice loud.

"The Mountain cannot break through the Bloody Gate, Your Grace," the Hand said. "He just wants to make a fortune. Looting Gulltown will indeed bring him another generous bounty."

"The Mountain's army is growing, and the bounty will become a burden that drags him down, just like a horse carrying a thousand pounds. He won't be able to go far," Kevan said. "But I obviously made a mistake. What kind of person is the Mountain? If he doesn't have a bounty, he will definitely plunder everywhere."

"Then let him plunder. The Riverlands, the Vale of Arryn, the North, let him plunder them all," Joffrey said. "All those who do not submit to me deserve to die. Imp uncle, immediately issue a Hand's decree ordering the Mountain to attack the Vale of Arryn."

"Your Grace, the Vale of Arryn is in our control. The wealth of Gulltown should have been ours," Queen Mother Cersei said. "As long as we send Littlefinger into the Vale of Arryn and marry Lysa Tully, Lysa Tully will submit."

"What if Littlefinger has ulterior motives?" King Joffrey was very disgusted with any opinions different from his own.

"Littlefinger needs our support to seize power in the Vale of Arryn. Otherwise, Littlefinger without support will be torn to pieces by the nobles of the Vale of Arryn," the Imp said. "Littlefinger's marriage title—Lord of Harrenhal—must be granted by His Grace the King himself. As long as Littlefinger has ulterior motives, His Grace the King will strip him of his title of Lord, announce it to the whole country, demote Littlefinger to a commoner, or find another nobleman to testify and convict him of deceiving Lysa Tully into marriage. His status, value, and honor will plummet. The nobles of the Vale of Arryn are very proud and will never allow a commoner with damaged honor and a crime to be above them."

Cersei nodded repeatedly. The Imp's words were very wise, and the hidden worries in her heart disappeared all at once. It is very simple to fabricate Littlefinger's crimes, and it is also easy to tarnish a person's honor. The cost and risk are basically non-existent.

Kevan Lannister was expressionless, just like Lord Tywin was alive. But he approved of the Imp's statement in his heart. In this regard, the Imp is indeed very smart. As long as His Grace the King strips Littlefinger of his title and fief and demotes him to a commoner, he will immediately lose his qualifications to become a husband with Lysa Tully, and Lysa Tully will not be able to persuade the nobles of the Vale of Arryn to accept a commoner with a crime, damaged honor, and nothing as her husband. Even if the two get married, they will have to divorce.

Joffrey said sullenly, "Okay, then how should we deal with the Mountain? He went to seize the wealth of Gulltown without our orders. Send an order to let him come back and cut off his head?"

Thank you [Chau534] for the reward, thank you, handshake!