Riverlands – Riverrun.
In the vast sea of red and gold tents, in the main tent.
"Father, are we leaving the castle without invading it?" Jaime, wearing silver armor, asked in a confused tone. He didn't understand what was happening. Obviously they had won the battle, but the castle remained intact.
"Jaime." Tywin's cold and authoritative voice rang out in the tent. "Just do as you are ordered and nothing more."
Tywin didn't care if his son knew or not; he was focused on the map before him. Half a day ago, urgent news arrived from the Trident. Honestly, Balon's arrival was something that wasn't in his plans.
Who would have imagined that the Ironborn would actually attack Moat Cailin? This caught him by surprise, as he expected to reach the Trident as soon as possible and gain Robert's trust by arriving at a dangerous moment.
However, with Jon Arryn by Robert's side, that desire became a distant and fleeting dream. Even if he arrived at this moment, Robert wouldn't be as enthusiastic as before. Not that fifty thousand Lannister men weren't important, but Robert himself couldn't trust House Lannister as he trusted House Arryn.
Jaime heard his father's words and frowned; he detested this tone of command, as if he were just a child, a child who only needed to obey. Touching the human eye set in a gold ring, he felt it stronger than ever.
The Sacred Relic of House Lannister, the Eye of Lann. Curiously, besides giving the bearer a power no human could have, it greatly increased the bearer's fertility. Jaime used the Sacred Relic once and felt he could sleep with a thousand whores and not get tired.
Of course, when the effect wore off, Jaime felt as if he had run for hundreds of miles; his lungs burned and his legs wouldn't even move. One thing that scared Jaime was that he couldn't get hard for three days straight.
This scared him deeply; becoming impotent was perhaps a normal man's worst nightmare. Jaime was no different from any other man in this regard.
"Brother, you seem pensive." Hearing the voice beside him, Jaime lowered his head and looked at the dwarf beside him; it was his brother, Tyrion.
"Our father is plotting something he doesn't want to tell us." Jaime didn't hide his doubts; he always knew Tyrion was smarter than he was. If it weren't for the circumstances of his brother's birth and his deformity, perhaps the heir to Casterly Rock would never have been him, but Tyrion.
"It's not that he doesn't want to tell us, but the fewer people who know, the less chance someone will find out." How could Tyrion not find his father's actions strange? If his father acted as he normally did, at this moment they would be trying to conquer the castle after defeating the House Targaryen and Tyrell army.
However, they allowed the enemy army to retreat to Harrenhal and the castle was not invaded. This was more than strange. It was extremely abnormal, especially knowing the old lion of Casterly Rock.
"Conspiracies, my dear brother, conspiracies." Tyrion finished drinking his wine and spoke to his brother with an enigmatic look on his face.
Tyrion already knew that his father and even they were already in a great conspiracy; as for who the target of the conspiracy was, it was something he had doubts about. However, whether it was House Targaryen or Baratheon, both promised to be something terrible.
Jaime fell silent; he really didn't like being used as a pawn in a great game of conspiracy. Usually people died very quickly in this kind of conspiracy.
"However, I never imagined Edmure was capable of doing what he did." Seeing his brother's expression, Tyrion changed the subject. His voice was still a bit shaky with the news of Edmure's acts.
Edmure's murder of his father and uncle was one of the most shocking news that could happen in this century. Killing one's father and uncle was no joke, it was a reputation that would be known for a long time.
Many were defamed in history for much less, let alone killing one's own father. Especially with Edmure being the legitimate heir to Riverrun.
Jaime came out of his thoughts and frowned hearing his brother's words. Truly, as Tyrion said, it was hard to imagine that the coward Edmure was capable of doing something so bold.
"This will deeply affect our nephew and niece's reputation." Tyrion frowned, remembering Tommen and Myrcella. As for Joffrey, he didn't even consider that little monster as a nephew. He tried, but the boy gave all sorts of reasons not to be his nephew.
Jaime also frowned; finding a husband or wife for Myrcella and Tommen after what happened was worrying. No one wanted to be associated with the son or daughter of such an infamous murderer and tarnish their own noble house's reputation.
"Don't worry, our father wouldn't let that happen." Jaime spoke with a sigh.
Despite the deep anger he felt for his father, Tyrion had to agree with his older brother's words. Tywin never failed to protect House Lannister's reputation.
"Jaime, we march towards the Trident. I want to see this army moving before noon." Tywin set aside his thoughts about the war at the Trident and spoke in a calm and deep voice.
"And Harrenhal, father?" Tyrion asked in a confused tone. There was Harrenhal and Castle Darry towards the Trident; either one was a big problem, especially Harrenhal, especially with the news that the castle was completely renovated and complete.
"No need to worry about that, we will ignore both castles. Robert is waiting for us at the Trident and we have to get there as soon as possible." Tywin's voice sounded again, but it carried a touch of sarcasm in his voice.
Tyrion's doubts increased: both castles let them pass without attacking? The dwarf looked at his father with a calm and astute gaze. In his eyes, his father had obviously joined the Targaryen camp. There was no other reason for both castles not to interrupt their march.
However, if they really were on House Targaryen's side, wouldn't Robert doubt the ease with which they reached the Trident?
This was Tyrion's biggest doubt.
Of course Tywin knew they would reach the Trident too easily, but that doesn't mean Robert would know that. With his own reputation and some disguise, he could manipulate Robert and Jon Arryn's common sense.
After all, he couldn't lose to a mere boy who had never set foot on a battlefield.
In the castle.
Viserys looked at the casualty report and couldn't help but silently purse his lips. The death of four thousand soldiers to create a show for all to see made him realize how cruel a war was.
He had to sacrifice four thousand soldiers to create a false facade, telling the world he lost to Tywin. Honestly, even with all his aristocratic education, where the common people were no different from cattle, he couldn't help but mourn for the Targaryen and Tyrell soldiers.
"I hope this plan really works. I stayed with five thousand soldiers in this castle and ordered the remaining troops to retreat to Harrenhal. If there's any surprise, I fear I can't help with much." Viserys murmured with a deep look.
He was essentially locked in this castle with five thousand men and, despite being in a cooperative relationship with Tywin, he didn't dare lower his guard. The lion could stab them in the back at the slightest moment of weakness.
"Now that I think about it, I can follow behind the Lannister Army..." An astute look flashed in Viserys's eyes.
His brother hadn't said anything about it and, the more he thought about it, the more he liked it. He could bring all the remaining thirty-six thousand soldiers and march on House Lannister's back and finally join the main army.
"No, I can't do that." Although tempting, Viserys knew it was impossible for him to do something like that.
As for the reason, it was simple.
Logistics.
If the Targaryen and Tyrell armies join completely, 130 thousand soldiers, not to mention the House Martell soldiers, who are about 25 to 30 thousand, making the total staggering number of 160 thousand men.
There was simply no way to supply such a vast army for long, so some of the army has to be separated from the main army. This was exactly the 40 thousand men Viserys was commanding at this moment.
"I want to go to the battlefield..." Viserys murmured in a helpless tone. It was his first war and the two battles he commanded were bad. The first was the siege of Riverrun, which ended quickly with the castle's surrender. The second battle was the battle against the Lannister army, which was essentially a cruel staging.
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Read my other books:
House of The Dragon: The Pale Prince
Jujutsu Kaisen: The True King
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King's Court Wizard