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The North, Kingsroad, Moat Cailin
Moat Cailin is an ancient castle standing across the Kingsroad. Rumor has it that the Children of the Forest, who lived in the marshes, built this castle to withstand the invasion of the ancient First Men.
This is the strategic choke point blocking the North from Southern Westeros. During the era of the Andal invasion, it was precisely because of Moat Cailin's existence that the Andal knights failed to invade successfully.
Even if they managed a forced landing on the Northern coast, these Andals would have their energy slowly drained away by the harassment of the Northern First Men.
In the agreement with the Reach, the Ironborn were to take this place to block Jon's Great Army from heading south.
After the death of King Robert, Tywin Lannister had been operating in the Riverlands. Under his coercion and persuasion, most of the Riverlands nobles friendly to him had become puppets or vassals of House Lannister.
To stop Jon's army, Lord Tywin had prepared many hidden moves in the Riverlands, and Moat Cailin was just one of his many methods.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."
Amidst a series of somewhat immature dragon roars, a Valyrian hatchling was perched on Jon's shoulder. This young dragon had scales of alternating purple and black, and its wings were pale purple, looking very beautiful, as if made of purple crystal.
This hatchling was the masterpiece of Jeyne Arryn. Having mastered Blood Magic and obtained Aegon Blackfyre, who possessed pure Dragonlord blood, she thought of using the "Resurrection Spell" from Blood Magic to catalyze the two dragon eggs obtained in Gulltown.
Everything went exactly as Jeyne Arryn had imagined. After sacrificing the bloodline of Aegon Blackfyre, the two dragon eggs were indeed revived. Jon's hatchling had purple-black scales, while Jeyne Arryn's was a hatchling with brownish-green scales.
After Jeyne Arryn revived the hatchlings in the Vale, she brought the purple-black scaled one to Jon, returning to the Vale after completing the task.
Jeyne Arryn is now the person in charge of the Vale. Once Jon breaks through the Riverlands, the armies remaining in the Vale will strike out from the High Road.
This time, Jon would not be like before. He wanted to bring the entire Seven Kingdoms completely under his jurisdiction, rather than having a game of thrones repeat every few hundred years.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."
Jon named this hatchling "Purple Star." Since it was newly born, the young dragon was curious about everything around it, sometimes perching on Jon's shoulder and sometimes leaping onto the back of the Drakon.
Looking at the ancient castle situated in the marshes in the distance, Jon knew he had reached his destination. After ordering the army to halt, Jon sent out a large number of avian creatures to scout.
The geographical location of Moat Cailin is very unique. In ancient times, there were a series of towers here, but over time, most of these towers had been abandoned or collapsed.
After House Stark completely subdued the Crannogmen, they spent a great deal of time building a comprehensive fortress here.
The base of this massive square fortress was made of stone, with wood-and-stone walls built on top. The simple wooden battlements allowed a large number of soldiers to fire from a commanding height.
The narrow roadbed of the Kingsroad passed right through the middle of this castle. The road was not very wide, barely enough for two carriages to pass side-by-side.
On such a road, siege engines simply could not be placed or deployed. Since the surrounding area was swampy, one had to capture this castle to head south.
In another timeline, the method House Bolton used was a north-south siege to cut off the enemy's supply lines, finally using that unlucky fellow "Reek" Theon to persuade them to surrender. Only then did they capture the natural fortress of Moat Cailin.
With the help of those avian animals, Jon got a general idea of the Ironborn garrison; there were about 500 of them.
The materials and supplies inside were also very sufficient. It was clear these Ironborn placed great importance on this place. Unfortunately, they overestimated their control over Moat Cailin and underestimated Jon's formidable strength.
"His Majesty Aegon! What should we do now?"
Just as Jon was controlling those birds to observe the situation at Moat Cailin, a somewhat respectful yet cold voice reached his ears.
"Oh? It's Ramsay!"
Since Jon could multitask by controlling the birds, he turned his head directly to look at the person beside the Drakon.
Upon seeing him, Jon leaped down from the Drakon, and "Purple Star," seeing Jon leave, also tried to glide down from the Drakon's back.
Ramsay Bolton had performed exceptionally well during the war in the Vale, so after the war, Jon granted him the Bolton surname.
Furthermore, Jon promised him that if Ramsay performed well, he might even be given a fief in the south in the future.
"His Majesty Aegon, tonight, my boys and I can launch a surprise attack on these Iron scum. Their eyes will always be fixed on the Kingsroad, but my men and I have already found a way to bypass Moat Cailin."
After glancing at Moat Cailin in the distance, Ramsay spoke these words directly.
"Oh? Really? I'm curious how you intend to cross the swamps here. Have you found a path?"
Hearing Jon's words, Ramsay smiled proudly.
"House Reed of the Neck has already sent troops over. Although these Crannogmen are small in stature, they are very familiar with this swamp."
As Ramsay explained, Jon understood his meaning. The troops sent by House Reed were very familiar with the area and knew how to find a narrow path leading to Moat Cailin.
Ramsay intended to use this path to sneak under the walls and then launch a battle to seize the gates, providing an opportunity for the main army to attack.
"Aren't you afraid of the danger?"
Looking at this excited former bastard, Jon suddenly asked this question.
In another timeline, the war between Jon and him outside Winterfell almost wiped out Jon's entire army. If Sansa Stark hadn't brought the Vale cavalry, Jon would likely have been finished.
"It is my honor to serve His Majesty Aegon. You have already given me so much. If my life can bring you victory, I will give it up without hesitation."
"Hahaha, I have received your loyalty. However, I want you to stay alive and continue fighting for me, not to go and die. I have already found a way to deal with these Ironborn; you just watch me."
Jon found Ramsay's display of loyalty very interesting. This operation of turning an enemy into a loyal dog was truly amusing.
After ordering the soldiers behind to continue waiting, Jon walked to a suitable position—a small hill from which he could see the entire Moat Cailin fortress.
"Send a messenger to them first!"
After determining the distance, Jon gave the order, and Ramsay, who had been following him, quickly found an unlucky fellow among the prisoners.
Ramsay's little hobbies had made these Ironborn prisoners experience the heights of agony over this period. Many Ironborn prisoners would even wet their pants in fear upon seeing him.
After giving a surrender letter to this fellow, who no longer had any knuckles on his right hand, Ramsay drove him onto the only path leading to Moat Cailin.
After ten minutes, Jon saw through the birds how these Ironborn subjected the prisoner messenger to various abuses and insults. These fellows clearly underestimated the terror of House Bolton; they had no kind words for this kinsman who came to persuade them to surrender.
Since the prisoner was already scared out of his wits, the Ironborn did not take in this man who might lower their morale. Driven away from the gates, the Ironborn prisoner saw Ramsay staring at him from the end of the road and immediately jumped into the swamp in terror.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Ramsay! What on earth did you do to him? Look at this poor child; he'd rather commit suicide than come back!"
"Um... His Majesty Aegon! You misunderstand. I was very good to him. Not only did I solve his physical needs, but I also frequently provided him with good food and drink. It's just that sometimes I'd play games with him and his companions, that's all!"
Ramsay wasn't afraid of Jon's teasing at all. Some self-righteous nobles had once brought up his issues before Aegon, but Aegon had never punished him, only telling him to be careful not to harm civilians or his own people.
It was from then on that Ramsay confirmed Jon was not a hypocrite. He felt increasingly close to Jon, who had a similar background, and with Jon giving him a new surname and a position, Ramsay fully acknowledged him.
"Hahaha, I bet you definitely found a prostitute to entice him and then had someone cut off his 'little brother'!"
Recalling certain plotlines, Jon laughed out loud. These ferocious Ironborn, having fallen into the hands of someone even more ferocious like Ramsay, could probably only cry out to their Drowned God for help.
"Uh! His Majesty Aegon, how did you..."
Hearing Jon's words, Ramsay almost admitted to it. If Lord Yohn Royce were here, Ramsay would likely be accused again.
However, that portion of the Vale noble army had long since been merged by Jon into the forces of his cousin Robb. Most of those remaining by Jon's side now were Northern soldiers and nobles.
"His Majesty Aegon! May I be so bold as to ask what method you plan to use to deal with these Ironborn?"
Ramsay was very interested in Jon's plan. The only thing he could think of was Jon riding the Drakon to break the castle.
"Do you know which deity these Ironborn fear the most?"
"Of course I know. The Drowned God they worship and the Storm God are mortal enemies. A few days ago, some of them were even cursing me as a minion of the Storm God!"
After training the Ironborn prisoners for a few days, Ramsay had a general understanding of their habits and beliefs.
"Heh, then tell me, when a terrifying thunderstorm descends over Moat Cailin, what will these fellows do?"
"Hiss..."
Understanding the implication in Jon's words, Ramsay immediately took a sharp breath.
"His... His Majesty Aegon! You're going to summon lightning?"
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