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"That's right, kill the false king!"
"Exterminate House Lannister and seize the gold mines of the Westerlands!"
"Let's plunder all those southerners. I heard Highgarden in the Reach is the most beautiful castle in Westeros. Makes me want to go there and loot the whole place!"
Robb could clearly tell that, for most of the lords, enthusiasm for the secondary objective was even greater than for the primary one.
And that was exactly what he had expected.
After all, waging a war relying only on the loyalty and honor of one's vassals worked well while everything was going smoothly. But when setbacks came, that kind of motivation often left room for all sorts of problems.
If, on the other hand, they fought for their own interests, then to the very end, they would most likely remain firmly at Robb's side.
"My lords, if no one has any objections, then our strategic objectives are now set.
Now, does anyone have a concrete tactical plan that we can put into practice in the near future?"
As soon as Robb finished speaking, the hall, which had been buzzing with discussion until then, suddenly fell silent.
"Your Grace, I believe we should seek an alliance with House Tully of the Riverlands and House Arryn of the Vale.
Then, with the forces of all three parties attacking the Westerlands at the same time, we can take Casterly Rock in one stroke and, after that, capture King's Landing with ease!"
Lord Medger, who had been radiant ever since being reunited with his son, saw that the mood had cooled and immediately stood to keep the discussion going before Robb.
"Lord Medger's suggestion of an alliance is viable, but this plan to attack the Westerlands seems like a fine pile of shit to me."
As soon as Lord Medger finished, a short, stocky man rose. He had the roughness typical of northern men and wore leather armor bearing House Hornwood's sigil, a black moose with crowned antlers. He shook his head and rejected the plan without ceremony.
"Lord Harrion, since you disagree with my plan, then please, grace us with your perfect strategy."
Seeing that Lord Harrion Hornwood was showing him no respect at all, Lord Medger shot back with a frown.
That was exactly the opening Harrion had been waiting for. He smiled, nodded, and began:
"Most of the Westerlands are made up of mountain ranges and rolling terrain. The eastern border, beside the Riverlands, is extremely favorable for defense.
If the Lannisters concentrate their troops there and hold the Golden Tooth, which guards the river road, then even if our three forces join together, it will still be very difficult to take it in a short time.
On the other hand, it would be much easier to land on the western coast from the Sunset Sea.
At the time, didn't the 'squids' of the Iron Islands attack Lannisport from that side?"
In the hall, Robb kept a thoughtful expression, listening silently to the discussion between the two lords. The others present, upon hearing Lord Harrion's words, nodded again and again.
Seeing that everyone seemed to agree with him, Harrion took a deep breath and continued.
"But the North has no fleet at all. We have no way to cross the Sunset Sea.
Because of that, I believe the best option is to have the Tullys attack the Golden Tooth to pin down House Lannister, while we join forces with House Arryn and march straight into the Crownlands, take King's Landing, and cut off the false king's head.
After that, we will advance south along the coastal road and take Crow's Nest, whose defenses are weaker.
Finally, we will conquer Lannisport and Casterly Rock, and take Tywin Lannister's head!"
"Yes, yes!"
"I support this plan!"
As soon as Harrion finished, many northern lords nodded, approving his proposal. That made Lord Medger's expression turn particularly ugly.
Seeing his father humiliated in such a way, Crey could not remain seated. He stood and asked Robb:
"Your Grace, do I have your permission to present my opinion?"
"Of course. In this council meeting, anyone is permitted to speak. We will discuss this together until we arrive at the most sensible plan."
Robb nodded at those words and answered loudly for everyone in the hall.
"Thank you, Your Grace."
Crey first bowed to Robb. Then he turned to Lord Harrion and said:
"Lord Harrion, for your plan to work, it would require the most ideal situation possible.
Tywin Lannister is known throughout the Seven Kingdoms precisely for his intelligence and military strategy. When House Tully attacks the Golden Tooth, do you truly think he will simply stand still and do nothing while we and the Vale cross the Trident region toward the Crownlands?
And even if we managed to cross, the Crownlands are currently under Lannister control. If they move part of their troops along the Goldroad to King's Landing and block us from the front, while Tywin defeats the Tullys and then attacks us from behind, we would be trapped in the middle with no route of retreat."
"Yes, that's true."
"The boy from House Cerwyn makes sense."
After Crey finished, some of the more flexible-minded lords began to agree with him.
Seeing his own son dismantle Harrion's plan, Lord Medger felt that the embarrassment from before had dissipated quite a bit.
Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. He raised his eyes to Robb and spoke again.
"Your Grace, I propose that we send an envoy to the Iron Islands to invite Lord Balon to form an alliance with us.
If the alliance succeeds, we can feign an attack on the Golden Tooth to draw Tywin's attention. Then, we will detach part of our troops to board the Iron Fleet and launch a surprise attack against Lannisport.
As for the envoy, I recommend Theon Greyjoy, commander of Winterfell's archers."
Hearing that suggestion, in which Lord Medger had said too much and gotten too much wrong, Robb had to restrain himself from raising a hand to his face and shaking his head. But in a certain sense, he had accidentally landed on exactly the point Robb intended to reach.
After the two lords sat back down, no one else in the hall rose to speak. The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Robb nodded and then declared in a firm voice:
"The opinions of both lords were good, but they are still incomplete.
So, combining what has been said here, I will present a short-term tactical proposal."
"First, House Tully. I will ask my mother to write to my grandfather. As for the alliance, I believe there will be no problem.
As for the Iron Islands, we do need to send an envoy to seek an alliance.
As for House Arryn of the Vale, we can set it aside for now. From what I know, my aunt, Lysa Arryn, has been deceived by Littlefinger, and it is impossible for her to ally with us.
After that, the thirty-thousand-man army gathered in Winterfell will be reorganized for a few days and then march, first establishing a camp at Greywater Watch.
As for the next step, we will decide based on the actual state of the war. Any objections?"
Robb's plan was, in the end, a broad fallback plan. Send envoys to seek alliances, then act according to how the situation developed.
The northern lords exchanged glances with one another, but no one raised an objection.
After all, both Lord Medger's plan and Lord Harrion's plan had flaws. Neither was strong enough to gain everyone's support.
Seeing that no one disagreed, Robb nodded and continued.
"As for the envoy to the Iron Islands... Theon is still responsible for training Winterfell's new recruits and cannot take on this mission for now.
Lord Ramsay Bolton, can I entrust this journey to you?"
"It will be an honor to serve you, Your Grace!"
Hearing his name, Ramsay immediately stood and answered with a bow.
"Very good. My lords, let us end today's meeting here.
I ask that everyone proceed to the banquet hall. We will soon dine together.
Ah, and I ask Lord Galbart Glover of Deepwood Motte and Lord Helman Tallhart of Torrhen's Square to remain.
I would like to consult the two of you about some matters."
Seeing that Ramsay had accepted the mission to the Iron Islands, Robb nodded in satisfaction and announced the end of the meeting.
"Yes, Your Grace!"
"At your command!"
"Your Grace, then we will take our leave first!"
Except for the two lords Robb had named, everyone else rose and withdrew after respectfully bowing to him.
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