(On the first day of the Lunar New Year, good luck, eat chicken tonight.) ）

Ed led Erin, Harwin, and Little to the city wall, and the golden robes on the city wall hurriedly stood up and saluted the prime minister. Ed nodded in response, looking under the city walls, outside the bronze gate, hundreds of people gathered, men, women and children, looking like refugees, they were shouting to open the door and come in to meet King Robert.

Listening to the accent, it was the people of the Riverland that Ed was very familiar with.

A group of golden-robed men hurried over from the wall in the other direction, all bows and arrows in their hands.

The captain of the squad guarding the bronze gate warned sternly: "Where are the Diao people, disperse quickly, otherwise I have the right to use force against you." ”

The golden robe has never been polite to civilians.

A team of golden-robed archers rushed over, and the squad leader gave an order, stretched out his bow and arrows, and aimed them at the people under the city walls.

Ed said, "Don't do anything, open the gates and let them in." ”

The team leader disagreed: "Prime Minister, it's not dawn yet, we don't have enough manpower, so many people are rushing in, and if something happens at that time, Lord Genos Slint will ......." ”

"Open the gates. Ed said as he looked at the team leader.

The captain of the squad did not dare to disobey, and reluctantly ordered the city gate to be opened, and the people poured in, and the scene was chaotic, and Prime Minister Ed shouted on the city wall: "Everyone, don't push and squeeze indiscriminately, enter the gate in an orderly manner, otherwise I will drive you out." ”

Littlefinger appeared at the gates of the Iron Throne, dressed in a well-cut brocade robe and a shoulder shawl of fine silk pinned to his shoulders with a silver sound-like bird pin. His eyebrows, hair, and cheeks are meticulously groomed and meticulous. He walked in slowly with an elegant demeanor and a mocking smile on his face: "What happened today, Your Excellency the Prime Minister held a government meeting early in the morning. Hehe, it looks like I'm the latest one. ”

Littlefinger walked to the bottom of the seven steps of the Iron Throne and bowed to Eddard Stark, who had a grim face on the Iron Throne, "I'm sorry, Prime Minister, I'm late. His gaze swept over the crowd of refugees, and his face looked surprised.

Prime Minister Ed sat on the Iron Throne, his expression as cold and hard as the frozen ground in the north: "Lord Petyr, please take a seat, we have a lot of things to deal with today." ”

"Yes, Prime Minister!"

Under the Iron Throne, on the left and right, is a queue of courtiers. On the right hand side of the Iron Throne, only the royal family and the royal ministers had their own seats and tables, and the rest of the courtiers, generals, knights, and ladies could only stand.

Today, all the courtiers and generals stood on the right, and on the left stood a ragged refugee, many of whom had injuries on their bodies, and Ed had ordered someone to check them, but fortunately they were all minor injuries from swords.

Minor injuries are not fatal, they do not hurt the muscles and bones, but the wounds are long and numerous, drenched in blood, and they look miserable!

On the seats of the Imperial Ministers, there are the Great Commander Paihir, the Minister of Intelligence, the Eight-clawed Spider Varys, and the Minister of Finance, Littlefinger Petyrberry.

Ser Barristan Sermi, the intrepid captain of the Iron Guard, followed Robert Baratheon to hunt in the Kingswoods, the Lord of Justice, Ranrybaratheon, who had always liked to hunt with the King's brother, and this time was no exception, and Stannis Baratheon, the Lord of the Sea and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, had returned to Dragonstone since Jon Arryn's death, and Ed had written several times to urge him to return, but received no reply.

There are seven Imperial Ministers, including the Prime Minister, and three are absent, but as long as the three Imperial Ministers agree, the decree has the force of law.

These people were all wounded on their bodies, and they were not small in shock, and even in the Iron Throne, they still had palpitations and trembled.

The people of the Riverlands were all the first to enter the Red Keep in King's Landing, the first time they had seen so many nobles gathered together, and the first time they had seen the Iron Throne and the King on the Iron Throne, or the Prime Minister. Someone heard the nobles call the person on the Iron Throne the Prime Minister, which puzzled the people, shouldn't the Iron Throne be the king?

None of these people had ever seen a king, and certainly not a prime minister. Even in King's Landing, there are many people who have never seen the king in their lives.

Under the guidance of the relevant courtiers, an old man came out and knelt down to Prime Minister Ed: "Your Majesty the Honorable King...... "I am from Shiqiao Village, and I am adjacent to the king's land......"

"I'm not the king!" Eddard interrupted the old man, dressed in a white linen coat with the Stark family's Icewolf crest embroidered on his chest, and a black wool cloak pinned to his neck with the 'Gold Badge of the King's Hand'. Black, white, and gray are the three possibilities of truth, "The king is now hunting in the king's woods, and I am his former prime minister, Duke Eddard Stark, or the hand of the king, and tell me who you are and everything you know about these robbers." ”

"My lord, one night the other day, as soon as I was asleep, I heard a knock at the door, and I opened the door, and seven or eight soldiers broke in. ”

"You say it's a soldier?"

"Yes, my lord, I'm sure there are no doubts, soldiers, they are well armoured, all have helmets, and they carry long swords. I'm running a tavern in Stone Bridge Village, my lord. ”

"Hmm!"

"When the gang came in and asked for wine, when they were full, two of them broke into my cellar and threw a torch into it, and the whole cellar burned. Several other soldiers also started setting fires, one of them saying that they had killed me, while the other said that I was too old to be necessary, as if their commander had not allowed them to kill the elderly man. ”

"Huh?"

"Then one of the soldiers asked me if I wanted to die or live, and of course I wanted to live, and they drew their long swords, and cut me in the face, arm, and leg with a dozen swords, and then drove me out of the room, and forced me to flee for my life in King's Landing with bows and arrows. ”

There were three cuts on the old man's face, which were very long, and cut the whole face. He lifted his sleeves and trouser legs again to show everyone the cuts on his arms and legs.

The cut was not deep, but it looked shocking and miserable. And this kind of injury is also very dangerous, and it is easy to cause excessive blood loss and death.

"Are you sure they want you to flee for your life in King's Landing?"

"Yes, my lord, and then I met more villagers, and everyone fled to King's Landing together, or else they would die. ”

"Someone is provoking the king!" said Loras Tyrell, the Knight of the Hundred Flowers, "and it is clear that they are deliberately forcing these people to come to King's Landing. ”

"Do you have anything else to say?" Ed asked the old man.

"My lord, I have nothing now, the tavern, the money, the food, the savings, I have nothing, the soldiers burned down my tavern...... My lord!"

Ed nodded, so the old man was taken away, and the next middle-aged man was taken to the steps of the throne, this is a farmer, Ed asked him not to kneel, but he was very scared, and finally he knelt down to talk to be sharp.

“...... Prime Minister...... They kicked our whole family out of bed and then set fire to our house and livestock pen. "My eldest son went up to stop him, and was rushed up by several soldiers and slashed with dozens of swords, and they cut off his head, hands and feet, and cut him into pieces as if he were pork, and asked for a bronze star and a piece of meat to sell me." ”

"Oh, this is so cruel, what kind of bandit would do it?" Varys reached out to cover his rouge-smeared red lips, his eyes full of horror.

"The old man just now has already said that he is a soldier, a heavily armed soldier. Littlefinger Petyr corrected Varys.

The farmer began to weep.

"And then?" Eddard's face was as hard as a rock, and his tone was as cold as frost.

"Later, I woke up from the fainting and saw that they were forcing my wife and daughter with their swords to tie my little son to a tree, and they said that my little son was an adult and could not be spared. I knelt and pleaded with them to exchange my life for my son, and one of the officer-like men drew his bow and arrows and told me to flee to King's Landing with my wife and daughter, and I was a little slower, and he shot an arrow at my youngest son, saying that it was punishment for disobeying orders. In the end, my youngest son was shot by them with a dozen arrows, all of them in the hands and feet, and they laughed. ”

On the other side, two women hugged their heads and cried, presumably the farmer's wife and daughter.

"It's forcing them to come to King's Landing again. The Knight of the Hundred Flowers said, "These bandits ...... Or rather, the soldiers, their purpose is obvious, murder and arson, cruel methods, to force the elderly and women to come to King's Landing to report the crime. ”

"Wait a minute!" said Littlefinger, "you just said you were a little slower, and the officer shot an arrow at your son?"

"Yes, sir. The farmer was trembling, not knowing whether it was fear or sadness.

"Then how can you still see that they shot your son a dozen more arrows, and they all shot them in the hands and feet. Didn't you immediately flee with your wife and daughter when the officer shot the first arrow?"

"My lord, I tried my best to escape, but my hands and feet were weak, and I couldn't walk fast at all, and my wife couldn't move a single step, so I could only flee with her on my back. The officer, who was disgusted that we were too slow and too abrasive, said that he would punish us for our arrogance, and ordered the soldiers to shoot my youngest son for amusement, and not to shoot him with an arrow, saying that it would be merciful for him to bleed to death naturally...... To this day, my youngest son's pleading and screaming echo in my ears. ”

"Who are they?, what crests do you see, and what flags are they flying?" asked the Knight of the Hundred Flowers.

"My lord, I saw the golden lion banner and the scorpion-tailed beast. The farmer shuddered.

"The Golden Lion Banner, that's the banner of Duke Tywin of the West, and the Sphinage Manticore, whose crest is that?" said the Flower Knight.

"It's the banner of the Rocky family in the West, and the sphinage is the crest of the Rocky family. In the Lodge family, Sir Amori Lodge was the leading general. Ed said indifferently.

In the crowd of people, the cries of many women rang out, getting louder and louder, and they were sternly stopped by the courtiers who were in charge of maintaining order!

The Great Master sent Sir to stand up from the seat of the Imperial Minister: "Prime Minister, Sir Loras, all the Imperial Ministers, if the Amori Lodge sent by the Duke of Tywin came out to attack the people of the Riverlands, they would definitely wear ordinary armor, they would never fly the banner of Duke Tywin, and Sir Amori would not wear a family crest, and would not and would not dare to do these vicious things under the banner of the Lodge family, this must be someone deliberately framing Duke Tywin." ”

Littlefinger looked thoughtfully at Ed on the Iron Throne: "Prime Minister, the national teacher is very reasonable!"

The Knight of the Hundred Flowers, Loras Tyrell, sneered: "Master Guoshi, do you mean that it was Earl Edmuthully himself who sent soldiers to slaughter his own people, and then blamed Lord Tywin in the West?"

The Great Master Paisel touched his long snow-white beard tremblingly: "Sir Loras, I think that the soldiers who committed this attack are the same as the people who set fire to the crops and villages of the Rushing Plains last time, as for who this group is, I don't know, but I can infer from common sense that they will definitely not be from the West." If it were them, they wouldn't be flying the banner of the West with great fanfare. ”

The Knight of the Hundred Flowers said: "Master Guoshi, since the news of Lady Caitlyn Tully having captured the little demon spread, don't you know that Edmure of the Riverlands is mobilizing his vassals to gather in the Trident River? ”

Ed was sitting on the high iron throne, and he saw someone sneaking out of the throne hall, it must be the guy who went to report to Queen Cersei, and Ed was not sure which of the many courtiers in this hall were the queen's people.

Ed shouted: "Don't argue, who can confirm the origin of those soldiers, come out and explain." ”

A stocky man with bandages on his head and arms stepped out under the steps of the Iron Throne, led by three courtiers.

"Prime Minister, I'm sure they're not robbers. "First of all, they didn't take anything, they threw everything into the fire. ”

Ed nodded, which gave the man the strength to keep talking.

"They can't be bandits, bandits need food, they like to collect gold and silver jewelry, but they don't want food, they don't go door to door to collect silver deer and bronze stars, and the nobles in the town are not robbed at home,"

"The nobles of the town?"

"Yes, my lord, we are Oak Town, and there are several barons in the town. ”

"What happened to these people?"

"They were all killed, and the soldiers were especially cruel to the nobles, and they showed no mercy to the nobles' guards. I saw with my own eyes that a family of nobles was all driven into the fire, and they did not spare even the children. ”

"Kill the nobles? It could not be Edmuthully who directed and acted to frame the Lannisters of the West. The Knight of the Hundred Flowers said proudly, looking at the national teacher of Paisil with contempt for the accuracy of his judgment.

"It's clear that this can't be directed and acted by Edmuel Tully, no one would be so stupid, and it can't be the Westlander Lannisters, and they won't be so stupid." ”

"Master Kuni, I'm sure it's the Lannisters of the West. "I'm a blacksmith, and I used to run a blacksmith shop in Lanniport West, and I'm familiar with the accent of the Westside, and of course the Westside's accent doesn't say much, but I know the general who broke into Oak Town and burned him, and he was none other than Lord Amorillich." ”

Coax!

There was a stir in the throne hall!

"Prime Minister, the testimony of a blacksmith is dishonorable and not credible. He's lying, and I can see that we should hang him as a liar. ”

"I dare to pledge my life and honor, and swear a poisonous oath in front of the Seven Holy Churches, and lead my army to the general who came to Oak Town to be burned and killed, I am 100% sure that it is Sir Amori Lodge. ”

"A blacksmith's honor?" said the Great Master Pixiel with a contemptuous scoff.

"Master Paischer, I have my own judgment, and I beg you not to interrupt the blacksmith's statement. Prime Minister Ed said in a deep voice, "Blacksmith, go on. ”

"Sir Amoriloch rode on his horse, and made his soldiers form a large circle, and they put the man who had caught him into the circle, and then the Amoritic knight rode after him. He deliberately slashed the man in the arm, on the back, and on the shoulder, and drove him like an animal until the man fell to the ground, and then he cut off the poor man's head with a sword, and then he went in with another captive for him to torture and amuse. ”

Littlefinger said, "Blacksmith, I'm curious where you were hiding in the midst of such a killing?"

"My lord, I was drinking in my blacksmith shop, when I heard the noise I thought it was a bandit coming, I picked up my axe and rushed out of the blacksmith shop, but I was met by a neat line of soldiers, I threw away my axe and turned and fled, and then I was hit with a sword on my head and arm, and I immediately fell to the ground and pretended to be dead, and the soldiers laughed and passed by me, and the seven gods took care of me, and no one aimed at me to mend my sword again. Later, I heard and saw all this. I got up and fled quietly while Sir Amori Lodge was taking pleasure in his circle. ”

"Ouch, it's terrible, it's cruel. Varys said as a woman, holding her fingers in front of her mouth.

Ed couldn't sit still, and involuntarily leaned forward, his fingers touching the cold metal. Between each of his fingers was a blade, the tip of a curved sword that stretched out like a claw from the armrest of the throne. Three centuries later, some of these blades are still as sharp as razors. This chair can kill people, and if the legend is true, it has actually killed people such as Meg I.

"Even Sir Amori Lodge is not so stupid. One courtier couldn't help but express his opinion. His name was Marco Peper and he was short-tempered and very aggressive. He was young, a nobleman of the Riverlands, and a good friend of Prime Minister Eddard's brother-in-law, Edmuthuri. Edmure has a high prestige and popularity among the younger generation of nobles in the Riverlands. This Marco Piper did not assume that he was an Amorilloch of the West, because of the blacksmith's testimony.

"My lord, they are all riding war horses. The blacksmith calmly replied, "I worked as a horse boy before the blacksmithing, and I can see the difference. None of the horses they rode were ploughed over the fields, and I dare swear by the gods old and new. ”

"Bandits on war horses," Little Finger smiled narrowly, "bandits can't afford to raise many war horses, and it's entirely possible that the war horses were snatched by the bandits from somewhere else." As for the military flag and the family coat of arms, anyone who wants to do it can make any family coat of arms and any pattern of military flags, and the testimony of the blacksmith may lead us away from the truth. “