"We've all been tricked by that fellow!" said Jon Royce, who had summoned the princes of the Vale who had been banished to the Wall with him, and said to them in a filled rage, "that he had announced that he would not participate in the election and leave Castle Black, and everyone thought that he was a man who had seen the form and chosen to be the one who knew the times. But everyone was wrong, he didn't give up at all, but took advantage of the fact that we were all focused on the election - to go to the north to do something, and to find the Stark family to take advantage of the situation!"

"Relax, old fellow. Robb Stark only announced that he was coming to the North to make a round, but not necessarily to support Egger West's land-grant resettlement program...... In fact, when he finished watching the wild men, he might not be able to oppose it. ”

"That's true, but how can those big-headed soldiers who are eating and waiting to die on the Great Wall have such judgment? They will only see Egger run to the south, and then the current family members in the north will follow him back to the Great Wall! I have some friendship with Robb's old son Eddard, and the two generations of the Stark family are known for their loyalty and honesty, and it is easy to deceive to say that it is ugly! When encountering a cunning and bottomless scum like Egger, I am afraid that I will be sold and help people pay for it. ”

Another Vale nobleman nodded solemnly: "Lord Yorn has a point, the North has always been the strongest backing for the defenders of the Great Wall, and the Night's Watch is nominally under the jurisdiction of anyone, but in fact they are all under the control of Operation Snort in the North. Even if Robb Stark came to the Wall and didn't say or do anything, there would be a lot of ill-willed and imaginative people at Castle Black who would have voted for Warner Bookwell because of his 'come with Iger' move—"

"No, vote for Iger. Old Royce continued, "As expected, Buckwell is just a shadow of that kid. When he returns to Castle Black, he will announce his candidacy for commander-in-chief. And Warner will take the opportunity to withdraw from the election, and the original vote for him will be in that guy's name in an instant, plus some of the night watchmen at Castle Black will change their minds-"

"But he has publicly announced that he will not participate in the election, and he has ...... his word."

"There is no law that prohibits mid-term running, and in fact, any sworn night watchman can announce his candidacy any day, or even any point in time, before the next commander-in-chief is elected. "I even dare to conclude that he will not publicly announce his re-candidacy, but will let his doglegs play a disgusting drama like 'the other brothers have nominated him' and 'he has to accept what he wants'!"

......

"I have to say that it is extremely feasible for him to do so. There was a brief silence in the room for a few seconds before someone spoke again, "Who made us waste two full months without electing a commander-in-chief?" Many of the night watchmen at Castle Black are tired of canvassing and elections day after day, and someone has stepped forward to stir things up...... Those who don't care who is the commander-in-chief in the first place, maybe just for the freshness and pleasure of a new one, will vote for the new entrant!"

"Even if all the soldiers in the whole of Castle Black voted for him, he would not have more than two-thirds of the votes - the two commanders, Carter and Dennis, had more than four hundred votes in their hands. ”

"You fool, don't you see it yet? What that guy wants is that the Night's Watch can't choose the next leader, he's the chief logistics officer, and only the commander-in-chief can order him to terminate the land grant settlement plan - he can get on with his plans and continue to be his goddamn king of the savages as long as he holds on to the votes that might have gone to either Carter or Dennis, and makes it impossible for those two stubborn old fellows to win!"

Someone finally pointed out the only way out: "Carter Peck and Sir Dennis Mellister...... Someone had to convince one of them to support the other and vote for the other to end the election immediately in order to end the damn land-grant resettlement program. ”

"Carter Pike and Sir Dennis hated each other. Lord Tampton shook his head regretfully, "They would rather throw their votes into the sea than vote for each other." ”

"Indeed, if you really have the ability to convince them to vote for each other, it is better to save effort and go directly to persuade Iger to abandon his land-grant resettlement plan. Another old nobleman snorted, "At least the latter task is a little easier." ”

"You old guys!" Jonn muttered grumblingly, then quickly realized that he couldn't keep messing with these people any longer.

If you don't want to see the despicable man who killed his own son and broke the principle of neutrality and offered King Robert a plan to break through the bloody gate and get him here, he must find a way to get the results of this campaign before Iger returns.

Jon Royce decided to get into action right away.

＊＊＊

The commander of Donghaiwang was lean, sturdy and tough, but not handsome at all: two small eyes were too close together, his nose was broken, and the center of his forehead protruded from the spear-like hairline. The measles completely ruined his face, and the beard he had grown to cover it was sparse and disheveled.

When Jonn found him again, Carter was playing dice with three of his men in the shield hall, and when he saw the former leader of the Righteous Alliance coming over, he didn't even look up: "You want to convince me to vote for someone else?"

"Yes, but this time it's different from last time......"

"It's no different, and my answer remains the same: no. Carter Pike snorted coldly: "I know, you are a nobleman, and I am an illegitimate child, so even if I work with you in the East Sea, you still prefer Mellister, who is also a nobleman." But—alas, I won't talk much nonsense with you, go back and tell him that this is not a curse: he is too old, and if we choose him, it is likely that in less than a year we will have to come back and choose again. ”

"No, my lord—"

"Have you ever asked what he plans to do when he becomes commander-in-chief? Write letters to the ghouls? He's a good knight, in the truest sense of the word, but he's not a warrior, and he's too old - I don't care who he knocked off his horse at a stupid jousting tournament fifty years ago, the blind old man knows: the Shadow Tower's defenses were all carried by Colin with the severed palm. We're now dealing with ghouls and a horde of wildlings who have gone through the walls, and we need strong and combative leaders more than ever!" Pike slapped the table indignantly, "Tell you, Lord Bronze Yorn, I'm not a goddamn commander at all, I grew up on the deck, and the East Sea is the best place for me - but if you hand over the Night's Watch to the Shadow Tower's well-dressed eagle, the Wall's defenses will be over!"

"Your Excellency, you have said these things more than once. Jon raised his voice to interrupt Carter Pike's chatter, "I already know your attitude: I will never vote for Sir Dennis Mellister, if it were anyone else, would you consider it?"

"Who, Powen Marcy, this guy who can only count spoons, not to mention Auxer, who is accustomed to obedience, and does whatever the commander-in-chief tells him to do, and now that Mormont is dead, he listens to Powen Marthy again—"

"Me. "If it were me, would you consider it?"

"You?" Carter Pike stopped complaining in surprise, stared at the other party for a long time, and shook his head: "No, no, no, no, your qualifications are too shallow, you have only been a member of the Night's Watch for only a year, and your rival Egger West is older than you." ”

"Even if I joined the night watch yesterday, I'm eligible to run. Yorn retorted unceremoniously, "When Elder Xiong was successfully elected commander-in-chief, he didn't wear black clothes for many years, and he was able to be successfully elected by virtue of the aristocratic status of the former Earl of Bear Island, the experience and ability to manage a side and lead troops to fight, and the bloodline of the Mormont family and the princes of the northern realm who broke bones and tendons!

Royce has the same ancestral blood as the Stark family, he is also the former Earl of Runestone, nicknamed Bronze Jon, his ability and experience are undoubted, and his bloodline and birth are also famous and noble enough...... Carter Pike frowned and thought for a moment, but he really couldn't find any reason to refute it. It took a long time before he came up with a question: "Elder Xiong volunteered to join the night watch, and you, who failed in the rebellion and were forced to put on black clothes." ”

"King Robert called it 'rebellion,' but ...... Swear to the gods, old and new, that we only wanted to drive Lysa Tully, who murdered our lord, out of the valley, and the whole of the Seven Kingdoms understood what was going on. ”

"Don't talk about rebellion or rebellion, you are indeed eligible to run for election. Carter waved his hand and motioned for several subordinates to put away the dice and coins and leave: "But what are you going to use to convince me to vote for you with the two hundred votes in my hand?"

"Because you can't win the position of commander-in-chief if you go on like this, and I can offer a better option, and that is - the three of us will rule together. Jon Royce raised his head and said what he had in mind: "You are good at handling ships and fighting, and Sir Mellister is good at dealing with noble kings, these skills can be used by the Night's Watch Legion, let me be the honorary commander-in-chief, you are still in charge of the East Sea Lookout, Sir Mellister is still in charge of the Shadow Tower, and the other major matters of the Night's Watch Legion, we will discuss and decide together, how about it?"

"Whew-" Carter chuckled, not answering immediately.

"Sir Mellister has said that if you agree to this plan, he will vote for me, and if you get two hundred more votes from the Night's Watch at Castle Black, it will be a great thing. Royce gritted his teeth and told a big lie. "Egger West has been out of Winterfell for a few days, and will be back at Castle Black in two days, and I hope to hear from you soon. ”

......

The Commander of the Shadow Tower was born under the Hung Bell Tower in Haijiang City, and is a Mellister through and through. The collar and cuffs of his black velvet tunic were trimmed with mink, and his cloak was buttoned by the talons of a silver eagle. His beard was snow-white, his hair was mostly lost, and his face was deeply wrinkled, but he was still agile in his movements, and his mouth still had teeth, and his blue-gray eyes had not dimmed or detracted from his noble temperament.

"Lord Jorn. When Jon entered the Spear Tower, where the Shadow Tower delegation lived, the old nobleman was the first to greet him, "The Royce and Mellister families have been friends since ancient times, and we have known each other decades ago...... I sincerely hope that you are not here to convince me to vote for Carter Peck. No offense, but it should be Parker who should quit. I have more votes than him, and I am more suitable than him. ”

"You are indeed more suitable than him. Jon Royce nodded, determined to make his intentions known quickly, so as not to be forced to listen to a bunch of nonsense like he did when he persuaded Pike: "But you and Carter Pike have been enemies for too long, and he fears that when you come to power and become commander, you will deprive him of his position as commander in the East Sea." ”

"What would he say?" Dennis glanced at Yorn in surprise, "You and I both know that a decent person would never engage in such a dirty affair as a personal vendetta." Tell him that if I win, he can keep his position. ”

"Of course I believe in you as a person, Sir Mellister. Jon spread his hands helplessly," Carter Pike didn't say he was worried about, and I could see everything. He was born in the Iron People, and grew up on deck watching rape and killing, and experiencing intrigues...... Violence and suspicion are in his bones, and he will not accept your promise, believe it or not. ”

"That's a shame. "Carter Pike is an admirable warrior, but you and I are of noble birth, and we should know very well that some things cannot be solved by the sword alone. The commander-in-chief of the Night's Watch must be a leader, not a general, and must have connections, the ability to communicate with other nobles, and the ability to deal with trouble—it must be convincing and respectful. ”

Old Sir leaned back in his chair: "I am not greedy for power, and in the last election, when the name of Lord Mormont was proposed, I gave it up with all my heart. Earlier, I had made way for Lord Cogle—I would be content as long as the Night's Watch was in reliable hands. But unfortunately, I couldn't convince myself to make way for Pike from Tokai Wang. ”

"I understand and understand your concerns, Sir Mellister. Jon Royce nodded: "But if the commanders of the Shadow Tower and the Eastern Sea Lookout continue to hold on to their own votes, the Night's Watch will not be able to elect a commander-in-chief next year." In that case, our Chief Logistics Officer will continue to play with his 'land grant and resettlement plan' again until the wildlings finally destroy the Night's Watch. ”

"If you can't choose, keep choosing, until I die or Pike changes his mind—it's not without precedent in history. Sir Mellister, who had no son "killed" by Egger, shrugged: "As for Iger and his savages, they won't last long, and there won't be enough food. ”

"There is not enough food. Jon nodded, "But once Iger can't feed those wildlings, do you think he'll send them away?" In case he dragged the mob into storming Castle Black, without the cover of the Great Wall, the Night's Watch would not be able to resist the onslaught of tens of thousands of savages. ”

Mellister frowned and thought for a few seconds, then nodded: "It's really worth worrying about, what advice do you have for this?"

"I have a good proposal to offer – three people to do. "I, who have neither a personal grudge nor a great friendship with both of you, shall be the Honorary Commander-in-Chief, to exercise the power of the Supreme Leader of the Night's Watch to call off the land grant and retaining the positions of the two commanders, and the affairs of the Legion shall be decided by the three of us together." ”

After a pause, he added, "Carter Peck has already said that if you agree to vote for me, he will join in." ”

——