More than eighty percent of the night watchmen in Castle Black had heard the news, and the hall was gathering more and more...... In addition to many of the Night's Watch soldiers who knew him or were just familiar with him, Egg also saw Melisandre, the red-robed woman he hadn't seen in a long time, and the Queens who had followed her. Even Maester Aemon, who had aged so much that he could barely walk, entered the arena with Sam's support.

Iger glanced around, and an imperceptible smile appeared on his lips.

(Very good, the front is just a warm-up, and the show is only about to start now.) ）

He's not just about Jon Royce, it's a devastating battle, leaving no room for retreat, and the more people you can witness, the better.

......

"In this cellar, the 998th Commander-in-Chief of the Night's Watch is being elected, and that number is likely to be watery, so let's leave it aside for the time being, let's just assume that the Night's Watch has had hundreds of Commanders-in-Chief. This dialogue has not been rehearsed, and the lines are only known by himself, so naturally no one can come out in time to cooperate or be a support, and Iger can only ask himself: "Among these hundreds of commanders, except for the nickname 'Night King', an unknown commander who was finally eliminated by the king of the north and the outside world, Rensay Hightower, who tried to pass on the position of commander-in-chief to his illegitimate son, and Roderick Flinter, who wanted to become the king of the savages...... In addition to the commander-in-chief whose name has been left in the history books because of dereliction of duty and ambition, how many commanders-in-chief whose names have been buried in the long river of history are qualified? Sam, can you answer this question?"

Sam didn't expect to be called by name, but now that Maester Aemon, Jon, and Egg were all present, he still didn't dare to face the two commanders, but he was much more confident and clear-minded. After thinking about it, he roughly understood what Iger meant, and cautiously said: "If the criterion is 'whether or not the duty of guarding the Great Wall has been fulfilled', given that the Great Wall has never been lost...... I think most of these commanders are qualified. ”

"I think so too, the word 'qualified' is so cheap that I would feel insulted if someone said that about me. We're now dealing with the Wraith, and the never-before-seen army of the dead it leads, Sam, could you please answer the question: how many times have they attacked the Night's Watch in their long history?"

"No, the only mention is the story of the Thirteenth Legion Commander-in-Chief who was seduced and corrupted by a woman who seemed to be a ghost, and ruled the Long Night Castle as his own kingdom for thirteen years. He is the Night King you mentioned earlier, and after being defeated and killed by the Cypriot and the King of the North, it was discovered that he had offered sacrifices to the Wraiths...... But these accounts are all based on unreliable sources, and if I had to say anything, I'd rather be conservative in believing that the Wraiths never really attacked the Wall in a big way since the Night's Watch was formed. ”

＊＊＊

Egger nodded at the answerer and turned to look at all the brothers, "I don't dare to boast of Sam's fighting skills or courage, but I believe in his extensive reading and memory!

The blind scholar shook his head and replied tremblingly, "There is nothing to add except that the account of the thirteenth commander-in-chief is unknown and cannot express an opinion." ”

"The Night's Watch was born after the Battle of Dawn. At that time, the Wraiths had been driven back to the Land of Eternal Winter by the human coalition led by Athor Ahai...... The first Commander-in-Chief was most likely one of the heroes of the war, but unfortunately he had not yet been given the status of Night's Watch when he fought the Wraiths. The only record of the appearance of the Alien is that the 13th Commander-in-Chief was corrupted and degenerated. Well, our conclusion is out: no Commander-in-Chief in history has ever led the Night's Watch to repel a massive attack by the Wraiths!"

Carter Pike frowned in displeasure and asked in a rough voice, "What do you want to say?"

"Not long ago, the army of the dead attacked Castle Black, and countless ghouls scorched by fuel and wildfire are still in the snow, and you can see them when you go to the city. This is a situation that no Night's Watch Commander has ever faced, and what we need now is not a 'possibly qualified' commander, but a leader who has the will and the ability to turn the tide and lead the Night's Watch to victory in this battle of ice and fire!"

......

The hall was still silent, but there were many times more people than when Egger first arrived, and even the loudest chatter eventually converged into a subtle humming background sound when the numbers added up. A few seconds after Egger's words fell, Carter Pike laughed, "You think you're the leader who can 'lead the Night's Watch to victory in this battle of ice and fire'? ”

"A deserter, a thief, a man who likes boys, and a shameless man who ignores the rules of the Night's Watch and meddles in the internal affairs of a large number of Seven Kingdoms, also wants to get his hands on the position of Commander-in-Chief?" Jon Royce finally found the point of trouble, "You may indeed have some skills in logistics, but your character is so bad that you are really not worthy to lead such a noble group as the Night's Watch!"

"It is true that I was forced to join the Night's Watch because of theft, but not because of the heinous sin, but because I was shipwrecked and drifted to Westeros without understanding the language, and whether or not I was a deserter is determined by Commander Mormont, Lord Bunyan Stark, and even the late Duke Eddard Stark, and I don't know where you heard the disgusting rumor that I like boys. If there is evidence, please show it, if there is no evidence, please shut up!" As for these nonsense accusations, just deny them completely, and it is up to the onlookers to decide who to believe, and all Iger has to do is to always be overwhelming: "We are here to talk about who has the power to lead the Night's Watch through the difficult situation, but Lord Royce is just using some nonsense to carry out personal attacks...... I'm beginning to suspect now that Your Excellency is not only incompetent, but also has a problem with his personal morality!"

After spraying one, ignoring the former Earl of Runestone City who was still waiting to fight back with his mouth open, Egg did not hesitate to turn his gun to the other, not giving the enemy any room for rebuttal: "Two months ago, I also had doubts about my ability to lead the Night's Watch in this war, so I decided not to participate in the election, and gave up the position of commander-in-chief to two more senior and prestigious commanders. Unfortunately, after some time of waiting, I began to realize that the Night's Watch Legion had nothing I could count on at the moment—someone of sufficient qualifications and superior ability. If I don't stand up, I can only watch the inaction, with the entire legion of brethren and countless land-grant residents, rushing towards inevitable defeat and death!"

"Nothing to do?" said the Chief Affairs Officer, who had been watching the battle from the sidelines, unable to sit still, "what do you say of such good and experienced commanders as Sir Mellister and Master Carter Pike?"

Iger didn't respond to Auxer's question, didn't even look at him - threw the question directly at Sam for the second time: "May I ask, how many soldiers in their respective forts, Sir Mellister and Carter Pike, have the right to vote?"

No one was more sensitive to this data than Sam, and he replied directly without even thinking about it: "Sir Dennis Mellister can vote on behalf of the two hundred and thirty-six people who stayed in the Shadow Tower, and the number of defenders in the East Sea should be two hundred and five, and there are more than twenty people who accompanied Master Carter Pike to Castle Black, and the commander can still vote for the remaining hundred and eighty people." ”

"If you have any objections to the data, please raise them immediately. Iger scanned the crowd: "There are more than two hundred brothers each in the Shadow Tower and Donghaiwang, there are about five hundred in the Black Castle, and there are dozens of remaining mountain clansmen scattered in the newly opened fortresses along the Great Wall...... These brethren in their early 1,000s make up the entire group of the Night's Watch that are eligible to vote. Becoming the next Commander-in-Chief requires two-thirds of the votes, and for the two commanders who can vote on their behalf, the requirement is reduced to 'two-thirds minus the number of votes they can represent'. Egger sneered before continuing: "Even though the difficulty has been reduced by such a large margin, the two of them still can't tell the winner after dozens of days of fighting...... Unable to defeat the other party, and unwilling to admit defeat to support the other party, in the end had to resort to the hands of a third party to reach a compromise that is not mutually acceptable!"

"Because the election has not been won or lost for two months, you say that the participants are inactive?" Oser snorted: "Why can't it be that the candidates are too good to distinguish the best in a short period of time?"

"It's a possibility!" Iger nodded, "I thought about this, so I kept an eye on it—did you want to know the results of the investigation into the achievements and exploits of the two commanders during their tenure?"

Osser frowned, Egger's reaction was too quick and natural, and it seemed that his rebuttal seemed to be cooperating with him in his speech, could it be that he hit him on the tip of the gun?

Aware of the amalgamity, the Chief Affairs Officer persisted and refused to give up: "The two commanders have been conscientious in their duties and have never made a mistake in the defense of the fortress they are responsible for. ”

Egg smiled silently, shook his head with contempt, and looked at the Night's Watch of Castle Black, who had almost arrived, and understood that the fire was almost there: "Indeed, during the tenure of the two adults, the wildlings have never been able to cross the Great Wall through your defense zone to harass the Grant and the North. But what else? The two fortresses have not become stronger for decades, the number of surrounding subjects has not increased, and life has not been better. The soldiers of the Shadow Tower are still only taking care of the Grand Canyon and the Skull Bridge, and the ships in the East Sea have not increased even one more than a hundred years ago...... What the two of them did was to 'sweep the snow in front of their own door'. Indeed, you have done your duty, but unfortunately, the results and achievements of your dedication to your duties have not been more brilliant than any 'qualified' fortress commander in the past thousand years!"

"With all due respect. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the two commanders he had sprayed with a sharp gaze, which did not deter them, but it was enough to make the onlookers feel a stronger antagonism: "You are just relying on the majestic Great Wall built by Brandon the Builder, and a large group of subordinate soldiers who obey orders, eating and waiting for death in their respective stations, while proudly thinking that you are the most qualified and capable senator of the Night's Watch Legion. The next commander must be himself!"

......

Sir Mellister remained silent, but Carter Pike scrambled to his feet, breathing heavily, and his hands touched the position of the weapon at his waist, until he was held by two subordinates.

"In times of peace, you are qualified commanders. Iger observed where Jaime and his people of the Westlands were standing, making sure he had a way out of his way if the scene got out of hand, and then concluded the criticism without any hint of fear: "But in this once-in-a-lifetime critical moment, in terms of my values and standards...... I'm sorry, not against any one, but the two fortress commanders who were there—" he forcibly swallowed back the second half of the sentence that was all garbage, "just the ones who didn't do anything." ”

＊＊＊

The whispers were gone, and the cellar was silent.

Due to the peculiarities of the system and structure, the commanders of each fortress have great autonomy, and it is never uncommon for them to have conflicts with each other, but they usually scold each other in private, and then stumble on each other and quietly use means to compete...... In this way, in front of nearly half of the brothers of the Night's Watch, they sprayed each other to nothing, let alone see it, and they have never even heard of it.

Iger suddenly pointed the finger at the two commanders, which made Jon Royce, who had been fighting with him before, not even know for a moment whether he should continue to argue, and he couldn't use his strength. And the two old legionnaires who have been the commanders of the fortress for half a century together are still thinking about supporting the former one moment, but the next moment they suddenly become the targets of their own attacks, and they can't even organize the slightest counterattack in their astonishment.

Suddenly bombarded by this indiscriminate bombardment without psychological preparation, all the people in the conservative camp fell into a brief confusion and trance. Iger easily and completely grasped the right to speak in this solemnity: "I never thought of myself as a great person, but I single-handedly set up the Night's Watch logistics department from scratch, so that for the first time in history, the number of Night's Watch soldiers increased, so that the Brethren were truly treated like the 'Guardians of the Kingdom'...... I have even restored the vigilance and defense system of the entire Great Wall, which is what I have achieved since I became the Chief Logistics Officer of the Night Watch. ”

Of course, this is not the credit of Iger alone, but the trust, decisiveness, wisdom and big-picture vision shown by Jao Mormont throughout this process are no less than his own. When he was in trouble, he shifted all the blame to the late commander who gave the order, used the dead as a shield, and took credit from himself as a counselor when talking about merit...... To be honest, this method was a bit shameless, but for the sake of the big picture, he had to do it.

"It's a lot like arrogant rhetoric, but it's a shame that I, Egger West, have done more for the Night's Watch in the past two years for the Great Wall than the two Commanders combined. After careful investigation and reflection, I finally came to the conclusion that I am the most suitable leader of the Night's Watch at the moment. I said before that I would not participate in the election, but for the sake of the future of the defenders of the Great Wall and all of humanity, I decided to break my promise. He looked at the blind master, "Master Aemon, please arrange for my name to be added to the candidate option - brothers, if you don't want to taste despair and death, please vote for me!"

——