All eyes were on Egger.

He was sent south by Mormont as a logistics officer, and was absent from the Great Wall for a long time, resulting in a natural lack of grounding among the brothers in black, so that Commander Mormont, who supported him, immediately fell into trouble when he had an accident...... However, there is something to be gained, and what he did during his time on a business trip was much more than "planting the cash cow of the Night's Watch industry in King's Landing" - taking advantage of the opportunity of Robert to convene the Seven Kingdoms to quell the rebellion, and making friends with almost all of Westeros' aristocracy, relying on public opinion and public appearance to create personal popularity and improve the image of the Night Watch, and using the convenience of his position and leisure time to understand the customs and political ecology of the Seven Kingdoms, the general trend of the world is under control......

All of this led to one result: the same Night's Watchman, whose fame and recognition were far from being comparable to those of other Night's Watch high-ranking or fortress commanders who also wore the title of "Chief".

Not to mention anything else, almost all the northern nobles present recognized him, and understanding and connecting with him was by no means as simple as a face and a name.

Gabbert Glover smiled at Egger and nodded, "Lord Logistics, you took back to Fort Deep and rescued my brother's family, and captured Asha Greyjoy and gave me hostage, I owe you more than one favor. It stands to reason that I shouldn't embarrass you...... But the stakes are so high that if the situation I see during my inspection in the next two days is too outrageous, I will also be a selfless person. ”

"That's nature. Iger nodded gratefully at the speaker, he had led his troops to relieve the siege of Deep-Limburg, and now he had jumped out of the hat of Commander Mormont's heir to take the initiative to claim responsibility, but was it just for this sentence?

At this time, Luce Bolton also interjected lightly: "We have all seen the skills and brains of the chief logistics officer, and I think that it is really not a problem for him to level a wild man." ”

......

If Count Glover's support was expected by Egger, then the old skinning suddenly came up with such a compliment at this time, which made him a little flattered and confused, is this the truth, or is it a deliberate gesture to get closer to the Stark family because he understands his relationship with the Starks?

Egger had hanged one of his bastards, Rams Snow, posing as a stink, in Crown Town a few months earlier. In retrospect, there were two men in this little black castle whose sons had died because of him, and Jon Royce had already regarded himself as an enemy, and now faced another Luce Burton...... If you ask for help, you have to say that you are not hypocritical. For now, one can only hope that this guy still thinks that Rams was killed by the Winterfell army led by Ser Rodric, and that the one who sent him to the Wall is a real stink.

Judging from the memory of the plot and what he had heard, it seemed that Luce Burton did not know the situation, not to mention that he was now married to a woman of the Frey family, and he was pregnant with an orthodox child in his belly...... Most of them will not track down the whereabouts of their bastard son, who was executed by the Starks.

Before the inspection began, two of the four families were obviously inclined to Egger, which seemed to be a coincidence, but it was actually an inevitable result. The conservatives who saw all this in their eyes looked extremely pale, exchanged glances with each other silently, and did not speak again.

"Okay, believe me, I know more about Egger's skills than everyone here, but I must see it for me. Robb Stark waved his hand and interrupted the discussion: "Okay, today's dinner is for the four adults to wash the wind and dust, business or something, let's not talk about it." I would like to give you a glass first, I wish you all the elders health and safety, and I also hope that the winter will be short and the summer will be long!"

In a cold place, the toast is also distinctive, this is a commonly used blessing in the north, and it is also the sincere wish of most people in the north, everyone present followed the action of the north guardian and raised the wine glass: "May the winter be short, and the summer will stay long!"

......

Although Robb was young, he had already made his own prestige with the two wars, and he said that he would not talk about business first, so everyone did not mention it during the rest of the banquet. The Northern Princes were unaware of the battle between the conservatives and reformers of the Night's Watch - in fact, most of them, with the exception of someone like Luce Burton, who had a more sinister eye and a more sensitive sense of smell, probably didn't even know that the Night's Watch was divided into two factions.

The pleasure of returning alive from the South, with a great deal of spoils of war and countless glory, had not yet faded, and at this moment it was on the territory of the night watchman, who had ever been closest to them, surrounded by the warm air of the fireplace and the full sense of security, and they were quickly in a state of eating meat and drinking in large bowls.

As the wine was hot, Earl Glover suddenly remembered something, put down his glass, turned his head to Robb, and said, "Lord Robb, there is one more thing that I have to report to you...... No, no, no, it has nothing to do with the Great Wall, it's the Iron Islands. I brought Asha Greyjoy, whom Master Iger had captured in Fort Deepwood, back to the castle to be exchanged for Robett's two children, but before we could send the letter requesting the exchange of prisoners, the pirates sent Gavin and Aina back in advance. ”

"Huh?" Robb also put down his glass, curious, "This is impossible, how many days is the voyage from the Iron Islands to Deepwood...... Two children...... I mean, are they okay?"

"Except for a little grievance, there is no lack of hands or feet - in fact, not a single hair is missing. The father of the two children, Robette Glover, replied with a shrug of his shoulders, and from his relaxed expression, it was clear that the two children were indeed fine. "The Iron Folk who sent them back also brought back a message from Uncle Asha Greyjoy - let's release the pirate and don't send her back to the Iron Islands. ”

＊＊＊

The hall was still lively, but the table full of key people was quiet, and the night watchmen who had been on the Wall for a long time had no idea what the northern nobles were discussing, and the rest of the northern people were ...... Including Egg, he completely fell into the situation where the second monk was confused.

Since Aegon conquered the continent on a dragon, the conflict between the Seven Kingdoms has decreased in frequency and intensity compared to before unification. But the feudal nature of Westeros remained unchanged: among the noble lords, there were some conventions that were as sacrosanct as the modern people shouted that "all men are equal" - and the way in which captives were treated and disposed of was an important part.

In war, no one can guarantee victory, and everyone can be captured alive. The nobles wanted to be fed and clothed when they were captured, to gain basic respect, and finally to return home in peace...... Treat others for themselves, and when dealing with the captives they capture, the nobles often guarantee a certain amount of treatment. It is called "chivalry", even if the essence is "do not do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

Among them, especially in the exchange of prisoners, the nobles have a complete set of unspoken rules:

What level of captivity, what level of price code corresponds to. Commoners, Knights, Lords...... From a few silver coins to thousands of gold dragons, the more prominent the status and the richer the family, the more ransom it is worth.

In addition to the ransom, there is also an exchange, and that is "people for people".

Captives of the same level can be exchanged for each other - head of the family for the head of the family, heir for heir, ordinary member for ordinary member, if there is a clear imbalance between each other, then one can also be exchanged for many, or at one exchange time add some golden dragons as a sign of fairness.

For example, in the original plot, Jaime Lannister was captured in the Battle of the Whispering Forest, and if the Starks traded him for Eddard Stark, their own patriarch, it would be a bargain. Cersei and Paisher refused to exchange prisoners outright, instead demanding that Eddard wear black and retire from politics as an "add-on" to this unequal bargain.

But the truth is that the plan went awry at the last step, and Ed was beheaded by Joffrey's idiot, and there was no way to change it.

Negotiations break down and the two sides continue to fight desperately, and Caitlin Tully instead hopes to exchange the Kingkiller for her two daughters. Unfortunately, this is a completely unacceptable exchange: Jaime is the only son of Tywin, the heir to the West, and one of the most famous skilledmen in the Seven Kingdoms and one of the enemy's main generals. The political and military significance of controlling him is by no means equal to that of the two daughters of the Stark family...... It's not about feelings, it's a recognized fact.

Robb knew this and continued to detain Jaime despite his worries about his two sisters.

......

But in this world, is it a fair deal for the North to trade Asha Greyjoy for Robette Glover's children?

The Greyjoy family is the lord family of the Iron Isles, and Asha is considered the heir by Baron, and her rank is "Duke Heir", which is the same rank as Jaime.

On the northern side, Robett is not the lord of Deepwood, but the younger brother of Earl Glover, the latter's heir. His children are important members of the family, but they are not the most central people...... Not even at the level of "Count's Heir", but only the child of the "Count's Heir".

It seems that this is a completely unequal exchange, and even if it is one for two, the north will suffer a big loss.

Thankfully, Asha's situation is unique, she is not a normal "Duke Heir" level captive. In this patriarchal world, her daughter's status has automatically lowered her value by one order, and the Iron Islands have changed internally, and her uncle has taken over the throne. A woman who can no longer inherit the Iron Islands has also fallen to the level of "important but not core".

Now, using her for the two children of the Glover family, a boy and a girl, has become a fair deal.

＊＊＊

A fair deal is often satisfying to both parties, and a deal that is satisfactory to both parties is usually not a problem - this means that as long as the Iron Islands agree to exchange prisoners and send the two children back, the Deepwood Castle will definitely follow the agreement and hand Ashaan into the hands of the people who came to pick her up safely, without the slightest thought of tearing up the ticket or breaking the contract.

But now the strange thing is that before the negotiations began, the Iron Islands took the initiative to send back the two children and threw away all their chips.

How can there be such a pie-in-the-sky good thing in the world?

Even the always expressionless Ruce Bolton had a confused look on his face: "This doesn't make sense, why did the Greyjoy family do that?"

"After some inquiries and investigations, I did have some eyebrows. This was not the meaning of the Greyjoy family, but the personal decision of Roderick Harlow, Asha's uncle - her mother's brother, the leader of Harlow Island and Ten Towers, and the patriarch of the Harlow family. In the lingua franca of Westeros, there is no distinction between uncle and uncle, which is why Robett explains: "We all know that if Asha returns to the Iron Islands in a prisoner exchange, there is a good chance that she will be placed under house arrest or even killed by the madman of her uncle, Euron Greyjoy." Rodric probably didn't want his niece to end up like this, so he took matters into his own hands and sent the chips back before we reached an agreement with Euron. ”

"I see, it's really touching. Robb had heard the story of the scholar Rodric, and nodded after hearing it: "Since the child is fine, then you can release her as promised, and you don't need to report to me." ”

"No, my lord, that's what I thought. If I release Asha, she will be left homeless, and it is likely that she will gather some stragglers to start a pirate camp on the west coast of the North—which will not be good for my North, so I order her to be sent back to Winterfell to wait for your fate. ”

......

Robb frowned unhappily: "Since they sent the child back, how can we break our promise because of some inexplicable worries and bear the stigma of untrustworthiness?

Luce Bolton didn't drink much, and he shook his head calmly: "My lord, didn't you hear Glover's words clearly-the Harlow family sent the child back before the deep-limbrough issued a request for an exchange of prisoners, and the two sides have not yet begun negotiations, and there is no agreement, so naturally they cannot break their promises." We don't let people go, and there are no problems at all. ”

"Haven't you started negotiations yet?" Robb was relieved, and after a deep sigh, he spoke again, "That's good, what do you adults think I should do with him?" ”

"It's a hundred to kill her, and it costs an extra person to feed her. ”

"Keep it, the Iron Islands are at war under the leadership of the madman of Euron, and maybe they will get us on our heads in the future, and if one of them is captured, how many people can be replaced!"

"Crow's Eye wishes we could lock up her niece for the rest of our lives, and we can change a fart!"

"Not to mention anything else, the prisoners of the Harlo family can definitely be exchanged for two. ”

"Haha, Asha's nerdy uncle took it upon himself to send the two children of the Glover family back, the 'King of the Iron Islands' must be so angry that he will die, he should think about how to save his life first, and then consider that we will come to the north to grab money and food!"

......

The princes of the North chattered and chattered, while Iger silently fiddled with the food on his plate with his fork, not saying a word.

Before the prisoner exchange began, the two Glover children were released, which seemed strange, but it was explained that it was actually what it was. It can be summed up in one sentence: the intricate factional struggles within the Iron Islands.

Asha's significance to the Iron Isles is what Joffrey means to Westeros and especially the Lannisters: once the time comes, she can be added to her yellow robe and used to make a big deal - those Iron Isles, who are still secretly opposed to Crow-Eyed Eulon, don't want Asha to be killed by Euron for such an unknown reason.

With what he knew about Robb, he couldn't do such a thing as killing a prisoner...... But if Asha is really released, there is a good chance that this woman will think of defecting to the dragon mother, and if the enemy of the north returns to Westeros with the true dragon banner and the three dragons of the Targaryen family in the future, it will definitely be a big trouble for the north and herself.

Egger's heart brightened, but it really had nothing to do with him, so he ate melons and watched the play peacefully, and observed the other night watchmen at the table by the way.

But all of a sudden, things became related to him.

"Wait, isn't Asha Greyjoy captured by our Chief Logistics Officer, Lord Egger, why hasn't anyone wanted to ask for his opinion after a long day of discussion?"

——