The Great Wall of Desperation was supposed to be a strong shield to protect humanity and the front line against extinction, but at some point, everyone subconsciously began to use it as a garbage can, stuffing one trouble after another into the Night's Watch legion...... Robb had no ill will towards the defenders of the Great Wall, but looking back, he had to admit that this was the case.

Suddenly discovering this, Rao is strong leadership momentum, and the young Northern Guardian was suddenly a little ashamed: "This problem does exist, but I promise that the Northern Border will always be the solid backing of the Night's Watch Legion." ”

Robb must be telling the truth, but there is no shortage of truth in this world, what is lacking is practical action. And with the Night's Watch Legion's protection of the North being the first priority, Egger couldn't say how grateful he was - he also thanked the Night's Watch Legion in official words and continued to stare at the other party.

......

After looking at each other for a few seconds for the second time, probably knowing why Egger didn't say goodbye again, Robb smiled first: "It's really nothing this time, do you have any other questions to ask?"

The talks should have ended long ago. Egg was about to stand up and say goodbye for the third time, but subconsciously thought about Robb's question and realized that he really had a question to ask.

Something that I am not qualified to ask, but which does have a lot to do with the Night's Watch: Will the army of the North gather again to the south, far from the Desperate Wall, to participate in the war of Stannis Baratheon to defend his throne?

It was definitely a military secret, but Iger asked anyway. Anyway...... With the Night's Watch and the North, the worst result of his relationship with Robb is that he refuses to answer.

Robb's face changed a few times, and he looked at Egg with a strange expression.

After a few seconds of hesitation, he decided to answer truthfully: "I'll tell you the truth, can you keep your mouth shut?"

"Of course, who can I leak my secrets to? ”

With the backing of the Night's Watch and their most reliable ally in the upcoming battle of Fire and Ice, there is no reason for Iger to betray the Starks.

"Before returning from the south to the north, I received a secret letter from the southern tip of the continent. The letter was written by Prince Dorne Martell, the de facto ruler of Dorne...... He gave me a proposal: if the North withdrew from the battlefield, Dorne would withdraw his own army as well. Robb replied, "I was leading my army to stop the Riverbend Army, and the north was in the clutches of the Iron People, and after much thought, I decided to go home first to deal with the invasion of the Iron People, and informed King Stannis of this decision in advance. I cannot but admire that His Majesty, upon hearing of this, decisively gave up his encirclement of Storm's End and attacked Randolph Tully, who was confronting me...... After that, all of Westeros knew. ”

"But all of Westeros knows that you've gone home to finish off the Iron Min, and you've won. They don't know about Prince Dolang's secret letter to you, and they don't know that you intend to fight again. Egger pondered the matter, and it dawned on him that everything was not as simple as it seemed...... It seems that he is far more than the only one who is planning big chess. "But this is unreasonable, the north is the home of the people of the north, and the place where they must be saved. Even if Prince Dolang does not come to an agreement with you, sooner or later your army will be forced to return north...... If Dorn was determined to support the rebels, it was the best time to take this opportunity to send troops to attack King's Landing, how could they really withdraw from the battlefield as promised? And if they planned not to go to war, then why did they come out in the first place to muddy the waters and offend the legitimate king of the Seven Kingdoms for no reason? If you rebel against this kind of thing, you will either win or lose, but you can't step on two boats!"

"The real reason, you go and ask Prince Lang. Robb sighed. "But I want to correct you: I'm just going north to save my family, but I haven't reached an agreement with the proposer yet. When I disbanded the army, I ordered the soldiers to visit their families and recuperate, and did not agree on a date for regrouping, so I thought that I would take advantage of this time to look for Bran and think about what to do next. ”

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Iger probably understands Robb's predicament at the moment: purely from the perspective of the people, the North has sent troops twice for Robert and his brother in just two years, which is long enough, and the casualties have reached a certain level, and the willingness of the soldiers to continue to fight and the people to continue to support logistics is no longer high. And if we consider the short-term interests, the people of the north have already reaped a considerable amount of practical benefits from the victory in the war against the western frontier and the river bend, and it is time to stop the war and save their lives to enjoy the spoils.

But when a ruler decides on the affairs of his family and state, he can never just look at immediate interests or according to the will of the people. A blatant truce in the north is small, but its in-laws and long-time allies, still mired in the war, are the key to this...... The three northern regions have always advanced and retreated together, and if the north retreats, the remaining two will follow suit, and Stannis will inevitably be unable to support himself, and it is only a matter of time before he is defeated.

In this way, the situation is equivalent to "Robb Stark surrendering Westeros' most prosperous and wealthy royal realm and King's Landing to a hostile faction supported by Riverbend...... When the new Lord of the Iron Throne, Aegon Targaryen, is firmly established, how can he sit back and watch the three northern regions become a country of their own while holding a huge advantage?

There is no danger to defend in the Three River Basins, and when the True Dragon Banner is planted all over the river again, the Northern Alliance will lose its granary. Even if the Stark family has Carlin Bay and the Arryn family has a blood gate, they can only protect themselves and are powerless to turn the tables. The valley was still self-sufficient on the fertile Vale of Arryn, but the North was able to slowly multiply to over a million after Aegon unified the Seven Kingdoms without drastic attrition every winter...... It's not about growing food on frozen soil.

It's a tough choice.

＊＊＊

"If I avoid war, will the people of Westeros think I'm weak and deceitful, and I can let go of my father's revenge?, but if I continue to join the war, Dorne will fight against me...... The scales are still balanced, the end of the war is far from – and worse: winter is here. Robb frowned, this matter was very important, he didn't dare to make a decision alone, but it was not good to discuss it openly with the princes of the north. Now that the truth has been informed, if you don't ask Egger about her thoughts by the way, you will not risk leaking the secret. "I have told the truth, Your Excellency 'the most clever night watchman...... What do you recommend, and what should I do?"

"I don't dare to guide in this matter...... But the suggestion is that there is one right away. "As the Duke of Winterfell, the master of the North, when deciding whether or not to take the entire force into a war for the future, I have to consider 'will others think I'm weak and bullied'?"

"As the Supreme Lord of the North, isn't your personal image important?"

"Personal image is important. Especially in this era of the rule of kings and ministers, "but even the truth can be abused without scope and conditions...... Is it unclear whether you are weak or not, the princes and soldiers of the North, the Riverlands and the Valles, and the King of Stannis, who have followed you for months, are the most important to you are the men in power of the various clans...... How much does it matter if the commoners of the North, who have neither noble status nor military membership, have any misunderstanding about you? As for what the people of the other four countries think of you...... To put it mildly, it will hardly affect you, and even if your enemies look down on you because of this, it may be an advantage at a critical moment!"

"Sounds reasonable, so should I make a decisive decision not to go to war again?"

"I didn't say that. Iger immediately denied it, "My view is that personal gains and disgraces should be completely set aside when considering this matter...... What we need to do now is to consider all the circumstances in full and detail, and make a comprehensive analysis of what is best for the north. ”

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