The top brass of Castle Black insisted on not using force, while the twenty or thirty members of the Donghaiwang delegation were unable to support themselves. Eventually, the conservative officers agreed to try to send a credible oral message to ensure that Robb Stark knew what was going on at the Wall. Rely on external forces to deal with a certain logistics officer who is completely out of the control of the night watch.

The plan was clear and easy to implement, but the implementation was not smooth.

On the ground, the Houguan Army, which was tasked with blockading Castle Black, refused to negotiate with each other, and was not allowed to leave Castle Black, regardless of whether they were night watchmen or not, whether they were from the East Sea or not, and who they supported in the Commander-in-Chief race. And those who tried to leave Castle Black or deliver a letter from the top of the Great Wall also did so shortly after departure...... He was stopped by the warriors of the mountain clan at the Queen's Gate and the Sable Hall with a strong attitude.

The besieged once again experienced the opponent's exhaustive strategy.

Instead, they turned their hopes to the weather, hoping that the cold and hunger brought by the ever-increasing snow would eventually force the mountain clansmen outside the city back. However, the situation changed again in the afternoon: the second and third batches of hundreds of people, including men and women, rushed to the direction of Houguan Town one after another, including men and women, who drove the goods and started work quickly as soon as they arrived. After a lot of enthusiasm, a tent was erected in the ruins of the former Mole Village, a fence was erected, and a simple military camp was built - it was not yet dark, and there was already curling smoke in it!

......

By this point, the Landgrant outside Castle Black had outnumbered the entire Night's Watch legion, and it seemed that it could operate independently without any external support, with all combatants, logistical support, and a complete system. The conservative officers watched this on the wall, and although they didn't say much, their hearts were already beating the drums, and the most regretful of them was the chief affairs officer, Powen Marcy.

He began to vaguely realize that it was the war of attrition that he had started after the accidental death of Commander Mormont to bring down the land grant and resettlement plan, which had caused the current situation.

At his behest, Castle Black strictly controlled food supplies, but now it can only guard the crammed warehouses, surrounded by people but unable to do anything. Relying on the support of the night watchman industry, 80% of the living people in the land grant are struggling to feed the 80% of the living people, and they are anxious about how to fill the empty warehouse every day, and they seem to be embarrassed, but they have unconsciously controlled the entire land grant and become a veritable leader here.

Bowen did not feel that he had done anything wrong, but he had to admit that in this war of attrition, he failed to achieve his strategic goals.

What's worse than losing is that the opponent who didn't break down became stronger.

＊＊＊

"When those men appeared outside the city in the morning, and we didn't react decisively, we were doomed to be at a disadvantage, and now it's too late to say anything! ”

"Unsettling?" Someone immediately sarcastically said: "When the gang outside the city 'did not gain a firm foothold', we did not even wear clothes, but I am glad that they did not take the opportunity to launch a fierce attack!"

......

After all attempts to send a message failed, a second meeting was held in Castle Black. But apart from a few pointless arguments, no one was able to put forward any constructive suggestions.

It's not that they don't have ideas, but at the moment they really can't do anything:

The night watchmen, who knew that they were not mortal enemies outside the walls, still carried out the order and prepared for defense, but after understanding that it was purely a high-level wrestle, they had already relaxed most of their psychology; while Castle Black's only one gate, barricades outside the walls, and several shifts of overlapping guard lines made the possibility of sneaking out of the encirclement infinitely smaller; as for the snow that had been piled up over the field over the calves, it was even more stifled by the sneak attack and breakthrough...... Any military action is theoretically possible.

"What's the use of discussing things that have passed, we have to figure out how we can't continue to let the mountain folks outside the walls trap us!" Jon Royce was once Lord of Runestone, the number two in the Vale. As a nobleman who had been in charge of affairs, he knew more about the mood of the public than most of the people present: "It is good that there is no bloodshed, but if we do not respond or fight back over time, the brethren will gradually change from anger and dissatisfaction to the status quo, and countless pairs of eyes will be fixed on the land." Once everyone realizes that we can't help Egger, and subconsciously accepts the notion that 'he's the boss in the land grant', it's too late!"

"Could it be that letting everyone understand that he is the boss is the reason why Egger is doing this?" Auxer glanced at Sir Andrew, the head of the coach, suspiciously, and said meaningfully: "But, relying on the votes of the recruits, isn't he already about to win the election, and wouldn't it be worth the loss to cause trouble at this juncture?"

"His purpose doesn't matter! I only know that with this guy's meticulous personality of never leaving loopholes, I am afraid that there will be corresponding actions against Donghai Wang and the Shadow Tower. Jon Royce continued to speak when he saw that several of the top officials did not speak, and despite his low rank. "We must fight back as soon as possible, and if we want speed, we can only rely on ourselves! After thinking about it for a long time, I found a blind spot in everyone's thinking, and that kid would never have expected it - even if he thought of a way to prevent it, he could send a message!"

"Oh?"

"Tell me about it. ”

Jon waved his hand and quickly revealed the answer: "Egger blocked the two roads inside the wall and the top of the wall, but there is a huge world outside the wall, why do we turn a blind eye?"

......

After a brief silence, several Ranger captains burst out laughing.

"I thought you had a great idea, but it turned out to be this. One of the Castle Black Ranger officers snorted disdainfully, "Why do you think we are sealing the tunnel out of the wall? God knows how many dead and strange ghosts there are in the Ghost Forest right now, just waiting for us to die!"

"It's dangerous right now, I don't doubt that. Jon Royce insisted: "Stop patrolling outside the walls and close the tunnels...... All measures are aimed at reducing losses. But I've seen all the reports of encounters with the Strangers, claiming that they are intelligent beings and that their thinking abilities are by no means inferior to those of humans...... Is it true that such a creature would wait for the 'people to die' at the edge of the Ghost Forest even though they know that we won't get out of the wall?"

"Are you sure you want to speculate on the monsters' thoughts and put your life on this kind of inference? God knows if they are just lurking at the edge of the Ghost Forest? The living will be irritated if they can't wait for their target, and the dead don't have a short time!"

"Mance Rader surrendered with only 30,000 savages, and thousands more chose not to believe him. If I were a stranger, I would take my army of dead people and first find out all these people who had nowhere to flee to strengthen themselves, and then come back when the time was ripe?——! ”

"I don't care what you think. A Castle Black Ranger captain shrugged: "Anyway, don't want us to send people out of the wall to be death squads, I'd rather be hanged by military law than go out and die in vain, and come back in another way if I die." ”

Jon ignored the objectors, and continued to look around at the other Night's Watch officers present: "Neither Egger nor the Wraiths would have imagined that we would send someone out of the wall at this time...... Send one or two people down in hanging baskets, go west along the foot of the Great Wall, bypass the mountain dwellers at the Queen's Gate, cross the blockade and then let the sentries on the top of the Great Wall pull us up, and if we are faster, we don't even need to spend the night outside the Great Wall. It's dangerous...... Yes, but if I'm right, it's probably not as certain death as we intuitively think!"

"What if all the fortresses along the Great Wall were ordered by Iger to stop anyone who came out of Castle Black?"

"Then they will only choose to detain, and will not refuse to pull people up to the Great Wall. If that kid really thinks about this impossible situation, then I admit it!"

"I'm against it. "I'm not going to sit idly by and watch this kind of plan pass that would put some of my brothers at unnecessary risk, and there has been enough drama on the Great Wall to decide who should be the commander-in-chief and whether the land-grant resettlement plan should go ahead...... But it's just a difference in philosophy—"

"I came up with the idea, I took the lead. Jon Royce interrupted the chief craftsman's chatter, "I'll ask a volunteer to accompany me, and if not, go it alone." Master Carter, do you approve of my action?"

Carter didn't expect this man to be desperate to such an extent, and stared at him for a long time before he slowly spoke: "We all know that you and Egg have a little grudge, Jon, but it's not worth it. If you manage to get the news to Robb, there's no way he'll kill Egger, but if you guess wrong, you'll never come back, he'll just laugh and get a stomachache afterwards. ”

Instead of saying no, Jon Royce was adamant: "I understood the risk and decided to take it. Egger West has used all kinds of means to push us into a corner step by step, and if we don't fight back with some strange tricks, he will treat us as fools who are easy to bully!"

＊＊＊

In Castle Black, a small group of conservatives are planning an unthinkable adventure as a counter-attack to Egger's sudden attack. The night watchman's harbor, far away at the easternmost end of the Great Wall, is now immersed in a joyful and peaceful atmosphere.

Conflict and competition between the top leaders is a matter for the big men, and the brethren at the bottom do not regard each other as enemies just because they vote for different people—especially when one side is the first to show goodwill.

The actual control of the Night's Watch, and the first settlement worthy of the town of the land granted: the logistics officer of Houguan Town led the employees of the Night's Watch industry to come to the labor army again after a few months, bringing a cart of various meats and several large barrels of fine wine, claiming that this was a reward for the Donghaiwang brothers for holding on to the Great Wall.

The days of watching the Great Wall were so boring and boring, and the commander happened to be absent from such a good thing, and the dinner suddenly turned into a carnival: everywhere up and down the ice wall, inside and outside the hall, people were pushing cups and changing lamps and feasting; the night watchman and the staff of the logistics department hooked their shoulders and called each other brothers, boasting about their experiences; the drunken leaning in the corner of the wall, humming a vulgar and ambiguous piano tune in their mouths, which had no musical accompaniment, but also had a unique rhythm.

The walls kept out the cold winds, and the heat from the feasting crowds and heating charcoal fires formed a pocket heat island in the small coastal fortress, as if even the flying snow had been forced out of the fortress. The aroma of the wine is mixed with the fat and spices of the meat as it has been cooked, creating a pleasant aroma.

......

Since the beginning of the election for commander-in-chief, it has not been lively here. It's just that it's a bit too much at the moment.

Ein Immet, the captain of the Rangers in Donghaiwang and the number one thug under Carter Pike, didn't drink much. The Boss took Jon Royce and his party to Castle Black to run for election, and he was left behind to temporarily act as commander of the East Sea Watch.

He didn't have the prestige to drink, so that his brothers would not drink wine, eat meat, or brag, so they simply did not come out and become evildoers. But he knew that the more the more the most of the brothers in the fortress were immersed in the feast, the more important it was for someone to keep an eye on the defense of the Great Wall, lest the strange spirits or the unsurrendered wilderness of the fortress take advantage of the gap and break through this key fortress and cause a catastrophe.

The sentry on the top of the wall also drank some wine, and at the moment he was gathering together in three or two with a ruddy face, although he had some bad attitudes, but after all, he did not desert...... The height of the Great Wall gave the defenders a very high margin for error: as long as the sentries did not sleep, it was impossible for the enemy to climb up and not notice.

After making some rounds and standing at the top of the wall and looking out over the Ghost Forest, Imat descended the stairs back to the ground, and entered the watchtower next to the wall, reminding the brethren who were guarding the ground part of the fortress to make sure that there were no major mistakes in the defense, and then leave with confidence.

As he passed through the hall, he was confronted by Hammon, a scholar from the East Sea.

The "mouthpiece" of the fortress did not look at all what a bachelor should be: he was fat and drunk, drunk all day, and now he held a cup in his hand, his face was so red that he staggered even to walk.

"Hamon. Imet had long been accustomed to his appearance, and sighed with disgust: "Is there a letter crow flying anywhere today?" ”

"Hmm......" Hamon opened his eyes in a daze, and shook his head as if he wanted to shake off the alcohol in his head, "It seems that there is a letter from Castle Black." ”

"Then why don't you report the content?"

"Hmm...... I was taking the letter from the crow's lap, and as soon as I put it back in the cage, the brothers of Houguan Town arrived. I'll just put my things down and help first...... Moved something—hiccup—"

"It's a bar!" Imette frowned in disgust, "Everyone knows that you are a heavy drinker, and everyone just doesn't bother to talk about you, but after all, you are a bachelor from Donghaiwang, can you do your job well before drinking?

"Hiccup—got it, pay attention next time. If the critic had been Carter Pike, Hammon might have taken it seriously, but acting in command...... He shrugged his shoulders disapprerovingly, holding his cup and continuing to walk down the hall: "Letter...... Either under the crow's cage or on my desk, you ...... Find out for yourself. ”

Shaking her head in annoyance, Imette suppressed the urge to beat the guy up and hurried to the Bachelor's Cabin. After some tossing, I found the note that was sent from Castle Black today, which is still in a roll. I opened it and began to read it word for word by the dim light of the oil lamp.

Imette's reading skills were average, and it took him a moment to read the entire letter and understand what had happened, and after swallowing his saliva, he knew that something was wrong.

Carter Peck was trapped by the siege of Castle Black, and with this letter, he warned Tokai Wang: Beware of any outsiders, especially the Night's Watch Logistics Department.

No one is allowed to enter the fortress without an order!

The bachelor, who should have informed everyone of this news in time, left the crow's nest in a hurry when the "labor army" team from Houguan Town arrived, and went to carry meat and wine after busy carrying meat and wine, and participated in the subsequent dinner, until he was drunk, and did not convey the news to the brothers!

He walked on thin ice to perform his duties, beware of strangers and wild people, but he did not expect that the threat would eventually come from "his own people" dressed in black. Donghaiwang, who should have raised his vigilance and closed to the outside world immediately after receiving the news, just because of the negligence of a drunkard, he did not hesitate to let in dozens of soldiers of the logistics department and people of the mountain clan, if they had evil intentions, then this fortress would have fallen at this moment.

He slapped the letter on the table, grabbed his sword, and rushed out of the Bachelor's hut - only a few dozen people had mixed in, and Donghaiwang had more than a hundred soldiers, and as long as they gathered enough reliable brothers before their opponents attacked, they still had a chance to regain control of the fortress!

But the scene in front of him made him hang his hand: under the background sound of the noisy dinner, the door of Donghaiwang had already opened. The guards stood by the gate and giggled with the logistics officer of Houguan Town, just like that, watching a few empty carts pulled by oxen or horses, as well as dozens or hundreds of mountain clansmen, rush in through the gate and squeeze into this unsuspecting port fortress.

——