As the supreme commander of the army, Iger issued instructions to the grassroots level early on -- requiring officers at all levels to strictly restrain their subordinates and prohibit any form and degree of disturbance and harm to the people.

This is actually quite a high requirement for the army in the context of this era, but in the case that the size of the land-grant army is not easy to manage, and he is known and respected among the soldiers by relying on many legends, nicknames and ruthless methods, Iger is sure that he can do the order and prohibition, so that the people in the north can also see the difference between the "pseudo-new army" and the "group of barbarians" in their imagination.

Unfortunately, it turned out that he had thought too much: when the Land-Grants marched at maximum speed for days in the wind and snow, and finally arrived outside Winterfell overnight earlier than expected, the nearby manor settlements and the winter-sheltered towns outside the castle were already empty, and even if Iger let them go and even commanded them, the soldiers below would have nothing to rob or infringe on.

I have to say that although the young wolf lord is confused in terms of macro strategy, he is really a qualified lord when it comes to protecting his people.

Although there were fewer opportunities to demonstrate the discipline and quality of the army by "not taking a stitch or a thread", an empty winter town with a fence would be the perfect temporary camp, and the absence of inhabitants in it had at least the advantage of having to separate spies and Assassins during the siege.

While the soldiers were stationed in the vacated winter town and turned it into a defensible base, Iger also instructed the Ministry of Communications to release the letter crows, and officially issued a "military control order" to the north in the name of the queen's subordinates: from now until the war for the unification of the Seven Kingdoms is completely over, any troops that leave the town and fortress and march in the wilderness without permission will be considered rebels, and will be considered enemies of Queen Daenerys and the Night's Watch Legion- Any consequences arising therefrom shall be borne by themselves!

After sending this arrogant declaration, he began to send a message to Winterfell, asking for negotiations with Robb Stark.

That's right, negotiate and not siege.

The Land-Granting Army marched thousands of miles to this place with great vigour, seemingly to catch the Starks off guard, but in fact, in Egger's plan, "attacking Winterfell" was never a priority. The main purpose of the reason why he did a lot of foreshadowing to carry out this surprise attack was to take the north by surprise, so that the northern border would not have the opportunity to gather a large army and fight a head-on battle with him, and deal with it in a panic, giving himself a chance to take advantage of the situation and break it one by one.

Swords don't have long eyes, and the gunpowder weapons that have just come out aren't strong enough to completely one-sided the battle. The northern army has always been known for its fierceness and tenacity, and once they were informed in advance of the battle and advance plan of the land grant, they were able to gather a large force of tens of thousands to block and intercept it, and the scale and rank of the battle were out of control...... Even if you win, losses are inevitable.

Egger's hole cards are hard but not strong and can't stand the drain. Not to mention: if too many Northern soldiers and nobles are killed or injured in a melee, and what could have been a negotiated problem turns into a never-ending confrontation, the land-giver army will be forced to waste time and energy killing all over the North, which will be completely contrary to their original overall chess game.

Compared to brute force, the siege point reinforcement is a completely different situation: pulling out a posture to attack Winterfell, attracting the loyal vassals of the Stark family to help, and finding the opportunity to repel them one by one - in such a controllable skirmish, he has both the opportunity to show the combat effectiveness and overwhelming weapon superiority of the army, and better grasp the casualties of the enemy. Preserve your strength and avoid attracting too much hatred, killing two birds with one stone!

The North was already exhausted from a series of battles, and as long as a few victories were needed to show these "tough guys" that the Land-Grants were tougher than them, and to make them realize that the Night's Watch was unstoppable, Egger's bargaining chips would be greatly increased. At that time, another well-prepared mouth cannon with coercion and temptation forced Robb to make significant concessions and compromises, choosing to cooperate or even join the queen's camp altogether...... It's no longer a dream!

Putting aside all these considerations, Egger actually secretly admitted in his heart that the choice he made this time was not the one that maximized his interests...... The decision to preserve the Stark family ended up being mixed with his own personal emotional tendencies, which did not match the cold persona he wanted to give him. However, he is no longer the night watchman who had nothing when he entered this world, and at this moment he believes that although he has not yet reached the point where he can do whatever he wants, he already has some small willful capital!

Not hurting her little apprentice and her family is a little willfulness of herself!

......

However, to Egger's surprise, the men he had ordered to deliver the negotiating demands to Winterfell had not yet set out, and the city had sent messengers first.

Disarmed by two non-commissioned officers, Rodric Kelso was taken to the Temporary Headquarters of the Land Grant, which was originally a year-round inn in the Winter Town, reserved for travelers who were traveling north and south but would not be invited into Winterfell like the Night's Watch, and was requisitioned by Iger because it was the most well-equipped and spacious. When the old knight walked through the gate alone, it was already lined with Egg's cronies and the generals of the Land-Grant Army waiting for orders.

"I am glad that I have not seen Sir Rodric for many days, and that your body is as strong as ever. ”

"I'm sorry you weren't killed by the Stranger, 'Chameleon' Egg!" the old knight roared angrily, glancing around at the black-clad group standing in a circle as if they were about to dismount him, "And you, won't you be ashamed to follow a treacherous villain to gain fame and fortune?"

The surrounding soldiers and officers were not moved in the slightest, but it was Egglen, who should have been the most composed, for a moment.

Chameleon?

It took him a few seconds to figure out why the name seemed familiar—it was supposed to be Theon Greyjoy's nickname, but in this timeline, Theon's father rebelled before he could return home, and Robb Stark, for the sake of brotherhood, did not kill him and allowed him to wear black. With this young man in the war against the Wraiths and finally dying a heroic death, he never had a chance to do the foolish thing of betraying the Stark family again, and now it was his turn to take the role of attacking Winterfell, and it was only natural that he "grabbed" the title!

Is this a coincidence, or is it a historical inevitability?

Iger was not provoked by the attacks and insults, but showed a light smile of relief and playfulness, but this expression became contemptuous and shameless in the eyes of the old knight, and he became more and more annoyed, his face under the white beard appeared bloody, and then spat on the cold and solid ground of the inn: "Are you still in the mood to laugh?

"I'm always dressed in black, so why do I change color?Sir Roderick, I beg you to make this clear: the Night's Watch legion is loyal to the kingdom as a whole, not to the Starks!and now Daenerys Targaryen is the best choice for Westeros, and my sworn service to fight for her is a sign of devotion to my duty, worthy of this true and pure black!" Iger put away his anachronistic philosophical musings and forgetfulness in time, and retorted forcefully. In terms of arguing and seizing the moral high ground, he was not afraid of anyone who had been on the net for more than ten years before crossing over: "It's you! who are ready to attack and murder the queen when I go on an expedition north to the Great Wall, who staged a coup d'état within the land grant so that I and my soldiers could not return to Sene, and who have expelled countless warriors who fought against ghosts and dead people in defense of the Seven Kingdoms and shed their blood for the survival of mankind...... This is how the Starks treat their friends and benefactors? This is what the Northlanders use in the dictionary to 'treat me badly'? I've never heard such a brazen statement!"

"What...... Lord Robb has never had such a despicable intention, where did you hear that!"

I didn't hear about it from anywhere, I made it up myself.

These seditious rumors that had gone viral in the land grant had been fabricated and instigated by Iger in order to stir up hatred and justify the expedition. But of course, he is not stupid enough to confess in public, on the contrary, he is going to play a character who is angered and blinded by rumors.

The Starks are people who are more emotional than rational, and they have to admit to them that their southern expeditions and surprise attacks are all planned plots, part of a big chess game, and are destined to happen no matter what...... That's over, it is estimated that the wolf family will stick to the city up and down until the last person will never negotiate with him. On the contrary, if you create your own military operation is not a well-planned strategy, but a mistake made in a moment of confusion, and you will come to ask for a crime and an explanation...... In order to alleviate and alleviate the feelings of hostility and antagonism between each other, it will be discussed later.

"Do you deny the truth of the rumors?" Iger snorted, "but it's true that I don't have any evidence to prove it's true, maybe it's really a lie maliciously made up by people with ulterior motives to sow discord, and it's easy to clear up the misunderstanding - ask my 'good friend' Robb Stark to explain it to me himself instead of just sending a microphone, maybe we can make it clear." ”

"You ......" The old knight was dumbfounded by this anti-guest nonsense that reversed black and white, and he couldn't think of a way to fight back for a moment, so he could only blush and roar, "It's just nonsense, if Lord Robb really went out of the city to explain it himself, how could it be possible to return to the castle safely, do you think I am a fool!?"

It's so boring, it doesn't give Egger pleasure to bully such an upright old man in words, and he quickly feels bored: "Well, Sir Rodric, I believe Robb sent you here to talk instead of quarrelling, so let's save our tongues." Say—what did he tell you to tell me?"

The old man also forcibly suppressed the thoughts that had been disturbed into a pot of porridge by Egg, and found out the task of his trip from memory: "Lord Robb's conditions are simple and generous—you, publicly announce your resignation as commander-in-chief of the Night's Watch Legion, and bring the army back to the land for disbandment. The Starks will promise and vouch that you and the Queen you are loyal to will leave the North safely!"

On paper, the North does have an overwhelming all-round advantage over land grants, and if it were another Night's Watch Commander-in-Chief who had risen south, it would be more than generous, but a woman's kindness. Iger smiled and nodded, not saying a word about it: "Understood, please go back and tell Robb my terms: open the gates and lay down your arms, declare Queen Daenerys the sole legitimate ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and swear allegiance to her." I promise and guarantee that the Stark family, under the rule of the new True Dragon Dynasty, will still be the guardian and legitimate ruler of the north of the neck!"

"Shh If there is no one around who knows how to heal, I can bring Master Luwen with me next time we meet!"

"Good intentions, but I hope that the next time we meet, you'll bring Robb Stark a wise choice, not someone else who has nothing to do with it. Iger was not at all surprised by the old knight's reaction, he shrugged his shoulders and waved his hand with a smile, not wanting to bother to salivate any more: "Invite Sir Rodric back, the troops are still camped according to the plan, send out sentry agents, and closely monitor every direction of Winterfell!"

"Yes, sir!"

The generals who were waiting for the order were leaving, and the white-bearded old man had to say anything more, but the two soldiers who brought him had already set him up on the left and the right, and half-forcibly led him away from the headquarters with the crowd.

Looking at the backs of a bunch of subordinates and envoys leaving the headquarters, the corners of Egger's mouth curled up slightly: Winterfell actually took the lead in sending someone out to convey the intention to negotiate, although this matter was unexpected, but after a little brain, it was actually not so surprising - Robb Stark was not very confident in the fierce attack of the land-giving army, and he was not very confident in the hastily organized city defense, most likely to use your negotiation and negotiation to delay time and strive for reinforcements from the princes under his command.

Very smart, but he probably never dreamed that his goal would be the reinforcements he was about to summon from the beginning.

——