"Lord Robb!" In the midst of the commotion, a deep male voice that was not loud and penetrating but quite good suddenly sounded, and Luce Burton spoke with a mask-like smirk. "Having someone with an uninterested interest to provide a neutral opinion is always valuable. Jon's words and the opinions of the adults have their own merits, and this matter should be carefully considered and decided after listening to everyone's thoughts...... But I have a small suggestion here: Master Jon has fulfilled his mission as a special attendee to make his point, and I thank him for taking the time to advise us. But then, isn't it up to us northerners to vote on our own?"

Although the words are polite, the meaning is very obvious. However, this is Winterfell rather than Castle of Terror, and the owner is Stark instead of Burton...... Robb thought for two seconds before shaking his head and rejecting the offer, "Jon is my brother and part of the North. Even if he doesn't speak, he has the right to stay in this room. ”

"Nope. The host couldn't pull his face, but the guests themselves couldn't stay any longer. Strong words are really not easy for thin-skinned people, and Jon feels like his face is about to burn...... He's already done at a personal level, and if he continues to stay and be forced to face more questioning, I'm afraid the end result will only get worse...... He slowly stood up and apologized to the princes of the north: "Ladies and gentlemen, there is still official business below, so I won't stay long, let's go to do things first, and take my leave!"

Neither Jon's lord nor his chief, Robb had no choice but to watch his bastard brother turn around and walk to the door, take the coat handed by the servant and put it on his body, open the door and walk into the howling cold wind outside.

The door was gently closed, blocking out the sound of the wind, and Luce Burton, who was also watching Jon leave with the corner of his eye, lowered his head, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: even if he became the commander of Castle Black, a child is a child, too young, too naïve. It can be seen that Jon doesn't want to be the commander-in-chief of the Night's Watch at all, but he really wants to stop the conflict between the North and the land grant, but if he is alert and sophisticated enough, he should know: at this time, even if he is put to the neck by the knife, he should sit in his place, how can he leave the table without hesitation because he is not the master's own small agitation and half-sentence hints, so that the next trend of this lords' conference will become unknown and out of control?

Putting away the smug sneer, the old peel put back on a serious mask in the next second - a few words to drive away the biggest instability, and then, it was time to bring the big ship in the north back to the course that would allow the Bolton family to take a chance.

......

"I disagree with the opinions of Lord Kastark and Glover - neither a war with the land grant nor neutrality is the best option!"

Before everyone could react from Jon's voluntary departure from the table, they were immediately re-attracted by Luce Burton's blockbuster, not only did the originally noisy pros and cons cease fire at once, but even most of the other northern nobles who were silent were also interested, and countless eyes converged on the face of the Lord of the Horror Castle.

"Tell me about your opinion!?" Karstark glared at Bolton.

"I don't dare to say that war is not child's play, I just try to provide Robb with a calm perspective that is not affected by emotions. Luce Bolton said modestly with a smile, "War with the land grant is the worst decision, the wildlings surrendered to the Night's Watch, they were just desperate, and they wanted to cooperate with the living people south of the wall to fight against the strangers, whether it was between the north and south of the wall or within the wildling tribes, it was by no means united. If they rashly provoke a war and give military threats to the outside world, they will be forced to continue to hold each other for their lives...... Maybe we can avoid the dragon's edge through clever deployment and division of troops, but people can't run the castle if they can't run. The dragon queen flies in the sky, and if we can't shoot her, we are in a situation where it is impossible to win, the difference is only how badly we lose. The best ending is to rely on the huge territory of the North, and rely on the lives of the people of the North to drag her to the point of missing the opportunity to take King's Landing...... What do you want to harm others and not to yourself?"

"Isn't life just a matter of fighting for a breath!" Rickard roared again, "Carefully consider this and that in everything you do, and live hard! Strange ghosts can shoot dragons, why can't we? You have always been cautious in doing things, and you have considered everything in every way, why don't you see your Bolton family Ding Xingwang? Many people are born by birth, not by living!"

"Master Karstark!" Robb said impatiently, interrupting Ricard's rude taunts and pokes at Luce. "Please, let Lord Bolton finish speaking. ”

If Eddard Stark had just died two years ago and Robb had just ascended to the position of Lord of the North, the quarrel between the two great vassals might indeed have left the Young Wolf Lord at a loss, but now, after so many ups and downs, he has begun to get used to his status as a feudal lord, and he has gradually gained the power to match his status.

Rickard, who had been lukewarmly slapped, blushed, but didn't return the favor or walk away. Without his interference, Luce Bolton was able to continue his views.

"You can't win a direct war, it's not advisable. And neutral...... Hmph, it's just a safe thing to look at for the time being, but it's extremely stupid in the long run. The Lord of the Terror Castle made a disdainful expression, "Lord Robb thinks that it is possible for the Northern Territory, as part of the Seven Kingdoms, to be truly 'neutral'?"

The answer is no! We are not Braavos or Pantos across the Narrow Sea, able to stay out of it completely or nearly completely. Once you've ordered the way south for Egger's army and the queen, the North is actually on the opposite side of King Stannis. Even if not a grain of grain or soldier in the north supports the Targaryen army, it is still a false neutrality! And the worst thing is that you have not stood in the queen's camp at the same time, it is a good thing not to participate in the war and die less, but this kind of 'pseudo-neutrality' state that no one wants to see is actually a taboo for one party!"

The opposition was forced by Robb not to interject, so most of the people in the room pricked up their ears to listen. After taking a breath, Luce Bolton continued: "The struggle for the throne is not like an ordinary conflict between lords over a certain forest or a small river, it has no possibility of a peaceful end, and either side will inevitably try to destroy the other completely and end the war. In this atmosphere of non-death, the war in the south is nothing more than three endings: King Stannis retains the throne, and the Dragon Queen or the little Aegon takes the throne. No matter who wins, they will inevitably give out land and property to reward the heroes, and everyone should think about it, where do these land and property come from?"

"From the defeated side...... And where the so-called 'neutrals'?" replied a small man with a crocodile coat of arms embroidered on his chest that had never spoken before in a meeting. The younger nobles here may not know the speaker, but Holland Reed, as the commander of the neck and the lord of the gray water, guards the passage of the northern border to the six southern countries, and is a loyal vassal of the Stark family for thousands of years, although he is neither rich nor powerful, but relying on his loyalty and the merit + hard work of defending the southern gate of the northern border, he still has a lot of say in front of the feudal king.

"That's right, the ultimate victor will not be able to admit the so-called neutrality claimed by the North!" said Luce Bolton categorically, "Little Aegon sits on the throne, this is not to be discussed, although we have not fought head-on with the main force of the Golden Order, we have always been enemies, and if the Dragon Queen wins, although we can be considered to cooperate in getting out of the way, she will surely feel that we are forced by the dragon's intimidation rather than out of support and love...... Even if we don't regard us as enemies, we will never have the slightest gratitude or intimacy, and King Stannis wins? Even though the North has fought for him countless times and paid a lot of sacrifices, as long as we become enemies, many old feelings will disappear, and perhaps the hatred for us will still be above the Riverbend and Dorne—after all, for man: 'betrayal at the most critical time' is much more hateful than 'taking a different position at the beginning'!"

"Suddenly neutralized in the middle of the war, not only will all the previous efforts be in vain, but the long-standing 'Northland Alliance' with the rivers and valleys will also collapse. The victor is treated like the enemy, but he cannot find the same pathy and hatred for the defeated side, and is despised and disliked by both the victors and the losers...... This kind of political environment and emotional tendency may cause long-term damage to the future interests of the northern frontier far more than the possible casualties of participating in the war! Obviously, they are part of the Seven Nations but want to be neutral in the Seven Civil Wars, and they seem to love peace, but in fact they predetermined the treatment of the defeated side in advance, and even worse. In the Battle for the Throne, as part of the Seven Kingdoms, we have to choose a side no matter what, and we can't take any chances!"

Karstark finally couldn't stand Bolton's gossip to confuse the crowd: "Then according to what you say, it's not a fight, it's not a fight, is it not a fight, is it possible that we just change to the three-headed dragon flag to support the mad king's daughter?" anyway...... Two dragons plus half of Westeros, a fool commander can win!"

Rickard was originally sarcastic, who would have inadvertently become the perfect double reed match for the old skin. Luce Bolton smiled and nodded, but he didn't refute: "If you don't want to go to war and don't die, unless the northern realm is really separated from the Seven Kingdoms independently, it's impossible." But no matter which king wins the Iron Throne, it is absolutely impossible to allow the land to shrink by a third...... The natural danger of the neck may be able to stop the thousands of troops and horses of the six southern countries, but without the food support of the river valley, the land climate in the north cannot support millions of people. Therefore, Master Karstark is right: if you don't want to be embarrassed after the war, the North will either fight to the end for King Stannis, or simply change the court to support the queen, whatever you choose, in short, don't think about neutrality without paying anything, there are no good things in the world!"

——