"Prime Minister, the army on the other side is gathering and mobilizing, and it should be about to cross the river!"

Hearing this, Duke Tywin Lannister was not surprised.

"Where did they cross the river?"

"At the ram ferry upstream."

"Send someone to inform Tormo Frega at once, and let him lead the Aquaman fleet back to the Blackwater."

"Yes!"

"Inform Sir Lancel Lannister that I appoint him as the vanguard officer in the name of the Hand of the King, and that he may at once lead three thousand horsemen from the West to the Ram Ferry."

"Yes."

"Inform the Duke of Luce Burton, the Countess of Anya Weywood, and Sir Edwin Frey to put their army in order and prepare to go."

"Yes."

"Tyrion Lannister has been appointed acting prime minister, and in my absence, he will be in charge of King's Landing."

……

Duke Tywin put on his armor with the help of his attendants as he quickly issued a series of orders.

When these orders were passed on, this war machine composed of the four northern realms finally slowly woke up from its slumber and began to show its hideous face.

“…… Remember, keeping food supplies to the army is your most important task. "Duke Tywin gave a final account to Tyrion, and although he didn't like this son, he couldn't find a more suitable person to replace him in King's Landing.

Tyrion has all sorts of faults, but at least he has the ability.

"I will leave you with 3,000 troops, plus the garrison of the capital, which is enough to stabilize the situation in the city. Remember, the slightest hint of unrest must be suppressed with the strongest force......"

Tyrion listened to his father's explanation, but seemed a little absent-minded.

"Have you written it all?"

"Got it." Tyrion nodded, and couldn't help but ask, "What about Jaime?" Didn't you say he'd be back soon? ”

The corners of Duke Tywin's eyes twitched slightly, as if he was holding back a huge rage:

"He still won't come back."

"Didn't you send someone to forcibly kidnap him back?"

"He snuck back halfway through the way."

Tyrion was speechless.

Brother Jaime is determined not to break his oath again this time?

"I don't have time to mind this bullshit right now." Duke Tywin controlled his emotions and regained his composure, saying, "Don't think about it anymore, just stabilize the rear for me, and when the army defeats Caesar, everything will be fine." ”

Tyrion lowered his head, forced his way into a fatal question that almost blurted out, and said:

"Okay."

Duke Tywin hurriedly left the Red Keep and made his way to the barracks outside the city.

He summoned the nobles of the four realms, quickly assigned the task, and then personally led a cavalry to rush to the front line first.

When the Duke of Tywin arrived at the ferry, he saw that the banners on the other side were like black clouds, and the army was lined up from the riverbank for miles, with almost no end in sight.

"My lord," Sergeant Ransel pointed upstream, "the enemy is building a pontoon. ”

When Duke Tywin looked up, he saw more than a dozen odd-looking ships being connected by iron cables, flowing down the river upstream.

The boat was wide and had a deep draft, and the canopy was raised so high that it formed a triangle on the board, and more than a dozen boats were connected together to form a corridor on the river that was not very spacious.

When the boats arrived at the ferry port, they dropped anchor. The men of the ship near the south shore threw out two thick chains, and the men who had been waiting on the shore rushed up and dragged the chains, nailing one end to the ground.

In this way, a simple water pontoon bridge was built.

However, since only one end is fixed, the entire pontoon bridge sways in the river like a python with the current, and it looks extremely unstable.

And the pontoon bridge is still a few dozen steps away from the opposite bank, which seems to be a little shorter.

Building pontoon bridges and crossing rivers to attack the enemy is a common means in warfare.

This wasn't a big deal in Westeros' time, so no one thought Caesar's craftsmen were incapable of building a pontoon bridge.

Sure enough, under the watchful eyes of the soldiers on both sides, a large boat floated downstream, full of soldiers holding strong shields and wearing armor.

Obviously, this boat is to make up for the shortness of the pontoon.

Of course, Duke Tywin would not watch the other party complete the construction of the pontoon bridge, and immediately gave the order to attack.

The low horn echoed on the north bank of the Heishui River, and the soldiers of the Northern Army drew their bows and arrows, and the arrows rose and fell like raindrops, shooting into the pontoon bridge in the river.

However, because the soldiers of the Southern Army on the ship were armed to the teeth, this rain of arrows did not cause any casualties.

A pontoon bridge has already been formed on the river, just waiting for a battle to cross the river.

Samwell, who was on the south bank, nodded with satisfaction when he saw this, and immediately ordered:

"Beat the drums, give orders to the whole army, cross the river!"

The drums of war rumbled and became the notes of the prelude to war, and every time it appeared on the battlefield, it meant that countless blood was about to flow out.

The double-headed eagle banner began to move forward slowly, the roar of the vanguard continued, and groups of heavily armed soldiers, led by officers, lined up on the pontoon bridge in turn, and quickly marched to the opposite bank.

The pontoon bridge was wobbly, but it was still stable, and the canopies of the boats connected together kept the arrows on the opposite bank out, so that the soldiers crossing the river would not be attacked.

On the forward ship, hundreds of heavy infantry jumped off the bow of the ship, walked up to the shallows, and began to deploy.

The other two people pulled the iron cable to nail the other end of the pontoon into the ground to complete the final process of the pontoon.

However, at this time, the attack of the northern army had also come.

Groups of cavalry rushed up to the shallows, and the rain of arrows suddenly intensified, and many soldiers of the Southern Army fell to the ground in wailing.

But many more put up their shields to withstand the enemy's attack.

But at this time, the number of the southern army on the north bank was still too small, and the defensive line in front was constantly compressed by the northern army, and soon the hedgehogs gathered together and kept retreating.

And all at once the casualties began to surge.

Although follow-up support is constantly coming to the north bank through the pontoon bridge, due to the compression of the military formation, the reinforcements in the rear are almost out of place.

The Northern Army launched a continuous offensive, and there was a great tendency to push the enemy down the Heishui River in one go.

But at this moment, a loud dragon roar sounded on the south bank.

Immediately, the soldiers of the Western Frontier on the north bank saw a huge white dragon soar into the air, flying over the Heishui River, and swooping towards the beachhead of the fierce battle.

"Shoot! Shoot! The Knight of the West let out a cry of horror.

But the arrows fired by the bow and arrow obviously could not pose a threat to a white dragon of this size.

Cleopatra flapped its wings with a thunderous sound, its jaws opened, and lava-like flames erupted from deep in its throat.

Duke Tywin couldn't help but furrow slightly as he watched the fire spears fall from the sky, igniting the Western cavalry one by one.

The white dragon was as Varys had said, and it was unbelievably larger.

In this case, the plan to launch a surprise attack while the Southern Army had not yet gained a foothold had to be abandoned.

"Order the front army, temporarily retreat!" Duke Tywin ordered decisively.

Although the withdrawal of troops was ordered, the battle was far from over.

The speed at which the Southern Army could transport troops through pontoon bridges was limited, and the Northern Army still had an advantage in strength for some time.

Moreover, heavy attack equipment such as giant crossbows will soon arrive with the follow-up army, and when the time comes, Caesar's white dragon will not be as unscrupulous as it is now.

Not to mention, there is also the fleet of the Braavosians......

Duke Tywin turned his horse's head and retreated backwards for a moment, staring at the faintly visible figure on the white dragon, his face grim.

Caesar, our war has just begun.

(End of chapter)