The Tully Family of the Riverlands, whose family sigil is a fish, is also known as the Fish Family.
Like the Stark Family of the North, they are a great family ruling a region, holding the title of Duke, and are the object of loyalty for most of the nobles in the Riverlands.
Why did the Tully Family and the Lannister Family start fighting?
Naturally, it was in response to the call of the Stark Family, preparing to go to King's Landing to rescue Ned.
The Tully Family and the Stark Family are connected by marriage; Robb's mother is the eldest daughter of Duke Tully.
With kinship and political alliance, the interests of these two families have long been intertwined, sharing prosperity and decline.
Of the seven Great Dukes in Westeros today, only Duke Tully is an absolute ally on Robb's side.
However, the Tully Family's army was utterly defeated by Kingslayer Jaime, and a count was killed, immediately putting them in a critical situation.
This also put Robb's side in a very passive position; with an ally besieged, the next strategic choice became very important.
One wrong move could trigger a chain reaction, leading to a complete collapse of morale.
According to the scout's intelligence, Kingslayer Jaime's army, with morale boosted after their victory, gathered the Westerlands army and set out from Golden Tooth, heading towards Riverrun, the Tully Family's stronghold in the Riverlands.
They encountered almost no resistance along the way; the Riverlands army fled at the sight of the Lannister lion banner, showing signs of collapsing before even fighting.
The army rested as dusk fell, and all the lords, great and small, in Kalin Bay fortress also received the news.
Their mood, like the sky at this moment, was dim.
Inside the conference room, Robb looked at the assembled lords, just about to start the meeting, when a rapid knocking sound came.
Robb's subordinates were very disciplined; at such an important time, no one would dare to knock on that door unless there was an urgent matter.
"Come in."
Robb's voice was not loud, but it was powerful, and the person outside clearly heard the commander's words amidst the noisy environment.
The door was almost crashed open, and what rushed in first was not a person, but a pungent smell of blood and stench.
Then, a knight, his face covered in dried blood, his body full of wounds that hadn't yet been bandaged, burst in.
Robb took a while to recognize that this person was one of the knights who had accompanied his father to King's Landing.
His first words made all the nobles present shudder: "Lord Robb! Our army has been utterly defeated! Lord Tywin is coming!"
Robb waved his hand to signal him to calm down, then walked up to him.
Before the knight could speak, Robb directly clenched his single hand into a fist, bowed slightly, and a golden rune instantly appeared on the ground.
Golden light burst from the rune and Robb's hand, enveloping the knight.
The knight's wounds immediately healed at a visible speed.
Under the stunned gazes of everyone, he stood up, incredulously moving his limbs, confirming that he had recovered about seventy to eighty percent.
He was greatly shocked and for a moment didn't know what to say.
A healing prayer, a miracle performed with the power of the Elden Ring.
"This...this..."
"Old Gods above, this is a miracle!" Greatjon was the first to recover from the shock, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Is this magic? Or a miracle performed by the Old Gods?" Rickard Karstark was also dumbfounded.
Robb casually waved his hand, signaling the lords to quiet down, then asked the previously injured knight in a calm tone, "Tell everything you know clearly to the lords present."
"Yes... Before Duke Ned was captured, he sent us to find Lord Tywin in the King's name, demanding him to return to King's Landing to explain the false accusation against the Tully Family.
But when we arrived, the King had already died suddenly, and Tywin did not acknowledge that we were acting on the King's command.
He brought his men and engaged us.
We were no match for Lord Tywin; most of us were killed, and I fortunately escaped and became separated from the others."
At this point, the knight felt some lingering fear: "I originally wanted to return to King's Landing to find Lord Ned, but I heard that they had imprisoned Lord Ned, and Lord Tywin was leading countless troops to attack the Riverlands.
He was burning, killing, and plundering along the way, and several noble castles have already been captured by him.
Now Lord Tywin is approaching the King's Road, preparing to occupy Harrenhal."
Hush!
The knight's words sent a chill down the spines of the lords present.
Tywin's achievements surpassed everyone's imagination; the war had just begun, and their side hadn't even moved, while the other side was already on a rampage.
Now, with Tywin, the old lion, attacking along the King's Road, and his son Jaime leading the army to pursue the scattered remnants from the Westerlands, the Lannister father and son had displayed formidable military capabilities right from the start.
Currently, the Lannister has many choices.
Tywin could join forces with Kingslayer and attack Riverrun, the Tully Family's stronghold.
Once Riverrun falls, the North's army will have no hope of moving south.
Tywin could also employ flanking tactics, waiting for Jaime to attack Riverrun; anyway, they have the advantage there, and the people of Riverrun have long lost their will to fight.
He only needed to besiege and draw out reinforcements, lingering near the King's Road, ready to act as soon as Robb made a move, putting the North's army in a predicament of being attacked from both front and back.
The current situation could be said to be very unfavorable, and the lords of the North also began to show divisions.
Rickard Karstark was the first to offer an opinion: "We should immediately go to reinforce them.
Jaime has again engaged another main force of the Tully Family.
If this attrition continues, our allies will be beaten to death or crippled!
As long as we can combine our forces with the Tully Family, we can capture Kingslayer!"
"No, no!" Greatjon loudly objected: "We should go after that old man Tywin first.
Kingslayer is just a young upstart.
You don't know how cunning that old bastard Tywin is.
We should take him by surprise, attack Tywin first.
As long as we capture Tywin, we can win!"
Roose Bolton did not provide a strategic plan, only analyzed the current situation: "The Neck is guarded by Greywater Watch for us, so Tywin can't reach us here.
I think he will most likely go to find his son Jaime."
"Perhaps we should stay in Kalin Bay and wait until the situation outside becomes clear before going out."
"Be a coward? You go be one, and do we have enough food?!"
The people below were in a heated argument, while Robb just listened silently, not rashly expressing his own views; this was what a commander-in-do should do.
The rest of the lords were his vassals, not friends.
He could listen to their opinions, but he would never argue with them.
He only needed to listen to all the information and then make a decision.
This argument lasted for a long time, and everyone was getting a bit tired of arguing.
It was then that they noticed Robb, sitting at the head, had been silent the whole time, listening intently to their arguments.
So the voices of contention gradually subsided, and everyone looked towards Robb.
Unconsciously, everyone was hoping Robb would come up with a plan.
Someone had to be in charge, right.
"Young Master Robb, you should give us an idea," Roose Bolton was the first to speak.