Upon hearing Linde's words, everyone present was stunned, then exchanged glances and inexplicably began to laugh.
Seeing their reactions, Linde felt somewhat confused, and Barristan, who was standing beside him, whispered a reminder, "The matter of Sea Frontier City has already been discussed."
Hearing this, Linde showed a hint of embarrassment and said, "I spoke out of turn just now…"
"Ser Linde, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the current situation in Sea Frontier City," Lord Arryn interrupted Linde, his voice grave.
Everyone also sobered up and looked at Linde seriously.
Although he had made a blunder earlier, Linde did not lose his composure. After a brief silence, seemingly organizing his thoughts, he calmly stated, "Sea Frontier City is a crucial location for the Iron Islands. If they can take Sea Frontier City, they can thoroughly influence the entire Riverlands through rivers like the Blue Fork River and Green Fork River, making the lords of the Riverlands hesitant to easily send troops to King's Landing. Additionally, they can block the King's Road to prevent Northern armies from moving south. If they want to be even more thorough, they could send a force to attack Kalin Bay. By holding these two places with a small number of men, the forces of the North and the Riverlands would essentially be contained."
Upon hearing Linde's words, everyone's faces showed surprise. They then looked at each other, and Robert gestured to Varys. Varys then took a piece of intelligence from his pocket, stood up, and handed it to Linde, saying, "This is intelligence that just arrived."
Linde took it and read it, discovering that it mentioned Balon's brother, Victarion Greyjoy, had already captured Kalin Bay, and the garrison there had been completely wiped out.
Seeing the contents of the intelligence, Linde's expression became somewhat grim, as he realized that the Ironborn rebellion was now very different from the rebellion he knew.
Firstly, the fall of Fairy City, Warwick, and Shear Rock City in the Westerlands. In Linde's memory, although these three cities were plundered by the Ironborn, they did not fall and still had garrisons resisting until the Ironborn retreated.
Secondly, Sea Frontier City. According to the normal future development, Lord Jason of Sea Frontier City would kill Rodrik Greyjoy, who invaded, outside the city, and the remaining Ironborn would retreat to sea.
But now, Lord Jason had fallen ill due to the extreme cold disaster and had not yet recovered. Not to mention fighting on the front lines, he couldn't even command the army, having to leave it to his son, Patrick Mellister, to command, which was why Sea Frontier City was still under siege.
Finally, Kalin Bay. Although Linde saw the importance of Kalin Bay, this was only from his omniscient perspective, knowing that only a small number of men were needed to hold Kalin Bay to completely restrict the Northern army from moving south.
However, now Balon Greyjoy had actually sent someone to attack Kalin Bay, and the person sent was his top general, Victarion Greyjoy.
Furthermore, the intelligence mentioned that many of the Kalin Bay defenders had frozen to death due to the extreme cold disaster. Faced with the sudden attack, they had no ability to resist and were easily overwhelmed.
Now, just as he had suspected, the Northern army advancing south for support was blocked at the First Men Burial Mounds, unable to move.
Although they had tried to risk crossing Kalin Bay by going through the nearby swamps, the result was that many fell into the swamps, and the remaining men were later ambushed by the prepared Ironborn, ultimately losing over a thousand men and being forced to retreat.
After reading the intelligence, Linde habitually handed it to Nameria, then, under the surprised gazes of the others, asked, "What about The Twins? The only lord who can rescue Sea Frontier City and Kalin Bay now is Frey of The Twins. Haven't they made any moves?"
After asking this, Linde saw that everyone's expressions had grown considerably darker.
"The Twins sent word, claiming that many people in their territory had frozen to death in the extreme cold disaster, and their current manpower is only enough for self-preservation, making it impossible to provide support," Varys proactively explained the situation to Linde, saying, "Not just The Twins, but even the Riverlands suffered severe damage in this extreme cold disaster. It will likely take some time for the various territories to gather enough men to assemble in King's Landing, and the number of supporting troops will not be very large."
Undoubtedly, that extreme cold disaster, which should not have occurred, changed many things, making this Iron Islands rebellion, which should have been easily suppressed, somewhat difficult.
"Since His Majesty and the lords have already discussed this matter, could you tell me what the discussion's outcome was?" Linde thought for a moment and asked.
Stannis, who had maintained a cold expression, said grimly, "This is a high-level secret, not something a knight like you should inquire about…"
Robert interrupted his younger brother and said gravely, "No, tell him. I want to see what opinions he has."
Stannis frowned. Although he felt Robert's decision was inappropriate, he did not object.
This time, Lord Arryn provided the information, saying, "Our decision is to have the Riverlands directly gather troops to rescue Sea Frontier City. Kalin Bay will be ignored for now. Once we take the Iron Islands, Kalin Bay will naturally no longer be an issue."
Linde thought for a moment after hearing this and asked, "What if the Ironborn besieging Sea Frontier City defeat the Riverlands' allied forces?"
"How is that possible?" Everyone shook their heads, believing Linde was being fanciful. Although the Riverlands itself was not particularly strong and had also been hit by the extreme cold disaster, no matter how weak the Riverlands was, it was still much stronger than the Iron Islands. After the various lords gathered their forces, they could completely stand against the Iron Islands alone, let alone just a single Ironborn force.
And while everyone thought Linde's idea was completely nonsensical, only Robert had a solemn expression and looked thoughtful.
Then, Robert raised his hand to stop everyone from mocking Linde, and then said to Linde, "Continue."
Linde calmly said, "If the Ironborn besieging Sea Frontier City defeat the Riverlands' allied forces, then they can change their target and directly attack King's Landing from the south. At that time, the Ironborn garrisoned in Kalin Bay can abandon Kalin Bay and merge with the Ironborn from Sea Frontier City, forming a single army. They can then march south through the completely undefended Riverlands, heading straight for King's Landing. By then, everyone in King's Landing would have gone to rescue the Westerlands. Facing a sudden attack from the Ironborn, it would be difficult to defend. Even if they did defend, the Ironborn could plunder the areas around King's Landing, then retreat back through the Riverlands, avoiding subsequent pursuits."
Hearing Linde's predictions for the battle, everyone immediately fell silent, each lost in thought.
"With Kalin Bay no longer blocked, the Northern army would be able to move south. If those Ironborn turned back north, they should encounter the Northern army," said Howard Tully, a collateral member of House Tully of Riverrun, believing he had found a loophole.
Linde explained, "That's simple. The Ironborn retreating from Kalin Bay only need to create various traps to hinder the small army during their retreat, or leave a small team to hide in the swamps and constantly harass the Northern army. This would maximize the delay of their march, giving the Ironborn enough time to travel back and forth in the Riverlands several times."
Saying this, he walked directly to the table where everyone was gathered, pointed at the map on the table, and said, "Moreover, retreating to the Riverlands is not the only route for the Ironborn. They could completely enter the Crownlands, seize ships there, and leave by sea. They could also head south through the Kingswood, enter the Stormlands, plunder there, and then seize ships to leave. They could even be bolder and, before the supporting armies know King's Landing is under attack, follow the supporting armies' route along the Golden Road into the Westerlands, cooperating with Ironborn landing on the west coast to sandwich the supporting armies. Once the Ironborn enter the King's Landing area, they have far too many choices."
After Linde finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Although most of them believed such a thing might not happen, they could not be 100% certain. If things truly developed as Linde predicted, then even if they ultimately took the Iron Islands, the prestige of House Baratheon would be greatly diminished, which would undoubtedly be a disaster for the newly established House Baratheon.
"Ser Linde, since you have thought of this, do you have any good solutions?" Grand Maester Pycelle asked Linde at this point.
"I can handle it," Linde offered.
"You can handle it?" Everyone was taken aback.
Linde walked back to Nameria's side and said, "Nameria and I brought over two thousand of our most elite warriors this time. Your Majesty can entrust me with recapturing Kalin Bay and relieving Sea Frontier City."
"Two thousand men are enough? I remember there are over ten thousand Ironborn besieging Sea Frontier City, and several thousand garrisoning Kalin Bay. You only have two thousand…" Stannis questioned unceremoniously.
"Lord, war isn't about numbers. If it were, then before a battle, everyone would just count their men, and the one with more would be declared victorious. Why fight with real swords and spears?" Linde directly interrupted Stannis, then said with great confidence, "If my two thousand men are used properly, they can achieve the effect of ten thousand or even tens of thousands."
"How do you plan to fight?" Robert seemed to believe Linde's confidence and asked.
"I will first go to rescue Kalin Bay, then rendezvous with a portion of the Northern army, pass directly through The Twins, and then take some men from The Twins. This way, the numbers will reach nearly ten thousand, enough to deal with the Ironborn outside Sea Frontier City. At that time, with Sea Frontier City's cooperation, those Ironborn can be completely annihilated outside Sea Frontier City," Linde clearly outlined his chosen attack route, saying, "After resolving the siege of Sea Frontier City, the Northern army can continue south, either to rendezvous with the Riverlands army and assemble in King's Landing, or proceed directly to assemble in the Westerlands. As for me, I can travel along the coastline from Sea Frontier City to Warwick, Shear Rock City, and Fairy City, to see if there's an opportunity to liberate them from the Ironborn ahead of schedule."
In fact, the attack route Linde proposed was not his own idea; he had borrowed it from Robb Stark, the Young Wolf, from ten years in the future, as Robb's route for attacking the Westerlands was somewhat similar to the one he was now describing.
After listening to Linde, Robert did not mock his overestimation of himself. Instead, after a moment of contemplation, he asked, "How confident are you?"
Linde did not answer directly, saying, "Before a battle begins, no one knows the outcome. Talking about confidence beforehand is meaningless. I can only say that I will not betray Your Majesty's trust."
Robert was silent for a moment, then said, "I remember Lord Mace granted you the title of Commander of Bandit Suppression for the entire Reach. The Reach is a bit too small. I will expand the scope of this title's authority. I will appoint you as the Commander of Bandit Suppression for all Seven Kingdoms…"
"Your Majesty…" Jon Arryn immediately wanted to stop Robert's appointment upon hearing this.
"No need to say more, Lord. Let this matter be arranged as such. It is merely a title and will not grant him any real power. It will only allow him to receive some nominal assistance when acting," Robert raised his hand to stop the King's Hand from speaking further.
He then swiftly picked up a blank document nearby, quickly wrote down Linde's appointment, stamped it with his royal seal, and handed it to Jon Arryn, indicating for him to stamp it with the Hand's seal.
Seeing this, Jon Arryn could not say anything more. He took the Hand's seal, stamped it, and then handed it to Linde.
After receiving the document, Linde still felt somewhat incredulous. He hadn't expected to receive such a grand title just by speaking a few words. Although, as Robert said, this title wouldn't bring him any substantial power, if used well, it could help him gain some extra assistance.
"When do you plan to depart? What do you need us to prepare for you?" Robert asked again.
Linde thought for a moment and said, "I will rest one night and depart north tomorrow. Because I need to reach Kalin Bay as quickly as possible, I cannot bring any heavy supplies. I only need some dry rations; I will resupply the rest on the way."
"In that case, you may withdraw and rest! I will send someone to prepare the dry rations you need," Robert indicated that Linde could leave, and as Linde and Nameria were about to depart, he suddenly added, "If you can truly accomplish everything you've said, after the war ends, I will personally grant you a peerage."
Hearing Robert's words, Linde turned and bowed to him. Without saying anything, he and Nameria left the courtyard.
"Your Majesty, your actions are disrespectful. Linde Terra is, after all, a knight of House Tyrell; he should be…" Lord Arryn reminded him with a serious expression.
"I know, I know! When it's time for the official enfeoffment, I'll let Lord Mace do it for me," Robert dismissively interrupted Lord Arryn, then urged, "Let's move on to the next topic quickly. We shouldn't waste time here discussing unnecessary things. Oh, and the Royal Fleet from Dragonstone doesn't need to participate in this suppression. They can just display their forces in Blackwater Bay after the various lord's armies assemble in King's Landing."
Stannis's face was somewhat grim, seemingly displeased with this decision, but he did not object, merely nodding in response.
-------------------------
Thank you for following my story. If you want to read it first, please visit my Patreon — there are about 30-40 chapters waiting there. Your support really motivates me to continue to release more stories!
👉[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]