Above the gently verdant Velvet Hills, the tawny Westeros Fort stood majestically on a hill on the right bank of the Upper Rhoyne River.
Today, Westeros Fort has been renovated from its original stone encampment, with the black-and-red dragon banner flying over the Velvet Hills.
There are many stones near the Velvet Hills, and fortresses made of this stone are relatively the strongest. The two continents on either side of the Narrow Sea are not short of stone, and most castles are primarily stone structures.
Inside Westeros Fort, some logs were also cut for building simple houses.
Viserys looked at the environment inside and outside the hills; a suitable castle still required a lot of thought.
Castles on hillsides usually have corresponding uphill steps, and some castles even have secret passages leading directly to the bottom of the mountain.
Griffin's Roost, the Red Keep, and White Harbor all have such secret passages.
Steps and secret passages belong to deeper castle construction. For now, Viserys's manpower and technology are not enough for full-scale construction, so they can only wait for later.
The stone walls of Westeros Fort have been reinforced, heightened on the existing stone foundation, with gravel filling the gaps between the stones.
Westeros Fort is not far from the river, so stone and sand can also be dug from the river.
Inside the walls of Westeros Fort, four towering pointed wooden towers have been erected to serve as watchtowers.
Once this three-dimensional framework was built, Westeros Fort could be considered a small but sturdy fortress.
Inside the castle, there are also barracks, an armory, a blacksmith's area, stables, the lord's chambers and courtyard, and a training ground.
Viserys tasted the sour red wine produced locally in Andas; its taste was astringent, and only locals were accustomed to drinking it.
There are many wild mountain grapes in the Velvet Hills, and making brandy from them is also a path for development.
"When I was leading the soldiers to dig river sand, I saw some Andal natives peeking in the woods. I'm afraid our first wave of attack will come soon," Ser Roland Lake said. "Should I take some men to patrol the nearby deep forest?"
"It's not good for us to take the initiative; these bandits are more familiar with the terrain than we are..." Viserys mused. "How about this: we'll wait and see, pretend not to have noticed, and then prepare for a defensive counterattack."
The Andal wildlings have no advantage in equipment; their gear and supplies are not good. But the wildlings, relying on their knowledge of the terrain and guerrilla tactics, can still cause immense suffering.
For example, House Arryn; the knights of the Arryn Valley are very famous, and in a direct confrontation, the wildlings have almost no chance of winning.
However, the dukes of House Arryn always liked to play the 'charge to glory' card, so they habitually went to the Mountains of the Moon to send a wave, and not just once.
The tactic Viserys had in mind was the hammer-and-anvil strategy, using this castle as a strongpoint and a shell, and then, after attrition, the mobile units would charge.
"Good," Ser Roland nodded.
After all, among this group of people, the most skilled fighters were Syrio and Viserys. Syrio could only be considered a guest, while the capable Viserys already held considerable authority.
These soldiers who were willing to follow Viserys had also seen Viserys kill the Titan's Bastard without injury.
"There are many Andal bandit gangs in these areas. If we want to establish ourselves here, it seems we must at least defeat several of them," Viserys said.
Ser Roland nodded. "Bandit gangs are too normal. Even the Kingswood had a Brotherhood back then, let alone this kind of lawless territory."
"You have our soldiers continue to cut logs and dig river sand normally. As long as these bandit gangs think we are burdened with heavy labor, they will surely be unable to resist attacking at night. At that time, let Master Syrio be responsible for infantry deployment, and you and I will lead the cavalry to charge out."
Ser Roland looked at Viserys. "Your Majesty, isn't this too dangerous? I can handle these bandit gangs with just the cavalry."
Viserys said confidently, "I will lead the cavalry charge."
Ser Roland still wanted to offer advice, but Viserys was not a procrastinating person.
"Think about the Brotherhood of the Kingswood. The Brotherhood had the help of nearby residents, which is why the knights couldn't find them for so long. Now we are outsiders in the Velvet Hills. If we try to suppress the bandits head-on, the effect will certainly not be good. These natives are familiar with the terrain, are good at mobile warfare, and if they harass our supply lines, it will be difficult for our castle to sustain itself."
"Rather than that, it's better to attract the local bandit gangs as if we were fishing," Viserys said firmly.
The bandit gangs in the Velvet Hills would not grow too large because they were always situated between several factions.
Ser Roland pondered for a moment before nodding. Of course, he had also heard about the situation when the Brotherhood of the Kingswood was besieged back then. Because the Brotherhood had a good relationship with the residents of the Kingswood, the regular knights searched for a very long time.
The army has always been a place where superiors set the example for subordinates. Since Viserys had already set the battlefield strategy, Ser Roland would fully cooperate.
Although their numbers were not large, they already had trained warriors like Syrio, Viserys, and Ser Roland, and in terms of the quantity of elite soldiers, they completely surpassed the natives.
The landless exiles, former Royalists, adventurers, and fishermen Viserys had taken in Braavos at least ensured a certain level of combat effectiveness.
These people had been training with Ser Roland and Viserys, maintaining a certain amount of training, but resources were consumed quickly, and Viserys urgently needed to open up new territory in the Velvet Hills.
As for food, there are many estates in the Pentos plains. If growing grain is too slow, they still need to deal with the Pentos people.
"Tonight, we will still eat at the scheduled time, but don't forget to wear armor. Now that we may have provoked the original Andal bandits, tell them all to hold their weapons and pay attention to the sound of the horn and war drums..."
"Also, we need to prepare crushed stones and logs here."
"Yes."
Although these soldiers have a certain combat capability, to train them into a regular army, it still needs to be achieved through the blood and fire of the battlefield.
Although this process of training and fighting is slow, the loyalty of the soldiers is also high.
From leaving Braavos to trekking to the Velvet Hills, Viserys, apart from training, spent most of his time with the soldiers.
A knight's combat is a combat of steel, ensuring the soldiers are well-fed, heavily armored, then simply adapting to horsemanship, and forming battle lines.
At least Viserys had a certain modern military perspective, and his reverence for order and discipline was deeply ingrained.
Viserys composed himself, preparing for the first round of battle at Westeros Fort.
The four wooden towers might be burned by fire, but there was no energy to stack them into stone towers at the moment.
With a circular wall and four watchtowers as the core, it was at least a basic, complete fortification.
Syrio was in charge of the reserves, Viserys was in charge of the vanguard elites, and Roland was in charge of the second-line soldiers.
As the sun moved to the other side, and as night slowly encroached, the sky was still full of stars.
To deal with the war and better unite the soldiers, Viserys mostly still lived in the barracks, having his own tent.
Viserys looked at the magnificent scene in the sky, like a carpet of stars; this was the life he had chosen.
Great achievements come from hardship. He had to defeat his enemies—the Lannister, Baratheon, and dothraki—and it had to start with the whip and war.
Viserys felt as if some beast was hidden in the darkness, watching his every move.
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