The torches flickered in the Winterfell dungeon, and King Robert quickly lost patience, letting out a yawn.
"When we were in King's Landing, Jon Arryn and Renly usually handled prisoner interrogations; Renly is the Master of Laws. Eddard, you are now the hand of the king, and your brother Benjen is the First Ranger of the Night's Watch. I'll leave Mance Rayder for you to interrogate."
Bound by handcuffs and leg irons, Mance Rayder sneered, "King Robert, this time I see you clearly. You are lazy and shirk responsibility."
Robert snorted, saying indifferently, "Do you think I care about the opinion of a Night's Watch deserter?"
In Robert's eyes, Mance Rayder was nothing more than a local tyrant Beyond the Wall.
Mance Rayder held the title of King-Beyond-the-Wall, but his kingdom was merely a loose alliance of Wildlings.
Wildling leaders like Tormund the Giantsbane, Alfyn Crowkiller, Hammar the Doghead, The Rattler, and Magnar the Thenn, each had their own territories and followers. They were willing to answer Mance's call and follow his command during wartime, but no Wildling would kneel and swear fealty to him, as Wildlings despised those who knelt, and their discipline was severely lacking.
When King Robert was in King's Landing, he was uninterested in interrogations, judgments, hearing petitions from commoners and nobles, finances, state affairs, diplomacy, or infrastructure. The only thing King Robert was interested in was leading armies into battle. But once the realm was stable, King Robert no longer had the chance to fight, so he simply absented himself from Small Council meetings for long periods, becoming a hands-off ruler and leaving the kingdom to be managed by the Small Council.
Now in Winterfell, Robert chose to push the interrogation of Mance Rayder onto Eddard. Robert stood up, preparing to leave.
Eddard reached out and grabbed Robert's thick arm, "Robert, Mance Rayder is the King-Beyond-the-Wall. Through him, we might learn many secrets of the Wildlings, and the situation of the Night's Watch."
Robert frowned, "He, Mance Rayder, a Wildling, can understand the situation of the Night's Watch?"
In the North and Winterfell, Eddard was a lord. He was accustomed to ruling; all matters, big and small, in Winterfell and the North were decided by Eddard alone.
Now that the King had arrived, Eddard had to try to persuade him. Eddard patiently said, "Robert, Mance Rayder used to be a member of the Night's Watch. He later became a deserter and spent several years becoming the King-Beyond-the-Wall. The person who understands you best is often your opponent, so Mance Rayder undoubtedly understands the Night's Watch very well."
When Benjen petitioned King Robert, Eddard witnessed the entire exchange. King Robert simply did not care about the Night's Watch and The Wall, turning a deaf ear to the increasingly powerful Wildling Army of Mance Rayder.
Once Mance Rayder's Wildling Army breached The Wall, the North would directly suffer Wildling raids. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for Wildlings to breach The Wall, but the Night's Watch had now dwindled to fewer than a thousand men, scattered across three castles along the three-hundred-mile stretch of The Wall.
Nobles from The Riverlands, the Westerlands, Dorne, The Reach, the Vale, The Stormlands, and the Iron Islands, of course, had reason to ignore the Wildling threat, because when Wildlings attacked the Seven Kingdoms, the vast North could block them. But the North would suffer terribly, especially those northern lords adjacent to the Gift.
After Wildling raiders crossed The Wall, they would raid the territories of the Umber family of Last Hearth, the Mountain Clans of House Wull, House Flint, and other places. Some Wildlings would also build small boats, bypass Seal Bay east of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and raid the territories of House Karstark of Karhold across the sea.
And some Ice-Coast people would build small boats, cross The Bay of Ice, and raid the territories of House Mormont of Bear Island.
Eddard wanted to use Mance Rayder to remind King Robert to take The Wall and the Night's Watch seriously. Eddard said, "Robert, perhaps you and I should escort Mance Rayder together to Castle Black and discuss the threat of the Wildlings beyond the Wall with the commander of the Night's Watch there."
Benjen echoed, "Your Majesty, if you visit The Wall, whether it's Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Castle Black, or Castle Black, you will be warmly welcomed."
The last king to visit Castle Black was King Jaehaerys the Conciliator.
Robert's eyes shifted, and he adjusted his thick fur cloak, "Forget it! Eddard, the North is simply too damn cold. I've already experienced the cold of the North since I arrived in Winterfell, and it's still snowing in summer. I'm not going any further north."
King Robert appeared to be a rough man, but in fact, he possessed some cunning.
King Robert, of course, understood the intentions behind Eddard and Benjen's repeated invitations to The Wall: they wanted Robert to provide money and manpower to the Night's Watch, to revitalize it and better guard the northern border of the kingdom.
However, getting Robert to open his purse was impossible.
Although Robert had never seen Littlefinger's financial statements, he knew very well that the royal treasury had long been empty due to the lavish feasts, Tourneys, and unrestrained indulgences he had hosted over the years.
Not only was the iron throne broke, but it also owed a mountain of debt to the Braavosi Iron Bank and House Lannister. Robert certainly did not want to spend money on the Night's Watch and The Wall.
King Robert pulled away Eddard's hand from his arm, "I have no interest whatsoever in interrogating Mance Rayder. You and Benjen interrogate him!"
As King Robert was about to leave, Eddard and Benjen were both helpless. They had exhausted all their words, but still couldn't make Robert take the King-Beyond-the-Wall and the plight of the Night's Watch seriously.
At this moment, Jon stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, if you personally interrogate Mance Rayder, you might be able to figure out the Wildlings' military situation. Many people in the North are saying that King Robert will lead an expedition to sweep Beyond the Wall."
Benjen, Eddard, and Tyrion immediately realized that Jon had grasped the crux of the matter. He perfectly played on Robert's love for warfare, using the idea of an imperial expedition against the Wildlings to pique King Robert's interest. If King Robert wanted to personally lead an expedition Beyond the Wall, then he would be unable to avoid the issues of The Wall and Beyond the Wall.
Robert's eyes immediately lit up, "An imperial expedition? Jon, did you perhaps dream of me leading an expedition Beyond the Wall?"
Jon pondered for a moment, "Yes, I saw the King in Castle Black, the banners of House Baratheon flying Beyond the Wall north of Castle Black, and the King's army sweeping through, crushing the Wildling Army. The Brothers of the Night's Watch and knights shouted together, 'Long live the King!'"
Jon, the transmigator, was not lying. This was indeed a potential future scene, though at that time the Baratheon banner might have a flaming Red Heart added to it, and whether the king leading the expedition would be Robert or Stannis would depend on Robert's lifespan.
Robert believed it to be true, "This vision is too beautiful. For years I've been frustrated by having no wars to fight. I never realized there were still enemies Beyond the Wall!"
Then, Robert had a change of thought, "However, I heard that the Wildlings beyond the Wall have no forges or blacksmiths. They can't even put together leather armor or longswords. What honor is there in me leading heavily armored cavalry to defeat such enemies?"
Jon said, "Your Majesty, I dreamed that the Wildling Army included Mammoths, as well as Wargs who can control Snow Bears, falcons, direwolves, and Shadowcats; Ice-Coast people who drive dog-pulled bone chariots; The Rattler's Son who walk barefoot through the snow as fast as flying; and the Thenn, known for their discipline, clad in bronze scale armor, among others."
"The Wildling Army even has giants and Mammoths."
Benjen, Eddard, Theon, Robb, King Robert, Jaime, and Tyrion were all plunged into shock.
If any other child had said such things, no one would have paid attention, dismissing it as nonsense.
But Jon had repeatedly proven his prophetic dream talent. The Wildling Army in Jon's words sounded preposterous, but if Jon's prophecy came true, it would be a major threat to the kingdom.
Mance Rayder appeared calm, but deep down, he was plunged into profound self-doubt. He looked at Jon, astonished as to why this fourteen-year-old boy, who had never been Beyond the Wall, knew so much about Beyond the Wall and the Wildling Army.
The Imp, Tyrion, standing nearby, was full of suspicion, "Jon, your dreams are truly colorful. Are there really so many strange creatures in the Wildling Army? Other things aside, books say that giants and Mammoths have long been extinct."
Jon smiled, "Imp, if you believe books entirely, it's better not to have books at all. Books are merely summaries by predecessors. There are no giants south of The Wall, but Beyond the Wall, north of The Wall, giants and Mammoths still exist. Their numbers are not large, but there are certainly a few hundred of them."
Mance Rayder was surprised by the accuracy of the giant numbers Jon provided. He found Jon increasingly terrifying.
Earlier in the Training Yard, Mance Rayder had deliberately approached Jon, Robb, Theon, and others, also to ascertain the truth of Jon's prophetic abilities. After all, Mance Rayder had already heard various rumors about the bastard of House Stark's dream prophecies on his way to Winterfell.
Now, Jon's dream prophecy not only exposed Mance Rayder's disguise, leading to Mance Rayder's capture, but Jon also revealed various details about the Wildlings beyond the Wall. For the first time, Mance Rayder felt that Jon would become a great bane to the Wildling Army in the future.