After leaving Cliff Rock City, Roose Bolton turned to look at the ancient castle behind him, then turned to ask his aide, "Who is that noble lady beside Robb?"
"I heard she's Lady Sybell's daughter from Cliff Rock City," the aide whispered. "They say she's been taking care of Robb ever since he fell ill, and there seems to be something between them... The Frey family seems very angry about this."
Roose Bolton listened, then remained silent for a long time, looking back at the castle again. He said, "Our Young Wolf is invincible, conquering all before him. He's very much like Aegon the Conqueror back then—so young, so proud, and so arrogant."
His aide said nothing.
"How is our guest doing?" Roose Bolton suddenly asked.
The aide replied seriously, "He's being treated according to his status, but he's not in a very good mood."
Roose Bolton said calmly, "It's normal to not be in a good mood when one loses a hand, especially the right hand used for a sword."
"Are we going to use him?" the aide inquired.
"Not yet, we still have some things to do." Roose Bolton turned to look in the direction of Riverrun, his gaze distant. He said, "The Old Lion is still too proud, so proud that even his requests for help are arrogant. While he has the capital to be arrogant, I don't like it. The terms he offered are indeed tempting, but if we don't show the necessary capability, with the Old Lion's character, he might take back the benefits before we can even enjoy them." He then thought seriously and asked his aide, "Which armies are currently garrisoning Harrenhal?"
The aide thought seriously and said, "After Kevan Lannister took some men to garrison Duskendale, Harrenhal still has four armies: the Casterly Rock garrison led by acting castellan Davos Lannister, Mountain Clegane's private army, Amorey Lorch's private army, and some mercenary groups hired from across the Narrow Sea, primarily the Brave Companions. The total number of people is about 40,000. However, Mountain Clegane often raids the Riverlands and rarely stays in Harrenhal."
"There are too many villains. If Kevan were still here, he might have been able to keep these people in check, but the current acting castellan is a newly emerged young man. He won't be able to control those fierce individuals." Roose Bolton sneered disdainfully, then as if suddenly remembering something, he asked his aide, "The name Brave Companions sounds familiar. Did we used to...?"
The aide nodded, "Yes, you once hired the Brave Companions to do something. Vargo Hoat, the leader of the Brave Companions, is extremely greedy and has no bottom line."
"Very good, people with no bottom line are very good." Roose Bolton smiled and said nothing more.
After a few days, Roose Bolton returned to Riverrun. To his surprise, during his absence from Riverrun, Edmure Tully had secretly crossed the Red Fork and launched a surprise attack on the Westerlands army's camp, achieving a great victory. He directly burned all the supplies the Westerlands used to build bridges, killed over a thousand Westerlands soldiers, and forced Tywin to retreat and garrison Duskendale.
For a long time, in Roose Bolton's mind, or rather, in the minds of all Northmen, Edmure Tully was synonymous with idiocy. Even though he was the Duke of Riverrun, he was still not taken seriously. Even a reckless fool like Jon would occasionally joke about Edmure Tully's stupidity.
So when he heard the news, Roose Bolton's first thought was whether the rumor had mistaken the person, saying Edmure Tully instead of Blackfish Brynden Tully. One must know that Roose Bolton dared to go to Cliff Rock City to investigate Robb's illness while confronting Tywin precisely because Blackfish Brynden Tully was holding down Riverrun.
However, after repeated confirmation, Roose Bolton realized that he had not misheard. It was indeed Edmure Tully who led the troops to ambush Tywin, and it was even without Brynden Tully's knowledge.
The specific process was that while Edmure Tully was on a routine patrol along the Red Fork, he discovered a vulnerability in Tywin's camp across the river and thought it was an opportunity. However, he also knew very well what his image was in everyone's mind. If he went to discuss it with Brynden, he probably wouldn't get approval, and the opportunity would be lost. So, that very night, he directly led over a thousand of his men whom he could command, secretly crossed the river, and ambushed Tywin, which resulted in such astonishing success.
However, Edmure's actions did not seem to win Blackfish Brynden's approval; instead, he was severely scolded by him. When Roose Bolton saw him, his face was still very grim.
"I actually think Lord Edmure's strategy was very correct. After this battle, Tywin will not be able to cross the Red Fork for a short time, which is undoubtedly of great benefit to us." Roose Bolton deliberately praised Edmure Tully in front of Blackfish Brynden, saying, "I must say, Lord Edmure's victory in this battle will surely make him famous throughout the Seven Kingdoms. After all, there are not many people in this world who can make the Old Lion suffer such a great loss. Even our King Robb cannot do it; he can only avoid the Old Lion's sharp edge."
Hearing Roose Bolton's praise, Edmure Tully's previously depressed mood instantly improved quite a bit.
When he returned victorious, he had originally expected to receive wine and praise, but instead, he was thoroughly scolded by his uncle Blackfish Brynden in front of everyone, including his own subordinates, making him feel utterly frustrated.
Now, Roose Bolton's praise made him feel as if he was bathed in a spring breeze, like finding a kindred spirit. The bad impression he had of Roose Bolton due to various rumors also lessened significantly, and even Roose Bolton's gloomy face seemed much more agreeable.
"Lord Bolton, please don't say things that will make him conceited. He was just lucky; it doesn't prove that he truly has military talent." Blackfish Brynden looked at Roose Bolton with great displeasure and said, "He was lucky this time and nothing went wrong in the battle. If something had gone wrong, Riverrun would truly be finished." He then looked seriously at Edmure Tully and said in a deep voice, "Edmure, you are now the Duke of Riverrun, not a warrior charging forward. Your first consideration should be your own safety, and Riverrun's..."
"Enough! I know my identity very well, but my uncle, do you know my identity?" Edmure interrupted Blackfish, angrily saying, "The way you speak to me doesn't sound like you're speaking to the Duke of Riverrun, the head of House Tully. If someone didn't know, they'd think you were the Duke of Riverrun, my uncle."
Faced with Edmure's anger, Blackfish didn't know what to say for a moment, only looking at Edmure with a grim expression.
Seeing the two men engaged in a dispute, Roose Bolton's face showed no change, as if this argument had not been provoked by him.
Roose Bolton began to act like a good person, stepping forward to ease the atmosphere, "I think we should still unite now. Although the crisis has been resolved, the war is not over yet. What we should consider most is how to end this war as quickly as possible, not to argue with each other."
The tense atmosphere around them eased somewhat due to Roose Bolton's words. The two who had been glaring at each other averted their gazes, and then Blackfish Brynden said, "Although Edmure's sneak attack was successful, Tywin's army suffered no real losses, only some supplies. Tywin can easily scavenge these supplies from the Riverlands. Moreover, after Edmure's lesson this time, Tywin will only become more vigilant, and we will simply not be able to find another opportunity to attack."
Roose Bolton explained, "Lord Brynden, you've misunderstood. I don't intend to press our advantage and attack Tywin's army again. My meaning is to approach it from another angle."
"Approach it from another angle?" Brynden looked at Roose Bolton in confusion and said, "Are you referring to Lady Daisy's side?"
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