The night before Robb departed, a Northern noble, whom Eddard Stark particularly respected, personally came to visit.
This person even prompted Catelyn to greet him personally.
"Ser Hodor, are you saying you wish to join Lord Bolton's forces?"
"Yes, My Lady. The crannogmen are skilled in infantry combat and archery. Perhaps I can be of assistance."
This Ser Hodor's full name was Lelan Horode.
Eddard Stark had told everyone in his family that if it weren't for Lelan Horode, he would have died at the hands of Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning.
Robb had originally intended to take him to Riverrun, but since Lelan Horode requested it himself, his opinion would be respected.
"No problem, Ser Hodor." After discussing with her son Robb, Catelyn supported his proposal.
However, what neither of them knew was that Lelan Horode's request to join the army commanded by Roose Bolton actually had another reason.
And that reason was Jon.
Now, in his view, it could be said that throughout Seven Kingdoms, only he knew that Jon was not Eddard's bastard.
At least he had personally seen Eddard leave the Tower of Joy carrying a swaddled infant.
And when they were dueling with Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning had personally stated that Rhaegar had sent them to protect the prince!
That's right! The prince!
Jon's performance during this time had been quite dazzling.
Lelan Horode could not ignore it.
He had sworn before Eddard to keep this secret.
He needed to confirm that Jon was truly only aiming to 'rescue his father' as he claimed, and not for any other reason... At this moment, Tywin's army was encamped on the south bank of the Green Fork, five days' journey from The Twins.
It must be said that Tywin's foresight was indeed sharp.
By positioning his army here, he could block the Northern army to the north and closely monitor movements in the Vale to the east.
What Roose Bolton and Jon needed to do was to tie down Tywin's army, creating a battle opportunity for Robb to relieve Winterfell.
To launch a surprise attack on the Westerlands army surrounding Riverrun, Robb had already set off early with his cavalry.
Although cavalry moved quickly, their journey was longer.
Under normal marching conditions, the main infantry force led by Roose Bolton could appear before Tywin's army before Robb reached Riverrun.
At this moment, inside Roose Bolton's tent, he was making pre-battle arrangements and giving a pep talk.
Because Roose Bolton still held command of the main army, the tent was filled with prominent Northern nobles.
For example, House Karstark, House Cerwyn, House Manderly, and House Blackwood.
Of course, there was also the newly joined Frey Family.
Robb had only taken eight hundred cavalry, leaving the remaining thousand-plus infantry under Roose Bolton's command.
Roose Bolton was assigning tasks, determining the marching order, and how to arrange the army's center, left flank, and right flank.
As for the newly joined Lelan Horode, assigning him posed no pressure.
The soldiers he brought were assigned to the archer unit.
Now, only the most crucial part of Roose Bolton's sneak attack plan remained to be undertaken by someone.
That was reconnaissance.
In the original Battle of the Green Fork, Roose Bolton's movements were discovered when he ran into the cavalry of House Marbrand from the Westerlands.
This led to the failure of the sneak attack.
Roose Bolton asked, "Is there anyone willing to undertake the task of reconnaissance?"
Don't let these Northerners' usual shouts of war fool you; when it comes down to life and death, each one is as cunning as a monkey.
Reconnaissance was a terrible job.
If you did it well, your achievements wouldn't be recognized.
If you did it poorly, you would definitely be blamed.
So, for a long time, no one spoke.
Just then, Jon stood up and voluntarily took on the task:
"Lord Bolton, I wish to scout for the army, to ensure the path ahead is safe and clear."
Jon's statement made others look at him, especially Lelan Horode, who scrutinized the young man, so much like Eddard, with his emerald green eyes, as if deep in thought.
"Ensure safety and clarity? How will you ensure it? With your soldiers who have just learned to walk?"
Meici Severn once again tried to assert his presence by targeting Jon.
But this time, Jon wouldn't indulge him; instead, he sharply turned his head, his face cold.
Cerwyn's smile froze on his face, and he turned his head away sheepishly.
Those who had been about to mock him now fell silent.
They seemed to have somewhat forgotten that although this person before them was a bastard, and had previously made a fool of himself with 'wildly imaginative' battle plans, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the North's foremost warrior.
Lelan Horode, sitting in the corner, whispered a name only he could hear: Lyanna.
Roose Bolton's eyes flickered, and he said,
"Wolves always have keen senses. The reconnaissance task is yours."
"As you command, My Lord."
Jon nodded, accepting.
He had already made up his mind that if this attack didn't go smoothly, he would pin the blame on Jon.
This would remove some of Robb's restrictions on him.
Of course, this blame couldn't be assigned just because he wanted to; as the commander, he couldn't make up things. After all, the others weren't blind; if the battle genuinely didn't go smoothly due to other reasons, he couldn't lie with his eyes wide open.
But in Roose Bolton's view, since Jon had volunteered, there was no reason to decline.
Just then, Lelan Horode suddenly stood up and said,
"Lord Bolton, we crannogmen are also quite familiar with this area. Perhaps I could go with Jon."
"Alright, then I'll leave it to Ser Hodor and Jon."
Everyone looked at Lelan, feeling somewhat strange.
Just a moment ago, no one was willing to undertake the reconnaissance mission, and now suddenly two had volunteered.
And this name, when it reached Jon's ears, was like a clap of thunder.
However, to avoid arousing suspicion, he made no extra movements.
He simply agreed to meet up when the time was right... After the war council ended, the various lords returned to their armies.
Their next task was to convey Roose Bolton's plan to their vassals.
And then the vassals would convey it to knights and other frontline soldiers.
Jon naturally had to return to see his 'two generals'.
At this moment, in Jon's camp, Old York was idly watching the soldiers who were still endlessly practicing left turns, right turns, advancing, and stopping.
He racked his imagination, but he couldn't figure out how such soldiers could win battles.
The formations looked good, but what would they do when it came time to kill the enemy?
In his opinion, this expedition would likely be his last in life.
He had originally hoped to earn some military merit and buy more land when he returned.
But now it seemed everything was ruined.
Slap!
Old York slapped himself, regretting why he had fallen asleep in such a setting.
He turned to look at his 'teammate', Tormien, who was always the same, either tidying his armor or cleaning his weapon.
It seemed simple actions could keep him endlessly entertained.
Suddenly, Old York saw Jon return to the camp, and though somewhat reluctantly, he stood up to greet him.
Tormien, prompted by an attendant, also came to Jon's side.
"My Lord."
Both greeted him in unison. They, or more accurately, Old York, knew that Jon's return this time surely brought battle assignments.
Old York held a sliver of hope that perhaps this bastard commander, through Robb's connections, could be assigned a good combat position.
"Gentlemen, I now have two tasks to give you. The first is reconnaissance. Our goal is to attack the Westerlands army, and we must ensure the army's movements are not discovered."
Old York listened and thought, 'What kind of task is this? If you do it well, you might not get credit, but if you do it poorly, you'll definitely be held accountable.'
This was completely a thankless job! So he placed his hope on the second task.
"The second task is that I need to create a barrier lake near the Green Fork, and release the water at a critical moment to attack or hinder the enemy."
After hearing both tasks, Old York's heart sank. He knew he wouldn't gain anything from this expedition.
At this moment, Old York suddenly asked in a low voice,
"My Lord, were these tasks forced upon you by Lord Bolton? You can write to Lord Robb..."
In Old York's view, Jon must have been'set up' by someone.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be this bad.
Jon ignored the old fox.
Next, he needed to upgrade the Gods Perspective entry and figure out Lelan Horode's reason for approaching him.
Eddard always said that without him, he would have been killed by Arthur Dayne.
This old fellow wouldn't have some 'witchcraft' up his sleeve, would he?