บท 181: An olive branch
In case anyone is interested, I decided to write a story to distract me from the research I do for some chapters of this fanfic, it's called Industrial Baron in Caesar's Legion, it's more violent because there is no need to keep up appearances.I will upload a chapter later
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-Pov of Jon arryn eighth moon 288 AC
This war isn't going as well as I had hoped. Initially, we achieved our objectives in the Crownlands, recruiting nearly thirty thousand men from the capital and the local nobles. Renly Baratheon managed to gather forty thousand men who arrived in the capital, while leaving five thousand behind to secure his border against the Prussians. I recruited fifty thousand men from my territories, who arrived by sea to ease transportation.
The problem now lies with the Ironborn, who aren't answering their call to arms. The Dornish responded, but we've been informed that they clashed with the Prussian navy, which burned one of Dorne's most important trade centers without massacring the population. It could be a sign of Prussian honor, but this pattern is repeating in Tully and Lannister lands, where everything is burned, but the people survive.
This is only to create famine. Without harvests for the end of the year, with hundreds of thousands left with nothing to eat, it's only a matter of time before chaos erupts in those lands through banditry, disease, and hunger. And they haven't stopped. There are plenty of grain reserves in the granaries, but the decision was whether to feed the men and horses or our smallfolk, especially during wartime.
And, of course, with the attacks on the Riverlands and Dorne, the forces that were supposed to join ours in the capital have been significantly delayed, and their numbers aren't what they promised because they had to deal with the Finnish horsemen that the Prussians unleashed on their lands, or the Dornish, who face the constant threat of a naval invasion in their castles due to Stannis' defeat by Karl, which also leaves the capital vulnerable to a naval attack.
Had we all gathered, we would have assembled the largest army ever seen in the Seven Kingdoms, nearly three hundred thousand men, with which we would have sought battle with the Prussians, defeated them, and then divided to siege the Prussian holdings. But now, between all the lords' hosts, we've only mustered around two hundred thousand men—still an enormous army, but not enough to overwhelm the Prussians, who must have a little over a hundred thousand men scattered throughout The Reach.
But the time we've spent waiting for the rest of the forces has only served to divide the kingdom. Lord Tywin is quarreling with Hoster for his incompetence in defending his lands. When Lord Tywin tried to reach the capital through Tully-controlled territory, he was ambushed, losing many knights in the process, and was delayed in clearing the forests in the area, bringing back several Finnish heads, as he couldn't capture any alive since they preferred to slit their throats rather than be taken.
Hoster wants to return to his lands to defend them, but losing his men would mean that the assembly we've gathered here in King's Landing would have failed, and any advantage we might have had would disappear. This would give the Prussians time to build fortifications and train more soldiers.
As I saw Varys enter, my headache returned because every time I see him, he brings more bad news.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Lord Hand, but it's my job. My little birds in The Reach have had much more freedom since the Prussians have mobilized for battle, so the information is quite reliable. The Prussians have mobilized around two hundred thousand to two hundred fifty thousand men throughout The Reach. At all times, more patrols are observed moving to the Prussian defenses, and in Tumbleton, there's an army nearly equal to ours in numbers, waiting for an order to march against us," Varys said with a worried expression.
"Damn it… damn it… why is everything going wrong in this war? Hoster's incompetence in guarding his border, even when his serfs were supposedly escaping through there. If only he had bothered to build a castle, it could have prevented them from entering his territories with such force," I said, very angry.
"I suppose the next piece of news won't sit well with you, Lord Hand," Varys said, pressing his lips together.
"What now?" I asked, already tired of the bad news.
"Many lords tried to break the Prussian defenses in the north and failed. Although they managed to capture the small fortresses for a time, they were expelled a few days later. Many of the lords who didn't attend thought they could capture Prussian cities, and what the High Septon promised came true. Many cities in the northern part of The Reach rebelled. Some even managed to take control of the city and the walls, but without any support and so scattered, the Prussians took them back with little difficulty. So we can't count on much support when the advance against the Prussians begins," Varys said in a softer tone.
"So this leaves us evenly matched. We'll have to wait a month or two for the Northerners to arrive, add their men to ours, and try to end the war quickly. It's the perfect opportunity for the Targaryens to return now that we're distracted fighting the Prussians. We can't attack them without them threatening other areas, and they can't attack us without exposing themselves elsewhere. We're at a stalemate," I said, looking at some maps.
"Yes, speaking of that, my Lord Hand, I'm afraid the support from the North won't come," Varys said, looking at me seriously.
"Don't tell me the Prussians opened a front in the North to distract Ned," I said, a bit scared, thinking of Eddard's safety.
"No, my Lord Hand… an assembly was held in the North, and it was discussed that Lord Stark had an alliance with the Hohenzollerns in a case like this, a religious war. After listening to the reasons of both sides, Lord Stark decided to support the Prussians… but only with his neutrality," Varys said.
"You must be joking… Ned… he wouldn't do that… I… no, he's an honorable man. He can't abandon Robert… I raised them as brothers… Ah… gods…" I said, nearly breaking down upon hearing that.
"My Lord Hand, it might be wise to consider the High Septon's proposal. If you allow the Faith to arm itself, they could recruit several thousand fanatics to bolster our ranks. We're in a dire situation, evenly matched against the Prussians, and they clearly have better equipment and training. Numbers were our only great advantage," said the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
"No, Barristan, no. This war started because of that fanatic, giving him more power would be madness, especially now. If we lose one significant battle, we'll be on the defensive for the rest of the war... and it will be a long war. When the Dornish finally join our ranks, we'll try to march on The Reach to start raiding the north of The Reach. The grain must flow again as soon as possible, or thousands... hundreds of thousands will starve because the kingdom's granary no longer sends food to all corners of the realm," I said, defeated in my chair.
Without the Ironborn or Stannis' fleet, the Lannister fleet won't be able to defeat the Prussian southern fleet. It's the most powerful; Karl's fleet was just a reserve force. We won't be able to open a front in the south, and without the Northerners, we're losing nearly fifty thousand men that the Starks could have mobilized in a few months.
Damn, what have I done? In my attempt to keep the kingdom united... the dissolution of the Seven Kingdoms is my fault. Even Robert was wiser than I in choosing which side to support... I trusted the eloquent words of that fanatic, that hundreds of thousands would rise against the Prussians, but only a few thousand did. If we don't defeat the Prussians within three to six months, we'll have one of the worst famines in Westeros' history, and it's all my fault.
This war will be the one to fracture the kingdom—a short, quick war, I thought, would happen.
The sound of Pycelle's chains could be heard just before he entered my tent, bringing a scroll.
"My Lord Hand, several letters from Casterly Rock. The Ironborn have attacked the Lannister fleet anchored at Lannisport… the entire fleet lies at the bottom of the sea, and the port city was sacked," Pycelle said, handing me letters with broken seals.
"Damn it, what we needed now—the Ironborn have sided with the Prussians," I said, slamming the table in anger.
"No, my Lord Hand, they've rebelled against the crown. Balon Greyjoy has declared himself King of the Iron Islands. It doesn't seem like he has an alliance with the Prussian traitor," Pycelle replied.
The next two days were an incessant stream of petitions from coastal lords because the Ironborn were attacking every settlement by the sea, and with the Lannister fleet destroyed, they had complete freedom to raid without any trouble, as everyone was preoccupied with the Finnish problem in their lands.
The Ironborn were doing something similar to the Prussians, only they were stealing harvests and livestock as well as taking inhabitants to sell as slaves on their islands, and we could do nothing. If we dispersed the army, the Prussians would overrun us, especially since their army moved north and began besieging the border castles to force us into combat.
For a few moments, I thought about taking Robert and bringing him to my lands, letting the rest of the realm finally go to hell. At least I could keep Robert safe behind the Vale's defenses when Pycelle finally brought me another letter.
Thinking it was another request for aid from some lord due to either Prussian or Ironborn attacks, I opened it, but the seal was that of the Prussian eagle.
I quickly read its contents, and it seemed that the gods had finally heard my prayers. Lord Hohenzollern was offering a temporary truce to negotiate peace.
For some reason, the letter's contents leaked, and I already had many fanatic lords trying to prevent me from attending the meeting with the Prussians.
I brought the number of knights we had agreed upon with Lord Hohenzollern, along with fifty of my knights as guards, and met with the Prussian escort.
Lord Hohenzollern was wearing black Gothic armor with white feathers adorning his helmet, surrounded by the Teutonic guard with their massive horses.
We stared at each other for several minutes without saying anything.
"Jon Arryn, it seems we have a common enemy... the King of the Iron Islands. He tried to attack Wilhelmshaven, just as he did to the Lannister fleet. Unsuccessfully, of course—they couldn't breach the harbor, but they still raided my coasts," said the Prussian lord with eloquence.
"Indeed, the secession of the Ironborn must be dealt with as harshly as possible by us, but the war keeps us occupied," I said seriously.
"I hope that despite everything that has happened, we can reach a common agreement on this conflict. While we continue bleeding, an enemy takes advantage of our weakness," responded Lord Hohenzollern.
"What are your terms, Lord Hohenzollern, for peace?" I asked the Prussian lord.
"You will deliver to me, in chains, all the septons responsible for the attack on my diplomat, especially the High Septon, and you will ensure control over the next election of the High Septon. A royal pardon for our actions in this conflict for me and all my men. An eighty percent reduction of all taxes from The Reach for ten years, and when we're done with the pirate scum, you will place a Prussian lord as ruler of the area, though he won't answer directly to me. I just want a man who will put an end to the island's pirate customs," said Lord Hohenzollern seriously.
"You ask too much, Wilhelm," I replied.
"Your kingdom is on the verge of collapse. Today the Iron Islands, tomorrow the North, and the day after that, Dorne, and so on until all the kingdoms stop respecting the authority of King's Landing, until the Seven Kingdoms are formally dissolved... I'm offering you the chance to preserve the Seven Kingdoms," replied Lord Hohenzollern.
"What about our agreements, regarding control..." I tried to say.
"They're broken. One doesn't maintain deals that harm them in favor of someone who stabbed them in the back... I need to trust King Robert, and so far, he has only shown himself to be an oathbreaker, but maybe in the future, we can talk about it. When my conditions are fully met, we can renegotiate deals regarding grain sales or the special tax on the Stepstones," Lord Hohenzollern interrupted, raising his voice considerably.
I spent a few minutes thinking.
"I don't have all day, Arryn, nor do you. With every passing second, the destruction of Robert's kingdom draws nearer," said Lord Hohenzollern, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"We have a deal, Lord Hohenzollern," I replied to the Prussian lord.
"Good, let's formalize the pact. And I want you to lift the siege on my bank; the creditors and depositors are drowning me with complaints," said Lord Hohenzollern in a more amiable tone.
We signed the peace agreement, and I immediately ordered the High Septon's arrest, taking advantage of his presence in the vicinity.
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