In Winterfell's Training Ground, Robb was doing recovery exercises. When he had first awoken three days earlier, his body had indeed been extremely weak.
But after several days of high-protein food to nourish him, and given that he had already been in good shape, his body had basically recovered in just three days.
As soon as he finished training, Toren, standing to his left, stepped forward and handed him a towel. After Theon had led his team out, the two Karstark brothers had stayed by Robb's side.
Robb smiled and nodded as he took the towel and wiped away his sweat, estimating that Theon and the others were probably still on their way to catch up.
"Eddard, gather all the Wolf Guard who aren't on assignment!
Toren, have the officers of Winterfell assemble as well."
Robb didn't bother wondering whether Theon would complete his mission successfully. Certain that he had recovered, he immediately gave Eddard and Toren their orders.
"Yes, Lord Robb!"
The two Karstark brothers left and promptly relayed Robb's orders.
After a short wait, all the Wolf Guard except for the six on assignment stood in neat ranks on the Training Ground.
The officers of Winterfell, including Ser Rodrik, were slower to arrive and took longer to assemble.
"Brothers and sisters, I was unwell for a while. I'm grateful that you guarded me every day, allowing me to recover."
Robb began his speech in a loud voice. To show his gratitude, he first bowed to the Wolf Guard soldiers.
Robb straightened up and raised a hand to quiet the Wolf Guard, who had stirred at the sight of him bowing, then continued loudly:
"While I was asleep, I had a very long nightmare.
I saw Winterfell ravaged by war. I saw the banners of the North's nobles cut down. I saw the people of the North crying out in despair."
"You may think this was only a dream and means nothing.
But the Wildling I captured told me that beyond the Wall, a Wildling king was preparing to gather a hundred thousand warriors to attack the Wall. They're even said to have the legendary Giants."
"Of course, as far as we know, they could never cross the Wall.
But what if they succeeded? Would you be willing to watch your families fall, your loved ones die horribly or suffer a fate worse than death, and yourselves become food for those Wildlings?"
By the end, Robb was visibly agitated. He pointed north and shouted.
"No!"
"Never!"
"Kill them all!"
The Wolf Guard soldiers shouted in unison, their emotions fully roused. After spending this time with Robb, they had come to admire him deeply, so most of them believed what he said.
The officers of Winterfell, however, were a different matter. Even though they joined in, Ser Rodrik among them, they didn't take the warning seriously.
In their minds, the Wall had stood for a thousand years. A hundred thousand Wildlings could never take it, let alone a million.
"By the authority of Robb Stark, heir-designate of Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, and acting lord of Winterfell, I hereby declare that Winterfell is entering a state of war readiness as of today. I will take command of all Winterfell's troops, and they will follow my orders!"
Robb had, of course, noticed how differently the Wolf Guard and Winterfell's officers had reacted.
But he didn't care. He simply announced the ultimate purpose of his performance that day.
Ser Rodrik had no objections to Robb's announcement that he would take full command of the army. He had always been devoted to serving House Stark.
The officers under him, however, began to murmur among themselves.
The officer corps of Winterfell was divided into three simple groups.
The Cavalry department handled scouting, communications, and the management of warhorses. The Archery and Infantry department was responsible for defending the castle and maintaining order, while the Logistics department handled support.
Officers in each department managed those below them, and orders were normally passed down that way.
In effect, the three departments were independent units. Their officers controlled the distribution of military supplies and the assignment of duties.
Robb's order concentrated military authority in his own hands. Naturally, the officers began to talk among themselves.
"If you have any objections, speak up now. Don't whisper about it among yourselves!"
Robb had no intention of playing political games with the officers. His original plan had been to have the Wolf Guard replace them anyway, so he spoke without softening his words.
The Winterfell officers weren't fools. Hearing the severity in Robb's voice, none of them dared keep discussing it among themselves. They stood up straight, and no one volunteered to be the first to speak out.
After all, Robb was Eddard's designated heir and was already renowned as the Young Wolf Lord.
Winterfell's army belonged to House Stark. It was only natural that Robb should take command of it.
Besides, everyone had seen how capable the Wolf Guard were in battle. After the last campaign against the Wildlings, the more than one hundred and ninety soldiers who had guarded the perimeter had returned to the castle singing their praises.
And so, without a ripple, Robb took control of Winterfell's army in name.
The next day, after giving the Wolf Guard a private briefing, Robb dispersed them and began taking control of Winterfell's three military departments.
He would continue to employ any officers who obeyed and accepted reassignment. After all, when he called up the bannermen's armies in the future, he would need officers loyal to him to supervise and manage them.
As for officers who refused to obey or give up their authority, he brought out incriminating material he had obtained through certain channels and threw them into the dungeon. He gave them a choice: death, or taking the black.
Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik fully supported all the methods Robb used, which were lawful and proper.
With Eddard away, they had made Robb the one to whom they owed their allegiance.
Catelyn stayed by Brandon's bedside, paying no attention to any of this.
In truth, she had no authority to intervene in Robb's affairs, nor would she have done so.
Except for Daisy, who had insisted on staying behind to protect Robb, the other twenty-four members of the Wolf Guard were spread throughout Winterfell's army of 4,300 soldiers.
Following Robb's orders, they taught the Winterfell soldiers the training methods they had learned themselves.
Robb had considered all of this in advance.
Winterfell's soldiers were already quite capable. If he wanted to improve their combat strength in a short time, all he could do was upgrade their equipment and intensify their formation training.
He had neither money nor resources to upgrade their equipment at present.
The North was vast, but compared with the South, it was extremely poor. Its equipment could never match that of the Lannisters, who owned gold mines.
What about adding some weapons and armor from ancient Hua Country?
That wouldn't work either!
The soldiers of Winterfell had trained for ten or even dozens of years with the standard weapons they used now.
They were familiar with their standard longswords. If he gave them Tang Dao instead, setting aside the question of which weapon was better—
To Winterfell's soldiers, Tang Dao would be unfamiliar and awkward to use. They couldn't adapt to it in a short time.
If they were forced to fight with Tang Dao, their combat strength would certainly decrease rather than increase. There was no doubt about it.
However, the ancestors of Hua Country had created many weapons and types of armor that were better and more practical than those of Westeros. Robb planned to test them and introduce them gradually in the future.
That left only training Winterfell's soldiers in formation, and the results had already been demonstrated by the Wolf Guard.
There was no doubt that an army that obeyed orders and held a tight formation would be far stronger than one that fell apart as soon as it charged.
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