To Hell with the Savior
While the slogan "to eliminate future troubles" was indeed inspiring, Jon knew that everyone was very worried about witchcraft and magic. He had to bring this up himself, otherwise it would seem secretive and make people uneasy.
"I know that you lords have all heard about the Ironborn's attack on Winterfell not long ago, and the rumors about witchcraft. Let me clarify something here—"
As Jon spoke, he looked around at the crowd. Many people looked at him expectantly, hoping that witchcraft was just a hoax, but they were disappointed.
"This is no rumor! Euron Greyjoy sacrificed his brother Victarion to create a blizzard outside Winterfell. Because of the blizzard, many of Winterfell's defenders suffered frostbite, which allowed them to easily storm the Winterfell."
Upon hearing the confirmed news, everyone frowned, and hushed conversations added to the uneasy atmosphere.
"A devil! Absolutely a devil!"
"A patricide! He murdered his own family!"
"This kind of person deserves to go to the Seven Hells!"
Almost everyone expressed anger and disgust at Euron's actions, but after the initial indignation, any general with battlefield experience found the situation difficult to handle.
They knew perfectly well that, not to mention a blizzard, even a sudden gust of wind on the battlefield could decide the outcome of the battle.
Humanity is still too weak in the face of the forces of nature.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out. "Don't worry, everyone. Our Lord Jon will summon rain!"
The speaker was Haken, who probably would never understand what artificial rainmaking meant in his lifetime.
Because Jon used Wildfire to create artificial rain, many people have recently started researching or attempting to replicate it using Wildfire, and the success rate is actually quite high.
The Citadel, in particular, even has plans to incorporate the manufacture and use of Wildfire into the training of maesters.
Therefore, most of the others did not take Haken's claim that Jon could use magic seriously.
Jon ignored Haken and continued, "I think everyone knows that Her Majesty the Queen, influenced by Petyr Baelish, Lord of the Fingers of Vale, attempted to use Aemon Targaryen, Maester of Castle Black, as a sacrifice some time ago."
When Jon brought up Aemon's matter, Paxter and the other Florent couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
Once a person becomes a scholar, they cannot have a surname, nor can they show any political inclination. Of course, they will not have a title or descendants; they are merely a tool to serve the nobility.
However, almost the entire Westeros, whether nobles or commoners, relied on them when they were sick or injured. Although they were also servants, they were of a higher rank and had considerable social status. Many maesters even had deep relationships with their lords, just like Luwin.
Maester Aemon had served at the Wall for over fifty years. Even if Westeros didn't have the concept of discarding someone after they'd served their purpose, this was still far too cruel. In any case, regardless of whether Selyse was misled, this was a huge blow to the image of the royal family.
Jon continued, "Whether sacrificing Targaryen can truly yield powerful magic is another matter, but if we do that, how are we any different from the devils? Let's just leave this world to the White Walkers!"
Hearing Jon's words, Alester's face grew even uglier, but he couldn't lash out. "If he continues to dwell on this, I'll have to interrupt him no matter what!" he thought to himself.
Jon continued, "I think everyone has heard the story of Azor Ahai, the messiah who sacrificed his wife Nysa Nysa to forge the Lightbringer, who could defeat the Night King. If this is our messiah, then my attitude is only one—to hell with messiah, to hell with the world!"
"If we want to win, if we want to survive, then we must be prepared to sacrifice our lives. There may be gods in this world, but there is absolutely no savior. If we want to win, we can only rely on ourselves, on the sword in our own hands." His words were resounding, like the sound of weapons striking armor.
His intention was to tell the feudal lords in the hall that if they were to fight a war, they should fight it honestly and not think about any underhanded tactics.
This can be considered a preventative measure for them.
After Jon finished speaking, he returned to his throne, and only the sounds of discussion remained in the hall. Most people accepted Jon's words; after all, sacrificing an innocent person to gain victory was something no one with any sense of shame would do.
Seeing that Jon had finished speaking, Alester stood up and continued the conversation. After all, if someone else beat him to it, there would be no point in him continuing as Marshal-in-Chief.
"Gentlemen, the Duke of Stark is right. We will never choose to sacrifice good people to win. Victory is important, but the way we win is also important." Alester's words were a way of acknowledging Jon's values.
He continued, "However, His Majesty Stannis is the reincarnation of Azor Ahai. Even if we face the Long Night and the White Walkers in the future, we will prevail. Furthermore, the story of the Savior forging the Lightbringer with his wife is just a legend. His Majesty already possesses the Lightbringer."
Alester's later words were clearly unconvincing, especially to those who didn't even believe in the Red God.
Especially people like Loras, they basically treat him like he's invisible, or even just sneer at him without a care.
Alester knew that spreading faith was not something that could be accomplished overnight, so he quickly changed the subject. "Just as Duke Stark said, we don't need Euron tricks. Our army and warships can win us the victory. In terms of sheer numbers, we have over three hundred sailing ships, while the Iron Islands fleet has only sixty or seventy. Their longships are completely unsuitable for naval warfare. With a five-fold numerical advantage, we can easily dismantle their naval power in one battle, then attack the Iron Islands and breach the thieves' castle!"
"Defeat the usurper!" Aleken stood up and raised his arms in a shout, trying to win more support for his people.
"Defeat the usurper!" Colin quickly cheered for Alester.
But after they shouted several times, few responded, except for Florent of Brightwater Keep and some vassals from the surrounding area.
In the vast hall, the noise was only somewhat intrusive, but they quickly stopped on their own.
Earl Redwyne, who was the main force of the fleet, did not respond or express his opinion, but instead looked at Jon.
His reaction displeased Alester, but he chose to remain patient, knowing he needed a victory, not to show off.
Alester then looked at Jon, after all, his plan was flawless; how could he attack the Iron Islands without dismantling their naval forces?
If they attacked directly, their retreat and supply lines would be compromised, and he believed Jon would agree with his plan.
Once again, everyone's attention was focused on Jon.
Jon certainly didn't like Paxter's attack plan. He had already said that Euron would use Sacrificial Magic, which could very well create a storm, so concentrating the fleet on it would be nothing short of suicide.
"I'm afraid Euron wants us to do the same, so that we can directly deal with our fleet."
"Then what do you think we should do? You just said we should use our swords to defeat the enemy!" Aleken said discontentedly.
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people around him turned to look at him, which put him under tremendous pressure and made him feel guilty, as if he had said something wrong.
But the thought of his father, the Hand of the King, sitting right next to him gave him the courage to look directly into Jon's eyes.
Naturally, others also expected Jon to provide better strategies and tactics.
Especially Earl Redwyne, who currently owns 200 out of 300 warships. If a storm were to occur, the House Redwyne would undoubtedly suffer the greatest losses.
"So, what are Lord Stark's plans?" Paxter asked coldly.
Jon thought for a moment and then said, "Let's advance by both land and water!"
"Combined land and water operations?"
Everyone pricked up their ears, eager to hear how the combined land and water method would work.
Jon Snow said, "While we are not seeking a decisive battle, we can still leverage our numerical advantage. We have five times the number of ships as the Iron Islands! We can easily divide our fleet into four or five squadrons, sending one elite force into the Iron Islands while the rest of the fleet provides support from the outside. As far as I know, half the people of the Iron Islands are not treated as human beings, practically no different from slaves. This elite force entering the Iron Islands doesn't need to conquer many castles; it only needs to rescue as many captives as possible. Our fleet doesn't need to be used for combat; it only needs to transport the enslaved people and supply the elite forces on the islands with food and weapons. No matter how strong the Iron Islands ' fleet is, it ultimately needs land and people to support it, and the value of land depends on people. If there are no people left on the Iron Islands, what will they use to fight us?"
Upon hearing Jon's plan, everyone immediately understood his meaning.
The biggest advantage of this is that Euron will not use his magic easily; each fleet will face risks, but there is no absolute danger.
This strategy of disrupting the enemy's rear is not unprecedented. During the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen sent dragon riders to burn the lands of their supporters, but that was only when dragons were present.
The dragon rider himself was riding the largest Vhagar at the time, so he was safe.
The most crucial aspect of this battle is deciding who to send to the Iron Islands mainland to sabotage their rear.
Seeing that almost everyone understood his strategic intentions, Jon declared, "I have decided to personally lead the army to attack the Iron Islands homeland!"