The Great Net of Revenge

After Jon led his army to plunder and kill in the Iron Islands for two or three months, his own strength had increased more than threefold.

More than 10,000 serfs joined his army, half of whom were selected to become regular soldiers, while the rest served as logistical support. Without any replenishment, Jon's army expanded three or four times in size, divided into dozens of detachments scattered throughout Harlaw Island.

With the food and supplies on Harlaw Island, a large part of the logistical problem was solved, and Euron was completely unable to stop the fleets patrolling the sea from dropping supplies to the island.

After all, any one of the six squadrons could easily hold him off. Paxter, who was in charge of the United Fleet, discovered that once he abandoned the mindset of a decisive battle, the world suddenly seemed much bigger.

Unfortunately, it was still impossible to stop the Iron Islands Fleet and allow the other fleets to launch a general offensive.

After all, Euron could leave the fleet to cast Sacrificial Magic.

But things are fine as they are now. Jon has perfectly implemented the "you do your thing, I'll do mine" strategy he conveyed to the officers.

Everyone agreed with Jon's goal, and as their power continued to grow, many people began to consider attacking House Harlaw's Ten Towers.

Harlaw Island is now completely out of control. Not only can it not provide any supplies to the Iron Islands, but it is also constantly depleting the strength of other islands.

Euron faced the threat of the fleet while also rescuing Ten Towers. Initially, he assumed the army on Harlaw Island was just a small elite force, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

But two or three months later, Harlaw Island was almost entirely engulfed in flames.

Finally, after Jon made frequent public appearances and deliberately lured Euron away, Euron finally made up his mind to lead the main force of the Iron Islands army to besiege him.

Jon naturally wouldn't overlook the troop movements in the Iron Islands, so he quickly used Raven to summon all the officers, and they gathered at a castle in a valley for a meeting.

Jon looked at the dozens of officers in the manor house, among whom the number of "McGrandmasters" was growing the fastest.

Although they lacked experience at the beginning, which caused some unnecessary sacrifices and losses, their ability to reflect and summarize was very strong, and after some battles, some of them immediately stood out.

This strengthened Jon's resolve to continue training those mountain tribe children; as long as they received more education, he would eventually have a groundbreaking, absolutely loyal officer corps.

Of course, the officers Jon had originally assigned still held a significant numerical advantage, ensuring he could maintain firm control over the army operating behind enemy lines.

The newly promoted officers, whose titles and lands were bestowed upon them by Jon, were no less loyal than the older officers.

The second son and the bastards were also very outstanding, along with those maesters and officers. Jon had already promised at least fifty knights and corresponding territories.

This is nothing. He now directly controls 85 percent of the land in the Westerlands. Although he does not plan to rely on the feudal lord system to maintain his armed forces in the future, he can certainly create a garrison system with Westeros characteristics.

However, it seems that the traditional nobility system is no longer sufficient, or at least it is somewhat outdated.

He planned to establish a title above the knights, such as "Grand Knight," to assume responsibilities similar to those of a "hundred-household commander" or "thousand-household commander."

Following Sandor, Jon entered the large house, where a long table was set up, and on either side of the table sat officers who had been knighted and granted lands by Jon.

The dishes that cannot be served immediately are of the next tier.

When Jon entered the large house, the officers, who had been excitedly discussing the battle results, immediately fell silent and stood up in a thunderous salute to him.

"Sit," Jon said after gracefully sitting down.

With a rustling sound of armor, the officers sat down and took out their notebooks.

This was Jon's requirement; most of them had to take notes at every battle meeting, and every battle had to be analyzed and reviewed.

At first they couldn't understand, but after gradually experiencing the benefits, they stopped objecting.

The cadet officers did this best, giving them a sense of familiarity with training in the Citadel.

Once everyone was seated, with one hand on their notebooks and the other holding a charcoal pencil, they all turned to look at Jon.

"Gentlemen, we have accomplished half of our objectives on Harlaw Island. Over ninety percent of those pirates' plantations have been burned, crippling their ability to produce food. From this day forward, time is on our side. We can completely starve these pirates out and wait for them to surrender!"

Encouraged by Jon's words, victorious smiles appeared on everyone's faces. They looked at each other, and through this unprecedented war in Westeros, deep camaraderie had been forged among Jon's officers.

However, some people were not so happy because they did not receive enough military merits.

However, Jon changed the subject, drawing their attention back.

"But as I said at the beginning of this war, this war against the Iron Islands is to eliminate future troubles. Therefore, I must uproot the old families of the Iron Islands, such as the House Greyjoy, the House Goodbrother, the House Harlaw, and the House Hoare. Our enemies will naturally not sit idly by. According to reports, the pirate leaders of the Iron Islands have mobilized an army of more than 30,000 to besiege us. The real battle has only just begun!"

As soon as Jon finished speaking, many people showed nervous expressions. This was a four-fold difference in troop strength, and they were fighting on enemy territory. This made many people feel uncertain.

However, Jon then delivered even worse news. "The landing route and landing point on Harlaw Island are not large enough to accommodate two or three hundred ships, so their fleet cannot provide much support."

Although their fleet was superior in both quantity and quality to the Iron Islands Fleet, Euron's Sacrificial Magic prevented the fleet from gathering in large numbers to attack the ports, and it could be said that they were completely unable to provide effective support, only able to tie down a portion of the Iron Islands army.

This explanation of the unfavorable conditions made everyone's faces turn solemn. The whole room seemed like a boat, with dense dark clouds and surging waves that had to be traversed ahead.

Rickard sat there motionless, like a statue.

Raynard, sitting next to him, remained expressionless.

Lazy Leo Lefford secretly observes Jon, Galleott bastards whisper among themselves.

Jon glanced at the officers present and noticed one thing that was certain: although their expressions were grave, they were all flipping through their notebooks or whispering among themselves, trying to find a way out of the predicament.

This shows that Jon's army is already far more autonomous than the armies of his time. He plans to use this army as the core to train a standing army of 10,000 men, and then organize a reserve force of 20,000 men. Combining the forces at hand, he estimates that it will take about half a year.

At this moment, Rickard seemed to have made up his mind and said, "Lord Stark, besides the port, there are actually many shallow shores with shallow drafts. I'll lead the rearguard, and at least half of our men can get away!"

"Sir, please let me stay. My wife is pregnant, so it doesn't really matter whether I go back or not." This time it was Haken who spoke.

This is the tradition in the tribe; sometimes when danger arises, the son must go first.

He considered this to be a matter of course.

"My lord, please let me stay," Duff Flowers said somewhat hesitantly. "You can simply give my title and fief to my brother."

After Duff, Galleott, Giles, and a group of other bastards, along with House Frey's second sons, all requested to stay, simply because Jon's rewards were so generous, especially the condolence and reward, which would elevate the merits they had earned in their lifetimes to a whole new level.

Jon felt a sense of satisfaction watching everyone rush to their deaths. He raised his hand to signal them to quiet down, then said, "Escape? When did I say we were going to leave Harlaw Island?"

"Huh? Aren't you leaving?"

For a moment, everyone was a little slow to react. On the surface, it was seven thousand against thirty thousand, but in reality, if you subtract two thousand from those seven thousand, it would be less than five thousand.

In Westeros, fighting outnumbered almost always results in defeat.

However, when they saw the determined look on Jon's face, they felt reassured.

Jon's plan was to engage the Iron Islands army in the mountains, thus minimizing their numerical advantage.

At the same time, he wanted to send the serf soldiers who had been absorbed into the army back to their original plantations, and asked them to form a hidden force among the serfs to guide them to spread an even larger encirclement around the serfs!

Jon knew that Euron would see through his ravens that he had only three thousand men when he first landed on the island.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have delayed their attack for so long.

But he could never have imagined that almost all of the hundreds of thousands of serfs on the island could become his soldiers.

So on the surface it may appear to be 3,000 against 30,000, but in reality it is very likely to be 100,000 against 30,000.

A massive net, burning with the flames of revenge, has been cast, awaiting the arrival of the Iron Islands ' army.