Psyching Up the Two Stags

"Only one Silver Stag per use!"

A well-built, brown-haired woman, dressed in cheap fabric, quoted her price to several soldiers.

Beside her lay a sign that read, "[Lady of Casterly Rock - Margaery Snow]".

Other red-haired women were also present, dressed as Catelyn, Sansa, Jeyne, and other female characters, and charged extra for their identities.

They even claimed that this would make them braver on the battlefield, enabling them to eventually reach Casterly Rock and enjoy the real spoils of war.

"I want Margaery!" shouted a Stormlands Knight from Eyrie, waving a gold coin as if it were the real Margaery.

"I'll offer twenty Gold Dragon! I want Margaery!" said another lord who looked even wealthier.

The knight from Eyrie blushed slightly but refused to concede. "I'll offer thirty!"

"Fifty!"

The price of "Margaery" was driven up to an extremely high level, but in the end, the knights of Eyrie were defeated.

This knight was actually Jon Connington's nephew. His family were vassals of Storm's End, but they chose to help the Targaryen in the War of the Usurper. In addition, Connington was indeed a formidable fighter, and in the Battle of the Bells, he directly defeated Robert, who fled to a prostitute's bed for his life.

Perhaps as punishment, or perhaps out of spite, Robert drastically reduced the territory of Eyrie.

Having lost most of its fiefdoms, Eyrie's income plummeted, leaving the young Eyrie knight unable to compete with others in terms of wealth.

The young knight Roland Connington, sought to prove his loyalty to Stannis in this battle, hoping to restore his family's glory.

After the two bidders finished, the others began bidding as well.

"I want Lyanna Stark!"

"I want Sansa Stark!"

Why isn't Alerie?

"I! I am Alerie." A heavily made-up, nearly fifty-year-old woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Get lost! Alerie is only forty at most, and your hair—why are you using wool? I might as well just use goat hair!"

"Goats!? That sounds like something from the Vale. You Vale folks just love goats!"

The soldiers, seeing such a unique form of flesh trading for the first time, immediately flocked to it.

A sizable town had sprung up around Harrenhal in just a few days.

To serve this army of 60,000 to 70,000, prostitutes, itinerant merchants, acrobats, and even small troupes of just a few people roamed the area, quickly transforming it into the size of a town.

With the soldiers well-fed and little to do, and some lords' pockets bulging, a bizarre entertainment industry soon sprang up here.

Soldiers who were far from home and oppressed by military regulations also relied on these things to maintain their morale.

Unlike the soldiers, who, faced with the uncertainty of their fate, turned to immediate pleasures and poured their wealth into the present, Stannis and the noble lords were feeling rather troubled.

It would be extremely difficult to fight your way to Casterly Rock through war.

Firstly, judging from Jon's past achievements, he is skilled in large-scale field battles and adept at utilizing the surrounding environment. Stannis and his lords studied Jon's battles, and the Battle of the Green Fork is a prime example, as it was the battle that made him famous.

He diverted the flood to disrupt the Westerlands army's offensive, and then, taking advantage of the chaos, almost completely reversed what was originally a crushing defeat, even when he was surrounded by remnants of his defeated forces.

Afterwards, relying on the King's Landing, they managed to hold off a fierce attack from tens of thousands of troops, demonstrating an astonishing ability to command and deploy their forces.

"And then there Battle of the Bay of Severed Heads, where Jon defeated eight thousand Iron Islands men with only a thousand of his own. Such an enemy—" It was Axell who spoke. Although they were now enemies, he was increasingly able to sense how terrifying Jon was.

Even with a numerical advantage, facing such an enemy, one still feels uncertain.

"We have a numerical advantage. The cavalry and longbowmen of the Vale are among the best in the Seven Kingdoms. That bastard was able to win at the the Green Fork because he breached the riverbanks, and he won in King's Landing's Landing because the alliance between Tyrell and Lannister was not strong to begin with. At the Bay of the Cape, it was because the Ironborn underestimated us. If we learn from these mistakes, we may still be able to win!" "Bronze Yohn's" analysis was well-organized and reassured the crowd who were not very confident about the war.

With their powerful cavalry and longbowmen, they naturally sought a battlefield with solid ground and a wide, flat view, thus avoiding the fate of the Lannister.

Now that the lords united around Stannis are united, they will naturally not make the same mistake as the Tyrell - Lannister alliance.

They had long been aware of Jon's power and would not make the same mistake as the Iron Islands.

Listening to Jon Royce's analysis, Stannis gradually gained confidence.

Tyrell's army?

I could have held them off even when I was at Storm's End.

The Iron Islands fleet?

It's not like I haven't been defeated before.

If it weren't for that the Imp's Wildfire, King's Landing wouldn't have been impossible for them to conquer.

Besides, wasn't Jon able to conquer King's Landing mainly because he drew away most of the defenders?

Stannis's confidence grew, and he became increasingly convinced that Jon was not invincible. However, when he realized that he himself had realized Jon was not invincible, he felt annoyed. It was a disgrace that he, a king, needed to mentally prepare himself to quell a usurper.

"The usurpers' army is currently concentrated around Riverrun, numbering only about 30,000, while we have 70,000, giving us an absolute numerical advantage. To the south, we have Stormlands holding back the Reach army, and although Tyrell has a large army, they cannot reach the Riverlands. The timing for launching a decisive battle is favorable to us. However, to our north, the Winterfell rebels are rapidly advancing south. We must find a way to stop them and ensure victory in the final battle—"

Hundred Hearth Hall, Jon Royce was making strategic deployments. Under the pressure of Jon's terrifying strength, the group was forced into a very "scientific" state: taking the enemy seriously tactically, but despising them strategically.

Harrenhal's terrain is quite favorable, with the vast God's Eye to the south, ensuring the safety of their left flank, and the Trident River just a day's journey to the north.

The Trident River can transport supplies to them quickly and cheaply, and it can also protect them from possible attacks.

And this short journey is also filled with a constant stream of transport teams.

With both flanks secure and the central army in the fortified Harrenhal Harrenhal, which also boasts a significant numerical advantage, it seems unlikely that the team could lose.

Stannis wants to launch a decisive battle, and the only thing he needs to be concerned about is the North.

At the very beginning of the War of the Five Kings, Robb led his cavalry in a decisive Battle of the Whispering Wood against Kingslayer, the Jaime, followed by a Battle of the Camps camp. The cavalry of the Northern Army had achieved remarkable victories.

Therefore, Stannis believed he should also be wary of Robb pulling this stunt on him, otherwise, if the Northern Army suddenly attacked while he and Jon were locked in a fierce battle, it would be a devastating blow to his army.

Therefore, before their official showdown with Jon, they needed to first capture the Twins and hold off the Northern Army at the the Neck.

"That bastard's army recently went through a major battle. The soldiers were almost immediately conscripted after returning home. Both the soldiers and the lords must be very resentful," Adrian said from the side.

Stannis looked at him with some surprise; for the first time, this old fellow didn't disappoint.

This is almost universally acknowledged as Jon's weakness in morale. Jon's campaign to conquer the Iron Islands lasted for nearly half a year, and soldiers who were far from home were conscripted again almost as soon as they returned home and slept with their wives. This would be a huge debuff for any army.

On the other hand, their armies had been resting and recuperating for over a year. Although a portion of the Crownlands 'Stormlands army had participated in the battles of the Iron Islands, they had spent most of their time on ships and had hardly engaged in any combat.

Not to mention the army in the Vale, who had been slacking off throughout the War of the Five Kings and were already itching to fight.

The Iron Throne Coalition "has a huge advantage in terms of terrain and army, and they all believe the advantage is in my hands."

Not to mention, Stannis also has two nephews who might come in handy at a crucial moment.