Jon accepted Gary's proposal, but he also said, "I will send a letter to Wildlings in Fort Hard, telling them that White Walkers has appeared in Haunted Forest. If any of them come to seek refuge voluntarily, I will accept them."
Gary touched his chin, "After my army and I leave, you only have four hundred Night's Watch, how are you going to restrain more than ten thousand Wildlings?"
Jon laughed awkwardly and said, "Wa'er and Tormund took the initiative to mention this matter. They asked Wildlings to hand over all their finances, and each tribal leader had to hand over his son to Night's Watch as a hostage. They called it blood money, which was the bargaining chip I used to restrain Wildlings."
Gary feels that it is not safe to leave the blood money in Castle Black, "The blood money will be returned to Winterfell with me, so that you and I can feel at ease."
"That's fine, I'll go find Tormund and Wa'er to discuss it."
Now that Castle Black's siege on Wildlings has been resolved, Jon knows that it is time for Gary to return to Winterfell. Although he does not want to be separated from his brothers, each of them has a responsibility to bear.
Jon is Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and his duty is to protect Castle Black and become the strong shield of the kingdom. Gary, as King in the North who has declared war on Iron Throne, his battlefield is in the south, and his enemy is Lannister and his allies who support Iron Throne.
"Luke, when are you going to go back?"
Gary was silent for a moment and replied, "Tomorrow."
Jon's expression froze, "So urgent?"
Gary is also helpless, "Now that the civil strife in the North is not settled, many things are waiting for me to deal with. Karstark openly supports Bolton and ignores my recruitment letter, which is considered a traitor. One of my next tasks is to take back Karhold and the Dreadfort."
"Also, the west coast of the North is infested by Ironborn. Deepwood Motte is still in the hands of Ironborn. I also need to take it back."
"After solving these two internal problems, we will then send troops to rescue Riverlands. Since House Tully has sworn allegiance to me, I can't just ignore them all the time, right? Sansa is still in King's Landing, and Rickon is also living outside. How they can get home is also a problem."
Thinking of this, he nodded.
Of course Jon also wants to return to Winterfell to help Gary and fight for his family, but he cannot betray his oath to Night's Watch because of his family. Moreover, White Walkers's situation is equally serious, so he must stay at Wall and continue to watch.
Gary said thoughtfully, "You reminded me that it is necessary to hold a strategy meeting before leaving."
He called the Ice warrior at the door, read out the names of five or six people, and asked him to go down and notify them of their presence.
After Jon and Gary waited for more than ten minutes, everyone attending the meeting arrived.
In addition to Gary and Jon, there are also Mrs. Margaery, Daenerys, Davos, Melisandre, Shireen and Selyse.
Gary began to make the next arrangements, "Melisandre, you stay at Castle Black to assist Jon. During my absence, White Walkers's affairs will be left to you two."
Melisandre has no objections. Castle Black is located in a remote area, which is perfect for her to study the new Magic and new medicinal powder quietly. The only thing that makes her dissatisfied is probably the weather. It is too cold here and it snows almost every day, which makes her very uncomfortable.
However, it's not a big problem, she can tolerate it.
She nodded in agreement, and then said, "Your Majesty, after the meeting is over, I hope to talk to you alone."
Gary thought she had something to say, "Okay, you can stay here later."
Margaery, who was sitting opposite Melisandre, kept smiling and the corners of his mouth twitched a few times inconspicuously.
Afterwards, Gary continued to make arrangements, "Davos, your task is relatively heavy. I need you to lead one thousand five hundred cavalry to the Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, take the ship you left on the seashore, cross the sea to Skagos, and find Rickon·Stark."
Rickon·Stark is in Skagos, it was White Harbor Earl Weiman·Manderly who told Gary. A few days ago, Gary also verified with Bran, Rickon is indeed there.
Davos is also well-informed, and he said, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the residents on Skagos are all uncivilized primitive tribes, no different from Wildlings. You don't need so many cavalry to rescue Rickon·Stark from them."
Gary spread out a map of the North, hung it on the wall, and pointed to the east coast of the North, "After you find Rickon, your fleet will sail south along the east coast, and finally land in the Tears River Basin, stationing troops outside the Dreadfort."
The Dreadfort is now the fiefdom of Shireen, but it is still under the control of the remaining forces of Bolton. Davos has the obligation to take it back for Shireen Earl.
He vowed. "I will win the Dreadfort and bring victory to Your Majesty, Shireen Earl."
Gary waved his hand and said with a smile, "You can't take down the Dreadfort. House Bolton left five hundred to six hundred defenders in the Dreadfort, and there is plenty of food in the city. Even if you besiege the city for five years, they can hold on."
Winterfell's grain reserves were moved by House Bolton to the Dreadfort. Now the Dreadfort owns the grain reserves of two cities. It can be said that it is the castle with the largest grain reserves.
Counting the days, Winterfell's grain reserves are about to be used up. Pentos and Highgarden's grains are far away and cannot save the immediate fire. Only the Dreadfort's grain stores can meet the urgent need.
These grains are the real reason why Gary is in a hurry to capture the Dreadfort, "Your mission is to besiege the city without attacking it, and wait for my support."
He pointed to Deepwood Motte located near the west coast, "I will lead two hundred Highgarden cavalry, Giants and Dragon, and first go to Deepwood Motte on the west side of the North to drive away the Ironborn who are plundering near the west coast. Then I will return to Winterfell along the way, and then go to the Dreadfort to support you."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Davos nodded in response.
Gary then pointed at Karhold northeast of the Dreadfort, "Not only the Dreadfort, Karhold is also the target of our expedition."
He stood up and signaled the meeting was over, "Everyone else pack their bags and we will set off tomorrow Deepwood Motte. Now, everyone, go out."
Everyone left the study one after another, leaving only Gary and Melisandre.
He leaned on the back of the wooden chair and asked, "What do you want to say?"
Melisandre walked up to Gary and took off her cloak, revealing a white slim-fitting dress. The dress had long skirts, long sleeves and a hood, which wrapped her tightly, not even exposing the gaps between the mountains.
It is more conservative than the dress of the priestess of Lord of Light, it is simply conservative to the extreme.
She also wore a gold-rimmed white shawl on her shoulders, which was the finishing touch, adding a touch of elegance to the originally elegant white dress.
"The priest's long dress? Did you sew it? Not bad, the craftsmanship is very good." Gary kept praising it, his eyes filled with surprise.
After Melisandre deliberately turned around, he said, "Your Majesty, in addition to the priest's uniform I am wearing, I have also prepared another priest's uniform that is exactly the same. It, Nun's Habit, the priest's uniform, and the bishop's uniform are all stored in my room. Your Majesty can take them back to Winterfell and give them to the tailor for imitation."
Gary is admiring Melisandre's graceful figure... No, he is admiring a beautiful long dress that is like a work of art.
"Were all the drawings I gave you last time sewn? You were really helpful. I should thank you. But, is this the thing you want to discuss with me alone?"