(Male protagonist's perspective)
All the captains of the guard came: Cassel, Moran, Moss, Flint, and Hall. But there were two Cassel. Ser Rodrik was the commander of Winterfell, and his nephew was the captain of the Cassel's forces. Each minor family commanded 200 Stark soldiers. In total, a thousand men guarded Winterfell and its surroundings: the fortress, Winterfell, and the Citadel. Lord Stark explained to them what had happened and said...
"According to the latest intelligence, they will arrive at the Flint's Finger in two days. After the King left, I already informed them that there might be an attack, so they should be adequately prepared."
He could disobey the king if he wanted to, or most likely the king allowed him to do so after he left. If he Flint's Finger, then it's understandable that they sent such a small force the North. They must have known we had received the message and that we were making preparations. If there were spies in the Ryswell family, there are likely to be in the House Flint as well.
Before the mutiny was planned, there was a view that the Ironborn fleet consisted of around 150 ships. I think they must have built at least another 100 longships in preparation for this mutiny. If each ship had about 100 men, then they would have about 4,000 to 4,500 soldiers when they attacked. Clearly, their plan wasn't an invasion, but rather to keep us busy. A captain asked.
"What should we do, adults?"
"We can't send troops from here to Flint's Finger. We must shift our focus to other coastal towns. We can't defeat the Ironborn at sea. We have 20 longships and 40 fishing boats on the west coast, which we've anchored in the coastal town near Deepwood Motte, without attracting the Ironborn's attention."
At least he wasn't completely incompetent.
"We must leave about 400 soldiers in Winterfell; word has spread to the surrounding settlements. I anticipate about 500 more will arrive there, and I have been authorized to summon my vassals should the Ironborn launch an attack before the King leaves. My total force will then reach approximately 5,000, and the other lords' forces are expected to reach 10,000, but assembling all the troops will take about two weeks. In the meantime, we must find a way to protect the coastal areas with 1,500 soldiers."
He turned to me and asked.
"Did you predict this attack? What are your thoughts?"
Osrik Moss immediately stepped forward and said with a smug look on his face.
"My lord, we all know of Ser Drasil's superb swordsmanship, but please remember, he only has 13 Name Day. How accurate can we expect to get advice on our overall operations from someone so young and inexperienced in warfare?"
"Lord Moss, I fought more battles in the last two years of my life than you have in your entire life, and Lord Stark didn't ask for your opinion. He asked for mine."
"You little brat, how dare you!!"
He stood up angrily from his seat. As he was about to walk toward me, Lord Stark slammed his fist on the table, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"Are you going to continue arguing like bitches, or continue holding war councils?"
We all stepped back and apologized to Lord Stark. Lord Stark gestured for me to continue.
"We know the Ironborn are coming with 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers. If I were them, I would have four main objectives: Flint's Finger, Barrowton, Deepwood Motte, and Bear Island."
Lord Stark certainly agreed with me, because he nodded as I spoke.
"To achieve this objective, after passing Cape Kraken, I will dispatch 15 to 20 warships to Blazewater Bay and Saltspear. The remaining ships will continue north, plundering all villages and towns encountered. The main objective lies with the four primary targets."
Lord Stark asked, puzzled.
Why?
"We don't know the Ironborn's intentions. If we're right, they want to keep us busy so we can't aid the Westerlands. If we're right, they'll scatter in all directions and launch a surprise attack after entering Blazewater Bay, but if we're wrong, they'll act collectively after capturing each Citadel. Flint's Finger, Deepwood Motte, and Bear Island couldn't stop them. It's well known that the Wall of those three Citadel are made of wood and aren't high enough."
"My suggestion is to divide our existing 1,500 soldiers into three groups. The first group will be sent to Barrowton, the second to Deepwood Motte, and the third to Bear Island as reinforcements."
Moss interjected.
"Are you planning to let the common people fend for themselves? That's incredibly cowardly."
"If the lord ruling these regions had even the slightest bit of combat experience, he would have immediately ordered the civilians to evacuate the coastline upon receiving the news. Great warrior Lord Moss, can you tell us how to defend the entire North with only 1,500 soldiers? We are all waiting for you; please tell us your invincible strategy."
Moss was speechless, his face flushed with embarrassment. After discussing strategy for over an hour, Lord Stark decided to execute my plan before the other 15,000 soldiers assembled.
The other captains went to lead their troops, and they handed over about 50 soldiers to me to command. But I waited until everyone left because I had something to discuss privately with Lord Stark.
"Sir, you must have noticed these past few years, especially after our last conversation; I haven't been behaving quite normally."
"Continue."
"I want to remain independent in this war. If I can go where I want, I can handle the Ironborn squads raiding the area between Blazewater Bay and Deepwood Motte, and when the Ironborn main force reaches Deepwood Motte, I can get there."
"How could you possibly move that fast? If you can't fly, how could you catch up with a ship on land?"
"Although I can't fly, I'm sure I can catch up with them."
He thought for a few minutes before speaking.
"Are you a Warg?"
Similar things
He exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.
This means there are no scouts.
"There are scouts, but they are not human."
"Can you really protect the coastline?"
"You know very well that my talk of evacuation was just a bluff to shut the lords up. In this turmoil, no lord will risk his life to save the coastal villages. If the Ironborn go to plunder in small groups of less than a hundred, I can protect the coast, but if they go in large groups, I won't risk my life for nothing."