"I cannot complete the mission, Father!" the Mountain said calmly. He wanted to take this opportunity to expand his forces; he didn't need five hundred cavalry, three hundred would suffice, and it was Duke Tywin's order, perfectly legitimate, so he didn't have to worry about incurring the jealousy of the nobles!
And the war has been going on for less than a year.
But making an excuse would be more appropriate!
"You'll have to figure out the money yourself, I'll give you the people," Duke Tywin said coldly. He had just paid the witch seven hundred gold dragons.
No vassal dared to disobey Lord Tywin's orders, but the Mountain was an exception!
"Father, what kind of men are you giving me? The Casterly Rock Guards? Or the Casterly Rock Garrison? I refuse!" The Mountain said firmly. Train Lord Tywin's guards? Forget it. He'd gone to so much trouble, only to have them recalled with a single order. To train such elite cavalry, they had to be his own men, and their name had to be Clegane.
Duke Tywin's expression grew even colder: "I will give you an additional hundred households."
"The tax revenue from a hundred households isn't much," Demon Mountain said, unmoved. "Recruiting soldiers is also very limited. Ordinary civilians simply can't withstand this high-intensity training."
Are you trying to feed a beggar with only a hundred households? The Earl of Lannesport has more than ten thousand households.
The maester, the knight, the centurion, Ser Kevan, and others all stared coldly at the Mountain.
Ser Kevan never liked the Mountain, and he especially disliked a Mountain with his own family army. The more powerful the Mountain became, the more hostile and resentful Ser Kevan felt. He could never develop any goodwill towards the Mountain, nor could he trust him.
A beast cannot be allowed to grow its claws ever sharper, for once it loses control, it will harm people! Especially now that it is a time of peace, the king is the duke's son-in-law, the queen is the duke's daughter, and the king's every need, from food and drink to lodging and guarding, is provided by Lannisters.
The Lannisters hold high positions of power and the Westerlands are the wealthiest region in the world; there is no need for them to raise a beast like the Mountain to be even stronger.
Because wild animals can hurt people!
But clearly, Lord Tywin Lannister did not think so.
Kevan felt that the Duke had recently gone astray because of the Mountain's series of inventions, and he had a vague feeling that the Duke was preparing for war.
This gave Sir Kevon a ridiculous feeling!
I wonder what the Duke and the witch talked about behind closed doors? That witch who's playing tricks on us should be beheaded!
The Duke stared at the Mountain and said coldly, "Chiswick has gathered his former men in Lannisport; there will be at least a thousand of them."
Kevan said, "Your Grace, Sir Gregor..."
Duke Tywin gave Kevan a look, and Kevan choked and shut his mouth.
"Father, Chiswick is gathering his old troops to form the Clegane mercenaries, with the aim of making money. According to the family cavalry I am currently training, five hundred men are professional soldiers who will not engage in any production. Each man will receive two horses, which would amount to a thousand horses. Furthermore, there is no war at present, and we cannot sustain the war through war. Father, I cannot fulfill the orders you have given me."
Is there no war now?
But the Duke already knew from the witch that the war was imminent.
Of course, the Mountain would love to have five hundred cavalrymen, but that would be too much for him at the moment. After all, he still needs to store up golden dragons for any eventuality.
The first step in training one hundred cavalrymen was to create a special forces unit within a special forces unit.
In pre-transmigration China, an ordinary soldier earned 2,000 yuan a month, a special forces soldier earned 4,000, and an elite special forces soldier earned tens of thousands. His goal was to build his own elite special forces team. He would first train 100 people, focusing on achieving high standards, precision, and specialization; once war broke out, 100 people would be just right for reconnaissance, raids, mobility, and close protection.
If it's about breaking through enemy lines on the battlefield, these hundred men are the very tip of the entire legion's spear, and he himself is the very tip of that spear.
It would be better to maintain 500 such people, but that wouldn't just mean an increase of 400 gold dragons in military pay each month. We'd need 800 more horses, how much more fodder would we need? How much more grain, armor, weapons, cloaks, and marching tents would we need?
Although the gold dragons were being cast privately, mass production had not yet begun. Furthermore, Lord Tywin Lannister was responsible for the majority of the production.
"I must make sure you complete the mission. What kind of support do you want from me? Tell me!" Duke Tywin Lannister stared at the Mountain, his tone becoming more forceful.
The Duke was determined to build an elite legion to charge into battle, and the Mountain was the only one who could accomplish this task!
Once the war began, the Duke decided not to give the enemy a chance to breathe, and the Western Frontier would strike his enemies head-on.
Ser Kevan looked at Maester Potter and hinted that the maester should remind Lord Tywin that it was a time of peace and that they should not allow a monster like the Mountain to grow up. If the Mountain trained five hundred such cavalrymen, his military strength would be no less than that of the four great houses of the Westerlands.
If the Mountain's brutality and bloodlust get out of control, and he has a large army, he could cause a major disaster! If he kills a few nobles, it could very well lead to chaos in the Western Regions.
However, Sir Porter did not react to Sir Kevan's gaze.
The Mountain paused for a moment. He did indeed want to expand his forces. Like Tywin Lannister, he knew that the war was less than a year away, and the Westerlands didn't have much time to prepare. Because of his infamy and enemies, he needed to strengthen his forces in the short term.
Since the criminal act of privately forging the golden dragon is under my control, it's no problem to do a little something. The Duke also knows how much it costs to maintain an army. Anyway, it's the Duke's order, so let's do it. Why pretend?
"Father, I need to choose my own soldiers."
"agree!"
"I need prisoners from the death row of the major families in the Western Territory. If there aren't enough, I'll prioritize hardened criminals, criminals with mercenary backgrounds, and criminals skilled in swordsmanship. But in the end, it's up to my captains to decide who we want."
This time, Duke Tywin didn't even say "agree," he simply nodded.
"After screening, the number of people will be as many as possible, without being limited to five hundred."
"Hmm!" Duke Tywin snorted through his nostrils.
The Mountain was most impressed by Tywin Lannister's political acumen. Any decree that would require half a day of discussion in another duke's court would be issued by Tywin Lannister immediately. For example, when it came to improving shields and armor, he saw it as feasible and immediately ordered the maesters to send out ravens to issue military orders throughout the realm, without the slightest hesitation or even a moment's pause.
No similar records of a decisive and ruthless figure have been found in any of the historical accounts of Moshan.
Tywin Lannister's absolute dominance, decisiveness, ruthlessness, and political talent to see through the essence of problems are all rare!
He was a born politician!
However, no matter how capable this politician is, he is limited by the shortcomings of his time. Compared with The Mountain, his overall perspective, level of civilization, prediction of the future, and understanding of the direction and development of world trends are already inferior to The Mountain's.
In the historical and cultural memory of Magic Mountain, there is the story of Cao Cao, the warlord of the Three Kingdoms, who held the emperor hostage to command the princes. He himself imitated Cao Cao and used the witch to drive away Tywin Lannister in this world of ice and fire!