In one morning, Clegane acquired over five hundred cavalry, over one hundred reserve cavalry, and a thousand warhorses.
A full new saddle, the finest horseshoes, and brand-new reins.
Each warhorse is plump and strong!
Warhorses are very different from ordinary horses. They are carefully selected and specially trained by horse trainers, and are top-quality horses that can travel at night, climb mountains, wade through water, and obey commands and whips.
Every well-trained warhorse is worth a fortune!
It must be said that Riverrun is located on a fertile plain and is good at raising horses, so the Tully family can afford to contribute their resources.
However, the garrison and the Duke's guards of Riverrun will have to have their warhorses retrained by horse trainers.
Because of its rugged terrain and the fact that it was during peacetime, Benliu City had a small garrison. There were over four hundred cavalry and over six hundred infantry, making a total garrison of just over a thousand men. At most, no more than a hundred soldiers were on guard at the city gates or on patrol.
In this world, the capital of the seven kingdoms reigns supreme. Normally, the royal guards number around two thousand, expanding to a maximum of six thousand during major holidays. In times of war, an army of over one hundred thousand is mobilized for two months. During peacetime, soldiers return to the fields, and the nobles' armies return to their own, leaving the king with only about two thousand armed men.
Flowing City is the capital of the wealthy Riverlands, which has tens of thousands of elite troops. Normally, the garrison in the capital only numbers about a thousand.
The thousand warhorses that the Demon Mountain demanded were just enough to take away all of the cavalry's resources in Flowing City.
Tywin Lannister, Duke of the Westerlands, was richer than any kingdom. How many men did his personal guard consist of? Five hundred family cavalrymen; and how many warhorses? Over a thousand!
Thanks to the acquisition of these thousand warhorses, the Mountain's cavalry force has become a force in the West that can rival that of Lord Tywin Lannister. Apart from the four great houses of the West that can contend with the Mountain's cavalry, the other hundred or so nobles, large and small, have been far outpaced by the Mountain's cavalry.
Warhorses are a very important component of cavalry forces!
Kiswick, the Mountain's general and newly promoted knight with the surname Clegane, has quickly recalled his former subordinates in Lannister Harbor and formed a mercenary group of over a thousand men. If we add the strength of the more than a thousand new recruits trained by the Mountain in his father-in-law Gavin Westerling's Rock, the Mountain's military power has become the strongest among the nobles of the Westerlands.
However, he did not concentrate all his forces at Clegane Castle, and he used the name of his father-in-law, Earl Gavin Westerling, and the vast territory of Cliff Rock to support more than a thousand professional soldiers, which was legitimate and discreet.
The two captains of the Clegane cavalry, Sweetmouth Raff and Executioner Dunsen, grinned from ear to ear. They felt the excitement and joy of suddenly becoming super-rich from beggars. Meanwhile, Count Leo of Golden Tooth and his heir, Knight Evan, watched with envy and excitement. Judging from the situation, the Clegane cavalry were incredibly wealthy; each cavalryman owned three warhorses.
One man and three warhorses are the standard equipment of the Mountain; this is also the highest configuration possessed only by great nobles. And an ordinary cavalryman of the Mountain now has the combat capability of an earl. They will be able to carry more food, supplies, bows and arrows, and javelins, and travel faster and farther in the same amount of time.
Count Leo's thousand soldiers watched with bated breath. Their centurions and generals each had only two horses. Yet the Mountain's ordinary cavalrymen each had three.
With this configuration of cavalry military force, The Mountain suddenly became the strongest among the Seven Kingdoms! Only the Dothraki cavalry on the vast grasslands across the Narrow Sea could compare with the Mountain's cavalry configuration.
Earl Leo, unable to resist the urge, laughed and said, "Sweet-mouthed Ralph, Sir Dunson, you can't afford to keep these horses. The trainers, hay, stable equipment, and grooms will be a huge expense in the long run. Clegane's territory is very limited. Why not sell them to me for five hundred!"
Sweet-talking Ralph chuckled, "Count Leo, selling you horses is no problem, a thousand are fine, but I'll wait until our Lord Mountain returns from crossing the river, and I'll put in a good word for you with him."
Sweet-talking Ralph's words are always sweetened with honey!
Count Leo was overjoyed: "Brother Ralph, thank you for your kind words. If it comes to fruition, you will receive the friendship and gratitude of the Ralph family!"
Executioner Deng Sen couldn't help but smile slightly. Count Leo, so envious, was a complete idiot, believing even sweet words! His audacity was extraordinary! His naiveté was extraordinary!
Count Leo and Knight Irwin, along with their generals and centurions, had forgotten their earlier complaints about the Mountain. They had assumed the Mountain was in trouble and had come seeking help, but it seemed that was not the case; it was House Tully who was in trouble!
With a thousand warhorses in hand, Sweetmouth Raff ordered an immediate encampment to be set up on the west bank of the Red Fork River, establishing a cavalry training camp in preparation for a long stay, awaiting the arrival of Lord Mountain.
Having secured their benefits, they had no intention of leaving.
Count Leo, who had led a thousand garrison to reinforce the Mountain on the orders of Duke Tywin, had no choice but to order his troops to set up camp.
At the ferry crossing on the west bank of the Red Fork River, two military camps were set up, one on the left and one on the right, to provide distant support to the Demon Mountain of Benliu City.
*
The main hall of Riverrun.
Duke Horst and Earl Edmure sat together, with Maester Weymann beside them, scribbling a document for them to review. Duke Horst nodded in agreement after reading it, then handed the document to Edmure, whose expression was... complicated... He didn't even look at the words on the document, but picked up a quill from the table and signed his name.
Snap!
Edmure dropped the quill pen, and the ink from its tip splattered onto the table and the documents.
Maester Weyman picked up the document and handed it to the Mountain, who was sitting to the side.
The Mountain did not accept the document, saying, "Sir Weyman, please make two more identical copies; Sir Edmure, it's not enough for you to sign your name, you must also stick your family coat of arms on wax clay and place it next to your name."
Edmund abruptly raised his head, his eyes wide open, about to erupt, when two hands reached out from behind and pressed down on his shoulders.
The bandits of the Demon Mountain stood behind Edmure, their hands on their sword hilts.
The young man is twenty-five, but he's still too young! He only remembers the food, not the punishment!
Horst nodded to Maester Wehmann, who then took the document and made two more copies.
"Sir Gregor, why did Edmure write three copies of his apology? The conflict at the Kneeling Staircase is already clearly written there! He also apologized and signed it!" Duke Horst said unhurriedly.
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Just in terms of this calm and composed demeanor, Edmure is far inferior to his father!
"Lord Horst, Edmure's apology is in triplicate. I will certainly keep one copy, and the Tully family must also keep one to remind Lord Edmure not to act impulsively in the future. The third copy is to be sent to His Majesty King Robert. As the saying goes, reason prevails everywhere, while injustice makes every step difficult. I must let His Majesty the King understand the details of this conflict, so that he will not think that I, the Mountain, am bullying the weak. In this conflict, I am the weaker party! It is Ser Edmure who is bullying the weak!"
Duke Horst, Maester Wehmann, and Earl Edmure were all taken aback!
They never expected the Demon Mountain to pull this stunt.
Edmure's face flushed red—what difference was there between sending his apology to the king and sending it to all the nobles of the seven kingdoms? His Majesty's mouth, once he had a drink, would undoubtedly continue to glorify his glorious deeds.
Edmure suddenly felt as if he had been punched hard in the chest!
He was a young nobleman and count who cherished his honor very much!
He couldn't believe that this humiliating method, which would become the subject of gossip among the kings and spread throughout the seven kingdoms, was so blatant! How could that scoundrel, the Mountain, have come up with such a thing?
The method of writing an apology letter and signing it, which the Mountain required, was also the first time in Edmure's life that he had ever heard of it and personally tried it!
The Mountain said calmly, "I never argue illogically; I only argue logically. Duke Horst, don't you agree?"
Duke Horst was speechless!
The apology letter bears the wax seal of the Taturi family crest—a trout representing the family's responsibility and honor!
"Count Edmure, please sign these two apology letters and affix your family crest wax seal!" the Mountain said politely, but his tone was quite unfriendly!
The chief villain of the seven kingdoms, who never makes sense, is now speaking seriously about reason!
I learned a lesson while trekking through the Demon Mountain to attend university: temporary victory depends on strength; lifelong victory depends on reason! He wants to have both!