GOT/ASOIAF: Ruler Beyond The Ice

Chapter 639 641: “Weeding Plan” (Part 1)

"Hard pushing is the overall strategic direction for the entire conquest of the Riverlands, but hard pushing does not mean reckless offense. The enemy holds many advantages, and on a macro level it is as difficult to destroy as the legendary invulnerable troll. Losses at the level of battles or campaigns cannot shake its foundation. Therefore, while we advance and defeat the enemy, we must also pay attention to suppressing its ability to recover. That involves many tactical details."

"To achieve this goal." Aegor reached out and drew a circle in the air above the large green area on the map that represented the Riverlands. He nodded toward Daenerys seated in the front row, then turned to the many lords and generals watching him and announced, "The Joint Command has formulated a complete war plan. Daenerys has named it the 'Weeding Plan.'"

The Weeding Plan carried that name not only because the color of grass matched the green symbols of House Gardener, descendants of the Greenhand, and House Tyrell of Highgarden. It also had another meaning. This war was not merely about cutting grass, but about destroying the environment that allowed weeds to grow, fundamentally solving the long standing problem of the Riverlands noble group centered around the descendants of the Greenhand becoming too large to control.

Therefore, on a certain level it would be more accurate to call it the Rooting Out Plan. Not only cutting away the branches and leaves above the soil, which represented the enemy's power, but also uprooting the stems and roots buried deep underground, which represented their far reaching influence.

Of course, such matters were not suitable for public discussion. If the descendants of the Greenhand were considered too large to control, then what about House Lannister, descendants of Lann the Clever, or the lords of the North, the last descendants of the First Men? Could they also be considered too powerful to manage? And the action of rooting out the Riverlands nobility could easily be applied to the nobles of the other six kingdoms in the future simply by changing the target.

Once such thoughts spread, it would easily lead to suspicion and division among allies.

"First, let us analyze the initial situation of the war. In the great victory at the Blackwater Rush, while we blunted the enemy's momentum, we also exposed two important trump cards. The enemy must now realize they cannot defeat us in a frontal field battle, so they will inevitably choose another path. They will strengthen their defenses and clear the fields, fighting while retreating, relying on countless castles and fortresses as support. They will fully use the strategic depth of the Riverlands to slow our advance, stretch our front line, and prolong continuous combat. They will try to exhaust our strength, dull our vigilance, wait for us to make mistakes amid chaos, and launch a fatal counterattack when we reveal weakness."

Aegor traced a line on the map from Blackwater Bay to the Arbor with his hand. Anyone familiar with the geography of the Seven Kingdoms knew that the Riverlands possessed the largest territory after the North. The distance from King's Landing to Oldtown was no shorter than the distance to Winterfell. Unlike the North, which was vast and sparsely populated, allowing troops to march hundreds of miles without being discovered, the entire road west was filled with settlements. It was difficult to find even a small empty area within ten miles.

Residents along the road could boldly harass an invading army from behind the lines, while Daenerys, as queen, was constrained by public opinion and could not casually harm her own subjects. Under such an imbalance, the slightest carelessness could lead to drowning in the vast ocean of the people's resistance.

"This is an open strategy. There is no way to completely counter it. We can only work hard to overcome it. Our countermeasure is simple. Stay together, advance steadily, step by step. Thanks to Jaehaerys the Conciliator, who built the Rose Road connecting King's Landing and Oldtown, we already have a ready made marching route. It is difficult even to get lost."

"Tactically, we break camp at sunrise each day and rest at sunset. We advance slowly along the main road and deploy scouts widely for reconnaissance. Even if we have surplus strength, we will not pursue reckless speed. If there are castles or fortresses along the way, we will eliminate each one without exception and spend the night there after capturing it. If there are no major strongholds, we will choose a suitable place in the field to construct a solid encampment for temporary rest."

"Strategically, we will never remain anywhere for more than one day. Every day we advance dozens of miles. Gods or demons that stand in our path will be destroyed. Nothing will stop us before we are defeated or completely unable to fight."

Aegor pointed to the thick line marking the Rose Road on the map and smiled confidently at the audience.

"When military scholars of future generations look back to study this operation known as the Weeding Plan, they will be surprised to find that Daenerys's conquest of the Riverlands was indeed as clean and decisive as pulling weeds. It will even appear to possess two seemingly opposite characteristics at the same time. Gradual encroachment and rapid swallowing."

"When measured by days, our army's marching speed will appear slow. They will stop at every stronghold they encounter, attacking and resting, crawling along the Rose Road and occasionally leaving it for certain tactical objectives. This resembles gradual encroachment. But if the time scale is extended to a week or ten days, it will be clear that the rhythm of the conquest leaps forward toward the final destination, Oldtown, with every passing moment. If measured by months, it will appear as if half the Riverlands were swallowed in a single bite. Calling it whale swallowing would not be an exaggeration."

Aegor lowered his hand from the map, exhaled slowly, and changed his tone.

"Next, I invite everyone present to join a discussion. If you were a lord of the Riverlands and realized that neither field battles nor city defenses could stop our advance, what strategy would you use to oppose us?"

…

After a moment of silence, the hall grew lively again. Those who had been merely listeners until now relaxed and began discussing quietly. After some time, several people spoke.

"Avoid the enemy's sharp edge. Shift the strategic direction. Divide the army and bypass them to strike the Riverlands or even King's Landing in their rear, attacking what they must defend." Robb Stark was the first to answer, proposing a base exchange strategy. "The Riverlands possess far greater strength than we do. They could use offense as defense and lead us around."

"Seek external support through diplomacy. For example, persuade the Vale or the Free Cities of the east, who have not yet declared their positions, to join the war." The second speaker was Edmure Tully of Riverrun. His suggestion matched the Tully family tradition of relying on allies. "Even if they do not join the war directly, applying pressure by other means could reduce our disadvantage."

"It does not need to be that complicated. Offer benefits and buy off people inside our ranks, divide us from within." This came from a general of the Gift Army, a commoner graduate of the Blackwall Keep Military Academy in the Industrial Park. His future depended entirely on the Night's Watch and Daenerys, so he held certain suspicions toward the noble allies. "Even the strongest fortress can be broken from the inside."

"Abandon direct confrontation. Leave the cities and castles and move into the wilderness, countryside, and forests. Break into smaller units and continue fighting through guerrilla warfare. Rely on the loyalty of the people." Prince Oberyn Martell suggested this. Dorne had once used such tactics to drive Aegon the Conqueror into fury.

"These are all excellent ideas." Voices continued to offer suggestions rapidly. Surprised by their enthusiasm, Aegor raised his hand to signal them to slow down and continue later.

"Attacking what the enemy must defend is indeed a clever method to break a siege, so we must guard against it. Therefore Lord Bolton and the troops from the Twin Rivers will remain stationed near Harrenhal, guarding the eastern Riverlands and the northern Crownlands. Daenerys will reorganize her Free Company into the defense force of King's Landing and remain personally in the rear."

"If the enemy attempts to bypass our main army and strike the rear, they must use fast moving troops. Rapid movement means they cannot carry heavy equipment such as dragon hunting ballistas or siege engines. As long as we remain cautious, the threat is manageable."

"As for diplomacy, if the enemy can think of it, so can we. Peace negotiations and trade agreements with the Vale and the Free Cities are already being pursued by the Small Council. Even if we cannot bring them to our side, we can at least delay their involvement until the war in the Riverlands is finished."

"As for the saying that a fortress can be breached from within, I choose to believe in everyone's sense of honor and loyalty to Her Grace." He looked around the hall with a faint smile, not saying anything harsher on Daenerys's behalf.

"Only guerrilla warfare remains troublesome. If the enemy truly uses such tactics with the Riverlands' population of more than ten million, it could indeed cause difficulties."

"Therefore the following step is the most crucial part of the entire strategy. As we expand our occupied territory on the map, we must also extend our influence and control. We must plant the red dragon banner not only on the land of the Riverlands, but also in the hearts of its people."

"While the main army advances toward Oldtown along the Rose Road, we will attack only towns and fortresses. Villages and farms will not be harmed at all. When we arrive anywhere, we will announce this. After Daenerys brings the Riverlands under her rule, every household will still have land to farm. For two harvest seasons in the coming summer, no corvée labor will be required and no grain tax will be collected. All produce will belong to the cultivators themselves."

"This policy can even be summarized in two slogans. Take not a single needle or thread. The Queen arrives, no grain tax."

Aegor gave a mischievous smile as he said it, making a joke no one else understood.

"The Riverlands people have lived under the rule of the descendants of the Greenhand for thousands of years. They may indeed possess a certain attachment or dependence toward those nobles, whether you call it loyalty or servility. But I do not believe such feelings can outweigh the real benefit of not performing labor service and not paying grain tax."

Aegor made a sharp chopping motion with his hand.

"The Riverlands lords who wish to resist Daenerys must rely on the manpower and resources of the people. So we will use this move to completely sever them from the people."

On one side stood Daenerys's army, possessing legitimate authority, taking not a needle or thread and demanding no taxes. On the other side stood the guerrillas of the Riverlands nobles, who required supplies and manpower from the people. Which side the villagers would support was obvious.

This was ruthless.

After a few seconds of silence, someone among the Dornish nobles spoke first.

"If we take nothing from the farmers, where will our provisions come from?"

"In the recent battle at the Blackwater Rush, the Riverlands army retreated hastily and left behind large quantities of provisions and supplies. That alone can feed our army for more than half a month and still leave enough to share with the starving people of King's Landing. That is a generous starting fund." Aegor replied without hesitation.

"Furthermore there is another factor. Winter. Before winter arrives, local lords must concentrate their grain reserves inside their castles. As long as we crack open the shell of those castles, grain will be plentiful."

Silence returned to the hall as everyone thought quietly.

Building strong camps and fighting slow battles seemed simple. Could the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms truly never have considered such a direct tactic?

The answer was that they truly had not.

Not because they were foolish, but because before the invention of efficient portable siege weapons, wars were not fought this way.

In the past, when two groups of nobles fought, they gathered their allies and soldiers and fought a battle in the field. Army against army, commander against commander. Unless one side was utterly destroyed or captured, or both sides reached a settlement with gentlemanly courtesy, the losing side would retreat into their castle. Without siege weapons, the defensive advantage of a castle was unimaginable. A few hundred defenders could hold off thousands of attackers.

Constructing siege equipment on the spot was possible, but it required time and labor and could easily fail. The time needed to capture one castle was enough to plunder a hundred villages.

Unless the target was a strategic choke point such as the Bloody Gate or Moat Cailin, or an important city like King's Landing, or a capital like Riverrun or Winterfell whose capture could end the war, few commanders would stubbornly attack castles. The reason was simple. The cost far exceeded the reward.

But the appearance of powder had completely changed warfare.

With portable and powerful siege weapons, the guiding principle of strategy must shift from avoiding cities to specifically targeting settlements and fortresses. This shift in thinking was exactly what the nobles who had never fired cannons themselves could not immediately understand.

In the past, the time required to capture one castle could be used to plunder a hundred villages.

Now the wealth gained from capturing one castle far exceeded the wealth of a hundred villages.

Anyone who has robbed the rich knows how satisfying it is.

(To be continued.)