Renly Baratheon's death undoubtedly shocked many, because given the current situation, without any accidents, the combined forces of the Stormlands and The Reach would have achieved final victory, and Renly would have become the new ruler of the Iron Throne.
But an accident did happen. Just as Renly and Margaery Tyrell were about to hold their wedding, completing the most important step in the alliance ceremony, Renly was assassinated. And the assassins were Catelyn Tully, who had come to Storms End to negotiate an alliance on behalf of Robb Stark, and Ser Brienne Tarth, Lynd's former squire and the Exemplar Knight.
Everyone was stunned and confused by this incident. Leaving aside why Catelyn Tully, who had actively come to Storms End to discuss an alliance with Renly, would assassinate him, the mere fact that Ser Brienne Tarth, the Exemplar Knight, assassinated the liege lord she served, already felt suspicious.
If at first, the title Exemplar Knight was only bestowed upon Brienne Tarth due to Lynd's praise, then every word and deed of Brienne after receiving this title was worthy of the name Exemplar.
Before the war began, everyone believed that Brienne might go to Summerhall to serve Lynd, as her relationship with Lynd and her own reputation would undoubtedly lead to significant responsibilities at Summerhall, far surpassing serving others.
However, she did not act as everyone expected, but instead chose to pledge allegiance to Renly Baratheon, the lord of Duskendale Hall.
And Renly did not disappoint Brienne; not only did he appoint Brienne as the captain of his Rainbow Guard, but he even made her his adjutant, specifically to assist him with military affairs. The fact that Renly was able to quickly assemble the Stormlands army was largely due to Brienne's assistance.
Among the military officers and nobles under Renly, Brienne was definitely the most trusted, and her status was only slightly below that of Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers. She was trusted to such an extent that when the news broke that Renly had been assassinated by his own Rainbow Guard captain, Brienne Tarth, almost everyone felt that the news was not true. It was only after repeated confirmation that there was no mistake that they felt it was unbelievable.
Many quickly linked this incident with Theon's previous occupation of Winterfell, and everyone's attention refocused on Lynd.
If Renly was indeed killed by Brienne, then the only person in this world capable of making the Exemplar Knight abandon the knightly code and commit regicide could only be Linde Terra, who personally trained Brienne.
However, many people still refuted this claim, as they could not see any reason for Lynd to do so.
If Lynd did this for power in the Stormlands, he wouldn't need to assassinate Renly; he would only need to send people to contact the various lords of the Stormlands, because everyone knows how close the ties between the Stormlands and Summerhall are now. Economically, militarily, and in all other aspects, they are integrated with Summerhall, and Summerhall is responsible for most of the public order in the entire Stormlands.
It was precisely for this reason that when Renly was raising an army, the various lords of the Stormlands were able to send all of their forces to Storms End, without needing to leave anyone behind at home, because they had no need to worry about the safety of their homes.
It is already common knowledge that Linde Terra is the de facto controller of the Stormlands. Renly's ability to gain the support of the Stormlands was also due to Lynd's tacit approval. If he wanted to reclaim power in the Stormlands and sideline Renly, it would only take a single command. Under these circumstances, why would he assassinate Renly?
Regarding this question, some busybodies speculated that it might be because Renly's marriage to Margaery Tyrell angered Lynd, as Margaery was Lynd's secret lover.
Although this theory is completely unreliable, it is the most popular among common folk. In some taverns and inns, there are already songs and stories about Linde Terra and Margaery Tyrell falling in love at first sight upon their initial meeting, completely disregarding that Margaery was still a child when Lynd and she first met.
Compared to the unconvincing theory that Lynd ordered Brienne to assassinate Renly, others were more inclined to believe that whoever benefited was the killer. Thus, two suspects appeared in everyone's eyes: one was Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock in the Westerlands, and the other was Stannis Baratheon, Lord of Dragonstone, because both were the biggest beneficiaries of Renly's death.
Tywin Lannister, of course, needs no mention. At this moment, his main army is bogged down outside Riverrun, across the Red Fork, while the flourishing Young Wolf is currently wreaking havoc in the Westerlands, ready to attack his Casterly Rock at any time, and the Harrenhal army cannot be moved, because a portion of Stannis's army is still eyeing the Crab Claw Peninsula.
It can be said that Duke Tywin is currently in his greatest predicament. At this time, if the alliance of the Stormlands and The Reach were to formally form and cross the Blackwater River, Duke Tywin would completely lose this war.
And now, Renly's death has resolved Duke Tywin's biggest worry. Although his predicament still exists, it has given him a chance to breathe, which is a matter of life and death for Duke Tywin. The benefits he gained from it are immense.
However, compared to the benefits Duke Tywin gained from Duke Renly, the benefits Stannis Baratheon received were truly substantial.
After Renly declared himself king, Stannis rushed back from the Crownlands battlefield to the Stormlands, intending to seize the legitimate identity of the Baratheon family patriarch, Protector of the Stormlands, and Duke of Storm's End. However, everyone knew that Stannis could not succeed; his army was directly blocked at Massey's Hook, unable to enter the Stormlands at all.
Once Renly and Margaery were married, he would be free to deal with Stannis, and no one believed Stannis had any chance of winning.
However, Renly's sudden death completely freed Stannis from his predicament. Moreover, and more importantly, after Renly's death, Stannis became the Baratheon heir, and thus the Stormlands had no choice but to pledge allegiance to Stannis, who had been their enemy just a moment before.
The nobles of the entire Stormlands pledge allegiance to the Baratheon family, not to a specific member of the Baratheon family. Anyone who becomes the head of the Baratheon family and Duke of Storm's End is the object of their allegiance. Renly had no descendants, and his death represented the extinction of his branch of the Baratheon family. Everything belonging to him was directly transferred to Stannis, who had a higher claim in the Baratheon family's line of succession than others. Stannis also directly became the Duke of Storm's End, taking over Renly's army, wealth, and everything else, causing his military strength to increase severalfold and making him the greatest threat to King's Landing.
Now, King's Landing is even in a state of panic because of this news. Many people are worried that Stannis will attack King's Landing and do not believe that King's Landing's defenders can hold out, causing the people of King's Landing to flee en masse, planning to escape to Summerhall for refuge.
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