On a slightly elevated mound on the east bank of the Red Fork River, this was Tywin's 'command center'.
Although the Duke of Casterly Rock's face was calm, the beads of sweat constantly seeping from his bald head betrayed him; the enemy on the other side of the river, relying on the river and fortifications, had him firmly blocked on the east bank of the Red Fork River.
"Damn it, it's the river again—"
Tywin faintly heard a complaint, but he still stared silently at the enemy across the river.
He saw the banners on the other side of the river, which were the Tully Family's trout banners from Riverrun.
The Tully army's arrows were plentiful; their archer positions had not stopped raining arrows since the battle began, which also caused Tywin extremely heavy casualties.
Just then, a slightly corpulent nobleman, whose face bore a striking resemblance to Tywin's, rode up beside him.
"My Lord, the Marbrand men have retreated. What do we do now?"
Tywin looked at the corpulent nobleman, who was his brother Kevan Lannister.
"Let Gre—"
Tywin was about to say, 'Let Gregor,' meaning the Mountain, try attacking, but then he suddenly remembered that the Mountain was dead.
"Yes, the Mountain is dead."
Tywin turned his head to look east. He had originally intended to have the Mountain attack the Northern and Riverlands armies while their forces were dispersed.
But he didn't expect the Mountain to fall into an ambush.
The one who ambushed him was Jon.
He felt that he was increasingly unable to see through Eddard's bastard son.
Later, through various channels, he gained a deeper understanding of Jon.
The more he understood, the more he felt that Jon was extraordinary.
He dared to openly oppose Robb's kingship and also opposed the Riverlands nobles reclaiming lost territories.
Such political and military foresight could already be considered first-rate in the Seven Kingdoms.
Not to mention his earlier 'Green Fork water attack' that he single-handedly planned, which was reportedly done against the pressure of almost everyone.
Suddenly, Tywin thought of his son.
Jaime Lannister.
His 'golden son.'
Jaime and Cersei were known as the 'Golden Twins' of the Westerlands.
Tywin sometimes wondered if Jaime had half of Jon's strategy, he wouldn't even lack a suitable heir.
Just then, a golden-haired attendant quickly came to Tywin's side and presented him with a letter.
"My Lord, a letter from King's Landing." Kevan took the letter from the attendant in a few steps and respectfully handed it to Tywin.
Tywin opened the letter, his green pupils contracted slightly, and in just a moment, his face re-emerged with an even stronger will.
He turned to Kevan and said, "Order the entire army to resume their march east, to support King's Landing!"
"Brother?"
Kevan was somewhat confused; they had already made so many sacrifices, why were they suddenly leaving?
Tywin didn't explain anything to him but handed him the letter to read.
Kevan took the letter, his eyes wide, stretching his neck as if he couldn't wait to dive into it headfirst.
"The Tyrells want to ally with us?"
"Do they have any better choice?" Tywin's green eyes grew brighter.
Renly was dead, and the Tyrell Family's 'queen dream' was shattered.
Margaery was only fifteen, Stannis's wife was still alive, and he only had one daughter.
In any case, the Tyrell Family's goal was for Margaery to become queen; they didn't care who the king was.
As for whether Joffrey's parentage was truly illegitimate, it became increasingly irrelevant. Now, only by immediately turning back and repelling Stannis, who was attempting to capture King's Landing, could the Lannisters turn the tide.
As for the Westerlands, let Robb and his men cause trouble there.
The Northmen had marched a long way; unless they grew wings, how could they possibly capture Casterly Rock? Casterly Rock, after all, was carved out of a stone mountain two hundred feet high.
Casterly Rock never falls!
At this moment, Tywin seemed to remember something and said to Kevan, "Immediately dispatch all your scouts. Tell the Tyrell army to hurry to King's Landing as soon as possible, or at least send cavalry as a vanguard to put pressure on Stannis. I fear Eddard's bastard son might intervene—"
"That Snow? But how can he privately mobilize an army? Robb wouldn't agree."
"He dared to openly oppose Robb's kingship; do you think he truly puts Robb in his eyes?"
Kevan thought for a moment, nodded, and went to make arrangements.
Soon, the Westerlands army, predominantly crimson, quickly retreated, leaving only a small number of men to hold the line.
The Tully army on the other side of the Red Fork River cheered when they saw the enemy retreat, and Edmure, who was in command, also showed a smug smile.
He had, after all, defeated Tywin in his first battle! He had to quickly send a 'victory report' to Robb.
The young King slammed the so-called victory report onto the table, sitting on a wooden stool somewhat irritably.
"Robb."
Seeing that her husband seemed to be in a bad mood, his wife came to his side with a cup of hot tea.
"Didn't Ser Edmure repel Tywin? Why are you unhappy?"
Looking at the queen he had 'traded' a whole army for, Robb felt somewhat depressed.
"You don't understand. I originally thought Edmure was no match for Tywin. As long as Tywin crossed the river, I could annihilate his army in the Westerlands. Now he's been blocked back by Edmure's army, this—this is really, sigh—"
Robb's queen was Jeyne Westerling.
Robb had been wounded in a previous siege, and Jeyne was responsible for caring for him.
Perhaps due to hormones or some other messy reasons, the two ended up in bed.
After sleeping together, Robb felt he should be responsible for the girl and announced his marriage to her.
But Robb had already made arrangements with the Frey Family, and this was equivalent to breaking the agreement.
So, in a fit of anger, Black Walder led the Frey Family's soldiers away from Robb's command, returning to Riverrun.
Perhaps the Frey Family's departure felt within Robb's tolerance, but Edmure blocking Tywin back completely disrupted his plans.
However, fortunately, the Iron Islands army had landed in the southern part of the Westerlands a few days ago.
This eased some of his pressure.
Jeyne listened to Robb's explanation but felt somewhat confused. If he wanted Tywin to successfully cross the river, why didn't he tell Edmure in advance?
But Jeyne was a bit afraid to say or ask.
In her eyes, her husband was the King in the North, an invincible commander. Perhaps he had other concerns?
"It should be alright, Your Grace. Isn't your brother still in the east? Perhaps you could flank Tywin?" Jeyne said with her shallow military knowledge, half-comforting, half-suggesting.
"You mean a pincer attack?"
Watching his beloved give him advice, Robb felt a little more relaxed.
He pinched Jeyne's cheek, feeling a certain part of his body begin to stir again. Two hot lips quickly pressed together.
After a moment of passionate kissing, Robb wanted to take more, but Jeyne, who had almost melted into a puddle, pushed him away.
"Your Grace, I, I'm pregnant."
"Pregnant!"
Robb looked at Jeyne's belly with a surprised expression, and at the same time, he felt somewhat flustered.
"Ah, the Gods above." Robb half-knelt before Jeyne, embracing her waist.
A name surfaced in his mind—Eddard.
If it was a son, he planned to name the child Eddard to commemorate his father.
Just as Robb was immersed in the joy and excitement of becoming a father, a message from Harrenhal pulled him back to reality.
"Mutiny!" Robb suddenly stood up, clutching the letter tightly with both hands, feeling a thunderclap explode in his brain.
He read the letter again from beginning to end: Harrenhal, Jon, mutiny, King's Landing—
These words coalesced into a fact he found hard to believe—Jon had actually seized Roose Bolton's military power and was leading a large army straight to King's Landing.
Jon! What exactly do you want to do? Is it just because I wanted to take away your military power?
Unconsciously, Robb felt his breathing quicken. Grey Wind, the Direwolf in the tent, seemed to sense his mood and stood up warily, pacing back and forth.