The mountain ranges in the western region run north-south, resembling a reclining lion to the south and a galloping herd of horses to the north.
With such rugged natural borders, the western border is arguably second only to the valley in terms of its defensive and difficult-to-attack nature.
When Loras led Tyrell's army south, there were many scouts sent out to scout the western mountains.
Fortunately, the mountain range wasn't that long. After four or five days, they left the area where the mountain range extended. About a week later, Loras arrived at Riverrun.
After nearly half a month of long marching, Knight of Flowers was covered in sour smells, his once-proud brown curly hair was no longer smooth, and there were even black and gray oil stains near his collar.
A brown ring had grown around his mouth, and the once handsome young man's energy had long been exhausted during the long march.
Seeing the white tower of Riverrun and the abundant moisture brought by the two rivers, Loras felt unbearably itchy and just wanted to jump into the bathtub and take a nice bath.
Not long after arriving, he received another order from Jon to lead the remaining Tyrell troops along the same route as before.
Despite the bet between the two, it still made him extremely unhappy.
Loras hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath upon arriving at Riverrun before he had to hit the road again, making him wish he could use his brown eyes to see a hole through Robb Frey's face, who had come to deliver the order.
"I refuse to believe this foolish plan will work. If Daven really moves his troops away from Casterly Rock, I'll have my horse ride me!" In the Riverrun hall, Loras, having hastily changed his clothes, swore a solemn oath in front of Edmure.
" Ser Loras, perhaps Jon has some other ideas." Not only Loras, who had come with the intention of mocking Jon from the beginning, but others also didn't think much of Jon's plan, such as Edmure, who liked to claim that he had defeated Tywin.
"What could he possibly be thinking? He's never fought fair and square even once. And he calls himself the White Wolf Knight? If you ask me, this guy doesn't deserve that title at all, and he's even less worthy of my sister!"
"Well, luck is a tricky thing," Edmure said with a half-smile. After all, he was the one who defeated Tywin!
Edmure was trying to comfort Loras, or rather, trying to get closer to Loras.
Now in his early twenties, he has taken over Riverrun. Although he is still nominally the guardian of the Riverlands, the Family's power has been greatly weakened compared to before.
Firstly, the Frey family had become dukes and were no longer subordinate to the Riverrun, immediately reducing the Tully family's control over a third of the land.
Stannis did not stop there. Although no formal award has been given yet, according to news from King's Landing, if Jon can achieve certain results in the Westerlands and conquer a large enough territory, then Harrenhal will belong to Vargo Hoat, the captain of the Brave Companions.
This further worsened the Tully Family's external situation and caused their strength to decline further.
Brynden's advice was to befriend The Reach and seek an alliance from the south. He specifically suggested that Edmure and Loras cultivate closer ties.
"No, this guy isn't Eddard Stark's bastard at all!" Loras exclaimed suddenly, as if he had just realized something.
"What?!" Edmure stared wide-eyed and leaned closer to ask Dao.
Loras turned to Edmure and said, "This guy isn't Eddard Stark's bastard. I think he's some kind of god's bastard, otherwise he couldn't possibly be this lucky!"
Edmure: "————"
Edmure sighed and said, " We'll soon find out if he's lucky or not. I've sent him suggestions about attacking Casterly Rock more than once, but he's never replied. Maybe he's really confident in his 'plan'."
"His plan is absolutely doomed to fail!" Loras said again to Dao.
"I heard you have a bet with Jon. I think if you were to be the commander of the army, you would surely achieve great things very quickly," Edmure said, somewhat insincerely praising Dao.
Loras, however, seemed to accept it. He looked at Edmure and said, " Edmure, although you are not tall and your martial arts skills are mediocre, and your Archery is also terrible, I feel that you are much better than Jon."
Edmure's lips twitched. He didn't know if Dao was praising him, and therefore he didn't know how to respond.
"It's a pity Margaery has already been betrothed to Jon, but our family has many beautiful girls. If you don't mind that they are from a collateral branch, I can talk to my family about it," Loras said earnestly.
"Well, thank you very much, Ser Loras." Edmure completely forgot about Loras's peculiar way of praising him.
Even though he eventually married a member of a branch of the Tyrell family, Tyrell's wealth was common knowledge, especially given their strength demonstrated in this war.
That would provide them with considerable assistance.
Now the situation in the Seven Kingdoms is clear: Edmure has become the Duke of Riverrun, but he is still unmarried.
Edmure once had a crush on a noblewoman, but unfortunately, she was seduced into bed by a wandering poet, which infuriated Edmure.
He ordered the expulsion of all the bards and singers from his territory.
But now he needs to find himself a wife, and for someone in his early twenties like Margaery is a pretty good candidate.
Unfortunately, the Tully Family made the wrong choice before; neither Stannis nor Tyrell would have chosen them.
Otherwise— Edmure ended his fantasy and personally saw Loras off again from Riverrun.
The news that Jon had led his army to Casterly Rock for over half a month without launching an attack naturally reached Highgarden, who were most concerned about the battle situation.
Although Mace hadn't won many battles, he still didn't approve of Jon's plan. He even complained to others that the roses of Highgarden could be planted on a mountaintop like Casterly Rock, but never in an ominous place like Harrenhal.
He'll have to pay for Jon to build a castle, making him the biggest sucker in Seven Kingdoms.
——————
Margaery wasn't particularly knowledgeable about military matters, but she was interested in something else entirely—her fiancé's romantic history.
" When Jon first went to Riverrun, Old Walder planned for Jon to marry his daughter?" Margaery was clearly very surprised by this information.
"Yes, Miss Margaery." It was Garth's bastard, Garratt Flora, who spoke.
As a top family in the Seven Kingdoms, an intelligence network is naturally indispensable. Even if it's not as timely and pervasive as Varys', they can still find out what Dao wants to know in a high probability.
"But it might not be a daughter," Willas, who was also in charge of vetting his sister and investigating Jon, said. He stroked the head of the hound beside him, which lay obediently beside him.
Since losing a leg in a fight, Willas has turned to academics and has become quite adept at training hunting dogs, ravens, and horses.
"At that time, Jon was practically penniless, how could Old Walder possibly marry his daughter to a bastard—" Willas realized halfway through his sentence that it was inappropriate to say that.
Old Walder didn't marry off his daughter, but Tyrell did. Doesn't that mean Tyrell is less classy than the Frey family?
But Margaery smiled nonchalantly and said to Dao, "It's alright, Willas. Isn't Jon a duke now? Besides, I think Old Walder, with his personality, probably regrets his decision. If he had married his most beautiful daughter to Jon earlier, we wouldn't be in this situation now."
"Sigh," Willas sighed as he looked at his little sister, whom he had doted on for over a decade, "I'd rather we didn't have to do anything."
"My brother, don't say that," Margaery comforted Dao. " Jon is still a good guy."
She thought of the first eye contact Jon made in King's Landing, the Soldiers who helped her dodge patrols and surveillance in Red Keep, and the words they said to each other in the garden—all of which she found incredibly memorable.
So much so that now, when she hears those ballads about knight princes, all she can think of is Jon.
Even if Joffrey or Renly were to be resurrected now, she wouldn't be interested.
Willas's expression suddenly changed as he looked at Margaery: "Oh? I wasn't talking about Jon. I meant if Stannis hadn't won, we wouldn't have needed to do all this."
"Huh?" Margaery realized that he had subconsciously defended Jon, and that his older brother Willas had noticed it, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
Joking aside, it's time to get down to business. Willas's expression changed as he spoke: "Actually, Tyrell doesn't want Jon to be so fixated on Casterly Rock. His army's logistics are currently entirely supported by Highgarden. We can support him for a year or two, but we can't support him indefinitely. Just like this hunting dog, if you keep feeding him, he'll forget who his master is. I've heard that dogs were actually domesticated from wolves. Stannis wants to use Jon, this Direwolf, to intimidate us at Tyrell. But we at Tyrell might just be able to tame him into a fierce guard dog."
Seeing her brother's serious expression, Margaery cleared her head.
What's wrong with me? My marriage to Jon was forced by circumstances. Unless the giant dragon revives, Casterly Rock can't be taken down at all. Why am I starting to speak up for him?
Margaery thought to himself, realizing that Willas's words were also a reminder to him, but—
For people like you and me, the most important thing in marriage is to help each other succeed. She then thought of what Jon had said to her in the garden that day.
He stood shoulder to shoulder with himself on the city wall, overlooking the myriad lights of King's Landing, watching the Blackwater Rush surge eastward, as if the entire earth were prostrate at his feet.
Margaery eventually calmed herself down. Although she understood what situation was most advantageous for the family, she still hoped that Jon could conquer Casterly Rock.
Because that was their promise to help each other succeed.