Chapter 188 Nothing to Say
Mance Rayder's stubbornness once again refreshed Clay's understanding of the word "death or death". It turns out that a person's ignorance and arrogance, as well as his incomprehensible so-called self-esteem, can really make him capable of anything. can not see clearly.
After seeing with his own eyes that Commander-in-Chief Mormont and the negotiators sent out for the last time were stripped of their weapons and equipment and driven back in embarrassment, Clay knew that there was no way to negotiate with these people.
There's no need to talk, so let's fight. Anyway, Clay believes that only what is defeated is real. It is really possible to expect these tens of thousands of savages to sincerely obey the management of the Night's Watch, which only has a few hundred people and is burdened with a blood feud. Not big.
At night, Clay used the Night Watch Legion's human elevator and climbed to the top of the Great Wall. He wanted to see the situation of the wildling camp with his own eyes.
It has to be said that the height and thickness of the Great Wall can indeed be called a miracle. With such a large amount of work, without the participation of magic, it would be impossible to build such a majestic city wall with the limited manpower and material resources of the North. .
On the other hand, if the North really relied on human wisdom to build such awesome buildings, then why were most of the castles of the noble families in the North that Clay saw were as shabby as a small courtyard? of?
You must know that under the current social system, the core, the absolute core, of any place is the noble manor or castle in that place, because this is the most important node of the social order.
Therefore, if the North really had the technology to cast the Great Wall, the castles of various houses would definitely not look like this.
Wearing a thick fur cloak, without the sunlight, the snowflakes falling unchecked have turned from white to a gray-black color, sneaking into the gaps in people's clothes without any care.
"Clay, look, that's Mance Rayder's camp. Even the woods of the Haunted Forest can't block their fire."
Jon Snow took Clay to the top of the Great Wall, and was pointing at the dots of firelight emerging from the endless ghost forest outside the wall stacks made of ice.
That was where the savage army was stationed. Every bit of fire almost represented the smallest tent, with at least ten people.
At this time, in Clay's eyes, the fire was like grain husks scattered on the ground in the threshing floor, and he could not count them at all. He understood why Lord Commander Mormont told him that Mance Rayder was bluffing.
If all the people under the torches were counted, then the savage army pressing outside the city might have exceeded 100,000 people.
Apart from anything else, as far as the social form of the savages is concerned, they simply cannot develop an organization that can organize an army of 100,000 people. This is not as simple as drawing a line and drawing an A on the map.
One hundred thousand people, not to mention all the army, what will you do with the logistics alone? What to do about the camp’s garrison? What about the flow of information?
There is no solution at all. There is a vast snowfield outside. If there are really 100,000 people here, then it means that there must be a huge herd of livestock or a huge food reserve behind.
If this were not the case, just relying on the tribes coming to bring their own food, haha, there would be no need to wait for Clay to come, this huge camp would be in chaos due to various problems.
Clay estimated that he had at most 40,000 to 50,000 enemies in front of him, and that the number of adult men who could truly be called combatants might only be 10,000. There might be only 10,000 "soldiers" with weapons that could threaten the lives of his own soldiers. Just a few thousand people.
Therefore, Mance Rayder claims to have an army of 100,000, which looks scary, but in fact, there are not many soldiers to fight at all. Of course, we can’t blame him too harshly. In fact, he can bring together a group of scattered savages. Those who are qualified to challenge the Great Wall still have two skills.
"Mance Rayder, the king of the wildlings, is very courageous. This camp is almost in your face. This is because you have calculated that you do not have enough troops to go out of the city to attack him."
Clay puffed out white air, and casually grabbed a handful of fresh snow on the battlement with his leather-gloved palm. The gray-white snow deformed and shattered in his hand, leaving a small ball in his hand.
"Because of his boldness, I also have the obligation to teach him what real war is. I have to smash his camp like a kid playing house."
When listening to this, Jon Snow, who was next to Clay, secretly observed his expression. There was no emotion on that face, which was as young as himself. It seemed that he was just saying that something was about to happen, and there would be no accidents. inevitable result.
Jon Snow was shocked. When he left Winterfell to work as a night watchman, the last time he saw Clay, he gave him the impression that he was a high-spirited young man.
After all, being the heir of the Mandalay family is equivalent to Robb's status in the Stark family.
But now, Jon Snow felt extremely strange to Clay. The disregard for human life in his words made his back feel slightly cold. There were tens of thousands of people. Listen to what he meant. Do you want to take action directly? ?
"Clay, they actually didn't do anything wrong. They all want to live..."
Before Jon Snow finished speaking, he was interrupted by Clay who raised his hand. He glanced at Jon Snow without any warmth and sneered:
"Jon, I treat you as a brother, but I am not your father, and I have no obligation to teach you to be smart. I will only say this once, so remember it."
He looked into Jon's eyes and said slowly:
"Put away your pity. If you want to stay in this place, don't say what you just said. Use your brain to think about it. Most of the people in this place don't hate the savages to the core."
"How long have you been here? How many of their sworn brothers died under the tattered weapons of the savages before this?"
"Moreover, if they disobey discipline and let go of the Great Wall, what will happen to our people in the North? At that time, they will scatter to various places in the North, plunder, rape, kill, and destroy. The things they did outside the Great Wall, Can you imagine what would happen in the northern lands?"
Seeing Jon Snow's silence, Clay gave the answer directly. He said:
"At that time, the angry northern adults, such as the Amber family, the Karstark family, and your Stark family in Winterfell, will send troops to directly pursue them, and Lord Bolton of the Dreadfort, Their skins will be peeled off and hung on the city walls to dry.”
"Instead of making our people in the north pay their tears and blood, and then distract these savages from catching and killing them, it's better to just give them a pot now."
Clay turned away, no longer looking at Jon Snow's depressed expression. He muttered to himself, as if whispering:
"I would also like to thank you, Mance Rayder, for helping me bring these people together. Just wait, tomorrow morning, I will use my own sword to repay you for your efforts."
The young man in the gray cloak looked at the camp with flickering bonfires outside the city wall with his deep eyes. He understood that that was his prey.
But the young man with a black cloak and black hair covered with snowflakes, almost blending into the night, stared blankly at the brazier flickering at his feet in the cold wind, speechless.
In just a few months, or no longer than a year, these two young men, who were drinking and bragging in the dungeons of Winterfell, had become speechless.
Their lives may never intersect again after this incident.
Clay will return to the south and continue to complete what he should do, while Jon Snow will freeze in the loneliest corner of the world with the Great Wall, a big lump of ice.
"Let's go. There's nothing to see here. I hope the people outside the wall can have a good sleep tonight and dream about everything they want."
Clay walked towards the elevator, and the rest of his voice was shattered by the fierce cold wind:
"Because many of them will never see the sun the day after tomorrow. Of course, dreams will never come to them again..."