Chapter 118: Huo Qubing, Cao Cao, and Zhou Yu with Guan Yu

Now, let's talk about House Lannister.

The Westerlands, combined with part of the Crownlands, were essentially at odds with the remaining six kingdoms. Even if we set aside the ambiguous stance of the Vale, it was still a battle of "Wolves + Fish + Stags + Roses" versus the "Lion."

Dorne was also eyeing the lion hungrily.

If either of the two Baratheons or Robb had a shred of intelligence, House Lannister would be doomed.

Renly couldn't even take Gulltown before he started shouting, "I get to eat the whole roast goose by myself! You all get nothing!"—which was rather brainless.

Robb, on the other hand, saw his father and grandfather die in King's Landing and developed the mindset: "It's not that we Northerners lack political intelligence; it's just that the Southerners are too cunning."

He wanted to break the unity of the Seven Kingdoms, declaring the North and Riverlands independent, proclaiming himself King in the North—"So what if we Northerners are a bit slow? I'm not playing with you guys anymore!"

If he had only declared the North's independence, nobody might have paid him much attention.

The North, being a frozen wasteland, contributed nothing to the Seven Kingdoms while remaining a massive burden—when winter came, Northerners would have to migrate south begging for food.

The key issue was the Riverlands. The vast plains around the Trident were the heart of Westeros, rivaling the Reach as the "Granary of the Seven Kingdoms." No king sitting on the Iron Throne would allow the Riverlands to become independent.

Renly was somewhat rational. Faced with such demands, he suggested, "Let's take King's Landing first, then we can discuss the Riverlands later—at most, I'll allow the North its independence."

However, Stannis outright declared Robb a traitor and hurled a "grand curse" at him.

Even though both Stannis and Robb made poor decisions by engaging in infighting before defeating their common enemy, House Lannister's situation was still grim.

Stannis was a seasoned commander, and Robb was a born military genius—George R.R. Martin essentially wrote him as Huo Qubing.

Huo Qubing at least had a legendary general for an uncle, but Robb was purely born with a "god-tier strategist aura." His father, Eddard Stark, was neither a famous commander nor a formidable warrior—no one ever trained him in tactics.

Huo Qubing spent years gaining experience in the military before rising to fame at 17. Robb, on the other hand, had spent his first 13 years learning swordplay with a master-at-arms and wasn't even fully trained. Yet by 14, he was already shining brilliantly, defeating both Tywin, a master strategist, and Jaime, a renowned warrior.

How did Robb achieve this?

Because Tywin acted first. The moment his son Tyrion was captured by Catelyn, he divided his forces into two:

Jaime led 12,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry from the Golden Tooth along the River Road, striking directly at Riverrun (Robb's maternal grandfather's stronghold).

Tywin himself commanded around 20,000 troops along the Gold Road, passing through the Crownlands to strike the Riverlands from the rear.

At the start of the war, due to this pincer attack, the Riverlands were nearly annihilated—the "Fish" fell to the "Lion." Not only was Riverrun besieged by Jaime, but Edmure Tully, Robb's uncle and the sole heir to House Tully, was also captured.

Tywin's army fed off the Riverlands, systematically destroying the local nobility and agriculture.

—Tywin even hired the infamous Essosi mercenary group, the Bloody Mummers, to handle the dirty work.

The Bloody Mummers were the most notorious mercenary band in A Song of Ice and Fire, turning the Riverlands into a living hell.

Then Robb, new to the battlefield, led 13,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry south.

At the time, Tywin had already fortified his position on the east bank of the Green Fork along the Kingsroad—the "only" route south to King's Landing.

If Robb had advanced directly, he would have clashed head-on with Tywin's army entrenched in favorable terrain.

Tywin had even set a trap: stationing Tyrion's mountain clansmen and Gregor Clegane's old and crippled soldiers by the riverbank.

Since Gregor and Tyrion were in command, Robb's forces would naturally assume they were the main force.

Once Robb committed his forces, Tywin's true elite troops would charge in from the east, driving everyone—including his own men—into the river.

But Robb, having grown up hearing tales of Tywin's strategic brilliance, feared facing him directly. His battle instincts—his "war god intuition"—warned him of the danger.

So he made a genius move.

He split his forces, assigning the cautious Roose Bolton to hold Tywin's army with 13,000 infantry while he personally led 5,000 cavalry west to relieve Riverrun.

To cross the Green Fork without using the Kingsroad, the only option was the Twins.

—Lord Walder Frey, whose family had only existed for 600 years, had built a bridge over the river.

To secure passage, Robb signed a sacred pact with Walder Frey:

House Frey would swear allegiance to the King in the North, allowing Robb's army to cross.

The Freys would provide thousands of troops to Robb's cause.

In return, Robb would marry a Frey girl, Arya Stark would marry into House Frey, and Catelyn Stark would foster two Frey sons as wards.

Frankly, Walder Frey didn't take advantage of the situation. The terms were fairly balanced—Robb was rebelling, and crossing was just one part; the Freys also contributed a substantial force and supplies. Among Robb's vassals, aside from his uncle, the Freys made one of the largest contributions, sending around 4,000-5,000 troops.

With his 5,000 cavalry reinforced by Frey's forces, Robb, led by "Blackfish" Brynden Tully, launched a surprise attack in the Whispering Wood, capturing Jaime Lannister.

Blackfish, Brynden Tully—Robb's great-uncle—gained fame during the Ninepenny Kings War and later fought in Robert's Rebellion. He was a seasoned and skilled commander.

Robb's talent, combined with Blackfish's experience, made them nearly unstoppable.

Capturing Jaime and crushing the 15,000 Lannister troops besieging Riverrun turned the tide of the Riverlands campaign.

Tywin's main force was held by Roose Bolton's infantry, while Robb consolidated the Riverlords into a powerful army, applying immense pressure from the flanks.

Meanwhile, King's Landing, unable to send reinforcements, was under siege by the Baratheons.

At that moment, House Lannister's fate hung on Robb's decision—if he had simply charged forward recklessly, Tywin might have escaped, but only as a lone fugitive seeking refuge in King's Landing.

Unfortunately, Robb was too smart.

Not in a bad way—he was already thinking beyond the war. Stannis wouldn't allow him independence, making him an enemy as well. If the "Wolf" and "Lion" fought to mutual exhaustion, Stannis would simply clean up the remains.

That said, House Lannister was different from Stannis—Stannis merely opposed Northern independence, while the Lannisters had beheaded his father.

So Robb wouldn't let Tywin go.

Since brute force wasn't an option, he opted for strategy.

—After all, he was born a war god!

Instead of marching east to engage Tywin, he turned west, bringing the war to Lannister territory.

He essentially executed a Westerosi version of the "dragging blade technique"—if Tywin pursued, Robb would ambush him at a prearranged location.

If Tywin didn't, the Westerlands would be left to the wolves. With all their gold mines raided and Casterly Rock under siege, House Lannister would be finished.

It could be said that Robb had done everything he could on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, Tywin was not so easily led by the nose.

From the very beginning, not only did Robb want to defeat Tywin with minimal losses, but Tywin also sought to send the young upstart to his dead father with as little cost as possible.

Once he realized that Robb was no mere amateur as he had initially thought, Tywin abandoned any hope of winning on the battlefield entirely—after all, House Lannister had plenty of enemies, and he had no intention of wasting resources on the "hardheaded Northerners."

War was merely an extension of politics, and Tywin was not only a master tactician but also a seasoned player of the "game of thrones."

While Robb was still poring over maps, racking his brain over tactical maneuvers, Tywin was already writing letters.

One of Tywin's famous quotes: "Some victories are won with swords and spears, others with parchment and ravens."

Every day, he sent and received over a hundred ravens. While Robb's battlefield was limited to the Riverlands and the Westerlands, Tywin's battlefield spanned all of Westeros.

Did the Freys and the Boltons, who would later betray Robb, receive his ravens?

Undoubtedly.

Roose Bolton, widely regarded by Northerners as cautious and shrewd, committed an inexplicable blunder while stationed at Harrenhal—he further split his already dwindling infantry force.

Originally, Robb had 13,000 infantry, but Tywin wiped out 4,000–5,000 at the Battle of the Green Fork, leaving around 8,000. Then Roose Bolton sent half of that force south toward King's Landing.

At that time, Robb was at Casterly Rock, while nearly a third of the Northern army was attacking Duskendale.

The distance between Casterly Rock and Duskendale exceeded 2,000 kilometers.

Even Harrenhal, where Roose Bolton was stationed, was still over 600 kilometers away from Duskendale.

And this was medieval warfare—marching on muddy roads, on foot.

Needless to say, the army attacking Duskendale was completely annihilated.

It's important to clarify that Robb's army consisted of many vassal houses, and Roose Bolton had brought his own forces from his lands.

Yet the soldiers he sent to die at Duskendale? All of them were Stark loyalists.

His own men? They stayed safely at Harrenhal.

After the battles of the Green Fork and Duskendale, the Northern infantry had been reduced to just a third of its original size—or rather, mostly just Bolton's men remained.

This was one of Tywin's strategies.

Beyond dismantling his enemies from within, Tywin was also secretly forging new alliances—specifically with House Tyrell, the "Golden Roses" who had been left without an ally following Renly's death.

It was Tywin who arranged the marriage between Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell—

A lion for the king, a rose for the queen.

In terms of sheer national strength, House Tyrell was the most powerful house in the Seven Kingdoms. Not only did they control a third of Westeros' navy, but they also had the largest cavalry force.

For example, King Robb Stark had only 5,000 cavalry, while the combined forces of Tywin and Jaime Lannister totaled around 7,000.

Meanwhile, the Reach had over 20,000 cavalry just from Renly's former army alone, with total troop numbers exceeding 50,000. Even if Khal Drogo had still been alive, his Dothraki horde wouldn't have stood a chance against the might of House Tyrell.

As long as the Seven Kingdoms remained united, no outside force could hope to conquer Westeros—not even Daenerys with her three dragons. Even an army of 10,000 Unsullied would barely make a ripple.

Back to the point.

Despite secretly allying with House Tyrell, the old lion Tywin kept this trump card hidden. He pretended to fall into Robb's trap, hurriedly retreating westward in apparent panic. Yet, he deliberately lost to Edmure Tully, then abruptly turned south to rendezvous with the advancing Tyrell forces—marching straight for King's Landing.

Yes, he had stopped caring about Robb.

Because by then, Robb had made a fatal mistake—one that rendered him no longer a threat.

Remember the first infamous "Prince Who Broke a Betrothal," Duncan Targaryen?

Because of Jenny of Oldstones, he broke his sacred engagement to a Baratheon princess.

And now, history repeated itself. Because of Jeyne Westerling, Robb, the third "Betrothal-Breaking King," betrayed his promise to House Frey.

Another gentle and beautiful Jeyne.

Another passionate and dashing young king.

During the siege of Casterly Rock, Robb was wounded by a stray arrow. He was then personally nursed back to health by Jeyne Westerling, the daughter of Lord Gawen Westerling.

Why did the noble daughter of a Westerland lord personally care for him?

Where were the servants and maids?

It was likely orchestrated by Jeyne's mother, Sybell Spicer. At the time, her situation was dire—her husband was a prisoner of Robb, and her castle was occupied by the Northmen.

It's unclear to what extent Duke Tywin was involved, but soon after, Robb and Jeyne ended up in bed together.

Wanting to protect Jeyne's honor—and being an inexperienced, impulsive young man—Robb didn't just take her as a mistress. Instead, he publicly declared their marriage the very next day.

What he didn't know was that Jeyne's mother had always maintained secret ties with Tywin—and she was secretly feeding her daughter moon tea, Westeros' version of contraception.

After Robb's death at the Red Wedding, Sybell reaped great rewards from the Lannisters. Her brother was granted the title of Lord of Castamere (a wealthy land with gold mines). Her son married into House Lannister. Even her two daughters were given arranged marriages—including Robb's widow, Jeyne.

Thus, Robb Stark, once a major player in the game of thrones, was suddenly eliminated.

Next came the conflict between Stannis (the "Second Stag") and the Lannisters.

Stannis used blood magic through the Red Priestess to kill Renly (the "Third Stag") and later used similar methods to take Storm's End from his younger brother. Then, by land and sea, he launched his campaign to capture King's Landing.

At the time, King's Landing had only 6,000 City Watch soldiers—4,000 of whom were recently recruited street thugs, unfit even as cannon fodder.

The city's naval forces were no match for Dragonstone's fleet. Stannis held complete control of the sea.

If nothing unexpected happened, Stannis could have easily taken the capital.

But Tyrion Lannister rose to the occasion. As one of the story's protagonists, he was practically invincible.

Truth be told, Daenerys' feats—hatching dragons, amassing the Unsullied—were impressive, but they paled in comparison to Tyrion's accomplishments.

Facing Stannis' overwhelming forces, Tyrion pulled off a strategic masterstroke reminiscent of both Zhou Yu and Guan Yu from Chinese history—turning Stannis into the Westerosi equivalent of Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs.

The battle unfolded like this:

King's Landing sat on the north bank of the Blackwater Rush. To the east was Blackwater Bay, while Stannis' army approached from the south.

Tyrion burned all the docks and infrastructure along the riverbank, leaving nothing useful for an enemy landing.

To reach the city, Stannis' forces had to cross the Blackwater Rush, which meant using ships to transport troops or constructing makeshift floating bridges.

Tyrion built two massive chain towers at the river's mouth. Initially, the chains lay submerged. Once most of Stannis' fleet had sailed into the river, the chains were raised—sealing their retreat.

And then came the true horror—this wasn't just any medieval battle; this was a world of magic. The alchemists of King's Landing had long mastered wildfire.

Tyrion unleashed wildfire-laden ships upon Stannis' fleet, igniting an inferno that turned the river into a green-flamed hell.

In the aftermath, Tywin Lannister emerged at the last moment to claim victory.

Thus, in the War of the Five Kings, Renly, Stannis, and Robb fell one after another. Joffrey was left victorious…

For now.

The first phase of Westeros' great war had concluded.

(End of Chapter)

Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon

https://patreon.com/Glimmer09