Chapter 24: Trapped in the Hand of the King's Tower

"I ask! You answer!"

Yellow Beard didn't know why the boy who looked so cowardly just now could attack so ruthlessly, and judging from his skills, he was no ordinary person.

So he swallowed hard and nodded.

"Who are you, where are you going, and what are you going to do?"

Facing the three questions Jon asked in one go, Yellowbeard shrank his neck and answered cautiously:

"My name is Pilp, I'm from the Stormlands, I'm a wandering warrior, we came here from King's Landing five days ago.

I heard that Lord Tywin of the Westerlands is recruiting free riders and wandering warriors, so I am going to the Westerlands to serve Lord Tywin."

Then he tucked his elbows and raised his forearms, carefully pointing at the Blackbeards who were moving separately on the ground and said

"He's just like me."

Hearing him say this, Jon immediately felt something was wrong.

Now Tywin has sent the Mountain out to burn, kill and loot in the Riverlands, with the aim of clearing the way to Harrenhal for his army.

Of course, it is also intended to weaken the war potential of Riverlands and indirectly weaken the North.

Jon asked Yellowbeard Pirp when he heard about this and the answer he got was more than a month ago. Judging from the speed of information transmission in Westeros, Tywin released this recruitment information almost two months ago.

Almost two months ago, Catelyn detained Tyrion the Imp. It was understandable that Tywin wanted to give the Lannisters a taste of their own medicine, but Jon knew that the old man had mobilized an army of nearly 50,000 in one breath, and he was going to take down the Riverlands directly.

And here is the weird part, the Iron Throne of House Baratheon is supported by four families: Deer, Fish, Wolf, and Eagle. These four families are the cornerstones of the current Iron Throne and are a real alliance.

In other words, if these four families are stable, then Joffrey's throne will also be stable. However, the problem is that Joffrey is not Robert's biological son, and the alliance of the four families has turned from a pillar of royal power into a crowbar.

So Tywin was actually using the excuse of finding a place for the Lannisters to open up the Riverlands and connect to the crownlands, so that the political territory of the Lannisters would stretch across the continent of Westeros.

The North will be suppressed north of the Neck and unable to move. Although it is difficult for them to enter the valley, it is also difficult for them to leave. As long as they can find a way to form an alliance with the the Reach, the Stormland will be alone and trapped!

'Shit, this is a real werewolf.'

Jon couldn't help but curse in his heart. It seemed that Tywin was not what he saw on the Internet. The final victory was just a matter of course. From the beginning, this old guy was not simply trying to maintain the dignity of his family. Instead, he wanted to use this as an excuse to expand the power of his family!

Seeing Jon in deep thought, Pilp did not dare to make any sound.

Even though Jon had removed the sword from his neck, he had no inappropriate thoughts.

Jon's sword just now was so fast that Pilp had no doubt that even if Jon asked him to run 30 meters first, he would be beheaded before running 50 meters.

Jon had been playing out several possible outcomes in his mind during this time.

The best scenario is that Ned sees his letter and tries to delay time so that he can take him away quietly.

The next best thing is that even though Ned is imprisoned in a dungeon, he can still find a way to rescue him.

The worst case scenario is that Ned has been taken to the execution ground, admitted his so-called treason, and had to go to the "execution ground" himself.

But it seems that unless Ned draws Xiang Yu's experience card, he will be helpless as he has been taken to the execution ground.

But now, even in the first two situations, it would be extremely difficult to rescue Ned without help from others.

'Wait, now Beric and the others who were sent by Ned to the West should have been on their way. However, according to the nature of this world where it takes ten days or half a month to prepare for departure, Beric and his men probably haven't reached Hejian yet. Among this group of people are the twenty guards that Ned brought from the North. If I can trick them away, I'll have more manpower, right?'

Jon thought of a solution and asked again

"Do you know that the Hand of the King has sent people to capture the Mountain?"

Pilp nodded.

"When you were walking here from King's Landing, had the team that was going to capture the Mountain started to set out?"

"not yet."

Hearing him say this, Jon felt a little relieved. If he was fast enough, he could trick the man away and save the future Brotherhood Without Banners at the same time.

He remembered that the tragedy of 'Bloody Mummers Beach' seemed to have happened after Ned was arrested, and he suddenly had a lot more time.

Jon felt a little relieved, as if the stone that was weighing on his heart had been temporarily put down.

Of course, when he meets Beric and the others, there's nothing he can do if he can't take those Northern soldiers away. Jon is just trying his best now, trying every possible way to seek some help.

"Get on the horses! Lead the way! We are going to King's Landing."

Judging from the direction Pilp came from, Jon thought that since they did not take the main road, they must know a shortcut, so he planned to bring this "guide" with him.

"Ah? Oh!"

Pilp obediently mounted his horse, and under his leadership, the two of them quickly rushed to King's Landing.

And now in King's Landing, inside the Red Castle.

Ned still felt terrified as he looked at the brazier where the envelope had been burned to ashes a few days ago.

When he saw the code words given to him, he almost jumped up from his seat.

Even after burning the envelope, he still felt it was not safe, so he stirred it repeatedly with tongs, and even poured it into the toilet and soaked it with water before he gave up.

Although he didn't know where the secret words came from, Jon still listened to his warning not to trust Littlefinger, and temporarily put aside Littlefinger's suggestion of bribing the gold cloaks.

Without Ned's approval, Littlefinger had no money to bribe the Gold Cloaks, and the coup against Ned was suddenly slowed down.

If Littlefinger still wants to launch a coup by instigating the Golden Robes, then he will need to spend time raising money for bribes.

At this time, Little Finger was standing in front of the window with a frown on his face.

He began to look for the reasons in himself and reflect on whether he had revealed any flaws.

Ned's sudden enlightenment disrupted his coup plan and he became alert all of a sudden.

Ever since he last met Ned, he no longer had the trust he once had in his eyes, and instead, a vague suspicion was revealed.

As a 'conspirator', Littlefinger is very sensitive to this kind of distrust.

He opened and closed his window several times, then placed a bottle with a small note in it on the windowsill.

In the blink of an eye, the small bottle disappeared.

Cersei naturally also learned about Ned's abnormality through Littlefinger, so she increased surveillance on him. There were fifteen or sixteen sentries and covert sentries near the Hand of the King's Tower.

Now, everyone knows exactly how many times Ned eats and goes to the toilet every day, and the two sides are stuck in a strange stalemate.

Ned looked out the window at the soldiers patrolling the Hand of the King's Tower and knew that he was effectively under house arrest.

And around him, perhaps the child who empties the toilet for him, or the maid who comes in to clean, may be the eyes sent to monitor him.

His situation now can be summed up in four words - isolated and helpless.