"After the army gathers, I will personally..." Duke Mace looked at everyone, then stated his thoughts.
However, before he could finish, the Queen of Thorns interrupted him, saying, "You should remain in Highgarden! The Reach coalition army will be commanded by Garlan, with Randyll Tarly as deputy commander to assist Garlan. When the army is mostly gathered, have Loras take a portion of the men to Bitterbridge to rendezvous with Renly. Also, write a letter to Renly, telling him to be more serious when coming up with excuses and not to mess around."
Although Duke Mace was dissatisfied that he could not command the army, since the Queen of Thorns had already made the decision, he dared not say anything more and could only agree to the proposal.
Thus, Highgarden, using the humiliation of the broken engagement as a pretext, assembled an army to march on King's Landing, vowing to seek justice before the Iron Throne.
At the same time, Renly of the Stormlands, claiming that King Robert was poisoned by Queen Cersei because the King discovered her incest with Jaime, also summoned the Stormlands lords to form a Stormlands army to march on King's Landing.
The armies of the various lords of The Reach also began to gather in Highgarden and Bitterbridge under the call of Mace Tyrell, Warden of the South. Duke Mace also publicly announced his alliance with Duke of Storm's End Renly to form a coalition army to march on the Iron Throne.
It must be said that the reason Renly gave was very clever, not mentioning the legitimacy of Joffrey's claim to the throne at all, but it gave everyone room for imagination, making people ponder.
In Stark contrast to Renly's cryptic declaration, Stannis's declaration was much more direct. He directly declared that Joffrey was the product of Cersei's and Jaime's incest and not a member of the Baratheon, thus having no right to inherit the Iron Throne. He proclaimed himself the rightful owner of the Iron Throne and also asserted ownership of the Stormlands, stating that according to the order of succession, he should be Duke of Storm's End and Warden of the Stormlands, directly declaring war on Renly and forming a fleet to prepare to attack the Stormlands.
Many people also did not understand Stannis's declaration of war, because in their view, shouldn't these two Baratheon brothers work together to first take the Iron Throne? Why did Stannis declare war on Renly, who should have been an ally, at the same time he declared war on the Iron Throne, and even attacked the Stormlands first?
Regardless, everyone knew that the Westerlands, Riverlands, North, The Reach, and the Crownlands were already embroiled in war. Only the Vale, Dorne, and Summerhall remained peaceful.
Summerhall, of course, was self-explanatory. Lynd had informed the Seven Kingdoms that he would not participate in the civil war of the Seven Kingdoms, so his inaction was understandable.
Dorne, due to its long-standing feud with The Reach, found it difficult for its army to reach the north and could not participate in this war.
However, the Vale's behavior was very abnormal.
Long ago, there were rumors that the former Hand, Lord of the Eyrie, and Warden of the East, Jon Arryn, was poisoned by Cersei because the old Hand discovered the secret of their siblings' incest. They killed him to silence him, so after the old Hand's death, Lady Lysa Tully fled back to the Eyrie.
Now, the North, Riverlands, South, and Stormlands were all marching on King's Landing and the Westerlands. Logically, the Vale should have also stepped forward and joined the invading army. Moreover, Lysa Tully was the daughter of the Duke of the Riverlands and the sister of the Duchess of the North, making her a natural ally of the North and Riverlands.
But to everyone's surprise, Lysa Tully publicly announced that the Vale would remain neutral and would not participate in this war. She even had the Blood Gate closed, no longer allowing anyone to pass through. Even those seeking aid sent by Harrenhal were turned away, allowing Duke Tywin to take Harrenhal without losing a single soldier. Afterward, he brazenly constructed defensive fortifications at the entrance of the Blood Gate Pass, blocking any possibility of the Vale army passing through.
In addition to keeping the Vale neutral, Lysa Tully even released Tyrion Lannister, a very important hostage.
Saying 'released' might not be entirely accurate. Catelyn Tully, wife of the Duke of Stark, after encountering a storm and being forced to stay in Gulltown, learned that Eddard had gotten into trouble in King's Landing. She then thought of seeking help from her sister, Lysa Tully, in the Eyrie. However, not only did she not receive help, but during Little Devil Tyrion's trial, Little Devil seized the opportunity to demand a trial by combat.
What was even more interesting was that one of Lady Catelyn's guards betrayed her on the spot, accepted Little Devil Tyrion's employment, and became Little Devil's substitute for the trial by combat, winning the trial. In many people's eyes, it was as if Lady Catelyn had indirectly saved Little Devil from Lysa Tully, making people question the truthfulness of the various rumors that had circulated before.
The abnormal actions of the various lords from south to north caused the Westerlands, which should have been at a complete disadvantage, to gain the upper hand. Especially after Jaime Lannister defeated the Riverlands lord coalition army at Golden Tooth, he had already led his troops to besiege Riverrun. Duke Tywin had also occupied Harrenhal, and the fall of the entire Riverlands was only a matter of time.
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