Tyrion continued, "Moreover, once Robb Stark declares himself King, given Renly's personality, he will also declare himself King. And Stannis values legitimacy above all else; he certainly will not allow anyone to undermine legitimacy. In this way, King's Landing will not be his primary enemy, but Renly, who commands a large army and has declared himself King."
Duke Tywin was now looking at Tyrion with a strange gaze, as if he were looking at a stranger.
Tyrion, however, felt uncomfortable under Duke Tywin's gaze and feigned nonchalance, "If you want to praise me, I'd be happy to hear it. Please don't hold back."
Duke Tywin's expression returned to its cold state. He then quickly signed an appointment order, stamped it with his seal, and handed it to Tyrion, saying, "Don't go back to Casterly Rock. Go to King's Landing! Keep Cersei and Joffrey in line, and don't let them cause me any more trouble."
"Acting Hand?" Tyrion took the appointment order and looked at it, a surprised expression appearing on his face.
Tywin continued to instruct, "You are to set off immediately. I will have Adam Marbrand take some men with you back to King's Landing. You must take control of the City Watch."
"What about the current commander of the City Watch?" Tyrion asked.
Tywin said in a deep voice, "Find a reason to make him take the black and go to the Wall!"
After hearing the instructions, Tyrion asked no more questions. He stood up, hopped off the chair, and walked out. Just as he reached the door, Tywin suddenly spoke, "Don't let that whore enter King's Landing!"
Tyrion paused, clenching his hands, then slightly loosened them, and without looking back, he disappeared outside the door.
After Tyrion left, Tywin said to his adjutant, "Send word to the person over there. Tell him I agree to all his conditions, and have him incite Robb Stark to declare himself King."
"Yes, My Lord." The adjutant responded and withdrew to deliver Tywin's message.
At the same time, in Riverrun, the Young Wolf Robb, who had become famous in one battle, was not enjoying the fruits of victory. Instead, he was troubled by the matters at hand.
In just a few days, this was the twenty-seventh similar incident he had dealt with. His knights had actually led their men to plunder surrounding villages and towns, and to prevent being discovered, they had even murdered people, causing the original gratitude in the eyes of the Riverlands nobles to turn into resentment and dissatisfaction.
Robb rubbed his aching forehead and said, "Deal with it according to the previous custom. All those involved are to be handed over to the Riverlands nobles for disposal. In addition, send someone to warn Lord Karstark to keep his men in line and not cause any more trouble."
The attendant immediately withdrew upon hearing this, relaying Robb's decision.
"My Lord, doing this will make all the Northern lords..." Ser Herman Tallhart, Robb's adjutant, whispered a reminder.
"Make them what? Oppose me?" Robb said in a deep voice.
Herman Tallhart did not respond, only nodding in silence.
Robb knew full well what kind of negative impact it would have if he prevented his men from plundering and handed over the offending men to the Riverlands nobles for disposal.
According to tradition, lords who followed their liege in battle had every right and privilege to plunder occupied territories and enjoy the spoils of war. This was the best reward for their loyalty in obeying their liege's command and fighting for him. The liege also had no right to strip them of their spoils.
But now Robb had no choice but to violate Northern tradition and restrain his army, because if he didn't, it wouldn't be long before the Riverlands nobles, who were currently allies, would turn into enemies, and even the mediation of House Tully would not be able to prevent the hatred.
"Lord Robb, the men below are already complaining. They won a great victory but did not receive the corresponding spoils of war, and were even punished for plundering and taking spoils according to tradition." Jon Umber also formally reminded him, "We can still restrain their resentment now, but not for too long."
"I know." Robb walked to his desk, looked at the map on the table, and said, "We need to launch a major raid to appease the resentment of those guys and satisfy them." As he spoke, he instructed Jon Umber, "Go! Gather those fellows. We're going to raid the Westerlands."
Jon Umber was stunned when he heard this, said nothing, and walked out of the room with an excited expression. Herman Tallhart, on the other hand, walked over to Robb and whispered, "My Lord, with our current state, attacking the Westerlands might be ill-advised."
Compared to others, as an adjutant, Herman Tallhart was very clear about the current situation of the Northern Allied Forces. Although they had won a great victory, they were not without losses. In fact, due to the reckless actions of Northern lords like Karstark, they launched an attack before the enemy had fully entered the trap, causing them to lose many cavalrymen and adding an unnecessary blemish to this great victory.
But Robb couldn't say anything, because these lost troops were the forces of these Northern lords, who had died fighting for Stark. Furthermore, Earl Rickard's second son, Torren Karstark, and third son, Eddard Karstark, both died at the Kingslayer's hands while trying to save him. What right did he have to criticize Earl Rickard and others for not following orders and attacking prematurely?
Since he could no longer punish his subordinates, he could only find an outlet for them.
"You don't need to worry. We won't assault Golden Tooth. The Westerlands army has already found a good way for us to deal with Golden Tooth." Robb motioned for Herman not to worry, then said with great confidence.
As he spoke, he looked down at the intelligence he had just received from the Vale, which mentioned how the Blood Gate was breached.
"Is there any news from Theon?" Robb then asked.
Herman shook his head and said, "No news. I don't think you should trust Theon Greyjoy so much. He is an ironborn, after all."
Robb felt a bad premonition and said, "Something must have happened to Theon."
Almost as soon as Robb's words fell, Roose Bolton pushed the door open and entered from outside, his already cold expression now even more grim.
"What's wrong?" Robb immediately had a bad feeling and asked.
"News from King's Landing." Roose Bolton handed the letter in his hand to Robb and said.
Robb quickly took it and rapidly read its contents, his face instantly turning pale and bloodless. He slumped onto the chair as if he had lost all support, and the letter in his hand fell to the ground.
Seeing Robb's condition, Herman was greatly alarmed and, without asking further questions, immediately picked up the letter from the ground and began to read it.
"Lord Eddard has been beheaded?" Herman said with shock and immense anger, "How dare he? How dare that bastard?"
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