There was still an hour's journey from the valley, and Margery and the others saw the smoke columns rising from countless campfires in the valley through the carriage window. Then various mixed sounds drifted through the green cornfields,

Farms with piles of straw and golden fields surged forward.

In a hazy moment, Margery felt as if she was back on the sea again. As the distance got closer and closer, the sound of the waves became stronger, as if the sea was calling its daughter.

This reminded Margaery of the mermaid legends that are widely circulated in this world. They are often mentioned in songs sung by people on the beach. When they took a boat and passed Qingting Island in the Summer Sea,

Margaery's grandmother, Lady Olenna, once told her about the legends of mermaids living under the sea.

There are still many white stone statues of mermaids erected in the Redwin family castle on the Qingting Island. On a small island next to the Qingting Island, there is also a mermaid palace dedicated to them. Legend has it that they are dedicated to serving them.

Servants of the Drowned God.

When they finally saw the sunny eastern paradise, the previously noisy sounds gradually became clearer. Now they could at least distinguish human voices, the clash of gold and iron, and the neighing of war horses. Although there were already smoke pillars and

The sound served as a warning and reminder, but Margaery could not help but be stunned by the army in front of her.

Thousands of campfires filled the air with pale mist, and the mist drifted above their heads for a long time, just like the clouds in the sky. The neatly arranged and numerous tents stretched for several kilometers in the valley.

Countless war horses were tied to the wooden fences on both sides of the road.

Flags of different colors fluttered at the tops of different camps. In order to make long poles to carry these flags, the princes of the valley cut down almost an entire forest. Since their trip was not to capture the city, Margaery

There are no huge siege engines seen here. Instead, there are brand new baggage carriages, neatly arranged on the green lawn in the center of the camp.

Under the bright sunshine, the tops of the steel spears in the hands of countless soldiers shone with a cold light. Margaery saw the soldiers holding spears patrolling through the camps; and the guards holding sharp swords guarding the tent of their lord; a row of

Neatly lined up rows of new recruits are putting on helmets or undergoing combat training.

In addition, she also saw the camp girls swaggering through the market, farmers driving trucks, swineherds feeding livestock, messengers rushing between tents, attendants and drivers sharpening their swords.

Knight on war horse.

"I never thought that the East would have so many troops... This is simply unbelievable." Sir Garlan Tyrell exclaimed. He turned to look at his sister beside him, "The Duke of Gaoyuan currently has

The number of troops will only be more than that of our High Court, but never less."

Margery in the carriage cast her gaze towards the camp outside the carriage window: "That's right...the number is indeed astonishing!"

While in awe, she couldn't help but sigh that Lord Gao Yuan had such a powerful army, but he didn't have the ambition to compete for the Iron Throne. For a moment, Margaery didn't know whether to praise the other party for his integrity and selflessness, or to blame him.

It’s better to have no ambition.

"If Lord Gao Yuan intends to stand up and participate in the fight for the Iron Throne, then he will definitely be our biggest competitor." Margaery Tyrell's cherry lips parted lightly.

"He is Renly Baratheon's competitor, not our Tyrell family's competitor." Queen of Thorns told her granddaughter, "We just chose to side with Blue in this war for the throne.

Instead of choosing to stand on the opposite side of Duke Gaoyuan and the Eastern Territory."

"At least as of now, the Tyrell family of Highgarden and the Duke of the Eagle's Nest are not mortal enemies."

"My dear Margaery, this is exactly the purpose of your visit." The Queen of Thorns gently stroked Margaery's hair, "Renly Baratheon has long understood the true strength of the East.

That's why he proposed to your father that you marry Duke Gaoyuan in exchange for the support of the Eastern Territory."

"And the Tyrell family also needs to plan a way out for themselves. What we need is more friends rather than more enemies."

"Is my father worried that King Renly will lose in the battle for the Iron Throne?" Margaery seemed to find this a bit unbelievable, "How is this possible?"

Renly Baratheon now has the support of the Stormlands and the Riverlands. The Tyrell family of Highgarden alone has provided him with a total of more than 60,000 troops. In addition, Renly has many storms under his command.

The 20,000 Stormland army brought by the land lords, and now the army under Renly Baratheon has reached 80,000 (it is claimed to have 100,000), which is no weaker than the Duke Gaoyuan, the guardian of the East.

And the false king Joffrey in King's Landing can only command the 8,000 capital guardsmen guarding the city. Even if you add in the small nobles on the king's collar, as well as his grandfather, Duke Tywin, all of the Western Territory.

The army, both front and rear, totaled no more than 60,000 people.

Moreover, Renly is not the only enemy the Lannister family has to face now. In order to rescue his father who was imprisoned in the dungeon of the Red Keep, Robb Stark has now summoned the vassals of the north to lead an army and begin to march south.

Although there is no news about Stannis Baratheon on Dragonstone at the moment, according to rumors, Stannis is currently building new ships and recruiting mercenaries. It is believed that he is gathering strength to prepare for the fight for the throne.

Even the Guardian of the East, who had no intention of competing for the throne, summoned all his vassals to attack the false king Joffrey. Almost all the nobles of the East responded to Gao Yuan's call, and his army was powerful enough to sweep away King Renly.

All seven kingdoms except.

Tywin Lannister is currently still trapped in the quagmire of the war in the Riverlands. Although the Lannister family's army is invincible in the Riverlands, it seems that there is still a long way to go before the war is completely over.

Time. The old lion Tywin will not be able to withdraw from the Riverlands for a while, let alone lead troops to support King's Landing.

With such a disparity in strength, King's Landing had almost no chance of winning. How could Renly Baratheon lose in the battle for the throne?

"Nothing is absolutely impossible. No one would have thought that King Robert, who won the War of the Reavers, would die under the tusks of a wild boar." Olenna, Queen of Thorns, clicked her tongue, "Your idiot is full of stupidity.

Father, the Duke of Highgarden, at least understands this truth."

Margaery smiled bitterly. No one in Highgarden dared to call her father that way. Only her grandmother dared to do so. She always called her son the demented Duke of Highgarden. Her father was a man who had aged prematurely.

And because he lacked political skills, his colleagues nicknamed him "Master Inflatable Fish."

He is far less wise than other family members, so his grandmother has always looked down on her only son. Although Duke Mace Tyrell serves as the leader of the Tyrell family, he has always been in name only.

The real person in charge of the Tyrell family now is actually her grandmother, who is known as the Queen of Thorns. From this, Margaery can be sure that the person who decided to marry her to Duke Gaoyuan could never be her coward father.

It was Grandma Olenna who had watched her grow up and taught and cared for her with all her heart.

The reason why Olenna is called the Queen of Thorns is not because outsiders think she is as vicious as others think. In fact, since the unexpected death of the old Duke of Ross, the Tyrell family has been able to achieve long-term development over the years, relying on

It is still the grandmother's superb political wisdom and tough tactics.

Her grandmother had always loved her very much since she was a child, and her love even exceeded that of her brothers. So when her grandmother told her that she wanted to marry her to the Duke of Gaoyuan in the East, Margery agreed without hesitation.

Because she always believed that her grandmother who loved her would never harm her thoughts and thoughts.

Even if it is a marriage for political purposes, Grandma Olenna will find a husband for herself who can make her happy. What's more, she has already done this before her father and Grandma Olenna talked about it with her.

He had already heard the legendary story of Lord Gaoyuan from the mouths of the bards who came from King's Landing and his brother Loras.

I don’t know since when, Margery has gradually grown fond of listening to the troubadours who came from afar to tell her stories about the dragon slayer Duke Gaoyuan. Although she knew that many of them were exaggerated by the troubadours,

But she still enjoys it:

"The dragon slayer from the far east... He put the dragon's skin and scales on his body, and from then on he transformed into the giant dragon he killed..."

"When he turned into a human form, the sharp teeth in his mouth would turn into a sword in his hand. He used the sword turned into a sharp tooth to cut off the golden sword of the regicide..."

"His body is as strong as a dragon, making him invincible in the prime minister's competition..."

"When he feels evil and sin, or when Master Gao Yuan is extremely angry, dragon flames will ignite from the tip of his sword, burning all the evil and those who betray their oaths he sees."

In front of the moat of the Gates of the Moon, a row of flags of the Vale lords were neatly planted. When Margaery and the others came to the gate of the Gates of the Moon, she recognized Jerwood Hunter's five pieces of silver.

The banner of arrows; the six silver bells of House Belmore; and the red castle of House Redford...

But in addition to the shield emblems she recognized, there were a dozen other unusually unfamiliar flags underneath these flags. Presumably, they were lower-level lords loyal to local lords, or mercenary knights and free knights.

These people had not been under his command before. The reason why they chose to take refuge under Duke Gao Yuan was not only that Duke Gao Yuan claimed to the outside world that he wanted to maintain the orthodoxy of the royal family, but the most important thing was that they wanted to win in this game of power.

Among them, choose to be on the winning side.

This is just like the Tyrell family taking refuge in Renly Baratheon's command.

The Evening Star Golden Dragon flag of Duke Gao Yuan is flying high above all the flags, and is hung high on the wall in front of the Gate of the Moon. In order to allow people in the valley to see Gao Yuan's family coat of arms clearly, and to all the people in the valley

The man showed Gaoyuan's supremacy in the Vale of Arryn.

Sir Nestor ordered a huge banner to be hung on the city wall. The piece of cloth was enough to cover the floor of the hall in the castle.

A silver sword stands erected in the center of the flag. A dark golden dragon spreads its wings and clings to the silver sword. At the top of the sword's hilt is a cross evening star shining with golden light - this is

The most spectacular and largest banner Margaery Tyrell had ever seen in her life.

The drawbridge and gates of the Gates of the Moon slowly rose in front of them. After Sir Nestor opened the city gate, he rode up to the carriage: "Dear Lady Olenna Tyrell, I'm afraid your men will

We can only stop here."

"I have already ordered my daughter to report your arrival to Lord Gao Yuan. Next, you and you..." Sir Nestor looked at the two people beside the Queen of Thorns, and suddenly fell silent.

"This is my granddaughter Margaery Tyrell and my grandson Ser Garlan Tyrell..." Lady Olenna's voice sounded a little weak.

"It is an honor to serve you, Miss Margaery and Ser Garland!" Sir Nestor saluted them politely, "I will take you to meet my lords, General Royce of the Gates of the Moon.

Promise to keep you safe in the castle."

"As it should be, Sir Nestor!" The Queen of Thorns smiled kindly at the other party, and then ordered her guards to wait outside the castle.

Sir Nestor took the lead to step onto the drawbridge over the moat, and Olenna followed closely with Margaery and Ser Garland. As Margaery Tyrell and her party entered the gate of the castle,

The drawbridge behind them was slowly raised again by the guards of the Gates of the Moon on the city wall.

Just when Sir Nestor led Margaery and his party into the castle, Gao Yuan on the Moon Tower had just learned from Mia Shidong that the Queen of Thorns had come to visit him.

The expression on his face at this moment was as if he had seen a ghost. Didn't Mrs. Olenna Tyrell stay in Highgarden Castle all year round? How could she suddenly come all the way to visit him in the valley?

?

"Lord Gao Yuan!" Before Gao Yuan could react, Sir Nestor brought Olenna, Queen of Thorns, to the door of his study. "Forgive me for disturbing you, Sir."

"I have the honor to bring you Lady Olenna of House Tyrell of Highgarden." Ser Nestor said, "My lady is here as a messenger of 'King' Renly Baratheon.

I have come to meet with you, Your Excellency."

"My unannounced visit seems to have brought you some trouble, Lord Gao Yuan!" The Queen of Thorns came to the astonished Gao Yuan without being humble or overbearing, "I'm very sorry for this..."

After a brief surprise, Gao Yuan's face immediately changed to a bright smile: "How could this be possible, Mrs. Olenna Tyrell!"

"It should be an honor for me, madam, to be able to come to the Erin Valley!" Gao Yuan said, "Madam, please sit down quickly. You have come all the way from High Court. You must be very tired now."
Chapter completed!