Is the High Mountain Clan difficult to deal with?
Not difficult. Their equipment is poor, they are malnourished, and completely untrained. Fighting them is no different from fighting the Wildlings Beyond the Wall... So why have the rulers of the Vale of Arryn never tried to eliminate them?
The answer to this question is actually the same as why the Night's Watch doesn't just kill all the Wildlings: Indeed, a few thousand well-trained soldiers—they don't need to be exceptionally skilled, just on par with Aegon—would be enough to completely slaughter the hundreds of thousands of Wildlings Beyond the Wall, driving the only survivors to the Land of Always Winter. The question is, where would these few thousand elite soldiers come from? How long would it take them to kill all the Wildlings? Who would pay for the provisions and military expenses during this time? What about compensation for casualties if the Wildlings organize resistance? After the Wildlings are eliminated, will The Wall be used for the scum and political prisoners of the Seven Kingdoms to enjoy their twilight years?
The High Mountain Clan's numbers are far fewer than the Wildlings Beyond the Wall, but they hide in the mountains, with no fixed villages, specializing in guerrilla warfare, which further increases the difficulty of eradication.
All in all, the logic is simple: the benefits gained from expending effort to pacify the High Mountain Clan are far less than the potential losses. Instead of bothering, it's better to bring a retinue when traveling the main roads in and out of the Mountains of the Moon—to guard against both bandits and the High Mountain Clan. Generally speaking, as long as there are more than ten armed men in the group, attacks are rare.
In the final analysis, it is still the issue of 'productivity'. These three words constrain much of human imagination and good intentions, forming an ancient, insurmountable barrier that forces people to remain grounded, merely surviving in this cold, dark world.
...
On the day 'Otherslayer' offered his plan to the King, the war council lasted particularly long. After the many nobles and generals left the King's tent and returned to their respective camps, the allied army camp stirred once more. One or two hours later, detachments ranging in size from dozens to several hundred left the camp, heading in the direction away from Bloody Gate, looking from afar as if internal strife had broken out and they were disbanding to go home and farm—but after leaving the sight of the Bloody Gate defenders, they would soon take a roundabout route to return, slipping into the Mountains of the Moon to search for traces of the High Mountain Clan.
The poor High Mountain Clan, upon seeing Robert's vast army marching into the Vale to suppress the rebellion, immediately retreated obediently into the mountains, starving for over a month without causing any trouble. Who would have thought that even being so compliant wouldn't save them from disaster—the King and a host of nobles hadn't thought of them at all, but at the suggestion of a transmigrator from another world, hundreds of scouts and elite soldiers skilled in forest and mountain warfare came knocking!
Aegon had originally planned to return to King's Landing after offering his plan, but learned from Lord Buckwell, who returned from the meeting, that Robert had finalized the battle plan and the deadline: small units infiltrating the Mountains of the Moon would coordinate with the main army in a pincer attack to take Bloody Gate. If victory could not be achieved within half a month, they would negotiate a settlement with the League of the Righteous.
With such 'hope', Aegon decided to stay a while longer. If his method brought victory to Robert, he might even receive some rewards.
***
Wearing black yet offering a plan to the Iron Throne, this was already pushing the boundaries significantly. As for personally participating in the action... that was absolutely out of the question. Staying within the allied army camp, Aegon had no idea how the 'brilliant plan' he offered was progressing. The units sent into the Mountains of the Moon couldn't possibly maintain constant contact with the main allied camp. Now, the entire battle situation was a black box to him; he could only wait for the outcome.
The daily 'siege' on the front line of the battlefield continued, but the entire allied army camp had quietly shifted into a state of readiness, outwardly relaxed but inwardly tense—although it was still one army per day that went to challenge and feign attack before Bloody Gate, at the same time, the armies of the other five kingdoms were also armored and ready to sally forth at any moment. In Lord Buckwell's words: 'Just waiting for the signal to appear, the main army will swarm forward and take Bloody Gate.'
As for what form this signal would take or approximately when it would appear, even Lord Buckwell himself couldn't say.
Time continued to pass day by day, and Aegon's confidence in the plan he had proposed was also gradually fading. He suddenly realized that he was very likely guilty of 'armchair strategizing'. The High Mountain Clan did exist, and they might indeed know the small paths leading into the Vale of Arryn, but could the elite units Robert sent into the mountains catch them, skilled as they were in guerrilla warfare? Were the paths easy to traverse? Were there League of the Righteous troops stationed at the end of the paths?
He actually knew nothing, merely daring to stake his bet on 'historical records', placing his hope that these battle examples were all true and could be replicated in the Vale of Arryn of this different world.
This unease continued until the sixth day after he offered his plan.
On this day, Aegon was invited to have a small drink with Lord Buckwell in the afternoon, listening to the old man complain about military expenses and the impact of the war on the harvest in his territory. Outside the tent, however, a distant, prolonged horn blast suddenly sounded, followed by the sound of people's footsteps, the neighing of warhorses... and the dull, monotonous sound of hooves on the ground, along with the accompanying vibration.
'What's happening?' Lord Buckwell and Aegon emerged from the tent and shouted to the soldiers outside.
'Lord, the central army sent the signal! Full army attack! Bring the siege ladders!'
There was no need to ask further; the sounds of fighting coming from the direction of Bloody Gate explained everything—the daily 'siege' by the army on duty today had ended. In that small space before Bloody Gate, there wasn't a single soldier from the Six Kingdoms allied army, so where could the sounds of fighting come from? The troops who took the small path to flank them had reached Bloody Gate!
'Damn it... Aegon, you stay in the camp. I have to go. Robert will surely lead the charge himself. This is a good opportunity to gain merit!' After saying this to Aegon, Lord Buckwell didn't hesitate for a moment and went towards the chaotic Buckwell army: 'Don't panic! Find your immediate superior! Don't lose your weapons! Formation! Formation!'
'Your Majesty the King has already charged with the cavalry!'
'Seven Gods! Never mind! Keep in step! Let's go! The ones behind, hurry and catch up! Don't lose your swords and armor!'
What does it look like when tens of thousands of people charge together? Aegon soon saw. Yoren was also drawn out of the tent by the sound. As Night's Watchmen, they were the only ones in the allied army camp who could watch the show in peace, without needing to worry about 'merit'. They went to the nearest hill to the Buckwell army and watched the battlefield from afar.
Robert's Crownlands cavalry, personally led by him, charged at the very front. No one dared to compete with the King for the first spot. The white cloaks of the Kingsguard guarding him shone dazzlingly under the sun. They plunged towards Bloody Gate like a sharp dagger, while the usual hail of arrows and stones from the battlements was nowhere to be seen—the defenders were fighting the divine soldiers who had descended from the rear.
Following behind the cavalry was a vast, dark mass of countless infantry, spread across the hills and fields, having almost completely lost formation. Because a large number of elite soldiers and officers had entered the mountains to find the small paths, the peasant soldiers, whose training level was already low, were now in complete disarray. On any normal day, such a chaotic attack would be useless except for sending men to their deaths—but today, as long as everyone ran fast enough and could climb the wall before the Bloody Gate defenders drove the raiding party off the battlements, the war would end right here!
'My heavens...' Aegon also became a little nervous. For a King to charge at the front during battle might be romantic in this era, but in the eyes of a transmigrator, it was truly a bad habit, and a move born of necessity due to insufficient soldier training: 'That fellow Robert, I hope he doesn't get himself killed.'
'No need to worry. Although I haven't fought many battles myself, I've seen plenty. You can figure it out with your toes: the moment the rebels were snuck up on from behind without noticing, the outcome was already decided.'
The cavalry charged across the almost filled-in moat and reached the wall of Bloody Gate. Robert and the Kingsguard... as well as more Crownlands cavalry dismounted. Although they were the first to reach the finish line, they couldn't climb Bloody Gate using just their hands and feet before the infantry brought ladders. However, a solution quickly appeared: during the previous failed attempt to take the city, some ladders had been abandoned at the foot of the wall. Pick them up, shake off a bit of blood and mud, and they were immediately usable!
Watched from afar by the two Night's Watchmen and the attendant Casey, a white cloak whose identity was unclear was the first to climb the ladder and ascend the battlements of Bloody Gate. After securing the top of the ladder, Robert's stout figure was the second to start climbing... By the time he also reached Bloody Gate, and even more ladders were placed against the wall without anyone coming to stop them, the battle had lost all suspense.
The sounds of fighting gradually subsided. After all, the Bloody Gate defenders and Robert's army didn't have deep-seated hatred for each other; some might even have fought alongside each other during the War of the Usurper. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, surrender became the only option. Less than half an hour later, the banners of the League of the Righteous on the battlements of Bloody Gate fell one after another, and a crowned stag banner began to fly.
—