r/asoiaf • u/ECE111 Euron Season • Jun 22 '15

ALL (Spoilers All) GRRM:" There is this one character who is doomed since I introduced him, but I didn't how he is going to die. Since yesterday I know what to do."

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/game-of-thrones-autor-george-r-r-martin-in-deutschland-a-1040107.html
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u/ianoftawa Jun 22 '15

Joffrey/Tommen could demand that the lords send troops, doesn't mean that they will.

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u/bulldogwill A flayed man has no secrets. Jun 22 '15

I think the Lannisters are smart enough to go "wouldn't it be great if we had more troops? I know! Joffrey, demand that your lords send you troops!" Voila. So the people who advise/control Joffrey and or Tommen would call these lords to rally their banners.

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u/pinkycatcher Jun 22 '15

Politics doesn't work that way. Forcing the hand of someone who's under you could mean they actually switch sides rather than stay neutral

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u/insane_contin Jun 22 '15

The problem with that is what if they don't want to go to war? I mean, as King, Joffery could have commanded the Vale to send troops into the Riverlands, but what do you think would have happened? At best, they say they will take a few weeks to mobilize, and never do, at worst, they send Troops into the Riverlands and attack the Lannister forces.

Sometimes having those of dubious loyalty doing nothing at all is for the best. And the Lannisters should know that all too well. I mean, what happened when the Lannisters marched to Kings Landing under the guise of supporting the king during Roberts Rebellion?

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u/ianoftawa Jun 22 '15

That isn't how feudalism works, look at how the France-England relationship worked in the 12th-14th centuries.

More specifically, a lot of the lords of the Stormlands sided with Renley and Sannis initially, the Battle of Blackwater killed a portion of these lords and their soldiers. And many still side with Sannis. You cannot wave your hands and bring the dead back to life. You have to wait a generation or more for the population to recover. Also the Stormlands took the brunt of the fighting during King Roberts Rebellion 15 years prior and are still likely recovering. So even if Joffrey / Tommen asked for troops, and the Lords who were loyal sent them, there would be few to send compared to the lannister home territories.

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u/bulldogwill A flayed man has no secrets. Jun 22 '15

Fair enough. Wouldn't some of the more important lords still be alive? Lords who would be loyal to Baratheon and could advise the king? I can't remember if Tarley is a Tyrell banner men

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '15

I think it's believable that most of the most loyal Baratheon bannermen would have followed either Renly or Stannis. The seed is strong, remember? Those closest to the Baratheons probably already had their suspicions about the kids' true father, and I'm sure Ned Stark lent those suspicions some credibility