Freys - Vengeance or Mercy?

[Dolorous Edd]

Can the Lannisters or Stannis plan well enough to feed everyone, fight the others, contain the sparrows and quell the bandits on the roads? I don't think so.

No one can. It's too late for that, Winter is coming. Doesn't matter what happens now, who is in charge and how quickly they gain the throne, the common people will die in droves. It's just not going to be possible for the war torn lands to recover quickly enough to plant, gather, and store another harvest. The onset of winter will come too quickly for that. And what's left in the undamaged lands will be nowhere near enough to feed them all, and you can guarantee it will be commandeered by the lords to feed themselves and their levies.

And that would just be a normal winter. Remember this is going to last for years! The treasuries of every noble house in the land will be emptied ferrying in grain and supplies from the free cities, but there will be no way they'll ever be able to afford/be willing to feed an entire nation for such a protracted period. The death toll will be in the millions. During the middle ages the black death killed two out of every three people. This will be just as bad.

And then the others will come.

Irrespective of who gains the throne, and even if they somehow manage to overcome the others, there will not be much of a kingdom left to rule. Westeros will be "saved", but it will have been shattered in the process. This will be Martin's "bittersweet" ending.

 

[Funky Cthulu]

No one can. It's too late for that, Winter is coming. Doesn't matter what happens now, who is in charge and how quickly they gain the throne, the common people will die in droves. It's just not going to be possible for the war torn lands to recover quickly enough to plant, gather, and store another harvest. The onset of winter will come too quickly for that. And what's left in the undamaged lands will be nowhere near enough to feed them all, and you can guarantee it will be commandeered by the lords to feed themselves and their levies.

And that would just be a normal winter. Remember this is going to last for years! The treasuries of every noble house in the land will be emptied ferrying in grain and supplies from the free cities, but there will be no way they'll ever be able to afford/be willing to feed an entire nation for such a protracted period. The death toll will be in the millions. During the middle ages the black death killed two out of every three people. This will be just as bad.

And then the others will come.

Irrespective of who gains the throne, and even if they somehow manage to overcome the others, there will not be much of a kingdom left to rule. Westeros will be "saved", but it will have been shattered in the process. This will be Martin's "bittersweet" ending.

Hmmm...sounds rather pointless for the reader, then, to continue or hold out hope! Edd, you crushed my hopes! Well, I think they'll be ok - just a little bent out of shape *grin*
I wonder if Westeros will turn to cannibalism to get through the food shortage? Have just finished reading 'The Wanting Seed' by Anthony Burgess, and am seeing cannibalism everywhere.

 

[TK-421]

As Locutus of Borg once said: "Resistence is futile."

 

[TK-421]

One final note, any comparisons to the Bush/Dany warfighting is solely based on the "foreign army liberating an oppressed people". At no point do I wish to discussion why or to what extent....and yes Im looking at you TK.

Who Me???? Ha! Ha!