- The Lannister forces are all up in the Riverlands or in King’s Landing – Renly is marching from Highgarden. They’re separated by hundreds of miles. So there’s not going to be a reason for them to clash until he gets to King’s Landing.
- Invading the Westerlands doesn’t get Renly on the Iron Throne nor does it get Margaery made Queen, so it doesn’t particularly advance his political interests and it runs the huge risk of someone winning the Iron Throne before him.
- Renly’s not going to get the Riverlands on his side; they’ve already pledged themselves to Robb and he’s hundreds of miles away from them.
Why did the Lannisters and Renly make no effort to fight each other outside the slow King’s landing march? The Westerlands is more vulnerable from a southern approach, and Tywin didn’t leave a strong defending force, judging by Robb’s campaign. Renly could also easily gain the Riverlands to his side by sending a army to aid them. He does have around 100,000 troops meaning he has a lot to spare.
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