civilwarnovels Chapter 627 629: State Machine (Part 2)
Chapter 627 629: State Machine (Part 2)
It is easy to conquer a kingdom, but difficult to defend it.
Issuing the "Targaryen national debt" and supervising the construction and commissioning of the armory took up most of Aegor's energy, but the matters waiting for him, the Hand of the Queen, to handle were far more than just these two.
On the day the city fell, Daenerys was scratched by an iron thorn. He took the opportunity to suggest melting down the Iron Throne. His original intention was to show loyalty and concern, but after rambling on, he actually convinced her. Daenerys simply said, "It's all up to you," then turned and left, leaving him to find several new tasks for himself.
Arranging people to cut apart, dismantle, and transport the Iron Throne to the Industrial Park outside the city to be melted down in the blast furnace was simple. The difficulty lay in explaining to the public this abnormal act of "taking the Red Keep and immediately destroying the symbol of power of the Seven Kingdoms."
Logically, the best time to do such a thing would be after the Seven Kingdoms were united and the realm was at peace. As for now, Aegor could only grit his teeth and follow through with the claims he had already made. He personally directed the public relations effort, staging a scene of "Daenerys destroying the Iron Throne to demonstrate her determination to build peace," in order to minimize the negative impact of the act.
At least the iron obtained from melting the Iron Throne could be used to cast cannons. However, he truly did not know how to utilize the intricate system of secret passages beneath the Red Keep or the crowded and foul-smelling streets within King's Landing.
After some discussion with Daenerys, the two rarely reached a quick consensus. Under circumstances where an assassin could appear from behind any wall at any time, the court could not remain in the Red Keep. The future economic, political, and cultural center of the Seven Kingdoms certainly could not remain such a filthy and chaotic city.
The Red Keep needed to be rebuilt, and a thorough sanitation and environmental cleanup of King's Landing was even more urgent. Although these tasks should wait until after the war to free up resources, the planning and design had to begin now.
...
More than the "things to do" were the messages that needed to be read and answered. They came from everywhere, landing on Aegor's desk like snowflakes, keeping him so busy that he could not even find time to inspect the progress of new cannon production at the Industrial Park.
But this afternoon, a letter from the North suddenly energized him.
This letter was delivered by Nina, not the Unsullied. It was sealed with black wax and had not been opened by Daenerys first. This meant it was a letter from the Wall, addressed to the "Lord Commander of the Night's Watch" rather than the "Hand of the Queen."
Opening the seal skillfully, he unfolded the letter and scanned it. He was slightly surprised to discover that the Night's Watch was submitting a work report to him.
---
The first part detailed the situation of the "Beyond the Wall Expedition."
Before taking the first step of the southward campaign, he had carried out a series of strategic deceptions to numb the nerves of the Seven Kingdoms, especially the North. The most well-known was the lie that "the remaining White Walkers had fled Beyond the Wall, and the Night's Watch was preparing an expedition to pursue and eliminate them."
This move not only caused Robb and the other Northern lords to misjudge the situation and believe they still had time to respond to changes, but also created a reason to send opposing factions within the Night's Watch northward.
Deception was one thing, but as Lord Commander, he certainly could not let his subordinates starve north of the Wall simply because they might be disobedient. Therefore, he had made arrangements for the follow-up of the expeditionary force.
According to the publicly announced "original plan," the three vanguard groups of the expedition would pause briefly after establishing forward bases, waiting for the main force led by Aegor himself to arrive before continuing north to pursue the non-existent remaining White Walkers.
But they would never wait for Aegor.
What would arrive instead was a force that was not small in scale but certainly not the "main force." It would consist mostly of the old and the weak, bringing enough logistical supplies to sustain them for several months Beyond the Wall, along with new orders from the Lord Commander.
The gist of the orders was simple.
I, Aegor West, your Lord Commander, after careful consideration, have determined that the greatest threat to humanity lies in the south, not the north. For the sake of all mankind, I have decided to pacify the interior before dealing with external threats. After uniting the Seven Kingdoms for Daenerys and rebuilding the Targaryen dynasty, I will return to deal with the cold god.
While I campaign in the south, you are to remain obediently Beyond the Wall and not wander about. But do not remain idle either. Except for avoiding the Land of Always Winter, use this time to explore the Haunted Forest, map the lands Beyond the Wall, and survey available resources.
Contribute to the kingdom's expansion northward, and you will be rewarded fairly.
The vanguard forces that had already reached Beyond the Wall faced a choice with no alternative. Either accept reality, obey orders, and work, or refuse to comply, openly rebel, and then be permanently confined Beyond the Wall by the sworn brothers remaining at the Wall.
Aegor was relieved to learn that the three vanguard groups had made the wise choice.
This operation, which was nominally an "expedition" but was actually an "exploration," was progressing smoothly. A rough topographic map of the northern region, the forest east of the Frostfangs and south of the Great Gorge, had been drawn and even sketched on the back of the letter.
Mountains, rivers, and former Free Folk settlements were all marked. Even shallow copper mines that had once been discovered and crudely exploited by the native inhabitants were indicated.
A fertile land rich with resources, simply waiting for immigration and development.
What king would not love the achievement of expanding territory?
Once Aegor obtained the complete and detailed version of the map, framed and bound, and presented it to Daenerys, telling her that he had accomplished a feat none of her ancestors had ever achieved, incorporating Beyond the Wall into the territory of the Seven Kingdoms, it would be quite a surprise.
The best part was that with the Wall standing there, the vast lands to the north would remain completely under his actual control. Even if he nominally granted them to others, they could not take them away.
Daenerys would owe him a great merit for something that benefited him the most.
The following news was somewhat astonishing.
Humans were truly resilient creatures, like cockroaches. Even after several years of devastation by the White Walkers, the expeditionary force still discovered traces of living people in what should have been a dead zone Beyond the Wall, and not just one or two.
The first was the Night's Watch's "old friend," Craster.
It was unclear whether to praise the cold god for honoring some strange contract or marvel at the fact that even demons understood sustainable development. This world's greatest human traitor, the Free Folk man who sacrificed his sons to produce new enemies for mankind, along with his nineteen daughters and wives, were still living comfortably in their small fortress, completely unharmed. They had even added a newborn baby girl to their household.
Then there was a certain hotheaded knight.
Jaime Lannister had been at Ice Canyon Port when the White Walkers attacked and therefore had been unable to participate in the battle between humanity and the White Walkers. Perhaps frustrated that he had missed the fight he had long spoken about, he led his expeditionary vanguard on a rampage through Beyond the Wall, searching everywhere for the non-existent remaining enemies.
He certainly found no White Walkers, but he did severely beat many Free Folk who had survived by hiding in caves and remote corners, people who had only just endured the long winter and cautiously begun to emerge.
The result was rather ironic.
Daenerys was still trying to conquer the Seven Kingdoms in the south, while her father's killer had already "conquered" Beyond the Wall in the north, although the conquest consisted of only a few dozen or perhaps a few hundred old, weak, sick, and disabled survivors.
...
After reporting the news from the north, the latter part described the recent situation south of the Wall.
In the east, the magical ice layer covering the Bay of Seals had broken apart as temperatures rose and sea waves surged. In the west, the Ice Canyon Port garrison had resumed patrols along the Great Gorge.
After driving potential troublemakers and opponents Beyond the Wall in advance and sending the young and strong south for the campaign, the entire Gift could now be described as orderly.
The only external interference came instead from a girl involved in the southern campaign.
Arya Stark.
After Aegor announced that women were allowed to join the Night's Watch, Arya became the first female member as she had wished and was appointed Chief Logistics.
Aegor originally thought that the troublesome girl would not cause much trouble, but when she went to Queenscrown to take up her post, she brought Maester Luwin as her deputy in addition to her belongings.
This little girl had cheated.
The situation immediately became complicated.
With the guidance and assistance of such an experienced maester, along with Aegor's own recognition and promise as Lord Commander, Arya began recruiting women throughout the North under the banner of providing food and lodging.
While attempting to form and train a purely female armed force loyal to her, she gradually extended her influence toward Queenscrown and even the entire Gift. She actually wanted to intervene in and influence military, administrative, and even economic affairs north of the North, acting as if she were the lady of the land.
Arya's ambitions could not be realized quickly. Aegor's confidants remaining in Queenscrown had ways to suppress and deal with a young girl. However, they hesitated to act rashly because they did not know Aegor's stance. That was why they hurriedly reported the matter in this letter, hoping to receive further instructions.
Aegor clicked his tongue.
Young people nowadays truly had no sense of restraint.
If Arya merely wanted to stir up some trouble in the Gift out of enthusiasm, trying to make up for the sin of bringing a wolf into her family, then out of guilt he would give her whatever she wanted and let her play around.
But now she had actually brought Maester Luwin to the Gift as well.
The nature of the matter had completely changed.
Was this done by the little girl alone, or was it a premeditated action by House Stark?
Did Maester Luwin go to the Gift simply because he worried about his young lady, or did he intend to remain stationed there long-term?
Should he order his remaining officials to engage in covert struggles with the little she-wolf and maintain the confrontation, or should he summon Robb Stark and warn him to stop infiltrating his base camp?
Without understanding the actual situation, he could not take countermeasures rashly. Yet the North and the south were separated by thousands of miles, and he currently had no time to return north.
Just as he rubbed his temples in annoyance, the door opened.
Myrcella slipped skillfully into the room, carrying a small hot water bottle. She walked to the table, refilled the steaming water in Aegor's cup with practiced familiarity, then moved behind him to massage his shoulders.
"You came at the right time. News from the North, take a look."
Aegor nodded in thanks and casually handed her the letter.
Surprise flashed in Myrcella's emerald-green eyes, but she quickly accepted the letter.
Taking advantage of the brief pause, Aegor picked up the cup and slowly sipped the hot water while watching the little princess reading the letter with lowered eyes. It was a short rest for his tired eyes.
"One good piece of news, and one bad," Myrcella said after a moment. She placed the letter back on the table carefully. "My lord, you arranged for the expeditionary force Beyond the Wall to explore and record the terrain of the Haunted Forest. You must have had the idea of expanding the territory of the Seven Kingdoms to the north, correct?"
Aegor nodded, though he could not help but laugh.
He had given the letter to Myrcella simply so she could know that her father was alive and well Beyond the Wall. How had she suddenly begun analyzing matters?
Still puzzled, he followed her train of thought.
"That's right. What are your thoughts?"
"Expanding territory alone is useless. Land only counts as territory if it has people, and population is exactly what the North lacks most right now. The current residents of the Gift barely fill the lands along the Wall, let alone providing people to settle among the Free Folk.
"The south is the opposite. Since you and Daenerys have decided to attack the Reach, there will inevitably be many surrendered soldiers and prisoners from the rebel side. Instead of racking your brains for reasons and excuses to kill them, it would be better to send them and their families north to manage the Free Folk.
"This would increase the population and avoid the reputation of bloodthirstiness. Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?"
Oh?
Aegor raised his eyebrows.
This girl seemed addicted to giving strategic advice. He had casually shown her a letter, and she immediately began offering suggestions. It was quite interesting.
But the amusement lasted less than a second before he suddenly felt a chill.
Did Myrcella just say, "Instead of racking your brains for reasons and excuses to kill them"?
That statement did not sound like something she should say based on her background and knowledge.
In this era, noble knights who surrendered or were captured in war would usually pay a ransom to regain their freedom. Under normal circumstances, no one would struggle to find reasons to execute prisoners.
Myrcella, a former princess and a native of this world, could not possibly be unaware of this.
Yet she was absolutely correct.
The war Aegor was urging Daenerys to wage was meant to break the wheel and severely weaken the entire class of feudal lords. Therefore, Daenerys and her Hand had already secretly agreed that those who did not resist would be brought to King's Landing and placed under house arrest. Those who resisted would be eliminated as thoroughly as possible.
This was not only to make room for their own meritorious officials, but also to pave the way for the smooth implementation of the Great King's Landing Plan.
But this agreement had only been mentioned in private conversations between himself and Daenerys.
How had Myrcella guessed his plan and even advised him to avoid bloodthirstiness before he had raised the butcher's knife?
Did she say it casually, or had she sensed the existence of the Great King's Landing Plan based on what she had seen and heard?
"Good idea. It's worth considering."
Aegor smiled and nodded at the little princess, his expression unchanged. But inwardly he muttered to himself.
This girl was too intelligent.
Given that it was uncertain whether she considered herself "Myrcella Lannister" or "Maeve Snow."
Keeping her by his side simply because she was docile, pleasant, and easy on the eyes, assuming she was harmless, might be inappropriate.
Perhaps it was time to decide.
Either tell her the truth about what he and Daenerys truly intended and bring her into the new era, or deal with her as soon as possible to avoid leaving a hidden danger by his side.
While he was lost in suspicious calculations, Myrcella had not finished speaking.
"Besides that, populating Beyond the Wall also has another benefit. It could address the second piece of bad news in this letter."
She frowned slightly, as if feeling pressure from advising against her former little friend.
"The North is likely trying to regain influence and control over the Gift and the Night's Watch through the legitimate means of 'joining the Night's Watch' and using your close relationship with Arya in an open scheme.
"In the past, there was always a Stark among the Lord Commander or the leadership of the Night's Watch. Their actions are completely legitimate in method, and their purpose may not even be malicious.
"You are the Lord Commander and also the Hand of the Queen. If you personally intervene and confront them, even though you have overwhelming advantage, it would still be a low-level approach and a waste of your time and energy.
"A better method would be to solve the problem by using others and employing checks and balances."
Sending criminals Beyond the Wall to populate empty lands was an option Aegor had already considered.
But now he was truly interested in how to solve the problem of Arya causing trouble in the Gift.
Setting aside his suspicions, he gestured toward the chair opposite him.
"Sit down. Pour yourself some water and speak slowly."
(To be continued.)