The king on the Great Wall

"Bring a pen." Iger stretched out his hand.

Nina quickly fetched the pen and ink, and Arya snatched them: "I'll write!"

Iger was a little helpless, and sighed with a bit of doting: "Okay, I'll let you be the first one."

Of course, the girl would not be the first one. The brothers and sisters of papermaking dared to call both bosses, obviously they had already done experiments.The girl dipped the pen into the ink and excitedly wrote her name on the paper: Arya Stark.

Not only that, but she also scribbled under her name, drawing a cloud, a tree, and a villain...

The room fell silent, and the siblings stared at Iger and Tyrion nervously, while Tyrion looked at Iger with a questioning look.

"How about it?"

"What about it, isn't the person who prints it under your control? Do you think this paper can be used for printing?"

Tyrion looked at Arya's name and painting on the paper, touched his chin and thought for a while, then nodded: "I think it's okay."

"That's no problem." Iger said firmly, "Nina, tell me, how much does this piece of paper cost?"

"Cost?" The girl inventor blinked her bright eyes a few times: "The cost of raw materials... a single sheet of paper is almost negligible, mainly equipment, chemicals for processing, dye fuel... and labor!"

"Get rid of the equipment and venue, and just tell me an approximate number."

"About ten copper points."

"Very good. After mass production, even if the cost of equipment and land rent is included, the real cost will continue to decrease and approach this figure. Moreover, this figure should continue to decrease as the process matures and progresses." Iger thought about it, Suddenly he turned his head and asked Tyrion, "How much does the parchment on the market cost?"

Two months ago, Tyrion couldn't answer this question, but now, he has done enough homework: "As big as this, more than a silver deer, if it is thicker and better, then Can't tell."

"Then the situation is very clear now. Even if the process has not been improved, the cost of our paper is only a fraction of that of parchment." Iger took a deep breath: "The good show is about to begin, to commemorate this historic moment , let’s give this paper a name.”

Nina was the first to make a suggestion: "Master Iger made many suggestions for the birth of this paper, and made the most contribution. Let's call it West Paper."

"Ha, I don't dare to say that I have contributed a lot. However, it is too strange to call Neil and Nina papers—how about calling them Lannister papers?"

"Call Arya paper, look, it has my name written on it!"

Amidst the relaxed laughter of the crowd, Tyrion made a decision: "Let me be the master this time? According to me, it is called the night watchman paper. It not only points out the identity of the research and development sponsor of this paper, but also Advertise our bonds for free!"

-

Chapter 84 Commercialization and... Becoming an Idol

Happy to be happy, but after all, there are more important things than naming paper - how to quickly commercialize new things.

In other words, how to make money with this thing quickly.

"Next, the first thing we need to do is to bring in customers." Iger signaled everyone to be quiet, "First of all, after cutting off the useless parts with irregular edges, this piece of raw paper can be divided into several pieces of the same size and shape. rectangle?"

It is not troublesome to find the answer, just fold it in half twice.Iger did it himself and quickly came to the conclusion that a piece of raw paper can be divided into 4 sheets slightly larger than A6 paper while minimizing waste.Given considerations such as plate size and ergonomics primarily for books, it should actually be cut in half again.That is, a piece of raw paper can eventually be turned into 12 sheets of moderately sized paper that can be used for practical use, and after printing text, it can be bound into books or other various booklets.

"So far, how many sheets of this base paper can the workshop produce in a day?"

Nina licked her lips and thought for a few seconds: "It's hard to say, from the raw material to the final paper, there are some steps in the middle that take time to wait. Adding lime and other medicinal powder and baking with fire can speed up the speed. If you can Hire some more people... buy more equipment, and let all the processes be cycled, it will be much faster."

"Then expand as soon as possible, and recruit local and familiar people as much as possible..." Iger thought about it, and suggested: "Divide papermaking into several independent processes, and specific workers are only responsible for specific steps to carry out assembly line operations. This will not only speed up production, but if someone wants to secretly learn papermaking, they will need to spend a lot of money to poach the workers of the entire production line. Such a big deal cannot be done secretly."

"Assembly line?" Nina bit her lips again, thought for a while, and quickly understood what Iger meant.

"So what can you do if someone digs you upright?" Tyrion sighed and shrugged: "This is not a very complicated craft. When the production scale is large, you can't stop others from learning papermaking."

"Indeed, so we have to move fast. Before various competitors emerge, we have to establish cooperative relationships with as many big money owners as possible to eliminate their potential threats and seize as many markets as possible." Iger nodded , In this world where there is no concept of intellectual property rights, it is simply whimsical to want to own the cake, and he will not make such unnecessary efforts: "By the way, let's get together the existing paper and print a copy of the "Seven Stars Bible". Show them to people from churches, bookstores, and grocery stores, and try to negotiate some orders, Tyrion, you are good at this, so I leave it to you."

"How do you know I'm good at this!?"

"It must be better than me." Iger showed a narrow smile. I don't know about Tyrion's ability to negotiate business, but just being a member of the Lannister family is already a big plus. It is used to squeeze everyone's ability and influence, which is especially important in the initial stage of entrepreneurship. "Of course, the matter of recruiting more employees to share the pressure has to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. Don't be idle until the big order is negotiated, and don't stop working while researching ways to improve the process. All the produced paper will be sent to the printing office. Print it into a calendar. If someone wants it, I can wholesale it. If no one wants it, I can put it in the night watchman office as a gift. When a visitor comes, I will give a monthly calendar. Those who buy bonds will give it a whole year. The calendar at home is permanently contracted by the Night's Watch."

"Nice idea." Tyrion applauded the idea.Of course, the calendar is not Iger’s invention. In this world with irregular seasons, important time points such as major festivals are referred to as “Wang Calendar”, which is formulated by the Academy City and released after being reviewed and approved by the Iron Throne.Paper has long been a near-luxury item, and items made from it are naturally not common.Officials and wealthy people who need to accurately grasp the time will always have it in their homes. Ordinary urban residents usually have a few households or even a street. In poorer countryside, sometimes even an entire village will have one copy.

As a non-necessary paper calendar, its rare and rare impression in the eyes of ordinary people has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, not to mention the neat and beautiful printed matter.Using this thing as a gift, neither losing face nor costing much, is simply perfect.

***

In this workshop, Iger will always unconsciously become the leader and the person in charge. The key is that everyone seems to have no objection... After assigning the task, he remembered that he still has himself: "Of course, I don't do nothing. I will find some people who can write stories, compile some popular adventure novels, and when we have enough paper and printing capacity in the future, we will start printing novels.”

"Master, you always tell me about your adventures before you came to Westeros. These stories alone are enough to fill a book."

Iger was just about to touch his head habitually to tell her not to interrupt, when he suddenly thought: Hey, why didn't I think of this?This girl is so smart, in order to avoid revealing her flaws when lying to her, she really drafted her own bragging rights, and every night when she thinks of a story, she will write it down in the notebook as a memo.And what I can remember is the world-class excellent adventure novels-such as xx Tens of Thousands of Miles, xx Island, xx Adventures, xx Drifting Notes, xx Days Around the World, etc., sort out the outlines of these wonderful and interesting stories Hand it over to a certain novelist or bard, let him fill in and polish it again and then combine it into his own adventure biography. When he is an alternative writer and impostor... what kind of adventure hero will he create?

Believe it or not, the sales will definitely not be too bad anyway. These are adventure stories that have gone through the market test and are easy to understand for all ages. You don't need any experience and literary literacy to appreciate them.

There is a long way to go to improve the image of the night watchman in the eyes of the public. Maybe, I should stand up and become an idol?

He gave Arya a rare affirmation: "Well, good idea."

Tyrion rolled his eyes, and suddenly moved closer to Iger and lowered his voice: "Don't forget one more thing, although it can't be on the stage, everyone likes it."

"What!?" The whisper did not escape Arya's ears.

……

Is it related to the topic that several people are discussing, and it is not on the stage and the public likes it?Then there is only Xiao Huang-Ben, this is really a good idea, there should be no crabs and beasts in Westeros.Iger secretly laughed in his heart, and whispered to comfort the girl: "Don't worry, I'll get you a copy when the time comes."

Will it spoil the children?Ed didn't have time to take care of his daughter and let him pester him all day long. It's good that he didn't ask him for custody fees and tuition fees. How can there be so much nonsense.

The things that need to be discussed are almost said. Now, as long as everyone performs their duties and executes them separately, this money game will officially begin.

"There is one last thing, you brothers and sisters, I agreed to give rewards." Iger remembered that this time the promise was the version discussed with Tyrion: "I said it to your paper mill last time." One tenth of the profit, but this sentence is unclear and unreasonable, so it doesn't matter. In this way, half of this workshop is yours-not only the profit, but half of it all, after waiting If the funds are sufficient in a few days, I will also try to buy this yard as your fixed place for craft improvement and living place. It is regarded as the return on investment for your technology and credit, and I will use written form to confirm your understanding of this yard. Half of the ownership. As a price, you are not allowed to change jobs or set up a new company before obtaining my permission. If you have new ideas and inventions, you must first notify the Night Watch Corps... If you have no objections, which one of you brothers and sisters will follow later? I'll go back to the Night's Watch office, and we signed the agreement today."

"Thank you, sir!" Big brother Bill finally reacted quickly: "This... agreement, let Nina sign it."

-

Chapter 85 Nina and the reply letter

The setting sun sprinkled large swathes of orange-red light on the masonry road in King's Landing. Iger, Tyrion, and Arya, as well as the red-robed and gray-robed lion and wolf guards of the latter two, each wore a name, walked out of the workshop, led the horse on the way back to the hotel, talking and laughing.

After more than a month of getting along, these people from all over the world who might not have known each other at all have become acquainted with each other. Even when Tyrion's two attendants met the Stark who specially took Arya to and from school If you are a "nanny", you can also nod and say hello with a friendly face, and chat a few words with each other.

……

Iger looked relaxed. He has been in King's Landing for more than a month. Under Tyrion's full pimping, the total amount of bonds sold by the Night Watchman has reached nearly [-].Since the astonishing rate of return of ordinary Ponzi schemes is not set, the spread effect of Kelake is slow to launch.In addition, Westeros has not had the concept of "investment and financial management" for a long time-so far, there has not been even a successful bond transaction from customers coming to their door.

And even the guests brought by Tyrion, except for the small exception of Jaime Lannister, all of them only bought the minimum amount of [-].

However, there is an advantage to this state of being neither plague nor popular - most of the customers who have already made deals are holding the mentality of giving the dwarf a face, and if the hundred golden dragons don't come back, anyway, they can find the Lannister family to be responsible to the office.Under such circumstances, Iger has almost no need to worry about the sudden appearance of large-scale debt collection by creditors.

Two thousand golden dragons is not much, but with the addition of Tyrion's private property...without rebellion or large-scale construction, it is already quite a huge sum of money, which can be used for many things.

For example, buy a large piece of land outside the city, purchase various facilities and hire employees, and build a large workshop integrating papermaking and printing... No, maybe it is more appropriate to describe it as a factory.Then, for a long period of time, they firmly occupied most of the output and transaction volume of Bibles, calendars, and novels in King's Landing and even the king's territory.

And on this basis, if Tyrion can still attract investment into the market, then he can expand while still holding a large amount of funds for emergency!

The achievement of the goal of gaining a firm foothold in King's Landing is a certainty, and the next step is to earn more and earn less, and the difference between where you can go with Tyrion in the end.

***

As the teacher in name, Iger has tried his best to make Arya consciously dress herself like a girl, not swear or behave rudely, know how to watch the time and not mess around... Unfortunately, nothing can correct her carelessness and love to interrupt and express her thoughts fault.At this moment, I don't know what the girl and Tyrion said, and they laughed and laughed at the side again.These two people, one old, one young, a man and a woman, who are about the same height, hit each other unexpectedly.In the original plot, they just met once in a hurry and then went their separate ways to different destinies. Now they met in the Night Watch office because of the disturbance of a traverser. As for the rare close friends in the family, if the age difference between the two is not too great, and I can see them every day and know that it is not the case, Iger is extremely suspicious that these two guys want to stage a bloody plot of "love to resolve family feuds" .

Turning his head, a certain chief logistics officer remembered that there was another person beside him - Nina was silently following beside her like a little daughter-in-law, she lowered her head without saying a word, and looked a little shy.

……

I stay with people like Tyrion and Arya all day long, and one of them regards him as a partner and the other calls him his master.Ordinary people who don't know the situation will naturally have the illusion that they are a "big man" when they see it, and they will feel nervous in awe... It is also human nature.This girl has a flexible mind and can read and write. She is also an interesting and useful character. Iger decided to ease the stiff atmosphere and narrow the distance between himself and this female "inventor".

"Nina, tell me, do you and your brother have ideas for reducing costs?"

"Ah." The girl responded in surprise, looked up at him, and quickly lowered her eyes to avoid eye contact: "I have some ideas, but I haven't tried it yet, I don't know if it will work..."

Iger was sure he read it right—Nina's face seemed to turn red.

He is not a little virgin who has never been touched by a girl. If he hadn't traveled through time, he might have become a father by now.With a slight movement in my mind, I quickly realized: This is not like the nervousness of seeing a big shot, but rather like the bewildered bumping into a deer when I meet a crush.Is it true that Tyrion said that this girl is interested in him?

It's not impossible. Although Iger is a small soldier himself, after coming to King's Landing, he only cares about dealing with characters such as the Prime Minister, the rich knights brought by Tyrion, and the royal nobles. He has worked hard on his image-except Being dressed in black is a bit weird, whether it is clothing, etiquette or manners, I am afraid that it is more decent than some down-and-out nobles, and in front of Nina, she is also playing the role of sponsor and behind-the-scenes boss... In this competition It's not uncommon to be able to attract a young girl who is about sixteen or seventeen years old in a rotten backward era and a self who pretends to be in place.

That's interesting, Iger made a wry smile—before crossing, the conditions of my family were well-off at best, and my personal appearance could only be considered decent.Tall, rich, and handsome make up one and a half of the three. Finding a wife is no problem, but you can’t enjoy the feeling of being popular with girls: “Well, since it’s an idea, it’s not guaranteed to happen. Just talk and listen. Listen, I will give you the staff staff."

In the process of perfecting papermaking, Iger provided some valuable suggestions with far richer knowledge than the people around him, but going deeper, he is a layman and leader who doesn't visit the workshop very much and is busy with other things all day long... In fact, it is no longer possible to continue to show off or teach.Taking advantage of Nina's words that he half-understood, Iger was finally able to observe her openly. Naturally, the bright eyes that gave him a deep first impression did not need to be described... But even if this biggest highlight is removed, the girl The rest of the body can still make up a beauty - a slender body hidden under thin clothes, long eyelashes, a small nose, two dimples that faintly flash on the cheeks even if they are not smiling, coupled with powder The rosy and tender skin... is as spotless as a lotus flower that has just bloomed.

This is a girl who is difficult to impress, but the more you get to know her, the more pleasing to the eye she is. She was born as a commoner, but she can not only read and write, but also has a smart head capable of inventing and creating—such a wonderful person, in the modern world Not uncommon, but in Westeros, it's a pearl of sand, a miracle.After Iger came to this world, he has come into contact with many women with outstanding appearance, but those are either queens and noble ladies, or witches like Melisandre. .Now suddenly there is a little lotus flower beside him that is easy to approach and you don't have to worry about causing trouble if you touch it, and you feel a little distracted for a while.

Maybe he could use his status as the "boss" to keep her by his side, and then be a secretary if he had something to do, and a secretary if he had nothing to do?

He quickly squeezed his thoughts out of his head, and he hasn't touched a woman for a long time... You can't be controlled by hormones when you do big things, and rabbits don't eat grass by the side of their nests. , it is unwise.

Despite trying to stay "reasonable", it is not something normal people would do to drive a beautiful girl out.Iger was talking with Nina about the improvement of papermaking technology with a smile on his face. Since he could no longer provide technical advice, he simply brought out his trump card and nodded at whatever the girl said: "Well, the same sentence, money is not a problem, go boldly. Try, don't be afraid to fail."

The girl is not a condescending temperament, after a few conversations and jokes, the nervousness and shyness of being alone with the object of admiration for the first time soon faded away, and she also behaved naturally. Are the night watchmen made up of scumbags as handsome and handsome as the boss in front of them?

……

Talking and laughing, the night watchman office has arrived.Although Nina is not the financial backer, Iger and Tyrion still intend to go through formal procedures and sign a serious "investment certificate" with her. If they want to retain capable people, it's not enough to play tricks, and something real is needed.And as half of her own person, she can also rehearse for a while, and prepare for the real investors coming to her door in the future.

But the staff who stayed in the office greeted him first: "My lord, a letter from the commander-in-chief."

……

So fast, it has only been ten days, and the reply has come?

Iger took the letter and found that the wax had been opened. I don't know if it was done by Maester Pycelle, who was in charge of receiving the letter in King's Landing, or Jaqen quietly opened it to spy on the secrets of the Night Watchman?

He glanced at the Braavosi spy who was sitting aside, pretending to be dumb, and opened the letter.

As long as you don't call yourself back to the Great Wall, you can write whatever you want in it.

……

After a few seconds, he looked up and gave Tyrion a cryptic smile.

"What good news is there, smiling so proudly?" Tyrion curled his lips in disgust. He wrote the letter that was sent more than ten days ago, and the content of the reply can naturally be guessed: "Mormenyan After the timing of a large-scale northward reconnaissance, and explained to you the reason for launching this operation?"

Iger nodded, still smiling.

"Are you the official Chief Logistics Officer of the Night Watch now?"

Still nodded without saying a word, and smiled complacently.

"Did they catch the wight?"

"That's not true, but I'm already trying." Iger put down the letter paper, and at the end of the pile of good news, there was actually half bad news, but it was not bad, and he had already had a countermeasure. "Don't talk about these things, go inside and sign the investment certificate!"

-

Chapter 86

The half bad news in the reply was that although Mormont agreed with his idea of ​​recruiting temporary defenders for the Great Wall, he did not fully accept his plan with some hidden calculations.The leader of the Night Watchman Congress made some restrictive requirements on Iger's proposal: those he finds to help temporarily and will leave the Great Wall to return to normal life in a few years, since they don't take an oath, they can't be called the Night Watchman head.Not only that, but they can't receive intensive training at Castle Black like ordinary recruits-they must arrive at the Wall as mercenaries, not members of the Legion, and start directly assisting in the defense.

To sum it up: the recruits recruited by Iger are not allowed to integrate into the Night Watchman indiscriminately, and they must be able to participate in various military missions immediately after arriving at the Great Wall.

Under these two restrictions, either Iger really finds mercenaries, or he has to train himself.

***

The previous plan is good. In this era, mercenaries are professional soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is obviously guaranteed... However, although this kind of thing is useful, it is only as rich as the Lannister family, or the benefits obtained after defeating the enemy Enough to pay remuneration and pensions to be able to play around.The people of Aigla went to the Great Wall to deal with the free people beyond the Great Wall and the White Walkers, and these two kinds of guys belong to the kind of troublesome enemies that "you will die without a place to die if you lose, and you won't get any money if you win".Defeating the wildlings can at least pick up some broken loot, but killing the White Walkers can't even get any scum—since there is no way to support wars, then these mercenaries who are all human are not easy to fool, they will definitely ask High commissions upfront.

Thousands of golden dragons are more than enough money to start a business, but if it is thrown into the pit of mercenaries, it may not even make a splash.

Iger can't afford this luxury for the time being, so he can only choose the latter option and train by himself.

Tsk, what a hassle.Iger frowned: Did Mormont see through his plan to slowly degenerate the Night Watchman in order to gain influence; or did he simply consider maintaining the "purity" of the Night Watchman's own thoughts...or it's not that complicated, just want to use it again The way of adding a task, continue to squeeze the subjective initiative of the person who "enjoys happiness" in King's Landing?

The answer is not important, how to deal with it is the key point.Iger didn't panic, he had considered this situation before - when the Night Watch Corps treats "insiders" and "foreign aid" separately, his plan to gain overall influence and voice will be difficult.But in contrast, training recruits in King's Landing can also strengthen your direct control over the "foreign aid" you hire and strengthen your relationship. Although the latter situation requires more expenditure and energy, which one is better? , I can't tell right now.

***

There was also a small sticky note attached to the back of the letter. He pulled it up and handed it to Arya - it was Jon's greeting to her. The girl almost screamed with joy when she saw the words on it, and she didn't notice Egger at all. Shaking head and sighing expression: Staying in the ghostly place of Castle Black, but writing a letter to my dear little sister, "I have a very good and fulfilling life", thinking about it is miserable.

Taking Nina into the inner room, Iger, who had been prepared for a long time, quickly signed the world's first "Night Watchman Asset Investment Certificate" with the cooperation of Tyrion.After handing it over to Nina, giving her encouragement and praise, and telling her that if she has any troubles, she can come here directly to find herself, and the matter of making paper has come to an end.

According to the routine, Arya should be sent back to the Red Castle, Tyrion should be sent back to the inn, and then Nina would be sent home by himself.After getting to know each other again and again, I can quickly get the girl, but after thinking about it, Iger finally called someone else to do it for me: "Akun, help me send Miss Nina home, after finishing this Just go back to the hotel and rest, I will close the door here!"

……

Now I have too many things to do, and at this time, talking about love with a woman, or a little girl who has not experienced much in the world, is a kind of irresponsibility for both myself and Nina.

Controlling the hanging is especially important in the world of Songs of Killing and Fucking.

Gathering your mind to suppress the male hormones that are about to move, Iger has two more things to consider: [-]. Training soldiers in King's Landing; [-]. Thinking about how to deal with the situation when your "foreign aid" is rejected and may be deprived of voting and decision-making rights , to find another way to improve the influence and voice of the "Chief Logistics Officer" who is away all the year round among the Night Watchmen.

After all, King's Landing is the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. Training soldiers here is as sensitive as trying to open a "Black Water" security company next to Zhongnanhai before crossing. You may face many troubles. Even with the nod of Prime Minister Ed, it may not be possible. Going smoothly, you need a name for yourself.

……