The king on the Great Wall

"That's right, 'observe our laws' seems to be one condition, but in fact there are countless - because we hold the right to formulate and interpret land-grant laws! If necessary, I can even 'surrender weapons' Skip this one, just ask Mance to agree to abide by our laws, and put the handing over of weapons into the law instead, and the effect is exactly the same!"

"That's how it is. If you don't mention the two conditions and only ask Mance to obey our laws, he will be alert instead." Oser nodded, "It's a smart way, we can write all the other conditions in the land grant What is the use of having the power to make laws? You can write millions of laws, but how can you guarantee that [-] savages will obey them? There are only [-] of us who can hold weapons. But let ten times as many people be obedient!"

"My plan is simple and very simple, but complicated but extremely complicated. It can be summed up in two lines-to teach the wild people to use currency and let them form the concept of private property; to establish an order system based on the law of increasing land Let the savages develop the habit of law and order." Iger said confidently: "The savages will be the worst and most difficult to tame residents in the world. things to subdue—money, and violence.”

"Food, clothing and a sense of security can eliminate the aggressiveness of the wild people, and using money can create a gap between the rich and the poor, and people without small groups are more likely to be managed by us; and appropriate violence can make the wild people get used to order , stay in awe of us... Once this legal system is established, the group of 'savages' will disappear from the world, and a new group of land-grant people will be born instead."

In the past two months, the pay-for-work-material supply and trading system established by Iger has worked well in land grants and along the Great Wall. The success of the experiment on thousands of mountain clan members has proved the great power of money. No one here doubts it, but People have doubts about the establishment of the legal system: "Appropriate violence? How can we maintain a deterrent force against tens of thousands of savages with thousands of people?"

"Control - confiscating weapons is just one item. After the savages pass the Great Wall, I will also take away all important resources such as grain, horses, and livestock in the hands of the savages in the form of 'low-price purchases'. At the same time, I will give them money according to the price. People also taught them to 'buy what they need with copper and silver coins' instead of taking what they see; at the same time, they were placed in the dilapidated fortresses along the Great Wall that were not in use because of poor conditions, and in the land-grants. In many abandoned settlements, the savages are separated from each other and their activities are strictly restricted, so that they cannot collude with each other and discuss any plans against us." Iger continued: "Thirty thousand savages are indeed difficult to deal with, but once divided One tribe after another, we have an absolute superiority in force over any of them. Here again the wall we built a while ago will come in handy again - the Night's Watch, the Landgrants and the Mountain Clans, the reliable Their own people lived in the fortress and controlled the resources of the entire land-grant. The savages who became residents of the new land-grant were confiscated with weapons and took away the resources needed for survival... and were even resettled separately. With the high walls of the fortress and the food we guard, there is no other way but to be obedient or to flee hungry."

……

As the weather got colder, Maester Aemon's body became worse and worse. He didn't say a word during the negotiation between the King Beyond the Wall and the officers of the Night Watch just now, but now he finally spoke tremblingly: "You also said two words What if the savages refuse to accept our management, but choose to escape to the south after being put into the Great Wall by us? We night watchmen shoulder the responsibility of guarding the Great Wall, but letting the savages into the pass makes them threaten the northern border... This puts us in a very passive position."

"The northern border is currently being harassed by the ironmen, and we are already very vigilant. Even if the wildlings go south, they will not be able to get supplies or cause too much damage to the northern border. On the contrary, we arrange the resettlement of the wildlings, which tribe Where is it not clear? Whoever runs away, send rangers to pursue it.” Iger replied: “Of course, in order to prevent this from happening, we can ask the leaders and important members of each tribe to hand over their own Children as hostages...what do you think."

"Everyone, Iger is explaining the solution to the situation of putting the savages on the Great Wall. We don't have to discuss all the specific content today. There is some time to formulate land-grant laws, and all the attention points that everyone can think of, Add it all." Mormont tapped the table, "but actually, I haven't made a formal decision to let the wildlings through the Wall."

"What?" This time it was Jeremy's turn to be surprised: "But you have already promised..."

"I promised. It's despicable to go back and forth, but in the face of survival and responsibilities, there must be priorities." Mormont shook his head: "I asked Mance to bring his people to Castle Black, and wait for his people to gather at the gate. After the trip, I'll send someone out of the wall to check. If what Mance said before is a little false - the number of wildlings exceeds [-], or their reserves are not enough to last us through these months, then we will switch to Another plan: assemble a powerful mobile army, sneak out of the wall, kill and scatter the savages, and rob them of food."

"This..." Even Bowen, who was most opposed to accepting savages, opened his mouth: "This is tantamount to murdering tens of thousands of savages outside the Great Wall!"

"Our duty is to guard the Great Wall, as I said just now—everything must be prioritized." Mormont clenched his fist on the table, and then loosened it again: "That's it, land grant The enactment of future laws will be presided over by Iger. Everyone here has the right to make suggestions, and I will finally review them. After that, I will hand them over to the savages. As long as they don’t make any tricks and agree to abide by them, let them come in. "

***

After the meeting ended, Iger left the meeting room in a happy mood.The longest winter on record lasted nine months. Romance really reduced the number of wildlings to [-]. With the steady delivery of food aid from Braavos, the Night Watchmen can survive!

The temperature inside and outside was very different, and the cold air almost penetrated into the bones. Iger saw the representative of the king, Melisandre, standing in the courtyard and having a "cordial conversation" with two night watchmen.

It's interesting to say that this woman has extraordinary abilities, but only Igger knows about this in the entire Great Wall. In the eyes of other night watchmen, she is just a priest of a strange religion sent by the king, the big red man in front of Stannis .Everyone treated her with courtesy, but resolutely prevented her from entering key areas and interfering in the affairs of the night watchmen.

For a witch with extraordinary abilities, this must have felt aggrieved.

"Ms. Melisandre, aren't you cold?" Iger greeted her, and couldn't help but stop his eyes on the two mysterious protrusions on her chest.There are almost no women on the Great Wall, and after the massacre of Mole Village, even the prostitutes no longer exist... Iger used to rely on being busy to forget his physical needs, but in this state, seeing a beautiful opposite sex like the red-robed woman, It's easy to get ripped off: "I can go to the warehouse and get you a coat or cape if need be... no red ones, though."

"Faith is enough to warm me." The red-robed woman walked to his side, and a wave of heat like a furnace rushed to his face.She reached out and brushed Iger's cloak away, took his arm, and led him to the side. "I saw the night watchmen put the wildlings into the Great Wall in the sacred fire. How about you, have you all discussed it just now?"

If it were an ordinary young man, he might be flustered by Melisandre's overly intimate gesture, but Iger's hairs stood on end.

Seen in the flame?I'm afraid it wasn't because he saw Mance Rayder just now, and learned his identity after asking a few night watchmen, so he inferred it.Iger secretly laughed in his heart: "It's just a preliminary intention, and the specifics are still to be discussed."

"Very well, there is one thing, I want to say hello to you in advance."

"Please tell me, if you can help me, I will never refuse."

"Mance Rayder is a deserter from the Night Watchman, what are you going to do with it?" The red-robed woman took his arm and walked with him to a place where no one could hear them: "If you want to be executed, can you... use the stake? "

"Why?" This is the strangest request Iger has ever heard. Could it be that the plot has undergone such a drastic change, and Melisandre's preference for burning people has not changed?

"The sacred fire tells me that the blood of the king will awaken the dragon in the stone. Mance Rayder is the king beyond the wall, and his blood may be useful."

The scene where Melisandre took Iger's arm and pulled him aside to whisper something attracted a lot of curious eyes. It seems that Castle Black will have new gossip... But with his current identity and status, Don't be afraid of such false rumors at all.In any case, the rumor that he had an affair with Melisandre was better than liking a little boy.

"I have heard that prophecy, but don't you know that it has already been fulfilled?"

"Has it been fulfilled?"

"Lady Melisandre, I ask you this: If I rebel now, let my people take control of the Grant, take the forts along the Wall, rule the hill clans and wildlings, and proclaim myself Lord of the Grant, my blood will awaken Is there a dragon in the stone? If yes, which stone will the dragon emerge from?"

"No, you will not be a recognized king, just a stupid traitor to the Night's Watch."

"I think so too. Namance Rayder's identity as the 'King Beyond the Wall' is also self-proclaimed, and has not been recognized by any lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Why is his blood useful? Is this logical?" Iger asked rhetorically : "Also, before Aegon conquered, there were seven kings in Westeros, and they all recognized each other's status as kings. Could it be that the blood of these seven people is the blood of the king? Didn't Stroll suddenly lose six people with energy in their blood? This is... really regrettable."

Melisandre stared at Iger with those deep red eyes for a while, then chuckled lightly: "You are very eloquent, Mr. Chief Logistics Officer. What is the 'King's Blood' in the prophecy? To be honest, I am too. I'm speculating and groping, it's not ashamed to admit this... However, you haven't answered me yet——you just said that the prophecy has been fulfilled, what do you mean?"

"Daenerys and her dragon." Iger replied, "Shouldn't the so-called dragon in the stone refer to the petrified dragon egg? A cat and a dog in the name of 'King', and then out of a rock somewhere, a magic dragon popped out for you to drive? Do you have a dragon egg?"

"No, but the prophecy does say that the king's blood awakens the dragon. Daenerys does have a dragon...but what about the king's blood?"

"On the day she awakened the dragon, she not only burned her husband to death, lost the child in her stomach, but also shed blood. Among these three people, one of them must have fulfilled the prophecy of the king's blood!"

"Is that so?" Of course Melisandre didn't know the specific situation when Daenerys hatched the three dragons, she raised her eyebrows: "How do you know so clearly about her?"

Iger secretly yelled that it was not good, he was showing off, but he forgot: as a night watchman in Westeros, he would not, and should not, have anything to do with the Dragon Queen who is thousands of miles away. So much to know.

"I'm not just a night watchman, but also a businessman. I have my own intelligence system, and I know things that are invisible in the holy flame. Isn't it normal?"

Melisandre accepted this explanation, frowned, and thought about Iger's analysis carefully.Iger looked at her quietly. In fact, there were still some things he didn't say: He also had a conclusion about who among Daenerys' children, her husband, and herself was the one who fulfilled the king's blood, but the arguments he relied on were It is impossible to obtain it by conventional means, so it cannot be said.

Those who are known to have real power in their bloodlines are those of Daenerys herself, her horse husband and one of her children, Stannis, King Robert's bastard son.What is the connection between these five people?Only those who have opened the perspective of God will know-after the Dothraki Ma Wang is eliminated, there are four remaining people, all of whom have Targaryen blood!

Daenerys' surname is Targaryen, which needs no explanation, and so are her children. As for Stannis and Robert...their surname is Baratheon, but their common grandmother's name is Layla Targaryen!

Based on these factors, Iger made a bold judgment: In the world of ice and fire, there is power in blood. The so-called king's blood does not refer to the blood of the person named "king", but refers to the members of the Targaryen family. blood!It was her own blood or the blood of the child in her belly that awakened Daenerys' three dragon eggs!And between the two, the latter is more likely!

……

"You have some truths in what you say, but I prayed to the holy fire to let me see the face of the prince in the prophecy, but I never saw Daenerys' face. Why?"

"I have to ask your R'hllor, how do I know."

Iger made fun of the Red God like this and drew a resentful look from Melisandre. She glared at the man and asked, "Aren't you curious, who am I seeing?"

"Could it be me?" Iger smiled.

Melisandre froze for a moment, her red lips folded into a smile: "You guessed it right, congratulations."

……

Iger and the red-robed woman looked at each other. The man didn't know if the woman was joking, and the woman didn't know if the man knew she was not joking. The scene was a bit awkward for a while.

Iger coughed, of course he couldn't be the Son of Prophecy, but the other party could indeed see himself in the holy flame - if she wasn't joking, she must have seen Jon Snow, and then saw him in the background by the way Own.Given that Jon and himself are both at Castle Black at the moment and are close, this is very likely.

"Where were you born?"

"At the mouth of a great river called the Yangtze River, in a big city you have never heard of." Iger shrugged, joking anyway: "Did it fulfill the prophecy that Azor Ahai will be in ' The Land of Smoke and Salt' part of rebirth? If I'm really the prophesied prince, can I ask you, who came to assist me, to warm my bed? You're so warm, the effect must be very good."

"R'hllor didn't tell me whether I have this obligation." Melisandre licked her lips and made a charming expression: "However, if you ask, just tell me, maybe there will be a surprise tonight."

"Hahaha, forget it, it's just a joke." Iger said haha: "It's lunch time, why don't you go to the restaurant together to see what's available today."

"I have something else to do, Chief Logistics Officer, do whatever you want." Melisandre narrowed her eyes, noncommittal: "You succeeded in persuading me not to use Mance's mind, but... After the wildling came in, I asked They spread the belief of the true God, can you provide cooperation?"

"As far as the rules allow, I can help."

-

Chapter 239 Pocket Kingdom

"Then, I'll wait for your good news." Melisandre smiled at Iger, then turned and walked towards the tower where she lived.

……

This is really a witch, molesting her is asking for trouble.Looking at the back of Melisandre going away, Iger couldn't help thinking: If he hadn't been nervous just now, but continued jokingly asking her to warm his bed at night, would she really come?

Although the age and identity are a mystery, what does that matter? The love between men and women is about the body, not the soul!

……

When he came back to his senses, Iger laughed at himself, he was actually made to worry about gains and losses by a joke made by the red robe woman.I really don't know whether to say that the Great Wall is too lonely, or the lower body is really a man's weakness?

***

Mance returns to the Haunted Forest to gather the remaining wildlings who are still alive.And Iger began to prepare for the new land-grant residents... The plan to relocate people to fill the land-grant was actually put on the motion as early as when Benyan Stark was still the chief ranger. The Guardians of the Northern Territory formally proposed this idea, but unfortunately...in the end they gave up because they couldn't solve the problem of wildling invasion and harassment.

But this time, taking advantage of the opportunity of the reappearance of the White Walkers, Iger used the method of dredging the bottom to turn the original biggest threat of the land-grants into the land-grants themselves, trying to solve the problem once and for all.

This method of resettling and taming the savages is actually to rebuild the land-grant into a pocket-sized new country... The ideal is beautiful, but the reality is cruel. Although pocket-sized, the necessary departments and institutions are still indispensable.Although the savages and mountain clansmen were the cheapest and most accessible people, their shortcomings were also obvious. Among these savages without an education system, there were no suitable talents to participate in the management after the establishment of this pocket-sized land-grant country.Relevant candidates can only be selected from those nobles who voluntarily join the night watchman and employees of the night watchman industry.

This is not only a trouble, but also an opportunity. The Night Watch currently has nearly a thousand members, and among them, there are not as many industrial employees who can read and write and can do calculations than Iger brought to the north from King's Landing.

This means that if the gifted land is built, no matter how much Mormont does not want Iger to further expand his influence and control, he will not be able to prevent the industrial employees who receive the latter's salary from entering the grassroots management of this system.Not to mention... At the moment, it seems that Mormont has no intention of guarding against Egger's doing this.

After all, the Night Watchman Logistics Department is a subordinate organization of the Night Watchman in name, and Iger is also one of the genuine Night Watchman.No matter how he tosses and expands his power, the endowment land that cannot be self-sufficient in food will eventually have to breathe in the north and cannot jump to the sky.

……

The huge resettlement plan on the Zengdi side is in full swing, but something happened on the northern side.Winterfell just sent someone to bring back Arya, who had run away from home, back to Winterfell, and Bran Stark ran away to accompany him, as well as Meera, Jojen, and the little giant Hodor. Everything is the same as the original plot.

The chief ranger who heard the news had an extremely weird expression: "What is going on with the adults of the Stark family? Can't even look after their own children? A disabled little boy ran away from Winterfell!"

Maester Aemon held the letter and said tremblingly: "That's what we say, but we have no right to criticize. It is written in the letter... Before Bran Stark escaped, he expressed his intention to go to the north of the Great Wall, Kate Madam Lin asked the night watchman to step up their patrols, and if they find any traces of the child, they should be taken to Castle Black or Last Hearth City for protection."

"Where is the strength of Winterfell's army, can't even catch up with a lame little boy?"

"As far as I know, the soldiers of Winterfell were transferred there to resist the harassment of the Ironmen, and the few remaining horses in Winterfell were released from the stables on the day Bran left. The dignified North In the capital, even a few cavalry could not come out at the critical moment, and even asked the night watchman for help. At this juncture, how can I lend them someone!" Commander Mormont shook his head helplessly: "The child left us There is no responsibility, you don’t need to pay too much attention, just keep an eye on it by the way. Iger, let your people in Houguan Town also pay attention to the whereabouts of those children.”

Iger nodded, as a promise.After all, the Green Prophet made a move. With his method, there are thousands of possible ways to help Bran escape from Winterfell and go beyond the Great Wall. It is obviously impossible for the environment to fight against such an existence with eyes that is almost the whole map.As for himself...helping Arya stop her younger brother? Are you kidding, he has already made a confrontation with the Green Seer without knowing it, and even got marked.If he ruined his affairs over and over again, he might die without knowing how.

For the sake of his own life, he decided not to care about this shit.

***

The wildlings gradually began to gather outside the gate of Castle Black, and Mormont also dispatched soldiers from various fortresses along the Great Wall to prevent accidents. Castle Black, the headquarters of the Night Watchman, finally gathered again after a hundred years and reached four figures. troops.The night watchman responsible for investigating what Mance said was let down from the top of the Great Wall and entered the wildling camp.

Iger was relieved by the results of the investigation: At least for now, there is no falsehood found in what Mance said. The number of savages is basically the same, and the food reserves are indeed a little... the only thing that is a little bit beyond the previous plan of the night watchmen. What's worse is: the number of giants exceeded expectations. Even after going through hard battles and downsizing in harsh weather, there are still hundreds of giants.

In order to ensure that these big guys passed the Great Wall without threatening the Night Watchers, the Great Wall defenders had a lot of discussions and plans. Finally, they moved several ballistas from the top of the Great Wall and made special passage arrangements. Solve this trouble.

Giants are not as huge as people usually imagine when they hear this word. They are usually about three meters tall, and they move slowly and clumsily. It's dead. As long as the number of giants passing through the Great Wall at the same time is controlled so that no more than three giants pass through the Great Wall at the same time, the night watchmen are fully capable of smoothing out problems when emergencies arise.

……

"Buy all our food?" With the help of Mance, he read through the law that the night watchmen spent several days enacting, but he questioned this one: "The free people don't want your copper coins. If you are short of food, we will take the initiative Turn over one third, you don't need to force us like this!"

"An agreement is an agreement. If you don't agree, let's put aside the matter of passing the Great Wall."

"You..." Mance Ray gritted his teeth, and his shoulders slumped: "Can't we keep any, then what will we eat when we arrive at the resettlement site?"

"After the free folk exchange the food for money, they can use the money to buy food again before they leave Castle Black, but they can only buy ten days' worth at most... In addition to food, they have everything from clothing to daily necessities. It is definitely better than the Great Wall. The outside is much more complete." Iger shrugged: "If you have no objection, you can go back and explain to your people now. If there is no problem, as long as you return to Castle Black to be a hostage when you let the free folk pass the Great Wall The plan for land increase and resettlement can begin."

Chapter 240

The procedure for the wildlings to enter the Great Wall is as follows: the night watchman built a temporary wooden fence at the entrance of the ice wall of Castle Black, and dug a deep trench around it, and the large army of wildlings stayed in the big camp on the edge of the haunted forest outside the isolation zone In the middle, the three giants whose turn it is to pass through the Great Wall will gather with a designated tribe in the wooden fence, and after handing over all their weapons...with all their belongings, they will drill into the narrow and dark passage through the Great Wall.

Waiting for them was Castle Black, which was on high alert.

During the month of tit-for-tat with the savages, Houguan Town, which was fully supplied with raw materials, produced several cans of wildfire. Now, these huge destructive liquids have been mixed into a large number of asphalt and oil barrels, and piled on the top of the Great Wall.Once the wildlings showed signs of intending to tear up the agreement, the night watchman sentry on the top of the Great Wall would not hesitate to set them on fire, drop the oil tanks at the entrance, and seal the hole with explosions and fire.At the same time, the thousands of night watchmen and land-grant militia gathered in Castle Black could easily wipe out the few giants and a large number of ordinary wildlings who had passed through the Great Wall.

……

If this first step goes well, it will be the turn of the batch of wildlings to enter Castle Black through the tunnel in an orderly manner, and they will be greeted by several registration seats at the exit.Here, several literate recorders will conduct population registration of the new land-grant residents, count the tribe, name, age, gender, and simple characteristics of each new land-grant resident, and issue corresponding identification certificates.Afterwards, dozens of night watchmen will weigh the food brought by the wildlings who entered Castle Black, count the livestock they brought in, pick out the items on a list and store them in the warehouse, and give cash to the original owners according to the type and quantity Make amends... and then invite them out of Castle Black.

Iger's original plan was to buy all the savages' edible things at a low price, but considering that some livestock still need to be raised by humans, they only bought horses in the end, allowing the savages to take the rest of their property with them to the resettlement site.

If even this step goes smoothly, this batch of savages will be considered to have completely transformed into land-grant citizens and become residents under the command of the Night Watchman.They will be taken out of Castle Black to a row of stalls on the outside of the newly built and reinforced high wall... Here, the wildlings who come out of the gates of Castle Black can take the copper and silver coins they have just obtained and exchange them for them. All kinds of daily necessities, food, warm clothes, tent cloth and even simple hunting tools are required.

While selling daily necessities to the savages, the "stall owners" did not forget to tell the newly donated land residents: If you want to get more copper and silver coins, there are two ways to choose pawns instead of food and weapons, which are not in the compulsory collection list Leftovers that were not confiscated...or work for the Night's Watch.

***

If a careful savage pays a little attention, he can find that the price they sell the food is only half of the night watchman who bought it again after going out.This is equivalent to the price of half of the food and acceptance of the rule by the wild people in exchange for the power to pass the Great Wall!

Ai Geyou clearly remembers the scene of his first class meeting in the first grade of primary school: After the class teacher finished talking about campus affairs, a middle-aged man walked in outside the door, holding a big box, and sent a message to every child in the classroom. A pack of Xiaodangjia crispy noodles and a small box of candy, and told the children: There is a canteen behind the teaching building, if you want to eat snacks, you can go there to buy.

This happened in the 90s of the last century. In that era when preschool education was not yet popular, and "snacks" and "pocket money" were still rare concepts. The two concepts of "snack shop" and "snacks can be bought with money" were vividly instilled.

Part of the inspiration for Iger's plan this time comes from this. If they simply want to seize half of the newly donated food from the local people to feed themselves, the night watchman could have used a more direct and simple method... but to help the former barbarians master There is no better way to grasp the concept of money and learn to use it than to "give them a sum directly, and then teach them how to use it on the spot".

These copper or silver coins can actually buy all kinds of things. Once the new land-grant residents find this out, they will soon be overwhelmed by the great charm of money and voluntarily become the pocket-sized land-grants. Little parts of the kingdom.

***

After the previous batch of savages completed all steps such as population statistics, handing over grain, and purchasing daily necessities, and became thorough "new land-grant residents" and were taken to the selected resettlement site by special personnel, the next batch of people would live in the wooden fence outside the wall. The savages who handed over their weapons will be put in again under the signal.

In this way, the wildlings in Castle Black will always be at an absolute military disadvantage, and the Night's Watch can maintain peace of mind.

Due to cultural differences and a crisis of trust, all these steps did not go as smoothly as they were introduced. However, under the watch and "guidance" of the densely packed soldiers in black, the first and second waves of savages passed through reluctantly but orderly. The Great Wall and Castle Black have completed the transformation of their identities.

The residents south of the Great Wall call these people "savages", and they call themselves "free people", but as far as Iger is standing on the king's tower and looking down...they look neither barbaric nor free, only fear, numbness and fear of the future at a loss.

……

Bowen Marsh walked behind Mormont and Egger who were watching the wildling pass the Great Wall, and said in a heavy tone, "I never thought that this day would come. We once prevented the wildling from passing the Great Wall at the cost of our lives... How many of these people have the same Our brothers fought? In the end, we are going to let them in."

Oser also looked disturbed: "From now on, we will become a joke in the minds of countless Westeros, and people will turn their heads away when they mention the Night Watchman Legion."

"My lords, this is a sign that your will is not firm enough." Iger put a hat on his colleagues without looking back: "For the Night Watch, is it more important to guard the Great Wall against the White Walkers, or is it more important to be in the Seven Kingdoms?" The image in the eyes of the people is more important? We are protecting the lives of the people of the seven countries at all costs, and this has nothing to do with how the people of the seven countries view us. If you think about this, you will no longer have such self-doubt! "

Jon Snow asked in a low voice with some doubts: "Will the wildlings obediently obey orders and follow our laws?"