Before coming, Aegor had been warned about the mountain clans’ excessive enthusiasm toward guests, so he wasn’t too surprised. Out of respect for local customs and courtesy, he and Jaime followed instructions and allowed the two girls who arrived late at night to stay, sharing the bed and blanket with them. Among the clanfolk, the girls were considered attractive, but the two brothers of the Night’s Watch weren’t close enough to engage in a foursome without any discomfort—so it was really just sharing the bed.

After bidding farewell to the Flint clan, Aegor visited the Wull clan to the west near the Bay of Ice. The terms he had negotiated with Torghen Flint were a standard agreement that satisfied both sides, and not a single clause had changed. Aegor also reached an agreement with the largest clan in the North in terms of numbers, securing their settlement in the gifted land.

With two castles and the promise of “free meals,” Aegor had attracted two mountain clans and nearly 3,000 new residents to the donated land. Their arrival gave Aegor a clear sense of the plan’s feasibility. In fact… quite the opposite, he now had to begin considering the risk of going too far. If he failed to control the number of foreign aid and ended up relocating too many to the Wall without the means to support them, it would be a farce.

There were sixteen castles along the Wall still available for occupation. Ideally, each castle would have its own garrison. That meant it would be best to strike similar deals with fourteen more clans. It was impossible for Aegor to negotiate with all of them himself. Regardless of whether there was enough time, as Chief Logistics Officer, he couldn’t afford to waste energy on such repetitive work. Since he was now certain that the land grant conditions could win over the mountain clans, he decided not to go in person anymore, and instead sent his subordinates.

Aegor selected five soldiers who were relatively sharp, and after thoroughly explaining the terms and details to them, he sent them south to approach several other nearby clans, escorted by guides and warriors provided by the Wull clan. He then returned to Castle Black with Jaime and the others.

He could gain reinforcements, but first, he had to confirm two things: first, that Mormont would accept the terms he had negotiated; second, that the reinforcements would arrive before the wildlings officially launched their assault.

…

After a brief explanation of what had happened, Mormont nodded in agreement with Aegor’s plan. The Night’s Watch had no other choice. As long as the wildlings could be stopped, they could negotiate with the clansfolk even if they wanted to live inside Castle Black, let alone take over sixteen abandoned fortresses.

After Aegor finished reporting his gains from the journey, the Old Bear also shared the latest updates on the Wall’s defense, along with a piece of good news: the wildlings stationed outside Castle Black had started to withdraw one after another, seemingly to carry out what Ygritte had called “Mance’s assault plan.” Although King Stannis had taken most of his army south, he had sent more than a dozen fast warships to support Eastwatch. With naval support, the route through the Bay of Seals had been cut off…

Now, if the Night’s Watch could find a way to intercept the two groups trying to cross the Wall and the Grand Canyon, they could trap the wildlings north of the Wall and claim a total victory over the largest wildling invasion in a thousand years.

…

…

After speaking with the Lord Commander and discussing how to allocate the sixteen fortresses and resettle the new residents, Aegor received a letter from the Night’s Watch Industry in King’s Landing. In the letter, Nina updated him on recent operations in the capital and business affairs.

—

After Renly’s sudden death and Stannis’s successful retaking of the Iron Throne, the new king continued implementing sweeping reforms in King’s Landing—suppressing the Faith of the Seven, spreading the faith of R’hllor, and beginning a purge of “immoral” trades. As expected, the Night’s Watch Industry was affected. The printing of the Seven-Pointed Star and erotic publications was forcibly halted, and even the brothel Littlefinger had bought at a bargain was forced to shut down.

The wisdom of diversifying investments became immediately apparent during this storm. Fortunately, the business wasn’t reliant on just a few ventures. Although it was affected, other branches such as dragonglass, cosmetics, and textiles quickly returned to normal and even expanded. Nina reassigned the dismissed prostitutes to continue intelligence work in the restaurants and inns under the Night’s Watch Logistics Department. At the same time, she secured a number of “legal” printing orders. The negative impact of Stannis ascending the Iron Throne on the Night’s Watch Industry was minimized and swiftly overcome.

In addition, the man who had improved lipsticks and soap had also successfully solidified wildfire as Aegor had requested. By adding a series of ingredients, the liquid wildfire had been transformed into an ointment-like state. Besides the change in physical properties, Nina also noted changes in its chemical properties in her letter: its stability and ignition point had been greatly improved. Not only did it eliminate the risk of exploding under disturbance, but it also couldn’t be ignited by boiling water.

Although they hadn’t managed to create the liquid bomb Aegor had hoped for, wildfire was still a form of light oil. It was unrealistic to expect it to become an explosive just by adding ingredients. While solidified wildfire could no longer explode, its viscosity and burning power were far superior to ordinary lamp oil or pitch. These characteristics meant one crucial thing: solidified wildfire had now become a fire weapon more effective than napalm and suitable for large-scale transport.

Finally, Aegor learned from the end of the letter a piece of news he had previously heard rumors of at the Wall but hadn’t confirmed: in order to punish several noble families in the Crownlands for backing Renly’s claim to the Iron Throne, Stannis had launched a harsh crackdown. Measures included arresting key family members for treason, demanding hostages, seizing their assets, and redistributing lands to his loyal supporters.

Among those “seized assets” were investments in the Night’s Watch Industry…

Several major investors, including House Buckwell, had their shares in the Night’s Watch confiscated by Stannis in the name of the Iron Throne. The new king immediately returned these shares to the Night’s Watch under the guise of supporting their cause. Previously, Aegor had to hand over more than half of the business’s revenue to those backers every month. Now, with the downfall of many Crownland houses, the original patrons behind the enterprise had been purged by Stannis. Nearly 80% of the industry’s income was now under Aegor’s full control. What used to be a cash cow for many had now become his alone.

Although Stannis had yet to unify the Seven Kingdoms, the Night’s Watch’s business was already dominant in the Crownlands and the Riverlands. Just these two regions alone could bring Aegor more than a thousand gold dragons in disposable profits every month. It was more than enough to support the clansfolk, whose needs were minimal.

With a steady stream of funding, the plan to fill the abandoned castles with settlers could proceed confidently. But soon, Aegor realized a new problem: the failure of the Crownland lords had led to their decline, but their power would not simply be replaced by someone like Nina—or himself—who lacked noble lineage. A group of families loyal to Stannis would soon rise in King’s Landing. During this power vacuum, the Night’s Watch Industry could dominate the capital’s economy without opposition. But once the new noble class began gaining control of resources, competition—and even suppression—was bound to come.

At such a critical moment, investing in and currying favor with those newly ennobled houses, and quickly forming a new interest group with the Narrow Sea lords backing Stannis, was undoubtedly the most cost-effective strategy and the best path for the industry’s future. But right now, Aegor stood at a crucial point where money was needed most elsewhere.

Should he prioritize developing the Night’s Watch Industry, or immediately channel its profits northward to support the Wall and realize his vast plan? In simple terms, should he choose the long game or slaughter the golden goose?

It seemed like a straightforward decision, but Aegor had no choice but to go with the latter. The Night’s Watch’s ability to defend the Wall was the foundation of everything. If they were seen to profit from the chaos without fulfilling their sworn duty, and instead played politics and speculation in King’s Landing, even if they survived, they’d risk being targeted by the iron-fisted King Stannis.

Aegor now stood on the cusp of the winds of change, at a crossroads between “making more gold” and “doing great deeds,” and the howling wind had already pushed him down the latter path.

(To be continued.)

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep