Aegor needed a test site for the practical testing and refinement of the bomb. His original plan had been to have Nina find a suitable location outside the Gift. Although there were only eight Iron Bank observers stationed at the Wall and in Crowntown, the loan agreement gave them the right to move freely within the Night’s Watch’s jurisdiction.

For reasons he could not yet fully explain, Aegor wanted to keep this weapon to himself for as long as possible. That required tight security.

The Ironborn raids on the North gave him an idea. He had no authority to stop outsiders from approaching the nineteen major strongholds along the Wall or Crowntown. But the “Ice Canyon Port” was a secret military harbor built for the North, and he had every justification to make it heavily guarded and to openly forbid outsiders from approaching.

Outwardly, he could claim the port’s restrictions were meant to protect Northern military secrets and block unrelated parties from entering the Bay of Ice. Inwardly, he could disguise the testing by claiming to be developing a “bane of the White Walkers” that contained wildfire, an explanation for the frequent explosions. Finally, by maintaining personal control over the technical staff, he could ensure that even if the existence of powder leaked, he would still keep the advantage of its technical details for a time.

The testing ground would be built in the mountains a dozen miles east of the port, ensuring that no matter how the Ironborn tried to circle around or launch a surprise land attack, they would never stumble upon this research base.

…

Besides the test site, another important reason drove Aegor to make this trip in person. Some darker plans, which could not be spoken of openly, required him to personally explain matters to the commander he had appointed at Ice Canyon Port. The funds raised from the Northern lords, even with Roose Bolton’s unexpected ten thousand gold dragons, fell far short of expectations. As compensation, however, he had gained Robb Stark’s promise to “reimburse the port construction costs.”

Climbing the ladder of technology was a bottomless pit, no amount of coin would ever be enough. Aegor decided to set aside his pride and take full advantage of Robb’s promise.

Since it was “reimbursement,” it could not be handed out without cause. Even without invoices, there still had to be itemized accounts. As most of the artisans and technical staff came from outside the Gift, Aegor finally decided to focus the claims on “weapon consumption” and “garrison pay.”

[Weapon Consumption]: The Northern Navy would be supplied with solidified, aged wildfire that Aegor had transported from King’s Landing, to be used as a naval weapon against the Iron Fleet. These substances, even when blunted, were far stronger than common lamp oil, though not as effective against the White Walkers as freshly made liquid wildfire. Aegor simply repurposed them, providing part of the stockpile to the Northern Navy along with instructions for their use as incendiary bombs.

When these dangerous materials were hauled out of the Alchemists’ Guild cellars in King’s Landing, Aegor had paid nothing for them besides labor costs. But selling them to the North was another matter. He would set a reasonable price and profit from each shipment.

[Garrison Pay]: Aegor planned to make the Bay of Ice the largest stronghold of the Night’s Watch after Crowntown, with hundreds of staff from different departments and thousands of soldiers. These numbers were not fabricated, though the personnel were hardly trained elites. They were mostly Mountain Clansmen and New Gift recruits. Aegor decided to use Ice Canyon Port as a rotation training base for the Grey Area Citizens. Each group of new recruits would undergo training while performing garrison duties under the leadership of a small cadre of officers.

Here lay the key: on the reimbursement rolls, these rotating recruits would be recorded as “soldiers.” Soldiers had to be paid, and as the port garrison, their wages naturally qualified for reimbursement. By setting the rate slightly lower than what the North paid for their own levies, and padding the numbers a little, dozens or even hundreds of gold dragons could be added to the claim each month.

This way, the cost of training the Grey Area Citizens would be borne by the North. Less expense for the Gift meant more coin left for Aegor. He hoped to use this method to extract enough funds to continue upgrading his military technology.

—

Under the threat of the White Walkers, universal conscription was only the beginning. Providing training and arms to all the residents of the Gift had long been on the agenda. The reason it had only begun several months after the Wildlings entered was to allow for a “transition period.”

If rotation training had been imposed immediately, forcing each tribe’s young and strong to leave their families and march to a Night’s Watch training ground, half the tribes might have rebelled, risen against the Night’s Watch, or fled south to raid the North, throwing the realm into chaos.

But now things were different. The system of working for pay had taken root, and the prestige of tribal leaders had been steadily eroded over the past two or three months. The bloody destruction of the Tull tribe served as a warning, while the promises and preferential treatment from the Logistics Department softened resistance. Under these twin pressures, though tribal leaders still grumbled, none dared openly resist the process.

If the transformation of the Free Folk into the people of the Gift was like boiling a frog slowly in warm water, then Aegor judged it already seven or eight parts complete. With the threat of the White Walkers looming, he dared not wait any longer. It was time to begin training, rather than live in constant fear of rebellion.

Aegor’s plan was simple: to quickly enable more than half the Gift’s adults to achieve three basic goals.

1. Receive elementary command training, learn simple commands in the Common Tongue, and execute them correctly.

2. Undergo basic physical training to build strength and endurance.

3. Gain basic familiarity with standard weapons and understand the use of Dragonglass and incendiary weapons.

Together, these were the “Three Basics.”

The purpose of rotation training was not to forge the Gift’s people into battle-hardened elites. Even if such a thing were possible, creating tribal armies of elite soldiers would threaten Crowntown’s authority.

Weapon handling and physical fitness spoke for themselves. After two years of struggling against the White Walkers under Mance Rayder, and another bloody assault on the Wall, the Free Folk warriors had been wiped out, leaving only pale, timid remnants. The Logistics Department worked to rebuild them, feeding them well to strengthen them, and the rugged patrol route along the Great Canyon provided a ready-made training ground for cross-country runs. With food and exercise, even the starved could regain strength.

As for discipline, it alone could not make men brave or skilled, but it could greatly improve a unit’s endurance and obedience. Without discipline, a force might collapse when only one man in a hundred fell, or break and flee at the mere sight of a White Walker. Even without casualties, disorder could render them useless. In battle, such chaos often turned militia who should have been an asset into a liability.

Aegor’s demands were not high. When the decisive battle came, as long as the New Gift people and Grey Area Citizens could more or less follow the plan and obey commands without causing trouble, that would be enough. As for how to actually defeat the White Walkers and win the war, that responsibility fell on him, the leader.

Everything had been laid out step by step, only waiting for the final trial to come.

(To be continued.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep