The king on the Great Wall

……

It could just be someone who threw stones at Commander Mormont, who might have been outraged at the loss of a loved one when the horde of ghouls attacked the last of the Outsiders passing through the Wall, or who might not even have thought of killing the Old Bear himself.But assuming it was pointless, the two-pound stone hit the nail on the head and crushed a respectable and wise old aristocrat.

This incident brought the night watchmen, land-grant aborigines, and people in the northern borders back to an all-time high against the new land-grant people, and it also dealt a near-fatal blow to the land-grant resettlement plan.A moment ago, Robb jokingly asked Iger if he should wear a helmet when he entered Houguan Town. Now that Arya left the team and ran around, he naturally became nervous immediately.

(There are not many savages on the street at all, and there is no safer place in the entire land grant.) Iger knew this well, but he had to act like he was concerned about Arya's safety. He also got off his horse and followed behind this wayward little wolf.

Although Arya is a noble lady, she is not a "city person" who has never seen anything.She walked briskly past chicken coops, gloves and boots stalls, chased a cat away a few steps, and was finally attracted by a strange smell to a small stall selling roasted game.

There are a dozen small skewers on a small stone oven, roasting the meat of a bunch of small birds, rabbits and even some unknown rodents.

"What is this?" Arya reached for a bunch.

"Quail." The stall owner was displeased with Arya's act of taking her own goods directly, but he looked up at the crowd of people from Winterfell who surrounded the girl like stars and moons, and realized that Houguan Town The group of people in front of me may be the ones I have to deal with in a layout: "Maybe not, they are all small birds anyway...the taste is similar, with onions stuffed inside, 3 copper points."

"More money?" A Winterfell guard muttered, "Do you know who is in front of you?"

The stall owner raised his eyes and scanned the crowd. Of course he didn't recognize any of them, but he knew how to say: "Anyone——has to pay."

"Who brought the money?" Robb shrugged. Of course he didn't come all the way to be a bully, and of course he couldn't let his sister eat for free.It's a pity that, as the Duke of Winterfell, he doesn't have the habit of bringing a bunch of change when he travels.

"Let me do it." Seeing a crowd of people in Winterfell starting to take out their pockets one after another, Iger, who is a landlord, walked to the front of the crowd and took out three copper coins.

Arya took a bite of the little bird that was skewered on a wooden stick, grilled until it was shiny and full of fragrance, chewed the bones and swallowed it: "I want another skewer!"

Ai Geyiyan bought another bunch, the girl's hands were occupied by the snacks, and she was about to leave contentedly, when she turned her head and suddenly realized that she was the only one eating, which was really a bit inappropriate.

"No, you haven't forgotten that big brother is very pleasant, but I'm not hungry." Robb waved his hand in refusal.

"He won't eat you, master!"

This is really a typical I treat you to pay the bill. Iger was amused by Arya's shameless "richness", so he simply took out a silver coin and bought all the baked things on the stall.

Half a minute later, Robb, Iger, and Sir Rodrik, including several guard captains, continued to walk towards the gate of Houguan Town with a skewer in each hand.

Bite down, the onion strips stuffed in the bellies of these small game meats make a crunchy click sound, and the gravy immediately rushes into the mouth.Robb ate the food in a few mouthfuls, and wiped his mouth and hands with a cloth: "It's not like Winterfell can't eat these things, roast chicken, roast duck, roast goose, as long as you tell the kitchen, is there anything?"

"Those people know lemon cake. Lemon cake. I hate dessert the most."

Robb smiled helplessly: "The kitchen has been cooking because Sansa told the kitchen that she likes to eat that, but you didn't say anything, who knows what you like to eat?"

"Not to mention, sometimes these small wild animals taste better than poultry raised in pens."

"Children, snacks are more delicious than meals."

"I'm not a child!"

Iger originally reported the general situation of Houguan Town to the head of the northern border, but was tossed about by the interrupting master Arya, and the topic suddenly changed in a strange direction.To be honest, the barbecued game in the hands of everyone is not so delicious that it needs a special description, but anyone who has been on the road for a day can eat anything when it is close to dinner and thinks it is good. Everyone is holding the horse and chatting while eating the roasted game. It is almost approaching the gate of Houguan Town.

As the landlord of this place, Iger finally brought the topic back: "Houguan Town allows everyone living in the land-grant to visit, but this gate only allows night watchmen, logistics staff and guests to enter. The so-called guests are Refers to—the leaders and followers of the mountain clans or tribes outside the Great Wall who were invited, as well as people from the seven southern kingdoms."

"Those who came to buy food and wait for the distribution work..."

"Live outside. The street we passed just now bears most of the external interaction functions of Houguan Town, and the tents outside the street and the simple houses built on the remains of the original village are the temporary residences of the newly donated land residents. Iger explained: "The walls of Houguan Town are big enough for 1000 people, but I dare not let them in... The people outside the Great Wall do not have the skills to attack the city. town, but if there is internal chaos, it only takes three to five hundred yuan to destroy this place."

Jon was a little surprised by Iger's frankness, and turned his head: "Even you don't trust your new land-grant people, but you are always trying to convince me and others to support your land-grant resettlement plan?"

Robb is not a little prince who grew up in a deep palace and was pampered and has no common sense of life. Blindly reporting good news but not bad news may cause the opposite effect to expectations.Iger decided to add some credible content while arranging and deceiving: "Believe it or not is not the key at all. In the coming winter, we need the power of these living people. This is what I planned for all of this." The key. Half of the buildings in Houguan Town are used to store resources, and the remaining half, in addition to housing the employees of the logistics department and the night watchman industry, has surplus. In the future, this part of the buildings will undertake the function of enlightenment. "

"enlightenment?"

"When we let the aliens pass through the Great Wall, we agreed that the leader's family of each tribe would hand over a child as a hostage—my idea is that controlling these children means controlling the future of those tribes." Iger explained: "The so-called control, of course, does not refer to keeping them in shackles and cages, but to let them learn our language and writing, and let them eat and live with the children of the original land grant people and mountain clan tribes to receive training and grow up together. Let these hostages become a bridge for us to communicate with those people outside the Great Wall—in a way of assimilation, let the new land-grant people completely become part of the land-grant.”

One of Iger's bodyguards announced his identity loudly, and the gate of Houguan Town opened slowly. The mayor, Yam, came out to greet him in a hurry as if he had just known the visit of the Northern Guardian, and Iger also ended his speech at this moment : "Disarmament and strict management by law are hard; but assimilation by the power of time and habit is soft. Considering "believe it or not" the new land grantees are handing over the future of the Great Wall's defense to these barbarians Thoughts and wishes. But to subdue them with both soft and hard methods, it is to control everything in their hands... Isn't it more reliable to rely on means to ensure control than illusory 'trust'?"

-

Chapter 277

Robb has already discovered that Iger can always say things that sound reasonable to Chase easily, and he is more interested in the details of the "education" part than thinking about the logic and ideas in these words. interest.Intuition told the young new guardian of the north: this is an important skill related to "ruling", if mastered, it will be beneficial and harmless.

"Ha, that's a bit of a coincidence. Houguan Town has only been built not long ago, and the basic 'support' function has not been used for a long time. Everything else is just a preliminary idea and has not yet been practiced." Iger made a haha , This sentence is not a lie, "If your lord is really interested in the specific operation of the idea of ​​'education', we have plenty of time to chat slowly during our inspection of the northern border. After driving so many days from Winterfell, Everyone is exhausted, so you might as well go to the city to enjoy the hospitality, and talk about this after you have eaten, drank, bathed and changed your clothes, and refreshed your energy."

"Alright."

People and horses slowly passed through the gate of Houguan Town and entered the interior of the land-grant capital. In stark contrast to the hustle and bustle outside, the world inside the wall instantly became quiet. Apart from the guards, there are almost no other people walking around in the building... This confirms Iger's description of the access permit of Houguan Town just now, and it also makes Robb and the people of Winterfell relax.

In this small town, at least there is no need to maintain a high degree of vigilance all the time, worrying about a stone flying out of nowhere.

……

It is very different from typical castles. Houguan Town has no obvious inner and outer ring structures and centers. The buildings look the same, as if there are two types in total: warehouses for storage and houses for people.Iger is the builder and veritable controller of this place, but he is not a legal lord. In order to avoid gossip and improve space utilization, he ordered that no obvious "main castle", "hall" or similar rules should be designed during construction A family-exclusive structure with a more practical block layout.

Yam faithfully carried out Iger's instructions. This kind of "completely planned and then started construction" complex of buildings brought neat and uniform "well"-style roads, which revealed a different sense of regularity and modern charm as a whole. .This made Iger feel comfortable, but it made the Starks who were used to the big maze of Winterfell a little hesitant-the structure is very simple and clear, but if no one leads the way, they might really get lost.

After walking a hundred meters and turning a corner, they arrived at an area that was not the geometric center of Houguan Town, but was indeed the core building complex.Here, Iger saw what was waiting for him, Humphrey Hill, who he knew in prison and now a logistics officer stationed in Houguan Town...and Jon Snow.

what happened?Iger frowned suspiciously and looked at Yam.

He accompanied Robb Stark to the north to give the land this trip, intending to let the new head of the northern border "seeing is believing". The family card was not included in the series of arrangements.Letting the savages settle in the gifted land is a matter of the utmost importance to the safety of the northern border. Even if he values ​​brotherhood again, Robb is unlikely to be influenced by Jon's opinion. Letting this young man who is not good at words be a lobbyist may be self-defeating instead.

Yam saw his boss' doubts, and shook his head subtly at Iger, indicating that Jon did not arrange to come here by himself.

"Jon—Jon!" Before Iger could react, Arya ran over first, jumped up and hugged her favorite illegitimate brother.

Robb also hugged his brother, and after saying hello, he asked, "Jon, shouldn't you be at Castle Black, what are you doing here?"

"The election of the new commander-in-chief is going on at Castle Black. It's a mess and no one is in charge. I'm here to see if there is anything that needs help in Crown Town."

Robb smiled and shook his head: "You guys are always so warm-hearted...but you must do your job well."

"Lord Stark taught me that."

The two brothers joked cordially, and Iger, who was taken aback, quickly calmed down: Jon must have an emergency to report, otherwise he would never have risked running to find himself when he had made arrangements.Although the answer did not reveal any flaws, they should not be allowed to chat like this: "It's cold outside, let's go into the house, relax after unloading, and have time to catch up on the old days."

……

The dinner is sumptuous but not extravagant. Although the bathing service and accommodation are not as comfortable as Winterfell with its hot springs, everything that can be considered has been arranged.After receiving the wind, the reception staff led the group from Winterfell to their place of descent, while Iger sat in the office and listened to the reports from the two managers of Houguan Town.

***

There was a lot of content in the report, but it can be summed up in one sentence: Houguan Town's reserves are almost exhausted.

When the savages went south to attack the Great Wall, they took all the grain they could bring, but the grain reserves were, after all, water without a source.The original plan of the King Beyond the Great Wall was to "obtain" supplies from the northern border and further south after breaking through the Great Wall, to support the war with war, and go all the way south to avoid the harsh winter... As a result, Iger introduced foreign aid and strong defense, and even passed the Great Wall. Before the first step was realized, he was forced to surrender and was resettled in the land grant.

Without the vast Haunted Forest as a source of supplies, the new land-grants would not be able to survive the winter just relying on the food they brought into the land-grant, not to mention that half of the food was stored in Castle Black and was under the control of the chief affairs officer. , Refusing to hand it over to support the savages?

It is an impossible task to feed nearly 80.00% of the new land-grant residents and logistics department employees with less than half of the entire land-grant grain. The warehouses in Houguan Town are emptying out at an alarming rate.Only in order not to cause panic, Humphrey and Yam bite the bullet and continue to release food normally according to Iger's instructions...

"We have tried every means to delay the arrival of the last moment: reduce the intensity of supply work or even suspend the project to slow down food consumption; slow-paced and small price increases while increasing the number of other daily commodities to divert the newly-granted land for civilian use To use the funds to buy food; to encourage residents to hunt and gather in the land-grant wilderness and mountain forests... and even to secretly connect with those mountain clans, and through their transfers to obtain the food reserves of Castle Black and so on." Yam's face was full of sadness. He ended his report happily: "However, Castle Black's food control is also very strict. We have tried various methods, but we can only slightly delay the time for the granary to be completely emptied..."

"Honestly, my lord, you brought 2000 people to the north for more than a month, and it really helped a lot. If you need two thousand more mouths, the granary may be empty." Humphrey also shrugged, "Now we only need one confirmation The numbers, when will all this be counted?"

"Thank you." Iger knew the general situation of the land grant and Houguan Town well, and understood that the two subordinates were not talking nonsense.Insufficient food means insufficient food. Even if I change myself to stay and sit in the town, there is a high probability that I will not be able to do better than them: "Now the passage from the land grant to the northern border has been cleared up, and the first batch of aid food will be available soon." Arrive, do your last work, and wait for the aid from Braavos to arrive."

"Great."

"Your Excellency is really reassuring! Can you tell us about the process of going south to fight the fire?"

The two actual managers of Houguan Town were overjoyed, and casually asked about the details of the matter.Iger briefly talked about it, emphasizing the few hot potatoes thrown to him by Robb Stark, and explained how he initially conceived to deal with these troublesome characters... It's been a long time since the superiors and subordinates have seen each other. It took a long time to communicate with each other at work, and about an hour or two later, Jon Snow knocked on the door and walked in.

This young man came here specially from Castle Black, and what he wanted to tell or discuss with him must be far more urgent than this pile of idle affairs in Houguan Town.Iger stopped the trivial instructions he was doing, and looked at the visitor.

I checked my eyes, I have something to say.

Iger turned his head and nodded to the other two: "Let's stop here today, more things, let me think about it before making arrangements. Go back and rest early-well, yes, I will entertain you before going to bed Go around there again, and ask the guests from Winterfell if they need anything else."

"Yes, then we'll go back first." The person who can be seen by Iger to manage Houguan Town has good basic vision. Humphrey and Yam quickly bid farewell to Iger and left the room together.

……

"Jon, long time no see." Iger waited for the door to close again, and cut straight to the point without delay: "Sit down, tell me what's going on at Castle Black."

Jon also sat down directly without hesitation, and began to report the situation at Castle Black: "During your departure from Castle Black, the plan to prevent the birth of the next commander went quite smoothly, and Sir Dennis Mallister's votes were four Hundreds fluctuated up and down, and Carter Pike followed closely behind, but they were always in the early [-]s, and some of them were arranged by us. After half a month of stalemate, the third-ranked Osiel Yawick, Our chief business officer, withdrew from the election."

……

Iger breathed a sigh of relief. He left Castle Black at a critical moment in order to let his two opponents relax their vigilance and fall into a fight with each other, gaining time and space for operations.This is a risky plan: if Dennis and Carter reach an agreement to elect the commander-in-chief for some unexpected reason, and they come back to find that the land-grant has changed, then there is really no other way to turn things around except to bring wild people to rebel .

It is impossible for the northern border to sit back and watch anyone seize control of the land-grant by force. If that step is reached, they will have to turn against the Stark family-controlling Robb alone is not enough, and the other four members of the land-grant family will visit He must also be placed under house arrest.Relying on the tens of thousands of new land-grant residents in the land-grant, this step is theoretically possible, but the savages are by no means his loyal and reliable subordinates.If you really come to that step...

On the one hand, he had to guard against the backlash of the wildlings, on the other hand bear the anger of the brothers of the night watchman, and on the other hand continue to operate the land grant under the sanction of King's Landing.And once the Night's Watch property is confiscated by the Iron Throne, even Braavosi's aid may come to naught... There is no doubt.

Rather than committing suicide, Iger prefers to abscond to the other side of the Narrow Sea with money.

Fortunately, the worst never happened.It was expected that Oserel withdrew from the election. Regardless of his ability or qualifications, he was far below the commanders of the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch. If he had no chance of being elected, he resolutely withdrew, and he would support himself with about 200 votes. They came out in the hope that these [-] people could win the election.

"How has the situation changed since he withdrew?"

"After No.3 withdrew from the election, the top two parties jumped up and down in Castle Black, trying every means to draw the original supporters of the chief affairs officer into their camp... After the election the day before yesterday, the number of votes for Dennis Mallister It reached 450, and Carter Parker was close to [-], and the gap became smaller."

Iger passed the numbers in his mind, and soon found an abnormality: "This adds up to just over 800, of which about [-] votes were arranged by us, and the remaining nearly [-] votes."

"Sir Warner Bookwell won more than 100 votes." Jon replied, "During your absence, Sam and I have not been idle. We have been secretly communicating with the brothers in Castle Black and wishing them patience. Explain the benefits and feasibility of the land-grant resettlement plan...and the savages, no, the new land-grant people have kept their own during these two months, and your move to raise food and grass for the land-grant campaign in the northern border is also a reminder for the reformers You have won more and more support. After Oserer withdrew from the election, many Castle Black brothers who originally voted for him voted for your supporters. "

So it turned out that the nearly 3 Castle Black brothers who voted for Auxerre did so because they believed that their chief affairs officer would also become a qualified commander-in-chief, but those who "supported him" did not listen to him.Oser can withdraw from the election, but he cannot order the people who originally voted for him to vote for another designated person... So, in the big change of No.[-] withdrawing from the election, dozens of votes came from the conservative camp Lost, ran to the reformists—that is, Iger’s side.

"Very good." Iger nodded with satisfaction. Jon and Sam, especially the latter's brains, were one of the confidences he had to leave Castle Black and go to the north to find a way out and a turnaround. The two young people did not let themselves disappointment.

But soon he realized something was wrong: these are all good news, and Jon came to Houguan Town on purpose, is it just to let himself know one day in advance, so that he can feel relieved one day earlier?

"But the other party is aware of your plan." Jon quickly solved Iger's doubts: "The Land Grant Army took back Deepwood Castle, persuaded the surrender of Calim Bay, helped the northerners regain control of their homeland, and Robb After a series of news reached Castle Black that you were about to go north to visit the land grant, Dennis Mallister and Carter Pike must have realized that you did not intend to give up. They began to send people to meet and communicate with each other frequently. Plan something to deal with your return from victory."

"How many votes can we influence control now?"

"The votes of the Westlanders are definitely yours. Even more optimistic estimates, 200 of Castle Black's original brothers are willing to vote for you, and the total is less than 260 votes."

Less than one-third of the number of members of the Night Watch, in other words, the conservatives still have more than two-thirds of the total number of votes in control... As long as either Sir Mallister or Carter Pike figured out how to Voting for his old enemy, Iger has no power to resist.

Jon shook his head: "Sam thinks this probability is almost zero, but it does not rule out the possibility of reaching a compromise in other forms within the conservatives. We don't know what they will do for the time being - but anyway, I think you must know in advance This situation, and prepare for it.”

-

Chapter 278 The Counterattack of the Conservatives

"We've all been tricked by that guy!" Jon Royce called together the valley princes who were exiled to the Great Wall with him, and said to them in shock and anger, "He announced that he would not participate in the election and left the black Castle, everyone thought that he was a hero who saw the situation clearly and chose to know the current affairs. But everyone was wrong, he didn't give up at all, but ran to the North If you want to do something in the world, you will go to the Stark family to take advantage of it!"

"Relax, old guy. Robb Stark just announced that he would come to the North for inspection, but he didn't necessarily come to support Agger West's land-grant resettlement plan... In fact, after he finished watching the gang of savages, he might object to it." maybe."

"The words themselves are correct, but how can those big-headed soldiers who are eating and dying on the Great Wall have such judgment? They will only see Iger running to the south, and then the current head of the northern border will follow him back to the Great Wall Come on! I have some friendship with Robb’s old man, Ed. The two generations of the Stark family are known for their honesty and honesty. Sell ​​it and help count the money.”

Another valley nobleman nodded with a solemn expression: "Master Jon is right. The northern border has always been the most solid backing for the Great Wall defenders. The night watchman is not under the jurisdiction of anyone in name, but in fact they all rely on the northern border." Action. Even if Robb Stark came to the Wall without saying or doing anything, there would be a lot of weak-willed and imaginative people in Castle Black wondering what his move meant, and even Vote for Warner Bookwell for his 'coming with Iger'—"

"No, vote for Iger." Old Royce continued, "As expected, Bookwell is just a shadow of that kid. When he returns to Castle Black during this trip, he will definitely announce his participation in the commander-in-chief election. And Warner will take the opportunity to withdraw from the election, and the votes that originally supported him will go to that guy in an instant, and some Night Watchmen of Castle Black will change their minds—"

"But he has publicly announced that he will not participate in the election, and he has contradicted himself..."

"There is no law that prohibits joining the election midway. In fact, any night watchman who has taken the oath can announce his participation in the election on any day before the next commander-in-chief is elected, or even at any point in time." About En Royce said in annoyance: "I even dare to conclude that he will definitely not announce his re-joining the election in public, but will let his dog legs play 'other brothers take the initiative to nominate', 'he has to wait for everyone' Accept disgusting dramas like 'Come on!"

……

"I have to say that it is extremely feasible for him to do this." There was a brief silence in the room for a few seconds before someone spoke again, "Who made us waste two whole months without electing a commander-in-chief? Many Castle Black vigils People are tired of the day-to-day canvassing and elections. At this time, some people stand up to disrupt the situation... Those who don't care who is the commander-in-chief may vote for the newcomers just for a fresh and happy experience. By!"

"Even if all the soldiers in the entire Castle Black voted for him, his votes would not reach two-thirds. The two commanders, Carter and Dennis, held more than 400 votes."

"You idiot, haven't you figured it out yet? What that guy wants is that the Night's Watch cannot elect a next leader. He's Chief Logistics Officer, and only the Lord Commander can order him to end the land grant - as long as he holds Seize the votes that would have gone to either Carter or Dennis, keep those two stubborn old guys out of the election, and get on with his plans and keep being the goddamn king of wildlings!"

Someone finally pointed out the only way out: "Cat Pike and Sir Dennis Mallister... Someone must persuade one of them to support the other, vote for the other, and end the election immediately to end Damn land grant resettlement plan."

"Cat Pike and Sir Dennis loathe each other." Sir Templeton shook his head regretfully. "They would rather throw their votes overboard than vote for each other."

"Indeed, if you really have the ability to persuade them to vote for each other, you might as well save your effort and go directly to persuade Iger to give up his land-grant resettlement plan." Another old nobleman snorted, "at least the latter task It's a little easier."

"You old bastards!" Jon muttered in a low voice complaining, and then quickly realized that he couldn't keep arguing with these people here any longer.

If you don't want to see the despicable guy who killed his own son and broke the principle of neutrality to offer King Robert a plan to break through the bloody gate and get himself here, you must immediately find a way to make this person come back before Iger returns. The results of the election came to an end.

Jon Royce decided to act immediately.

***

Eastwatch's commanding officer is lean and tough, but not handsome at all: two small eyes set too close together, a broken nose, and a spear-tip hairline protruding from the center of his forehead.The measles had completely ruined his face, and the beard he had grown to hide it was sparse and sprawling.

When Jon found him again, Carter was betting dice with three of his subordinates in the Hall of Shields, and seeing the former leader of the Alliance of the Righteous One approaching, he didn't even lift his head: "You want to persuade me to vote for someone else? "

"Yes, but this time is different from last time..."

"It's nothing different. My answer remains the same: impossible." Carter Pike snorted coldly: "I know, you are a nobleman, and I was born as an illegitimate child, so even if I work with you at East Seawatch, you are still more Favored Mallister, who also has noble status. But - alas, I will not talk nonsense with you, go back and tell him that this is not a curse: he is too old, if we choose him, it will probably be less than a year After a while, we have to come back and re-select people.”

"No, my lord—"

"Did you ever ask what he's going to do as Lord Commander? Write to the ghouls? He's a good knight, for sure, but not a fighter, and he's too old for-- Doesn't care who he knocked off in some stupid tourney 50 years ago, the blind old man knows: Qolin Halfhand did all the defense of the Shadow Tower. We're up against ghouls and a big To help the savages who have entered the wall, we need a strong leader who is good at fighting more than ever!" Pike slapped the table angrily: "I tell you, Lord Bronze Jorn, I don't care about the damn position of commander-in-chief at all. , I was born on deck, and Eastwatch is the place for me—but if the Night's Watch is handed over to that pretentious eagle in the Shadow Tower, the defense of the Wall will be over!"

"My lord, you have said these words more than once." Jon raised his voice and interrupted Carter Pike's chatter, "I already know your attitude: you will never vote for Sir Denys Mallister. Others, would you consider it?"