After half a month, the prisoners of war in Dragonpit POW Camp finally had their first full meal; not only did they have food, but also wine.
Jon sat among them, telling stories and experiences related to The Wall.
"My lord, are there really White Walkers on The Wall?"
"My lord, what do Wildlings look like?"
"My lord, if you pee on The Wall, will it really freeze instantly and trip you over?"
The Soldiers' questions were bizarre, but Sandor knew that these men had begun to accept Jon as their new commander.
He did not eat anything, but vigilantly observed his surroundings, guarding against any accidents.
Jon chatted idly with these Soldiers for a while, and when he felt the time was right, he began the final step to win them over—painting a grand vision.
"I know many of you are second sons or youngest sons in your families, with no land, only able to become warriors, craftsmen, or free riders. But I promise you, if you follow me from now on, as long as you serve for three years, I will give you fifty acres of prime land. If you serve for five years, I will also provide farm tools, seeds, and even a wife!
Of course, if you achieve military merits during this time, I will offer two types of rewards: land or gold. You can freely choose whether to convert your reward into gold or land." Jon stood up and waved his hand as he spoke.
"Land! My lord, can we really, really get land just by serving for three years?"
A soldier who looked over thirty years old asked excitedly.
Even Sandor, who was beside him, looked on with a hint of surprise.
Jon was going to reward them with land!
What kind of concept was that!
With their own land, wouldn't they become lords?
Jon smiled slightly and said, "What? Do you need me to write it down? Speaking of which, you, do you even know how to read?!"
Seeing Jon tease him, the soldier scratched his head sheepishly, but amid the Soldiers' laughter, he declared that he was very good at farming.
"Alright then, you can also exchange good farmland for barren land; one acre of good land can be exchanged for five acres of barren land! If you're willing to farm, then farm with all your might!" Jon's generosity once again stirred the hearts of the Westlander Soldiers.
Jon knew that according to the original timeline, winter was still two years away.
Jon had to store as much grain as possible. Westeros had enjoyed over a decade of summer, and the coming winter, even if not a decade long, would still be terrifying if cut in half.
If the entire country couldn't grow crops for five, six, seven, or even eight years, then only one out of ten people in the Seven Kingdoms would survive, and that would be by the grace of The Gods.
So Jon planned to hoard as much grain as possible to cope with the impending food crisis.
Finally, the crucial part arrived. By this time, the Soldiers surrounding Jon had formed an almost impenetrable human wall. To make sure more people heard his voice, he loudly declared: "I, Jon Stark, promise you that during your service, I will allocate land. For those with families, the land can be cultivated by your Family members. For those without families, you can hire others to cultivate it!"
Jon's words reached everyone's ears, and all around, there were gulping sounds of people swallowing their saliva.
This was no longer just painting a grand vision; this was Jon practically shoving the pie into their mouths.
What West, what Tywin, what Lannister? Sorry, not familiar! In our hearts, there is only one sun: Jon!
After breakfast, Jon left the Dragonpit and had tents sent over to slightly improve the living conditions for these Soldiers, who were still technically prisoners.
What Jon wanted was not just lords, but self-sufficient farmers. People with stable property have stable aspirations. These Soldiers would also become the backbone of Jon's campaign against The West and would follow him consistently, not returning home after the battle ended.
In short, with them, Jon would no longer need to scramble for good Soldiers.
Furthermore, in the previous battles, most of the Lords of the West perished on the battlefield, and the quality of the Westlander Nobility would experience a cliff-like decline.
The remaining collateral branches, second sons, youngest sons, and bastards simply couldn't hold onto the land left by their families, and a portion of their land would also be confiscated.
If Jon could capture Casterly Rock, then more than two-thirds, or even more, of the land in The West would be under his control. With land comes loyalty, and everything else would not be an issue.
Soon, Jon and Sandor were about to return to the mansion when they were stopped halfway by Penny.
Penny dismounted from his horse and respectfully said to Jon, "Duke, His Majesty has summoned you to attend a meeting of the Small Council."
It seemed that the commotion Jon caused at the Dragonpit had alarmed Stannis.
He turned to Sandor and Robb Frey and said, "Let's go."
"Yes, My Lord."
When Jon arrived at the foot of the Hand's Tower, Varys happened to see Jon from his room.
At this moment, he was writing a letter, which was about to be sent to Pentos across the Narrow Sea.
[
My friend Illyrio, perhaps it is a jest of The Gods, but House Stark of Westeros has produced an extraordinary figure. He used a Flood to defeat the enemy on the Green Fork, ambushed Gregor Clegane's army in Darry City, and miraculously captured King's Landing before the Lion-Flower Alliance arrived—
]
To inform his ally in the Free Cities what a terrifying young general Jon was, and how immense his investment potential and value were, Varys filled his letter with effusive praise.
[
—Just the night before I wrote this letter, he almost single-handedly subdued nearly five thousand surrendered Westlander Soldiers. The new King Stannis will send him in the name of the lord of casterly rock to contend with the Lannisters for The West. I believe this is a good opportunity for us—
Please raise at least three hundred (crossed out) five hundred thousand Gold Dragons. We need to help this young man. Whether he succeeds or fails, we will greatly deplete the strength of Westeros.
]
Varys used entirely Valyrian throughout the letter; in the Free Cities, Valyrian was more popular than the Common Tongue.
Placing the letter into a small lens box, then into a secret passage in The Wall, Varys also left his room and headed towards the Hand's Tower.
In the Hand's Tower, Stannis sat on the King's seat, with the banner of the Flaming Stag hanging behind him. On his left was Alliser Florent, still temporarily acting as the hand of the king.
On his right was Melisandre, followed by Davos, Adrian, Alexander, Yassel, Pycelle, and a host of other noble courtiers.
The position of Master of Coin was temporarily held by Adrian Celtigar. Petyr Baelish had returned to square one overnight, having resigned from his position as Master of Coin and gone back to managing his brothel.
The Cupbearer had just begun pouring tea for the courtiers when Jon arrived.
"Your Majesty, my lords, I apologize, I just returned from the Dragonpit." Jon bowed slightly, expressing his apologies to everyone.
Although he was practically the third most important person here, aside from Stannis and Melisandre.
But being the youngest, a little humility was still good.
"Lord Stark, I hear you subdued thousands of surrendered Westlander Soldiers overnight. Truly remarkable." Alliser rarely praised Jon.
Because Stannis had asked him to prepare at least three thousand men for Jon, to be incorporated into the future army attacking The West, and Jon had single-handedly subdued so many Westlander Soldiers, didn't that indirectly complete his task?
"Master of Coin, you flatter me. These Westlander Soldiers are also people; after being out for so long, constantly killing or being killed, they are also tired. I promised to take them home in the future, and they were willing to follow me." Jon smiled, taking his seat at Stannis's signal.
"Jon, what you did was still too dangerous. What if some of those Soldiers had ill intentions?" Davos said worriedly, "And you even slept among them, without even a single guard by your side."
"Ser Davos, thank you for your concern, but I believe it is more important to secure peace in Westeros as quickly as possible," he said, looking at Stannis. "Your Majesty, I wish to depart as soon as possible, first to persuade Robb, and then immediately begin operations against The West. Every extra day we give Tywin to prepare, peace moves one day further away from us!"
Stannis's deep blue eyes showed a hint of emotion, and he couldn't help but think that if his subordinates had half of Jon's ability, he wouldn't have lost the fleet that supported him!
Now he had little say when facing the Tyrells; they even haggled with him over a marriage proposal.
"Jon, I understand your feelings, but since you are going to war in The West, you must make all preparations thoroughly."
"Lord Alliser." Stannis spoke, but did not turn around. "How are the troops I asked you to prepare for Jon coming along?"
Alliser's heart sank. He thought, Jon has already raised four or five thousand himself, why do I still need to raise more people?
But this was Stannis's decision, and he was "under a cloud," so he dared not disobey and quickly said, "Your Majesty, they are still being prepared and will definitely be completed before Your Majesty's coronation ceremony."
"Hmm." Stannis responded faintly. "Jon, you can depart after my coronation ceremony, and before you leave, there's another task I need to entrust to you."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, no matter what the task, I will definitely complete it."
As Jon's words fell, he noticed someone chuckling: Adrian, Davos, and even Pycelle.
What are you all laughing at? And Varys didn't give me any news either."
Jon looked at Stannis, who showed no intention of answering, actually teasing him.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Pycelle spoke: "Your Majesty, my lords, today we are mainly discussing the details of His Majesty Stannis's coronation ceremony. We have set the time for one month from now, specifically twenty-six days later. According to the custom of the Targaryens and King Robert, we should crown His Majesty in the Great Sept of Baelor." Pycelle then looked at Melisandre beside him. "But before the coronation, Lady Melisandre—er, the Priestess—demands that we burn the statues of the Seven Gods—"
Although Pycelle, when he was young, cared less and less about so-called gods as his knowledge deepened, the older he got, the more he became psychologically dependent on the statues in the Sept.
He felt uncomfortable with Melisandre's decision to sacrifice and burn the statues of the Seven Gods.
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty!" As expected, halfway through Pycelle's words, Davos stood up in opposition, and the other Loyalists like Adrian were even more terrified.
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