In the world Aegon came from, the progress of civilization showed a typical spiral upward trend, although accompanied by many twists, stagnation, and even regression, the overall trajectory showed a clear upward trend... But in the world Westeros is in, the situation is not like this.
Social development requires productivity. With undeveloped technology, productivity basically comes from population. Feeding people requires resources, and the irregular climate of the Ice and Fire World makes resources extremely scarce. Continuous wars caused by the struggle for resources make the production of resources even more uncertain... A long summer is fine, but a winter that lasts a little longer will cause civilization to experience a rather terrifying regression. Caught in this strange loop of "needing people, yet lives are worthless; undeveloped, thus unable to develop further," it becomes understandable why the social and human development level of the Ice and Fire World is severely inconsistent with its long history.
Aegon couldn't guess how much exaggeration was in the so-called "tens of thousands of years" of history since the Dawn Age, but he knew that in this world still in the feudal lord era, and in the sparsely populated North, armies couldn't be raised immediately just by saying so.
***
"I will contact the Lords and have each house provide men proportionally, gathering a few hundred to send to The Wall for support." Eddard Stark and his brother understood each other and were close. Knowing Benjen didn't mean to offend, he wasn't angry, but sighed and shook his head: "It's the busy farming season right now, don't expect me to provide many men. However, you can give me a list of supplies, and I'll figure something out for you."
"What about the King? Give me a chance to meet him, I'll speak with him."
"When I spoke with Robert in the crypts today, I already conveyed the news that The Wall needs support, but... he has no mind for such matters now. The situation in King's Landing is tense, and he came to me for help this time."
"If anything goes wrong with The Wall, the North will be the first to suffer. By then, even if you help Robert make King's Landing solid as iron, it will be no use." Benjen said stiffly, now having calmed down: "Consider the implications yourself. Oh, and regular supplies are not urgently needed and can be discussed later, but there is one uncommon item you really need to find a way to collect for me as soon as possible—dragonglass. You can indeed buy some on the market, but as a decoration, it is both expensive and scarce. The Night's Watch now needs large quantities of cheap dragonglass."
"I read in a book that Dragonstone has huge reserves of dragonglass." Aegon interjected at the right moment, "As long as a way can be found to mine it, it will definitely be enough."
"I will write to Stannis to negotiate on this matter and ask him to provide you with convenience." Eddard scoffed at the idea of dragonglass restraining White Walkers, but having already refused many of his brother's requests, he really couldn't keep saying no. He looked out the window: "It's getting late. You two go take a bath and change your clothes, and prepare for the evening feast... Robert is an old friend, but even more so, he is the King. If you treat him casually just because you are familiar with him, even if he doesn't care, it will inevitably give others something to use against you."
...
The two Night's Watch men left the room after bidding farewell to the Lord of Winterfell. Led by Benjen, Aegon walked towards their accommodation. Although the First Ranger had sworn allegiance to the Night's Watch, he was still a genuine Stark. The room in the castle where he had lived since childhood was naturally kept for him. What surprised Aegon was that Benjen had also secured a small room for him inside Winterfell.
Logically, with the castle currently packed with people, it would be good enough for an ordinary Night's Watch soldier, an insignificant minor character like himself, to snatch a communal bed in an inn outside the castle village. How could he enjoy accommodation inside Winterfell like a large number of knights and ladies? However, Aegon vaguely felt that rather than being special treatment, the element of preventing him from escaping in this arrangement might be even greater...
Various thoughts were churning in his mind, when they met a young boy face to face.
"Uncle Benjen!"
"Jon." A slight smile appeared on the First Ranger's preoccupied face: "You've grown taller again."
The newcomer was lean, with a long face and dark brown hair identical to Benjen's. Although Aegon did not recognize this young man, whose appearance differed significantly from the TV show, he could discern the identity of the person before him from the content of their greeting—Jon Snow, known to outsiders as Eddard Stark's bastard son, whose actual identity was the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.
More than the other person's special identity, something else beside him attracted Aegon's attention even more: a small, completely white wolf, looking up at him curiously with its pair of red eyes.
(What's going on?! Because of my existence, being familiar with the plot, neither Gared nor Will escaped over The Wall. Therefore, the scene at the beginning of the original plot where a Night's Watch deserter is executed would not appear... Then the plot where the Stark children encounter a dead Direwolf on their way back to Winterfell from the execution site naturally would not exist either. So how did this damned little Direwolf get into Jon Snow's hands?)
"If I'm not mistaken, this little fellow beside you is a Direwolf, right?" Benjen Stark also noticed the presence of the small wolf and asked cautiously: "They shouldn't be found south of The Wall. Where did it come from?"
"Villagers found its dead mother on a small road outside Winterfell. Jory went to investigate and brought back a litter of pups, exactly six..."
The Stark uncle and nephew chatted casually, while Aegon's heart was in turmoil—although the little wolf before him was small and cute and showed no threatening behavior towards him, its appearance brought him suspicion about something: Could his transmigration really have an impact on the Game of Thrones story?
Because of his interference, Gared, who would have originally been a deserter and beheaded, was caught by White Walkers and injured in battle. Will, who hid in a tree, escaped being killed by the zombified Waymar Royce. This led the transmigrator to conclude that he could influence the plot's progression.
Therefore, even though Benjen Stark had personally chosen him as the guide for the next reconnaissance beyond The Wall, Aegon still harbored a glimmer of hope deep down: the Night King's army of the dead had not yet fully formed, but the Night's Watch had already accepted Maester Aemon's suggestion and begun collecting dragonglass through various channels.
If he could bring enough Dragonglass daggers, Dragonglass Arrows, and even valyrian steel weapons before the next patrol beyond The Wall... perhaps he could change the initial state of the war between humans and White Walkers, gain an advantage from the very beginning of the war, and greatly weaken the threat of the White Walkers?
Under the influence of this mindset, Aegon's desire to escape, although firm, was not so strong that he absolutely had to run—his plan was that it would be best if he could slip away during this trip to Winterfell, but he would never take the risk of being beheaded by forcing it if a good opportunity did not arise.
***
However, the appearance of the little Direwolf made Aegon nervous: in this world where magic truly exists, it seemed not impossible that some mysterious force might prevent the plot from changing too much... Although his actions had already caused the plot to change, to put it bluntly, Gared and Will were insignificant minor characters: of humble origin, without any astonishing skills, and restricted by their Night's Watch identity, making it difficult for them to leave The Wall. Whether they lived or died, their impact on the overall Game of Thrones plot was minimal.
But Benjen Stark was undeniably one of the important characters. What if that hypothetical force really existed, was he destined to disappear during the next patrol beyond The Wall and be transformed into a wight? If that were the case, how much confidence could he, following him into the front lines of the human-White Walker war, have of surviving and escaping?
To think worse, according to the settings of some web novels he had read—his self, having changed the plot, had already been "exposed," and that unknown entity controlling the fate of humanity in this world might already be planning to deliberately kill him.
Finding a way to escape required more attention now.
...
"What are you thinking about? Let's go." Benjen Stark had finished his reunion conversation with Jon and patted Aegon, pulling him back from his thoughts into the real world: "Go take a bath and change your clothes. You must also attend the evening feast."
"I too?"
"Of course. Don't just say it's only the two of us Night's Watch men inside Winterfell right now; even if the entire corps came here, you would still receive guest-level treatment." A warm smile still lingered on Benjen's face after saying goodbye to his nephew, clearly feeling a bit more relaxed: "Enjoy it. Only in the North do the Night's Watch get some respect."
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