With the grant of Beacon Tower and Violet Canyon, Arthur had finally crossed the class divide, transforming from a landless bastard into a landed baron.
As a lord, the immediate problems before Arthur were the governance of his two territories and the disposal of the large number of wildling captives.
First, regarding the two territories, Arthur had done his research before choosing them.
Beacon Tower was a coastal castle on the southern shore of Starfall's lands. In addition to the castle and its immediate demesne, it governed three villages, one fishing hamlet, and a sept.
The land was suitable for farming, and the location was ideal for developing agriculture and a port.
Violet Canyon, located on the west bank of the Torrentine, was virtually a blank slate due to the recent wildling raids and occupation.
However, it boasted lush pastures suitable for grazing, was backed by mountains and bordered by the river, and Jal Bhar had discovered a large vein of high-quality iron ore there.
The threat from the Red Mountain clans had also diminished with the death of the Vulture King.
Comparing the two, Arthur felt that Violet Canyon had immense development potential. Coupled with the need to manage the wildling captives, he decided to focus his current governance efforts on Violet Canyon.
Having determined his focus and goals, Arthur first arranged his personnel.
He retained Maester Hubert of Beacon Tower, whom he had previously appointed as acting Castellan, to continue managing the affairs of Beacon Tower and its lands on his behalf.
He assigned "Ledger" Pate and Jal Bhar to lead the craftsmen and swordsmen brought from Braavos, along with the refugees they had taken in, to move to Violet Canyon.
"Ledger" Pate was responsible for recruiting workers and farmers, setting up camps and housing, establishing supporting pastures and vegetable gardens, and planning the infrastructure of the Violet Canyon territory.
Jal Bhar was responsible for taking his group of craftsmen to lay the framework and foundation for the smithy district they longed for, as well as establishing the initial quarries and mines.
Arthur himself took charge of the wildling captives.
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Middle and Lower Reaches of the Torrentine
The camp originally used by Ser Clegg to train the levies had now been converted into a holding camp for wildling captives.
Although many wildlings had scattered after the battle on the high ground, Arthur had still captured over 1,500 of them, mostly able-bodied men and women.
These captives were a headache to deal with. Slavery was forbidden in Westeros, so they couldn't be sold. And you couldn't exactly ransom them back to the other wildlings.
If he released them all unconditionally, the next time a Vulture King popped up in the Red Mountains, these able-bodied wildlings might just run down the mountain to raid again.
But killing over 1,500 captives would tarnish the honor of Starfall. In Westeros, killing enemies bravely on the battlefield was honorable, but massacring captives after the battle was a stain on one's reputation.
These wildling captives were a hot potato, but not for Arthur.
He categorized them based on their crimes and told them that only through labor reform could they atone for their sins and earn their freedom.
And during their atonement, Arthur generously provided the wildlings with three meals a day—something even the common smallfolk of Dorne dared not dream of!
These three meals consisted of sticks the size of black bread and black bread the size of sticks.
Of course, the quantity of food was distributed according to the severity of their crimes and their level of obedience.
To reduce management costs and deflect the wildlings' hatred, Arthur implemented a strategy of "letting heroes bury heroes, and tough guys beat tough guys."
He recruited the Stone-Goat Tribe, a tribe that had been bullied by other wildlings, to manage the captives.
Arthur arranged for Starfall guards only to monitor the Stone-Goat Tribe, prevent escapes, and hunt down runaways.
The execution of punishments, distribution of food, and supervision of labor were all carried out by the wildlings of the Stone-Goat Tribe.
In less than three days, the wildling captives in the camp went from shouting "Free Folk do not kneel!" to howling to accept labor reform and atone for their sins as quickly as possible.
Generous Arthur granted their request. The first job he assigned them was to build a bridge connecting the east and west banks of the Torrentine.
The location of the bridge had already been decided by "Ledger" Pate and the architect Quentyn before they left for Violet Canyon.
It was near the four-story stone watchtower previously built by the river to guard against wildling crossings.
"My Lord, the stone and timber for the bridge were prepared by Pate while assisting with the watchtower construction."
Architect Quentyn pointed to the piles of stone and wood beside the tower. "We don't need to quarry or fell any more material for now."
"Are you sure?" Arthur asked, harboring a sliver of hope. "If you're short on materials, just say so. The wildling brothers have endless strength to burn for their atonement."
The Stone-Goat chieftain nodded vigorously beside him. "Yes, yes, endless. Endless strength."
Quentyn waved his hand. "Truly, we have plenty. These materials are more than enough.
"However, the subsequent construction tasks will be difficult and dangerous."
Hearing "difficult and dangerous," Arthur's eyes lit up. "Tell me more. If there are difficulties, our wildling brothers will overcome them. If there is danger, our wildling brothers will take the risk."
Stone-Goat chieftain: "Yes, yes. Take the risk. Just take the risk."
Quentyn: "Given the width of the river here, the arch bridge requires two foundations for support.
"There is a natural giant rock in the river that can serve as one foundation.
"The other foundation requires workers to drive wooden piles into the riverbed and lay stone slabs on top to form a raft foundation."
Arthur glanced at the rushing water and frowned. "Driving piles directly into the current... isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Although Arthur didn't value wildling lives highly, openly filling the river with bodies wasn't a good look. If it caused a riot, where would he find workers?
The Stone-Goat chieftain wiped cold sweat from his forehead and shook his head rapidly. "Inappropriate. Very inappropriate."
"Of course we can't drive them directly." Quentyn shook his head, his face solemn as he explained.
"Originally, I planned to wait for the dry season to use planks, clay, and piles to enclose a construction area—a cofferdam—and then use buckets or manual pumps to drain the water so workers could work inside."
"It is not the dry season now. The Torrentine, especially here in the lower reaches, is swift. There is a risk that the current will collapse the cofferdam. I must state this beforehand."
Arthur thought for a moment and nodded. "Your method is sound."
"If you're afraid of collapse, you could use large rocks to weigh down the base of the cofferdam to reduce the impact of the current."
Quentyn's eyes lit up. "You understand architecture, My Lord? That is truly an excellent idea."
Quentyn then went over some details. For pile driving, they could use iron-capped wooden mallets or drop hammers pulled by livestock.
Stonemasons could cut the stone using hammers, chisels, and metal rulers according to the design blueprints, following Arthur's previous suggestion of standardized production. Each block had to match precisely to avoid errors.
"Be bold and do as you plan." Finally, Arthur nodded with great satisfaction. This craftsman from Braavos really knew his stuff.
"Quentyn, once this bridge is completed, I will reward you with one hundred Gold Dragons."
Quentyn looked more serious than ever. "Thank you, My Lord. I will give it my all."
Then Arthur turned to the Stone-Goat chieftain.
"Tell the wildling brothers that this bridge they are building symbolizes the friendship between wildlings and Dornishmen. It is their Bridge of Atonement, their Bridge of Freedom."
"I hope the wildling brothers will make an indelible contribution to this bridge."
"I guarantee they won't slack off." The Stone-Goat chieftain pulled out the stick the size of a loaf of black bread from his waist and waved it twice to express his determination.