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Chapter 274 - Chapter 275: Northern Tour

By relying on the audacious and shameless scheme of "selling grain that originally belonged to the Wildlings back to the Wildlings in exchange for labor," Aegor had achieved deployments and constructions along the Wall and in the Gift that countless previous Lords Commander of the Night's Watch could only dream of: reactivating all abandoned fortresses, repairing roads within the Gift, transforming Crown Town from a ruin into a rising settlement...

But the grain from beyond the Wall was not limitless. For this game to continue, external support was needed to sustain the Gift's resettlement plan. Until the aid grain from Braavos across the Narrow Sea arrived, assistance from the North became a critical lifeline.

For this reason, even after completing the above tasks, Aegor still drew out two thousand strong young men to head south with him to relieve the siege for the North. Not only did this cause the North to owe the Gift a favor, but it also opened a channel for northern grain to flow toward the Gift.

During the last two days he remained in Winterfell, Aegor divided the men he had brought into several hundred, forming teams of various sizes. He then sent them with funds into the feudal lands of each house in the North to purchase as much grain and essential supplies as possible—those the Gift could not produce on its own.

Afterward, the Warden of the North led over a hundred elite soldiers, joining the forces of the Gift led by Aegor on their journey north along the Kingsroad toward Castle Black.

The other four houses Robb had invited were busy transporting their spoils and disbanding their armies. They couldn't return to Winterfell within two days to join the inspection team, so they simply agreed to rendezvous directly at Castle Black. It must be mentioned—how Arya convinced her eldest brother, now Lord Stark, to let her join the journey remained unclear. His explanation was: their father's death had left his younger sister in low spirits, so he was taking her along to lift her mood.

The men of the Wolf Family were always soft-hearted toward their women, and Aegor had personally experienced Arya's relentless pestering. So, while surprising, the matter made sense upon further thought. Having the girl along might even help speak on his behalf at a crucial moment.

The North had driven out the Ironborn, and the Gift had absorbed the Wildlings. The northern stretch of the Kingsroad had never been safer. The northbound group of over a thousand encountered no trouble and, after several days of steady travel, reached the first major fork in the road leading toward the Wall.

---

"Didn't you say that if you followed the road straight north, you couldn't get lost even with your eyes closed? So how come there's a fork here, and both roads go north?"

Robb sat on horseback at the fork, staring at the diverging paths ahead and questioning Aegor. The Kingsroad, clearly marked on the map and meant to lead directly to Castle Black, was now covered in lingering snow and mud. It had been replaced by a packed-earth road that veered slightly west by about ten degrees. It was clearly newly built, slightly raised above the surrounding ground, and wide enough for four horses to ride abreast.

"The road on the left leads to Crown Town," Aegor explained. "Originally, that small village sat a few miles west of the Kingsroad. To reach it, you had to follow the original road about ten miles farther north and then turn west… In that setup, any traveler who wanted to pass through a Night's Watch logistics outpost between Castle Black and Winterfell had to leave the main road and take a branch path, then return to the Kingsroad the next day. That roundabout journey added nearly ten miles. After discussion, the Logistics Department decided to reroute that thirty-mile stretch of the original road. By introducing a slight bend, we altered the route so that the new Kingsroad now passes directly through Crown Town."

The northern portion of the Kingsroad had originally been little more than a trampled dirt path through the wilderness, and the segment within the Gift barely differed from the surrounding grasslands. It existed only because Night's Watch patrols had worn it into being—better than nothing. The labor and resources needed for repairs were the same either way. With someone taking charge, it was already a miracle. There was no chance that some "relevant department" would leap out to criticize Aegor's rerouting, which was why he had dared to order it so boldly.

Originally, the Kingsroad had been a straight north-south line, while Crown Town sat on the side, like a spur. The new rerouting changed the road from a straight line to a slanted stroke, effectively absorbing Crown Town into the main route. In another year or two, few would remember what the road had looked like before.

The comparison was somewhat like building an exit ramp to a service station off a highway—except Crown Town, this "service station," was farther from the old road, so the "ramp" ended up replacing part of the main route. And the so-called "discussion by the Logistics Department" had never happened at all. Everything had been decided and ordered by Aegor himself. He just didn't want the Warden of the North to think he was ruling The Gift like a tyrant, so he added a touch of embellishment.

...

Robb had no way to verify the truth of the Night's Watch's explanations. So, after hearing Aegor's words, he could only nod. "That's a good idea. But have you considered those who don't want to pass through Crown Town? This rerouting makes the road no longer straight, adding a few extra miles. Also, why isn't the Night's Watch logistics base located in Castle Black or one of the other fortresses along the Wall, but instead in a newly built town?"

"It's about a day's ride from Castle Black to Crown Town. Whether you're traveling south from a fortress on the Wall or north toward the Wall, you'll need to spend a night somewhere along this stretch of road. Since stopping is inevitable, wouldn't you rather sleep in a proper bed at an inn in Crown Town than camp in the wilderness?" Aegor answered smoothly. "As for why we didn't choose Castle Black or another fortress, the logistics base serves a different function. It's a distribution hub that supplies goods to settlers throughout the Gift. That requires large storage space and a degree of openness that Castle Black doesn't have and shouldn't be expected to handle."

"All right, you always have an answer!" Robb laughed.

The original selection of Crown Town's location hadn't been random. As long as one gave it some thought, there were many reasonable explanations. Still, everything Aegor had just said was more of a result than a reason. His true motive in rerouting the Kingsroad had been to boost the prominence of Crown Town. As an outsider, no matter how hard he tried, it was impossible for him to wield the same deep-rooted influence on the Wall as knights with noble blood who had served there for years.

Compared to trying to gain control over entrenched Night's Watch fortresses like Castle Black, building something of his own from the ground up was far easier—and far more reliable.

And a place—whether it was a town for civilians or a military stronghold—could only truly flourish if it was situated along a main road or in a key strategic position.

"What are you two just standing there for?" Arya rode her small mare to the front of the group and cut in. "What's there to discuss? We're not reaching the Wall today anyway. Let's just go to Crown Town. That place is fun. The view is great, and there's a lake. You can even fish right outside the door!"

---

Arya had only stayed in Crown Town for a few days, yet now she acted like a hostess, eager to show her brother around. It was true that the town was a day's ride from the Wall, but it was no longer as Arya remembered it.

Within the stone walls—much taller and sturdier than before—the town's infrastructure was now more developed. Outside the walls, countless tents, crude wooden huts, and small houses had sprung up. Many stalls lined the narrow pathways between them, forming a bustling scene reminiscent of Winter Town near Winterfell.

But this place was far livelier than the North's capital. The reason was simple: Winter Town only served as temporary shelter during the coldest months. It offered space, but everyone had to bring their own provisions. And this wasn't deep winter yet. Meanwhile, Crown Town's outskirts had become the very lifeline for nearly thirty thousand "New Gift People" resettled throughout the Gift. The resettlement grants earned by exchanging grain and goods upon entering the Wall had long since run out. To survive, every Wildling family or clan had to follow the rules set by Aegor: send their able-bodied members here to seek work from the Night's Watch Logistics Department, earn wages through labor, quickly trade them for essential goods, and sustain the rest of their kin.

Even now, the grain the Wildlings had brought south hadn't yet been depleted. Through deliberate manipulation of commodity prices and stock availability to prevent hoarding, no tribe could go ten full days without sending people to Crown Town. The place was always crowded with New Gift People coming from surrounding settlements to seek labor or engage in trade.

And today, in anticipation of the Warden's inspection, arrangements had been made well in advance. The relevant personnel had even undergone basic training and rehearsals. All that remained was to wait for the Lord of Winterfell to arrive and see it for himself.

(To be continued.)

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