[Five moons later]
At the beginning, Jaehaerys had about five thousand five hundred men to work with. With constant migration to his lands, that number grew to over nine thousand. These men were divided into several groups.
The prince sent enough men to the bricks to complete a thousand. This ensured a production of approximately 300,000 bricks per day. 300 men extracted clay. Another 600 were in the mines, extracting coal and iron. Another 1000 men were responsible for transporting either iron, coal, or clay. Approximately 500 men and women worked in the factories that produced the goods sold.
Around 400 men worked in the shipyards. At that time, he had a total of 15 active Drakkars and 25 stationed. Each ship required a total of 20, so another 300 of his men were there. That left him with more than 5,000 workers dedicated entirely to construction.
The rest of the men were divided between construction, either building the towers or laying the foundations. The construction of the castle constantly required 3,000 men.
The two remaining towers had already been demolished. The foundations, both for the towers and the walls connecting them, had already been excavated, and now the men were busy pouring stone and mortar into them. He ordered them to throw in bricks with runes to improve the foundations. The men shrugged and obeyed.
Children and women were running back and forth, carrying small materials and food, which increased the efficiency of the construction.
The construction of the dragon tower required 500 men, and they had barely begun to excavate. Dany also requested 200 men to turn the Bear Pit into a water reservoir. She planned to expand it and build walls on the land. His wife also asked that another 500 men be hired to dig an artificial lake in the area where the castle would be expanded.
It was a huge, deep lake that could store almost a million cubic meters of water.
The rest of the men were outside, digging the expansion of the outer walls. Their former 80 acres of land would expand to 120 acres. A considerable amount, but in times of war, it would enable them to keep a large portion of their population safe.
Not all the black stone would be suitable for the expansion, but they would supplement it with fired brick. That wall could be built after the castle.
Once completed, the outer walls would form a rectangle measuring approximately 1,800 feet by 2,300 feet. His castle would cover a total of 9 acres, minus the 20 acres of the gods' forest, leaving him with 91 acres of free space, an enormous amount of land where he would grow crops and make room for refugees when war came to his doorstep. Of that space, about ten acres would be for the smithies and their forges, the stable, the armory, and the Dragon Tower.
He also needed to build barracks for his soldiers. He planned to maintain an army of at least ten thousand, which required approximately sixteen acres of land. But if he built three-story barracks, he could reduce that space to about six acres.
Jaehaerys held his chin as he thought.
He had another option, which was to build several fortresses outside his castle throughout his lands and distribute his armies among them. He could keep about two or three thousand men near his castle and send about seven thousand away to keep the peace in his lands.
His land was one of the most extensive in the area. It covered a total of a million acres. However, it was not so densely populated. Banditry was prominent, and he had already heard about how newcomers had fallen victim to it.
He ordered a hundred soldiers to be sent out on patrol, but they were insufficient. To send out more men would mean leaving the castle and the village, where most of the people lived, unprotected.
Brandon should return soon. Jaehaerys had exchanged letters with Lord William Mooton of Maidenpool. In the letters, he asked him to let Brandon pass, as he would be bringing men from the east. The man agreed to his request in exchange for the right to buy 15 of his ships for 400 gold dragons. The man wanted to experience sailing the Trident. Jaehaerys did not refuse. It was less than they were worth, but if they went another way, his men would take a long time to arrive.
From Maidenpool to Argentstone, it was almost a two weeks journey. Considering it was a vast army, it would be about three weeks. The problem was that there was no road between the two settlements. Building roads was something he would think about when he had more men.
The other option was to go to King's Landing and march along the royal road. It would probably take them a week less to get there. But the king could block their passage and request his presence at court.
Brandon could also go to White Harbor and disembark there. But he would have to pass through the Freys.
"Perhaps Brandon will get a wife, then," Walder Frey lacked courage and had too many descendants.
Maidenpool was the most viable option; they would already be halfway there by the time his brother found out. With that small army, he would be a considerable threat. It gave him the confidence to face armies. Even his dragons could now be used in battle. They couldn't roast entire armies, but their value in instilling fear was unquestionable.
He would only fear Tywin Lannister's cavalry and infantry. But starting a war on that scale was impossible. He wondered how many would answer the king's call if he ordered a war against his younger brother for no reason. Rhaegar couldn't say, "It's a preventive measure" without looking afraid. It would make him look weak. No, his brother would begin to repress him.
It was unfortunate for Rhaegar that, in speaking with Lord Arryn, he found an inactive volcano in his mountains. It seemed illogical to him that there was not a single one in all of Westeros. Arryn, despite all the bad blood between their families, informed him of the existence of several volcanoes and said he was willing to trade.
It would be a problem now to have to pay for the ash, but he would no longer depend on his brother. The deception of the dragons served its purpose by buying him time. Now, with a real army, he was not an easy target.
Jaehaerys looked at the map that outlined his territory. It was rough and sparsely populated. The lands along the rivers suffered the most in wars. That is why they are not as rich as the Reach. He marked three points on the map. The five barracks for his soldiers would be built there, spread throughout his territory, not too close to the borders so as not to alert his neighbors.
"My prince," he heard someone knock on the door of his estate.
"Come in." It was a knight, one who had followed him since the king's landing. Some had deserted when they saw him worship pagan gods. But others remained out of admiration.
"There is a letter for you," the man held out a piece of paper folded into a rectangle. Jaehaerys thought about the need to build a paper mill, something he had put aside. He had enormous reserves. However, it could also provide an extra income for the citadel. The letter was from his mother or Brandon.
'Brandon,' he thought when he saw the sender.
"You may leave," the man bowed and left.
The letter made him frown. It announced Brandon's arrival in Maidenpool and informed him of his journey. In addition to the Unsullied, he was bringing civil slaves and a "surprise". He talk about Robert Baratheon's moves. Who, according to the letter, would face the Golden Company. He also warned him of a possible half-brother who was a bastard who rode elephants.
'Blackfyre'
The black dragon against the exiled stag. Jaehaerys hoped they would kill each other.
'Robert would never join a pretender, would he?' The doubt gave him a headache.