The first project Ed assigned to Towns was a warehouse next to the pigsty, for storing winter feed.
The architect Towns complained to Ed, "I came to the North to build castles, and you have me building pigpens and rabbit hutches."
"Towns, the warehouse is just an appetizer; there are plenty of big projects coming up."
Ed then produced the planning map of Winterfell Town, which listed a series of projects including barracks, stables, a forge, a farm, a market, a brewery, and more farms.
Towns was astonished. "So many projects? Although there's no castle, these buildings will be enough for me to show off. Lord Ed, regarding the barracks, I have an initial idea. We can set up a huge rock statue at the entrance, depicting a Stark ancestor wearing the crown of the King of the North, holding the Stark family's ancestral Valyrian Greatsword 'Ice', with a Direwolf beside him. As for the Direwolf, we can build it with granite, and decorate the eyes with garnets."
Ed said, "Towns, I don't want those flashy things. I need practicality. Your first project is the warehouse. The stables and brewery have already started laying the foundation. Complete them diligently, and I will hand over the other projects to you one by one."
According to Towns, his architectural work was mainly mansions and brothels across the Narrow Sea. Ed was willing to keep Towns, but he still wanted to see his actual abilities.
Towns gathered craftsmen and laborers to start building the feed warehouse. As for projects like the barracks, forge, stables, market, and brewery, Ed was in charge of them personally, and they were started almost simultaneously.
Thousands of craftsmen and laborers bustled about Winterfell Town like ants on the earth.
Some of these skilled craftsmen were summoned from the North, including stonemasons. Others came from the Vale of Arryn, King's Landing, and some from the Riverlands. Ed had Catelyn request assistance from her father, Lord Hoster Tully, the Governor of the Riverlands, at Riverrun, and Riverrun sent a group of fifty craftsmen.
Most of the laborers here were residents of Winterfell Town. The town's housing project had attracted over thirty thousand people, who arrived one after another. They were allocated land and became tenant farmers under the protection of Winterfell.
Ed requisitioned these people to transport timber and stone, working alongside the craftsmen. Their wages were offset by their land rent. Under the command of Towns, people felled trees in Wolfswood and transported them to Winterfell Town.
The North had no shortage of wood. The vast Wolfswood covered a large area, but the collection and transportation of stone wasn't so convenient.
In Ed's plan, he originally intended to collect stone from the territories of the Mountain Clans in the North, but the mountain roads there were too narrow, many were just goat paths, making the transportation costs high. Moreover, the Mountain Clans had too few people, so he had to give up on that idea.
Jon Arryn, the Prime Minister, had sent three ships of stone from the Vale, which was a generous gift, but it was still far from enough for the massive expansion project of Winterfell Town.
Ed had to choose other places to collect stone, and he set his sights on Sheephead Mountain.
Sheephead Mountain is a vast mountainous region between White Harbor, Winterfell, and Hornwood. Ed sent stonemasons with laborers into Sheephead Mountain to quarry stone and ordered White Harbor and Hornwood to conscript laborers to assist in the stone gathering.
Lord Wyman and Lord Hornwood quickly responded to Duke Ed's orders, sending people to Sheephead Mountain to collect stone.
Ed worried about insufficient stone supplies and sent a message to Roose Bolton, ordering the Lord of Dreadfort, Roose Bolton, to send people to collect stone from the Lonely Hills and transport it to Winterfell. Thus, stone was continuously transported to Winterfell Town from the Lonely Hills and Sheephead Mountain.
Walking through Winterfell Town, watching the warehouses, Barracks, and Forge gradually take shape, and seeing wooden houses rising one after another, Ed felt content. However, on the other hand, the large-scale construction meant a lot of money was being spent.
The salt produced in Saltpans had begun to be sold continuously. The Saltpans on the West Coast transported salt to Winterfell, and after Winterfell settled accounts with the lords, it was then transported to White Harbor for resale. The Saltpans on the East Coast sold directly to White Harbor, where Lord Wyman settled accounts with the lords on the East Coast, and then deducted it from Winterfell's taxes.
Saltpans provided considerable revenue for Winterfell, but this money was still a drop in the bucket for the investment in expanding Winterfell Town. Winterfell's financial reserves were already at ninety percent. Wyman Poole warned Ed that if the season suddenly turned cold and winter arrived, Winterfell would struggle to have sufficient winter reserves, let alone feed the people of Winterfell Town.
The Beehive Project also generated revenue. The honey collected by the beehives in Deepwood Motte, the Mountain Clans, and the Wolfswood tribes was transported to Winterfell. Winterfell itself was also a honey-producing area. This honey was sold in White Harbor, and the returns were in hard currency.
Financial advisor Clare and Ed implemented a series of policies to raise money. They dispatched Officials to every market in Winterfell Town to collect management fees and crack down on the black market. They increased the tax rate on high-income earners such as Goldsmiths and Brewers and focused on auditing the accounts of brothels, casinos, and taverns. They imposed a threefold fine for tax evasion, and the tax revenue collected tripled in a short time. Clare and Ed also set their sights on the prisoners in Winterfell Town's Dungeon.
After the population of Winterfell Town exploded, public order declined. Almost every day, thieves, poachers, and lechers were caught. Ed initially sent these people to The Wall to don the black, but later felt it was too easy on the Night's Watch. Instead, he sent them to the New Gift Military Camp, where the criminals were shackled and forced to do hard labor to atone for their crimes.
Recently, however, Thomard, who was in charge of the New Gift Military Camp, wrote to say that the camp was overcrowded. Thomard had no housing for new prisoners, and the camp's food reserves were also running low. He had to seek help from the Night's Watch and House Umber. Jeor Mormont was very envious of the scum in the camp, and he was quite resentful that Winterfell hadn't sent the criminals to The Wall, but instead to the New Gift Military Camp.
In the study, Clare suggested to Ed.
"Duke Ed, since we're worried about money, and those prisoners in the Dungeon need to be fed, why don't we let these criminals pay to atone for their crimes?"
Ed agreed with Clare's suggestion in his heart, but wearing the duke's mask, he had to put on a show. "If we do this, won't the laws of the kingdom become a mere formality? Once this precedent is set, the rich and powerful will commit crimes without any scruples and do whatever they want."
Clare chuckled. "Duke Ed, I'm not talking about those lechers and murderers, those deeply sinful criminals. I'm talking about those who get into fights in taverns and brothels because they're drunk, and those who cheat in casinos. Their crimes are minor, so it's better to let them pay some money to redeem themselves. And also, poachers."
Ed said, "I sympathize with the poachers. Many of them are poor people who can't get enough to eat, but their crimes can't be forgiven. If the commoners all go to Wolfswood to hunt, the land will be abandoned on a large scale. Poaching itself is a violation of the nobles' property rights. Once Winterfell pardons poachers, the nobles of the North will complain."
Clare said, "Lord Ed, I didn't say to pardon them. What punishment do you usually give to poachers?"
Ed pondered, "Either have a hand chopped off, or be exiled to the Wall, joining the Night's Watch."
Clare scoffed, "What terrible punishments! But after chopping off their hands, they'd be cripples, unable to work, and become a burden on the North. I have a suggestion. Why not punish these poachers by making them servants of Winterfell? They can hunt for Winterfell and slowly earn their freedom."
Putting on his Duke's mask, Ed feigned rejection, "It sounds like slaves. I warn you, slave trading is illegal in the Seven Kingdoms."
Clare said, "They're not slaves, more like the Iron Islands' thralls. Slaves have no choice. We can let them choose: either lose a hand, go to the Wall, or serve in Winterfell, hunting for Winterfell."
Ed said, "Winterfell doesn't lack hunters."
"But there aren't enough," Clare replied. "Lord Ed, the Wolfswood is full of deer, wild boars, wolves, roe deer, and hares. If we organize a large hunting team and bring back game every day, we can open a restaurant and a tavern at the gates of Winterfell. The extra game can be sold directly in the market for profit. I believe many people will come to support our business."
In the Seven Kingdoms, nobles looked down on merchants and were even more disdainful of doing business. However, as a transmigrator, Ed wasn't someone who was rigid and didn't know how to adapt, so he agreed to Clare's plan.
The poachers in the dungeon were all willing to sell themselves into servitude to Winterfell to gain forgiveness. After all, being a servant in Winterfell was much better than becoming a member of the Night's Watch or losing a hand.
The next day, Faran, the master huntsman of Winterfell, led a group of hunters, all former poachers, along with over twenty hounds, into Wolfswood to begin the hunt. That evening, wagons loaded with wild boar, roe deer, rabbits, and pheasants returned to Winterfell.
A few days later, The Wolf's Hall, The Wolf's Butcher, and The Wolf's Tavern officially opened for business. The fresh game became the signature dishes. The Wolf's Hall was more affordable, catering to the less wealthy. The tavern offered a better environment and charged higher prices. Here, one could purchase mead and ale, even Dornish Wine.
Ed watched the crowds at the tavern and the hall. "Who would have thought I, a Duke of the North, would become a businessman, competing for small profits with the common folk."
Clare chuckled, "Lord Stark, it's the small streams that gather to form a river. Wealth always starts small."
....
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