Half a month later, the prisoners of war in the Dragon Cave POW camp finally had their first full meal, which included not only rice but also alcohol.
Jon sat among them, telling stories and experiences related to the Wall.
"My lord, are there really White Walkers on the Wall?"
"Sir, what do savages look like?"
"Sir, will peeing on the Great Wall really freeze instantly and knock someone over?"
The Soldiers ' questions were varied and bizarre, but Sandor knew that these people had begun to accept Jon as their new leader.
He didn't eat anything; he just cautiously observed his surroundings in case anything unexpected happened.
Jon chatted with these soldiers for a while, and when he felt it was about time, he began the final step in winning them over—making grand promises.
"I know, Dao, many of you are the second sons or the youngest in your families. You have no land and can only become warriors, craftsmen, or free riders. But I assure you, if you follow me, I will give you fifty acres of good land if you serve for three years. If you serve for five years, I will also provide you with farm tools, seeds, and a wife!"
"Of course, if you achieve merit in battle, I will reward you with two things: land or gold. You are free to choose whether to accept the reward as gold or land." Jon stood up, waved, and said, "Dao. "
"Land! My lord, is it really true that we can get land after only three years of service?"
A Soldier who looked to be over thirty years old excitedly asked Dao.
Even Sandor, standing to the side, glanced at him sideways.
Jon will reward the land!
What does this mean?!
If you have your own land, wouldn't you become a lord?
Jon smiled slightly and said to Dao, "What? Does Dao need me to write a contract? By the way, can you even read?"
When Jon teased him, the soldier scratched his head sheepishly, but amidst the soldiers ' laughter, he said he was very good at tilling the land.
"Great! You can exchange your good farmland for wasteland. One acre of good land can be exchanged for five acres of wasteland! If you're willing to farm, then farm as much as you want!" Jon's generosity once again stirred the interest of the Western Soldiers.
Jon knows that according to the original timeline, Dao still has two years until winter.
Jon must stockpile as much food as possible. Westeros has enjoyed over a decade of summers, and even if the upcoming winter doesn't last another decade, a 50% reduction in food supply would still be terrifying.
If no crops grow in the entire country for five, six, or even seven or eight years, then it will be a blessing from the gods if one out of ten people in the Seven Kingdoms survives.
Therefore, Jon plans to stockpile as much food as possible to prepare for the impending food crisis.
Finally, the big reveal came. By this time, the soldiers surrounding Jon had formed an almost impenetrable wall of people. To make sure everyone could hear him, he shouted, "I, Jon Stark, assure you that during your service, I will allocate land to you. Those with families can let their families cultivate the land, and those without families can hire others to cultivate it!"
Jon's words reached everyone's ears, and the surrounding area was filled with the sound of people swallowing hard.
This isn't just making empty promises; Jon is practically stuffing the pie into their mouths.
What West End, what Tywin, what Lannister? Sorry, we're not familiar with those! In our hearts, there's only one sun: Jon!
After breakfast, Jon left Dragon Cave, and had someone bring over tents to improve the living conditions of the soldiers who were still prisoners of war.
Jon doesn't want lords; he wants farmers. People with stable property have stable livelihoods. These soldiers will be the backbone of Jon's campaign in the West and will stay with him, not going home after the battle ends.
In short, with them, Jon no longer needs to rely on his own troops.
In addition, most of the lords of the West perished in the previous battles, and the quality of the West's nobility will suffer a precipitous decline.
The remaining collateral branches, the second son, and the youngest son Bastard, were unable to hold onto the land left by the Family, and in addition, they all had a portion of their land confiscated.
If Jon can capture Casterly Rock, he will control more than two-thirds, or even more, of the western frontier. With land comes service, and everything else will fall into place.
Soon, Jon and Sandor were on their way back to the mansion when Penny stopped them.
Penny dismounted and respectfully said to Jon, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty summons you to a royal council."
It seems that the noise Jon made in the Dragon Cave startled Stannis.
He turned to Sandor and Robb Frey and said, "Let's go."
"Yes, sir."
When Jon arrived at the Prime Minister's Tower, Varys happened to see Jon from his room.
He was writing a letter that was about to be sent to Pentos, across the Narrow Sea.
[
My dear friend Illyrio, perhaps it's a joke of the gods, but a remarkable figure has emerged from House Stark in Westeros. He defeated his enemies with floods on Green Fork, ambushed Gregor Clegane's army in Darry City, and, as if by divine intervention, conquered King's Landing before the Lion-Flower Alliance even arrived.
]
In order to let his allies in the Free Cities know just how formidable a young general Jon was, and how much investment potential and value he possessed, Varys filled his letter with effusive praise.
[
—The night before I wrote this letter, he almost single-handedly subdued nearly five thousand surrendered soldiers from the Westerlands. The new King Stannis will send him, as Lord of Casterly Rock, to contend with Lannister for control of the Westerlands. I believe this is a good opportunity for us.—
Please raise at least 300,000 to 500,000 gold Dragons. We need to help this young man. Whether he succeeds or not, we will significantly deplete Westeros's strength.
]
Varys uses Valyrian throughout his writings; in Free Cities, Valyrian is more popular than Common Language.
He placed the letter in a small lens box, then put it into the secret passage in the wall. Varys then left his room and headed towards the Prime Minister's Tower.
Inside the Prime Minister's Tower, Stannis sits in the king's seat, with a banner of the blazing stag hanging behind him, and Alliser Florents, who is still temporarily acting as the hand of the king, to his left.
To his right was Melisandre, followed by Davos, Adrian, Alexander, Yassel, Pycelle, and a host of other nobles and courtiers.
Adrian Setiga temporarily assumed the position of Chancellor of the Royal Treasury. Petyr Baelish, meanwhile, was back to square one, having resigned from his position as Chancellor of the Royal Treasury and returned to running his brothel.
Jon arrived just as the sommelier had begun serving tea to the courtiers.
" Your Majesty, sirs, I am so sorry, I just came back from the Dragon Cave." Jon bowed slightly and apologized to everyone.
Although one could say that, apart from Stannis and Melisandre, he was practically the third most important person here.
But since he's the youngest, it's good for him to be humble.
" Lord Stark, I heard you won over thousands of surrendered soldiers from the West overnight. That's truly remarkable," Alliser rarely praised Jon.
Since Stannis wanted him to prepare at least three thousand men for Jon to join the army that would attack the West, Jon himself subdued so many West soldiers, so wasn't he indirectly fulfilling his mission?
"Your Excellency is too kind. These Western Soldiers are human too. They've been out here for so long, killing and being killed all the time. They're tired of it. I promised to take them home in the future, and they're willing to follow me." Jon smiled and sat down in his seat at Stannis's gesture.
" Jon, what you're doing is too dangerous. What if some of those Soldiers have ulterior motives?" Davos said worriedly. "And you're sleeping with them without any guards."
" Ser Davos, thank you for your concern, but I think it's more important to secure peace in Westeros as soon as possible," he said, looking at Stannis. " Your Majesty, I want to set off as soon as possible to persuade Robb first, and then immediately launch an operation in the West. Every day we give Tywin time to prepare, peace is one day further away from us!"
Stannis's deep blue eyes flickered with interest. He couldn't help but think that if his men had half of Jon's abilities, he wouldn't have lost the fleet he relied on!
As a result, he now has little say in dealing with Tyrell, and even when it comes to arranging a marriage, Tyrell haggles with him.
" Jon, I understand how you feel, but since you're going to fight in the West, you need to be fully prepared."
" Lord Alliser," Stannis began, but did not turn around, "how are the preparations for the army I asked you to prepare for Jon progressing? "
Alliser's heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself, "Jon has already pulled out four or five thousand people on his own. Why do I still need to pull people out?"
But this was Stannis's decision, and he was a convicted criminal, so he dared not disobey and quickly said to Dao, " Your Majesty is still being prepared and will certainly be completed before Your Majesty's coronation ceremony."
"Hmm," Stannis responded calmly. " Jon, wait until after my coronation ceremony before you set off. And before you leave, I have a task for you."
" Don't worry, Majesty, I will definitely complete any task, no matter what it is."
As soon as Jon finished speaking, he noticed that some people were snickering: Adrian, Davos, and even Pycelle.
What are you all laughing about? And Varys hasn't messaged me either.
Jon looked at Stannis, only to see that he had no intention of answering either, and was actually keeping him in suspense.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Pycelle began, " Your Majesty, gentlemen, today we mainly discussed the details of His Majesty Stannis's coronation ceremony. We've set the time for a month from now, to be precise, twenty-six days from now. Following the custom of Targaryen and King Robert, we should crown Your Majesty at the Great Sept of Baelor." Pycelle then glanced at Melisandre beside him, "However, before the coronation, Lady Melisandre —uh, the bishop—has requested that we burn the statues of the Seven Gods—"
Although Pycelle became less and less concerned about the so-called gods when he was young and his studies deepened, he developed a psychological dependence on the statues in the sanctuary as he grew older.
Melisandre was uncomfortable with the decision to sacrifice and burn the statues of the seven gods.
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty!" Sure enough, Davos stood up to object halfway through Pycelle's sentence, and the other members of The Loyalists, including Adrian, were even more alarmed.