Casterly Rock is home to the most skilled blacksmiths, with dozens of furnaces and smelting workshops that together form a sizable smelting operation.
Tywin, along with Damion and Adam, didn't even need to enter the smelting workshop. Just being outside, they felt their clothes getting damp and hot, and after only a few steps inside, beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads.
Entering the smelting workshop was like stepping into a furnace; the bright, crimson flames around them were almost blinding, and the clanging and hammering sounds were even more intense than raindrops. The supervisor, a man over forty years old, who was inspecting the workshop, immediately came to greet Tywin and his group. He was wearing only a thin gray linen undershirt.
His chest and back were soaked brown with sweat. Upon seeing Tywin, he immediately shouted behind him, " Lord Tywin is here! Come and see Lord Tywin!"
This loud shout caused the blacksmithing sounds in the workshop to stop abruptly, like a sudden cessation of a rain shower, from dense clanging to scattered hammering, until it disappeared completely.
Although leaving a forge halfway through would render the weapon or tool in progress scrap metal, it was Tywin's order, and he believed that his dignity as Lord of Casterly Rock was more valuable than a few pieces of steel.
Adam stared wide-eyed at the sight before him, a strange thought rising in his mind.
"How's production lately?" Tywin asked Dao, picking up an arrowhead at random. The arrowhead gleamed coldly, and a light scratch on the hand would leave a white mark.
"My lord, we can currently produce 2,800 to 3,300 arrowheads and 340 to 540 spears daily. We can also produce about 12 to 16 sets of armor daily. As for longswords—"
Tywin once said that true conquest relies on steel and blood. He personally selected the head of the Casterly Rock arsenal, so he was very familiar with the arsenal's production capacity, which greatly pleased Tywin.
"Forget about longswords for now. Prioritize making more spears and arrows. Also, tell the craftsmen that for every additional weapon they make, I will pay them double."
"Yes, sir!" The person in charge smiled and bowed to Tywin with great surprise.
After a brief inspection, Tywin left the arsenal.
Damion, standing to the side, spoke up: "My lord, we currently have a sufficient stockpile of weapons, enough to arm an army of 20,000 men."
Tywin nodded, indicating that he was going to check out the warehouse.
Casterly Rock's warehouses didn't need to be specially excavated. Following their old practice, they simply repaired the hollowed-out mine shafts and used them to store supplies.
The group arrived at an abandoned Gold Mine. The Gold Mine's gate was made of bronze and oak, and it had a copper lock the size of a human head.
However, the warehouse in front of us seemed to have been built recently, as the copper locks were still bright yellow, without any hint of green.
The guard in charge of the warehouse took out the key, opened the brass lock, lit a torch, and entered the dark warehouse.
By the light of the torches, Damion explained the warehouse situation to Tywin.
"My lord, during the time you were away on campaign, we cleared out four more mine shafts to use as warehouses. I have already filled the warehouses with grain and steel."
"You've done a good job. This isn't ten years ago. It would be wise to exchange gold for steel and food."
Tywin reaffirmed Damion's work.
It is said that the Gold Mine under Casterly Rock has been depleted for three years, and the last Gold Mine vein has been mined out.
This was a bad sign, but he didn't let anyone know. Tywin, however, decided to turn the hollowed-out Gold Mine into a warehouse to store supplies.
These mine shafts on the rocky mountains are dry and spacious, making them perfect for use as warehouses.
The group arrived at the grain storage warehouse. The grain was packed in sacks and piled up as high as two people stacking on top of each other. Looking around, there were thousands upon thousands of such sacks and no fewer than ten such warehouses!
"My lord, there are now 17,000 people in Casterly Rock, including soldiers, artisans, and maids. We have enough food reserves to last for more than ten years."
"Yes, that's enough."
Tywin nodded. It was simply impossible for anyone to besiege Casterly Rock and starve them to death there.
To besiege Casterly Rock would require at least 20,000 troops, and the food supplies needed to sustain such a long march would be astronomical, even for Highgarden.
Moreover, Soldiers may not be able to tolerate being away from home for extended periods.
Next, they arrived at the water cellars in Casterly Rock, which were used to store water. The water cellars in Casterly Rock were very large, and the area around the water cellars was somewhat damp and cold compared to the arsenal they had just visited.
Casterly Rock is built on a rocky mountain, and only a few wells can be drilled around the foot of the mountain, which is far from enough to support the water supply for nearly 10,000 to 20,000 people.
However, Casterly Rock's location on the coast makes up for this, as ample rainfall allows them to replenish their water supply through precipitation.
Ample food supplies and uninterrupted water sources are the real reasons why Casterly Rock is known as "never sinking".
"The water in the cistern is enough for Casterly Rock for at least a month. Although the consumption at the arsenal may increase, it's autumn now, and the rain will soon be more than in summer. It won't be long before it rains again, so we don't lack water," Damion said confidently.
" Adam."
"My lord." Adam stepped forward quickly when Tywin called him.
"Tell the kitchen to prepare extra meat for the soldiers today."
"Yes, ma'am."
Tywin's sudden visit to inspect the supplies and his idea to boost morale stemmed from his receipt of news that Jon had breached Casterly Rock and launched a surprise attack on Sarsfield.
This was completely unexpected.
Tywin, of course, didn't believe Daven would be fooled by Jon's little tricks; the raven must be the culprit.
Considering the mysterious deaths of Renly and his acting lord, and the widespread rumors of Stannis's patronage of witches, Tywin judged that it was probably related to witchcraft.
However, even the scholars of Casterly Rock were unable to find any useful answers regarding witchcraft.
"I plan to continue expanding the army. I order the entire Western Territory to recruit at least 50,000 more soldiers, raising the minimum age to thirteen and the maximum to fifty-five. Also, let women who are physically fit join the army!" Tywin looked at the horizon, which was now showing an arc in the distance, as if allocating manpower was like allocating gold coins in the Treasury.
However, Damion spoke up, saying, "But sir, this would drain the western border of its able-bodied men. Even if we win, we'll still—"
"If Lannister doesn't exist, then there's no need for the Westerlands to exist either." Tywin interrupted Damion, his voice chillingly cold.
"Understood, sir," Damion replied to Dao, casting aside any pity he might have felt.
However, he also knew that at the beginning of the war, Tywin and Jaime took away nearly 40,000 people. Later, Daven's father recruited another 20,000 new soldiers in the West, but they were defeated by Robb. Not to mention that the Iron Islands also plundered extensively in the West.
Tywin had only been back in the West for less than three months when he conscripted tens of thousands of men. Regardless of the outcome of the war, the West would be severely damaged by Origin Qi, and it was possible that it would take twenty years for them to recover.
"Furthermore, we can consider discussing peace talks with Stannis. " Seeing Tywin finally make this decision, Damion also relented.
In fact, they still have many cards to play. For example, they could choose to forgive the debts previously lent to the royal family, which amounted to a full three million gold dragons.
However, since the three million was never going to be recovered anyway, Stannis certainly wouldn't repay Robert for the gold coins he squandered.
Back when Tywin raided King's Landing, he only stole less than one million gold Dragons. Robert then spent the remaining three million gold Dragons lavishly in King's Landing, which could be considered Tywin's compensation to the common people of King's Landing.
However, the royal family currently owes three million gold dragons to some Free Cities banks, such as Iron Bank, which can be used as leverage to repay the debt.
Tywin could also cover substantial fines, but only if Iron Throne returned Cersei and Jaime to him.
In this context, Cersei is secondary, Jaime is primary, and Tywin has already given up on their child.
Of course, these conditions were not released all at once, but were gradually negotiated and compromised with Stannis. Tywin set a bottom line for Damion and then handed it over to him to handle.
All of these are conditions for peace talks; the real bottom line is still Casterly Rock, which will never fall.
Neither Stannis of King's Landing nor Tyrell of Highgarden could wage war in the Westerlands for long. Once they left, the Westerlands would still belong to Lannister.
"And there's another crucial point we need to remind Stannis of: the possibility of Tyrell and the bastard joining forces," Tywin continued. "We can accept the bastard occupying Casterly Rock, or even sharing the West with the Lannisters, but as long as the Lannisters retain control of Casterly Rock, we'll eventually reclaim the entire West!"