"What preparations are needed for me to mine dragonglass here?" Aegon brought the torch closer to the cave wall, illuminating a large area of dark volcanic rock.
"So this is what an dragonglass mine looks like... What use does the Night's Watch have for it?" the Old Mine Foreman muttered, handing the torch to his youngest son. He took a small iron hammer from his waist pouch, tapped and knocked on the cave wall, studied it for a while, then straightened up and shook his head. "The mine is already here, the structure is stable and above sea level, and the air circulates naturally—no need to worry about collapse, seepage, or poisoning. The ore itself is directly dragonglass, requiring no refining, and the difficulty of mining is almost zero; just find some strong people. And unlike gold mines, you don't have to worry about workers hiding nuggets... Tsk, if there's anything to watch out for, it's needing to build some scaffolding and lay some planks to prevent falling rocks from injuring people during mining."
Aegon nodded. In areas he wasn't skilled in, he wasn't stingy about asking experts in this world with a respectful attitude. "Can you confirm what things are needed? When can mining start at the earliest? And roughly how much funding is required?"
"What things are needed, we can't say clearly here; we'll have to make a list. As for mining, the conditions in this mine are so good that if the money and tools are in place, starting tonight isn't impossible," the Old Mine Foreman said vaguely. "As for funding, it depends on whether your need for dragonglass is urgent, how much you need, and what your requirements are for the ore."
"What do you mean by requirements for the ore?"
"Let's say, for example, if you want to carve the dragonglass into the shape of the two dragon heads we just saw on either side of the castle gate, you'd need large raw stones, which makes mining extremely difficult. But if you just want to make some beads to string into bracelets to sell, then just let the workers swing hammers and smash; the difficulty and cost of mining will be greatly reduced."
So that's how it was. Aegon rubbed his chin and thought for a while. After all, dragonglass was just glass; it couldn't be made into massive weapons like longswords. The Dragonglass daggers and arrows used by the Children of the Forest thousands of years ago were already the most feasible solutions tested in practice. This meant that the mined ore only needed to be carved and polished into daggers; anything larger would be wasteful. And facing intelligent magic creatures like the White Walkers, repeatedly replicating his success in killing them in close combat was also difficult. The most reliable solution was still to rely on a massive quantity of Dragonglass Arrows—using overwhelming ranged weapons to overcome quality with quantity.
"The ore doesn't need to be too large, just whatever comes naturally is fine."
"Hmm," the Old Mine Foreman nodded. "I will make a list of the necessary items for you later. In this regard, after you review it, you can give me the required quantities, and I will find someone to purchase them. It will definitely save you a lot more money than finding suppliers yourself. Additionally, mining requires a person in charge to manage and supervise, arrange work, and prevent workers from slacking off or stealing tools to sell. My youngest son grew up in the mines near Casterly Rock. Although not as capable as me, he definitely knows much more than an outsider..."
...
Aegon smiled. Although he hadn't been a leader before crossing over, his ancestors had already summarized the principles very concisely: benefits can be shared but not monopolized, and plans should be made by a few, not many. This meant that when planning major events, one must select the most crucial and assertive minority to discuss with, absolutely not "democratically"; but when carrying out tasks, one must ensure that all participants benefit, and absolutely not do everything oneself, fearing that others might take even a little profit.
Water too clear has no fish. Stannis Baratheon didn't understand this principle, which is why he was disliked by almost all the nobles in Westeros, big and small. Aegon admired his fairness, but he didn't want to learn from him and become a lone wolf. Discussing major matters—talking only with Tyrion was sufficient. And the Old Mine Foreman coming to help him oversee the dragonglass mine, wanting to find a way out for his son, and even wanting to skim a little profit from tool procurement, was understandable.
"Alright, since an expert has spoken, I naturally trust you. Then I will appoint your youngest son as the person in charge of this Dragonglass mine, fully responsible for all mining matters. As for salary, how about starting with one hundred silver stags a month, with bonuses for good work?" Aegon nodded. "But there's one thing: tool procurement, personnel hiring, travel expenses, in short, all expenses, must be clearly accounted for. I need this to report to my superiors for reimbursement... The Night's Watch is not wealthy, so anything too outrageous won't do."
"Aren't you going to thank the Lord?" A monthly salary of one hundred silver stags was already not low, not to mention the person in charge's work was easy and there were other profits to be made? The Old Mine Foreman patted his youngest son, who quickly did as he was told.
Ho, even the address changed. Aegon shook his head. "I'm not a Lord. Just call me by my name. The work here needs to start as soon as possible. Let's keep the initial funding within one hundred golden dragons. Within a month, transport the first ship of dragonglass to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. As for the quantity... let's aim to fill the small boat we took to Dragonstone."
"That's not much. It seems recruiting about ten workers directly from the small village on Dragonstone will be enough."
"Mm, you two father and son can discuss all the specific details. Tyrion introduced you to me, and I trust you."
"Thank you, Lord."
"I said I'm not... sigh, never mind." Aegon shrugged. "Let's go. Before it gets dark, we'll head back to the village. I promised everyone a big meal."
***
Aegon quickly encountered a super awkward situation. His promise to treat the three people who accompanied him to see the mine today to a big meal was a bit difficult to fulfill.
It wasn't that the fishermen were trying to rip him off; with Stannis's temper, if such a situation occurred on his land, the culprits would be thrown into the sea in minutes. The problem Aegon faced now was having money but nowhere to spend it: he wanted pork, beef, or lamb, but there was none; he wanted chicken, duck, or goose, but there was none either. All Dragonstone could offer was fish, and the young man who guided him, having lived there for a long time, was surely tired of eating it.
"Is it like this in the castle too?" Aegon asked, somewhat puzzled. "If Lord Stannis wants to eat something other than fish, what does the cook do?"
"Every ten days or half a month, a ship will dock here. How much is on the ship determines the food in the castle until the next ship docks," the young man who guided him replied helplessly. "It's okay, we'll eat whatever is available. Fish soup and grilled fish are also quite good if you're willing to add enough seasoning."
"In the future, this place will need to ship out one boatload of dragonglass every month. When they come, they shouldn't come with empty ships. Have them bring some chicken, duck, beef, or lamb, and count it as part of the food expenses. Give half of it to Lord Stannis. Mining on his island without him discussing taxes is a favor; the Night's Watch shouldn't take it for granted."
Hadn't he seen a pig run even if he hadn't eaten pork? Aegon rarely dealt with such trivial matters before crossing over, but he knew how to do things properly and beautifully so that others had nothing to say—and some principles were applicable everywhere and in every era.
The Old Mine Foreman said that the dragonglass mine could operate with just over a dozen people at minimum. With so few people, no matter how much they ate, it wouldn't cost much. If Tyrion agreed to join his fundraising plan, this money would quickly become a small amount, not even counting the interest in the capital chain. Not to mention, the food expenses for the dragonglass miners were theoretically to be reimbursed by the Night's Watch.
...
In the end, Aegon still forcefully fulfilled his promise—he paid three times the market price for the villagers to kill a laying hen as the main dish, supplemented with several side dishes made from various types of fish, to reward the young man who had helped him find the ancient dragonglass mine. Watching him wolf down the chicken leg, it was clear he hadn't eaten chicken in two months.
***
With plenty to eat and drink, the four of them drank ale and continued discussing various aspects of mining. The slightly tipsy Old Mine Foreman had become the main character. He talked endlessly about his experiences managing a gold mine for the Lannister family when he was young, in high spirits... With his experience, he was indeed qualified to boast in front of the three young men.
Now, he was telling the story of how Lord Tywin returned to Casterly Rock from King's Landing after the death of his Father, Tytos Lannister, and ordered his father's mistress, who had intended to seize power in Casterly Rock, to be stripped naked and paraded through Lannisport. The opposite sex could always be a topic of conversation when people gathered, and even Aegon, although he found the topic vulgar, still listened with great interest... Just as the Old Mine Foreman began to vividly describe the woman's pale body, the door of the dwelling suddenly opened.
A woman walked into the room.
"The first time the Night's Watch has visitors on Dragonstone, and no one even informs me?"
Before Aegon could turn around to see who had arrived, the young man sent by Stannis to guide them had already put down his cup and stood up in fear and trepidation. "Ms. Melisandre, why have you come?"
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