Aegon was immensely grateful that Oberyn had shown mercy during the duel, but now that he had surrendered and the outcome was decided, he would be thanking the heavens if Oberyn didn't mock or humiliate him. Given his status as the Prince of Dorne, why would he praise himself? What right did a Night's Watch Quartermaster with mediocre martial skills have to discuss life with him?
This was a bit... too strange, wasn't it? Aegon looked at Oberyn in confusion, only to see the other man wink at him again, a gesture whose meaning was unclear. His mind then stirred, recalling a certain special hobby of the other party. Could it be?!
"This... the Night's Watch has been busy recently, so I won't intrude. After this battle is over, I'll have a chance to discuss it with the Prince!" Aegon felt a chill run down his spine and quickly refused. He didn't want to transmigrate here, only to end up being taken by someone instead of taking someone.
No one could stop one side of a duel from surrendering. Although the surrounding soldiers clamored for the two to fight a bit longer, they ultimately cleared a path for Aegon.
Suppressing his nervousness, he squeezed out of the dueling circle and met Yoren, who was walking towards him. Before leaving King's Landing to join the Crownlands army, he had written to The Wall asking them to send a steward to the Vale to take over his boring job as a "Night's Watch attached to the army." Who knew the Night's Watch was so stingy that they wouldn't even send one extra person South, instead just letting Yoren come alone to do two jobs?
If King Robert could break through the Bloody Gate, Yoren would be responsible for escorting the lords of the League of the Righteous, who had taken the black, back to The Wall. If the rebellion wasn't put down... well, the Crow had already planned to find Aegon to ask for the next batch of new recruits anyway, so it was a win-win!
...
Although he knew exactly why Yoren had come, having just surrendered in the dueling arena on the pretext of receiving a colleague, he knew many eyes were likely still on him from behind. He had to keep up the act.
"Yoren! You must have had a tough journey!" Aegon greeted him with a smile, holding his breath as he gave the Crow a big hug. "When did you arrive?"
"Just got here. Seeing how big this army camp is, I thought it would take some effort at first, but who knew you were actually a celebrity? I found you just by asking!" Yoren was bewildered by Aegon's excessive enthusiasm but didn't think much of it, assuming he was just acting strange because he was living comfortably in the South and was in a good mood. "You brat, you're living quite well, aren't you? You even have the leisure to participate in duels?" Yoren, whom he hadn't seen in months, was even more unkempt than before, still wearing the clothes Aegon had bought him earlier in King's Landing. He probably only had this one set of summer clothes. He chuckled as he looked Aegon up and down. "Oh, no, now I should call you—Chief Logistics Officer!"
"Cut it out, just call me by my name, it sounds weird." Aegon was eager to leave the place. He pulled Yoren along and quickly walked towards his tent. "You came at the right time. I'll leave things here to you. I need to go back to King's Landing to train some new recruits quickly, so I can hand them over to you when needed."
"Huh?" Yoren asked strangely, "Train new recruits? Is that what Jeor Mormont asked you to do? But if you train them... what's Ser Alliser for?"
"It's hard to explain right now. You know how difficult recruiting is, and The Wall is desperately short of men. I've decided to get you a batch of helpers in the form of mercenaries first." Aegon continued walking towards the Buckwell army camp with Yoren, quickly leaving the dueling circle behind. "But the Commander is afraid that mixing the hired helpers with the brothers will affect morale, so he stipulated that the people I hire cannot go to Castle Black for new recruit training... People who aren't trained going to The Wall is suicide, and I can't afford mercenaries, so I can only do it myself."
"I see."
"The plan was made long ago, but King Robert... His Majesty ordered me to be the Night's Watch attached to the army, which wasted who knows how much of my time. It's resulted in me not even starting to train new recruits yet, although I instructed the people left in King's Landing to start recruiting early, I don't know how they're doing while I'm away." Aegon was filled with frustration remembering this absurd matter, but seeing the Buckwell soldier who had just guided Yoren still beside them, he suppressed his urge to complain. "Fortunately, you're here. I can free up my hands and try to get you some men before you head back."
The two Night's Watchmen walked along, muttering about matters concerning The Wall. From Yoren, Aegon learned that the Night's Watch Rangers were already attempting to capture wights, but had not made significant progress yet, which was good news... Without stopping, they quickly returned to Aegon's tent.
"Thank you for your trouble. Here's a little money, go buy some wine." Aegon smiled at the Buckwell soldier who had guided Yoren, slipped him a few silver stags, and led the Crow into the tent.
"I'm leaving for King's Landing right away, you'll be in charge here." Aegon said to Yoren, then tilted his head slightly to instruct, "Casey, pack up my personal belongings. You don't need to take things that can be bought in King's Landing, leave them for Yoren."
Leaving in the afternoon, he could reach the inn at the crossroads before dark tonight. The road back to King's Landing was the flat and wide King's Road, dotted with villages and small towns along the way, so there was no need to worry about accommodation or food.
"Yes, Lord!" Casey had just witnessed his Lord fighting back and forth with the famous Prince of Dorne, and was now even more impressed with Aegon. He even worked harder because of it.
"After you're finished packing, go get the horse ready and wait for me at the tent entrance!"
"Yes, Lord!"
This kind of work could be left to the boy. Aegon's hands were still a bit numb, and even if he wanted to do it, his heart was willing but his strength was insufficient. After giving his instructions, he took Yoren out of the tent again. "My current identity is 'Night's Watch attached to the army.' God knows how King Robert came up with this idea. Anyway, your safety and board are now the responsibility of Lord Buckwell. I'll take you to meet him before I leave. Before that, I'll show you around the middle of the camp so you know where the temporary commercial street is. Whenever you want to eat something good, take a bath, or have some fun with a woman, everything is available there."
"Temporary commercial street?" Yoren chuckled, "Forget it, knowing the place doesn't mean I have money to spend."
"It's alright, the Night's Watch isn't short on money now." Aegon smiled. "I'll cover your living expenses until you return to The Wall."
Since Jeor Mormont sent Yoren this time, it was very likely that this fellow would be his work contact from now on. Although this old guy was a bit sloppy, he wasn't a bad person. Spending a little money to improve their relationship wasn't a loss.
...
"How many people are in this army camp?" Yoren didn't stand on ceremony with Aegon and followed him as instructed. After a tour, the Crow's eyes were a bit wide. He had never seen so many soldiers in his life. "The King has so many soldiers, would it kill him to send some to The Wall to help? Why do we need to recruit?"
Most of the soldiers weren't the King's, but explaining the details of the noble game to such a rough man was difficult. Aegon didn't bother with such useless effort. "There are probably about forty thousand left now. Including logistics, it should be close to sixty thousand. This is still fighting on home soil without needing a large number of laborers and servants, having an overwhelming advantage, with supply lines not under attack, and after dividing the army once. There were more before." Aegon spread his hands helplessly. "But no matter how many people there are, they just won't send them to The Wall. If they take the Bloody Gate, they get spoils of war, ransoms, and war reparations. What can they get from going to The Wall to fight Wildlings? Guarding The Wall is a thankless job, after all, it's thrown to us Night's Watchmen. Let's not talk about this mess. We'll rely on ourselves. Let's go, I'll take you to see Lord Buckwell."
Most of the Buckwell soldiers knew Aegon and were aware that their Lord greatly appreciated this Night's Watchman. Seeing him come to visit, they greeted him and didn't even try to stop him.
Inside the large tent, the Lord Buckwell sat at a desk, deep in thought over something that looked like an account book.
"Lord Buckwell."
"Aegon." The old man looked up and smiled at him kindly. "This gentleman next to you just arrived. I sent someone to find you for him. It seems you didn't go far."
"Thank you for your help, Lord. I didn't introduce myself just now, I'm Crow Yoren." Yoren had met many nobles and wasn't intimidated. "If there are any scumbags in your Buckwell prison that need to be dealt with, feel free to hand them over to me."
Brother, do you know how difficult it is to improve the image of the Night's Watch? Can you please not mention scumbags? Aegon rubbed his forehead with a headache and quickly interjected, "Lord, the army has sent someone to take over my position. I will be leaving for King's Landing immediately. Please take good care of this Crow brother."
"No problem." Lord Buckwell nodded and readily agreed. "However, I've encountered some trouble now... To be precise, the entire army putting down the rebellion has encountered some trouble. Your mind is always sharp, why don't you offer some advice on what to do?"
—