Two days later, in the small hall of the keep.
The heads of all the development projects were gathered together.
Yesterday, Arthur, along with Fat Karen the steward, Maester Cregan, and others, spent the entire day auditing the expenses of each project and the costs of procuring war supplies, as well as checking the existing inventory.
Of the one million gold dragon budget, seven hundred and fifty thousand had already been spent.
The year-long campaign against the Red Mountain wildlings and the procurement of various supplies had cost nearly four hundred thousand gold dragons.
Not counting physical assets like stored grain, cloth, and equipment, the remaining cash reserves were one hundred and twenty thousand gold dragons, plus the twenty-five thousand set aside from the original budget.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Arthur called on the first person. "Karl 'Bi', you start. Tell us about the construction of the various workshops."
Karl 'Bi' began, "The watermills have been completed according to the plan and are now operational. You must have seen them on your way down the Torrentine."
"We are now preparing to add canals based on the watermills to increase the irrigated area along the river. Pilot projects have already started."
"Additionally, with the expansion of production in the Smithing District, demand for watermills is high. I request an additional budget to build more watermills. Also, here are the new proposals formulated by the guilds in the Smithing District for your review, my Lord."
Saying this, Karl 'Bi' produced a thick stack of documents from somewhere, causing Arthur a headache just looking at it.
Arthur hurriedly said, "I approve the addition of canals, but I reject the request for additional budget to build more watermills."
"If the Smithing District has a high demand for milling, you can divert that demand to the watermills outside the district, or have private individuals fund the construction of new mills."
Arthur glanced at the thick stack of documents on the table. "Hand the new proposals to Jerry and Kellen first..."
Arthur pushed the documents toward the grey-robed Maester at the side. "...and to Maester Cregan for joint review. Only after two of you have approved them should they be submitted to me."
Maester Cregan nodded knowingly. "I will not disappoint you, my Lord."
Amidst the surprised murmurs of the crowd, Arthur signaled Karl 'Bi' to continue.
Karl was surprised that his budget increase request was rejected so decisively and that a new review process was added for proposals, but he said nothing more.
He continued to introduce the execution and construction status of the salt production and glass pane manufacturing plans, also requesting budget increases to boost production.
The situation for these two plans was largely the same as the watermill plan. Arthur had seen salt and glass products for sale at the Nightshadow Market.
Arthur addressed the salt production first. "I can approve the budget for expanding the salt refinery. As for the construction of new salt pans..."
He looked at Tim, the head of the salt production plan. "You can find coastal lords or merchants willing to build them and charge them a construction fee."
The budget increase for expanding the glass factory was flatly rejected.
Facing the questioning look from Torres, the glassmaker, Arthur gave his reason.
"I don't believe there is that much demand for glass. Blindly expanding capacity only to have unsold glass piling up is meaningless," Arthur explained patiently.
"I approved additional water wheels for the mills because it benefits grain production. I expanded the salt refinery because salt and grain are necessities with high demand and are easy to store."
Maester Cregan interjected at this point. "Torres, you could actually increase the variety of glass products to broaden your sales channels."
"Besides glass panes, you could make lenses, telescopes, mirrors, and so on. Once there are more sales channels and capacity can't keep up, it won't be too late to expand production then."
"Maester Cregan speaks wisdom."
With Arthur and Cregan echoing each other, everyone in the room understood that the era of throwing gold dragons around was likely over.
Arthur continued down the list. "How is the fleet construction going?"
Eaton, the master of the Carpenters' Guild, and Jimmy exchanged glances. Both looked apprehensive.
Finally, Jimmy steeled himself and said:
"Currently, we have twenty ships in service. Seven are the modified Arbor warships, ten are the new hundred-oar galleys, and three are two-hundred-oar galleys made from rare Summer Islander hardwoods."
"We have a total of one thousand two hundred and fifty sailors and oarsmen."
Arthur asked, "Is twelve hundred men enough to operate these ships? Can you not recruit more people, or what is the issue?"
Although a hundred-oar galley didn't strictly require a hundred men to move, having a full complement definitely increased combat effectiveness.
Jimmy felt a spark of hope. "It's barely enough for now, but three more two-hundred-oar galleys and the four-hundred-oar flagship are still under construction in the shipyard."
"As for recruiting, with the slogan and image you helped create, people signed up enthusiastically..."
"Then why didn't you expand recruitment?"
" The recruitment quota was originally limited to twelve hundred. The extra fifty were the instructors like Mallick left by Lord Stannis."
Arthur waved his hand expansively. "I authorize increasing the recruitment quota by one thousand, to two thousand two hundred men. If the budget for ship construction and naval recruitment isn't enough, write a proposal and submit it directly to me."
The opening of the Game of Thrones wasn't far off. Possessing an organized navy would give him more power, projection capability, and blockade ability—bringing more initiative and influence, which meant more choices.
This was why Arthur didn't plan to cut their budget and even intended to increase it.
Eaton and Jimmy felt overwhelmed by the favor. They had thought they would become remnants of the old era like the Smithing District folks, but it turned out their era of gold dragons wasn't over.
As the saying goes, the joys and sorrows of people are not connected. Others in the small hall voiced their concerns.
Fat Karen, whose face had been cheerful, instantly turned worry-worn. "Adding over a thousand men... isn't that too many? The monthly expenses for personnel and ship maintenance will be the bulk of our spending."
Maester Cregan said anxiously, "My Lord, the fleet we currently possess is already quite strong compared to almost any other in the Seven Kingdoms. It is sufficient to defend the coastline."
The Myrman protested, "My Lord, you can't favor one over the other!"
For a moment, voices of protest filled the room.
Arthur naturally couldn't tell them about the coming war. He raised his hand lightly, and after the discussion died down, he said:
"Maritime trade transport will be our top priority in the future."
"Furthermore, we have old grievances with the Arbor. There's no guarantee they won't launch a surprise attack."
"I am spending vast resources to build and maintain a fleet capable of fighting the Arbor fleet so that if war breaks out again in the future, we can land on the Arbor, not just be satisfied with defending our coastline!"
Saying this, Arthur looked at Jimmy and asked, "Tell me, what was the name we gave the fleet?"
Jimmy shouted loudly, "The Summer Sea Fleet!"
Arthur raised his voice. "And what is the slogan?"
Jimmy sprang from his seat and roared even louder, "A man's ambition should flow south like the Torrentine into the Summer Sea; how can one grow old idly among fields and mountains!"
"Very good! Very spirited!"
Arthur nodded in satisfaction and motioned for Jimmy to sit down.