Riverlands, The Twins, West Castle
The Twins, known as the twin castles, had almost identical structures and interior decorations for both its eastern and western castles.
At this moment, Jon sat atop the throne that once belonged to Lord Walder Frey, with his vassals seated below him.
"Lord Bolton, how is your current work progressing?"
After lifting the wine from the table before him and taking a sip, Jon asked Roose Bolton, who was seated below.
Roose Bolton, sitting on a bench in the hall, instinctively tried to stand up upon hearing Jon's question, but he was quickly stopped by the person beside him.
Jon had always allowed everyone to remain seated while discussing matters with him, never making them stand like the lords and kings of this world. Powerful as he was, he had no need to flaunt his authority in such a way, and this also earned him a very good reputation.
"The Twins is already yours, Your Majesty Aegon!"
When Roose Bolton said this, his eyes were filled with excitement.
"We eliminated nearly 2,000 enemies, and the rest of those fellows surrendered to us entirely after encountering the attacks of those monsters!"
"Have the wounded soldiers been taken care of?"
After listening to Roose Bolton's report, Jon followed up with a question.
During the battle, many soldiers had become infected. Fortunately, it was a state similar to being poisoned; as long as an antidote was used, this terrifying state could be cured.
"Our soldiers have basically recovered. After infecting a few people, that eerie magic weakens; that magic is completely incomparable to yours!"
To combat this strange toxic plague, Jon had specifically exchanged for many antidotes from the system.
"Have you found the source or the host of these monsters? The fellow I killed didn't seem to be the kind of host I imagined."
"According to the feedback from the remaining female members of House Frey, those who transformed into monsters were members of House Frey who had drunk a certain strange potion. If my deduction is correct, the one you refer to as the host should be Walder Frey, who drank three vials of the potion."
Although Jon's description of the word 'host' wasn't quite understood by Roose Bolton, being clever, he still connected it to the meaning Jon wanted to express.
"Mr. Stamm! Have your Alchemists figured out what substance this thing is?"
After listening to Roose Bolton's report, Jon turned his gaze toward a certain grey-robed old man in the front row.
Stamm and his associates were Alchemists Jon had brought from the Kingdom of the Three Daughters. Their group numbered about 1,000, including Maesters, Alchemists, doctors, and Craster, specifically for logistical work.
"Your Majesty Aegon! We have already conducted animal tests. This substance seems to be the blood of some creature; leeches and mosquitoes react strongly to it."
There were still people in House Frey who possessed the potion. Since Jon lacked knowledge in this area, he left the exploration of this matter to the Alchemists.
"Then do the zombies you summoned have characteristics similar to this substance?"
"Not for the time being, Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing Jon's question, Stamm answered directly.
Since certain qualities of this potion were somewhat similar to zombies, they had specifically summoned a few zombies for research. Unfortunately, there was no similar substance on those zombies at all; or rather, those zombies didn't even have blood.
"Then what exactly are you?"
After hearing his subordinates' reports, Jon curiously picked up the potion. Looking at the liquid inside, which was as brilliant as a ruby, Jon had no clues for the moment.
"Have the people from the surrounding minor houses been brought in?"
After setting that matter aside, Jon spoke to the people below.
"Your Majesty Aegon! These are the survivors of House Frey's purge. This is..."
Under Roose Bolton's introduction, several people wearing tattered armor appeared in the center of the hall. Most of these were second sons or bastards of minor houses who had escaped House Frey's purge.
Jon's purpose in calling them here was to begin his Riverlands transformation plan. The feudal system on the continent of Westeros could be said to be one of the more advanced systems of this era.
However, to some extent, the common people under the noble lords were still like slaves, just with a nicer-sounding name.
Jon's strategy was very simple: just like in the Vale, he would gradually divide the power and wealth of the lordly houses, changing the old system of petty lords.
Great houses like House Frey would disobey their liege lord's orders because their strength had reached a certain level, allowing them to essentially ignore their liege's summons.
This was a situation Jon was unwilling to see. Therefore, Jon's method was also simple: establish dense networks of petty lordships along the roads, and once they gradually grew stronger, implement settings like towns.
The land in the Riverlands was very fertile; if managed well, it could completely become a prosperous place rivaling the Reach.
House Frey had become so powerful only because they had always held this vital transportation route. Once the shackles were removed and the land around The Twins was properly developed, a most prosperous emerging city could be established here.
"I am a generous king. As long as you are willing to swear fealty to me, I will grant you territories, though these territories will be different from what you imagine."
At Jon's signal, a map that had been prepared long ago was brought out. This was a map Jon had drawn after comparing aerial views through animal vision.
After ordering the guards beside him to unfurl the map, Jon stood on the high platform and explained the points on the map to everyone.
"The Twins, Stony Sept, Yarrow Town, Riverrun, and Stone Hedge will have a new road built between them starting today. I will provide the materials, and you will provide the labor. These points on the map are your future cities."
After seeing the astonishment in everyone's eyes, Jon continued:
"After this, the only armies you retain will be your guards. Security along this road will be managed by my Riverlands Legion."
"Can it really be done like this?"
"This is something that has never happened before!"
"Without an army, how will we protect our own safety?"
"Your Majesty Aegon, are you going to abandon us?"
...Upon hearing Aegon's plan, everyone below was in a state of incomprehension. After all, in their understanding, a territory was their own private property, and everything would be managed by them uniformly.
But now, Jon was only allowing them to hold a small number of troops. This loss of security left many in a state of incomprehension.
In fact, the logic was the same as why people in Eagle Land (USA) wouldn't give up their guns; in their view, their superiors were simply not worthy of trust, so they only trusted the weapons in their own hands.
However, Jon had already anticipated this. As he raised his hand to signal, the people below quickly fell silent, their eyes snapping toward him.
"My purpose in doing this is actually to let everyone gain more wealth. The maintenance and costs of an army are a huge expense; many times, some lords even disband their own guards because they have no money."
In Jon's description, these lower-level nobles in the hall all nodded in empathy. Many of them had never owned more than three digits of Gold Dragons in their lives.
Sometimes, in an entire territory, only the lord himself owned a set of wearable armor, and if they weren't careful, that armor would be completely ruined due to battle damage.
There weren't many significant bandits near the Riverlands. As long as the work of taking in refugees was done well, there basically wouldn't be any major problems.
"The Riverlands has been in chaos for so long; it's time for a change. No one wants this place to turn into a bloody battlefield every single time, right?"
Upon hearing Jon's words, these minor nobles of the Riverlands seemed to recall those terrifying past events.
Ever since Jon's ancestor, Aegon the Conqueror, unified the Seven Kingdoms, the Seven Kingdoms had rarely fought wars. However, every time unrest occurred in the Seven Kingdoms, the Riverlands would still become a battlefield for all factions, just as it was before the Conquest era.
Therefore, using such a reason to drive reform would still gain support from many lords.
Thus, after Jon spoke those words, the people present directly fell silent.
After the issue of reform ended, Jon called up the few remaining young males of House Frey.
"Petyr Frey! Olyvar Frey!"
Upon hearing Jon's words, these two Freys, who were ranked relatively high in House Frey, knelt on one knee before Jon's throne.
"In the name of the King, I grant you the East Castle and the West Castle. From this day forward, you shall manage the transit work of The Twins on my behalf. The Twins belongs to the Crown! Now, swear your fealty!"
These matters had been discussed with them long ago. These Freys were those who weren't very well-regarded within the family, and most of the surviving Freys were those without much power or influence.
These two Freys were the first to contact Jon's side, so naturally, Jon had to give them sufficient benefits.
House Frey was simply too large; resolving them early was better than having them become an unmanageable burden later.
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