Even during the three months of the Long Night and Winter, Holy Flame City did not cease its infrastructure development.
Coupled with the relatively generous treatment, this attracted a large number of displaced people to seek a livelihood there.
Samwell and Mederick thoroughly implemented Daenerys's philosophy:
People cannot be idle, otherwise, they easily cause trouble.
During the Long Night, approximately two to three hundred thousand displaced people participated in Holy Flame City's infrastructure development.
With the addition of Dragonstone, a heaven-defying building material, Holy Flame City's entire infrastructure system quickly took shape.
The road system has been completely built, and now all the estates on Holy Flame City are connected by Dragonstone roads.
Holy Flame City's Black Stone Avenue has even extended to Dragonstone's docks and fishing villages.
Even on the northernmost barren mountains, countless uphill paths have been built.
Additionally, five three-story watchtowers and one seven-story lighthouse have been erected on various peaks.
This allows the guards to easily monitor the sea conditions within a hundred-mile radius.
The majestic seven-story lighthouse guides ships arriving at Holy Flame City.
Unlike other noble territories that intentionally or unintentionally exclude displaced people, Holy Flame City, Oldtown, and Dreamfire Island almost welcome all displaced people.
Holy Flame City also provides a meager salary to the displaced people involved in infrastructure, while Oldtown and Dreamfire Island only offer simple meals.
Yet, even so, a large number of displaced people, upon hearing the news, still rush to these places frantically.
Of course, due to its geographical location, almost all who go to Dreamfire Island are those who committed offenses in other noble territories and were exiled there.
In Holy Flame, with ample food and good wages every day, they found long-lost warmth and a sense of security.
Therefore, even though the Long Night and Winter have ended, these displaced people have no intention of leaving.
Moreover, a continuous stream of displaced people is still arriving.
Daenerys saw that even in her absence, Samwell and Mederick managed the territory very well, indicating their excellent management capabilities.
Of course, this was also due to Daenerys's sound policies and ideas.
Thus, sometimes, with a wise leader, those below can fully utilize their talents.
Over the next few days, Daenerys, with Dreamfyre and Meraxes, forged a good amount of Dragonstone.
Although Rhaenyra and Viserys can also forge Dragonstone now, the quality of what they forge cannot compare to Daenerys's.
Therefore, the artisans, having grown accustomed to the 'grand feast,' strongly advocated for focusing on infrastructure development in the preceding months, deferring the main construction of Holy Flame Fortress until Princess Daenerys returned.
Now that the Long Night has ended, much of the construction is complete, so Holy Flame City has an excess of displaced people.
Samwell and Mederick have also been worried about this recently.
So they sought Daenerys's instructions, saying,
"Princess, the number of displaced people staying in Holy Flame City has been increasing.
Although we still have the finishing work on Holy Flame Fortress, Holy Flame City, and Holy Flame docks to meet their employment needs, the potential future problems cannot be ignored."
"After all, Holy Flame's area is limited, and once all projects are completed, those idle displaced people will be a huge hidden danger.
Although this is a problem we will face in a few years, if we do not take measures now, it may become too difficult to resolve later."
Mederick also tentatively added,
"During this period, due to the Long Night and Winter, the fighting between the Three Daughters Kingdom and the Stepstones pirates has almost ceased.
Now that the Long Night has passed, their conflict will likely enter a fierce phase."
"Princess, can our Stepstones plan also be advanced?
If so, the displaced people issue will naturally be resolved."
Daenerys liked subordinates who brought solutions.
However, she now had new ideas; she wanted to develop the Peninsula where she slew the sea dragon as soon as possible.
Now that the Everwinter Heart is damaged, Westeros will undoubtedly experience a considerably long summer, and the snowline will certainly shift northward.
That Peninsula and its surrounding vast Frozen Coast tundra could be well developed.
Moreover, by controlling the Milk River estuary now, she could gradually infiltrate her influence into Beyond the Wall.
Daenerys intended to gradually relocate all the Beyond the Wall to the south.
They are the largest source of wights for the Others' army; as long as Beyond the Wall is empty, the Others' power will naturally be greatly limited.
Last time, the Flame in the Everwinter Heart's brow eliminated many wights and Others.
It could be said that their accumulation over thousands of years might have been almost depleted.
It's just unknown whether the so-called Night King was among them, but Daenerys estimated he wouldn't die that easily.
"The matter of the Stepstones, we do indeed need to advance it next.
However, the timing of our intervention in the Stepstones war must be carefully managed."
Daenerys explained to them,
"In war, only by holding the moral high ground will one not be criticized by the world."
"Our immediate priority is to occupy the Peninsula where I slew the sea dragon.
That is a good piece of ownerless land, several times larger than Holy Flame City."
"Moreover, the Milk River estuary is on the eastern side of this Peninsula.
With the warm river water flowing in, even in Winter, both banks of the river valley can be utilized.
And there is a very large shallow coal mine on the Peninsula; integrating the mining resources of the Northern Territory to build a forging workshop there would be most suitable."
"On the western side of the Peninsula, the Frozen Coast, there is a vast tundra area, very suitable for developing animal husbandry.
As more and more dragons come under my command, their appetite is not small, so it is better to stock up on more livestock."
Hearing Daenerys say this, Samwell and the others naturally had no objections.
Because they also knew Daenerys's dedication to the territory and trusted their Princess's vision.
Thus, in the following days, the most persuasive Samwell personally went among the displaced people to mobilize them, successfully recruiting over three thousand young and strong laborers.
Including their families, a total of over ten thousand people were willing to respond to Daenerys's call to develop the new territory.
Daenerys also selected a dozen of the most skilled blacksmiths.
They had previously followed Master Orn in King's Landing and participated in the forging of Valyrian armor and swords.
Therefore, they also possessed the qualifications to forge Valyrian steel weapons, though they would certainly require a great deal of practical experience and practice.
It just so happened that Daenerys had obtained two more sea dragon skeletons this time, which should allow for the forging of a good amount of Valyrian steel.
Three days later, over thirty mast ships, fully loaded with basic supplies, set off majestically from Holy Flame City, beginning their voyage that would almost circumnavigate the entire Westeros, which would take at least a month.
Mederick, on the other hand, personally led a group of artisans and Dragon Guard, piloting five newly built, thirty to forty-meter Dragon Ships (zheng he treasure ship) that could easily navigate narrow rivers, directly through the Riverlands, then northward from Ironman Bay, to arrive ahead of time.
This route would only take about a week to reach the Peninsula, and Daenerys officially named that Peninsula the Seaslinder Peninsula (meaning Sea Dragon Peninsula).
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