With the completion of the third blast furnace, Harrenhal received purchase orders for iron ore from the Westerlands, the Vale, and even The Reach.
This unusual move drew the attention of the surrounding lords to Harrenhal, as some orders were so large that they exceeded the annual demand of some minor nobles.
The Westerlands.
Tywin summoned his younger brother and right-hand man, Kevan, and handed him the reports from various regions.
"Brother, what is this?"
"Orders for iron ore from Harrenhal."
Kevan was still puzzled—what was so strange about iron ore orders? The Westerlands were rich in minerals, and although gold mines had recently been drying up, other ores were still abundant.
But as he took one look, Kevan understood why his brother had sought him out.
The astronomical figures on the orders made Kevan think for a moment that he hadn't woken up; he rubbed his eyes, his fingers trembling as he gripped the paper.
After confirming it repeatedly, he finally admitted that Harrenhal had indeed purchased a massive amount of iron ore.
"This!!! Brother, since when did Harrenhal become so strong? What exactly is happening there?"
Tywin and Kevan were both intelligent men; a massive increase in the demand for iron ore meant a significant increase in iron production.
Iron production directly determined a lord's combat power and foundation.
Kevan looked at the Harrenhal orders from the previous few months and found that the amount of iron ore Harrenhal purchased externally had been increasing gradually, which meant that Harrenhal was truly smelting iron.
"Brother, do you need me to issue a ban?"
Kevan felt an inexplicable fear of this behemoth; he simply dared not imagine what would happen if Harrenhal turned all of this into weapons and attacked.
But Tywin shook his head in denial: "We cannot forbid our vassals from selling iron ore, and Harrenhal has not done anything to violate the law. Doing so would only make us look unreasonable."
"However, the necessary surveillance is still required. I sought you out to discuss this; I hope to organize a secret team to infiltrate Harrenhal and investigate the specific situation there."
Kevan had always followed Tywin's lead. Since his brother had spoken, Kevan naturally had no further questions, and he began to formulate a strategy with Tywin.
"Blackfish" Brynden, located in the Vale, also received this news, as the knights of the Vale had recently started talking about the changes at Harrenhal.
"I say, what's going on with Harrenhal lately? The Hean Family seems to have gone mad, buying up large amounts of outside population, ore, and even soil."
"Who knows? Maybe they want to smelt iron?"
"Does smelting iron require so much iron ore? Unless everyone in Harrenhal eats stones for lunch, I can't figure out how this ore is supposed to be processed."
The Blackfish was aware that this was Roman's doing. When they last met, news of Roman renovating Harrenhal had spread across the Riverlands, but no one had paid any attention to it at the time.
"That kid Roman has grown wings; he's actually made Harrenhal grow so quickly!"
But with Brynden stationed at the Bloody Gate, he had no way to return to Riverrun to discuss countermeasures, so he could only write a letter to Hoster, asking him to keep an eye on Harrenhal.
As for The Reach, they had no reaction. If Roman wanted it, let him have it. The demand for these ores was indeed unusually large, but the nobles of The Reach were not exactly poor; they just thought it was the Hean Family messing around blindly.
As for Roman, his days were difficult. He felt the triple hardship of lacking raw materials, labor, and money for the first time.
Fili brought over a plate of cookies and a cup of herbal tea. Seeing Roman frowning, the girl stepped forward and began to massage his shoulders.
"Fili? You're here. Thank you for still remembering me."
"Hmph, Lord Roman, you didn't want an Attendant, so of course I'm the only one taking care of you."
Looking at the pouting Fili, Roman couldn't help but laugh.
It had to be said that Fili was quite beautiful. Although she was still thin, Fili had beautiful bones, and once she was well-fed and her body had fully developed, she would surely stun everyone.
Mentioning beauty, Roman couldn't help but recall the discussions he had with others about the beauties of Westeros.
Cersei? Although she was clearly stated in the book to be the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms, she was essentially a fool and a bad seed; he'd be lucky if she didn't come looking for trouble with him later.
the Little Rose? the Little Rose in the book was mostly kind and innocent, with a touch of guile. But in the show, she was cunning to the extreme; he would have to wait and see how she turned out.
Roman had no impression of Baratheon and Dorne.
Those in the North... Sansa was too much of a fangirl and naive in the early stages, and later, after suffering endless torment, she grew into a qualified politician under Littlefinger's tutelage.
As for Arya, Roman felt that the two of them might be able to be good brothers in the future.
"That's not right. Shouldn't I be thinking of ways to solve the iron ore problem? Why am I thinking about women?"
Roman's sudden exclamation startled Fili: "Lord Roman, what are you saying? Are you talking about marriage?"
Marriage? Roman hadn't considered that point; he was purely thinking about these classic topics just now.
But he suddenly remembered the North. House Stark in the North was currently managed by Eddard, and his wife Catelyn Tully's mother was Minisa Riveran. Come to think of it, Lady Helaena also had a connection to them, and Catelyn had even reminisced about Lady Helaena.
"Thank you, Fili. You actually reminded me!"
"Eh? What did I do, Lord Roman?"
Roman had forgotten about the North for the longest time. Shipping by sea from White Harbor in the North to King's Landing, and then heading north through the Blackwater Rush to the Gods Eye—this route had low enough costs.
Moreover, the vast territory of the North could also provide the produce that Harrenhal needed.
Roman pulled the confused Fili to Lady Helaena's room and explained his plan to her.
"Child, you want to do business with the North?"
Roman nodded affirmatively: "Lord Eddard Stark is a respectable lord, and trading with him is at least easier than dealing with the wolves around us."
Lady Helaena pondered for a moment and agreed with Roman's idea.
"Very well. We happen to be going to support the Nights Watch soon. You haven't met the Warden of the North yet, so why don't you go deliver the supplies next time and visit Winterfell while you're at it."
"As you wish, that is exactly what I intended."
According to Lady Helaena, the next support for The Wall would have to wait until the harvest, so that Harrenhal would have the spare capacity to prepare supplies for the Nights Watch.
Roman intended to take this opportunity to develop for a while longer.
The North was vast and rich in produce, but the climate was bitterly cold; only the Long Summer made it slightly habitable.
This also led to a shortage of personnel in the North. He only hoped that "Lord Eel" of White Harbor could be effective and get Roman some more ore.
"The North, the North... Right now, those little cubs of House Stark are probably just at the age where they're running around everywhere. What kind of scene will I see if I go to meet them now?"
Fili didn't know the complex relationships between the nobles, but seeing the smile on Roman's face, she followed suit and laughed foolishly.
Roman was in a great mood and casually pinched Fili's little cheek.
"Stop laughing foolishly, you haven't cleared the dinner plate yet."
"Ouch~ That's because you dragged me away, Lord Roman!"