Chapter 82: Logistics Influencing the Frontline
"The duty of the Night's Watch is to guard the Wall, not to protect House Stark. Organizing a large-scale operation just to search for Benjen Stark is not only putting the cart before the horse, but also a blatant disregard and disrespect for the lives of the other brothers." Tyrion repeated Egger's words, looking up at him as if he were seeing a ghost. His hand, holding the quill, remained frozen for a long moment. "Are you certain you want to write this? This is insubordination. Even if Mormont is a reasonable man, he can't possibly... Besides, how do you even know your Lord Commander is launching a Great Ranging solely to find Benjen Stark?"
"I don't know," Egger admitted candidly. "Perhaps I've misunderstood him. He is the former Lord of Bear Island and the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch; surely a great man has a great heart. He wouldn't be so petty as to recall and punish me just because a subordinate criticized him 'out of a misunderstanding.' Besides, he's counting on me to provide his supplies."
"If you understand that, then why use such a harsh tone?"
Egger spread his hands. "What do you think would happen if I laid out the facts and tried to persuade him calmly and politely not to conduct this massive reconnaissance?"
"I don't know. I may be short, but I can't crawl inside Mormont's head."
"I believe he would certainly think: 'Hmph, a fellow hiding in the comforts of King's Landing has the gall to hypocritically advise us not to take risks? Just provide your supplies and stay out of business that doesn't concern you!'" Egger said. "Then, he likely wouldn't even read the arguments you're about to write against this venture. He'd simply write back ordering me to gather the supplies immediately or face recall."
"That is pure malicious speculation."
"But you must admit it's a possibility. Conversely, if I pretend to have a misunderstanding and then blast him from the standpoint of 'what's best for the Watch'..." Egger didn't argue further, but continued to explain his reasoning. "Heh, you know, people have a weakness—when they hear or see someone telling them they're doing something wrong, their attention snaps into focus, and they instinctively look for a way to refute the other person. When Commander Mormont sees my accusations, no matter how much he disdains them, that mental inertia will at least force him to finish reading the rest. He might even write back to appease me, explaining his true purpose for the mission... after all, he needs me to work hard and provide as much as possible from his list."
"You certainly have a lot of schemes." Tyrion grunted, though he found some logic in Egger's thinking. He nodded and looked back at the parchment. "Fine. Say it again. I'll write it exactly as you say. If trouble comes of it, don't come crying to me."
And so, Egger spoke and Tyrion wrote. About an hour later, this first official correspondence from the first Chief Logistics Officer of the Night's Watch to the 997th Lord Commander was completed by Tyrion Lannister, written meticulously in the elegant, upright script popular in the Westerlands.
The letter began with a self-righteous blast of criticism intended to snag the reader's attention instantly. This was followed by Egger's conjectures and judgments regarding the current situation north of the Wall—the more dangerous he could make it sound, the better. If it could scare the man, all the better. Then, the Chief Logistics Officer threw out his own opinion: the Night's Watch was currently understaffed and ill-suited for independent operations. The safest path was to hold the line, bolster defenses, and produce solid evidence to seek aid from the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms.
Finally, Egger outlined several specific plans. He had used his imagination to devise several methods for capturing a live wight in the safest way possible, using only a small number of elite Night's Watchmen. Not only that, he promised to provide all the weaponry and equipment needed to execute these plans.
...
"Forgive my bluntness, Egger, but your plans are clearly idealistic. I fear they would only yield results under perfect conditions where everything goes exactly as planned." By now, Tyrion didn't want to question the existence of those things beyond the Wall anymore. Assuming Egger wasn't talking nonsense, he spoke to the facts: "I've been to the Wall. The conditions and the situation there are harsh and complex, the quality of the men varies wildly, and things can change in an instant."
"I don't expect them to follow my words exactly. The key lies in the equipment and supplies I've promised for these plans," Egger explained. "As long as they even slightly buy into the idea of 'seeking aid from the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms' and wait for me to send the gear for catching wights and fighting White Walkers, my goal is achieved. Even by sea, it takes a month to get from King's Landing to the Wall. By the time it arrives, the most dangerous moment will have already passed."
"What 'most dangerous moment'?"
"Heh. Military secret."
The part Egger couldn't tell Tyrion was this: in the original Great Ranging, the Night's Watch chose to garrison the Fist of the First Men because they judged it to be the inevitable path for Mance Rayder's army of a hundred thousand wildlings marching south from the Frostfangs along the Milkwater. The terrain was strategic and easy to defend—with just a few hundred men holding that high ground, they could have withstood ten thousand wildlings and blocked their path south.
Strategically and tactically, there was no error in that. Unfortunately, it wasn't wildlings they encountered, but a mountain covered in wights.
As long as the Night's Watch delayed their departure even slightly to wait for the supplies and equipment he promised, the wildling army would begin its march south from their gathering point, flooding past the Fist of the First Men in a grand procession. This would cause the expeditionary force to lose the initiative of occupying that strategic terrain. Without the chance to seize the Fist, the army of the dead wouldn't have the opportunity to surround them on the hill, and naturally, they wouldn't face near-total annihilation.
This was the best way a logistics officer could influence the frontline without having command authority—by controlling the timing of supply deliveries.
If the Night's Watch could follow his suggestion and capture a wight to send to King's Landing, that would undoubtedly be the best outcome. If not, saving as many of his black-clad brothers as possible was also a fine choice.
Unable to determine whether saving them or not better served his interests, Egger finally decided to follow his heart. I'll be sentimental this once. He couldn't just do nothing and watch three hundred brothers march out to their deaths. Although he was desperate to shed his status as a Night's Watchman and was annoyed by the mountain of tasks the leadership had dumped on him, at the end of the day, he shared a bond of brotherhood with the men of Castle Black. From a personal perspective, he also admired the character and self-sacrifice of leaders like Commander Mormont and Maester Aemon.
"Pah... 'military secrets.' I don't give a damn." Tyrion made a dismissive gesture. He picked up the parchment and scanned it. "Mhm. That's that. Anything else to add?"
"Mhm, let me think... first, help me ask for the official commission as 'Chief Logistics Officer.' Write it down—I don't want a salary, and I'll recruit my own subordinates. I just need the Night's Watch to officially recognize the title."
"Mhm, that's important. Anything else?"
Egger thought for a moment. It wasn't easy to send a letter to the Wall, so he might as well say everything he wanted to say at once. "Include the difficulties I've faced in recruiting. Tell them about my idea to recruit 'Provisional Night's Watchmen' and see if Mormont agrees."
"Difficulties in recruiting?" Tyrion shot him another glance. "How would I know? Have you even started recruiting yet?"
"I haven't. Don't worry about that. Just write what I say."
"Mhm... fine."
Egger organized his thoughts, polished his plan with a bit of flourish, and had Tyrion write it into the letter.
"Right, add one more thing. If they find the bodies of any rangers who were scouting north, tell them not to burn them upon returning to Castle Black. Lock them in a cage. If they come back to life, just send them straight to King's Landing."
What in the seven hells is this? Tyrion frowned, but decided to stop thinking for a moment and settle into being a writing machine. "Anything else?"
"That's all... oh, add a final line for Jon Snow. Tell him Arya asked me to send her regards. Tell him she's learning swordplay from me in King's Landing and is very happy, and tell him to take care of himself at the Wall."
Tyrion rolled his eyes. "You dare impersonate Lady Stark?"
"Just write it. I'll tell Arya tomorrow; she'll definitely agree."
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