Chapter 248: Reversing the Deadlock
Egger returned to his room and sat beneath the candlelight, sinking into deep thought.
On the way back from assigning those two tasks to Jon, he had carefully cataloged and considered every person at his disposal. He realized that—aside from stepping into the fray himself—he truly had no viable candidate to put forward.
Being the mastermind or a kingmaker behind the scenes sounded pleasant, but one needed the actual power to back it up. The reality now was that even if he rolled up his sleeves and ran personally, his chances of winning were incredibly slim.
There were many people he could potentially sway: old comrades from his days as a ranger, the handful of sworn members currently in the Logistics Department, the friends Jon had made over the past year at the Wall, the group of bodyguards Jaime had brought with him, and a large contingent of Crownlands nobles who had backed the wrong stag in the clash between the two Baratheon brothers and were forced to take the black.
It looked like a lot, but compared to the total number of nearly a thousand Night's Watchmen, it would be difficult to even reach a third, let alone the two-thirds threshold required for victory.
Was it too late to start buying hearts and minds?
He pulled out his ledgers and did the math. The financial reports for Night's Watch Industries were promising, but when poured into the bottomless pit that was the Gift, the funds felt like a drop in the bucket. Buying votes with gold was undoubtedly the most efficient plan, but it was also the easiest way to leave a paper trail for his enemies. This world lacked a sophisticated legal system, but bribery in an election—outside of a few eccentric city-states across the Narrow Sea—was not something Westerosi who prided themselves on being decent would openly accept. Once exposed, the trouble would be endless.
Egger didn't do things where the risk outweighed the reward. But besides paving the way with gold, what other advantage did he have to win an election quickly?
As he was agonizing over this, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
With a creak, the door pushed halfway open. The biting wind rushed in, making the candlelight flicker wildly. A portly figure squeezed inside and hastily shut the door behind him.
"Lord Egger."
"Sam." The Lord Logistics Officer nodded to the newcomer. "Good evening. Is something the matter?"
Samwell Tarly, son of the famous Reach general Randyll Tarly, had been forced by his father to join the Night's Watch because he was deemed too cowardly. He had a fair amount of screen time and was considered an important character. Unfortunately, Egger didn't truly feel the fat boy could be of much help since his own transmigration. In terms of knowledge, Egger—with a full modern education—far surpassed him; in terms of brains, Sam was certainly clever, but to say he outmatched Egger was a stretch; in terms of combat and courage... well, Egger might not be a champion, but he wasn't about to lose a contest to the fellow standing before him.
For many reasons, Egger hadn't made a deliberate effort to associate with him after returning to the Wall. The reason could be summarized in one sentence: the cost-benefit ratio of the time and energy required wasn't high enough.
As the head of Night's Watch Industries and the Logistics Department, he had too much real work to do; he couldn't afford to waste time on personal whims.
Sam looked nervous. Standing before the desk, he stammered for a good while without managing a coherent sentence. For a noble with a recognizable name, being this terrified was almost a talent in itself.
In critical moments, one must value every person. With this mindset, Egger suppressed his impatience and pointed to a chair. "Sit. You are Jon's friend, and Jon is mine... so, we can consider ourselves on the same side. Speak freely; there's no need for restraint."
Sam took a deep breath, as if finally organizing his thoughts. "My Lord... I heard from Jon about the crisis the Watch is facing. Regardless of what others say, I believe your Gift resettlement plan is excellent. I support you."
"Thank you." Egger smiled, resting his arms on the desk, waiting for the "but."
"However, Jon said he wants to support you for Lord Commander. To be honest... I don't think the chances of winning are high."
Did I really need you to remind me of that? Egger sighed. "Indeed, they aren't. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Suggestions... perhaps not, but I have a reminder. My Lord, how much do you know about the history of Night's Watch elections and the rules?"
"Certainly not as much as you. I only know that all sworn brothers have the right to vote, and a candidate must receive more than two-thirds of the votes to be elected. Speaking of which, I was just looking for someone to explain the details. Would you care to enlighten me?"
"There is no need, my Lord." Perhaps because Egger's attitude was friendly, Sam gradually found his courage, and his speech became smoother. "I came to tell you a specific rule of the election—every brother at Castle Black can vote in person, while those not present are represented by their fort commanders or designated proxies. There is a very important clause: as long as no one receives two-thirds of the vote, the election continues the next day... and if still no one wins, the day after that, and so on. There was once a cycle that lasted over seven hundred days—nearly two years."
"Oh?" Egger raised an eyebrow. He truly hadn't known that story, and Sam clearly had a purpose in mentioning it. Voting for two years meant the Wall had no supreme leader for that entire duration. To Egger, who was used to the idea that "a country cannot be without a king for a day," this was a bizarre concept. How did the Night's Watch fulfill its duties during those two years?
As if sensing Egger's question, Sam answered immediately. "During those two years, the Night's Watch essentially split into two parts, each operating as usual—repairing the Wall, patrolling beyond it, and defending against Wildlings. No matter how they fared, at least they didn't let the Wildlings or White Walkers over the Wall."
"In other words, before a new Commander is elected, the entire Watch will follow their own preferences... obeying the orders of the commanders they choose to follow, while the Order as a whole continues to function?" Egger's mind raced as he suddenly understood what Sam was getting at.
"Exactly. But there is a more important point." Sam looked pleased that Egger had caught on so quickly. "To overturn a command issued by a previous Lord Commander, one must be a formal, newly elected Lord Commander. We want the Gift resettlement plan to continue; we don't necessarily need to win the election immediately. We only need to prevent the birth of the next Lord Commander—by ensuring no candidate gets more than two-thirds of the vote!"
Sam had found a blind spot. Egger stared for a moment, then broke into a grin of immense relief, grabbing Sam by the shoulders. "You truly are a genius!"
"You flatter me, my Lord." Sam's face flushed red. "As for how to prevent the birth of the next Lord Commander, it's actually quite simple. No one ever wins in the first round. We simply wait for the first day's tally to end, then throw our votes to the runner-up to close the gap between the top two... let them both feel they have a chance at the seat. Then, we can take our time to figure out how to break the deadlock!"
A solution to the crisis had suddenly dropped from the sky, but executing it wouldn't be as simple as it sounded. Using a loophole in the rules to push the resettlement plan forward while preventing a new Lord Commander from being elected meant a large portion of the Watch would be beyond his command. While the Gift currently had no shortage of people, people and sworn brothers were, after all, different.
Nevertheless, he finally had a general direction for his actions. From here on out, it was all a matter of effort—it would depend entirely on the skill of the man carrying out the plan.
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