"Margaery Tyrell?" Aegor raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly. "I won't see her. Let's talk about it after I've finished my work and have some free time."
The Little Rose… can she be considered a friend?
Judging by the frequency and volume of her commercial dealings with the Night's Watch Industry after he left King's Landing for the Wall, she undoubtedly was. But for the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, now serving under the Dragon Queen, she was by no means an ally.
Aegor could even guess why she hadn't come as part of the official delegation from the Reach, but had instead sought him out privately. Unfortunately, one was a noble born of Westerosi soil, and the other the leader of a new force supporting Daenerys in breaking the wheel of history. It was destined that there would be no shared language or common goals between them.
(Even if Daenerys is concerned about the succession and unwilling to acknowledge Prince Aegon, shouldn't she still actively work to win over the Reach, such a powerful ally who poses no threat to her position?)
Nina didn't quite understand why Aegor's attitude was so cold, but she understood one thing clearly: her man was far more capable than she was. It was best not to speak too much or interfere blindly with his thinking and decisions.
So, the darling of House Tyrell was completely ignored. The camp supervisors surrounded Aegor, reporting further details about the offensive and defensive situation in King's Landing prior to his arrival, while accompanying him into Blackwall Keep to begin the inspection, starting with the saltpeter warehouse.
Due to the war severing North-South transport routes, the ship of saltpeter that Aegor had personally brought South was the only significant shipment the Night's Watch Industry had supplied from the South to the Wall in the past two years. Though transportation had ceased, communication had not. Under his repeated instructions and orders, the saltpeter field maintained full-speed, uninterrupted production until the temperatures dropped too low to continue, at which point operations finally stopped. Those producing the substance had no idea what it was for. They only knew to keep delivering it and stockpiling it—until it had accumulated to this day…
Compared to the other civil buildings inside and outside the keep, the saltpeter warehouse wasn't large, but it was exceptionally solid and heavy. From the walls to the roof, it was entirely stone—practically a miniature fortress in structure if not in scale. The walls were so thick that the internal space seemed cramped. On moisture-proof shelves built of stone, rising from the floor, large jars of refined saltpeter were densely and neatly arranged as far as the eye could see. The amount stored in this one room alone was likely more than the Night's Watch had used in the entire war against the White Walkers.
"There were quite a few accidents during transport and storage, even some casualties," Neil, Nina's brother, reported loudly. He had overseen the entire operation. "Fortunately, after several bloody lessons, we've more or less figured out safe storage. This building is strictly off-limits to any unprotected light sources like torches, and flammable materials are forbidden. Ventilation ducts were built into the design to cool the interior—though that only really matters in summer."
"For safety reasons, we can't stack the jars closely together, so each warehouse only holds two hundred. There are two such warehouses inside Blackwall Keep. We originally planned to build a fourth, but I realized the extra dozen jars could also be stored in the saltpeter field's temporary warehouse. Since production stopped and the field is no longer in use, we didn't waste more resources on construction."
That was trivial detail. Aegor nodded in approval, walked to the shelf, and carefully picked up a large ceramic jar, weighing it a few times in his hands. It was heavy, estimated at thirty to forty jin.
Even if each jar only held thirty jin of saltpeter, with over six hundred jars, that would amount to nearly twenty thousand jin—ten tons.
And that was just saltpeter. Once mixed with charcoal and sulfur to form Powder, the final weight would increase by several more tons.
Over ten tons of Powder.
Even though he had already estimated the total in advance, Aegor couldn't help but feel a ripple of excitement.
Of course, in the modern world before his transmigration, this wouldn't be enough to cover the fireworks and firecrackers lit in his hometown on Lunar New Year's Day. But in this era, where firearms had just been born, these four saltpeter warehouses could be considered bottomless Powder mines, at least for the short term.
Aegor no longer had to worry about whether there was enough Powder. Instead, he needed to quickly make more weapons that could use it.
"Qyburn, these four warehouses are entrusted to you."
"Leave it to me, my lord," Qyburn replied with his usual kindly smile, looking every bit the amiable old grandfather, completely unfazed by being placed in charge of one of the realm's most vital stores of Powder. Entrusting it to him naturally meant he was to oversee converting all this saltpeter into true Powder—though the formula itself remained confidential and could not be shared.
Aegor put the jar back and calmed his rising excitement. "Alright, let's go to the foundry."
The second stop on the inspection, Blackwall Keep's foundry, was vastly different from the one in Crown Town, both in scale and in personnel. The latter had been designed from the start with the specific purpose of casting cannons. This place… calling it a foundry was generous. It was more like a large blacksmith's shop, primarily responsible for manufacturing metal spare parts for various industrial machines, occasionally forging iron weapons and armor, and supplying internal staff with tools and equipment.
Still, metalwork was metalwork, and the lower technological level of the time had its advantages. Namely, the division of labor wasn't so specialized that systems became incompatible or irreplaceable. To outsiders, cannon-casting and sword-making might seem worlds apart, but to insiders, most of the needed infrastructure was already present. With blueprints and skilled workers, a few tool adjustments, and minor facility upgrades, this shop could become the second firearm arsenal in Westeros—and in the entire world of Ice and Fire.
Aegor had brought Qyburn and his core technical staff from the Gift to the South for exactly this reason.
Crown Town, that distant frontier settlement, had completed its mission as the birthplace of his rise. Though its status as the "Northern Industrial Center" and Aegor's true base remained unshaken, he would not return—at least not in the short term. Second-generation, third-generation, even larger and more advanced cannons would be researched and produced here, in the Night's Watch Industrial Park, then transported to the nearby battlefield, roaring forth to shatter the old era.
Men with ambition and vision never run out of energy. Surrounded by his subordinates, Aegor toured Blackwall Keep inside and out again and again.
He first finalized the foundry's conversion plans to turn it into a cannon production facility. Then he visited the newly trained security team from the Industrial Park—essentially reserve officers—and drafted a plan to incorporate them into the Gift Army. After that, he laid out the future production zones for the other two key Powder components: charcoal preparation, and the route for transporting sulfur from Dragonstone to Blackwall Keep around King's Landing. After completing all of that, he even rode out to a nearby open field to scout a site for the cannon testing grounds. Busy and content, he worked straight through until dusk, only returning to Blackwall Keep when hunger finally set in.
"The second-generation cannons definitely won't be completed in time for the attack on King's Landing. Right now, the Industrial Park is full of soldiers, which also isn't ideal for secrecy, so there's no need to rush production. Let's focus on preparation for now. Once King's Landing is taken and the garrison pulls out, I'll seal this area off and designate it as a restricted zone. We'll also set up a dedicated department to handle security then."
His throat was dry, but as he stepped into the Blackwall Keep dining hall, Aegor was still rambling, laying out his plans for reconstruction... until a graceful, familiar figure suddenly emerged from the side, interrupting him with a soft, melodious voice that carried a hint of complaint, though not a trace of anger. It was charming and coquettish all at once.
"Lord Commander, you truly are overwhelmed with important matters every day. I've waited so long for you!"
Margaery, unwilling to wait for Aegor's appointment, had simply stationed herself in the high-level staff dining hall where he was bound to appear, playing the part of the woman waiting for the Commander.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)