Chapter 33: How Can You Keep Shearing the Wool Off the Same Sheep?

Stone Hedge, Great Hall.

"You mean to say, you want me to help you find stonemasons and carpenters in my lands?" Joffrey asked, looking at Arthur, who sat before him.

Arthur nodded. "That is correct, but not just a few stonemasons and carpenters. I also need a large number of adult males to fell trees, dig pits, and move stones, as well as a Maester to direct the construction—if he has experience in building fortifications, that would be even better. Of course, I will pay for it."

"Additionally, I need to stockpile a large amount of potatoes, wheat, peas, and other food supplies, as well as sundries like spices, wine, and clothing. I hope to purchase these from your lands, Uncle."

After he mobilized his tenants to build the stockade three days ago, he suddenly realized that they could not complete it on their own.

Not to mention that the thousand or so available laborers could only dig perimeter pits and fell trees, and setting aside the issue of building stone walls, simply coordinating the food and lodging for over a thousand people had already left Arthur and Amber in a state of chaos.

In short, it was a lack of experience.

After getting them on the right track with the pit-digging, Arthur immediately headed south to seek the help of the Count of Stone Hedge.

Count Joffrey sipped his wine and said leisurely, "That is no problem at all."

He had extorted three thousand Gold Dragons from Raventree Hall, and he had been in a very good mood for some time.

After a moment's thought, the Count said, "I can also issue an order for the master craftsmen and apprentices from some of the workshops in my territory to go and help you, free of charge. As for adult males, that is even less of a problem. Do you want a few dozen, or one or two hundred?"

Arthur answered sincerely, "Around two thousand, for a month's work."

Joffrey nearly dropped his wine glass. "Are you planning to renovate your family castle?"

Two thousand adult males was not a small number, even in a count's territory with a population in the hundreds of thousands.

"No, it is to build a larger stockade so that when war breaks out, my tenants can all come inside to take refuge, so the scale of the project is a bit larger."

Hearing this, Joffrey grew even fonder of this distant nephew. "Don't you worry, as long as the people of Raventree Hall dare to retaliate against your territory, I will send troops to tear their assholes apart."

He subconsciously assumed that Arthur was guarding against Blackwood House.

Arthur did not correct Joffrey's misunderstanding; no one could have predicted the political trajectory of Westeros a few months later.

The alliance between The North and the Riverlands originally had no substantial conflict with the Lannisters of the Westerlands, aside from the two sides holding each other's hostages.

If Eddard Stark had not been ordered to be beheaded by Joffrey, and if the foolish Robb had not declared himself king, Tywin would likely have been very happy to make peace with both sides after Tyrion Lannister returned.

There are always plenty of fools; if only Robb had even a fraction of the magnanimity of his ancestor, Torrhen Stark the King Who Knelt, he would never have thought of declaring himself king.

It was precisely because of these factors that the entire Riverlands became the kingdom that suffered the most in the War of the Five Kings: farmers were displaced, years of accumulated grain were seized by various factions as military rations, and villages were burned to the ground.

Even House Stark, which Arthur quite liked, never restrained the looting behavior of the North Army in the Riverlands.

One can only say that there are few good men among these nobles.

"Thank you for your generous assistance." Arthur took the wine glass handed to him by a manservant and took a sip. "Very good wine."

Although he felt the wine was quite mediocre, he still praised it against his conscience.

After all, he was the one asking for favors.

"If you can stay in Stone Hedge for a few days, I can summon Maester Banji from Yalan Cheng. He has experience in building fortifications and meets your requirements," Joffrey said after considering for a moment.

House Vance of Yalan Cheng was a strong branch of the Vance of Wayfarer's Rest, also holding the title of Count, and had always had a good relationship with Stone Hedge.

"That would be best, but I need to go to your territory to purchase supplies and do not have the time to accompany you. As for this Banji, I will trouble you to summon him; I will pay him sufficient wages."

"That won't be necessary." The Count waved his hand. "Yalan Cheng owes me several favors; let their Maester work for you for free."

Although he did not understand why Joffrey was so enthusiastic, Arthur accepted and expressed his gratitude.

The Count emphasized again, "As for the two thousand adult males, I can also issue an order to ensure that you get people who are truly capable of hard work; you only need to provide food and lodging."

"Thank you very much." Arthur felt more and more that something was fishy.

Neither of these two conditions was a small favor; he wondered what Joffrey was planning.

"As for the craftsmen, carpenters, and such, there are many in the workshops under my name. How about this: I will have Hendry take you to the various villages this afternoon, and you can pick whoever you like. Hmm... as long as the total number of masters and apprentices does not exceed two hundred."

Another huge favor. One must know that taking two hundred people out of the workshops would stop many ongoing operations, which was a significant loss.

Arthur was almost afraid to accept; it would be bad if the Count made some strange request.

But in order to build the defensive stockade, he had no choice but to accept.

"I am truly sorry to have caused you such..."

Before Arthur could finish his words of thanks, he was interrupted by Joffrey.

"Small matter." The master of Stone Hedge suddenly leaned in, letting his face, which had already begun to age, enter Arthur's view.

"If you can kidnap more of the Blackwood people, I will give you even more help."

Arthur was startled. "You mean you want me to kidnap Brynden again?"

This was no small matter. If Arthur did this again, regardless of whether he was in the right or wrong, he feared he would not be able to survive on the north bank of the Red Fork.

"Sigh—" Joffrey dragged out a long sound from his throat. "How can you keep shearing the wool off the same sheep?"

"The old man Tytos has three sons and one daughter: the second son Lukasi, the third son Hoster, and the daughter Beishanni—they can all be kidnapped!"

"Of course, I don't mean you should focus solely on kidnapping, just keep an eye out for it. If there's an opportunity, strike at his house, and I will back you up."

Arthur agreed readily.

It wasn't a mandatory requirement anyway, so there was no need to worry about it.

A few months later, when the War of the Five Kings began, who would remember such a small matter?

After finalizing the details, Joffrey, Arthur, Hendry, and Joffrey's daughter Jeyne, among others, had lunch together.

In the afternoon, accompanied by Hendry, Arthur went to over a dozen large villages and successfully selected two hundred craftsmen from the workshops, including experienced master craftsmen and a certain number of apprentices.

He would take these people back to Riverbank Village first, and then return to receive the two thousand laborers.

Of course, he would also purchase a large amount of grain and daily sundries at the same time, and have these laborers carry them to his territory.

Night, Stone Hedge.

"This Arthur is really too much of a troublemaker," Hendry complained to his uncle after returning to the family castle.

"It's just a tiny piece of land, is it worth all this fuss?"

Joffrey did not agree with his nephew's complaint. "He is guarding against a great house like the Blackwood House; doing so is perfectly reasonable."

"But he shouldn't be preparing as if the Seven Kingdoms were about to go to war. In the end, it's just that he's been holed up in that small castle for too long and lacks experience. He had one fight with Raventree Hall, and now he's as jumpy as a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring."

The Earl nodded, agreeing with Hendry's point, "That is indeed true; Lord Eddard and King Robert are in the prime of their lives, and the days of peace will continue for a long time yet. Arthur's reaction was excessive. Of course, I support him doing so; I will never oppose any actions taken against Raventree Hall."

The stone walls of Stone Hedge recorded their words.

Before long, they would regret their own foolishness, while simultaneously singing the praises of Arthur's foresight.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

A Game of Thrones joke every day:

Until the last drop of Riverlander blood is shed, we of The North and House Stark shall never make peace with the Lannister.

(End of this chapter)