Chapter 140: The Mouth of the Salt Spear

At the meeting of the Lords of the North in Barrow Hall, under the gaze of lords from all over the North, Eddard lost the opportunity to take the mouth of the Salt Spear for free due to Lady Barbrey's forceful arguments.

Barbrey revealed a triumphant smile; the widow of Barrowton had once again fought for the interests of the Dustin House and Barrowton on the eve of her wedding.

Eddard said helplessly to Barbrey, "I am glad Brandon did not marry you back then; you are truly a difficult opponent. I will give you a chance: Winterfell is willing to spend one thousand Gold Dragons to purchase the mouths of the First Men River and the Barrow River."

"The West Coast Fleet of Winterfell protects Bear Island, Flint's Finger, and Deepwood Motte, and it also protects the lands of the Salt Spear, the Rills, and the Barrowlands. Winterfell pays for the entire West Coast Fleet; I have not let you spend a single Copper Coin. Now I am paying to buy the land. You may refuse; if you refuse, build the mouth fortresses yourselves. These fortresses are to protect your lands; consider it carefully."

One thousand Gold Dragons is a huge sum for the nobles of the North; one must know that during wartime, the ransom price for a noble is only a few hundred Gold Dragons.

For the Rills, one thousand Gold Dragons is hundreds of high-quality warhorses. For the Barrowlands, one thousand Gold Dragons is the income from many turnip and onion manors.

Lord Roderick of the Rills was somewhat tempted. He looked at his daughter, Lady Barbrey, and Lady Barbrey said calmly, "I do not want a single Copper Coin; I would rather have the future tax revenue from the mouths of the First Men River and the Barrow River."

Barbrey was inherently a person with foresight. Recently, during her visit to Winterfell, she witnessed a series of Eddard's inventions and the rapid progress of Winterfell's handicrafts, medicine, and brewing industries. She was convinced that there would be huge commercial potential at the river mouths in the future, so she would rather spend a large sum of money to build the fortresses herself than lose the future potential tax revenue of the river mouths.

Eddard smiled, "I respect your choice, Lady Barbrey. Let the Dustin House bear the cost of the mouth fortresses themselves! Based on my experience with large-scale construction in Winterfell, this is a large sum of money. Even if built to the specifications of the First Men Ring Fort, it will cost at least one thousand Gold Dragons."

Eddard deliberately let "one thousand Gold Dragons" echo in the hall for a while. Eddard knew very well in his heart that one thousand Gold Dragons was not a small amount for the vassals of the North facing the test of winter.

Jason, Steve, Paul, and Delong of the Dustin House, and Roger, Luce, and Rickard of the Ryswell House of the Rills, either frowned and sighed or whispered to each other.

The Gold Dragons soon caused an uproar among the nobles of the Rills. These cousins of Lord Roderick—Roger, Rickard, and Luce—were constantly fighting among themselves and often caused trouble for the Lord of the Rills.

When outsiders invaded, the cavalry of the Rills could unite against the enemy, but once in times of peace, the various Ryswells would scheme and calculate against each other. Since the mouth of the First Men River could be sold for money, these Ryswells immediately instigated Lord Roderick to accept it so they could split a sum of money.

Next, it was the Dustin House's turn to choose.

Lady Barbrey was still unwilling to accept. Bald Jason Dustin said, "Barbrey, I think Lord Eddard's offer is quite fair! Winterfell is paying to buy the river mouths and build the fortresses to protect the Barrowlands; we should just accept it!"

Paul Dustin chimed in, "Where would Barrowton get the money to build the mouth fortresses itself? Whether it is the fishing village on the east bank of the First Men River or the fishing village at the mouth of the Barrow River, the tax revenue is pitifully small."

Lady Barbrey looked at her Dustin kin with some frustration, "Fine, it is you who want to sell the river mouths; don't regret it later."

Eddard revealed a triumphant smile. Lady Barbrey said, "Lord Eddard, the river mouths can be sold to you, but our price must be higher than the Rills'. The Rills only own the land on the west bank of the First Men River; we, the Barrowlands, own the mouth on the east bank of the First Men River and the entire mouth of the Barrow River, so the price must be higher."

Eddard nodded resignedly, "Very well."

After some haggling, the Dustin House finally sold the two mouths of the Salt Spear to Winterfell for the price of two thousand Gold Dragons.

After the meeting of the lords ended, the nobles of the North left the hall one after another. Beside Eddard, only Catelyn, Helen Pyke, Robb, Theon, the guard Dawson, and others remained.

Catelyn raised an eyebrow, "Why spend money to buy the mouths of the Salt Spear? What value does the Salt Spear have?"

Eddard smiled, "In the future, merchant ships from The Reach, the Westerlands, the Iron Islands, and the Riverlands can take the West Coast of the North and transport goods directly to the Salt Spear, sending them into the North from the mouths of the First Men River and the Barrow River. Goods from the North can also take these ports to be sold to the Riverlands, the Westerlands, and The Reach."

Catelyn laughed bitterly, "The Ironborn Pirates of the Iron Islands have cut off the trade routes of the North's West Coast. How many merchant ships would dare to risk crossing pirate-infested waters to trade in the North?" After saying this, Catelyn turned and left.

Besides the economic value, the strategic value of the river mouths is huge. By spending money to buy land at the Salt Spear, Winterfell will have port fortresses in the future. On one hand, it will defend against the Ironborn; on the other hand, with Winterfell's fortresses, the Rills and the Barrowlands will have strengthened Winterfell's control over these two vassals.

Eddard beckoned, and the guard Dawson handed over a map of the North, and together with Helen, they spread the map flat in front of Eddard.

"Helen, you are a born Pirate Queen; tell me, what do the Ironborn fear most when they raid the West Coast of the North?"

This question intrigued Helen. She smirked, "What would Ironborn pirates fear? After King Balon's rebellion was suppressed, King Balon restrained his vassals and did not allow them to raid in the Seven Kingdoms; violators are all drowned and offered to the Drowned God, at least on the surface."

"But why are the Ironborn pirates never stamped out? This is because the Iron Islands have barren land but a large population; the land and minerals cannot support so many people. Those commoners and descendants of bondmen have to become pirates to survive. The Ironborn pirates who like to raid the North do so simply because the North lacks naval power."

"Coming to the North to raid, besides looting women and children, there is actually not much of value on the North's coast. If the North had a decent fleet patrolling the waters west of Sea Dragon Point, the Ironborn pirates would have to consider whether it is worth risking a death struggle with the enemy just to snatch some animal furs and women."

Eddard placed his right index finger on Sea Dragon Point on the map of the North; Sea Dragon Point is almost as large as all the islands of the Iron Islands combined.

Winterfell once enfeoffed many nobles at Sea Dragon Point, but due to the ravages of the Ironborn pirates, they all died out. Now Sea Dragon Point is under the direct administration of Winterfell, and the one managing Sea Dragon Point on behalf of Winterfell is the Flint of Flint's Finger.

The House Flint is ancient and proud, with many branches. The most famous are the Flints of the Mountains, the Flints of Widow's Watch, and the Flints of Flint's Finger. Among these, the Flints of the Mountains belong to the mountain clans, the Flints of Widow's Watch are located on the southeast coast of the North, and the territory of the Flints of Flint's Finger is adjacent to Sea Dragon Point, closest to the Iron Islands.

Because Sea Dragon Point was controlled by the Ironborn for a long period in history, many residents of Sea Dragon Point have Ironborn blood, and many are as tenacious as the Ironborn; they may be the group most skilled in naval warfare among the Northmen.

(End of chapter)