Chapter 18: Road Construction and Port Plans

In the study, the architect Downs enthusiastically introduced his new castle plans to Eddard and Klar.

"Centering on the Kingsroad outside Winterfell, we can build three castles. I have already chosen the names: Spring City, Xia Ri Cheng, and Jin Qiu Cheng. Lord Eddard, as long as you give me enough manpower, timber, and stone, these castles will be as magnificent as Winterfell."

Eddard smiled awkwardly, "Downs, Winterfell is perfectly adequate for me and my family to live in, and it is sufficient to host my vassals for feasts. I intend to expand the Winter Town, not build castles."

Downs said solemnly, "Lord Eddard, what is the motto of your House Stark again? Winter is Coming, right? In other words, life is short. We should leave behind more wonders for future generations during our brief lives. What is the use of building log cabins in the Winter Town?"

The financial advisor Klar chuckled, "Do you have any idea how much your plan will cost? Where would Duke Eddard get that much money?"

Downs said, "I am merely an architect; I only wish to leave behind magnificent castles and works. As for the matter of money, that is not for me to consider."

Eddard said, "You must consider it. If Brandon the Builder had not counted the costs, he would never have been able to leave behind wonders like The Wall and Winterfell. If one ignores costs, the Eyrie of House Arryn might have remained unfinished, and Storm's End of House Baratheon might have been built only halfway."

"Downs, I can see that you are a talented young man with dreams. You have unbridled imagination, but you lack a grounded, practical spirit. The North is a harsh place. If you want to serve me, you must be pragmatic. I will not undertake projects that waste resources and money. Do you have any projects that are beneficial to the economy?"

"I do. My talent is not only reflected in building castles."

Downs put away the castle blueprints and pulled another one from his sleeve. After unfolding it, Eddard discovered it was a map of the Seven Kingdoms, on which Downs had planned several roads in the region of the North.

"Lord Eddard, the North is vast but poor. Why? Because there are too few roads in the North; there is only the Kingsroad running north to south. Look, in the territory of House Lannister in the Westerlands, there is the Golden Road; the Tyrells in the Reach have the Ocean Road and the Rose Road; the Riverlands have the River Road. That is why their trade is smooth and their economy is prosperous."

"If we build roads in the North, we could build an Ocean Road along both the east and west coasts. The west coast would start from Deepwood Motte, connect to Torrhen's Square, pass through the Rills, and intersect with the Kingsroad at Barrowton. The east coast would start from Karhold, pass through the Dreadfort, Gong Yang Men, and Old Stones to reach White Harbor, and then build a road from White Harbor to connect to Winterfell."

Klar said disdainfully, "Downs, have you not seen the heavy snow in the North? When winter comes and the earth freezes, what use are roads?"

Downs retorted coldly, "When the earth freezes, the farmland in the North is basically left fallow. Does that mean we shouldn't farm at other times? Once my roads are built, they can connect Barrowton, White Harbor, and Winterfell, radiating across the entire North."

Eddard noticed that although Downs's plan seemed too advanced and impractical for now, it was potentially achievable in the future.

"Downs, your idea for building roads is much better than the castles. This is the kind of project that makes money and enriches the people that I want. Do you have any other ideas?"

Downs pointed to the long west coast of the North on the map, "Lord Eddard, have you noticed? The North does not have a decent port on the west coast, not a single one. May I ask how Deepwood Motte, Bear Island, and the Rills are supposed to trade with the south?"

Eddard looked at the map, "The Rills basically choose to take the Kingsroad; House Ryswell has plenty of horses. As for Deepwood Motte, the timber from Deepwood Motte can only be transported to Winterfell and then transshipped to White Harbor for trade. The furs and timber from Bear Island are shipped to the Bay of Ice and transshipped all the way to White Harbor."

Downs said, "The North's goods rely too heavily on White Harbor. Why not take the goods directly from Deepwood Motte or the Rills to sell in the south? The Riverlands have densely populated towns, and Lannisport in the Westerlands has the gold of Casterly Rock and the wealth of the Westerlands, while Oldtown in the Reach is teeming with the fruits and fine wines of the Reach."

Eddard sighed, "The North has tried many times to open up shipping routes on the west coast, but the damn Ironborn stand in the way. The Ironborn are natural pirates; they often raid the fishing villages of the North. Our fishing boats don't dare to fish too far from the sea."

Some Ironborn Longships would come to Deepwood Motte and the fishing villages on the Stony Shore to trade, buying timber from the North, as the amount of wood used for shipbuilding in the Iron Islands is staggering. However, because there are no customs on the west coast, most of this trade is smuggling. The Ironborn captains would give the local lords some money to secure permission to trade. Winterfell cannot collect taxes.

Downs said, "Pirates are everywhere. The Ironborn at least submit on the surface. The Stepstones spanning the Narrow Sea are the ones that are truly lawless. Yet, the Swan Ships of the Summer Islands, the Ibben whalers, the ships of Braavos, the ships of Oldtown, and the ships of King's Landing still risk passing through every day."

"Lord Eddard, forgive my bluntness, but the people of the North are too afraid of the sea. You are descendants of the First Men. When the First Men arrived in Westeros, they crossed the Arm of Dorne. Today, the Arm of Dorne has long been torn apart by earthquakes, becoming the Duan Bi Jiao and the Stepstones. The fear of the sea among the people of the North seems not to have changed at all."

"Because of a handful of Ironborn pirates, you give up shipping on the west coast—how is that any different from refusing to eat for fear of choking? When I was in Gulltown and King's Landing, I often chatted with captains and sailors. They told me that when they go to the Reach or the Westerlands to trade, they go north at most as far as Seagard and the King's Port of the Iron Islands, then turn south, because there are no decent ports further north."

Downs looked at the map, his gaze resting on the Barrowlands.

"I think it should be here. This is the Barrow River. The river flows south from the mountain tombs of the Barrowlands and empties into Blazewater Bay. The upper reaches of the Barrow River are at Barrowton, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the North. If we build a wharf and shipyard at the mouth of the Barrow River, goods from Winter Town, Barrowton, and even White Harbor could go directly south via Blazewater Bay to trade in Lannisport and Oldtown."

"Of course, the First Men River in the Rills also empties into Blazewater Bay. This estuary also has the potential to develop into a port town. I haven't been there, but Lord Eddard, look at the map: so many tributaries of the Rills flow into the First Men River; the shipping value of this river cannot be wrong."

Under normal circumstances, the North's wool, furs, timber, and other goods are transported to White Harbor via the White Knife. If a ship from the North wants to trade in Lannisport, it must exit the Bite, head south all the way, pass through the storm-tossed Shipbreaker Bay, round the thousand-mile-long, desolate coast of the Dorne desert, pass through the Redwyne Straits, go past Oldtown, and then head north all the way to reach Lannisport.

If the port town planned by Downs really develops, ships from the North could go directly out of Blazewater Bay and head south to Lannisport to trade, reducing the voyage by ninety percent. Furthermore, Downs's plan would undoubtedly strengthen coastal defense.

The North possesses two great fortresses: The Wall in the north and Moat Cailin in the south. Moat Cailin has historically never been taken by enemies from the south.

However, the Heatwave River to the west of Moat Cailin empties into the sea. Once enemy ships utilize the long, narrow bay that reaches deep into the North, they could easily threaten Moat Cailin from the west by sailing up the Heatwave River.

Currently, both the mouth of the Barrow River and the mouth of the First Men River have Eddard's Yan Tun Jian Ta, but the population is small, with only a few fishing villages scattered along the coast. If these river mouths could be developed, the economy of the North would be boosted, and the defense against foreign enemies would also be greatly strengthened.

Downs rolled up the map, "Lord Eddard, if I were you, I would immediately discuss the development of the river mouths with the vassals of Barrowton and the Rills."

The Lady of Barrowton is the widow Barbrey Dustin, and the Lord of the Rills is Barbrey's father, Lord Roderick Ryswell. These two vassals have never been very enthusiastic about orders from Winterfell and have even been flirting with Roose Bolton of the Dreadfort.

Fortunately, Eddard has taken the heir of the Dreadfort, Domeric Bolton, as his ward. Domeric is Barbrey's nephew and Lord Roderick's grandson. With the future plan for Winterfell to build ports on the west coast, Eddard believes that Barbrey and Lord Roderick will cooperate.

Eddard looked at Downs with appreciation.

"Downs, many of your plans are costly and some may take many years to bear fruit, but you have strategic vision. You deserve a place in Winterfell's circle of advisors. From now on, you are the Chief Architect of Winterfell and the North! I have an important project to entrust to you."

Downs's eyes lit up, "What is the mission?"

"Go and build a warehouse next to the pigsty in the Winter Town."

(End of chapter)