Chapter 126: Learning from History
The Knights Templar of medieval Europe grew their assets through banking and commerce until they were as wealthy as nations, becoming the largest creditors to kings, dukes, and counts. Yet, they were ultimately annihilated by their biggest client—the King of France—via a nationwide arrest warrant. Their attempt to rely on the Papacy to turn the tide failed, and they became sacrifices in the struggle between religious and royal power. Once invincible, they were kicked off the historical stage in an instant after a single Black Friday. Why?
Egger summarized the reasons for them:
First, they had no base of their own.
After the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Templars were essentially displaced dogs. By holding vast wealth while living under someone else's roof, they committed the error of an ordinary man is innocent, but treasuring a jade makes him guilty. They even forgot their primary duty: ensuring the safety of pilgrimage routes, turning things upside down by making financial manipulation their main activity.
Without their own territory, yet richer than anyone else, they had no strategic depth and no chance to recover when their host turned against them.
Second, they lent at high interest to those far more powerful than themselves.
This point required little explanation. Lending to a more powerful entity is risky by nature, but the Templars actually lent to the very masters who sheltered them—and at high interest, no less. While the nations of Europe fought one another, the Order sat back and profited. Who wouldn't look upon that with envy and resentment?
When the master cannot pay the debt and covets the Order's wealth, the outcome is predestined.
Third, they had no sufficiently powerful independent military force as backing.
The Templars were originally a military organization. However, after retreating from Jerusalem to Europe, they relied on finance and commerce to build a vast network of connections, believing they were covered by the Papacy. Consequently, they grew complacent, forgetting their trade and loosening their grip on the sword.
History proved that no matter how many people you know or how large your umbrella is, nothing is as useful as being strong yourself.
Taking history as a mirror, Egger was determined to follow the Templars' path of building fortune through finance, but he did not want the Night's Watch industries to fall into the same ruin. He had to make changes while imitating them.
Regarding a base, the Wall and the Gift were the natural, legal territory of the Night's Watch. As long as he remained cautious and didn't offend mad dog opponents like Cersei... as a sworn man of the Watch, even if Egger caused a stir and failed, the worst result would be retreating to Castle Black. His life would not be in danger.
However, that was the territory of the Night's Watch Legion, not the Night's Watch Industries. Though they shared a prefix and seemed like one body, they were currently two nearly independent forces—save for the latter providing supplies and manpower to the former.
Egger hoped this temporary arrangement would become permanent.
Men are prone to taking an inch and wanting a mile—or more politely, being ambitious. Once, he was just a minor ranger thinking only of leaving the Wall, but today, with resources and connections in hand, ambition was quietly beginning to brew.
While playing his role convincingly, Egger never forgot that he wasn't truly a loyal soldier of the Watch. In the future, he wanted to shed his identity as a black brother. As for how to turn the Watch's territory into the industry's territory, that would be decided later.
Regarding reckless lending, he already had a plan: by citing the rule that the Night's Watch must not involve itself in the internal affairs of the Seven Kingdoms, he could righteously refuse loans to the nobility and the Iron Throne. By setting a baseline from the start and treating everyone equally, he would be less likely to give offense.
The first two points were merely plans, but the last one—the only one Egger could truly touch and influence right now—was military force: this private army under the name of the Night's Watch Logistics Security Department.
Surrounded by his subordinates, Egger was led to the northwest corner of the industrial park, right against the fence where the Security Department was located.
On a clearing in front of a row of buildings—slightly different from the employee dorms—dozens of young men in black vests were wielding training swords, practicing in pairs. Three Stark guards stood by, occasionally pointing out poor posture or halting a dangerous move, looking far more diligent than Ser Alliser Thorne at Castle Black.
Of course they were diligent. Unlike Ser Alliser, they didn't face a situation where there was no reward for good teaching and no punishment for bad. Wait, why were there three Stark guards?
Egger took a look; he actually knew all three of them.
"Hayle, Ogden, David!" Egger called out loudly. "Nothing major, just saying hello. Carry on, you've worked hard!"
The two instructors besides Hayle were the very helpers Egger had requested from the Hand when he first arrived in King's Landing. He had sent them to escort the first batch of supplies to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and they hadn't returned even by the time the Vale went into chaos. Who would have thought he'd see them again under these circumstances?
Tyrion chuckled. "After those two delivered your goods to Eastwatch, the captain didn't want to return with an empty ship. They spent some time touring the coast of the North, picked up some delivery orders for King's Landing, and finally returned. When they came to the office to report and asked if there was anything else to help with, I pulled them over to work. They get a 'stipend' just the same."
"I see."
Egger felt relieved. When the Hand assigned these men to him, Eddard hadn't specified a duration for their assistance. As long as Egger needed them, they could remain under his command. Even if Eddard knew Tyrion had them training Night's Watch recruits, he wouldn't object. But a new doubt surfaced: the Lannisters had ten times as many soldiers in King's Landing as the Starks. Why would Tyrion pick instructors for the Security Department entirely from the rival house instead of his own? Northerners were fierce in battle, but he didn't believe any two picked at random would be better swordsmen than those from the other six kingdoms.
Was it possible—besides Jakken and Morrec, who were more nannies than guards—that the other Lannister forces in King's Landing only took orders from the Queen and the Kingslayer, and didn't give a damn about the dwarf scion of their house?
Thinking back on the plot, Egger realized it was highly likely. Tywin made no secret of his contempt for his disabled son... In such a case, which vassal serving the Lannisters would offer their loyalty to a dwarf with no hope of becoming the head of the house?
Whether that was true didn't matter, and asking would only open Tyrion's wounds, so he put it out of his mind.
Egger turned to Nina. "The numbers look a bit low. Didn't you say nearly a hundred?"
The head of the security department, a large man named Gerold, stepped forward. "Half are guarding the gates and patrolling the factory, and half are training. They swap shifts, My Lord."
"I see." Egger turned to the head of logistics. "The housing and food for the security team must be better than the regular employees. Has that been done?"
"Following Miss Nina's instructions, the quarters have beds and bedding for everyone. As for food, we ensure at least one meal a day includes meat."
"Good."
To cultivate a proper, strong army, the treatment could not be poor. The ordinary people of this world didn't have the high consciousness to win wars on millet and rifles alone. Unless he planned to train Unsullied, providing good food, warm clothes, and better treatment than the average person was the bare minimum. If they weren't treated well materially, where would their sense of honor and motivation to risk their lives come from?
"Are there other training projects? Are you just letting three instructors teach them swordplay?"
"That... not yet," Gerold answered honestly. "We were waiting for your arrangements, My Lord."
"Excellent. Then I shall make them. Take note!"
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