About a month after Obara inherited the title and territory of Weil City, Lynd continued to lead his team along the coastline, turning past Corpse Tooth, and heading towards the Red Guard River. Jon was left by Lynd at the port construction site, named Miracle Port, to continue overseeing the construction of the port city.
A few days later, the team arrived near the mouth of the Red Guard River. From here, they could see the top of Stonehelm's castle on the opposite side. On the fertile land near the riverbank, more than a dozen villages of varying sizes had already been built. Looking across, the cultivated fields were full of barley, wheat, and corn laden with fruit.
Originally, Lynd expected to encounter resistance from Stonehelm, but when they arrived at the villages, the village elders handed over the prepared villager rosters and land deeds to Lynd.
"Who told you to do this?" Lynd asked, looking at the items in his hand with some surprise.
"It was the lords of Stonehelm," the village elder replied honestly, "They told me that you, my lord, would come to take us over. From now on, our village will be under your jurisdiction, and we will be your subjects."
Hearing this, Lynd was at a loss for words. It seemed that the incident in Weil City had greatly frightened the lord of Stonehelm.
It made sense. The lord of Weil City only wanted to capture the people who had encroached on his land and restore the land. Now, not only were the people gone, but the territory had also become someone else's. No matter how greedy the lord of Stonehelm was, he probably wouldn't want to become the second lord of Weil City.
The result was that all the land cultivated by Stonehelm and the villages built there were delivered intact into Lynd's hands. Even the wooden bridge originally built to connect the east and west banks of the Red Guard River was dismantled.
Furthermore, this was not only the case for Stonehelm, but also for Crow's Nest.
When Lynd's team advanced to the upper Red Guard River Valley, the land cultivated and villages built by Crow's Nest there were also delivered intact into Lynd's hands, and the bridges were similarly dismantled.
Although the actions of the lords of Stonehelm and Crow's Nest greatly surprised Lynd, it undoubtedly saved him a lot of trouble and significantly shortened the time spent inspecting his territory.
In addition, he had some unexpected gains within the Red Guard River Valley. Besides the Stormlands people who had migrated from Crow's Nest, there were also some indigenous tribes in the nearby mountains similar to Savage Tribes.
The people of this tribe called themselves descendants of Dorak the Corpse Maker. After their ancestors were defeated by Storm King Cleodon Durrandon I, they were confined here, multiplying for generations, and eventually settled down. Therefore, they preferred to call the Red Guard River by its ancient name, the Slayne River, and they also called themselves Slayne People.
These Slayne People were very good at farming, and having lived here for thousands of years, they were also very familiar with the resources in this area. With their assistance and that of the Red Guard Clan, Lynd could easily find useful mineral deposits in this region.
What surprised Lynd the most was that they also knew of a secret mountain path that could directly cross the towering ridges of the Red Mountains, connecting Summerhall and the Red Guard River Valley. There was no need to take a long detour from Redsoil Watch. What was originally about a month's journey was shortened to two days.
For this, Lynd specifically asked the Slayne People to lead him along the path. This path went up along a steep slope, then turned around a mountain gorge like a gate, passed through a valley, and when it emerged from the other end, it had already reached the slope on the Summerhall side. Lynd, standing at the exit, could even vaguely see the distant pillar-shaped rock formation.
This secret passage had many traces of artificial excavation, suggesting that it was likely an attempt by the Slayne People's ancestors to escape their confinement when they were imprisoned in the Red Guard River Valley.
Although this path is currently narrow, only wide enough for one person to walk, there is still much room for improvement. At the very least, it can be widened enough for horses, mules, or donkeys to pass through.
Furthermore, there are some locations where direct up-and-down lifts could be built to transport goods from the valley up the mountain, and then use pack animals like mules to transport them to the other side of the mountain, saving even more time.
In addition, the large valley connecting the two sides could also be built into a transit town or a fortress. If several defensive towers were built on the mountain paths on both sides, then the entire road could be completely controlled, eliminating worries about someone using this road to attack Summerhall.
After inspecting this road, Lynd already had a complete construction plan in his mind. The next step was to discuss it with the master stonemasons and finalize the construction plan.
"What do you want to gain?" Lynd asked the elder of the Slayne People after returning to the river valley camp.
"We hope to obtain a piece of land recognized by the Seven Kingdoms that can be inherited for generations," the Slayne People elder quickly replied, clearly a result of their discussion.
Lynd, of course, understood their meaning and did not immediately agree. Instead, he counter-asked, "I can give you such a piece of land, but who do you intend to make the owner of this land? I can't possibly give this land to all of you, can I?"
The Slayne People elder froze, and the other Slayne People around him also froze. Clearly, they had not considered this point during their discussion.
"No need to rush. Go back and discuss it, then give me your answer," Lynd seemed to see their predicament and comforted them.
Upon hearing this, the Slayne People understood that this was not the place for them to discuss matters, so they all took their leave.
"Are you really going to give these Slayne People territory?" Nameria said with some concern, "Don't you know that doing so will bring you a lot of trouble? You're giving them territory now, what about the Savage Tribes who have sworn allegiance to you? What about the knights who have followed you for a long time? Are you going to give them territory too? If you don't, then..."
"You don't need to worry," Lynd said with a smile, "It won't be long before they come to me themselves, asking me to withdraw their request."
"Why?" Nameria asked doubtfully.
"Because these people have practiced an egalitarian system for so many years," Lynd explained, "Equal distribution of output, equal internal status, equal wealth, and decisions are all made by discussion and voting..."
At this point, Lynd paused. He recalled his first reaction after learning about the social structure of the Slayne People from their elder: isn't this the utopian world that countless people pursued in his previous life?
Lynd smiled and continued, "Although this system has helped them maintain reproduction and inheritance for thousands of years, it does not mean that it is a good system. This system has too many limitations, such as requiring a relatively closed environment, and everyone must not have too strong desires. Once someone's desire is too strong, it's like throwing fire into oil, which will eventually burn everything. Now, land ownership and dominion are the flames that ignite this oil."
Hearing this, a scene of countless people burning in flames quickly appeared in Nameria's mind, and she couldn't help but frown.
Things did indeed turn out as Lynd had guessed. A few days later, a fierce internal struggle erupted among the Slayne People without warning, as if the desires suppressed for thousands of years had simultaneously burst forth. The Slayne People, whose population was not very large to begin with, suffered more than a hundred casualties overnight. All the elders died in the internal struggle, almost all killed by those close to them.
It wasn't until morning, when the survivors saw the ground covered with corpses and heard the painful wails of the injured, that they awoke from their frenzied desires. Some, unable to bear the sight and the condemnation of their consciences, committed suicide, further reducing the population by dozens.
Afterward, the Slayne People found Lynd again and no longer mentioned the matter of territory. They only hoped that Lynd could relocate them to other places, and not all together, but divided into five families with different surnames, relocated separately to different places. It seemed that irreparable rifts had already formed within them, and continuing to live together would only deepen the hatred.
Lynd also satisfied their request. When the Slayne People left, they also handed over a map of the surrounding mountains of the Red Guard River Valley, which they had collected and drawn over many years, to Lynd. The map also marked the locations of various ores they had discovered.
"Aren't you being a bit too much?" Nameria said to Lynd with some seriousness, watching the Slayne People clear the bodies of their kinsmen.
Lynd did not respond to Nameria's questioning, merely looking calmly at the scene before him.
With the Red Guard River Valley now under Lynd's control, his tour of the territory had concluded.
Half a month later, he and Nameria returned to Tengshi Town and began to arrange various relocation matters.
Soon after his return to Tengshi Town, the Citadel also approved his application and sent Maester Thorne to him as a consulting maester.
However, what Lynd did not expect was that not only Maester Thorne came, but also more than a dozen Assistant Scholars.
This was not because the Citadel was being kind and increasing Lynd's manpower, but because opportunities like Lynd's territory, with a large number of castles, port cities, and towns needing construction, were rare. The Citadel could use Lynd's territory to accumulate various construction experiences and data.
Lynd had no objection to this. Anyway, their construction of castles and other buildings required his permission, and overly bizarre architectural designs would not be approved by him.
Moreover, in his opinion, maesters skilled in construction, even Assistant Scholars who had not yet become maesters, were always welcome. After all, he now had three places under construction simultaneously: Summerhall Castle, Miracle Port, and Red Guard Fort in the Red Guard River Valley.
Originally, with the funds he had on hand, Lynd only planned to start construction in two places simultaneously, but since the Seven Gods Church was willing to provide funds to help him build his territory, he naturally wouldn't be polite. With sufficient funds, let alone three places simultaneously, even four or five places would not be a problem.
It was precisely because a large number of facilities needed to be built that the current subjects in Lynd's territory were clearly not enough. Lynd could only recruit vagrants from places like King's Landing.
Although the Seven Kingdoms had experienced disasters like the extreme cold, there weren't too many vagrants, because the common people who found it very difficult to survive could hardly endure the extreme cold weather, and most of them froze to death. Very few people managed to reach large cities like King's Landing alive. Even many poor people in some large cities froze to death, which meant that the number of vagrants Lynd could directly recruit was not very large.
However, Lynd soon no longer needed to worry about manpower, because upon learning that Lynd needed to recruit people to build Miracle Port and Summerhall Castle, the Septs of the Seven Gods Church in various places called upon the poor to go to Lynd's territory to participate in its construction.
In the lower strata of the Seven Kingdoms, there were a large number of devout followers of the Seven Gods Church. Under the propaganda of the Seven Gods Church monks, participating in the construction of Summerhall Castle and Miracle Port was considered a form of Redemption.
In a short period, a large number of poor people from various places poured into Lynd's territory, filling the manpower gap. Most of these people didn't even require payment; they only needed three meals a day and a place to live.
After learning about these circumstances, Lynd also developed a slight apprehension towards the Seven Gods Church. The Seven Gods Church was like a double-edged sword to him; used well, it could easily defeat enemies, but used poorly, it could easily harm himself.
Although his cooperation with the Seven Gods Church was very good now, he had to consider the possibility of future conflicts with the Seven Gods Church. Therefore, he must establish a force within the Seven Gods Church that belonged to him, rather than just a cooperative relationship as it was now.
Therefore, before his castle and port city began construction, Lynd first proposed building two Septs of the Seven, named Miracle Sanctuary and Redemption Sanctuary, respectively, at the ruins of Summerhall and near Corpse Tooth by Miracle Port. He then asked the Seven Gods Church to send monks and bishops as soon as possible to manage the Septs' affairs.
The Seven Gods Church naturally approved of Lynd's action immensely and highly praised him internally. Therefore, they decided to let Lynd, the Godsworn, also serve as the Grand Bishop of Redemption Sanctuary. Of course, this was only a nominal position; the actual affairs of the Septs would still be handled by two bishops.
Although a lord also serving as a grand bishop had never happened before, since Lynd was a Chosen of the Seven, granting him an exception was not a big deal.
Furthermore, this was also a test by the Church towards the Iron Throne, to see if the Iron Throne would accuse the Church of interfering in secular affairs because of this matter.
As the Church hoped, the Iron Throne had no reaction to this.
Although Lynd's identity as a Grand Bishop was only nominal and he held no real power, this did not mean he could do nothing.
Under Lynd's deliberate indulgence, the two bishops chosen for Miracle Sanctuary and Redemption Sanctuary were both from the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing, and not from Starry Sept, which had a better relationship with Lynd.
This was mainly because the clergy of the Starry Sept were true clergy, while the clergy of the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing had long been corrupted by various pleasures. Apart from a superficial layer of clergy, their inner selves were completely ordinary people, and only such people were convenient for Lynd to control.
In just four days, the two newly appointed bishops had completely pledged their allegiance to Lynd under his coercion and inducement. With the assistance of the two bishops, most of the clergy within the two Septs became Lynd's people. As for those clergy from the Great Sept of Baelor and other Septs who did not pledge allegiance to Lynd, they were either sidelined and made to disappear when no one remembered them, or directly accused of a crime and sent back to where they came from.
Because Lynd never appeared in person and everything was done by the two bishops, within the Seven Gods Church, it was only seen as an internal power struggle.
Several months later, these two Septs were completely under Lynd's control, and the huge underground warehouses built beneath the two Septs were also used by Lynd to store the dragon bones secretly transported by Varys.
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