"What?" Jon couldn't keep up with Aegon's pace.
"The reason the Night's Watch exists is to deal with the Wildlings' invasions and the threat of the White Walkers. Do you think it's better to barely keep the enemy out after great effort, or to eliminate the enemy directly?"
Jon's eyes widened, and he instantly understood what the other person meant.
"Imagine if someone could lead the Black Cloaks to wipe out both major opponents, the dead and the living, so that there would be no more threats North of the Wall. Would this Ice Wall, and the army guarding it, still need to exist?" Aegon stared into the bastard's eyes and said, "When a Night's Watchman dies, the remaining brothers will announce 'His watch ends when his death ends'. This tradition has lasted for thousands of years, so why has no one been able to step forward to eliminate the enemy once and for all and proudly declare: 'Our watch ends here'? By then, disbanding the Black Cloaks, returning home in glory with supreme honor, and becoming a greater hero than Azor Ahai, how wonderful would that be?"
"This... how is this possible?" Jon's eyes widened, his pupils dilating. "How could it be done?"
"The White Walkers are the natural enemy of humans; there's no need to show mercy when dealing with them. Kill every single one that appears. If possible, it would be best to extend the actual control to the Land of Always Winter, find their lair or birthplace, and solve it from the root." Aegon made a gesture of complete annihilation. These ideas, which he had been contemplating for a long time, he might not need himself anymore. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he wanted to talk to Jon, the future Commander of the Night's Watch, about them. "As for the Wildlings, in Tyrion's words, they are just residents living North of the Wall. They advocate freedom; I admire this romance, but absolute freedom does not exist. Use means to make the Wildlings understand this truth, and then bring them under control."
The Ranger, about to leave The Wall, was excited and full of talk, speaking non-stop. The other two in the room, not only Jon who was listening intently, but even Tyrion beside him, didn't interrupt. The Dwarf found that his adventurer friend from 'China' always said astonishing things whenever he opened his mouth. Paying a price to get him out was truly not a loss at all. Although it was not that easy to achieve, just being able to think of and propose it was already remarkable.
"The Night's Watch doesn't engage in production, and it also has to maintain a massive structure like The Wall, which is usually almost useless. How much manpower and resources are wasted to feed the thousands of Black Cloaks who are not producing anything?" Aegon continued to guide him patiently. "Completely solving the White Walkers and Wildlings would not only free up hundreds or thousands of people belonging to the Night's Watch, but also add tens or even hundreds of thousands of residents to the sparsely populated North at once. How would this change the North's ranking among the Seven Kingdoms?"
Jon grew up in the Stark family, who were rulers, so he naturally knew that the North was in an awkward position in the Seven Kingdoms, better than some but not as good as others. If what Aegon said became reality... his position in his Father's heart would surely improve somewhat. By then, perhaps Lady Stark's attitude towards him might also improve slightly?
...
"But, to achieve these things, it is absolutely impossible as a mere soldier!" Aegon said with a serious expression, his suddenly raised voice instantly pulling Jon back from his beautiful imagination to reality. "You must first find a way to climb to a position of sufficient influence in the Night's Watch. Commander is naturally the best... and the legion adopts an election system. If you keep being this naive, self-satisfied person who just defeated a few untrained Wildlings and recruits, you will never have friends, brothers, or even confidants, and thus you will never be able to gain a foothold in the Black Cloaks."
"I... never thought of being the Commander."
"Is that so?" Aegon relaxed his tone. "A soldier who doesn't want to be Commander is not a good soldier. From a personal perspective, you are the son of the Warden of the North, Lord Stark, and you should not be unmotivated; and from the perspective of righteousness, only by reaching a high position and mastering sufficient resources can you change this world and make it better. This is not an excess of desire for power, but rather that power, this thing, can only play a positive role when it is in the hands of those who are willing, have ideas, and also have the ability to make the world better!"
Jon was silent for a long time. The last sentence sounded deafening in his ears, while Tyrion Lannister seemed to remember something, chuckled to himself, and also did not speak.
"If you are determined to leave before taking the oath, even if you are simultaneously mocked as a bastard and a coward, then we can leave together in a couple of days; or if you are willing to be a Night's Watch soldier for the rest of your life, then consider that I said nothing. Otherwise, when you are lying in bed, think carefully about my words."
***
"You're quite good at painting a picture for people," Tyrion said with a grin as they walked out of the armory side by side. "I saw the look in that kid's eyes, clearly he was very tempted—a greater hero than Azor Ahai! Only you could think of that."
"I do hope he succeeds. Think about it, I'm diligently fundraising supplies for the legion in King's Landing or somewhere else, thinking that this boring and hard life will continue until the end of my life, but suddenly one day, poof—" Aegon made a gesture of a bubble bursting. "The Night's Watch suddenly completed its mission and disbanded, and I'm free... how wonderful and magical! Although it's a wild idea, one must still have dreams."
"Hahaha." More than making people laugh, Tyrion preferred being made to laugh, and especially liked being able to joke back and forth with people. Friends should be able to make each other laugh, shouldn't they? Unfortunately, most people either feared his status and power or looked down on and disliked him. Very few could satisfy this craving of his. He truly liked Aegon. "Hey, sometimes I can't help but wonder if my voluntarily offering, and even giving you ideas and help to leave The Wall, was also induced by your superb skill in painting pictures?"
"If I said yes, would you kill me?"
"Of course not, I would take you to my old man and let you tell him the many benefits of choosing a Dwarf as an heir, and see if you can trick him into passing Casterly Rock to me."
"That's a bit difficult, but according to my understanding of Westeros customs and laws, you should indeed be the legitimate heir to Casterly Rock, shouldn't you?"
"Forget it, he'd pass Casterly Rock to my older sister before he'd pass it to me."
"Why not find a way to take what's yours but isn't given to you?"
"This isn't the throne; getting it doesn't mean you win." The topic suddenly became serious, and Tyrion made a face. "This kind of treasonous talk is fine to say, but absolutely don't let anyone hear it."
"Alright, let's not talk about this treasonous topic. Tell me about your conversation with the Commander and the others. Besides Benjen, that 'poor' noble from the North, who gave you a hard time, did you encounter any other trouble?"
"Trouble? I'm the Queen's brother; only that simpleton from the Stark family, your boss, would dare to give me a look." Tyrion wrapped his clothes tighter and shivered. "When I said I would provide aid, your Commander immediately smiled brighter than the most hospitable prostitute in King's Landing, but when he heard I had other conditions, his face quickly fell. He didn't dare to refuse me directly, so he pulled out Stark and your Maester... Heh heh."
"What did those two say?"
"Maester Aemon, he's a reasonable person. It took some effort to convince him, but it wasn't difficult." When mentioning the blind Maester, Tyrion's tone carried a hint of respect. "But Benjen... he doesn't like me, or to be precise, probably all Lannisters... But he has no grudge against you, who are from across the Sunset Sea, and even less would he turn down a supply of materials that could greatly strengthen The Wall's defenses." Tyrion pursed his lips. "After a friendly 'discussion' on the amount of supplies to be provided, the matter was settled—I've always believed that everyone in the world can be seen as goods. Aegon, you should be glad that your price isn't too expensive."
Aegon showed a sad expression. "Should I be happy that I'm not worth much?"
"That truly is a sweet problem." Tyrion smiled again. "Do you know my older brother's most famous nickname?"
"Everyone knows it, 'Kingslayer'."
"You answered very quickly, but I have to admit, at least the fact that he killed the Mad King wasn't something others wrongly accused him of." Tyrion put away his smile and let out a long breath. "After the Deposed King War ended, Eddard Stark insisted on Jaime taking the black. At that time, the Baratheon, Stark, Tully, and Arryn families formed an alliance. The Targaryen had been eliminated, and the Tyrell family of Highgarden, the strongest force of the loyalists, had also been subdued. Because my Father's Mountain killed Princess Elia, the Martell family, who still had some strength, wished all Lannisters were dead. Think about it, if our good King had agreed to send my older brother to be a Night's Watchman at that time, what could the Lannister family have done?"
"Your family couldn't possibly deal with the other four families who had just achieved a great victory. Even the arrogant Lord Tywin would probably have been forced to bow his head and send his son to The Wall."
"Yes, luckily our good King didn't agree. If someone wanted Jaime Lannister today to take the black, they probably couldn't afford the ransom even if they sold Casterly Rock. It's really not always a good thing for a person to be too valuable. So, I suggest you be happy for now that you're not worth much." Tyrion showed a somewhat strange smile. "Why do I say 'for now'? Because... after you hear the following news, you might not be able to be happy."
—