Before transmigrating, Aegon often wondered: how did a family like the Stark, who produced so many simpletons in the plot, stand tall in the North for thousands of years and win wars against several other families vying for the title of "King of the North"?
Now, as an outsider in this world, he had to take the time to look at the problem more deeply and essentially. Then, he gradually discovered: Eddard Stark's pedantic, clumsy, and naive performance in the game of power was not actually the fault of the Stark family's heritage, nor was it related to his own "immaturity" or "stupidity." It was predetermined from the very beginning—Eddard Stark was simply not raised according to the template of a Game of Thrones player.
He was not an heir, but a "second son" who grew up in the Vale.
In this era, to prevent internal family strife, many great families would choose different methods when raising the heir and his younger brothers: the eldest son and future head of the family must not only learn how to rule and govern, but also know when to act nobly and honorably, and when to abandon some morals to protect the family's interests... As for the children who are not the eldest son, it is enough for them to be brave, upright, and loyal; they are responsible for assisting their older brother in the future, not standing on their own.
To put it simply, the eldest son must be a bit cunning, while the rest being simple is better; being too capable is not good for the family.
Eddard received the latter treatment.
At the age of eight, he was sent to the Eyrie as Jon Arryn's foster son to maintain the alliance between the North and the Vale, and as his foster father, the upright and noble Lord Arryn, indeed helped his ally raise him into a "qualified second son"—just like the First Ranger Benjen Stark, whom Aegon was already quite familiar with, full of responsibility.
This was not a problem in itself; the problem was that Eddard's older brother, Brandon Stark, was later killed by the Mad King.
...
The death of an heir is not uncommon in backward and chaotic times. Normally, the parents would quickly pick another child and immediately mold him according to the heir template—but the situation Eddard encountered was that his parent, Rickard Stark, was also killed by the Mad King on the same day his eldest son died.
Thus, a "foster son and second son," without a single day of modification or training, suddenly lost his father and brother and became the Lord of the North, the head of the Stark family. This was already a quite rare situation, and what was worse, the War of the Usurper was triggered by this tragedy and directly erupted—Eddard not only had no elders of his own family to mold him, but also had no time to receive guidance from elders of other families.
Eddard had no experience or wisdom in being the head of the family. Fortunately, he was not fighting the Targaryen alone. In the hastily started War of the Usurper, he had the command and help of two old men: the head of his wife's family, Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun, and his foster father, Lord Jon Arryn of the Vale. Stumbling along, they somehow managed to successfully rebel with Robert.
By the time the war ended and everything settled, Eddard was already famous for his military exploits and renowned throughout the land. He was the oldest and highest-ranking living person in the Stark family, and the de facto ruler of the North with great power—no one was qualified to tell him what to do or mold him according to the template of a qualified ruler anymore.
...
So, he completely retained the honor and uprightness he had learned as a second son and began ruling the North. Fortunately... the poor backwater he ruled did not have so many schemes and power struggles, and a second son being in charge did not cause any major mistakes. Thus, Eddard Stark not only adhered to his virtues but also taught all his children to be qualified "second sons"—and everyone saw what foolish things Robb Stark, who had not received an eldest son's education, did after becoming King in the North.
Humiliating the important ally, the Frey family, without even realizing it, executing the great general Karstark before a battle, attending the Red Wedding without any precautions, and so on... If Brandon Stark were still alive, how could the children he taught do such things without any political common sense?
Therefore, anyone who wants to say that so-and-so is stupid, naive, or whatever, can stop—just as a US president would probably not even be able to manage a single village if he came to China, Eddard Stark was a qualified product born under the operation of Westeros society, just placed in the wrong position by fate and his king brother who was poor at judging people.
Everything was caused by the "second son" education.
What Aegon is trying to do now is to secretly do his best to protect this guy who is in the wrong place, yet is pedantic and stubborn. The reason is simple—having such an upright guy who respects the Night's Watch and, most importantly, is quite easy to fool, as Hand of the King, is currently most in line with his own interests.
***
"Then it's settled, no backing out tomorrow!"
"The Night's Watch does not lie!"
After sending off Arya, who was overjoyed at receiving the promise, Aegon let out a long sigh. Helping someone who cannot be helped is undoubtedly a very difficult task. Fortunately, he got lucky with his first attempt, accidentally stumbling upon success, and managed to disrupt his first opponent's plan with just a clever rumor. Before the next crisis, he had time to do other things.
Hmm... When I return to the inn today, I should first write the reply to The Wall. Now, it's time to think about how to persuade Commander Mormont to cancel or at least postpone the Ranger expedition and find a way to catch two wights and send them South, so these people who don't believe in evil can see for themselves.
He stretched his body and came out with Tyrion, only to find his newly hired employee—the second member of the Night's Watch Office, "Aqun," sitting properly behind the table in the office lobby, seriously guarding the door for him.
Aegon rubbed his head. For a moment, he couldn't figure out how to deal with this guy who was playing dumb. If he were to resign today, it would be easy. The problem is if he stays by his side openly but still sneaks into the Red Keep secretly to cause trouble... It would be terrible if he caused trouble for himself.
"We're closing. Let's go," Aegon said to Jaqen. He didn't dwell on it for long. Since you're playing dumb, let's see who's the better actor. When it comes to killing, I can't compare to you, but when it comes to an actor's self-cultivation, I have quite a few personal insights from being anxious. After saying this, he turned to Tyrion: "Don't go to bed too early tonight. I might need your help to write a letter."
"You should learn to write as soon as possible," Tyrion naturally didn't refuse, but he couldn't help but complain, "Being your pimp all day is very mentally taxing."
"It's hard work, but capable people do more."
...
Jeor Mormont was the Earl of Bear Island before joining the Night's Watch. After donning the black, he quickly became the Commander and has held power ever since. To the current Aegon, this is undoubtedly a leader and a great figure he can only look up to for now, and persuading such an old man to change his mind requires some methods.
After all, the Commander has not witnessed the White Walkers' combat power, which far exceeds that of humans. His desire to launch a Ranger expedition to investigate in the North is reasonable... Since it is reasonable, Aegon naturally cannot dissuade him by reasoning.
Tsk... How should I start?
Aegon, with Jaqen and Tyrion, returned to the Albatross Inn. After thinking all the way, an idea finally popped into his head: since reasoning is difficult, why not think in reverse and start with an unreasonable approach? First, use an unfair accusation to attract Mormont's attention, and then use a combination of soft and hard tactics to try to achieve the goal of persuasion.
—