After months of busy work, production at Harrenhal finally got on track, and Roman finally had some rare leisure time.
That day, Roman took his personal guard to accompany Helaena of House Hoare for a stroll along the main road.
Everyone they met along the way greeted Helaena of House Hoare and Roman warmly. Seeing the heartfelt smiles of the commoners, Helaena of House Hoare was also infected by their joy and excitedly pulled Roman's hand to a high slope.
Standing on the high ground, Helaena of House Hoare could see all the people below.
This place was originally just a wilderness, but after Roman brought those thousands of people here, they began to reclaim the land.
First, the sites for the Stronghold and villages were planned, and then irrigation canals were dug out.
Harrenhal provided plowing livestock and various farming tools, and the lord and the people worked together in unity to develop the land.
These new-style castles were built for the nearby farmers to use, managed by officials sent from Harrenhal, with space reserved to accommodate the surrounding villagers.
In peacetime, they served as regional administrative and economic centers, and in wartime, they acted as fortified military Strongholds by clearing the surrounding fields.
To deal with the officials sent there who might act recklessly, Roman also set up inspection teams to conduct regular oversight in various places.
The commoners could also come directly to Harrenhal via the main road to file complaints, but this also brought a problem.
Previously, there were no such good roads, and generally, only the commoners around Harrenhal could find the Hean Family to hold a trial. Now, with the "highway," commoners within the Hean Family's territory could ride inferior horses and reach Harrenhal to argue their cases with the lord in at most 5 days.
This directly exhausted Roman and Scholar Tom, as there were a large number of civil cases to handle every day.
"Scholar Tom, why not get some judges to handle cases in each region? Holding court in Harrenhal every day is not sustainable!"
"Lord Roman, only scholars understand the law. Where am I supposed to find so many scholars for you?"
Roman was completely at his wit's end. This damn Westeros lacked everything except suffering and backwardness.
He could not bring himself to ignore the commoners and go play those lousy games about power.
To Roman, the commoners were the foundation. Even if he had the power of a dragon, it was still the same. Without commoners, was he expected to mine and farm by himself?
"Scholar Tom, I want to build a school to educate children and cultivate intellectuals. Do you have any suitable candidates?"
Upon hearing this, Scholar Tom's expression flickered. He was a scholar of The Citadel; although scholars were supposed to serve their lords wholeheartedly after leaving The Citadel and not participate in politics.
But in reality, that was impossible. How could one be involved in a lord's work and not participate in politics?
Moreover, scholars were ultimately backed by The Citadel, and a scholar could not ignore the influence of The Citadel.
Roman's words were tantamount to asking Scholar Tom to set up his own faction. On one hand, Scholar Tom was still afraid of blame from The Citadel.
But on the other hand, the talent Roman displayed was so powerful that Scholar Tom was certain Roman would achieve great things in the future.
"Should I do it? Helping Lord Roman is my duty. If I succeed, I could leave my name in history, but if I fail..."
After an internal struggle, Scholar Tom cast aside the worries in his mind.
He wanted fame; he wanted it so badly!
Originally, Scholar Tom was not among the top tier at The Citadel; otherwise, he would not have ended up in Harrenhal, a place that looked impressive but was actually in decline.
But Roman had appeared. The wise lord Tom had once craved had truly arrived. If he hitched a ride on Roman's coattails, he might just be able to leave his own mark in history!
"Fine!" Scholar Tom suddenly gripped Roman's hand. "My Lord, I will do my best to scout talent for you! Do not forget me in the future!"
Roman was puzzled by Scholar Tom's words, but since the goal had been achieved, he did not care.
"Of course, Scholar Tom, your loyalty will be rewarded!"
The two began to scout for intellectuals. Scholars were out of the question, and besides, Roman wanted to popularize knowledge; he was not considering contending with The Citadel for the time being.
So, Roman asked Tom to look for those from middle-class backgrounds who had studied at The Citadel but did not even have a single chain link.
At The Citadel, only when one was acknowledged to have mastered knowledge in a certain field could they be granted a metal chain link, at which point they would be promoted to an assistant scholar.
When there were enough chain links to form a necklace to wear around one's neck, one could then be called a scholar.
Scholars were often generalists in multiple fields and the representatives of knowledge in Westeros. Without chain links, one was only considered an apprentice and would be treated like a fool.
And what Roman wanted to find were those with a little money but no background, who had wanted to become scholars but had not succeeded.
They were stuck in the middle, and Harrenhal, represented by Roman, could recruit them. Roman did not need too much specialized knowledge; he just needed people with the knowledge to teach literacy.
This kind of thing could also be kept under wraps. Roman could say he was teaching people to read, and other nobles would at most curse him for being a fool with too much money.
Just as the two were discussing how to lure intellectuals, a black raven flew onto the table and spoke in a human voice.
"Caw! Roman, Fili wants you to go to the storeroom; she has an urgent matter."
This froze Roman and Scholar Tom in their tracks, and the two looked at the raven in disbelief with shocked eyes.
The raven thought they had not heard, so it said impatiently, "Why aren't you moving? Didn't you hear me?"
"No! What are you? Why can you speak?"
Scholar Tom let out a blood-curdling shriek. In an instant, he prayed to all the six gods except the Stranger, believing he had encountered a ghost.
"Calm down! Scholar Tom. Don't forget we've dealt with ghosts before, so what can a single raven do?"
Roman reacted quickly. Fili was not an ordinary person, and this raven was likely her doing.
Bringing the still-shaken Scholar Tom with him, Roman followed the raven's guidance to the storeroom.
A golden figure immediately ran out and slammed hard into Roman's arms.
"Oof! Lord Roman, please help me, I've made a mess of the storeroom!"
Roman looked up and saw various supplies scattered all over the floor of the storeroom. A flock of ravens was standing on top of them; some were cawing, while others were cursing their companions in fluent Westeros common tongue.
Scholar Tom fell to his knees in prayer this time, and Roman rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"Everyone, shut up!"
As Roman's dragon roar erupted, the storeroom instantly fell silent.
Fili, who was standing behind Roman, was also pulled out by him. "Explain?"
"Lord Roman, I just woke up today and heard voices calling. I followed the sound to the storeroom, and as soon as I opened the door, it was like this."
Fili was still trembling slightly because of the roar just now, and Roman had no choice but to grab her shoulders to comfort her.
At this moment, the Old Crow among the ravens stepped forward. "Roman, don't make things difficult for Fili; we were the ones who sought her out."
The Old Crow's feathers were withered and haggard, its eyes were somewhat cloudy, and even its caw was not as loud as the other ravens.
Roman looked back at Fili. The girl's eyes were filled with clear innocence, her gaze darting blankly between Roman and the ravens, looking exceptionally silly.
"So why did you seek her out? Is there something you need?"
The Old Crow looked at Roman with an expression of speechlessness. "Don't pretend! Aren't you keeping that girl Fili by your side because she's an apostle? Why are you acting like you don't know now?"