On this day, Vili Wod, Raimond Darry, and William Mooton all received an invitation from Lady Helaena to come to Harrenhal to discuss cooperation in detail.
Vili had exactly this in mind; he had long been fed up with the banditry in his territory. The highways Roman built could strike at bandits in a timely manner, but he could not.
Even if Roman intended to help him suppress the bandits, the backward infrastructure left Roman powerless, so Vili happened to be looking for his liege's help.
Raimond of the Darry Family heard that the Hean Family wanted to discuss trade cooperation and rushed over without stopping.
During the War of the Usurper, both families were Royalists, and now they were being suppressed together, so it was the perfect time to cooperate again.
As for William Mooton, this Lord of Maidenpool was truly too cowardly; he was completely helpless against the bandits and could only turn to Harrenhal for help in the end.
The three set off together, heading for Harrenhal from the south, north, and east.
During their journey, the three were shocked to find that Harrenhal had become extremely unfamiliar.
First was the main road on the ground; after the three had traversed mud-like dirt paths, they felt for the first time what smoothness and high speed meant.
Westeros carriages already had suspension systems, and traveling on this stabilized road surface felt like there wasn't a single bump.
In the distance were continuous stretches of farmland, with villages dotted throughout the green sea, and Strongholds situated at several transportation hubs.
The ten-meter-high rammed earth walls of these Strongholds had already been built, and they were currently being clad in bricks for final reinforcement and waterproofing.
Besides these visually shocking sights, the relay stations along the main road, the irrigation systems in the fields, the herds of cattle, sheep, and horses, and the continuous stretches of hydraulic workshops also made this group of outsiders stop and stare.
When the crowd arrived before Harrenhal, even the most composed person couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
Harrenhal had changed its previous appearance; the walls, once a mix of charred black and earthy yellow, had all disappeared, replaced by a beautiful milky white.
Furthermore, everyone noticed that the five towers of Harrenhal seemed to have become shorter?
The three forces gathered together and walked toward the gates of Harrenhal at the same time, where Lady Helaena and Roman were already waiting at the entrance with an honor guard to welcome them.
William Mooton had the sharpest eyes, and he was the first to notice the differences in the honor guard.
Their equipment was completely different from anything in Westeros; the infantry wore infantry armor, with no part of their bodies exposed, Recurve bows at their waists, holding shields and sabers or greatspears, while the soldiers in the rear held a type of massive crossbow.
The cavalry and their horses were fully armored; although their defense wasn't as high as the heavy infantry, both the riders and the warhorses were sturdy and strong.
The three nobles broke into a cold sweat upon seeing the honor guard clearly; if this unit actually attacked, they feared it could tear them to pieces in a single round.
Seeing the arrival of the guests, Roman immediately stepped forward to embrace and greet them, after which Lady Helaena led the group to the council chamber.
On the way, Roman introduced the new facilities of Harrenhal to William and Raimond.
The rebuilt sept, the improved public bathhouses, the water purification tanks, and the sewage treatment plants.
The two nobles were surprised to find that Harrenhal had escaped its past state of being sparsely populated and was now full of vitality.
Roman's display was intended as a show of force, letting the nobles know that Harrenhal was no longer what it used to be, so that they would have more confidence in the upcoming cooperation.
But what Roman didn't expect was that the men had already been scared out of their wits on the way.
The negotiations were chaired by Lady Helaena and mainly concerned bandit suppression, the joint construction of main roads, and trade cooperation.
This process was incredibly smooth; Harrenhal was willing to provide the manpower and effort, they only needed to provide the money, there was no danger, and this was originally their purpose for coming here.
At the end of the negotiations, Roman brought out his trump card.
He produced a transparent glass bead, and as the sunlight from the window hit its smooth surface, it instantly scattered a kaleidoscope of colors, momentarily dazzling William and Raimond's eyes.
"We produced it."
A single sentence was enough to drive everyone crazy.
"Lord Roman, tell us what you need us to do, and we will surely meet your requirements!" William Mooton said flatteringly.
Raimond Darry's face was also flushed with excitement, but he was still waiting for Roman to speak.
Finally, the three parties reached an agreement: the Darry Family would be responsible for washing fine river sand to provide raw materials; the Mooton Family would be responsible for renovating the port of Maidenpool and collecting seaweed for Harrenhal.
The Darry Family received ten percent of the profits, the Mooton Family twenty percent, and the remaining seventy percent belonged to the Hean Family.
Both families couldn't wait to sign; for them, these tasks were things they could easily accomplish in their daily routines.
But glass was different; right now, this stuff was a luxury item. If the Hean Family started selling it in the future, they could practically sit back and count their money.
Moreover, both families already disliked House Baratheon, and they shared a common topic with the equally suppressed Hean Family.
After discussing the specific details, Raimond and William left satisfied, leaving Vili behind.
Roman looked at Vili, the Landed knight of the Wod Family; his rugged face showed a bit of embarrassment.
He was, after all, a Landed knight of the Hean Family; outsiders had received benefits, so why hadn't his own family received anything?
"Ser Vili, you must be dissatisfied with this arrangement, aren't you?"
"I wouldn't dare, My Lord!"
Vili quickly bowed. Roman's tone was very light and devoid of extra emotion, but Vili felt an inexplicable pressure.
Roman looked at the vassal before him; if he wanted them to invest in road construction, he naturally wouldn't let them lose out.
Roman gave Fili a look, and the girl then brought over a set of porcelain.
This was typical Bone china tableware, with wide bases and glazed patterns. The porcelain bowls and cups were warm and milky white; when Roman held them up to the light, an orange-yellow glow shone through the porcelain cup.
Roman told the stunned Vili to pick it up and look; after the man touched it with trembling hands, Roman patted his shoulder.
"Ser Vili, I want to build a Porcelain workshop in your territory. In the future, the tasks of raw material collection, maintenance, and patrolling will be entrusted to you."
Looking into Roman's eyes, Vili immediately struck his heart with his hand.
"The Wod Family will defend your property and secrets to the death!"
Roman suddenly felt in a good mood; smart people were easy to deal with. He specifically kept Vili at Harrenhal for a meal.
Lady Helaena spoke many words of gratitude, highly praising the Wod Family's loyalty and contribution.
This back-and-forth left the tough Vili deeply moved, and he finally returned to his fief with a thousand thanks.
The tasks were issued, and the four families acted quickly.
Harrenhal began building main roads toward the three families, allowing them to be interconnected, while simultaneously dispatching troops to wipe out bandits.
The Mooton Family began to rebuild Maidenpool, renovate the port, and vigorously collect seaweed, kelp, and other seafood.
The Darry Family mobilized people to frantically collect sand, sending it cart by cart to the Hean Family's workshop via the main road.
Roman established a Glass tank furnace in the area around the Coking workshop, using Inclined double-roller casting technology to produce large glass plates.
At the same time, he had the scholars create Mechanical bottle-blowing machines to mass-produce Wide-mouth jars and various glass utensils.
In the Wod Family's territory, a large Reverberatory furnace was built. With Harrenhal's ample fuel supply and the Thermometer made by Scholar Tom, batches of standard Bone china were produced.
If the previous poems about Harrenhal had only made people hear of the Hean Family, these tangible luxury goods made the Hean Family's reputation spread completely.