The king on the Great Wall

But it does feel like someone threw a flashbang in his face, or he pulled a multi-kilowatt laser headlight out of his pocket.The short section of the sword near the hilt immediately emitted an astonishing light the moment it left the scabbard and was exposed to the air.Iger, who was the closest, felt as if he was looking directly at the welding arc, and the severe blinding effect made him turn his head immediately to avoid blindness. At this moment, the sword in Iger’s hand seemed to be a sun made of steel, even though it had not been fully sheathed, The brightness was already high enough to suppress the raging flames in the field.Everyone covered their eyes with their hands or turned away reflexively, but the light was not only dazzling, it was slowly changing color with a specific rhythm as if pulsating, turning Castle Black, and even the ones it was close to The ice wall of this section of the Great Wall is illuminated as if being aimed at by several searchlights at the same time.

While everyone's minds were still blank, the person concerned was the first to react, and pushed the sword back into its scabbard with a push of the palm.

The light disappeared immediately, and everyone's vision went dark for an instant, as if night had suddenly fallen.

Several seconds later, the night watchmen came back to their senses as their eyesight gradually recovered, and there was an uproar and discussions.

If it wasn't for the weapon of the new commander-in-chief, the supreme commander of the legion, someone would have stepped forward and pulled out Iger's sword to satisfy curiosity.

……

"What you do in hiding is your honor, Lord Commander." Melisandre said in the midst of the bustling discussions, her voice didn't sound like she was trying to shout, but it seemed to be assisted by a loudspeaker. Bright and clear, she pointed at Iger: "The King of Light discovered the crisis his people were facing, so he sent the prophesied hero and bestowed on him the power of flames—that sword is the Lightbringer! And the prophecy The hero of the future will hold this sword and lead us to defeat the old enemy, cross death, despair and failure, and walk towards a bright future!"

The red-robed girl was not very popular on the Great Wall, but not many people dared to think that she was a liar after seeing her skills. These words immediately blew up the scene.

"So that sword is the Lightbringer!"

"Where did he get it?"

"Holding such a bright sword, you can't even open your eyes, how can you kill a different ghost?"

"Maybe as long as the light shines, the ghosts will all melt!"

"Damn, if that's the case, I can do it myself!"

As the sword used by the legendary hero Azor Ahai, the name Lightbringer is naturally loud enough. This introduction has aroused more heated discussions. A small number of Castle Black soldiers who have converted to the Red God looked at Iger. There was even a frenzy.

……

Iger scowled.

No one knows what's going on with their weapon better than the bearer.It is neither Valyrian steel, nor is it made by famous craftsmen, and it doesn't even have a name... It is an ordinary standard steel sword, purchased in bulk from weapons merchants in King's Landing, mostly by apprentices or journeymen Not forged by the master.It may be slightly better than the handle that was chopped off by a strange ghost three years ago, but how could it be the legendary Lightbringer?

He looked at Melisandre angrily. In the field of vision that was flashed just now, a group of dark spots caused by light stimulation occupied the center of the field of vision. with her skirt.

"Ms. Melisandre, let's discuss the story of this sword tonight... Next, I want to speak my heart to all the night watchmen. If you don't plan to put on black clothes, please avoid it." Iger said coldly, interrupting the other party's eloquent speech, and tilted his head slightly: "Jon, send Ms. Melisandre back to her room to rest!"

Just finished a miracle, and was about to give a speech while the iron was hot, but was suddenly given such a straightforward order to evict guests. Melisandre was taken aback, doubts and dissatisfaction appeared on her face, but she returned to normal in the next second. Wei Wei bowed to him, and did not contradict him in public: "In this case, then I have no choice but to follow the orders of the commander-in-chief."

……

Iger was really angry, and it wasn't that Melisandre performed miracles to create momentum for herself, or that her eyes flickered because she was caught off guard, but that she didn't notify herself in advance.

Melisandre is one of the few people in the world who is sincerely willing to dedicate everything to help guard the Great Wall, and she has extraordinary power. Iger attaches great importance to her.But this doesn't mean that she can tolerate her reckless behavior on the Great Wall-I am used to doing things according to the plan, and today's plan is: conduct a succession ceremony, beat up the original enemies, and issue the first batch of instructions after taking office.

What the red-robed woman did not only disrupted his plan, but also made Iger feel that his authority had been challenged.

Become a hero, establish a high personal prestige, and even become a target of worship... This is of course good for yourself to control the land grant and boost the morale of the night watchmen.But the subtle difference between primary and secondary order is very important: Does the hero status strengthen one's own prestige and control, or does one's own prestige and control come entirely from hero status?

In the latter case, Iger would rather not have this help: what others give can naturally be taken away at any time, and Iger himself has made steady progress step by step, and he has confidence in his own ability.Unstable influence, no matter if you don’t want it, it’s not bad.

As for Melisandre, this is not the first time she has made her own claim.

Did this witch do it on purpose, or did she really have no political sensitivity at all?

No matter what the situation is, it's time to make it clear to her: the Great Wall and the land-grant, now it's Iger's Great Wall and the land-grant, no matter what you Melisandre want to do, you must ventilate yourself in advance!

Under the bewildered eyes of the crowd, Melisandre was expelled from the stand.The woman swayed her tall and slender figure past the crowd and left the Castle Black grounds.

The steel sword stopped shaking after Melisandre left, and Iger didn't mention the abnormality of his weapon.Everyone didn't know what the new commander-in-chief was thinking, and they didn't dare to ask questions, so they had to keep silent and wait for the cremation to end.

……

The firewood and the body of the deceased continued to turn into golden red in the flames, and as the combustible organic matter was gradually exhausted, they continued to turn into charred black ashes.After reaching its peak, the fire began to weaken, flickering brightly and darkly, and after waiting for a long enough time, the last open flame was finally blown out by the next gust of cold wind, turning into a large pile of smoking residue.The unburned skeleton still maintained a flat posture, lying quietly in the still hot embers.

It wasn't until this time that Iger walked out from the subordinates who surrounded him, climbed up the steps of the Great Hall of Castle Black, leaned against the railing, and prepared to give the succession speech as originally planned, truly unveiling the prelude to the new era of the Night Watchman.

-

Chapter 314

The cremation is over.

Iger's original plan was to wait until Maester Aemon's ashes were packed before proceeding to the next step, but it would take more than ten minutes before the pile of ashes cooled down to the point where they could be touched.It seemed unnecessary to continue to observe silence during this period, but it was too embarrassing to be in a daze. With a thought, he decided to make a small change to the arrangement on the spot to take advantage of this gap.

……

"There has never been a night watchman who has faced the crisis we are facing today!" Iger's loud opening remarks quickly quieted down the Castle Black courtyard. After a pause, he emphasized again: "Never!"

Everyone quickly understood that this was Iger's inaugural speech, and they raised their heads and looked up at the new commander-in-chief, hoping to see what he could say.

"The Night Watchman Legion was established after the War of Dawn. The purpose of our existence is to be able to appear at the first time when the enemy reappears and prevent their attempts to destroy mankind. No one thought that this class was actually Thousands of years. Until today, when we have declined and almost disappeared, those of us who were about to witness the history of the Black Legion have encountered this damn, the second attack of the White Walkers!"

Countless soldiers of the night watchmen have made this complaint in their hearts, and now the commander-in-chief has said it in public, which immediately shortens the psychological distance with many soldiers.

"This time, we don't have the children of the forest who can cast magic as allies, and we don't have legendary heroes like Azor Ahai to lead us to a decisive battle with demons and goblins." He raised his hand high, pointing to the Great Wall behind him: " But unlike the Forerunners who fought against the White Walkers in the War of Dawn—today, you have this wall of ice seven hundred feet high; and I, a new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch!"

"Beyond the wall, the Ghost Forest, Frost Snow Mountain, Frozen Coast, and Land of Eternal Winter have completely fallen and are under the control of ghosts. Endless and countless dead people are leading the White Walkers to stare at the Seven Kingdoms. And Inside the wall, the kings and nobles of the south are still fighting over an iron chair, and have no time for him. And at this juncture, the Wall Guards have lost Benjen Stark, Jeor Mormont one after another. , Maester Aemon, all excellent and respectable brothers... It took us even a few months to barely resolve our differences, end the election and choose the commander-in-chief to command the upcoming war."

"Next, we have to face more than a dozen ancient fortresses that are in disrepair, large sections of ice walls that have not been properly repaired and cleaned for decades, and tens of thousands of new lands that are difficult to feed. People... If Commander Mormont was still alive, he would probably have announced with a frown: 'The situation is not optimistic'. But I will not use the aristocratic rhetoric to whitewash the peace and cover up the truth. I must tell you honestly: the darkest The time has come!"

Iger suddenly raised his voice, and a lot of frustrated words on it were for this final turning point: "But we will not admit defeat, we will fight to the end! We will fight the enemy on the edge of the Grand Canyon, and we will fight the enemy in the Bay of Ice Fighting the enemy, we will fight the enemy at all costs on the ice wall, in the fortress, and prevent them from stepping over the Great Wall!"

"Even if this most powerful defense is breached, we will continue to fight the enemy in the land-grant, in the north, and even in the rivers and mountains, rivers, swamps and fields of the king's land. As long as we still have faith and unite, We'll build another Great Wall with flesh and blood—until we're the last man standing, or drive those damned bastards back to their hometowns!"

Before crossing, he hated the bureaucratic and lengthy reports and speeches. In this own inauguration ceremony, he had already planned to control the time for empty talk.In addition, Maester Aemon's ashes were still open in the open air, and there was a lot of snow, let alone delay... After a slight pause, he quickly concluded his inaugural speech.

"We are isolated and helpless. Even with an optimistic estimate, we may have thousands of people to protect the tens of millions of people in Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms behind us... There has never been a war in human history that required the participants to fight with so few people. , to protect so many of our kind, how unfair it is! But we will still fight to the end without hesitation. Why? Because we are the night watchmen! We—— are the swords in the dark, the guards on the Great Wall. We—— are the defense against The cold flame, the ray of dawn, the horn that awakens the sleepers, the shield that guards the kingdom!"

He ended with the second half of the oath of the night watchman, just to arouse everyone's response and resonance. The cronies he arranged in the crowd first began to recite the oath together, followed by the supporters, and then the Chinese Lipai... more and more night watchmen join in this collective reciting and oath that everyone is familiar with. By the time of the last sentence, the people in the entire fortress are already spitting and roaring loudly: "We dedicate our lives and glory to you!" To the Night's Watch, tonight and every night!"

***

No one spoiled or interrupted the speech.However, Iger always felt that the atmosphere did not meet expectations, and the dark spots in his vision caused by the stimulation of the bright light had not dissipated, which made it impossible for him to see the expressions of the soldiers in the audience.Under the influence of psychology, he couldn't help but have the illusion: Many of them didn't listen carefully to what he said, but were staring at the weapon on his waist, expecting that he would draw out and wield the lightsaber again to strengthen the persuasiveness of the speech.

Although judging from the loudness of the roars of the night watchmen present, the effect of the performance was acceptable, but he still couldn't help feeling more dissatisfied with Melisandre's self-assertion.

But those are not important anymore, an impassioned speech can temporarily stimulate people's blood, but after all, the White Walkers did not come to attack the city tonight.What determines the outcome of a long-term war is ultimately the quality of soldiers, equipment and logistical operations.

And these, most of them have to look at themselves as the command and decision-maker.

After the speech, Iger ordered someone to collect Maester Aemon's ashes.After the venue was cleared, he began to publicly announce the changes he would make to the Night's Watch immediately after taking office.

The first point is to greatly increase the allowances and subsidies of all night watchmen. Different positions and tasks have different ranges, ranging from two times to five times.

It is not the most important change, but Iger chose to announce it first because it is the most practical and the easiest to win people's hearts.

The so-called allowance is actually pocket money.The Night Watch Corps takes care of food, housing, and equipment for soldiers. It stands to reason that there is no need for other expenses, but after all, people have needs other than survival, and the allowance is to meet these needs.

The Legion has no fixed source of income, so the so-called allowance is only equivalent to a few dollars a day, which is better than nothing.Generally, low-level soldiers basically need to save a few weeks to do what they want to do - you can go to the village of the land-grant residents to exchange some eggs, meat, cheese, etc. to start a small stove for yourself; you can also go to the mole Find a woman in the burrow of the village to vent out the biological instinct of reproduction; you can also hide it, and when you save enough, you can do something "big": for example, buy yourself a new dress, buy a new pair of shoes, or even change a lavish Handier guy or something...

The piece of obsidian that Iger used to make the dagger in the end and finally made his miraculous achievements was the money he had saved for three months of stipends.And in order to let his friends in Eastwatch pay attention to whether there were such goods on the merchant ships, he spent another two weeks of allowances to invite him to dinner before he could settle the matter.

Because the base is extremely low, although it sounds scary to increase to the original "2~5 times", the increased pressure on the night watchman industry is actually not huge.

Theoretically speaking, once a person joins the Night's Watch, guarding the Great Wall becomes his bounden duty, even if he doesn't pay a penny, he still has to perform his duties.But now that the Great Wall has implemented the land-grant resettlement plan, a very strange problem has gradually emerged: Although the people outside the Great Wall have handed over almost all their property in the process of changing from "savages" to "new land-grant people", if enough Strong body, flexible mind, plus a little luck to keep getting job opportunities from Houguan Town... Relying on receiving wages, these outsiders will immediately have more liquidity in their hands than ordinary night watchmen. And manage the money properly, and the life of the new land granters will soon be much more nourishing than that of the night's watch!

After all, Iger is a night watchman. If this situation is allowed to develop, the hat with elbows turned outward will soon be unable to shake off.Don't worry about scarcity but unevenness, and the mentality of your subordinates is out of balance, sometimes it will cause serious consequences.

The second point is the change in establishment.

The internal conflicts of the Night Watch Corps had reached an unprecedentedly intense level due to the emergence of his dark horse and forcibly taking the position of commander-in-chief.Although the comprehensive strength of Houcrown Town is now greater than the sum of Castle Black, Shadow Tower and Eastwatch, but at this dangerous moment when the White Walkers may attack in the next second-the Night Watch Corps is like a dying patient. Unable to withstand drastic treatment.

Iger really didn't dare to take risks, and consolidated his rule through a large number of personnel changes and purges.

Now that it has been agreed not to change the Commander of the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch, Iger simply went one step further: In the entire Night Watch Corps, he did not change any of the middle and high-level positions, but instead used another method, gently applying medicine, a little bit. To dilute the power of the old-school Night's Watch:

Added tons of new jobs!

Iger publicly announced that the sixteen newly activated fortresses will be officially promoted to the same level as the Shadow Tower and East Sea Watch, and the fortress commander, chief ranger, affairs officer, craftsman and logistics officer will be established-and announced on the spot A shortlist of candidates for these positions.

There is no doubt that these Iger's newly elected officers, his supporters and cronies are still all polished commanders.But Iger plans to slowly increase the number of soldiers of the Night Watch to about 2000.Those new recruits who joined later will be gradually filled into the newly activated fortresses, and eventually each newly activated fortress will be equipped with 50~100 night watchman soldiers, and counting the mountain people and newly gifted land people living in it, I will The control of the legion will be so stable that it is completely impossible to shake it.

Neither move the original position of the old people, nor slap the soldiers under you. This move absolutely leaves no reason for anyone to object.Even if the old people see that Iger intends to use this to reduce their status and influence weight in the Night Watch Corps, there is nothing they can do. This cannot be more typical-Yangmou!

The third point is the relocation of the headquarters.

Iger officially announced that from now on, Houguan Town will become the headquarters and land-grant center of the Night Watch, and the office and residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch.

This change naturally led to another complementary change: Castle Black was downgraded and became a "normal fortress" on the same level as the upgraded 16 strongholds, plus Shadow Tower and Eastwatch... So, another stronghold commander The position was vacated, and Iger let Jon Snow take the position as the commander of Castle Black.

After making some arrangements, Iger's evaluation of "nepotism" probably cannot be shaken off-this may not sound like a good word, but in fact the logic is very simple: in this troubled world, you don't need cronies to promote people, should you use passers-by or enemies? ?To gain a fair and good reputation and take the risk of lack of control over one's own power, ghosts do this kind of thing.

Questions immediately appeared: "The commander-in-chief of the Night's Watch didn't sit in Castle Black, but hid in Houcrown Town? He didn't even stay at the Great Wall, how could he lead us to guard the Great Wall?"

This was completely in Iger's expectation, and he had already prepared the way to fight back: "Then, according to this statement, we fight against the White Walkers, do not go north to fight them face to face, but hide behind the Great Wall, isn't it also a sign of cowardice? I am the logistics As an official, I believe that only a powerful land-grant can support this war to defend mankind. I sit in Houguan Town this time to build this solid backing. Jon Snow has both Courage and wisdom, maybe a little lacking in experience, but with the assistance of three seasoned chiefs, I am very relieved to hand over Castle Black to him!"

After all, Houguan Town was not King's Landing, and it was only a day's journey away from the Great Wall, so it was not far away from the front line.Although many soldiers were not used to this change, it was not considered a strong objection.What's more... According to the law of the night watchman, the commander-in-chief does not need to worry about the reaction of his subordinates when issuing orders.

Without talking too much with the doubters, Iger continued his rhythm: "The changes that are related to everyone, for the time being, these three points. The future of all mankind depends on us. No matter what the way forward, I am very honored to be with you. Fight shoulder to shoulder and walk this journey together. Disband!"

The crowd of people in black slowly dispersed with various expressions of satisfaction, excitement or doubt. Iger turned his head and took a breath: "Go, call Carter Pike and Jon Royce over here .”

-

Chapter 315

Iger sent someone to call.

Carter Pike knew he couldn't hide, and he didn't want to be a mother-in-law.Shaking his head, he brought Jon Royce to the new commander-in-chief in a very bachelor manner.

Iger has something to say to them, so why don't I also have something to tell him?

But when they were close to a few meters away, the two were stopped by Iger's subordinates.

……

"Hand over your weapon?" Carter's eyes widened in disbelief, "I'm a night watchman, why should I be asked to hand over my weapon in Castle Black?!"

"This is an order from the Commander-in-Chief."

"Hahaha, what an order from the Commander-in-Chief. Iger, you've done a lot of shameful things, and you know you're afraid?" Carter laughed back angrily, and sarcastically sarcastically from a few meters away: "The great Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watchman , see brother oath in your fortress, and ask the other party to hand over the weapon first...Aren't you afraid of making people laugh out loud when you say it?"

Iger didn't say a word, just stared at the two of them coldly.

He was afraid of death, and Mormont's lesson was close at hand, so he couldn't help it.No matter what status one attains, mortals are flesh and blood after all... A drop of poison, a dagger or even a stone can kill a person.

But today he asked Carter Pike and Jon Royce to come see him after disarming them, not just for safety, but more for a ceremony.A ritual that reveals and reinforces the notion of each other's superior-subordinate identities.

The common way of saying it is: let the other party understand who is the boss now.

There is only one way to pass this test: Obediently obey the order to hand over the weapon, listen to what Iger has to say from beginning to end honestly, and accept all arrangements unconditionally.

Any other reaction—whether it is trying to break in with a weapon, or refusing to carry out the order and rushing away, the dozen or so well-trained soldiers around them will take them down in an instant, and they will immediately take them down as "disobedience to superior orders" hanged them in Castle Black's yard.

Iger did promise Dennis not to trouble these two people, but he felt that this agreement was limited to not pursuing everything that happened before he was elected commander-in-chief... After that, he didn't admit it.

The two sides faced each other a few meters away, and the air seemed to freeze.

Carter laughed and mocked Iger at first, but after a few curses and couldn't wait for Iger's counterattack, he finally gradually felt like he was barking like a defeated dog, and closed his mouth resentfully.

"Hmph, it's just ridiculous!"

Jon Royce was not like Carter, who could swear words easily. He dropped this sentence, turned around angrily, and left.

But the companion's reaction was unexpected: Carter grabbed him with a backhand.

As the chief officer of Eastwatch, Carter Pike never minds being described as reckless: I am a reckless man, what can you do to me?

But it is impossible to be a fool after all to climb to the position of commander.

Carter realized that something was wrong.

As the commander of East China Sea Watch, he can stare at Iger fiercely, or laugh at him loudly. The other party must not use "disrespect" as a reason to condemn himself, otherwise he will be petty and intolerant. It is a stain that will never be erased on the resume.

But there is a red line that must never be touched: disobedience to military orders.

No matter how small a matter is, once it is on the line, it can demand people's heads.

Dennis said that he has reached an agreement with the new commander, but a character like Iger is definitely not a master who will be bound by the agreement.As long as I took one wrong step today, I, the Commander of Eastwatch, and the former Earl of Runestone City next to me might not be able to walk out of the gate of Castle Black alive.

Carter Pike gradually seeped cold sweat from his back and gritted his teeth, but in the end he still grabbed Jon with one hand and drew his weapon with the other. The tomahawk fell to the ground.

If he didn't know what was going on in the face of such a straightforward reminder, Jon Royce would have lived in vain for decades.He remained in the posture of turning around and leaving stiffly for several seconds, and finally compromised to the danger of his life, shook off Carter's hand, also untied the sword belt, and threw it to the ground forcefully as if venting.

(Hmph, I thought you were not afraid of death!)

Iger smiled contemptuously, but deep down in his heart, he was also slightly relieved.After all——if he really stabbed his own people in Castle Black in full view on the day of his inauguration, no matter how glorious and legitimate the reason was, it would have a huge negative impact on himself.

The humiliation was not over yet, the guards searched them under the eyes of the two who were almost bursting into flames, nodded, and finally let them pass, and came to Iger who was still guarded by three soldiers.

……

Glancing at the two of them with a flat expression, Iger turned his head and leaned on the railing to look into the courtyard: Maester Aemon's ashes have been put away, and the embers and fly ash left by the cremation have also been cleaned up, but there are still A dozen black-clothed soldiers were busy doing something at the place where the cremation had taken place before, holding tools.