Game of Thrones: Kings in the North

Chapter 12
"My lord, if this goes on like this, our winter reserves will be exhausted."

The governor of Winterfell, Vayon Poole, complained to Eddard with a thick ledger.

In the past few days, Ed has realized that "if you are not in charge of the family, you don't know how expensive it is."

At the beginning, there were only 2 residents in the Winter Refuge Town, but more than 3 people have gradually poured in. Now it has a scale of more than [-] people. Since the houses were sold out, many residents were temporarily housed in tents outside Winterfell.

In the beginning, the prices in the Winter Refuge Town were stable. After all, the northern border had just completed a bumper harvest. When many residents drove their carriages to the Winter Refuge Town, they were full of corn and grains.

But soon, food prices started to rise.

Many of the farmers who came to settle down in the towns for the winter brought food in horse-drawn carts and ox carts, but many of the people from the mountain clans were herdsmen.The arable land in the mountain clan is scarce, and most of the residents make a living by herding sheep, and many of them drove their flocks to the town for winter escape.

There are also some residents with long distances who choose to sell their accumulated grain before coming to the winter town, and bring money to the winter town. When they come to the winter town, even if they get the land and complete the sowing, the harvest will have to wait. It's been a few months.

So many people always wanted to eat, Ed took out the food that the lords paid tribute to Winterfell at Rickon's birthday party, and it was sold out in one day.

Ed asked Earl Wyman of White Harbor to increase the supply of food to the winter shelter town. The food supplies sent upstream from the White Knife River were sufficient, but the price was much higher, and many residents began to complain about the rising prices.Some people began to wonder whether the winter resort town was really suitable for long-term living. Some residents who were closer to Winterfell, such as Seven City, and the residents from Torrhen's Square packed up their things and left the winter resort town to return to their hometowns.

When the winter escape town is overcrowded, security becomes a big problem. The captain of the Winterfell guard, Jory Cassel, is responsible for the security of the winter escape town. The size of the guard has expanded to 500 people, and maintaining law and order is still very difficult.

Fights are commonplace.There are always fights in casinos, brothels, and taverns.A few days ago, the herdsmen of the Nori family of the mountain clan fought with some aborigines in the winter town.

The reason is that the herdsmen went to the aborigines' farmland to herd sheep and destroyed the newly sprouted farmland.

In previous winters, when the residents of the mountain clans came to the town to avoid the winter, they would not bring goats, but now it is summer, and many mountain herdsmen in animal skins came here with their flocks. When the farmland was found to be destroyed, the two sides fought.

Fortunately, these people who fought only suffered some minor injuries.Ed asked the herdsman to compensate the farmer with a few sheep, and the farmer compensated the herdsman with a bag of corn, and the matter was settled.

Thieves are caught almost every day, and the number of poachers in the wolf forest has increased significantly.Ed promised that during the harvest season, the residents of the winter resort town could hunt legally, but now many lands have not been reclaimed, and these people are
Old Bear Mormont of the Night's Watch may be the only one who is satisfied with the decline in the security of Winterfell, and the more serious crimes among these scum are sent to the Great Wall.There are also some military settlements sent to Zengdi.

Winterfell has already cooperated with the Night Watchman to develop the abandoned land in Zengdi. The first military station is in charge of Winterfell's guard Tomard, located in Houguan Town.According to the letter Thomas sent back to Winterfell, they have reclaimed more than ten acres of land, planted corn, and built beehives. Every household in the military camp has raised dogs, ready to deal with wildling raids at any time. By.

A few days ago, a fire in the tent area almost spread to the gate of Winterfell and the downtown area of ​​the winter shelter town, but fortunately it was extinguished in time.

The progress of the settlement project in the winter shelter town is gratifying. People cut wood from the wolf forest and transport it to the winter shelter town to build wooden houses at a very fast speed. However, the price Ed set at the beginning was 100 copper cents to get a house for the whole family to live in. And one mu of land is far below the market price. Every time a wooden house is built, the treasury of Winterfell will lose a sum of money.

Many people suggested raising the price of houses and land, but Ed refused.These people were attracted to the winter resort town by Ed's preferential policies, and the price increase would only break the trust of the people.

In the study, Vayon Poole stood in front of Ed, pointing at the ledger.

"Many residents of the winter shelter town have already eaten up their supplies. According to the master's order, I pulled out three carts of frozen jerky, five carts of corn, and one cart of ale from Winterfell's winter storage yesterday. It was sold out after dark. We made a lot of money, but we couldn’t save the money at all, because the guards, building houses, beehives, salt villages, military villages, and buying supplies all cost money, and in the end we had to pay back. "

Ed said: "I have already sent people to the Dreadfort, Barren Tonkun, and Kahuo City to buy food, and the food in White Harbor is continuously shipped from the south. It is summer now, and our vassals say that the food from all over the country Food reserves are sufficient."

Vayon Poole sighed, "My lord, have you forgotten the Stark language. Winter is coming! This summer has been going on for six years, but who knows when it will end? Maester Luwin said that even The school city can't accurately predict the seasonal changes. What if the autumn wind blows suddenly, the blizzard rages, our crops freeze to death in the heavy snow, the snow blocks the mountains, and freezes the ground, what should we do?"

Ed smiled and said, "The winter shelter town can just escape the winter."

Weiyan Poole put away the account book, "I heard that a large number of craftsmen are coming from all over the world. Does the master have to wait until we spend the last golden dragon in Winterfell before giving up? These people outside Winterfell are useless at all. mouths, and sooner or later they'll eat everything around them."

Ed said indifferently: "We need to be patient and tighten our belts to get through this period."

Weiyan Poole said dryly: "I hope it will be as the master wishes. Master, I am the steward of Winterfell, not the town steward of Winterfell. I really can't hold it anymore. Didn't the master say that we want to hire one?"

Ed patted Vayon Poole on the shoulder, "Thanks for your hard work, Earl Wyman sent the raven. The treasurer he hired for me from Braavos has arrived in White Harbor. I believe it will be Winterfell in a few days. At that time, the Steward of Braavos will be in charge of the finances of Winterfell, and you can concentrate on the affairs of Winterfell."

Since Ed planned to turn the winter town into a city, it was necessary to find professional people to manage the finances.Weiyan Poole worked hard as the general manager, but he was a layman for many things such as tax rates, prices, lending and borrowing, and investment appreciation.

Earl Wyman recommended a Braavosian named Klar, a former employee of the Iron Bank, who had also worked in Tyrosh's firm and had extensive experience.

After Weiyan Poole left the bill and left, Ed couldn't help frowning at the huge expenditure.

Once the money in Winterfell is spent, what should I do?Raise taxes?In that case, vassals and subjects will complain, and tax increases alone will not solve the problem.

Borrowing from the Braavos Iron Bank is an option, but the debt will put a heavy burden on Winterfell City. Once it is unable to repay, the saying "the Iron Bank cannot default" is not a joke.

If any kingdom dares to default on the money to the Iron Bank, the Iron Bank will spend the money to instigate rebellion in the kingdom that does not repay the debt, and the royal family will be exhausted in the face of a steady stream of rebels.What's more, Ed is only the Duke of the North, not even the royal family.

Catelyn walked in with Rickon in her arms.

"what are you busy with?"

Ed put down the account book depressedly, "It's not about money, I sometimes wonder why there are no gold mines in my fief? The fucking Lannister castle is in the gold mountain, we northerners Farming the land, herding sheep, cattle, and horses, but earning too little money.”

Caitlin smiled and said, "This is the way this world is. I have already warned you that the expansion of winter shelter towns, Yantun, and military settlements will make us unable to make ends meet. What are you going to do?"

Ed said: "The plan must be implemented, and if it doesn't work, borrow money to survive."

Caitlin said: "If you want to borrow money, you can ask Littlefinger. Don't forget, Petyr Baelish is my father's adopted son. He is now the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is right to ask him to borrow money. I asked him, He won't say no."

Ed snorted softly: "I'm curious that Robert's court can still borrow money. Robert loves tournaments, wine and beautiful women. It is rumored that the royal family has been in debt for a long time. I will not borrow money from Littlefinger, if I really If you need to speak to the Crown, you will speak directly to Robert."

Caitlin insisted, "Looking for Littlefinger is not necessarily asking for a loan from the royal family. Littlefinger is the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He knows many loan channels. Through Littlefinger, we can ask Tyroshi Trading Company, the Bank of Mir, or Brasil Foss Iron Bank to borrow money."

"I can contact these firms directly, so why do I need Littlefinger, a second-hand dealer?" When Littlefinger was mentioned, Ed was filled with disgust.

(End of this chapter)