Is it so interesting, is it so interesting, is it interesting?

If it weren't for the fact that Melisandre did have some tricks, Egg would almost want to get rid of the guy in front of him...... But in fact, in the face of an unpredictable witch, he did not dare not cooperate with the performance.

"Hello, ma'am. ”

"Food doesn't just come from friends, it can also come from enemies. Melisandre sat back down in her chair, "Why don't you go to the Great Wall North for an interview?"

"North of the Great Wall?!"

Egg's eyes widened: "It was you who told yourself that "the person who killed the strange ghost will be paid special attention to the cold god", and now it is you who let him go to the north of the Great Wall to find food, what are you kidding? Don't try to trick me out of the fortress...... No, the Great Wall!

"I don't understand...... Ma'am, please be clear. ”

Melisandre shook her head and reminded, "Did the wildlings come here empty-handed when they gathered south to attack the Wall?"

......

Of course not, the savages came with their families in tow, cattle and sheep, and all their belongings on their backs.

"Ah, you mean...... Food in the hands of the savages!" Egg quickly came to his senses: "But the current manpower of the Great Wall is only just right for defense, and there is no way to take the initiative to attack - to grab the other side." ”

It's much more than that, the wildlings are not a complete force, they don't put their food together somewhere to send troops to guard it...... Rather, they would take care of their own food and livestock from tribe to tribe and family, and even if Iger had an elite and efficient cavalry force that could be used to send them to raid, the efficiency of looting food would be extremely low, and perhaps there would not be enough men and horses to eat.

"You don't have to grab it, you can let them ...... Serve it yourself. ”

"Serve it yourself?" Iger became more and more confused, this demon woman, it can't be that her brain is bad and talking nonsense. Or is there some kind of magic she has that can hypnotize the savages to hand over their food?

Making eye contact with the Night's Watchman, Melisandre smiled at him incomprehensibly, but did not answer.

＊＊＊

Silence is often more revealing than anything to say, and Egger thinks outside the box and quickly comes up with the answer: the only way to get the wild people to consciously deliver food to their doors...... Just open the door and let them in.

It wasn't a novel idea, and it was already in Egger's plan to let the wildlings enter the customs and take them for himself, but there were some steps that could not be skipped: he planned to delay the defense of the Great Wall a little longer, to dampen the savages' spirit and inexplicable pride in thinking that they were "free", and to let the "thorns" who were full of blood and androgens in their heads, that is, the unruly part, be drastically reduced through the battle...... Wait until the 100,000 savages are exhausted and the casualties have reached the point where they can no longer hold on, and then negotiate.

The alliance under the city will be formed as usual, but the side that takes the initiative to "sue for peace" will change from a night watchman to a wildling. Only after the completion of this identity exchange will it become possible to subdue the savages.

The savages have lived outside the fortress for generations, and of course they know the rules of stockpiling grain when winter comes. However, the living environment and products in the north of the Great Wall are far inferior to those in the north, and the residents will suffer a large attrition every time they spend the winter...... And this time, they moved south to avoid the ghosts, and the time to prepare for the winter will be seriously insufficient. They may have enough food to feed for three or five months, but what will they do to feed their six-figure population after those three or five months are over?

Melisandre recognized Egger's suspicions: "Putting the wildlings on the Wall will greatly reduce the number of enemies the living camp will have to face in the coming winter, and weaken the power of my lord's old enemy. Not only that, but we'll also be able to free up manpower to solve the problems the North is facing...... Why not do it?"

Free up manpower to solve the troubles facing the North?Indeed, after making peace with the wildlings, he can organize his clansmen and warriors among the wildlings into an army and go south to drive out the invaders of the Iron Isles...... Not only will it greatly increase its influence in one fell swoop, but it will also restore the logistics of the North to the Night's Watch.

However, Egger had experience in managing the Night's Watch industry, and his ability to estimate the data was obviously above Melisandre's, and he came to the conclusion that all this was just a forced life, and that the population of the north was only a million, and there was no way to support the sudden extra 100,000 wildlings, and that the cold winter would only last for more than half a year, which would be a tragedy.

"If we put the savages on the Great Wall, the food they bring may be able to hold out for an extra month or two, and we can hold out for another two or three months if we get to settle the Iron Folk and restore the logistical supply of the land grants from the north. Iger asked, "But then?" Lady Melisandre—you always say that the long night is coming, so I ask you—will this winter, which you call 'the long night,' be over in a year?"

There is another question that Iger did not raise: even if the winter is over, it will take time to grow food again!

"Rahlo didn't tell me how long the winter would last. "But that means it doesn't matter—don't lose hope, Lord Logistics," Melisandre admitted. Despair is the weapon of mortal infallibility, and no one will starve to death under your rule...... The Lord of Light will take care of your worries. ”

"Can the Lord of Light help me grow food in the snow?"

"Do you think my lord is a farmer?" said Melisandre, glancing at Egger with a reproachful look, and seemed dissatisfied with his mockery of his faith, "Rahlo will help in other ways, and I have seen in the Sacred Flame numerous ocean-going convoys, which have brought in truckloads of grain from across the Narrow Sea, unloaded on a port near the Wall, to feed the countless people who live on it. ”

......

Across the Narrow Sea, Iger never thought that food would come from...... He stared at Melisandre suspiciously, trying to find out the clues of lying from her expression, but he didn't do enough to look at each other for a while, and he had no choice but to give up.

Did the witch really see this from the fire, or did she make it up to coax herself?, and Egger felt that Melisandre had no reason to trick herself...... But if he made up his mind to let the wild man into the Great Wall because the authenticity of a divine stick could not be guaranteed, it would never be possible.

Not to mention, the matter of the Great Wall is not up to him alone.

He decided to think about it before making a decision, across the Narrow Sea...... The continent of Essos is significantly less affected by winter than Westeros, and there may indeed be surplus grain to sell, which can be transported in large quantities across the narrow sea to feed tens of thousands of mouths, how high is the cost?

Even if you can afford it, can you feed this group of people, do you have spare money to carry out a few other projects?

He remembered a possibility: to take out a loan from Braavos. Jaquin's nervous appearance after seeing the ghouls may have meant that Iron Vault was also concerned about the current situation in Westeros...... Just tell the money lenders that if the Wall is not defended, Westeros will be a living hell, and the loan that the Iron Treasury lent to the Iron Throne will never be recovered. Under the pressure of the harsh reality, he is very likely to enlist the support of Braavos!

"Thank you, ma'am, for your wise advice, which I will consider carefully and consult with my colleagues. ”

Melisandre was clearly not impressed by such perfunctory clichés, she smiled lightly and shook her head, "Hurry up, we don't have much time left." The long night is coming, and everywhere is sinister, and the living are on the side...... You have to be ready as soon as possible. ”

——