Solomon turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Barna, Evelyn, Luchen, and Lauchlan. He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears:
"We now have Gold Dragons and soldiers, but no armor."
"A warrior, no matter how courageous, is useless without armor."
"Tell me, where can I get iron? A large amount of iron."
Tax Officer Barna stood up first. Before going bankrupt and becoming a beggar, he was a merchant. He waved his hand, as if holding a handful of glittering Gold Dragons: "My Lord, we have Gold Dragons!"
"We can send people to King's Landing, to Lannisport in the Westerlands, or even across the Narrow Sea to Pentos, to Myr! As long as the price is right, I don't believe we can't buy iron ore and armor!"
His proposal sounded full of heroic spirit. Paving the way with Gold Dragons seemed invincible.
But Solomon shook his head. The cost was too high. He stood up and walked to the map of Westeros hanging on the wall, pointing to a location on the map: "Barna, your idea is good, but you ignored the most important thing."
"In the Seven Kingdoms, all large iron mines are firmly controlled by the Great Lords. They are also strategic resources."
"Transportation. Iron ore is very heavy. Transporting it here... the tolls alone, plus the cost of transport teams and guards, would double the cost several times. Moreover, they will definitely take the opportunity to raise prices. This deal is not cost-effective."
"As for buying across the Narrow Sea, the time is too long, and the risk is too high. Our fleet might encounter pirates or storms. By the time the iron ore is transported back, it might be half a year or even a year later."
"I do have money, but not enough to spend like this."
Barna sat down silently, not refuting.
Luchen rubbed his hair vigorously, eyes widening as if discovering something huge. He slammed the table, making a loud noise, stood up, and faced Solomon: "Lord Solomon! Let's go rob!"
"In the high mountains! There are damn bandits and wildlings everywhere! There must be weapons in their camps! Armor! We send troops to wipe them out! Strip all their weapons and armor! Melt them down! Won't we have iron?"
This proposal was full of simple and crude logic, immediately receiving Lauchlan's approval.
Solomon signaled Evelyn to explain that melting down scrap metal wasn't realistic. He did indeed intend to deal with the bandits on the Riverlands side of the high mountains, but not for ironware. A significant portion of Westeros' bandits were people who couldn't survive high taxes or had violated lords' laws and were forced into outlawry.
He had basically figured out the situation. The bandits on the mountain side of his territory were all driven to desperation by House Terry and fled into the high mountains. Many of their families were subjects currently living on his land. Most importantly, these were all population. He had to subdue them.
Seeing Solomon's signal, Evelyn stood up and spoke: "Scrap metal, melting and refining it again... the loss rate is astonishing."
"We might be busy for half a day, wipe out several camps, and the pure iron we get in the end won't be enough to forge three good swords. Going to war for this bit of inferior iron is not worth the loss."
Luchen's face flushed red, and he sat down like Barna.
The council chamber fell into silence again. Buying wouldn't work. Robbing wasn't cost-effective. It seemed all roads were blocked.
Evelyn walked to the map. Her gaze didn't look at those prosperous cities or ports, but instead, her hand traced over the continuous mountain range on the map:
"My Lord, the most reliable source is always the land beneath our feet. We must be self-sufficient."
"According to my deduction, there must be mineral deposits in the high mountains. The key is that the wildlings have already fled into the mountain range on the Vale side. As long as we clear out the bandits, we can send people to prospect for mines."
"It's just... the legal jurisdiction of the Vale and the Riverlands in the Mountains of the Moon is unclear. House Belmore of Strongsong cannot rule the mountain range due to the existence of the Mountain Clans, but he claims this mountain range belongs to him."
Solomon looked at Evelyn. This woman wins my heart. He must be self-sufficient and absolutely not rely on others. Everyone looked at Solomon, awaiting his final decision.
He walked to the set of Black Lion plate armor, tapped the cold breastplate with his finger, and turned his head: "What you said! I will do it all! We walk on two legs!"
Everyone was puzzled.
"We wipe out the bandits hiding in the high mountains so that the prospecting team can prospect safely."
"Barna, you immediately take people and Gold Dragons to our surrounding lands, to Seagard. We won't buy iron ore; we will buy scrap iron at a high price."
"Scrap iron?" Barna was stunned for a moment.
"Correct." Solomon affirmed. "From the battlefields with the Ironborn. Damaged armor and broken weapons from the battlefield—buy them all."
"I need to arm a team first to enter the mountains and suppress bandits. Without good equipment, it will cause many needless sacrifices."
"In addition!" Solomon looked at Luchen and Lauchlan. "You go to the four Military Forts and summon the Administrative Officers to see me at the Lion's Den."
"I want to know how many families have members who are bandits in the high mountains."
"Send people to the four Military Forts to see how their census is going and how the 'Three Chiefs System' is being implemented. The time has come to test the results of their work!"
Solomon's final decision echoed off the stone walls of the council chamber.
Barna stood up first and bowed: "I will set off with men right away! Lord Solomon!"
Luchen and Lauchlan looked at each other and bowed to Solomon simultaneously: "Lord Solomon, we will set off immediately."
No one raised objections or doubts. Under Solomon's will, the courtiers began to operate at high speed.
Two days later, the Administrative Officers of the four Military Forts were brought into the council chamber deep within the Lion's Den by Luchen and Lauchlan.
They had never set foot in this place. The grandeur and chill inside the mountain made them feel waves of dizziness and suffocation.
The four men wore their best linen clothes, but still couldn't hide the dust on their bodies and the constraint and panic in their hearts. Before this, they were all commoners, directly promoted by Solomon because they were literate. They felt they would disappoint Lord Solomon.
They stood trembling before the long table, not even daring to look up at the young lord sitting in the main seat.
"Raise your heads! My Administrative Officers!" Solomon's voice was calm, but like a stone thrown into a deep pool, it stirred up huge waves in the hearts of the four. They stiffly raised their heads to meet Solomon's eyes.
Solomon spoke slowly, his gaze sweeping over their nervous faces one by one: "You have been my Administrative Officers for a long time. You should have a general understanding of the affairs you are responsible for."
"As Administrative Officers, your main job is to master the situation of the subjects in the Military Forts and mediate conflicts between subjects."
"So, you should know the situation of your respective Military Forts better than I do. This is the first time I am testing you."
"Now, I want to know, how many people are there in our territory in total, and how many adult males."
"How many families have men who are currently bandits in the mountains outside?"
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