Chapter 369: The Gift and the Spider's Attack
The so-called gift was a book Egger had written in a frantic burst of effort, laboring day and night in his cramped cabin during the voyage from Eastwatch to Dragonstone, specifically for Daenerys.
Well, describing it that way was a bit of an exaggeration. There was no real agonizing deliberation involved. Though every word was newly written, the content had been brewing in Egger's mind for a long time. Once he put pen to paper, the thoughts flowed like a spring, and the prose came naturally... As for its length, rather than a book, it was more of a long essay, divided primarily into two parts.
The first part was short. Utilizing his familiarity with the plot and characters, he wrote it as an emotional hook specifically designed to snip Daenerys Targaryen. As the core character with the third-highest line count in the story, Egger had naturally read extensive character analyses and psychological interpretations of the Mother of Dragons. This first half summarized an ideal that Daenerys had long buried deep in her heart, tinged with a touch of self-conscious messianism: to break the wheel of history, end exploitation, eliminate oppression, and forge a new world!
Of course, the specific content was polished with appropriate rhetoric and foreshadowing to make it more subtle, less blunt and edgy, but the core meaning remained the same. The goal was to make the Dragon Queen feel a sense of finding a kindred spirit after reading it, thereby sparking interest and anticipation for what followed.
The second part was far more substantial.
The inspiration for this section came from a world-famous political work Egger had read before his transmigration: The Prince.
The significance of this work in Western and human history was immense—it was the first systematic book to clearly break free from the shackles of theology and ethics, paving the way for political science and jurisprudence to become independent disciplines. The title could just as easily have been: How to Run a Country Ruthlessly and Cynactically, yet Efficiently and Stably. It discussed the nature of ruling, the qualities and skills a monarch should possess, and how to conquer and hold a realm... It was truly one of the cornerstones of modern political thought.
Unlike a pure plagiarist, Egger stripped away all the redundant content that didn't fit the realities of Westeros. He kept only the most high-quality and eye-catching parts, condensing a great work into its most essential outline. Furthermore, he replaced the historical examples from Earth with matching data from the history of the world of Ice and Fire—specifically Westeros. On this foundation, he added core reflections and discourses extracted from other diverse but equally excellent political literature, fine-tuning and modifying them based on his personal experience governing and reforming the Gift as Lord Commander... The result was a magically modified version of The Prince that perfectly suited the reality of their world and would undoubtedly be of immense help to a Queen ruling the Seven Kingdoms.
Of course, it was impossible to write that much content in less than a week, so Egger played the cliffhanger card at the end of the booklet. The outline was complete, and at a glance, nothing seemed missing, but it was guaranteed to make Daenerys feel it had ended abruptly at the most exciting part—leaving her with a lingering, restless desire for more.
As for the rest of the content? It was, of course, locked safely inside Egger's head.
In all fairness, if Petyr or Varys were given a full writing team and sufficient materials, they could produce political advice of similar quality, perhaps even better suited for ruling Westeros. But could did not mean would. No matter what happened, these two conspirators, each with their own hidden agendas, would never summarize their life's learning and insights into a book to be handed unreservedly to the Queen.
The reasoning was simple: while it is a truism that it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish, this was an absolute fallacy to Varys and Petyr, who made their living by fishing. Rather than teaching Daenerys how to fish—how to make independent judgments—they much preferred to grill the fish themselves and hand it to her, advising her on what to do only when specific issues arose.
That was the true function of courtiers and advisors. If they taught the Queen everything they knew, their own utility and importance would be drastically reduced, rendering them insignificant and leaving them facing the prospect of being discarded once their usefulness ended.
But Egger had no such concerns. He wasn't a fisherman; he was a captain. Even if he were to join someone one day, it would inevitably be as a partner bringing his own resources and team. No matter what, he would never become a courtier for Daenerys or anyone else... Since that was the case, he was more than happy to undermine the competition, using gifts that Petyr and Varys might also know—or even master better—to make the Queen feel he was more impressive than both of them.
Daenerys was curious about the booklet in her hand, but she couldn't very well spend a long time examining it in front of everyone. Smoothing the silk covering the book, she set it gently beside her, intending to read it in private after the audience.
It was then that Varys, standing to the side, suddenly spoke with a sinister, mocking smile: "Sworn to neutrality and impartiality? How beautifully that rings. Then I would like the Lord Commander to explain something—why did the Night's Watch Industry, which you established, provide the Gold Cloaks with a large number of heavy anti-air scorpions during the pretender Stannis's fortification of King's Landing, rendering Her Majesty's three dragons useless?"
There was such a thing?
The Spider's sudden attack caught Egger off guard—he truly hadn't known about that specific detail!
Then again, even if he had known, there was nothing he could have done.
Back when the Night's Watch Industrial Park had first gained a foothold and begun to grow, Egger had launched an initiative: venture capital for inventions, picking out those with profit potential for large-scale production.
That spur-of-the-moment idea had been modeled after the modern world. The intent was good, but it wasn't quite suited for the low-productivity world of Ice and Fire. As the infant industry grew into a giant, the model was gradually phased out. The relevant departments made reasonable adjustments to the founder's original plan, transforming the Venture Capital Department into a Technical R&D Department. They stopped sponsoring random outsiders and instead scouted and signed talented craftsmen or clever thinkers, keeping them as permanent employees on a base salary. Thus, they converted their wisdom into the industry's own R&D capability, which, over time... made their technical foundation increasingly solid.
Today, the Industrial Park had not only become the largest manufacturer in the Seven Kingdoms but also the most dynamic R&D and manufacturing enterprise with the highest technical level. Its political and financial entanglements with the Crownland lords, the City Watch, and even the King were so complex that no one outside the front-line management could untangle them. The industry was based in King's Landing, using land belonging to the Iron Throne, enjoying tax-exempt privileges granted by the Baratheon family, and employing managers and workers who were subjects of the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms... Egger couldn't micromanage from a distance and tell Nina whose money was acceptable or whose business to reject.
Dany hadn't even arrived at Dragonstone when Stannis began his fortifications. Did the Night's Watch Industry dare refuse a King's order? If they had the capability to improve and produce such a weapon, but chose not to build or sell it to the King?
If they had actually done that, the Night's Watch Industry would have been confiscated and turned into state property in a heartbeat, and Egger wouldn't even have had the chance to worry about protecting it.
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