Chapter 402

"Strip the nobility of their privileges, shatter the wheel of history, and build a land free of oppression?"

Daenerys answered hesitantly. This was her lifelong dream, the goal she pursued day and night. But even she understood that this was a vague aspiration, not a concrete policy.

“Excellent.” Aegor noted the doubt in her expression, evidence that she herself recognized the problem. That was fine. “Your vision is clear and straightforward. Let me break it down: You believe that the suffering of the common folk stems entirely from the oppression and exploitation of the nobility and slavers. Eliminate inequality, destroy these parasites, and the people will prosper. But think back to your rule over Slaver’s Bay and answer me this—did the living standards of the people in the three great cities under your control improve? If so, by how much?”

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A faint blush of shame crept across Daenerys’s face. Fortunately, the dim lighting in the room helped obscure it. The disastrous rule of Slaver’s Bay was a sore spot for her. Due to her flawed strategies and lack of experience, Astapor and Yunkai had fallen into chaos or reverted to slavery almost immediately after her departure. War had worsened tensions and drained resources, leaving the inhabitants even worse off. Only Meereen fared slightly better, thanks to the intervention of Littlefinger, whose strategies she had reluctantly adopted, and her decision to stay and govern the city personally instead of rushing to the next conquest.

Even then, Meereen’s survival hinged on cold, calculated measures, such as barring refugees from the other two cities to prevent famine and plague. It was only after mastering dragonriding in Asshai, repelling foreign invasions, reconquering Astapor and Yunkai, and unifying the eastern coast of Slaver’s Bay that she managed to restore living conditions to their prior state—this, despite the population of Yunkai and Astapor being reduced to a fraction of their original numbers and nearly half the population of the eastern coast perishing.

This was hardly a governance record worth boasting about.

“No, it didn’t improve,” Daenerys admitted honestly, though she tried to save some face. “But at least they’re all free now.”

“That’s undeniable—liberating Slaver’s Bay was a great achievement,” Aegor said with practiced sincerity, careful to hide any hint of condescension. After all, his goal was to persuade her, not alienate her. “But in Westeros, you’ll need to tread cautiously. The Seven Kingdoms have already abolished slavery; everyone here is free. If you can’t improve the people’s lives, they won’t thank you for ‘liberating’ them from noble oppression. Instead, they’ll complain, saying, ‘Back in Lord So-and-So’s time, we lived so much better!’”

Daenerys’s embarrassment deepened. Though Aegor’s words were not disrespectful, her guilt made them sting like mockery. The proud queenly aura faded from her face, replaced by an earnest humility. She could sense the confidence in his words, and if this Night’s Watchman truly had a way to achieve her ideals, she was willing to lower her stance to learn from him.

Seeing her eagerness, Aegor didn’t keep her waiting. After a moment’s pause, he shifted gears. “Let me make an imprecise prediction: Even if you eliminated all the nobles in Westeros and distributed resources equally, you would be shocked to find that the people would barely achieve subsistence. A single disaster, an extended winter, or a war would plunge them back into misery. Moreover, to enforce such equality and ensure your policies are carried out, you would need to drastically expand your bureaucracy, replacing lords and knights with officials. This system, detached from production and driven by personal desires, would quickly breed corruption, creating new oppressors in place of the old. And to manage these officials, you’d need to create oversight departments…”

Daenerys frowned. “Are you saying that nobles and lords are irreplaceable and that my ideals are a joke?”

“No, Your Grace. What I’m saying is that to improve the people’s lives, institutional reform alone isn’t enough. It’s more important to increase the wealth and resources available. Productivity and production relations must advance together for the world to truly become better.”

Explaining productivity and production relations in detail would be a monumental task—and entirely unnecessary in this era. Aegor had already introduced these concepts in the first half of his heavily modified The Prince. Now, he merely needed to supplement that foundation with a bit more explanation to ensure his point was understood.

“Breaking the wheel, as you envision it, is essentially about altering the distribution of resources within the system of production relations. This is not wrong. But you’re overlooking one crucial point: No matter how you divide the resources, if productivity doesn’t increase, there’s only so much to go around. Any system, no matter how just, will be quickly overwhelmed by population growth or unforeseen events. The solution is comprehensive reform of the state to promote simultaneous advancements in productivity and production relations.”

“I’d like to do that, of course. But the land yields only so much grain, and the forests and seas only so much bounty. How can productivity be improved?”

“That’s an enormous topic—one that could fill an entire book. Unfortunately, it’s a book I’m not qualified to write,” Aegor said with a wry smile. Seeing that Daenerys was fully invested now, he allowed himself to relax. He pulled out a chair across from her and poured two glasses of warmed wine, taking a sip before continuing. “But while I can’t write it, I can assure you it’s achievable. If Your Grace has studied the industries of the Night’s Watch, you’d know that it’s not just a production organization. Its research division, under my direction or through their own initiative, conducts experiments. One such experiment involves agriculture.”

“You’re telling me the Night’s Watch grows its own food?”

“Not entirely, of course. But the kitchens manage most of their own food preparation. When not cooking, the staff use the empty spaces around the large factories to grow vegetables—partly to pass the time, partly to supplement the kitchens. Once I learned of this, I directed the research division to assist in these efforts, experimenting with tools, farming methods, fertilizers, and anything else they could think of to increase yields.”

“And did it work?”

“Each experimental plot yielded different results, but all outperformed the Seven Kingdoms’ average.” Aegor’s tone was matter-of-fact. “So, with all due respect, I must correct Your Grace: It’s not true that the land can only produce so much. Through agricultural reform, it can yield far more. That’s the essence of productivity improvement.”

“How is it done?”

“By cultivating superior crops, using sturdy and efficient tools, and implementing scientific farming methods—planting, irrigation, fertilization, and so on. Are you sure you want to discuss this now? As I understand it, Dragonstone isn’t exactly fertile ground.”

“I understand,” Daenerys said, her curiosity piqued. “And then?”

“Then we agree: Technological progress drives productivity. If there are no objections, we’ll move on to the next point.” Aegor leaned back slightly, confident that his audience was fully engaged. What he was sharing now were not his ultimate secrets. Even if he had to oppose Daenerys one day, what she learned tonight would not make her invincible. “When productivity advances, which region of the Seven Kingdoms will benefit the most?”

“Who benefits most? Wouldn’t everyone benefit?”

“Yes, but I want Your Grace to think carefully. Which region will gain the greatest advantage?”

This wasn’t a trick question; it was designed to make Daenerys think critically and align her thoughts with his reasoning.

After a moment of thought, she answered, “The Reach. Its warm climate, vast farmland, and large population make it the most likely to benefit.”

“Correct,” Aegor nodded. “But considering your limited understanding of Westerosi affairs, let me provide more specifics. The Reach has twice the arable land of the Riverlands, the second-largest region. With its warm, humid climate, it can produce three harvests during a long summer, accounting for half of Westeros’s total grain production. Its population, while not as disproportionate, exceeds the combined totals of the North, Westerlands, Riverlands, and Vale. And this is just the official data; who knows how much remains hidden. Do you understand?”

“I must admit, I hadn’t considered it in such detail.”

“Now we can return to our earlier concept: easy to win, hard to rule.” Aegor let out a small sigh of relief. The foundational groundwork was done. “Ideally, you could oppose the entire world, defeat the Seven Kingdoms, and take control of Westeros. But I doubt Your Grace wishes to spend the rest of your life waging war. A more practical approach would be a compromise: ally with some lords while opposing others. Reclaiming the Iron Throne requires the support of major houses, but breaking the wheel necessitates opposing them. To achieve your ideal amidst resistance, you must establish sufficient control over the realm. If we assume your dragons’ power is equivalent to one kingdom, and you must ally with three while opposing the remaining four, how would you choose?”

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