Chapter 270: The Southward Migration Plan

After Wright's explanation, the highest-ranking rulers of the Seven Kingdoms finally understood what the Others truly were. If a war between them and humanity broke out, it would result in unimaginable devastation. The discussion naturally shifted toward how to deal with the Others, and Lord Mace spread out a map of the Seven Kingdoms on the table for everyone's reference.

Varys said, "Don't we still have the Wall? Lord Wright also mentioned that the Wall is a magical construct. These undead creatures will turn to ash the moment they touch it!"

Wright responded, "Precisely because it is a magical construct, the Wall has a finite magical reserve. As far as I know, the magical array at its foundation has been operating for thousands of years, drawing power from the ambient magic in the air. No matter how powerful a magical artifact is, it cannot withstand indefinite depletion. If the Wall's magic is exhausted, it will collapse. The wights don't need food or sleep—if they can't breach the Wall in a day, what about a month? Two months?"

Robert scowled in frustration. "We have no intelligence on the matter. The lands beyond the Wall are uninhabitable for humans. Are we truly left with no choice but to sit back and defend passively?"

The king posed the question to the room, and all eyes turned to Wright.

Wright spread his hands. "This is a war of life and death—every living person is inevitably involved! Our ancestors fought the Others, yet they failed to wipe them out. Now that the Others have been biding their time and are surging forth once more, marching southward might just be our opportunity to eliminate them once and for all!"

Lord Mace frowned. "Eliminate them completely?"

Wright shot back, "Does Lord Mace wish to keep the Others around for the next festival?"

Mace hastily waved his hands. "That's not what I meant. I'm asking whether they can truly be wiped out."

"They're magical creatures. Even mighty dragons were driven to extinction—why not the Others? Individually, the Others are strong, but they reproduce slowly. Humans, on the other hand, breed quickly and are highly adaptive. One could say both sides have their advantages." Wright spoke confidently to bolster morale, but inwardly, he was uncertain.

The Others were adept at hiding. If their army marched south, what if a couple of them remained in the North? In a few hundred years, they could rebuild their forces.

They could conceal themselves beneath frozen lakes, bury themselves under thick layers of ice and snow, or dig pits to wait out the years. Finding them would require an immense number of mages using necromantic detection spells in a meticulous search. But this was the North—where the extreme cold alone could kill a mage unprepared for it. And that was the easy scenario. If an Other clutched a stone and sank to the ocean floor, hiding hundreds of meters deep—how could they ever be found?

"The entire North will become a battlefield," Robert remarked, staring at the map. "Eddard alone won't be able to hold off the Others." Then, rising to his feet, he pointed at Wright. "Wright, you are the Archmage of the Seven Kingdoms, and the Others are magical beings. With war imminent, I am officially ordering that, aside from military command, all matters concerning the Others will be under your authority. You will compile all reports and bring them to me for approval. Renly, you will be his deputy."

Since the Others were a magical threat, it was only logical to let a mage handle the issue. None of the other lords objected. Robert, already weakened by illness, had little patience for these matters. Assigning Wright to oversee them put his mind at ease.

In reality, Wright had been leading the efforts against the Others all along. Robert's decree merely formalized his role, elevating the fight against the Others to a war-preparation priority, which would secure greater support.

"Very well," Wright agreed. "Let's continue our analysis."

"I'll follow Wright's lead," Renly added.

"According to the Citadel's predictions, this winter will be exceptionally long and bitterly cold," Wright said, pointing at the narrowest part of Westeros. "In two years, the North will be buried under snow, with the frost line stretching past the Neck. The mountains of the Vale will be blanketed in ice, while the Riverlands, the Westerlands, and the Crownlands will become bitterly cold. If powerful storms bring further drops in temperature, even the Reach and the Stormlands might see snowfall."

The room was filled with nobles, knights, and officials—people removed from agricultural labor, focused instead on governance and warfare. They failed to grasp the full implications of Wright's words. Only Renly caught on immediately.

"North of the Crownlands, vast tracts of farmland will become unusable. The southern Crownlands will see their growing seasons shrink from two or three per year to just one or two! Many people will have to rely on hunting, but within a year, game will become scarce. Countless people will starve!"

Renly's statement sent a chill through the room. The Others threatened them from the North, and now famine loomed!

Wright reassured them, "As long as the cause isn't the Others, famine can be mitigated."

Robert, who had never considered the threat of starvation, immediately prompted, "Let's hear it, then!"

Wright proposed, "The Stormlands and the Reach currently dedicate vast tracts of land to cash crops. If some of these fields are converted to grain production, it would greatly alleviate food shortages."

"That's impossible!" Lord Mace immediately objected.

This time, Mace's reaction wasn't rash—it was the prevailing mindset of nearly all the Seven Kingdoms' nobility, including Robert and Renly.

The Seven Kingdoms operated under a feudal system. Land belonged to the great lords, who in turn distributed it to counts, who either managed it themselves or granted it to knights and minor lords.

According to centuries-old laws, farmers owed their lords a portion of their produce or coin in taxes, which were then passed up the chain—from count to Lord, and finally to the royal treasury. This hierarchical system treated land and population as private property. No one could dictate how a lord used their land—not even the king.

Unless faced with a major upheaval, this deeply entrenched system was nearly impossible to shake. Any attempt to seize another's private property would be met with hostility from all the nobles, potentially even leading to war.

Wright's control over the Stepstones had also developed slowly due to this reality. The Lords and knights under his rule relied on their families for financial and population support. Wright himself only had the backing of Stormlands and the Crownlands. Even Renly, back in the day, had merely issued a call for his vassals to provide troops voluntarily, never daring to enforce a levy. This was because, over the past decade, the Stormlands had experienced rapid development and a high birth rate, resulting in a large demand for migration. Robert had offered financial aid, but few migrants had come from the Crownlands, forcing Wright to rely on sending King's Landing criminals into military service. As for securing population from other regions? That was out of the question.

Now, however, an opportunity had arisen.

Wright remained unfazed and continued to smile. "When have I ever let my friends suffer a loss? Lord Mace, don't be so hasty—let me explain."

With the Grand Maester absent, Varys signaled for a Kingsguard knight to take a seat at the council table and record the proceedings. He understood that everything Wright said would eventually be relayed to the other nobles.

Wright turned to Lord Mace. "Take your own holdings as an example. Roughly one-third of the land in the Reach and the Riverlands is used for growing grain, while two-thirds is used for cash crops—sugarcane, cocoa, flowers, and so on. Who do you sell the final products to?"

Lord Mace thought for a moment. "Nobles and commoners."

Wright understood that Mace was reluctant to discuss business details, but given that Wright had advised him on his enterprises and that the Stormlands had commercial ties to his lands, Wright knew exactly how things worked. The revenue from commoners, after deducting costs, was just enough to sustain the vast workforce in Mace's industries. The real profits, however, came from noble consumption.

Wright continued, "If the common folk starve to death, nobles will lose their tax revenue and become impoverished themselves. Who will buy your goods then?"

Mace chuckled. "One noble may fall, but another will take over his land."

Wright countered, "And how will this new noble cultivate the land?"

Mace replied, "He'll bring his own people."

Wright shook his head. "The land is already buried under snow and can't be farmed. Those people will starve to death too."

"This…" Mace hesitated. He was about to suggest using oxen, but oxen still required people to handle them, and if the people were already dead, that argument fell apart. He swallowed his words.

"Winter is coming! In a harsh winter like this, the most valuable commodity is grain! Nobles will be forced to buy food to sustain their people. And since their smallfolk can't farm, they'll either fight in their lords' armies or seek employment from other lords, paying taxes in turn. Only through this cycle can they survive."

Wright knocked on the table.

"Grain may not be as profitable as luxury goods, but as long as people remain alive, they will eventually recover, and demand will return. The king must issue a strict decree—transport costs can be reasonably increased, but price gouging on grain must be prohibited. Even if growing food yields smaller profits, it will earn you goodwill and a noble reputation. And when summer comes, making money will be the least of your concerns!"

"Hmm!" Robert nodded approvingly—whether he fully grasped the argument was another matter.

"I support Wright's proposal. I won't return to Tyrosh just yet. I'll summon my vassals in the Stormlands and hold a gathering to have them switch to grain cultivation." Renly was the first to express his support, and Wright nodded at him in acknowledgment.

In truth, the Stormlands were dominated by mountains and hills, with slopes covered in fruit trees and limited arable land. Most of the local lords focused on agricultural processing, craftsmanship, and metalworking. Their raw materials largely came from the Reach, and their markets were evenly split between Westeros and Essos. Renly's statement, therefore, was mostly symbolic—a show of support for Wright.

Wright then turned to Mace. "The temperature keeps dropping. In King's Landing, people already need to wear two layers just to walk outside. In two years, the North will be completely buried in snow. Do you think wealthy nobles will still be buying luxury goods? They'll be spending only on grain, making sure their 'property' doesn't starve."

Robert added, "Don't forget—we still have the White Walkers to face! If the people of the Seven Kingdoms must die, they should die fighting the Walkers, not starving in the streets!"

"…Fine, less profit is less profit. I'll summon my vassals like Renly." Mace begrudgingly accepted the terms.

Seeing Mace relent, Wright did not push further. Agricultural restructuring wouldn't happen overnight. However, he planned to speak with Marg Tyrell upon his return to Tyrosh—if anyone could pressure Mace into fully committing, it was her.

"Even with the combined grain production of the Reach and the Stormlands, it still won't be enough to feed all of Westeros," Varys observed, looking to Wright, signaling him to reveal the other half of his plan.

Wright smiled. "Tyrosh has recently acquired vast lands in the Disputed Lands, while Westeros is suffering from extreme cold. So I've decided—these lands will be leased out at the rate of one silver stag per hectare per year!"

"Leased out? One hectare for a single silver stag per year?" Mace's jaw nearly dropped.

Varys chuckled. "Don't be so surprised. That's all barren land—it takes effort to cultivate. One hectare is fifteen acres, and the rent is just one silver stag per year. It's practically a giveaway."

Wright had made plenty of unprofitable deals before. For example, he had lost a fortune transporting glass cups from Volantis to King's Landing. People in this era valued sturdiness—most drinking vessels were wooden or metal, something that could make a satisfying thud on the table in a fit of excitement, or even be used to crack someone's skull. Glass cups, while aesthetically pleasing, were impractical.

Giving land away for free was out of the question. Wright continued, "That price includes the cost of clearing the land. Also, the taxes paid to me—I can lower them, but I won't exempt them entirely. Since they'll be paying two sets of taxes, I've set the rent very low."

Lord Mace was intrigued. He leaned forward and asked, "And how exactly will the leasing process work?"

Wright explained, "There are many landless people in the North, so I'm granting the lease rights to nobles from the North, the Riverlands, and the Vale. The initial contract lasts five years. The first renewal is three years, and after that, it renews annually. The longest possible lease term is ten years. If I decide to enfeoff the land during this period, the new lord will collect the taxes instead."

Hearing that only northern nobles were eligible, Mace was displeased. He glanced at Renly, hoping to get him to object as well, but Renly ignored him. Left with no choice, Mace asked directly, "Why not lease it to the South? We can afford to pay!"

"I'm leasing this land to help northern families who lose their land during the winter—not to make a profit," Wright declared righteously.

The vassals of the Stepstones were almost all from the South, and they had brought along large numbers of migrants from their homelands. If more southerners were introduced, the population would eventually reach a critical mass, and these migrants would inevitably form their own power blocs. A growing southern influence would not be beneficial to Wright's rule.

The Stepstones were populated by migrants from various places. If there were people from all over Essos, then the Seven Kingdoms couldn't be represented solely by the South. Cultural differences, customs, and education levels might eventually lead to economic disparities and differing birth rates among these groups, but for now, Wright could still manage the balance.

"The land is yours. As long as you don't violate the laws of the Seven Kingdoms, you can lease it however you see fit," Robert said. "I'll vouch for you as king and make sure the northern lords receive the message."

The ones leasing the land were northern nobles, and the ones working the land were their people. Once the lease expired, they were supposed to return home.

But Wright wasn't interested in keeping the workers—he was interested in the children they would bear while living in the Disputed Lands. There weren't many entertainment options in this era. Once night fell, what else was there to do but make babies? Over ten years, how many children would be born? By the time the lease ended, the eldest would be around ten years old—practically a part of the workforce already in this age.

As for the nobles claiming these children belonged to them? Once they were here, how could they leave? Wright would have plenty of documents proving these children had been born and raised in Tyrosh. From birth to death, they would be Tyroshi.