Aegor returned to his room and sat quietly in the candlelight, deep in thought.
On his way back from giving Jon his two instructions, he carefully reviewed in his mind every potential candidate he could count on, and quickly realized—aside from stepping forward himself, he truly had no one suitable to put forth.
Being the man behind the scenes, the uncrowned king, might sound impressive, but that role required real power. The reality was, even if he rolled up his sleeves and entered the fray personally, his odds of winning were still slim.
There were many people he could try to rally: the comrades he had made while serving as a Ranger, the few pitiful sworn brothers currently in the Logistics Departnt, Jon's friends from his year on the Wall, the group of bodyguards Ser Jai had brought when he joined the Night's Watch, and a large number of Crownlands nobles who had donned the black after choosing the wrong side in the conflict between the two stags...
It sounded like a considerable number, but compared to the nearly one thousand brothers of the Night's Watch, it was likely less than a third. And two-thirds was the winning threshold.
Was it still possible to start winning people over now?
...
He opened his ledger and did the math. The Night's Watch Industry's financial reports were excellent, but once funds were poured into the bottomless pit of the Gift, they vanished like drops in the sea. Buying votes would be the most efficient thod, but also the easiest to be caught.
Westeros had no complete laws and regulations like so city-states across the Narrow Sea, but among those who prided themselves on honor, "vote buying" was still seen as disgraceful. Once exposed, the fallout would be endless.
Aegor would never take on risk without proportionate reward. But apart from using money to pave the way, what advantages did he have to help him win the election quickly?
Just as he was fretting over this, there was a knock at the door.
"Co in."
With a creak, the door was pushed half open, and cold wind rushed into the room, making the candlelight flicker. A stout figure stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind him.
"Lord Aegor."
"Sam." The Chief Logistics Officer nodded to the visitor. "Good evening. Is sothing the matter?"
---
Samwell Tarly, son of the fad Riverlands general Randyll Tarly, had been forced to join the Night's Watch by his father for being too timid… In the original plot, he had a significant role and was regarded as a vital character. But after transmigrating, Aegor truly didn't believe this fat man could offer much help. In terms of knowledge, he himself, having received a modern education, was far more advanced. In terms of intellect, Sam was smart, but not vastly smarter than him. As for skill and courage... well, Aegor wouldn't speak for others, but he certainly didn't think he needed to compete with the man in front of him.
For various reasons, Aegor hadn't deliberately sought out contact with him after returning to the Wall. It could be sumd up in one phrase: the cost-to-benefit ratio was too low.
As head of the Night's Watch Industry and the Logistics Departnt, he had far too many important matters to deal with. He couldn't afford to waste ti chasing low-yield investnts based on personal feelings.
...
Sam looked sowhat nervous as he stood before the table, stamring for quite a while without managing a full sentence. For a noble with a title, being this scared was certainly unique.
But in critical tis, everyone had their value. With that mindset, Aegor pushed down his impatience and pointed to the chair. "Sit. You're Jon's friend, and Jon is my friend. That puts us on the sa side. Say whatever you need to. Don't hold back."
Sam took a deep breath, as though finally organizing his thoughts. "My Lord... I heard Jon say that the Night's Watch is currently facing a crisis… No matter what others say, I think your Gift resettlent plan is a good one, and I support it."
"Thank you." Aegor smiled, resting his arms on the table, waiting for him to continue.
"However, Jon said he wants to support you as the next Commander. To be honest… I don't think your chances are very good."
Do you think I don't know that already? Aegor sighed. "True enough. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Not so much a suggestion as a reminder. My Lord, how much do you know about the history and election rules of the Night's Watch?"
"Certainly not as much as you. I only know that only sworn brothers can vote, and whoever gets more than two-thirds of the votes becos Commander… Actually, I was just about to find soone to explain more. Would you be willing?"
"There's no need for that, my Lord." Perhaps encouraged by Aegor's friendliness, Sam gained confidence, and his words flowed more smoothly. "I ca to tell you sothing specific about Night's Watch elections. Every brother at Castle Black can vote, but those at other strongholds have their votes cast by the commander of that stronghold or soone he designates. There's also one very important rule. As long as no one gets two-thirds of the votes, the election continues the next day… and if no one wins then, they vote again on the third day… and so on. There was once an election that lasted over seven hundred days. Almost two years."
"Oh?" Aegor raised an eyebrow—he truly hadn't known that, and Sam clearly brought this up for a reason. Voting for two years ant the Night's Watch went that long without a Commander. That was almost unbelievable to Aegor, who was used to the idea that "a nation cannot go a day without a ruler, nor a house without a master." How had the Night's Watch functioned during that ti?
As if sensing Aegor's thoughts, Sam answered the unspoken question. "During those two years, the Night's Watch split into two factions, each operating as usual—repairing the Wall, ranging beyond it, defending against Wildlings… Sohow, they managed. At the very least, the Wall didn't fall to the Wildlings or the White Walkers."
"So until a new Commander is elected, each part of the Night's Watch follows the orders of the candidate they prefer… but the Watch itself still operates normally?" Aegor's heart stirred. He was beginning to understand what Sam was suggesting.
"Exactly. But the more important point is this." Sam's face lit up as he realized Aegor understood. "To overturn any command issued by the previous Lord Commander, it must be done by the next official Commander. That ans, if we want the Gift resettlent plan to continue, we don't need to win right away. We just have to prevent a new Commander from being elected—keep anyone from reaching the two-thirds mark!"
Sam had spotted the blind spot. Aegor was montarily stunned, then overjoyed. He grabbed Sam by the shoulders. "You're a genius!"
"You flatter , my Lord." Sam blushed. "As for how to stop a new Commander from being chosen, it's actually simple. No one ever wins in the first round. All we have to do is wait for the first vote to finish, then cast our votes for the second-place candidate. That narrows the gap with the frontrunner and makes both believe they still have a chance to win… After that, we can slowly find a way to break the deadlock."
...
A path forward had dropped into his lap, but implenting it wouldn't be easy. Using a loophole in the rules to preserve the Gift resettlent plan while delaying the election of a new Commander also ant a large portion of the Night's Watch would remain outside his control. And while The Gift wasn't lacking in manpower, not all n were equal.
Still, no matter what ca next, the general direction was now clear. From here on, it would depend entirely on human effort—on the abilities of those carrying out the plan.
(To be continued.)
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