Progress and Invitation

Something I just loved about this world were the simple laws. No serfdom, no complex tax laws and last but not least, the local laws that could be placed by the lords of a certain area.

Eddard Stark, the lovely bastard that he is, has exempted me from taxes for 10 years. That means all the income that I hold will be mine, as opposed to a percentage which would be given to the overlord, which in my case is Eddard.

Heh, anyway, I had 7 men who had seen and observed how I had done the land reclamation. I appointed them as the stewards of the seven subsequent villages to lead the land reclamation there.

The population distribution in the areas was quite good. Moat Cailin, our main holdfast, housed about 1,200 people, mostly laborers, craftsmen, and their families. Surrounding it were seven villages, each with its own character and purpose.

Greywater Landing, with 800 residents, focused on fishing and light agriculture. Flint's Hollow, home to 700, dealt in timber and hunting.

The Salt Marsh, our largest village with 900 people, specialized in salt production and gathering swamp resources. Stonebridge, with 600 residents, controlled a trade route and focused on blacksmithing.

The Reedfields, housing 800, was our agricultural center. Barrowshade, with 600 people, concentrated on sheep herding and wool production.

Finally, Wolf's Hollow, our smallest village with 400 residents, had spiritual significance and raised cattle and goats.

I had also appointed the overseer for land reclamation in the main holdfast. The overseer being Calhoun. I called him Calhoun because I already forgot his name.

This entire endeavor wouldn't yield any profit for a year or two. So for that, I had made blueprints for a basic water-powered carding mill because wool needs to be washed (scoured) to remove lanolin, dirt, and grease.

The second blueprint was for spinning wheels to turn carded wool into yarn. It was powered by a foot pedal.

Third was for a large horizontal loom to make and churn out cloth at a faster rate.

The last blueprint was for a water-powered mill. After weaving, the cloth would need to be fulled, a process that involves washing and beating the cloth to tighten the weave and remove oils and dirt. Fulling could be done in water-powered fulling mills.

Never thought I would thank physics and biology this much in my life, but here we are. The blueprints were completed and sent to the carpenters I had gathered.

The list for things was as follows:

10 looms

30 spinning wheels or many hand spindles

15 carding tools

2 fulling mills

The major workforce for this would be the women and children. This endeavor will cost me around 300 gold, 40 more for the wood supply.

I had also started the construction for warehouses near the port. The wood would be gathered in a month, and I had ordered volcanic ash and rubble from Dragonstone. More sand from Dorne, last but not least seashells and a ton of them from Pentos.

These were the things necessary for making hydraulic concrete or Roman concrete. God bless my chemistry teacher and his hobbies.

So now, more waiting.

Timeskip 6 months.

I could see the laborers laying the bricks for the foundations of the warehouses. This endeavor would likely be completed in around a month. Next would be the expansion of the port, though it will take time.

I had sent expenditure for finding iron in the mountains. This effort was successful as well, though no gold or silver mines were discovered. I had created two smithies, both owned by me. I used the assembly chain system employed by the English and Prussians for mass production.

Instead of a single blacksmith crafting an entire sword, armor, or shield, the process was broken into steps like bladesmith, armorer, and fletcher. One group could focus on forging blades, another on finishing handles, and another on making chainmail or plate armor. This allowed workers to become highly efficient in a specific part of the production process.

The other strategy was training a large group of apprentices to work under master craftsmen. Apprentices handle more routine tasks like hammering out basic forms, while masters focus on more specialized work like crafting fine details. This increased the output of swords and armor.

I had also 'invented' the blast furnace, which meant I had access to the highest quality steel in all of Westeros.

Additionally, 80 km^2 of land was reclaimed, with 43 km^2 (10,625.52 acres) ready to be used for cultivation. I had already introduced horse-drawn harrows and seed drills, along with the use of bone and blood meal as fertilizer alongside manure. This should yield around 2.5 tons per acre, a significant improvement over the 1.2 tons produced in the Frey lands. Theoretically, this would produce enough food to last a year or two.

The last major success was my textile business. Around 10 workshops were established, yielding 200-400 yards of cloth monthly. There were three types of clothes being produced: high quality, medium, and low. This allowed my income to increase threefold. I had bought a lot more sheep from Essos 3 months ago for more wool, and also bought wool cheaply from various places in the North.

Now, merchants regard my land as the textile hub of Westeros due to the good quality cloth.

To prevent information about my 'inventions' from leaking out, I have enacted a system of serfdom. However, I am concerned about running out of manpower. I should pay merchants to spread the word about good job opportunities to attract more people. The population had increased to around 8,000 in the recent months.

I also acquired my own ships. Speaking of ships, I remember there was a Greyjoy rebellion in 289 AC. I need to prepare a fleet, which is more work.

I got up from my desk in my study, as I had just finished the codex. The main focus was appointing a governor for a village, establishing a tax collecting service, and enacting laws regarding justice.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" I allowed the person to enter.

In came the maester named Arthor, who had three chains, though I forgot what they signified.

"What is it, Arthor?" I questioned him.

"A letter for you, my lord," he replied.

"From whom?" I questioned as I took the letter from his hand.

"Lord Stark, My lord," he replied. I nodded in acknowledgment.

"You may leave, Arthor," I dismissed him.

___

My dear Brother,

I hope you are doing well. My family and I, as well as Lyanna and her son, are all doing well. I have heard the news regarding the success you have brought to the marshy lands of Moat Cailin. I should have imposed taxes on you - I would have been richer as well.

However, I didn't write this letter for that. Your nameday is fast approaching in the moon of the snow (November). I have held a feast in your name at Cat's and Lyanna's behest. You had better show up.

Lyanna also misses you a lot, and I am not telling tall tales. Make sure to get here, even if not for me, but for Lyanna's sake.

Take care of yourself. Everyone sends their regards.

Regards,

Proud Brother,

Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North

Signed

Eddard Stark

_____

Short and to the point, just as Eddard Stark's letter would be. It's currently the moon of the sun (July), so I have 4 months to prepare for my trip to Winterfell for the nameday feast. I'll need to buy gifts for Eddard's wife Catelyn, Lyanna, and Eddard himself. It's been 10 months since I arrived here, and my own nameday is coming up - a full year.

Time sure does fly. I need to make preparations for my departure and ensure I give the plans to Calhoun to oversee in my absence. I'm not looking forward to the trip, but I suppose I must go.

Fuck my life.