As Jaime Lannister's army burned its way across the Riverlands, Jason knew the local lords would be completely consumed with repelling the invaders and reclaiming their castles. They would be too desperate to care for the thousands of peasants fleeing the destruction. And that would be his opportunity.
Unsurprisingly, the news from the capital had sent the North into a fury. When word spread that Lord Eddard Stark had been declared a traitor by the new boy king, Joffrey, and thrown into a dungeon, Robb Stark called his banners. The lords of the North, outraged at the insult to their liege, responded immediately. Robb sent letters to his allies, coordinating a grand strategy to march on King's Landing.
While the great houses prepared for war, Jason's own army trained with a feverish intensity. The three thousand new recruits were pushed to their limits every day, hardening them for the battles to come.
Jon Snow had been training the new cavalry division for over two months. When he heard that Lord Eddard, the man who had raised him, had been imprisoned, he was tormented. He endured it for a few days, but finally, he could wait no longer. He sought out Jason and made his request.
"My lord," Jon began, dropping to one knee before Jason's desk. He looked up, his grey eyes earnest and filled with a pain that he could no longer hide. "Please, allow me to join Lord Robb's command. My father, Lord Eddard, has been framed and imprisoned by the Lannisters. I wish to follow Robb south and help rescue him. I beg you to grant my request."
Like the rest of the North, Jon was shocked and furious. He refused to believe that the honorable Ned Stark would ever commit treason. The rumors of Joffrey's true parentage and the queen's incest with the Kingslayer had spread even to his remote corner of the North. It was clear to Jon that the Lannisters had staged a coup, imprisoning the Hand of the King and slandering his name to illegitimately seize the Iron Throne.
He couldn't sit still while the man who was a father to him in all but name languished in a cell. He had to act. He knew that Jason was not a vassal of House Stark and had no obligation to join the war. He expected to go alone, offering his own sword to Robb's cause.
Jason looked at the young man kneeling before him. He knew what this meant to Jon. He recalled the story from his own world, how Jon, upon hearing this same news, had deserted the Night's Watch, risking execution to ride to his brother's side. The boy's loyalty was absolute.
Rising from his chair, Jason helped Jon to his feet, his expression one of solemn righteousness. "Jon, even if you hadn't come to me, I was already planning to lead our troops to join Robb's army. Like you, I believe Lord Eddard has been wronged. The Lannisters have committed a monstrous scandal and now seek to place their wicked offspring on the throne by persecuting an honorable man. It's madness."
Jason placed a firm hand on Jon's shoulder. "As a friend of House Stark and out of respect for Lord Eddard, I will personally lead one thousand of our cavalry to join Robb's forces in battle."
A wave of relief and gratitude washed over Jon's face, and a smile finally broke through his worried expression. "Yes, my lord! Thank you! I'll go back at once and ensure the cavalry is trained to perfection. We will bring you victory and glory on the battlefield!"
Watching Jon's brisk, newly energized departure, Jason smiled to himself. This was working out perfectly. He was confident that, in the early stages of the war, he would be on the winning side. If the stories were true, Robb Stark possessed a surprising military genius and would likely defeat Jaime Lannister. Jason knew that if he could just persuade Robb not to break his marriage pact with the Freys over a woman, the North could very well win the entire war.
Victory would bring him credit and acclaim, but Jason cared little for those things. He wanted the hundreds of thousands of refugees that the war in the Riverlands would inevitably create. With a large enough population, he could expand his army and, more importantly, fuel the industrial engine he planned to build.
With a steady supply of labor, the construction of his inner castle and the outer city could finally proceed at pace. He envisioned a future for Starfire City filled with factories: a fish cannery, a paper mill, a printing press, a cement factory, a brick kiln, an ironworks, and even a dedicated military factory to forge modern weapons.
His fishing fleet, led by his captains Seth and Lance, was already bringing in tens of tons of sea fish with every voyage, thanks to the modern trawl nets he had provided. The bounty was so great that pickling alone was not enough to preserve it all. A cannery was essential. A paper mill would also thrive, using the region's abundant forests to produce paper for the entire continent.
To that end, he had already adjusted his business strategy. With sales of modern paper dropping, he had slashed the price from five Copper Stars per sheet to just one. Gel pens were reduced from a Silver Stag to ten Coppers, and refills were now just a single Copper Star. Soap and toothpaste sets were also cut from a Silver Stag down to thirty and twenty Coppers, respectively.
The prices of his luxury four-wheeled carriages, however, remained unchanged: a thousand Gold Dragons for the large model and seven hundred for the smaller one. He had also introduced a new product: a modern steel freight wagon. At one hundred Gold Dragons, it was more than three times the price of a standard wooden wagon, but its massive carrying capacity, durability, and speed made it an instant hit with the wealthy merchant class. The orders were already flooding in.
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