"Vice President Qyburn?" Nina was confused by Aegor's startled expression and repeated, "One of the three vice presidents of the research institute under the Night's Watch Industry, is there a problem?"
There was indeed a problem. Aegor quickly put away his surprise. "Was the Dragon Hunting Scorpion that the Industry previously provided to the King's Landing garrison made by this Vice President Qyburn?"
"Indeed. The Dragon Hunting Scorpion was a military order placed by King Stannis with the Industry. The project was originally decided to be led by Vice President Davin, but Mr. Qyburn actively participated after hearing about it, offering many valuable suggestions. Later, at the suggestion of Vice President Davin, the project was transferred to them for collaborative research. They successfully produced the improved product before the King's deadline and passed the Hand of the King's inspection, then it was mass-produced and equipped on the walls of King's Landing." Nina answered truthfully, tilting her head slightly in confusion. "My Lord... do you know him?"
"Not really, I have only heard of him. Do you know his background?"
"Generally, yes. As you instructed, we conduct as detailed a background check as possible on everyone who joins the Night's Watch Industry's management. Before joining the Industry, Mr. Qyburn was a physician in the mercenary group known as the Brave Companions. Many say he is skilled in black magic and was an exiled Maester from the Citadel because he dabbled in necromancy. However, our investigators, after gathering information from multiple sources, concluded that the source of these rumors was more likely his experience experimenting on living people for medical research when he was still a Maester. It is indeed a dark history, but our in-depth investigation revealed that the participants in the experiments were his patients, not kidnapped passersby, and his actions had already been punished by the Citadel. I believe we should not punish him twice for the same crime, nor should we negate everything he has done because of a mistake he made in another field of research. Anyway, the areas the research institute is involved in do not include medicine, so what is there to worry about?" Nina explained in detail. "And the fact is, Mr. Qyburn has shown extraordinary ability and creativity since joining the Industry. After the research institute was established, he became one of the first members and quickly rose to the position of vice president based on his qualifications and numerous achievements."
It was indeed the "Maester Qyburn" he had thought of. This was truly interesting. Aegor was stunned for a moment, then showed a strange expression. That former Maester who experimented on living people, who was supposed to treat Jaime's severed arm, and who transformed the poisoned Mountain into a bio-human... given the opportunity and environment, he was clearly a formidable figure capable of being a major villain and mad scholar. Yet unknowingly, he had already joined his faction and had even been serving him silently for some time.
This feeling was as wonderful as drawing a top-tier legendary card in a first-time purchase gift pack.
Although his character attributes in the original story were not positive, Qyburn's personal ability was indeed outstanding in this world. He was now working for the Night's Watch Industry, in a technical position, with all power and resources granted by Aegor himself. As long as he could be controlled, he might become a capable subordinate. L
Aegor suppressed his glee and nodded. "Very good. Since you have conducted a thorough investigation, make good use of him. Assign two reliable assistants to Qyburn. If he honestly conducts research, give him full support and cooperation. If he engages in crooked ways, stop him in time and don't cause trouble."
"Understood."
...
One topic ended, but Aegor quickly thought of another question. If someone like Qyburn was only a vice president, how capable was the president of his research institute?
Unfortunately, there were no new surprises for Aegor. Nina's subsequent answer was that the president was her brother, Neil, the "brother" in the original paper-making duo, whom Aegor had met before. The other two vice presidents were Blair, who had helped the Night's Watch develop the solidified wildfire plan, allowing them to transport a large amount of free "aged" wildfire from the Alchemists' Guild Hall basement back to the Wall, and Davin, mentioned above, a skilled craftsman born in King's Landing who was originally a manual laborer.
Aegor had some impression of Neil, who was essentially his brother-in-law. Although his ability was certainly not as great as Qyburn's, and he might even be below all three vice presidents, he was undoubtedly a young man with a relatively open mind and sharp intellect. The president's main task was supervision, ensuring all activities of the research institute were moving in the general direction Aegor desired, preventing embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, or chaotic situations like "the Commander wants powder, but the people below are refining elixirs." Aegor would not be foolish enough to criticize Nina for nepotism or unfair competition. In this backward era with generally low moral standards, and against the backdrop of the Night's Watch and Crownlands lords vying for the cash cow that was the Night's Watch Industry, so-called advanced concepts were simply unworkable. Using reliable confidants to control key management positions and prioritizing control over the Industry was the most practical approach.
Having said that, Aegor still seriously instructed Nina to keep a close eye on her brother and absolutely not let an amateur blindly direct experts. Only then did he feel at ease. He followed her down the impressive walls of Blackwall Keep, crossed the courtyard, exited through the East Gate, and headed toward the nitrate production experimental site.
"Nitrate ore exploration has not been very smooth. We only knew about the existence of nitrate ore from you, but no one had ever encountered it before, lacking the ability to distinguish it. The research institute had to spend a lot of time determining a method of identification and then teaching it to the exploration teams going to various places before the work could begin. So far, progress has been quite limited. However, some people have discovered the presence of nitrate in the mountains bordering the Riverlands in the north and the Westerlands, and in the saline-alkali land in the Dornish borderlands. But the Lords of these two places are not Royalists who support His Majesty Stannis, and both locations are under the shadow of war. We only conducted exploration using the neutral status of the Night's Watch Crows, but we couldn't carry out subsequent large-scale ore mining and quality testing at all. After realizing this, we simply narrowed down our search area and instead invested more funds into finding manufacturing methods..."
The Crows were originally positions in the Night's Watch for traveling throughout the Seven Kingdoms to collect scum and criminals to bring back to the Wall to fill the ranks. But with the Wildlings surrendering and settling in the New Gift to become farmers, manpower was no longer an issue. After Aegor took office, he had announced to the Seven Kingdoms the closure of the channel for criminals to join the Watch for absolution. However, the advantage of the Crows traveling throughout the Seven Kingdoms for a long time, being familiar with routes and good at dealing with people, still had value. So, at Aegor's suggestion, they transformed and became members of the exploration team.
The plan itself was not flawed, but Aegor overlooked one point. For various reasons, even if he found nitrate ore, he might not be able to mine it extensively like the dragonglass and sulfur ore on Dragonstone.
Nina verbally reported the project's progress to Aegor while leading him toward the experimental site, walking several hundred meters. As they got further away from the castle, a strange smell, to be precise the smell of urine, gradually filled the air. It slowly permeated the surrounding environment, making it difficult for Aegor and his companions, who were accustomed to the Wall's cold, crisp air, to breathe.
Aegor realized that the cluster of workshops, far from the core area of the Industry and surrounded by a low earth wall, was the main subject he was here to see.
The supervisor of the experimental field, the man who improved the Dragon Hunting Scorpion and made a fortune for the Night's Watch Industry, had already received the news and was standing at the entrance with a group of subordinates and assistants, waiting for the Lord's arrival and inspection.
"My Lord, this is Vice President Qyburn, the main person in charge of the nitrate project."
Standing before Aegor was a tall old man with a slight hunchback. He had many wrinkles around his prominent blue eyes, more gray hair than white, and a constant smile on his lips, making him look like a vigorous and kind old grandfather. There was not the slightest hint of a mad scholar.
"My Lord." Qyburn bowed slightly with respect. "Your name is like thunder to us. It is a great honor to meet you today."
"You are too kind, Mr. Qyburn." Aegor smiled, showing no unusual expression. "I have long heard about you, this research genius, from Nina. With the nitrate project in your hands, I am at ease. Come, tell us about your work results."
(To be continued.)