In short, when the two stood before the guards from White Harbor, Jon had already grasped the right to speak and used this to show the order from the Hand.
Just as Jon expected, although these guards were strong and muscular, they were boors who couldn't read a single word.
Therefore, Jon simply read out the Hand's order, making these guys obediently choose to follow him after seeing the direwolf sigil.
As for the details deliberately ignored by the Baron, they were also replaced by ambiguous orders. Anyway, when these people came to King's Landing, they presumably already knew that the mission of this trip was to serve Duke Ned.
And it seemed perfectly normal to these soldiers for the two people in front of them to issue orders.
Especially Jory Cassel's face, which could be accepted by all soldiers. After all, before this, the captain of the guard accompanied the Duke to inspect the territory almost every year.
Although the person issuing the orders this time had changed to that lucky highborn bastard, "Snow" had already become "Stark," making the soldiers accustomed to obedience choose to obey the order.
Immediately after, the silent Jory Cassel, bound by responsibility and emotion, cooperated with Jon to start micromanaging.
Then, the captain of the guard first picked out the best fifty soldiers, filled them into the Hand's guard, and thereby relieved his urgent need.
With the addition of these soldiers, Jory Cassel's originally stretched manpower instantly became abundant, fully capable of ensuring Duke Ned's absolute safety.
But this wasn't the end.
After this groundwork, Jon's subsequent arrangements were also acquiesced to by the captain of the guard.
That was, under the Baron's command, another fifty soldiers were selected.
After putting away their weapons and armor, these soldiers were settled near Muddy Way, managed daily by several veterans from Winterfell.
After doing all this, the aid funds from White Harbor were also packed onto carriages and escorted to Duke Ned's Tower of the Hand residence.
As for the remaining soldiers, Jon took over and prepared to temporarily settle them outside King's Landing.
By this time, the two men plotting behind the Duke's back were considered to be in the same boat.
Although their original intentions were all for Ned and the North, this kind of thing could only be done at noon; sooner or later they would be discovered and beaten to death. (Note: "done at noon" implies doing it boldly/openly for a short while before getting caught, or possibly a colloquialism meaning it won't last long.)
For the loyal Jory Cassel, as long as he could ensure Duke Ned's safety, he was willing to bear this risk.
But Jon stated that he would be fully responsible for this matter, and the captain of the guard only needed to manage the Northern armed forces within King's Landing well.
As for the expenses of these people, he, the new Stark, would be fully responsible, and Jory Cassel didn't need to worry at all.
Of course, during this period, Jon absolutely did not reveal that he had tampered with the letter to Count Manderly; instead, he simply glossed over the matter.
So when the two returned to report, the Hand of the King, buried in work at his desk, naturally wouldn't pay attention to these small matters.
Just as Jon was secretly delighted, the Hand suddenly raised his head and then asked about something.
"By the way, who did the Manderly family send to be responsible for this matter? I want to express my gratitude in person so that he can bring Winterfell's sentiments back..."
Although Duke Ned said this entirely out of etiquette, it sounded like a thunderclap to the ears of Jon and Jory Cassel.
Fortunately, the Baron had long anticipated this day. He immediately took a step forward and dissolved this dangerous "death question" into invisibility.
"Uh, the second son of the Manderly family is responsible for this work, but Arya has already dragged him to tour King's Landing..."
Hearing this explanation, although Duke Ned was somewhat puzzled, he was obscured by complicated affairs and let Jon muddle through for the time being.
By the time the busy Hand remembered this matter again, the other party should have already set off to return to White Harbor or been dragged away by him to work as a coolie.
So based on all these operations, Jon happily obtained the armed forces he longed for and took them under his command in the name of the Hand.
As for how long it would take for this matter to be exposed, it depended on whether Count Manderly himself was willing to write a letter to ask.
Of course, to avoid such an embarrassing situation, Jon also fully considered these unstable factors.
After all, logically and emotionally, the Manderly family indeed paid a huge price for this support, almost emptying half of their family savings.
Whether in terms of soldiers or money, they fully expressed their loyalty to the Stark family, which could be regarded as a benchmark existence.
Regarding this point, Jon also needed to give a corresponding response to muddle through on this side as well.
And his "killer weapon," besides the innocent Arya, there was actually another one.
The Manderly second son had long been charmed by Arya and was completely confused. Except for wagging his tail and being attentive, he couldn't care about these small details of Jon's at all.
So when Jon set off from King's Landing again, everyone got what they wanted.
The Manderly second son got Arya's favor, and Arya got freedom and saw the long-lost Northerners.
As for Jon, he became the most invisible beneficiary among them. Not only did he quietly go to sea with a huge team and three warships, but he also started his journey of "borrowing a chicken to lay eggs."
Then, the fleet arrived at Tampa in just half a day.
When these people openly docked at the pier and walked down from the ships, the script arranged by Jon officially began to play out.
Of course, aside from these overt activities, during Jon's return to King's Landing, he naturally didn't let that bastard Varys off.
After grabbing the Spider by the collar and interrogating him, the new Baron, feeling kept in the dark, finally learned the true situation of this hellhole Tampa from the Master of Whisperers.
Due to its proximity to the capital, besides being the best foothold for destitute nobles flowing out of King's Landing, it was also a place for many important ministers in the court to make money.
According to the intelligence mastered by Varys, the backers of many smugglers who only crossed the Narrow Sea pointed directly to Littlefinger and many important ministers in the court.
Hearing this conclusion, Jon's eyes couldn't help narrowing slightly.
Although he wasn't very proficient in the laws of the kingdom, he expressed doubt about this conclusion.
Even if these nobles could use their status to offset crimes, from any angle, this was a business where the gains did not make up for the losses.
When Jon sought confirmation from Varys about this doubt, the Spider's face showed an expression like looking at an idiot.
"Lord Jon, I never said that anyone in the court participated in smuggling..."
As Varys's sharp voice fell, the corners of Jon's eyes couldn't help twitching slightly. The feeling of being teased crept into his heart again, making the transmigrator's hand reach for the Master of Whisperers' collar again.
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