Most of the commoners outside King's Landing were people who had fled due to unbearable high taxes or had come seeking opportunities in the capital.
But clearly, King's Landing was not an easy place to stay, otherwise Roman wouldn't have been able to find so much high-quality talent.
Martin said King's Landing had around 500,000 people, but Roman didn't see it that way.
The population of King's Landing was definitely over 500,000; he didn't know if the Long Summer meant there was no winter to thin the population.
In one week, Roman had found over 6,000 high-quality laborers. These people were not the unruly rabble from Flea Bottom, but healthy farmers, townsfolk, and craftsmen with skills.
Even these people were out of work; one could imagine the crowding in King's Landing.
And these 6,000 people were also the current management limit for Harrenhal; the officials in the countryside had just been trained, and bringing too many people at once would drive them crazy.
Robert and Old Arryn wanted to dump some beggars on Roman, but that was naturally refused; Roman wasn't here to do charity.
But he did guarantee that once Harrenhal produced new things, they would be sent to The Red Keep immediately.
One day, by the Blackwater Rush, Roman was on his daily patrol, and he was practicing the White Flame on the side.
Through the White Flame Vision, Roman observed the sparks within people.
Seeing that the sparks within the people he had recruited were robust and stable, Roman couldn't help but chuckle.
But in an instant, a blinding light appeared.
Roman thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but upon closer inspection, it was truly light, or rather, a great fire.
Roman quickly retracted the White Flame Vision and observed the other person with his naked eye.
A young girl, about 16 years old, frail in body, but her smooth blonde hair and bright blue eyes proved she was still healthy.
The girl seemed to be arguing with a Guard, and Roman walked over involuntarily.
From afar, he could hear the girl's urgent voice: "Let me see Lord Roman! I really have something to find him for!"
"No, you are of unknown origin. If you want to see Lord Roman, wait until you have worked for a period of time. If you perform well, Lord Roman will consider seeing you."
"But!"
"What's happening?" Roman had just arrived and didn't expect to run into this scene.
The girl turned her head and locked eyes with Roman immediately; her already bright eyes became even more spirited.
She went straight up to Roman and started sniffing; Roman stopped the other Guards, wanting to see what this person was up to.
"Sniff, sniff... Hmm! You must be Lord Roman, right?!"
Seeing the girl acting like a puppy, Roman couldn't help but laugh: "It's me, what's wrong? What is the urgent matter you spoke of?"
The girl before him received her answer, and the expression on her face immediately became serious. She smoothed out her crumpled linen clothes, folded her hands over her lower abdomen, bowed respectfully, and called out: "Master."
Roman: "Uh!!!"
This address gave Roman a start, and he quickly shouted: "Don't talk nonsense! When was I ever your master? Don't get me in trouble!"
Slavery is a serious crime in Westeros. Jorah Mormont, the "Westeros' Number One Lover" from Bear Island in the North, went to sell slaves to make money for his spendthrift wife and was eventually driven out of Westeros.
Although the Free Folk under many lords were no different from slaves, actually doing it was another matter entirely.
Roman didn't want to be labeled a slaver.
"Who exactly are you? What do you want with me?"
Roman was getting a bit anxious; he had already seen the strange looks from the surrounding crowd and needed this girl to explain clearly now.
"I was guided in a dream, which said that Lord Roman of Harrenhal is my master and that I must seek him out. I also relied on the dream to find food along the way."
"Now that I have found you, Lord Roman, please take me with you. Don't look at me as small; I am very capable!"
The crowd was disappointed at this point; the Guards relaxed, glad their lord wasn't that kind of villain.
And the other onlookers, who wanted to see gossip, were let down.
"Sigh, delusions. I thought there was really some secret!"
"Let's go, let's go, another girl talking nonsense. Is this kind of routine popular now?"
Roman didn't show much reaction on his face, but he was already laughing inside.
But he still pretended to be puzzled and asked: "You knew about me from a dream, did the dream tell you what kind of person I am? Aren't you afraid I might actually do something bad to you?"
Fili opened her big, watery eyes and said in a firm tone: "No, I can feel it. You have a reassuring aura about you!"
Looking at Fili's silly and naive appearance, Roman found it hard to keep a straight face.
"Then come with me, but be careful in the future. Don't just believe any dream; you're not a Targaryen."
After obtaining Roman's permission, Fili immediately jumped up with joy.
Roman and his personal Guard looked at the girl who had literally jumped three meters high, and immediately showed expressions of surprise.
This girl seemed to really have something special!
Roman opened the White Flame Vision again; without a doubt, her flame was magnificent and brilliant.
Watching Fili dragging cargo that was completely disproportionate to her size, everyone suddenly felt that the girl might not have been lying.
Roman bid farewell to Barristan, then quickly signaled the fleet to return to the Gods Eye.
"Damn it, finally we can leave. Nothing good ever happens at this iron throne!"
The group returned to Harrenhal in a grand procession once again.
On the Gods Eye, the newly arrived commoners were still a bit worried, because the curse of Harrenhal was still widely circulated.
Although few people believed it now, it was better to be safe than sorry.
For this point, Roman still had to thank Martin; in the world of a song of ice and fire, there were true gods, but the people didn't really care about religion.
It could also be because the dragon family had carried out a devastating blow to the Faith in the past.
Thinking of the Faith, Roman remembered the stupid things Cersei did later.
"Sigh! The result of a stupid person gaining power."
Roman shook his head to clear his thoughts; if he didn't want to lose in this game of thrones, he could only trust the power in his own hands.
Upon arriving at Harrenhal, everyone saw the reborn Harrenhal for the first time.
Under the baptism of Roman's White Flame, the stone bricks of Harrenhal became snow-white, and many ruins were demolished or rebuilt.
Compared to the gloomy cursed land it was before, it now looked like a livable, grand city.
Roman discussed it for a while with Lady Helaena of House Hoare and Old Jessy, and finally decided to let 2,000 people move into Harrenhal first, while the remaining 4,000 would take farm tools to open up wasteland outside.
Because the population was sparse and technology was backward, the land development rate outside Harrenhal was very low; even if hundreds of thousands more people came, it could still accommodate them.
However, one must eat one bite at a time. Roman told these people that all reclaimed land belonged to the Hean Family, and private individuals were not allowed to buy or sell it.
Harrenhal would calculate the subsequent allocation of land to each family based on data such as family composition, farming limits, and food consumption.
At the same time, Roman and Lady Helaena of House Hoare discussed and finalized that the agricultural tax of four-tenths would remain unchanged for the time being, and other harsh taxes and levies would be reduced to one-fifth of their original levels.
Farmers in newly reclaimed areas would be taxed based on yield, and if they couldn't afford to eat, Harrenhal would provide subsidies.
This change immediately caused widespread cheers among the subjects, who praised the benevolence of the Hean Family and the blessings of the Seven.
Standing beside Roman, Fili looked at the cheering crowd below from the high tower. She also felt the joy and tasted the hope in people's hearts.
She turned her head to secretly stare at Roman's profile, slightly clenched her hands, her expression excited.
"Lord Roman is really just like the rumors! The dream didn't lie to me!"