After days of travel, Jon and Melisandre had finally made their way back to Meereen, the current seat of his power. Just like his departure, his arrival in the city was known only to a select few.
Although his subordinates were eager to learn what had transpired in Qarth, Jon had not shared many details. He himself still needed to ask and understand many things from Melisandre. And he knew that if he shared a few details, Slyvia and Rhaenys would bombard him with a large amount of questions. And he did not want to deal with those questions, till he himself had the answers.
He simply informed them that he had destroyed the House of the Undying and that there would be no further trouble from Qarth. Naturally, the news of the House of the Undying being burned to the ground would spread slowly across Essos but it would not be long before it would reach their ears.
Things had stabilized completely within the three city kingdom of Lord Aeos. Prosperity was visible everywhere, in the bustling streets, the thriving markets, and the flourishing establishments of Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor. Both Meereen and Yunkai had now progressed enough to rival Astapor in wealth and development.
From the city centers to the pleasure houses, and especially the taverns selling his alcohol, everything was bringing in tremendous profit for Jon enough to fuel his growing war machinery and sustain massive recruitment efforts.
Even his construction industries, the production of cement, bricks, and white limestone paint were in enormous demand. There had been one or two incidents of attempted treachery, where workers had tried to steal the secrets of his factories, but for the most part, those secrets remained safe.
Still, Jon knew it was only a matter of time before word leaked out. And if it did, brick making would likely be the first to fall. After all, it involved the simplest process.
After returning, rest did not await Jon. Instead, he immediately began preparing for the next phase of his plan. The march toward the Free Cities.
A couple of days after his return, Jon stood atop a slightly raised hill, from where he could see the massive army of his kingdom stretched across the plains below. They were at a slight distance from Meereen, a distance which could be covered in a couple of hours on a horseback.
It was the largest army in all of Essos. No single city, nor even the mightiest of the Dothraki khalasars, could match the sheer size of this force.
A little less than fifty thousand men stood assembled before him. They were in complete discipline, silence and in a perfectly ordered way. Yet, this was not the full extent of Jon's power.
His total forces were divided into six battalions. Each battalion consisted of twelve thousand five hundred men, bringing the total strength under Jon's command to nearly seventy five thousand men. A staggering number by any measure.
Of these six battalions, one was naval. The men of the navy were either stationed aboard their ships or guarding the coasts where those ships were anchored. A few miles away from Jon's current position.
Two of the remaining five battalions were infantry, disciplined foot soldiers armed with spears, shields, and swords.
Another two were cavalry. More than twenty thousand mounted men formed an awe inspiring sight, their armor gleaming under the sunlight. Jon had spent enormous resources procuring horses and training riders for this force, and it showed in their precision and readiness.
The final battalion was a mixed unit, a combination of both cavalry and infantry.
Standing just behind Jon were a select few individuals. Melisandre, Slyvia, and Rhaenys, his three most trusted confidantes.
Alongside them stood a small group of officials and administrators, including Samwell, who managed many of the logistical and record-keeping responsibilities.
There were also six men dressed in full military gear, the commanders of his six battalions.
The first was Freydron, Jon's most senior and experienced commander. Next was Asmund, a man who had risen to prominence during the invasions of Yunkai and Meereen.
The remaining four had been appointed in the past few months. Tiliot, Lagsan, Vothack, and Spendex. Of them, Spendex held command over the naval battalion and was, therefore, known simply as the Navy Commander.
In the past few months, Jon had more than tripled the size of his army.
Most of the youth in his territories had been recruited as soldiers. The recruitment had been carried out on such a massive scale that there was now a shortage of young men for other forms of labor and jobs. Women and middle aged men had to be assigned to fill the remaining workforce.
Such a level of recruitment would have been impossible for most cities to sustain, but Jon had managed it through sheer planning and resource control. Even for him, he would not be able to do so in the rest of the cities that he captured. Besides, seventy five thousand men were already a very large force. It was more than enough to actually run across every city of Essos and that too with decisive victories.
The three cities under his rule would one day be known across Essos as the soldier suppliers of Lord Aeos' army and to earn such a reputation, even alongside the flourishing alcohol and construction trades, was an achievement of its own.
Perhaps it was something in their blood, or perhaps it was the result of the generations of hardship they had endured under slavery, but the men who were recruited proved to be among the finest. They were strong, disciplined, and fiercely willing to work hard.
In just a few months of training, though they were not yet comparable to the Unsullied, they had achieved above the level of an average soldier.
Out of Jon's five land battalions, four were to march for war, a war that would decisively alter the fate of Essos and perhaps even of Westeros. What Jon was planning had the potential to shake both continents.
The remaining battalion, under Freydron's command, would stay behind as the defensive force of the three cities.
Two thousand men from this battalion were to be stationed permanently across Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor. The remaining half would form a mobile cavalry unit, ready to ride wherever the need arose.
With Jon's vast intelligence network, built painstakingly, and his own warging abilities, it was nearly impossible for any enemy to launch a surprise attack on his territories.
For now, this battalion was also responsible for maintaining internal security and law and order within the three cities. In the future, however, this responsibility would be handed over to retired and injured soldiers, men who had lost the ability to fight but could still serve their lord. It would be a fitting retirement for those who had given everything in battle.
Impressed by the formation of his forces, Jon gave a subtle nod. The six commanders standing behind him exhaled a breath of relief, one they had not even realized they had been holding.
Satisfied and composed, Jon took a few steps forward until he reached the very edge of the hill, where his figure was clearly visible to every soldier assembled below.
Tens of thousands of eyes turned upward toward him. The air was heavy with discipline and expectation. They all knew that this gathering had not been called for mere inspection, there was a purpose to it, a moment they had been anticipating. It was time for Lord Aeos to make his announcements.
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