It was impossible for him to return to The Wall to participate in the operation to capture wights, so how could he remotely control the Night's Watch without command authority to achieve the bold feat of "capturing wights alive" ahead of time... This would require careful planning and thought.
Of course, since Jeor Mormont specifically wrote here asking for men and supplies, he clearly didn't intend to launch an expedition immediately. He still had a little time to plan this matter. He would put this aside for now and focus on the present.
...
During dinner, Aegon conveyed the urgency from the received letter to Yoren. The old Crow originally had some money left in his pocket, enough to enjoy a few more days in King's Landing, but upon receiving the instruction to return immediately, his surprise and disappointment were evident.
"You can take your time on the road," Aegon instinctively advised him. Having been in the Night's Watch for a year, he fully understood the other man's feelings at this moment. "When are you leaving?"
"Taking our time on the road is indeed a good idea, but I wouldn't dare to stay here after receiving the order," Yoren said, troubled. "Anyway, we've gathered over a dozen people, and the preparations are complete. We'll leave tomorrow."
"Okay, then I want to ask you for someone. We talked about him before, Jaqen H'ghar, who was caught for stealing books. Leave him here to help me."
"That dangerous man?" The old man stared at his Black Brother in confusion. "What do you want him for?"
"Since he spent several nights in the library reading books, he should be literate," Aegon explained. "The Night's Watch Office happens to need someone who can read and write right now."
"Girls who can read are rare, but aren't literate men easy to find?" Although Yoren was illiterate, he found the excuse amusing. "Let me be blunt, Aegon. That man can come and go freely even from the Red Keep's library. If you release him from his shackles, he'll be gone in the blink of an eye. I've made up my mind. Before I hand him and the other two murderers over to Ser Alliser at Castle Black, I will absolutely not let them out of their cage."
Aegon completely agreed with and supported Yoren's judgment and decision, but if he couldn't keep Jaqen, could Castle Black? With the skills and unpredictable methods of this top Braavos spy, even a master like Barristan probably only managed to catch him by luck by cornering him in a room. What he wanted to do was just do him a favor – since he would run away sooner or later, releasing him at least a month early should count as a considerable favor, and as for what happens next, he would keep him for as long as possible. There was no harm in getting to know such a capable person.
He didn't waste any more words and directly slipped a shiny, round coin into the old Crow's hand: "Don't worry about it, just agree to this. The travel expenses will be enough for you to eat and drink well all the way to Castle Black. Not only that, but next time you come to King's Landing, I'll give you ten men."
Give me ten? You'll be lucky if you haven't run away by the time you come to King's Landing next time. Yoren curled his lip disdainfully, but after feeling the heavy gold coin in his hand, he finally nodded: "Alright, be careful yourself. Don't let the Kingsguard find out that the man they caught is alive and well outside again, and don't let that man kill you either."
"I will be careful."
***
Tyrion's passion for starting a business was still high. He would get up early every day and leave without a trace. This short man and his brother Jaime Lannister were two extremes – the older brother was the heir chosen by their Father, yet he yearned for chivalry, honor, and public recognition; while the younger brother, a Dwarf whom his own Father wished had never been born, subconsciously craved the affirmation of his Father and family.
His enthusiasm for the business he had suddenly found, rather than being for making money and getting rich, was likely driven more by the desire to earn a second glance from his Father, Lord Tywin.
Alas, Aegon, stop worrying about others and think about yourself.
Clearing his head, Aegon got dressed and left his room. After washing up, he arranged the time for meeting and handover with Yoren at the breakfast table, then went to the Night's Watch Office as usual, starting the day-to-day routine of the "Night's Watch Office Manager."
After the sun rose a little, Arya also diligently came for her lesson, but unfortunately, Aegon was already prepared to go out and retrieve Jaqen H'ghar.
"Master!" The girl didn't feel discouraged at all. "Where are you going? I'm coming too!"
"No, I'm going to send my Black Brothers and new recruits back to The Wall. They're just a bunch of scum and rapists, nothing interesting to see. You can either wait here or go back to the Red Keep." Aegon shook his head. Fishing someone out from the criminals who had agreed to go the North and join the Night's Watch was something that couldn't be seen by the Stark family.
"I want to go see them off too!"
Aegon raised his eyebrows: "Stop messing around, be obedient."
The girl pouted and stared at the man for a few seconds, then softened: "Hmm... okay, I'll wait for you in the house. How long will you be back?"
"Before the sun sets." The Night's Watch man's expression softened: "Look after the office well for Master, and there will be a reward when I get back."
"Uh-huh!"
Aegon nodded in satisfaction. The first step in training Arya was going quite smoothly.
Humans are essentially just animals. Compared to adults, children's animality is clearly stronger than their humanity, and this is more so the younger they are. And intelligent "animals" are extremely malleable. As long as you consciously guide them to form corresponding habits using various reward and punishment mechanisms from the beginning, making them form conditioned reflexes and understand when you will agree to their requests and when no amount of pestering will work, future interactions will be much simpler – the girl had already seen Aegon's expression just now and knew that when he looked like that, there was no room for negotiation, which was why she didn't continue arguing.
Of course, these principles sound simple, but doing them is a bit difficult at first. Aegon also benefited from Arya's inherently good nature, her belief that he was a master, and the fact that he wasn't afraid of offending her. It was by relying on the three-chapter agreement that he was able to suppress the arrogance of this Stark Little Princess and achieve such astonishing results in a short time. This clearly surprised the Winterfell guards responsible for escorting Arya to and from her lessons. The eyes of that gray-robed soldier almost popped out: When did their spoiled young lady become so obedient?
***
The Night's Watch's first stronghold in the South was located opposite one of King's Landing's two major "police stations," the City Watch's East Camp. The Night's Watch Office temporarily didn't have any valuable or important items inside. After giving a simple explanation, Aegon confidently left Arya and the open door, and rode his horse to the northwest of King's Landing.
He rode out through Gods Gate, then ambled along the beginning part of King's Road for a few miles, and soon found Yoren and his group waiting there.
Two carts were parked under the shade of trees by the roadside. One carried a wooden cage for prisoners, and the other carried some condiments, medicines, and spices that Yoren had just purchased. The ship of supplies that Tyrion and Aegon provided for The Wall greatly eased Yoren's burden; otherwise, he would probably have had to spend several days running around purchasing things and looking after an entire convoy.
Besides the two carts and the horses pulling them, there were also five or six donkeys and over a dozen people under the tree shade. The Night's Watch Crow himself sat on the floorboard of the cart carrying goods, while the few orphans he had tricked with promises of "full bellies and warm clothes" squatted or stood idly by the roadside, looking curiously at Aegon riding up, along with the criminals forced to join the Night's Watch—even a fool could tell that although they wore the same black clothes, the one approaching was clearly much more imposing. Perhaps this was an officer of the Night's Watch?
The clever ones had already begun thinking about how to please their future superior, but Aegon didn't give them a chance to waste their efforts. He walked straight to Yoren, greeted him, and the latter jumped down from the cart.
"Haven't changed your mind?"
"Why would I change my mind?" Aegon snorted and looked at the three people inside the wooden cage.
Yoren had reason to be afraid of these three. One of the three in the wooden cage had no nose, only a hollow on his face; another was a fat bald man with sharp teeth and a face full of festering pimples, his eyes like those of a wild beast; as for the last one, he had regular features, neat clothes, and a refined look but was locked up with the first two, seemingly unharmed. The incongruity was extremely strong.
Very ordinary, not at all as dashing and handsome as the actor in the TV series, Aegon thought. If he wasn't locked in this wooden cage, he would never have been able to pick out Jaqen H'ghar from a crowd. As a spy and assassin, the man had achieved "average appearance."
But then again, who knows if Jaqen's current appearance is his true face? Do the Faceless Men change their appearance more through human skin masks, or is there magic involved?
He didn't let his gaze linger on the target for too long. After deliberately looking around, he said loudly: "The Night's Watch Office needs someone who can read and write to help. Is there anyone among you who is literate?"
—