No one had expected a pampered young nobleman to actually join them in clearing the weeds and repairing the training ground.
They certainly hadn’t expected him to pick up a hoe and start working.
“Is this young master actually right in the head?
He’s got a perfectly good life as a nobleman, yet he comes all the way here to pull weeds?”
“You never know with rich people’s hobbies.”
Aegon, of course, hadn’t come here merely to pull weeds.
He was using the opportunity to learn as much as possible about his soldiers.
While the men worked on clearing and repairing the training ground, Aegon moved among them, asking questions and quietly investigating their circumstances.
Just as Rogett had told him, every soldier here was in debt.
To them, being a soldier was simply a job.
The job consisted of training three times a week.
Apart from that, the average soldier also had another three or four jobs to make ends meet.
Expecting an army like this to win a battle was nothing short of a delusion.
What shocked Aegon even more was that the cavalry force was officially supposed to contain three hundred and thirty men.
In reality, there were only one hundred and twenty-four.
And even those one hundred and twenty-four men received only between one-third and one-fifth of their nominal military pay!
In other words, nearly ninety percent of the soldiers’ wages were being drawn by men who didn’t exist.
The whole process was essentially a vicious cycle.
The men above pocketed nonexistent soldiers’ wages or embezzled the soldiers’ pay.
The soldiers below, deprived of enough income to survive, slipped away from camp to find other work, causing the army’s fighting strength to deteriorate even further.
As the army grew weaker, those above became even more brazen about pocketing military funds.
The soldiers below were then forced to find even more work to survive.
Eventually, some simply deserted.
Aegon’s predecessor, for example, had been pocketing the wages of thirty nonexistent soldiers.
Under the rules governing the purchase of military positions, those thirty soldiers’ wages now belonged to Aegon.
But Aegon wasn’t interested in a mere handful of gold dragons.
What he wanted was an army capable of taking the field and killing the enemy.
Whether it was to prepare for what was coming or to obtain the rewards from his game system as quickly as possible, he needed to get these soldiers’ training back on track as soon as possible.
…
…
Because Belwas served as Illyrio’s “eyes and ears,” Illyrio had a much clearer picture of what was happening in the military camp.
“You mean he’s paying off those soldiers’ debts with his own money?”
“Yes, master.
And he has even sold some of his belongings…”
“What did he sell?!”
Illyrio’s eyes widened.
Surely he didn’t sell my beloved mansion?
In Pentos, was there anyone who would dare buy it without going through him?
“Don’t worry, master.
The little master only sold his own clothes, his carriage, and things like that…”
Belwas hadn’t told him everything.
Aegon had even sold the incense that had recently arrived from Qarth for himself and Shamira.
Incense and spices were hard currency, practically as valuable as gold and silver.
“What’s he trying to accomplish?
So they can train more?
What good does that do for us?”
Illyrio relaxed slightly after hearing this.
He had never expected Aegon to make back the money he had spent buying the position in the first place.
But surely the boy couldn’t actually lose money on it?
If word got out that Illyrio Mopatis’s son had bought a military position only to pour his own money into it, wouldn’t everyone laugh at him?
Belwas didn’t know how to answer.
Ultimately, he was only a gladiator.
Illyrio thought about it for a while, then decided not to concern himself with the matter.
The money spent purchasing the position was insignificant to him anyway, and what Aegon was currently spending was merely the pocket money Illyrio gave him.
Perhaps, after some time, the novelty would wear off and Aegon would simply give up.
“Master, there is one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“The little master is training together with the cavalry.
And he’s taking it very seriously.”
Belwas smiled as he spoke.
In his eyes, Aegon had finally begun doing something worthwhile.
That should surely count as good news, and Illyrio ought to be pleased.
If the two of them, “father and son,” could get along a little better, Belwas’s own life would become easier as well.
“Training with them?
He can endure that kind of hardship?”
Illyrio thought he must have misheard.
The reason he had kept Aegon alive in the first place was because he intended that, if Young Griff’s bid for the Iron Throne failed in the future, he could hand over the real Aegon in exchange for his own son.
He had no desire for Aegon to become genuinely useful.
That was one of the reasons he had deliberately intended to raise the boy into a useless wastrel.
“Perhaps the little master saw how often you visit Young Griff and is trying to compete with him.”
“Yes…
That must be it.”
Illyrio secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At present, he was the only person who knew Aegon’s true identity.
If Aegon had suddenly decided to work hard, there was really only one explanation.
His jealousy toward Young Griff.
Speaking of his true son, Young Griff would soon be fifteen.
A nobleman’s fifteenth nameday was an important occasion.
The problem was that his son was half a year older than the real Aegon.
Young Griff should have celebrated his fifteenth nameday six months ago.
But if he was going to continue pretending to be Aegon, his birthday celebration had to be postponed.
This made Illyrio feel that he owed his son some compensation.
Meanwhile, the military camp was already in an uproar.
Only a few days had passed before Aegon summoned the soldiers once again.
The men brought out their contracts for their personal debts.
Then they discovered something astonishing.
Their next repayment dates had been postponed by an entire year.
For the next year, they no longer had to worry about being unable to repay their debts and being sentenced by the governors to imprisonment and endless hard labor.
They no longer had to fear their sons and daughters being sold, their families torn apart, and their homes destroyed.
Holding the new contracts in their hands, the soldiers felt a profound sense of relief.
It was as though even their bones had suddenly become lighter.
“I know what I’ve done cannot solve all your difficulties,” Aegon said, “but at the very least, it should make your lives considerably easier for a long time to come.
I have only one demand.
From now on, when it is time to train, every one of you must complete your training without fail.”
Aegon spoke calmly, but most of the soldiers were still standing there in a daze.
Even Rogett, who had been able to speak with Aegon more than the others that first day, was no exception.
There was a certain trick to repaying debts as well.
Aegon had gathered everyone’s debts together into one account.
When he negotiated with their creditors as a group, he was able to secure considerably better terms.
In the end, the total amount Aegon had to repay came to only about seventy percent of what the soldiers would have paid if they had settled their debts individually.
Yet despite what looked like a shrewd bargain, Aegon had already become a laughingstock throughout Pentos.
Quite a few people had heard that Illyrio’s foolish son had bought himself a cavalry command, only to refuse to make money from it and instead pour his own money into the soldiers.
Everyone thought he was a complete fool.
Aegon, naturally, didn’t care.
When war came, if he had a loyal army under his command, then what difference would it make whether the money was in his hands or sitting in the coffers of those governors?
“Train hard,” Aegon continued.
“There’s an old saying, the more skills you have, the better.
Even if I leave someday, having learned these skills will make it easier for you to find a living.”
Aegon had no intention of telling them about the “glory of being a soldier” at this stage.
Trying to preach about the future to men who couldn’t even fill their bellies would accomplish nothing.
“Don’t worry, my lord!
We’ll train however you want us to!”
A soldier with gray at his temples stepped forward and spoke.
He was actually only thirty years old, yet his appearance made him look closer to forty.
Aegon understood exactly why.
Years of crushing pressure and hardship had aged him prematurely.
“Long live the lord!
From now on, we recognize only you!”
“Our lord is wise and mighty!
One day, you’ll surely become a general who never knows defeat!”
“Forever loyal to our lord!”
“Yes!
Loyal!”