Aemon's Decision

The residents of the Oldtown like to use the shadow cast by the Hightower to tell the time.

The Hightower is the castle of the Hightower and one of the Nine Wonders of the World, and can almost be called the tallest building in the Seven Kingdoms.

Furthermore, the fact that the Oldtown was one of the earliest settlements of the Andals further endows it with a unique status.

Among the many families of the Seven Kingdoms, the Hightower held a remarkably high position. Especially noteworthy was the Citadel sponsored by the Hightower; it was virtually impossible to find a castle in the Seven Kingdoms without scholars.

The influence of the Hightower spread to every corner of the Seven Kingdoms along with these scholars.

When the shadow of the Hightower points toward the Citadel, it signifies the day is drawing to a close, and the scholars will often go out for a drink to relax their minds weary from the Smoking Sea of books.

But these days are different. Raven and ravens are being sent out of the Citadel in droves, and they are all carrying explosive news.

First, there's the one from the Westerlands: Margaery of Casterly Rock gave birth to a silver-haired, violet-eyed baby boy, Jon, the bastard son of the Duke of Winterfell, who now claims to be Targaryen orphan, the son of Prince Rhaegar and Lyanna.

Although he was a Targaryen, he indicated that Winter Is Coming and urged lords across the land to increase their food reserves.

Meanwhile, there are White Walkers and Wights active Beyond the Wall, so lords in various regions should also pay attention to the repair of castles and the military training of civilians.

Whether it's a security alert or the changing of the seasons, these are not matters for Jon, a warlord, to concern himself with. Therefore, sending out such information requires money, and maintaining the Messenger Raven Network is quite expensive.

However, they soon received news that all expenses would be borne by the Highgarden.

Naturally, as the current holder of the Iron Throne, Stannis is also using the Citadel to spread a great deal of information.

For example, Margaery is a harlot, Jon is a traitor, a usurper, a shameless liar; the two of them are an adulterous couple.

He also demanded that all the feudal lords in the country respond to his edict and prepare to attack the Westerlands.

Naturally, Stannis, as King, didn't need to pay anything when sending messages through the Citadel.

The large volume of mail in and out has also impacted another business of the Citadel – the Scriptorium.

The scholars of the Citadel provided letter-writing or mail-writing services to commoners, especially the wealthy among them, through their Scriptorium.

However, Jon and Stannis have now taken up a large portion of the Raven Network's bandwidth, forcing these services in the Citadel to cease.

"Although Lord Jon says he is no longer in King's Landing and does not have the Iron Throne, why does he seem like the real king?" a young maester asked.

"Yes, the news from King's Landing is rather unseemly, full of insults," another scholar responsible for copying the letters agreed.

"But this is too strange. Jon of Winterfell and Margaery of Highgarden, one with black hair and the other with brown hair, how could they have a child with silver hair and purple eyes?"

Everyone was very puzzled by this, and could only attribute it to the special nature of the Targaryen bloodline.

Some maesters who were fond of Jon called him "Darkfyre," meaning that although he did not have Targaryen features in appearance, he retained the Targaryen flame.

However, compared to the academics' enthusiasm for gossip, the doctoral students in the Citadel's upper echelons were more interested in matters of interest.

At this time, the Grand Steward of the Citadel convened a discussion regarding a proposal by Jon.

Jon calls it the Crone Plan," which aims to enable more children to read and write. He says he plans to establish at least fifty three-year primary schools in the Westerlands.

In the letter, Jon expressed his respect for knowledge and admiration for scholars. His series of plans greatly won the favor of the maesters.

Jon never took any service for granted, and of course he didn't believe that the Citadel was completely free of political bias.

Even if they don't have political leanings, they will definitely have values.

Jon wants to rally all of Westeros to prepare for the Long Night, so he will naturally need the Citadel's help in the short term.

Since their help is needed, tangible benefits must be offered. Jon proposed that a large number of jobs would be prepared for the maesters of the Citadel in the future, and that the places that teach literacy are almost exclusively for the maesters.

In the brightly lit room, a group of PhDs dressed in academic gowns sat around a long table.

This is the Conclave of the highest council in the Citadel.

"This Jon took a lot of maesters and even apprentices from the Citadel, and through the Iron Islands Wars, some maesters even gained land and titles. This is a disgrace to scholarship!" a stubborn old maester said.

"However, I see quite a few scholars are quite willing to serve him," said another slightly younger history PhD named Perestan.

His years of studying history have taught him a lesson: everyone has something they want to pursue.

The course of history is being driven by these people.

Jon had previously recruited a large number of people in the Citadel, but most maesters still aspired to serve the lord of a castle after completing their studies.

Most of the maesters who joined Jon were mediocre and incompetent, while the truly talented maesters looked down on Jon.

But now Jon has given them another option: to become lords themselves!

No one can resist such temptation.

All the Conclave present understood that if Jon came to the Citadel again to recruit people, he could probably empty the Citadel.

"Whether Jon of Winterfell is truly of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen blood, as he claims, is irrelevant. Everyone can claim their own claim to the Iron Throne, but we will only listen to the one who sits on Iron Throne." The speaker was Theobald, the current Grand Master of the Citadel, dressed in a blue maester's robe and wearing six necklaces around his neck, signifying his accomplishments in at least six subjects.

But Theobald Theobold's words were akin to saying, "I'm just the county magistrate's wife; I don't care who the magistrate is."

Of course, other Conclave also agreed with his approach, since the Citadel is a place for academic pursuits and needs to mitigate risks.

Ultimately, whoever emerges victorious will not be made to suffer. However, in the current situation, if Jon were to come to the Citadel to recruit men, Jon would certainly have to stop him, otherwise he would be seen as favoring Casterly Rock.

"However, Casterly Rock seems to be showing goodwill towards the Citadel. How should we respond to their proposal?" asked a maester with a long, white beard and seven necklaces around his neck.

Theobald thought for a moment and said, "Then let's ask Maester Aemon for his opinion."

Everyone nodded, agreeing with his decision.

Since Jon claims to be a Targaryen, then Aemon, as the oldest Targaryen (already 101 years old), is the highest-ranking member of the House Targaryen.

At the very least, they should show sufficient respect to their great-uncle, Aemon.

At this time, Aemon had just learned Jon's true identity.

Sam was the one who read the letter to him. To show his respect, Jeo Mormont accompanied Sam south with Aemon and took care of him while he trained at the Citadel.

Sam had assumed Aemon would be thrilled to learn that Jon was also a Targaryen.

After all, when Aemon heard that Daenerys had restored her kingdom in the distant Slaver's Bay back at the Wall, he was so excited that he barely slept a wink all night.

Jon is now in the Westerlands, and he also has two powerful allies: the North and the Reach.

If the Targaryen were to restore their kingdom, Jon would clearly have a greater advantage than that Targaryen princess who lived thousands of miles away, yet he couldn't understand why Aemon remained so calm.

So Sam cautiously asked, "Maester Aemon, do you think Jon is lying?"

Upon hearing Sam's voice, Aemon raised his head slightly, exhaled, and said, "No, Jon is a Targaryen."

Sam:?

Sam was even more puzzled by Aemon's answer. Now that it was confirmed that he was Targaryen, Aemon, as the most senior Targaryen who had voluntarily declined the throne, should immediately testify for Jon and clear their names. This would give Jon a greater advantage if he wanted to compete for the Iron Throne.

But why has Aemon remained completely silent ever since he learned that Jon was Targaryen?

After a moment, Aemon voiced his concerns. "Sam, we practically saw the Wights with our own eyes on the Wall. White Walkers 're not just legends. Even here in the warm south, we can feel the autumn chill soon to be replaced by the cold winds. Why does Jon want to set aside the dispute over the throne with Stannis? Isn't it because he wants humanity to preserve its strength as much as possible before the real enemy arrives? If I support Jon now, it will only drag the country into war faster, which I don't think Jon wants. At least we should wait a little longer and give Jon some time to figure out how to persuade Stannis."

After hearing Maester Aemon's words, Sam suddenly understood.

From a purely strength perspective, Stannis doesn't possess overwhelming power at all; in fact, he could be considered at a disadvantage, especially in terms of his fleet.

Jon possesses overwhelming power in the fleet.

Moreover, it also possesses a higher and more orthodox claim.

If Aemon chooses to side with Jon, Stannis's legitimacy will be in jeopardy, and once Stannis feels his rule is crumbling, he will be even less likely to accept Jon's opinions.

It's important to understand that Aemon was a centenarian who had served the Seven Kingdoms at the Wall for over fifty years. In addition, almost everyone in history had fought to the death for the crown, yet he was the only one who chose to give up the throne.

With so many glorious deeds combined, once he left the ice-bound the Wall, his prestige was terrifyingly high.

It has almost become the embodiment of most of the virtues in the world.

Although he was old and blind, and his body was frail, his voice was powerful enough to shake the entire kingdom.

"We just need to wait quietly for Jon's message. If Stannis prioritizes the threat to humanity over the threat to his throne, then we can announce our support for Jon. I believe Jon will understand our decision."

Aemon is not a corrupt person. Whether he chooses to speak out or remain silent, to help Jon or to ignore Jon, his ultimate principle is always the same: the safety of humanity.

Daenerys was far away in Slaver's Bay, and his happiness for Dany was merely a celebration for his own family.

Now that Jon is in Westeros, it is precisely because of his Westeros that Aemon believes he should be even more careful.

Finally, Aemon refused Sam's suggestion to write to Jon, and practically shut their place up.