After quietly getting rid of the old flayer, Roman led his people back to White Harbor.
The whole process was neat and tidy; aside from Fili, likely only the Three-Eyed Raven knew.
Upon arriving at White Harbor, "Lord Eel" even took Roman's hand with concern:
"I heard what you did from the Harrenhal soldiers. It was truly not good!"
"Lord Manderly, I could not let him insult Lady Helaena. Besides, what's a mere apology worth?"
"No!" Manderly shook his head. "I mean you shouldn't have let him go. Roose Bolton is cruel and vengeful. You should have..."
Wyman Manderly pointed to a butcher cutting meat nearby, his meaning crystal clear.
Roman feigned shock. "Oh heavens! Lord Wyman, such a thing is not permitted. No matter how much I dislike Lord Roose, I could never do that!"
Wyman looked at Roman with a "are you sick?" expression, then sighed heavily:
"In that case, you must be extremely careful in the future. Roose Bolton is no Mr. Nice Guy!"
Roman thanked Wyman for the warning, then took his thick hand to begin negotiating the ore trade.
Harrenhal would need a vast amount of ore and timber to support the subsequent industrial upgrades.
In return, Roman was willing to sell glass and porcelain to White Harbor and Winterfell at low prices, ensuring mutual benefit.
After a cordial conversation, Roman loaded his cargo ships and set sail.
When they returned to Harrenhal without further incident, everyone erupted in loud cheers.
The North was truly a backwater; compared to the Harrenhal territory after Roman's transformation, it was even more inferior.
Roman returned to Lady Helaena's side to report and mentioned the changes he underwent at the Wall.
Touching the dragon horns that were gradually growing on Roman, Lady Helaena's expression was grave. "Child, you must prepare for the days ahead. Dragons hold great significance in Westeros. Without overwhelming strength, the iron throne will not tolerate you."
Roman nodded and then brought out his plans for the future of the Harrenhal territory. Lady Helaena didn't understand such things, but she trusted Roman's judgment and told him to go ahead.
After Roman left, Fili ran over to vent her grievances, telling Lady Helaena in detail about her night with Roman at Black Castle.
Lady Helaena smiled and patted Fili's head. "Silly child, how could such a thing succeed on the first try? Most of Roman's mind is on the territory right now. As long as you assist him and manage the minor details for him, things will naturally fall into place in the future."
Having said that, Lady Helaena taught Fili some little tricks, leaving the girl awkwardly wringing her hands, unsure how to respond.
On Roman's side, he immediately launched a new construction plan.
He gathered many failed apprentices, bringing this group of intellectuals together to discuss hygiene issues.
"Everyone, Harrenhal has become wealthy, and the control over the entire territory has changed significantly. It is time for us to start new planning."
With that, Roman brought out a pile of tools—instruments made by glass smiths according to his requirements.
Among them was a rudimentary microscope.
Roman directly introduced the concept of microorganisms and let the apprentices use the microscope one by one to observe what they wanted to see.
Once this concept was proposed and confirmed by the microscope, it was like dropping a bombshell on the apprentices' worldview.
They frantically yet carefully fought for the right to use the microscope, some even getting beaten by their companions for wanting to look a little longer.
Watching their excitement, Roman thought of the absurd medicine in Westeros.
The medicine of Westeros was not lacking in variety, but it was extremely lopsided, blending various medical practices from the Middle Ages to later periods.
You could see doctors performing C-sections, while a nearby noble might still be undergoing bloodletting therapy.
Roose Bolton, whom Roman had just burned to death, liked to use leeches to suck his blood because he believed that letting leeches drain the "bad blood" was beneficial to health; people even called him "Lord Leech".
Roman knew the capabilities of these fellows; they all looked pedantic, but in reality, they each had their own impressive skills.
So he only needed to provide the ideas and leave the rest to the scholars and apprentices.
With the proof of the germ theory, the apprentices gained a new understanding of their lord, and from then on, they hung on his every word.
"Water sources are essential for the survival of residents and are also a major source of microbial infection. Water disinfection must be carried out properly."
"Water purification tanks, disinfectants, and boiling are all potential solutions."
"And..."
Roman laid out all the basic hygiene knowledge and epidemic prevention methods he knew, then let the scholars research and confirm them.
Later, Roman summoned Scholar Tom and asked him to produce various medicines and disinfectants.
"Yes! My Lord, I will certainly achieve your goal!"
Scholar Tom was now completely won over by Roman's knowledge. Originally, he had wanted to use Roman to gain a higher position in The Citadel.
But now, he had completely abandoned that idea because Scholar Tom was certain that an ambitious man like Roman would need a large number of talents to build his territory.
Therefore, it was impossible to rely solely on The Citadel; he would surely train his own. Since Roman now had sufficient funds, what he intended to do was obvious.
"It seems I may see the establishment of a second Citadel in my lifetime!"
In the following months, while handling various territorial affairs, Roman worked with the scholars to write an Epidemic Prevention Manual.
Finally, during the harvest season, a complete Epidemic Prevention Manual was officially compiled.
At the same time, Harrenhal's woodblock printing technology underwent an innovation; the plates and ink were also improved thanks to Roman's heavy spending.
The manual immediately went into production, though for now, it mostly relied on word of mouth.
On the grounds of territorial health and epidemic prevention, Roman gathered all the idle intellectuals in the territory and had the scholars teach them the prevention knowledge.
Because these people were already literate, and the manual was written very plainly so that commoners could understand it.
These people quickly learned the knowledge and then set out with orders from the Hean Family to inform and assist the people in the Harrenhal territory.
They still focused on prevention first and treatment second, mainly telling the public to abandon ignorant habits and stop making themselves sick.
In addition to prevention, Roman spent money to set up large hospitals in various towns and small clinics in some villages.
Harrenhal bore the bulk of the expenses, using medicines that had been proven effective and low in toxicity.
Based on Westeros's unique pharmacology, pathology, and anatomy, Roman also created anesthetics, disinfectants, and new types of sutures.
Within Harrenhal, with Lady Helaena's approval, Roman built a large hospital that combined research and medical treatment.
This series of measures significantly reduced the number of sick people in the Harrenhal territory in a short time.
Roman discovered that the plants in Westeros were truly remarkable; some only needed to be mixed, crushed, and filtered for their juice to create various medicines.
Roman had originally thought of making some fever reducers himself to shock the Westerosi, but it turned out they had plenty of medicines and didn't need such trouble.
Previously, common people had no access to these things, but now Roman's intervention made expensive medicinal materials affordable for those at the bottom.
Soon, the entire Riverlands and even other regions of Westeros knew about Harrenhal's medical initiatives.
Roman did not yet know that a large number of patients from other regions were preparing to come for treatment.
Like hungry wolves, they set their sights on the fat prize that was Harrenhal.
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