Vikings: Nordic women

Chapter 50 Preparing for a Massive Invasion of Eastern Europe (Gothic Kingdom)

He thrust his sword deeply into the ground between the two of them. The sword was firmly stuck in the crevice of the stone, making a cold metallic collision sound.

"What now?" There was a hint of provocation in his voice and his eyes were cold. "What are you going to do? If you want to die, I can grant your wish!"

Xina opened her eyes wide in shock. She shouted in disbelief as if she had seen a ghost, "You're not dead?" Her voice was full of surprise and confusion, as if the scene before her was beyond her understanding.

Shortly after the rebellion was quelled, the bodies were carried away one by one by the guards, and the bloodstains that would have caused the stench were carefully cleaned.

There was a solemn and heavy atmosphere in the air, as if telling of the aftermath of the battle that had just passed.

Margaret did not immediately deal with the post-rebellion trial. She invited the remaining lords and noble male sons in the hall to join Huscarz and become knights.

Her idea was to use all the noble children as hostages to control these noble lords and make them think more about the consequences before future rebellions.

After this incident, many nobles also realized what it meant to be powerless.

They realized that there was no way out of confronting the central government. The foundation of the centuries-old chieftain family was not something that a lord of a few years could contend with.

In addition, they had originally planned to allow family members to enter Huscarz, so this matter was decided.

Margaret's move not only consolidated her power, but also brought new blood and strength to Huscarz.

"Your Majesty, my child is just five years old and lacks the ability to take care of himself. I hope you can allow him to stay with us and join Huscarz when he is eight years old!" A lord stepped forward cautiously and proposed, his eyes full of pleading and expectation.

Margaret thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

She knew very well that taking in a group of children was a hassle, and that these children needed the care and love of a family.

"I plan to relax the age limit to eight years old, but I have one requirement," she said with relief, "The future lord cannot be illiterate. He must be able to read before the age of eight!"

This requirement reflects Margaret's emphasis on education. She is well aware of the importance of knowledge to leaders.

It was the first time that she realized the benefits of killing a chicken to scare a monkey. The lord would no longer offend her easily. Her decrees were unimpeded, and the nobles nodded in understanding and support, fearing that they would be deprived of their titles and territories.

But Margaret has not yet decided whether to kill Harold and Sina or not.

She fell into deep thought, weighing the pros and cons.

It would be a pity to kill her. After all, these lords have been considered qualified lords over the years. Killing them would undoubtedly damage the overall military strength of Gotland and affect the subsequent conquest plans for the coastal areas of Eastern Europe.

If she stays in a remote corner and waits for a powerful ruler to emerge in Sweden, Gotland will sooner or later change hands.

In other words, if she doesn't beat others, others will beat her. This is a cruel reality, and she must always be vigilant and strong.

But if she didn't kill him, with Harold's prestige, after he was released, he would join forces with these lords to oppose her, and Gotland would fall directly into serious civil strife.

This was a situation she absolutely did not want to see.

After much thought, Margaret still couldn't make up her mind.

Fortunately, this matter does not need to be resolved urgently. She can put the problem on the scale in her heart and then make a decision.

She decided to observe for a while to see Harold and Sheena's attitudes and actions before making a final decision.

After all, time and opportunity often give the best answers.

"Your Majesty, how do you plan to deal with the rebels?" Polly stepped forward, her eyes revealing a hint of worry about the future. "With so many villages, losing their lords may lead to chaos."

Margaret pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly, her voice full of majesty, and her eyes looked at everyone like trash: "In view of their past contributions to the royal family, Ralph will be the acting lord of Svetalsson.

Except for Sheena and Harold, all the lords were acquitted.

The order to deprive them of their lands remained in effect, but they were allowed to temporarily serve as lords until the raid on the East began next summer, when they could atone for their sins.

As for Lord Harold and Xina, continue to repent in the dungeon. Give them more blankets and books, treat them well, and we will talk about it when they repent!" "Redeem sins with merits?" Polly murmured the word, and a hint of understanding flashed in her eyes, "Very vivid, I will pass on the order now!"

"Wait a minute!" Margaret called out to Polly. She seemed to remember something. "Also, recruit the rebellious nobles to join Huscarz!"

Polly nodded, her eyes revealing respect for Margaret's decision: "As you wish!"

Margaret rubbed her hands. Even though the bonfire raised the temperature in the hall, she still felt cold.

This coldness did not only come from the outside world, but also from deep within her heart. The pressure made her breathless. In her previous life, she was still Eunnie, and it seemed that she died suddenly because of too much pressure.

Winter is coming, and Margaret hopes that she can get through this winter safely without anyone starving or freezing to death.

This is also the reason why she had to release a group of lords to go back and represent the territories.

She knew very well that in cold Northern Europe, the temperature difference between winter and summer was extremely large, and the severe winter cold was a severe test for the people.

The Chinese rule of not fighting in winter and summer does not apply to Northern Europe.

Here, only summer is slightly warm throughout the year, and it is also the best time to wage war.

Margaret took out the map and her eyes fell on Faroe Island next to Gotland.

Faroe Island is located in the north of Gotland and is part of Gotland. Specifically, it is located to the north of Gotland.

Next year, after taking over Faroe Island and conferring the title of Lord, she will lead her fleet to invade Eastern Europe on a large scale.

At that time, she would most likely not return to Gotland, and she would keep the royal palace firmly in Eastern Europe.

The climate types in the coastal areas of Eastern Europe are diverse. The Baltic Sea coastal areas in the north have a temperate continental climate with warm summers and long and cold winters.

The region's coastal plains and hilly terrain also offer fertile land suitable for agricultural development.

Margaret wanted to transform the pirate culture into a semi-agricultural, semi-pirate, and semi-nomadic culture, to recuperate and plunder the population, confer titles on knights, build cities, and develop the population and economy.

She knew very well that only when the people lived a stable life could the country prosper. In this way, the people would not choose to become bandits because they could not survive, which would breed bandits.

"That's it!" Margaret nodded, and at the same time issued a decree to officially establish the country and named it the "Kingdom of Gotland".

Gotland, also known as "Gotland, Gotland", is one of the origins of the Goths, one of the barbarians who destroyed Rome.

Later, the Visigothic Kingdom was destroyed by the Frankish Kingdom and disappeared in the long river of history.

The Goths have nothing to do with Gothic dark style architecture and clothing. There is a gap of more than a thousand years between them. It is a derogatory name for Italy in later generations.

However, based on her love for the Gothic style, Margaret felt that she might be able to make it her own.

After conquering Eastern Europe and being awarded the title of Knight Lord, the Knights of Huscarz became Knight Lords.

Knights originally appeared as members of cavalry units. They usually served the lord and received land in return for their military service. They were also called "Knight Lords".

This form of land holding was called "military territory" or "landlordship" and required a large number of serfs to farm for the knights.

Now that the knights have money, they can try to forge Gothic plate armor and form an order of knights equipped with heavy conical lances similar to Joan of Arc's "Order of Joan of Arc".

There was no other way around it. She couldn't make plate armor now because the ocean would cause it to rust too badly.

And if you go further east, you may encounter Muslims. During this period, Muslims were not strictly nomadic people.

Although the early spread of Islam was somewhat related to nomadic culture, Muslims had gradually settled down and formed their own civilization system during this period.

However, they are still mostly cavalry. In the plains of Eastern Europe, it is difficult to ensure the stability of the regime without large-scale cavalry units.

(End of this chapter)