Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 118 Canonization
To demonstrate his respect for his confidants, Vig decided to bestow upon them a title above knighthood—baron, from the Latin word baro.

Within the Frankish kingdoms, "baron" referred to warrior leaders who exchanged military loyalty for land grants. Over time, it evolved into the lowest rank of hereditary nobility—the baron.

"Joren served the longest and participated in the most battles. He was granted Dunbar and five nearby villages, with 4,000 acres of arable land."

"The Shrike conquered Edinburgh, wiped out the bandits, and was granted Bones and four nearby villages, with 3,800 acres of arable land."

"Torga led his cavalry to a great victory over the Gaelic coalition, and was granted Whitburn and three nearby villages, with 3,400 acres of arable land."

"Viper, granted the Lanark and surrounding forests, with 2,000 acres of arable land."

Vig appointed seven barons at once: Jørgen, Mitcham, Bavos, Torga, Shrike, Viper, and Breken.

The first three were long-time followers, Torga was a knight who had recently transferred, and the last three were the leaders of three Welsh tribes, so they had a slight advantage when it came to the investiture.

Seeing that no one objected, Vig closed the scroll, drank a glass of water to moisten his throat, and then took out a large stack of parchment scrolls to begin the investiture of knights.

Given that this was the first large-scale investiture, he struggled with the decision repeatedly during this period, and finally drafted a long list totaling one hundred people.

First came the first three groups of Viking shield guards who followed him, thirty-eight survivors; then came thirty-two soldiers who had distinguished themselves in previous battles; twenty-five mercenary cavalrymen who were willing to pledge their allegiance; and finally, five technicians, including Rugal, the blacksmith's foreman.

As time went on, Vig's voice gradually became hoarse, but he did not delegate the task to others, but insisted on reciting it to the very end.

"That's all. The northern border is vast, and if anyone makes further contributions, I will continue to grant land to them."

After reading the list, Vig pulled out another scroll to explain the duties of the vassals.

Each knight's estate has 500 acres of arable land, as well as surrounding pastures, woodlands, and ponds, totaling about 300 to 400 acres, with a total estate area of ​​800 to 1000 acres.

In times of war, a knightly lord is required to provide one armored cavalryman, one mounted mercenary, two infantrymen, and one groom to care for the horses, serving for forty days a year. If the service exceeds this period, the lord must pay wages.

If a knight is unable to serve, such as a civilian official with low combat skills like Micham or Rugal, or if the knight is old or sick and his heir has not yet come of age, he can pay a shield tax to be exempt from military service.

As for the seven barons, they bear different degrees of obligations depending on the amount of arable land within their territory.

For example, Lord Yoren of Dunbar owned four thousand acres of farmland, equivalent to eight knightly lordships, so in times of war he would need to provide eight armored cavalrymen as well as corresponding mounted mercenaries, infantry, and grooms.

Clearly, this is a heavy burden, but that's how it is. Suppose that a large landowner with vast tracts of land is unwilling to shoulder this obligation and watches the kingdom gradually decay; if a foreign enemy were to invade one day, no class would escape unscathed.

Besides barons and knights, he did not forget ordinary soldiers, whether Vikings, Welsh, or Anglo-Saxons, whoever was willing to settle in the newly conquered lands would be given thirty acres of farmland each.

By this time, the night was getting deeper, but Vig still showed no sign of stopping and continued:

"Gentlemen," Viggo said, "throughout the years of war, I have never been stingy with rewards. Especially this year, all items except for the scrolls have been distributed to everyone. I imagine you have accumulated a considerable fortune, enough to develop your respective territories. Furthermore, I have decided to exempt you from taxes for two years. I hope you will manage your territories well during this period and use your brains in everything you do." Considering that some of you are prone to extravagance, Viggo offered a generous donation, including ten shields, ten short axes, ten spears, and ten bows and arrows to help the knights and their mercenaries control their territories, as well as one hundred bushels of rations.

As for livestock and farm tools, the knights will need to purchase them themselves at the market. Vig plans to help purchase warhorses for each household, and he will not object if anyone chooses to buy them individually.

Are there any other questions?

Vig glanced at the crowd, then drew his Dragonbreath Sword and gestured for the baron and knights to take turns swearing allegiance. As everything was finished, dawn gradually broke in the sky outside.

However, a host of other problems awaited his attention.

Regarding the current territory, Vig plans to divide it into five counties: Tyne, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, and Orkney in the far north.

County Tyne was directly governed by the Duke, while the other four counties were governed by the Sheriff. The Sheriff was responsible for administrative affairs and taxation, the Sheriff was responsible for all judicial affairs, and the work of arresting thieves and conscripting soldiers fell to the Sheriff.

Currently, the first batch of graduates consists of only over forty students, a severely insufficient number, barely enough to maintain the operation of the county-level administrative agency, and temporarily unable to control the various settlements under its jurisdiction.

Looking through the roster of fifth-grade students, Vig assigned them to positions such as county secretary, agricultural officer, tax collector, and teacher based on their grades and personal preferences.

"In the next few years, after the students graduate, settlements with more than 700 people will be established as towns, also under the jurisdiction of civil officials. As for the villages below that level, the transportation is inconvenient and the administration is extremely difficult. Let the locals elect their own village chiefs. As long as they pay enough taxes and do not rebel, I am too lazy to pay attention to other trivial matters."

He rubbed his temples and glanced at the Raven Whisperer.

"You mentioned before that you want to build temples in four counties. Land and funding are not problems. The key is whether you have enough manpower?"

According to the consensus reached between the two in private, the temple shamans in the four counties need to work as part-time doctors. Vig is worried that the Raven Whisperers will send too many people to the local areas, thus neglecting the teaching and medical work at the Tyne Town headquarters.

"It's just some simple medicine preparation work, which doesn't take too much time. And this year, seven new shamans have been assessed, which is enough to maintain the most basic operations."

Seeing the Crow Whisperer's confident demeanor, Vig chose to acquiesce, spent half an hour eating breakfast, and pondered how to maintain order in the new territory.

After initial planning, four counties were established, each with a garrison of two hundred men, responsible for dealing with small-scale rebels in the surrounding areas.

In order to deal with the large-scale rebels in the northern and southern highlands, Vig planned to maintain two mountain infantry battalions for a long time.

Eight hundred garrison troops and one thousand mountain infantry, totaling one thousand eight hundred regular troops. Each soldier's annual salary was thirty silver pence. Including the expenses for equipment and food, the annual expenditure was three hundred and sixty pounds of silver.

The only saving grace is that Vig doesn't need to worry about manpower.

Now that the Seven Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and West Frankish Kingdom are no longer suitable for raiding, many raiders who are used to fighting have to look elsewhere. As long as they have money to pay wages, enough warriors will flood into the North.

(End of this chapter)