Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 119 Procurement
After finishing a plan to establish a standing army, Vig looked up out the window. The sun was high in the sky; it was almost noon.

"Oops, I think I forgot something."

He picked up the kettle on the long table, poured out a little water to wet his face, and pulled out a booklet from under the scroll.

This is the result of the labor of the accompanying shamans and fifth-grade students. Based on the records of various monasteries and field investigations, they roughly estimated the population and land area of ​​the central lowlands.

Currently, the total population of the Central Lowlands is 160,000, and if the Northern and Southern Highlands, which are not yet under control, are included, the total population of Scotland is approximately 200,000.

Of these, the lord's own land accounted for one-third of the total cultivated land area, which was cultivated by tenant farmers and slaves.

Looking through the data of various settlements, Vig finally remembered the forgotten thing—the freeing of slaves.

It is estimated that the lands of the original nobles and gentry will be distributed to the new nobles and soldiers, with a portion remaining. Vig plans to use this surplus to win over the slaves, who make up 10% of the total population. These people are helpless and have the lowest cost of being bought off, and their loyalty is guaranteed.

As for the ordinary farmers who make up the vast majority of the population, Vig had no interest in bothering them. He would temporarily suspend taxes this year (since he couldn't collect any anyway), and they could pay taxes as usual next year. The situation had been unstable for the past two years, but as long as they didn't rebel, everything would be fine.

"Each household has twenty acres of farmland, which is enough to sustain them and ensure they have enough to eat."

Vig wrote a document, stamped it, and instructed the four northern counties under his jurisdiction to implement it within six months.

After finishing all this, he was completely exhausted and went back to his bedroom to sleep until the early hours of the next day.

In early August, Viger took some time to return to Tyneburg to deal with the increasingly strained financial situation.

"1,200 pounds of silver are all gone? Is it that serious?"

“The fighting at the front is intense, supplies are being depleted, and prices have skyrocketed. There’s not much I can do about it,” Herylgef explained to her husband, unfolding the account book and detailing the monthly expenses.
"The funds required for the standing army are far too great. There are only 150 pounds of silver left in the treasury. Even with the taxes that Tyneburg will soon collect, it will not last until next autumn unless you find a way to borrow another 200 pounds of silver."

Two hundred pounds of silver.

Vig pulled out a piece of parchment, thought for a moment, and wrote: "To Your Majesty, Your most reliable vassal has recently encountered some financial difficulties and requests a grant of two hundred pounds of silver to help me through this crisis."

After finishing writing, he stamped the letter with his seal and then began writing the second letter: "To my dearest friend Theowough, I am currently facing a shortage of military funds."

Then came the third, fourth, and fifth letters, which made Harriet's face turn pale. "Enough, enough! Stop writing! The large-scale war is over. What do you need so much money for?"

Vig sealed the opening with sealing wax, explaining to his wife, "What else can we do? Of course, we'll expand the iron mine, clear the swamp, and reclaim wasteland."

Having said that, under Harriet's horrified gaze, he began writing the sixth letter:

"To my dearest brother Gunnar, I have heard that you have become Duke of Normandy and married Charlemagne's great-granddaughter. Congratulations! Enclosed is a jeweled necklace to express my best wishes."

West Francia is famous for its fine horses, while the North produces wool textiles, beer, iron ingots, and tin. Both sides have their own needs. Could we reach a trade agreement with you? The next day, six messengers went to their respective destinations, one of whom traveled by ship to Caen, the castle of the Duke of Normandy.

Traveling upstream along the Orne River, the longboat traveled for a while before discovering an iron chain blocking the river ahead, with a wooden fortress standing on each of the east and west banks.

(Note: France has two Orne Rivers. One flows through Normandy and north into the English Channel. The other originates in Verdun and eventually flows into the Moselle River. This refers to the former.)
Seeing the garrison nock their arrows, the messenger shouted at the top of his lungs, "I am a messenger from the Duke of Tyneburg, here to present a wedding gift to the Duke of Normandy."

Under orders from the garrison, the small boat moved towards the west bank. After verifying their identities, a Viking wearing a silver cross pendant muttered under his breath:
"You've been married for almost a year, and your husband is only now sending a gift? That's incredibly slow. Besides, you've come at the wrong time; the Duke isn't in Caen right now."

The messenger looked slightly disappointed. "Huh? Where is he?"

"Pepin II of Aquitaine has declared himself king, and His Majesty has raised an army to punish him. If nothing unexpected happens, the Duke has already arrived at the front lines to fight. You may have to wait for a while."

Pepin II had long harbored resentment towards the Treaty of Verdun, signed in 843. They were all descendants of Charlemagne, belonging to the same family; why were his three uncles allowed to become kings while he, possessing the vast lands of Aquitaine, was denied the chance to wear the crown?

Encouraged by the nobles, Pepin II officially raised an army in 845 AD, declared himself King of Aquitaine, and demanded to be treated as an equal with Charles the Bald, Lothair, and Louis the German.

Four years later, the conflict between the uncle and nephew escalated completely, and "Bald" Charles finally made up his mind to gather a group of vassals with their own agendas to prepare for war.

However, while these people outwardly supported the king, they in reality made many excuses, claiming that their territories were facing difficulties and they could not provide many troops.

After the meeting, Gunnar stayed behind alone and made a bold suggestion to the new boss:

"By mixing with these scoundrels, our army will find it difficult to achieve victory in a short time. The longer it drags on, the more vulnerable we become to external interference. How about this: you lead your troops to create a great show of force and attract the rebels' attention, while I lead my army by boat to launch a surprise attack on Bordeaux along the coastline!"

What is virtual is real, what is real is virtual.

When the group traveled to Constantinople, they were bored and inevitably talked about various things to pass the time. Vig would occasionally say something inexplicable, which everyone found amusing at the time. Now, Gunnar looks back and realizes that Vig's words were actually profound truths, but unfortunately, he only remembers a few sentences and has lost most of his memories.

After persuading the king, Gunnar set sail under the pretext of suppressing pirates. To avoid suspicion, he took only one hundred Frankish soldiers and eight hundred Viking soldiers with him, and sailed westward along the coastline in twenty-five longships.

Upon reaching the westernmost point of Brittany, the fleet turned south and arrived at the mouth of the Garonne River in early August.

“What a wide river! It seems Bjorn wasn’t exaggerating.”

Subsequently, forty carefully selected Frankish soldiers, disguised as merchants, boarded two boats and sailed into the Garonne River, one after the other.

According to the plan, they would infiltrate the city during the day, attack the guards on the city walls at night, and help Gunnar lead the main force into Bordeaux.

Watching the sails disappear into the distance on the wide expanse of water, Gunnar adopted a calm and composed demeanor. At this point, worrying was pointless; he could only place his hopes on these soldiers.

(End of this chapter)