Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 124 Mining Area (2)

After receiving the earthenware pot, Keso still did not leave, requesting treatment for his stomach ailment, which prompted the female shaman to complain repeatedly:
"Why didn't you say so sooner? Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble?"

She walked to the medicine cabinet, took some mint leaves, chopped them up, mixed them with honey, boiled them, and handed the finished product to the other party.

“Thank you for your help, Nina Shaman.” Keso put away the medicine and signed his name at the back of the booklet with a quill pen.

Because there were often injured people in the mining area who needed medical treatment, he reached an agreement with the temple to settle the payment in a lump sum at the end of the month, so as to avoid having to calculate the accounts every time.

After finishing her work, Nina, too lazy to argue with these people, returned to her desk to read.

Among the first graduating class in 849, she was the most laid-back, voluntarily applying for the least demanding position of temple shaman. Unfortunately, the Temple of Stirling was responsible for providing medical care for the mining area, a workload far exceeding that of the other three counties.

This summer, the second graduating class will also be graduating. Nina stretched lazily and thought to herself:

"Perhaps I should write a report to the higher-ups requesting a transfer to Orkney, a sparsely populated coastal region in northern Britain where the work is easiest."

Back on the north bank of the Forth River, Kesso inspected the production status of each workshop, and flew into a rage at some workers' improper operations, deducting their monthly beer quota.

Over the next few days, Kaiso began to reorganize the situation.

Surprisingly, the situation at the northern mines was much better than at the ironworks. The number of disturbances by the prisoners of war had decreased significantly recently, while the amount of ore mined had steadily increased.

"impossible!"

Since August of last year, the Duke has successively pardoned a large number of peasants and slaves who had been coerced into serving. The remaining prisoners of war are mainly from the nobility and gentry, as well as their confidants. These people are determined to resist, often engage in passive resistance, and occasionally try to escape on their own.

"I suspect these people are secretly plotting a big conspiracy. They appear obedient and compliant on the surface, waiting for us to lower our guard before launching a sudden attack."

As Kesso gazed at the setting sun outside the window, a sudden sense of urgency washed over him. He strode into the mess hall, selected fifty honest and reliable workers, and ordered them to go to the storeroom to collect round shields and iron axes.

Once the assembly was complete, Caesar sent men to Stirling on the south bank of the Forth River, "to find the sheriff and the magistrate, and ask them to send reinforcements as soon as possible!"

After saying this, Kaiser led the group of workers to the mining area. Before long, the sun had completely sunk behind the mountains, night fell, the cold wind howled and pierced their collars, and the cries of birds and beasts echoed faintly in the mountains. The moonlight pierced through the clouds, casting their shadows long, thin lines, like a group of wandering souls in the wilderness.

Following the tracks left by the heavily loaded horse-drawn carriages, the group spent two hours reaching the edge of the mine.

At the foot of the mountain, a small open space was enclosed by a stockade wall, containing dormitories, warehouses, stables, and a well, housing 250 people, including 200 prisoners of war, 30 ordinary workers, and 20 overseers.

Upon sensing the arrival of dozens of heavily armed figures, a furious shout rang out from the top of the watchtower: "Who's there!"

"it's me!"

Kaiser snatched the torch from his subordinate and used it to illuminate his own face and the faces of those around him. “They are all brothers from the ironworks. There are no outsiders. Open the door quickly.”

Upon entering the camp, Kesso woke all the workers and overseers and had them armed as well.

At this point, he had temporarily assembled a team of about a hundred men, sending a small number to guard the stockade walls, while the remaining workers were ordered to assemble in an open area.

"Search their barracks, don't miss a single corner!"

Soon, Kaiser's fears came true. Workers began searching the barracks and found various contraband items, including sharpened iron pieces, nails half the length of a hand, and salted meat and black bread stolen from the kitchen, clearly indicating preparations for a mass exodus. He bent down, scanning the terrified and angry faces one by one, and picked out a few of the most conspicuous troublemakers for the overseer to question individually.

After an unknown amount of time, an alarm sounded from the watchtower, indicating that a large group of people were rapidly approaching from the south.

Kaiso climbed the wooden ladder to the watchtower and saw many figures holding torches in the darkness. Soon he reached the outer perimeter of the stockade wall.

After verifying their identities, he ordered his men to open the gates and let Sheriff Viper and two mountain infantry companies into the camp.

Upon meeting, Baron Viper said with a grim face:
"Upon receiving your message, the entire town of Stirling is in chaos. The sheriff, judge, temple shaman, and tax collector are all unlikely to get a good night's sleep tonight. You'd better find out something, or many people will write letters to Tyneburg to impeach you."

Kaiser pointed to a pile of debris on the open ground. “The prisoners of war are secretly collecting these sharp iron pieces, nails, and food, planning to launch a riot in two days. At that time, a rebel army will come from the deep mountains in the north to meet them.”

Rebels?

The sheriff half-squatted on the ground, reaching into the pile of debris to fumble for scraps of iron and nails. "How many rebels are there?"

"I asked about ten people, and they all said they didn't know. The number is roughly between fifty and five hundred."

"That's it?" The sheriff shook his head, too lazy to waste words with this layman, and ordered his subordinates to take over the prisoner. The interrogation continued until the early morning of the next day.

"Don't sleep!"

The sheriff woke up Kesso, who was dozing off. "We've found out. This rebel group is about a hundred strong and they're hiding in a valley a few dozen miles away, spending the winter there. I'm leading the raid now. You stay here and watch the camp."

Before the other side could refute, the sheriff led three hundred infantrymen out of the camp and quickly disappeared from Kaiser's sight.

Two days later, the mopping-up troops returned safely, escorting twenty-five prisoners with ashen faces.

Kaiser: "Did you win?"

"Barely." The sheriff took off his sweltering helmet. "Ten were killed, twenty-five were captured due to their slow legs, and the rest abandoned the camp and fled into the deep mountains. They won't be back for a while."

As time went on, the members of the Mandarin Duck Formation became increasingly skilled in their coordination, and the exchange ratio between the enemy and their own forces reached eight to one. The further the battle progressed, the more timid the remaining rebels became, choosing to flee at the slightest sign of trouble, which greatly annoyed the sheriff.

"These people are more cunning than rabbits. I guess I'll have to think of another way."

The operation concluded, and the sheriff led his team back to Stirling. Before leaving, he suggested relocating the two hundred prisoners of war to the ironworks on the north bank of the Forth River, so that reinforcements could be easily provided in case of trouble.

Kaiser had reservations about this. He argued that if prisoners of war lived in the ironworks, traveling to the mines in the early morning and returning to camp in the evening, the journey would take four hours on foot, inevitably reducing production.

“Unless we can shorten the travel time. Providing horse-drawn carriages? No, two hundred prisoners of war would require far too many carriages.”

Unconsciously, Kaiser recalled the mining track the Duke had mentioned, and forced by circumstances, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and try it.

　Thanks to book friend 20211126143447771 for the reward

　　
　
(End of this chapter)