Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 140 Account Books and Finance

Five young men walked into the hall one after another. Vig carefully observed their expressions—they were thin-faced with faint dark circles under their eyes, like poor tenant farmers toiling in the countryside.

"How did you get so tired?"

Upon hearing this, the leader, Sebert Storm, began to complain: "Ivar suspected there was something wrong with the accounts, so he dumped years of bad debts on us, treating us like cattle!"

Since capturing Duffield in 845, Ivar has been hostile to the local nobles. With his outstanding military talent, he has repeatedly defeated the encirclements formed by surrounding forces and has occupied two-fifths of Ireland.

In contrast, his talent for domestic affairs was far inferior, and he relied on heavy agricultural taxes to support the war, forcing lower-class peasants into exile. In order to raise funds for the war, he began to borrow money from all over the country, borrowing from almost every noble family in Britain.

As time went on, Ivar resolved to change the situation; otherwise, he would have no choice but to swallow his pride and go home to ask his father for money. Therefore, he borrowed a team of clerks from Vig to help clarify the tax system and increase revenue while reducing expenditure.

At the beginning of this year, Seibert and four classmates arrived in Duflin and began to reform the fiscal and tax system.

As soon as Fang took over, the five young people were stumped. The ledger that Ivar provided was written in three languages: the local Ogan script, Latin script, and the unsimplified Rune script (Gnostic).

In response, Ivar gave a reason that was both laughable and absurd:

Initially, he appointed some Viking merchants as tax collectors and warehouse keepers, and after using them for more than a year, he discovered that these people were seriously corrupt. In a fit of anger, he beheaded them all and replaced them with a group of local tax collectors.

The local tax collectors were far more efficient than the Vikings, and their corruption was relatively restrained, falling within the Ivar's tolerance. As their power increased, discontent among the Vikings began to build, with complaints that their lord was alienating his old brothers who had fought alongside them through thick and thin.

Considering the locals' tendency to rebel, Ivar appointed some Vikings with high loyalty but questionable abilities as civil servants, gradually forming a chaotic and inefficient administrative system.

After listening to the complaints for more than ten minutes, Vig quickly changed the subject and asked the students how they would deal with this mess of debts.

Seibert: "We focused on the major issues and paid special attention to the agricultural taxes of wealthy farmers and above, as well as the commercial taxes of Duflin. We found about three hundred pounds in backlog. The locals dared not directly disobey the Duke's orders and were forced to pay the debts."

Afterwards, we remeasured the arable land area near Dufilin. Considering Ivar's limited administrative capacity, I suggested he fully implement the fief system, or simply establish a new system—the 'tax farming system' you mentioned in class. Although it has many drawbacks, it would at least be sufficient for short-term use.”

After the performance review, Vig asked an additional question:
"Your work has been remarkably effective. Hasn't Ivar invited you to stay and serve in Ireland?"

Sebert: "Having lived in the school for many years, I've adapted to the ideas and customs here, and it feels like a second home. During my time in Dufilin, I always felt a strange sense of suffocation. Although we were all Vikings, I could hardly find anything to talk about with those Viking warriors, and it was really pointless to stay any longer."

Moreover, our efforts to clear up the accounts offended many people. Once, during a land survey in the countryside, we were attacked; it was presumably by assassins hired by a local gentry.

Vig nodded, acknowledging the students' answers, and began reading Ivar's letter:
“Vigg, ​​these students are exceptionally capable. It seems I should follow Tyneburg’s example and recruit shamans to establish a school, using simplified runes for daily official documents.”

After reading it, Vig remained noncommittal.

These measures sound simple, but in reality they are fraught with difficulties and require a great deal of the ruler's energy. Given the Ivar team's rough and tumble style, trouble is inevitable in the future.

"Roughly estimated, the total population of Ireland is nearly 500,000, and Ivar controls more than 200,000 people. For him, implementing the fief system across the board is more cost-effective."

After much deliberation, Vig turned his attention to five students, arranging for them to serve in mid-level positions such as assistant judges and sheriff's secretaries in the four northern counties. In early October, Vig made his usual trip to Rendynewme.

Overall, the situation in Britain this year has been relatively stable. Although the nobles were dissatisfied with the king's increased taxes, they did not ultimately reach the point of raising the flag in rebellion.

In the royal palace hall, Ulf complained to Vig, "Because of the mess you caused, I was assigned to Oslo as an envoy, and on my return journey I was kidnapped by Hafdan and almost didn't make it back!"

"Hafdan? You mean the raid on Pomerania?"

Vig recalls the rumors circulating in the market:

Some say that Ulf secretly took the spoils and ran away.

Another person said that Ulf was betrayed by his comrades and was shot in the back with an arrow during the battle.

Some people say that Ulf ran away during the raid, calling him a shameless coward.

"What nonsense!"

Ulf was particularly angry, saying, "From beginning to end, it was Hafdan and those berserker lunatics who forced me to join, and put me in danger many times along the way. I have formally filed a complaint, and I don't know what Hafdan's response will be."

After listening to the dispute between the two, Vig guessed that Ragnar would most likely get away with it, since Ulf lacked substantial evidence and both sides had their own version of events, making a fair judgment impossible.

Soon, Hafdan, dressed in a bearskin, entered the hall. Instead of immediately presenting the tribute list, he mocked someone's cowardice, deeming the man unworthy of being called a Viking.

When his reputation was at stake, Ulf retorted:

"I heard that a certain warrior led three thousand men to attack Wales, but was caught off guard by a night attack and lost to a band of only one thousand men. Haha, it would have been better to replace them with three thousand wild boars and let the herd root around. Maybe they could have killed far more people than these warriors."

Clang!
No sooner had he finished speaking than a dark shadow rushed towards him. Vig, who was standing next to him, quickly drew his sword to block the attack, stopping the fatal blow for Ulf.

The attack was blocked, but Hafdan was not annoyed at all. Instead, he exclaimed with great interest, "What a beautiful dragon breath sword!"

Seeing the sword-wielding guards closing in, Vig sheathed his sword and met Hafdan's gaze calmly. "Eight years. You've seen it more than once. Haven't you seen enough yet?"

With things escalating to this point, Ragnar left the throne, slapped his son hard across the face, and ordered him to apologize to Ulf.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Hafdan forced a faint smile. "Earl Kent, please forgive my momentary impulse."

After the king's mediation, the two nobles promised to put aside their misunderstandings and embraced each other with cold expressions.

Vig was not surprised by this:
"Gothenburg is impoverished, with annual tax revenue amounting to only a dozen pounds. If Ragnar strips Hafdan of his title, the latter could simply become a pirate and lead his berserkers to plunder everywhere. If they were to raid the West Frankish Kingdom, a second war could very well break out."

(End of this chapter)