Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 147 Merchants from Foreign Lands
Ragnar shook his head wearily, refusing his wife's suggestion.

“After living for decades, there are fewer and fewer of my old brothers left. Let him go. Now that he has converted to Roman Catholicism, his soul will not enter Valhalla after death. Alas, perhaps after this meeting, we will never see each other again.”

After saying this, he pushed aside the servants who were supporting him on both sides, leaned against the wall, and walked alone to the bedroom in front. His posture was hunched and his steps were slow, just like an ordinary old Viking.

The next day, Vig went out for a stroll, surrounded by his shield guards.

With the influx of nobles and large numbers of their entourages from various regions, Londinium quickly surpassed 10,000 people, becoming exceptionally crowded and noisy.

As the autumn sun lazily climbed into the sky, Vig walked towards the south market on the slippery pebbles. His dark red velvet cloak made him stand out among the simply dressed crowd, like a bright and dazzling maple leaf.

"The finest Yorkshire apples."

"Mead, authentic Nordic mead."

"Come and see, honey-roasted chestnuts, they're so sweet and delicious!"

After wandering around, Vig noticed a large group of foreign merchants in the southeastern part of the market. He beckoned to the market manager and learned that this was a suggestion made by Prime Minister Pascal.

In order to increase tax revenue and promote the prosperity of Londinium, the prime minister suggested to the king that foreign merchants be allowed to trade.

Merchants of different statuses have different rights.

Viking merchants in Northern Europe could reside there for extended periods, and their taxes were among the lowest.

Russian merchants were allowed to stay for three months and were subject to the second-highest tax rate.

Flemish merchants stay for a month, and their taxes are also in the second tier. Since the journey is short, a month is more than enough.

Finally, there were the newly arrived Berber merchants, who bore the highest proportion of taxes and were subject to the strictest regulations.

Two years ago, the Royal Shipyard built its first Kirk, and Ragnar rewarded the Berber shipwrights captured by Bjorn handsomely. Two of them gave up the generous treatment and returned to North Africa.

Thanks to their introduction, Berber merchant ships have been coming to trade this year, bringing luxury goods such as spices, sugar, and silk from the East.

As he walked along the street, Vig noticed that the Berber merchants' spices were of excellent quality, and he instinctively stopped briefly at one of their shops.

Driven by years of business experience, the Berber shopkeeper, wearing a headscarf, invited the customer into the shop and asked a translator to relay his message.
"Sir, these are goods I purchased from Alexandria, Egypt. They are absolutely top-quality and most suitable for someone as distinguished as you."

The Berber merchant lifted a thick layer of linen to reveal a row of wooden boxes underneath, showing the samples inside one by one.

The wooden box on the far right contains dark brown black peppercorns, known as black gold, which are the most popular condiment among the nobility.

Secondly, cinnamon has a reddish-brown exterior consisting of curled, tubular bark strands. It has a rich, sweet aroma and helps to dispel cold.

At yesterday's banquet, Ulf specially recommended a new drink to warm everyone up – cinnamon-infused red wine.

Its preparation is simple yet luxurious: add cinnamon, cloves, and rosemary to red wine, and add apples or lemons with peels according to preference, then simmer over low heat.

According to Ulf, this is best enjoyed before bed in winter; a glass of hot red wine warms the whole body. Third on the list is clove; dried clove buds resemble tiny nails, with a rich aroma and a slightly bitter taste.

In addition to the three mentioned above, the Berbers also displayed nutmeg, ginger, and the most precious and rare saffron.

Having confirmed that the spices were rare and precious, Vig had the guard carrying a bag of silver pay the bill. "These, these, and these, one pound of each, and this saffron."

As the Duke of Tynburg, Vig's daily life inevitably involved hosting banquets, and if a banquet did not include one or two "hard dishes" with added spices, it would be considered a lack of hospitality.

With a notary present, the large transaction was successfully completed.

Subsequently, Vig purchased a large quantity of cane sugar, as well as a small bag of black truffles from northern Italy.

The payment for the truffles to the Flanders merchants had completely depleted the silver they had brought. Such ostentatious behavior naturally attracted some greedy glances, but no one dared to make a move.

Looking at the empty money pouch on the shield guard's shoulder, Vig yawned and sighed, "Making money is hard, but spending it is so fast. Life is really tough."

He walked back down the street, passing the largest Berber spice shop, and saw the Berber shopkeeper wrestling and fighting on the ground with a Ross merchant.

"Competitors stealing business?"

Vig summoned the market administrator and learned from him about the conflict between the foreign merchants.

First came the Viking merchants from Northern Europe, who sold products such as furs, butter, and salted fish to Britain, and returned to Northern Europe with grain, wine, and ironware.

Flemish merchants sold textiles produced in their own country, as well as glass, books, and truffles sourced from across Europe, and imported furs, wool, and grain from Britain.
Due to the differences in the goods sold, there were no major disputes between the first two groups; the conflicts mainly focused on the latter two groups.

Rus' merchants controlled the trade route to Constantinople, and they tended to sell luxury goods from the East, as well as furs, amber, and beeswax from Eastern Europe, in Lendneum.

In contrast, the Berbers, or Arabs, had a much longer trade route, from the Far East to the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, eventually reaching Londinium. The luxury goods they sold also came from the East.

Since they sell the same categories of goods, the latter two groups are essentially in competition with each other.

Before they knew it, fellow villagers from both sides of the fight came to help. Sensing signs of a large-scale riot, Vig returned to his residence near the palace ahead of time.

In the following days, the high nobles frequented numerous banquets, networking, negotiating deals, and gathering intelligence. Meanwhile, lower-ranking knights went in groups of three or five to various taverns for entertainment, causing the security situation in Lundinium to deteriorate sharply.

To vent the pent-up energy of his vassals, Ragnar allocated funds to hold a tournament, planning to select some outstanding warriors and, incidentally, demonstrate his authority.

The competition was to be held outside the East Gate. Despite their fatigue, the Imperial Guards cleared the area, hammered oak stakes into the damp soil, and built a fence with bundles of hemp rope.

On the north and south sides of the competition area, carpenters built a horseshoe-shaped grandstand. The south grandstand was reserved for the royal family and was draped with black curtains bearing blue thunderbolt emblems.

By noon on the fifth day, the competition venue was largely completed. As the noon bell rang, the baker's daughter, carrying a wicker basket, delivered rye bread to the craftsmen, eliciting a continuous chorus of whistles from the soldiers.

After lunch, a large bundle of scarlet wool felt was brought in by horse-drawn carriage. The soldiers laid these precious and luxurious felt blankets on the steps. According to the plan, the entire project had to be completed before sunset.

(End of this chapter)