Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 155 Administrative Planning
With all parties reaching a consensus, Vig and the patriarchs signed the Glasgow Agreement, marking the formal inclusion of the northern highlands into the rule of the Duke of Tyneburg.

Looking at the population across the region, County Tyne had 37,000 inhabitants, the Central Lowlands had about 160,000, and the Southern and Northern Highlands combined had about 50,000. With the signing of the agreement, the population under Vig's rule swelled to 250,000.

"Starting in the spring of 849, it took three years to finally control the entire northern border. Most of the time was spent suppressing bandits, and it was no easy feat."

At this moment, he couldn't help but think of Ivar, who was embroiled in trouble.

Ireland has an area of ​​84,000 square kilometers, slightly larger than Scotland's 77,000 square kilometers, but its population reaches 500,000. Conquering and governing it is far more difficult than the latter, like a vast, boundless swamp that has exhausted all of Ivar's energy.

"Big families have their own difficulties, and small families have their own troubles. Alas, every family has its own problems."

With domestic order stable, Vig unfolded a map and began preparing for a new round of administrative planning.

First, there's the Aberdeen region in northeast Scotland, where he plans to establish a new Aberdeenshire. The surrounding land is flat, and if fully developed, its arable land area will be no less than that of Tyneshire.

Secondly, eight new towns were established, each under the jurisdiction of one of the five counties in the north.

In Vig's mind, "town" is the most basic administrative unit. There are too many villages under the jurisdiction of each place, and the management cost exceeds the capacity limit of the administrative system. Therefore, the people can only be left to elect village chiefs themselves.

In order to control his territory, he planned to establish a system of circuit courts:

The judicial authorities of each county dispatched judges to regularly tour the countryside to handle village disputes and gather information on local conditions. When issuing judgments, they strictly adhered to the Tyneburg Code.

After two years of revisions by Herijief, the Raven Whisperer, Mitcham, and others, this written law was hastily completed. In form, it imitated Roman law, but in content, it was grounded in reality, drawing heavily on the traditions of the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, and Picts to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Reactions to the emergence of the first written law in Viking society varied:
Ragnar was already used to Vig's unusual behavior, and the Duke had the right to make laws within the territory and adjudicate disputes. This was simply putting the various rules on paper, which was not considered an overstepping of authority.

The king glanced at the contents of the code and casually tossed it to Prime Minister Pascal, instructing him to find a way to compile a British legal code.

Upon learning the news, Ivar immediately ordered his men to fetch the legal code. As a powerful nobleman ruling over two hundred thousand people, he certainly needed a rigorous and standardized system. Wanting to save himself trouble, he instructed his subordinates to use this legal code as a reference for governing his territory.

The other nobles, such as Leonard and Ulf, were busy with various affairs and had no time to pay attention to Vig's new tricks.

In their view, such things were impractical and far inferior to agricultural innovations such as the three-field system, heavy iron plows, and drainage windmills.

Compared to the nobles, the shamanic groups in Northern Europe reacted more strongly, as this behavior severely damaged their authority. If it weren't for the Serpent of the North's exceptional military talent, they would likely have resorted to physical means rather than verbal condemnation.

As the contents of this code continued to spread, the prestige of the Tynburg Order completely overshadowed that of holy sites such as Uppsala, and Vig also gained a new nickname—"The Legislator".

In late August, Helgi returned to Tyneburg with his goods, just in time for this year's Six Counties Football League.

"Here are the ledgers. Take your time looking through them. If you need anything, come find me at the football field."

After saying that, Helgi took his family straight to the stadium, leaving Vig alone in the main hall to do the accounting.

This year, the fur company has done well, successfully establishing partnerships with two nearby tribes. They purchase furs from them using ironware, beer, and honeycomb briquettes, saving a significant amount of manpower. "Well, after deducting the crew's wages, there's still six hundred pounds left. One hundred pounds will be used for other expenses, and five hundred pounds will be left for shareholder dividends. Not bad, another one hundred and fifty pounds of income this year."

After closing the ledger, Vig headed to the newly built open-air stadium in the north of the city. The stadium was about the same size as in later times, about 100 meters long and 70 meters wide, with several laps of running track around it for running or horse racing.

The stadium had an artificial embankment, which was modified into a tiered seating area that could accommodate 2000 to 3000 spectators. Compared to the Roman Colosseum, which was built with bricks and concrete and could hold tens of thousands of spectators, the open-air stadium was quite rudimentary, like a product of a group of bored villagers entertaining themselves.

The stadium has four entrances, each with a ticket booth. The match has begun, and the entrances are blocked by spiked barriers. A group of teenagers who can't afford tickets stand on the perimeter, tiptoeing to listen to the shouts from inside, occasionally arguing fiercely with their friends over their favorite players.

Vig walked into the stadium through the main south entrance, as if he were standing in a torrent of shouts. The rolling waves of sound assaulted his and the defenders' eardrums, causing these experienced warriors to be momentarily stunned.

"Crush Sterling!"

"You idiot referee, the other team touched the ball with their hand! Blow the whistle!"

The current match is Tyne County vs. Stirling County. The league rules are simple: the six teams (including the newly formed Aberdeen FC) play each other in turn, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and no points for a loss.

Reaching the VIP section at the bottom, Vig found his brother-in-law and nephew, both engrossed in the game. His sister, Britta, sat nearby knitting, yawning occasionally, her eyes looking at them like they were a bunch of idiots.

Vig walked over to Helgi's side and drew the latter's attention back. "Stop looking. The score is 1-4. There's less than half an hour left. There's not much suspense left."

"Hey, your Tyne team is losing like this, aren't you worried at all?"

"What do you mean by 'my Tyne team'? The remaining counties are also my jurisdiction, so it doesn't matter who wins or loses."

Ignoring the match situation, Vig began to talk about the newly conquered Northwest Islands, proposing that his brother-in-law take over the North Uist Islands left by Stein and administer the entire archipelago.

Having lived in the Northwest Islands for many years, Helgi's presence was more likely to reassure the people, making it easier for the other leaders (knights) to accept his approach.

“Very well, the fleet is fully resupplyed and they can proceed to Greenland on their own. I will stay here for the rest of the year to help you stabilize the Northwest Islands. Business in Greenland is now on track. Bjorn and I have discussed it and decided that we will take turns on duty, so there shouldn't be any major trouble.”

Helgi then stated that he had been living abroad for many years and was unable to respond to the call-up during the war, so he could only pay the shield tax.

Vig picked up his beer and took a sip. "It doesn't matter. We're all family. There's no need to say such things."

The two chatted and watched the game for the rest of the time, and stayed behind to maintain order after the match.

Nowadays, large-scale brawls erupt after almost every match, and the number of soldiers maintaining order has increased from fifty to three hundred, but this has still not been able to quell the public's rising enthusiasm.

Savagery, chaos, and violence were the fundamental reasons why King Edward III of England banned football in 1331.

(End of this chapter)