Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 174 Cheap Goods
Houses are built and sold in a unified manner. This practice has been implemented in Tyne for many years, and Vig is already familiar with the relevant procedures. Once the construction team's work is on track, he begins to delegate authority to his subordinates and gradually gets rid of this busy and noisy construction site.

One day, Vig went to the market during his free time. He had been away from home for more than three months and planned to buy some things to send back to Tyneburg.

Followed by a dozen or so plainclothes guards, Vig, dressed in civilian clothes, wandered around, picking out some odds and ends from the stalls.

After the money was exchanged and Vig was about to leave, the vendor suddenly said mysteriously, "Sir, don't rush off, there are still some good things to come."

What the hell?
Vig scratched the back of his head, putting on a silly look like a country knight.
The vendor gave a knowing smile and pointed to a nearby alley, "After you go in, turn right at the first fork in the road, then turn left, and find the third house."

"understood."

Following the directions, Vig arrived at the house the vendor had mentioned, pushed open the half-closed wooden door, and found two men with ferocious faces sitting inside.

One of them stood up. "Are you here to cause trouble, or to buy something?"

Vig responded calmly, "I heard there are bargains here. I'd like to buy a small barrel of wine and a quarter bolt of blue linen."

The man nodded, then lifted the curtain and went into a deeper room. After waiting for a long time, he returned with a small wooden bucket on his left shoulder and a piece of light blue linen under his arm.

Vig complained, "This color isn't dark enough. You're not trying to fool me with a defective product, are you?"

“If you don’t buy it, plenty of others will.” The man spread out the linen to show that it was flawless, then uncorked the barrel, poured a small glass, and handed it to Vig.

Smacking his lips, Vig nodded. "It tastes like Bordeaux, but unfortunately it was aged for too long, so the astringency is a bit too strong."

"Hey, you're quite knowledgeable, aren't you? Whose butler are you?"

Vig feigned wariness, stopped talking to anyone, took out thirty silver pence to pay the bill, and then carried the goods away.

After leaving the alley, Vig drove around in circles for a while before returning to the Prime Minister's residence in the east of the city and having someone fetch his secretary, Rocky.

"How can we shut down the smuggling operation within the city?"

With the stolen goods laid bare before him, Loki had no room for negotiation. "Seizing smuggled goods is the duty of Ethelwaugh. The crime occurred in Rendynewum, and Lord Horst's cooperation is needed. My sincere advice is that you should send someone to inform them, rather than getting involved yourself."

Initially, Vig's idea was to send Utgard to strike hard, leading the knights to destroy the smuggling dens and uncover a whole string of smugglers.

However, Rocky's words also make sense. Without prior notice, interfering in the authority of Ethelwolf and Horst would certainly cause them dissatisfaction, especially the self-important Horst.

Caught in a dilemma, Vig stroked his chin. "Let them investigate, but I'm worried about leaks and only catching minor figures in the end."

Rocky shrugged. "Sir, I think this is a good idea. If something is really discovered, it could lead to some unpredictable consequences."

"You!" Vig was furious, but he could only accept reality. "Fine, I'll do as you say."

As Vig had predicted, Esserwolf and Horst arrested a group of guys with no connections and also seized some stolen goods. The stolen goods were of very low value and were probably the leftovers that the relevant personnel had rejected.

With the smuggling network disrupted and unable to operate for the time being, Viger shifted his focus to customs, planning to address the smuggling problem at its source.

The docks of Rendenium were bustling with trade, and as usual, Vig changed into civilian clothes to gather information as an ordinary citizen.

Sunlight streamed down, occasionally ripples like fish scales on the surface of the Thames, and the masts of merchant ships moored along the banks stood like a forest. Porters, their backs hunched, carried bundles of wool and fabric from the ships to warehouses near the docks, the planks of the pier creaking under their weight. Because of its underdeveloped textile industry, Britain's primary export was wool. This wool was processed into fabric in Flanders towns, some sold throughout Europe, and some resold back to Britain.

At this moment, an Anglo clerk is registering the number of imported woolen fabrics and stamping each fabric as proof of sale.

"A total of 208 bolts of woolen cloth."

After registration was completed, the staff received two money bags, one large and one small, from the captain. The former contained taxes and fees, while the latter was a tip for his hard work.

The employee skillfully stuffed his hard-earned money into his pocket, took the report, and walked into a nearby wooden house, which was filled with noise and a strong smell of alcohol.

Vig approached the window and saw three Viking employees sitting around inside, each with a young woman in their arms. One of them seemed impatient with the Anglo employee's report, casually shoving the report into a drawer and shooing away his unpleasant colleague.

"What a perfunctory approach."

Vig roughly understood the reason for this chaos—Ragnar was worried that Esserwolf and his Anglo-Saxon staff were colluding with each other, so he installed many Vikings.

The problem was that these Viking officials were poorly educated, lazy, and fond of drinking. As long as their superiors didn't investigate, they simply passed on tasks to their Anglo-Saxon colleagues and enjoyed their well-paid, easy jobs.

After the inspection, Vig approached Esserwolf and demanded that he reform the customs service and dismiss those incompetent officials.

"Ahem, Your Excellency Prime Minister, your suggestion makes a lot of sense, ahem."

Esselwolf still looked old and frail, clutching his chest and coughing violently, which startled Vigé, who quickly poured the guest a glass of water.

After a long pause, Esserwolf explained the customs' predicament: "You are a smart man. There must be Viking employees within the customs, and I cannot dismiss them."

Vig produced a manuscript filled with text and formulas, saying, "Clear out the existing waste and select a group of qualified Viking employees through examinations."

Selecting personnel through examinations?

Esserwolf clutched the manuscript, his eyes darting around, before finally accepting Viggo's request. Assuming this approach proved feasible, he planned to implement it within Wessex, weeding out a group of useless connections.

Having reached an agreement, the two went to the palace's back garden, where Ragnar was watching the fourth prince, Uber, practice swordsmanship. On a whim, Ragnar personally joined in and defeated the swordsmanship teacher and five guards in succession.

"Your Majesty's martial arts are superb."

"Truly worthy of being the most famous legendary hero."

Listening to the flattery of his guards and maids, Ragnar wiped the sweat from his brow with a silk handkerchief and asked the two visiting high-ranking officials, "What do you think?"

Esselwolf coughed as he praised, "Your Majesty's swordsmanship is superb, surpassing any knight I know."

Vig remained silent.

"Prime Minister?" Ragnar whispered a reminder, but the other party still did not speak, and the atmosphere in the room instantly became tense.

(End of this chapter)