Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 175 Dover
After staring at the Prime Minister for a while, Ragnar gave a wry smile. "If it were Pascal, he would have pointed out without hesitation that the guards were giving way to me. You have too many concerns; you won't even tell me the truth."

Ragnar tossed the handkerchief to the maid beside him and returned to the shade of the pavilion. "Good, at least you didn't lie like the others. Flattery isn't a quality a prime minister should possess. Tell me, what trouble is it this time?"

Vig presented a plan and persuaded the king to reform the customs service.

Ragnar: "They're all old brothers who've been through many wars, isn't that a bit much?"

"A bunch of scoundrels who don't deserve to be knighted, why should we protect them?" Vig turned to look at Ethelwoff, intending to have the Minister of the Ocean expose the evil deeds of those good-for-nothings, but the old man was dozing off in his chair, completely unaware that Sigurd was teasing his nose with weeds.

Was he faking it, or was he really dozing off?

Without time to ponder the question, Vig came up with a tactful approach, suggesting that the king form a new army, nominally to guard the temple, but in reality to distribute the incompetent Vikings to various departments, with their treatment unchanged, to prevent them from interfering with the normal operation of the administrative system.

After much persuasion, he finally convinced Ragnar.

Today, customs revenue accounts for 30% of the royal family's annual income (mainly wool export tax). If customs offices in various regions continue to deteriorate, the king himself will suffer the consequences.

At this moment, Ethelwoff finally came to his senses after being teased by Sigurd. "Ahem, Your Highness?"

He looked around blankly, and when he learned that the matter had been settled, he quickly bowed and slowly left the back garden.

The following day, customs employees in Londinium faced an assessment, which included two parts:
I. Report on recent work progress.

2. Complete the test paper to assess each person's arithmetic and accounting skills.

Unsurprisingly, all six Vikings failed the test and were relegated to the ranks of temple guards.

“His Majesty remembers your contributions. Your salaries will remain unchanged after you leave customs.” As he spoke, Esserwolf asked his subordinates to take over the documents, but the six refused.

For the past two years, they had grown accustomed to the flattery and gifts from captains across the land: Rus' amber, Nordic furs, Flemish dyed cloth, West Frankish wine, Berber sugar and spices. To keep his post, one of them roared:
"No, you, an Anglo-Saxon, have no right to concern yourself with these matters. I have distinguished myself on the banks of the Seine, and I demand to see His Majesty!"

They swarmed forward, jostling the elderly Minister of the Ocean. Vig, in the next room, sighed and led Loki and Utgard into the hall.

Standing in front of the six people, Vig patiently explained, "Stop arguing. This is His Majesty's order. Apologize to the Minister of the Ocean, then pack your things and head to the Stonehenge Temple to report."

Seeing the valiant Serpent of the North, the six dared not disobey orders. They packed a large pile of dyed cloth, furs and other "personal belongings" and thus left the customs system.

Secretary Rocky had mixed feelings. "Treating someone who has made contributions in this way may earn you some slander."

Looking at the stolen goods carried on the backs of the six men, Vig laughed in anger, “His Majesty is never stingy with rewards. Including the Danish vassals last year, he has conferred more than seven hundred royal knights. If these six men had any merit, they wouldn’t be without a knighthood.”

Six quick-witted Viking citizens were selected to fill the vacancies, and Vigg rode to Dover to continue reforming the local customs. As the first stop for European merchant ships arriving in Britain, Dover had developed rapidly in recent years. With ample funds, Earl Wolf built a stone castle on the high ground near the port. The towering tower in the southeast corner had a bonfire burning all night to guide lost ships, like a blazing candle, hence it was called Candle Castle.

"What a magnificent building."

Although it wasn't his first time here, Vig couldn't help but sigh. In comparison, his own Tyneburg estate seemed rather shabby and failed to reflect the Duke's grandeur.

Upon hearing the guest's praise, Ulf, who had come out of the city to greet him, muttered a complaint:
"It's all Ragnar's fault. The former Lord of Kent lived in Canterbury inland, but he forced me to move my residence to Dover and make me the first line of defense in southeastern Britain. I had no choice but to spend a lot of money to build a castle, lest I die someday in a muddle."

Upon arriving at the dock area, Vig summoned the customs officers and, through performance evaluations, dismissed the mediocre ones, sending them all to the temple to waste their time.

Ulf clicked his tongue in amazement. "These guys, relying on their status as subjects of the king, cause trouble on my territory every day. I've disliked them for a long time, but you've got a way with them. Haha, let's have a few more drinks tonight to celebrate."

"Let's talk business first."

Wigg produced a parchment bearing the seals of the King, the Prime Minister, and the Lord Secretary of the Sea, and demanded that Kent establish a Coast Guard composed of locals to operate speedboats to intercept smugglers.

In return, they are entitled to half of the smuggled goods as payment.

In addition, Vig persuaded the king to pass a new law—the Piracy Act—which stipulated that piracy could be punished by hanging, and that accomplices who provided ships or helped sell stolen goods would also be severely punished, even by hanging.

"It feels a bit strange. According to the newly promulgated Piracy Law, wouldn't we all be guilty in the past?"

Ulf muttered a complaint under his breath, only to be glared at by the Prime Minister. He could only grumble to himself, "It seems the cabinet isn't planning to allocate funds to the Coast Guard. Sigh, I'll have to ask the businessmen for money. I hope I don't have to pay out of my own pocket."

That evening, in the main hall of Candleburg.

To liven things up, Ulf specially invited a band of musicians to perform, and the two enjoyed the meal, which featured mainly Frankish cuisine, accompanied by soothing country tunes.

"Try the new chef's cooking; he's good at making all kinds of meat pies and fish."

Ulf pointed to the pigeon pie, venison pie, and the hot lamprey sauce on the table.

The lamprey was grilled with its mouth held up by an iron fork. After it was cooked, a layer of brown sauce was poured over its surface. Vig tasted a little and found it to be a mixture of ginger, pepper, vinegar, and wine. He exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "This skill surpasses that of the court chefs of Rendinium. You have a very good eye."

Ulf held up two fingers of his right hand. "Two pounds a year, but there's a reason it's expensive. We've been fighting and killing all our lives, we can't skimp on this kind of thing. Spending a little money is nothing. By the way, when will the royal family pay back the five hundred pounds they owe me from last year?"

Vig: "The debts are too great. Last year, Pascal borrowed money everywhere, and even my Stirling iron mine was plundered by him, with four hundred pounds worth of pig iron ingots. I asked His Majesty last month, but he did not give a clear answer. He just told me to persuade the nobles to postpone it for a while."

(End of this chapter)