Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 179 Roots
After dismissing Rocky, Vig summoned his staff and instructed them to review the accounts for the past six months, detailing the source of each income and expenditure item to prevent any future trouble from coming his way.

Seibert Stormrage stood rooted to the spot. "My lord, have you made up your mind?"

"Yes. I put in a lot of effort, intending to turn around the kingdom's financial difficulties. However, after half a year of hard work, I suddenly realized the root of all this: the royal family and the cabinet lack a detailed plan and spend as much money as they have. Even if I earn more, it will only make their lives more luxurious, which is not very meaningful."

In fact, Viggo had some other money-making measures that he hadn't yet implemented. For example, once the Spinning Jenny, seigniorage, and bonds were put into practice, it would have been enough to keep the British Empire living a good life for a few more years.

However, the roots of this great tree were completely rotten and could not escape the fate of decay. Since he could not take care of the overall situation, Vig had no choice but to prepare in advance and protect himself from the chaos of the future war.

At the cabinet meeting the following day, Viggo publicly announced his resignation. The five ministers appeared to be very regretful, perhaps genuinely so, or perhaps just pretending.

"My lords, it is an honor to be with you. This position is not easy to hold, so resigning is actually a good thing."

After saying this, Vig carried a stack of documents to the main hall. Besides submitting his resignation, he also included a work report for the period of time. There were two copies of the report, one for the King and the other for the cabinet members to circulate among themselves.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesties, Your Excellencies, I have been in office since the beginning of February, which is now six months ago."

While everyone was reading the work report, Viglang recounted the recent work, which lasted for nearly an hour. Finally, his eyes swept across the entire hall.

“Even before the gods, I can still declare without shame that I have not stolen a single penny during my term of office, and I do not lack such things. Unfortunately, this innocence has not helped my governance, and the kingdom’s finances are still deteriorating. For the sake of the greater good, I have decided to resign from the position of prime minister.”

Ragnar handed the report to the two queens, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Having been together as their subject for fifteen years, he was already familiar with their personalities—rigorous, meticulous, possessing the same fastidiousness as the Romans, and harboring an indescribable arrogance deep within.

Based on his understanding of Vig, as well as this performance review document and private reports from Lodge and others, Ragnar admitted the facts: Vig did not embezzle, just like his predecessor Pascal.

"Am I spending too much? Compared to the Eastern Roman nobles that Paffees mentioned, I've been very frugal. I only have two wives and eight sets of everyday clothes for the four seasons."

After pondering this question for a few minutes, Ragnar spoke again: "Who do you think is suitable to succeed as prime minister?"

"Goodwin."

Vig's answer was standard. As the second-in-command in the civil service, Goodwin should have filled the vacancy after Pascal's death, but now that he has succeeded as Prime Minister, most people, except for Horst who harbors some resentment, are in favor.

Ragnar nodded, acknowledging Goodwin as the third prime minister. The Anglo-Saxon was experienced in administration and, while he might not achieve great things, he was unlikely to cause any major trouble either.

According to some officials, Goodwin had a few petty thefts, which Ragnar didn't care about. Most people were corrupt, except for Pascal and Vig.

The former, driven by a desire for redemption, hoped to exchange his work for the king's protection of the monasteries within his territory. The latter, a duke, was arrogant and didn't lack the silver coins; he was more interested in promoting his own governing philosophy, wholeheartedly emulating the systems of the Roman Empire and the Tang Dynasty, seemingly regarding other regions as insignificant.

"Hey, what's the point of you, a Viking barbarian, doing all this?"

The next moment, Ragnar left the throne and invited Vig to accompany him for a walk in the garden. When they were alone, he asked one last question.

"Over the years, Pascal and I have carefully taught Uber and Sigurd. With good teachers by their side, the two princes have gained wisdom that is unimaginable to their peers, and their conditions are far better than those of their three older brothers."

Vig, we've known each other for so many years, and you've never let me down. As we part, I hope you can give me a clear answer: in your eyes, what are the qualities of the fourth son, Wubo?

Vig remained silent, watching the servants cleaning the lawn in the distance.

The royal family loves its eldest son, while the common people cherish their youngest. Having been king for over a decade, why does he still possess the mindset of an ordinary citizen in this regard?
Based on observation, the fourth son, Uber, is a reckless brute obsessed with war, lacking in wisdom. He is not even as good as his eldest or second eldest brother, let alone his third brother, Hafdan. At least Hafdan could survive against all odds, organizing a group of berserkers to fight for him after being exiled.

Ragnar pressed further: "Sigurd is so young, yet his talent far surpasses that of the other noble youths. What do you think?"

Vig remained silent, inwardly sighing:
"Talent comes in many forms: the talent for poetry and painting, the talent for scheming and intrigue, the talent for military campaigns, the talent for accounting and financial management. As it stands, Sigurd is good at using his wits to trick his companions and occasionally recites a few bard songs, but he doesn't seem to have any other distinguishing features. His behavior is frivolous and his style is superficial; how can he rule the world? Compared to everyone else, Alfred, who has been overlooked all along, is the real genius. Even if the third, fourth, and fifth brothers joined forces, they might not be able to match him."

Ragnar's expression turned cold. "I heard that you value talent most when selecting knights and officials, so why did you mention the next king and not support the most intelligent Sigurd? Shouldn't you choose a wise and virtuous monarch?"

Under persistent questioning from the monarch, Vig had no choice but to reveal his true feelings.

"What is the definition of wisdom? Everyone has their own ideas. Whether someone is wise or not is not up to the princes."

After speaking, Vig bowed to the King and returned directly to the Prime Minister's residence. Soon after, Goodwin arrived to complete the handover procedures.

Vig: "All the relevant information is in the work report. The treasury has 370 pounds of silver, 30,000 bushels of wheat, and 10,000 bushels of oats left. Wait another two months, and the agricultural taxes from all over the country will be delivered to Londonnewum. Your life will be much easier."

By the way, Uber is growing very fast, and the Queen plans to have a full set of equipment made for him. Including the Damascus steel sword, the total cost will be nearly a hundred pounds. You'd better postpone it until autumn to avoid any unforeseen events that leave you without money to pay the Royal Guards' salaries.”

As Goodwin listened to the former prime minister's explanation, he flipped through the ledgers and exclaimed at the debt of more than 20,000 pounds, "What are we going to do?"

Vig did not answer. The finances were now in dire straits, with spending exceeding income. To make matters worse, the only group capable of providing loans was the Flemish merchants. If they were to borrow money from them, they would certainly make all sorts of unreasonable demands, such as various monopolies, further reducing fiscal revenue.

(End of this chapter)