Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 181 Agriculture and Reserves

The following morning, Vig went to visit the school.

The Raven Whisperers now focus their work on the temple and hospital, while the school has been handed over to Kemi Wildfire. Upon learning of the lord's arrival, the latter immediately organized the teachers and students to welcome him.

"Tell them to go back to class. I have something to discuss with you."

In the principal's office, Vig acknowledged Kemi's contributions to agriculture, saying, "Over the years, you've established experimental fields for clover and turnips at the school, and based on my ideas, you've led students to develop a practical threshing machine. You've done a great job, and I'm going to knight you. Coincidentally, the Sheriff of Aberdeenshire is getting old, so pack your things and head to your post next week."

Kemi declined the lord's offer and chose to stay at the school. He was used to spending time with children, and he feared he would be ill-suited to the position of sheriff in Aberdeen.

"Is that so? As you wish."

Vig didn't insist. He flipped through the roster and had Kemi find seventeen teachers and students—they had invented the threshing machine, tended the experimental crop fields, and were currently trying to invent a horse-drawn harvester. They belonged to the most elite small group at Tyneburg School.

The vast majority of them are middle school students. Their main task is to study the textbooks on their own (Vigor doesn't have time to teach), and they occasionally take time to teach younger students. It is a work-study program.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, two guards carried a chest of silver pennies into the room, totaling one hundred and fifty pounds, which was distributed among eighteen people, including Cammy Wildfire.

Dazzled by the shimmering silver light, Kemi murmured, "This...this is a bit too much."

"No, this is what you deserve, and it is far from enough to compensate for your contributions. Once these agricultural technologies spread throughout the Kingdom of Britain and the European continent, tens of millions of farmers will benefit from them. Unfortunately, I am only the Duke of Tyneburg and cannot give you much honor. I can only give you some silver as compensation."

After distributing the reward money, everyone left with a bag of silver pence each, while Vig stayed in the office to review teaching records from the past six months.

At noon, he ate in the canteen as usual. The dishes were similar to those of years ago: fish soup, bread, and seasonal vegetables. In addition, each person was given a boiled egg and a cup of goat's milk, which was the only improvement.

After lunch, Kemi invited the Duke to the experimental field behind the school to introduce the crop rotation system of wheat, turnip, barley, and clover that she had developed. This system does not require fallowing and is suitable to replace the current three-field system.

"you sure?"

Vig had poured countless efforts into promoting the three-field system, and after hearing Kemi's idea, a sense of hesitation arose in his heart. "Turnips and clover can fix nitrogen and fertilize the fields, but abolishing fallow is too risky. If crop yields remain stable within three years, then we can promote it on a large scale in each county."

According to Vig, the Norfolk four-wheel drive system was invented in England in the 16th century, but he was unsure whether Kemmy's idea matched the Norfolk four-wheel drive system.

"Don't rush, focus your energy on the horse-drawn harvester. The use of agricultural machinery helps save manpower, allowing more people to engage in handicrafts, commerce, and..."

Kemi, with her exceptional intelligence, instantly guessed the word the Duke hadn't uttered—war.

"Are we going to fight again?"

Vig shook his head. "This is not your business. Focus on teaching and research at the school, and invent the horse-drawn harvester as soon as possible. I'll handle everything else."

Currently, farmers in the North widely use iron sickles, and the average man can harvest 0.5 acres of wheat per day. During the busy farming season, even six- or seven-year-old children help out. If war breaks out, male civilians will be drafted, resulting in a loss of able-bodied labor and inevitably affecting crop harvesting. The longer the war drags on, the higher the proportion of soldiers who will be preoccupied with their farm work and desert.

"I recall a horse-drawn harvester appearing in early 19th-century America that could harvest 10 acres of land per day. If such machinery were put into use, more farmers could be conscripted during wartime, perhaps even forming an army of tens of thousands." After a few minutes of thought, Vig abandoned this impractical idea. The Picts, Gaels, and Anglo-Saxons belonged to different cultures and religions, and were less accepting of Viking rulers.

If war breaks out, the highest mobilization rate will undoubtedly be the tens of thousands of Viking immigrants in County Tyne.

Having lived together for over a decade, and given Herigif's Anglo-Chinese heritage, the mobilization rate of Anglo-Chinese peasants was second only to Herigif.

Next came the Picts and Gaels from the five counties of the North. Vig didn't have high hopes for them, only asking that they pay their taxes on time and not cause him any trouble.

In October, Vig went to Londinium again. This time he was free of trouble. After submitting his tribute list, he stood quietly in the crowd, watching the other nobles' audience process.

When it was Ulf's turn, his expression was uncertain, and he hesitated before saying, "Your Majesty, last year Pascal demanded goods from me worth a total of five hundred pounds. When will you pay for them?"

On the throne, Ragnar's eyes were cold. "This is an audience ceremony. For these trivial matters, consult the Prime Minister, and he will give you an answer."

Ulf was willing to step forward, and the other nobles all looked at him with admiration.

In the eyes of many, the royal family can punish a single nobleman, but cannot go against the will of the entire noble group. If Ragnar intends to renege on his debt, don't blame the brothers for not showing any mercy!

After enduring until the afternoon, the audience ceremony ended, and Vig stretched as he left the main hall, only to be pulled into a small room by Goodwin.

"Your Grace, is there any other way?"

Vig looked distressed. "The reason I resigned is because I couldn't think of a solution. How am I supposed to handle a debt of over 20,000 pounds?"

Goodwin: "That's not all. I borrowed a loan from a Flanders merchant, and now the total debt has reached £26,000."

This news really shocked Vig.

In the early Middle Ages, Italian banking had not yet developed, and Western European monarchs had limited access to financing, making it impossible for them to borrow huge sums of money, such as tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds, as was the case in later times.

Now Berber merchants, Ross merchants, Nordic merchants, and Flanders merchants have all been borrowed from, and they can't even find anyone to lend to anymore.

Since his predecessor couldn't come up with a solution, Goodwin made the tough decision to increase agricultural taxes and wool export taxes.

Subsequently, Goodwin proactively approached gullible individuals like Theowough, Wolf, and Leonard, using all his persuasive skills to convert their debts of tens of thousands of pounds into low-interest loans with an annual rate of 6%.

"Alright, we respect the royal family, but Your Majesty must also understand everyone's difficulties. In the future, when requesting supplies, you must clearly explain whether it is requisition, purchase, or credit!"

When Ulf finished speaking, the nobles echoed his sentiments, subtly revealing a tendency to limit the monarch's power. Goodwin was so frightened that he hurriedly agreed, barely managing to quell the debt collection storm.

(End of this chapter)