Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 203 Jazz
To raise funds and fill the vacancies in the Royal Guard, Asura sold off a large amount of real estate and, on the advice of Parfums, established a new noble title—"Knight".

A knighthood is a lifelong title that cannot be inherited. Aside from satisfying the holder's vanity, its only benefit is personal protection.

According to established custom, if a nobleman accidentally kills a commoner, he only needs to pay the standard ransom for the commoner. If it is confirmed that the killing was intentional, an additional "ransom" must be paid to the lord or king.

Furthermore, accusing nobles required "reliable witnesses," and the testimonies of commoners were often disregarded. Even if a testimony was accepted by the judge, a noble could still demand a trial by combat to prove their innocence.

In contrast, feuds between nobles received special attention from the royal family, and the punishments were much more severe. Similar cases have occurred in recent years, with minor nobles who committed offenses receiving three levels of punishment:

Fines, exile, execution, and confiscation of family lands were imposed.

In a legal sense, knights belong to the aristocracy. If a country gentleman or wealthy merchant becomes a knight, they are essentially protected by the royal family, and their enemies will always have some reservations before taking action.

As a result, this newly emerging title was very popular in the royal domains, and Asraci earned more than a thousand pounds in a very short time. Overwhelmed with emotion, she hugged her son and wept with joy.

A few days later, another piece of good news arrived: Ivar, eager to quell the rebellion, was ambushed in the hills of western Ireland and seriously injured, and could only stay in Duflin to recuperate.

"Good, good, that's how it should be. The gods have finally taken pity on us, this poor mother and child."

The warehouse contained thousands of sets of armor that had been stockpiled, as well as a vast quantity of iron axes, round shields, and bows and arrows. Asraci planned to use this money to recruit and train more Royal Guard soldiers to deter those nobles with ulterior motives.

In July, she came up with a new idea. It was said that the northern trade route from Tyne to Shetland to Bergen was very busy, making it suitable to set up a customs house in the north to collect taxes, and incidentally, to house a group of civil servants whose loyalty was questionable. Assuming they were killed by Vig, it wouldn't be a big loss to her.

"As long as he isn't publicly executed, everything is fine. Now is not the time for me to turn against him."

When it came to making money, Asura displayed astonishing work efficiency, spending two days drafting a list of personnel and urging them to quickly establish a foothold in Tyne Town and channel funds to the royal family.

A little over a week later, fifteen customs employees arrived at Tyne Town docks by boat, astonished by the town's prosperity.

Judging from the number of boats moored on the river, they estimated that Tyne's trade volume was equivalent to one-third of Landeneum's. This scale was astonishing, considering that Landeneum, as the trading center of southern Britain, gathered goods from all over the country, while Tyne, relying solely on the sparsely populated North, could actually achieve this level?

"Odin above, your chance to get rich has arrived."

Having witnessed the prosperity of Tyne Town, the employees put aside their worries and felt that the future was bright.

After disembarking, they wandered around the area looking for a suitable place to work. They noticed that the dock floor was covered with many strange wooden tracks used to carry horse-drawn carriages loaded with goods.

Not long after, shouts came from behind. A coachman driving a horse-drawn carriage chased away the group of outsiders, saying, "Don't block the way! Where did these country bumpkins come from? Don't they know any manners?"

After shooing them away, the coachman flicked the reins, letting the two draft horses continue forward and disappear into the vast crowd.

Following the line of sight, the wooden tracks stretched all the way into the town, continuously transporting various supplies. After observing for a few minutes, the employees discovered that the tracked wagons had a significantly higher carrying capacity than wagons traveling on normal roads.

"Is it worth it?" The employees exchanged bewildered glances. On their way to the castle in the southwest region, they met Herigef, an Anglo-Saxon woman with a pale and aloof face. She wore a simple black linen robe without any extra ornaments, and at first glance, she looked like a nun from a convent.

"Is this a pretense of poverty?" the lead employee thought to himself, introducing himself as Sir Harker and loudly reading the Queen Mother's decree, demanding the establishment of a customs office in Tyne and the collection of taxes on all goods.

"I understand. Please allow me a few days to consider it."

Herijif remained calm, neither refusing nor agreeing, but simply allowing them to rest in the city.

Resting in the city?
According to the etiquette of nobility, the host should host a banquet and invite the guest to stay overnight in the main castle. The knight, considering himself a nobleman and a royal envoy, couldn't even get a meal and couldn't help but step forward to protest the lady of the house's poor hospitality.

Just then, Leif returned from Stirling with a message. He grabbed a wine glass from either side of the long table and smashed it, yelling, "What are you? You dare call yourself a nobleman? If you keep acting unreasonably, don't blame me for my axe not discriminating!"

After he finished causing trouble, Helgeve stepped in to appease him, "The child is just being silly and doesn't know any better. The castle is currently being renovated, and there are no extra beds available for everyone. We apologize for that."

After seeing the guests off, Helgeve sent Leif back to Stirlingshire to consult Wigg's opinion.

A week later, she summoned the customs employees who were idling in the hotel and presented them with a seemingly reasonable solution:

“Besides Tyne, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Orkney also have trade relations with the Nordic countries. If the customs is set up in Tyne, I am worried that we will not be able to collect enough taxes. I suggest you change the location.”

Herijief had her maid unfold a hastily drawn and crude map, pointing to the Shetland Islands, a transit point on the northern route.

"Merchant ships traveling between the two places will make a brief stop in Shetland; how much they can earn depends on their abilities."

After putting away the map, Helgeve leaned back in her chair and said nothing more. The knight, having gained little advantage, had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

Leaving Tyneburg, the guests murmured complaints about the Lady's stinginess. During the wait, they had already chosen a place to work, just five minutes from the stadium and theater, a perfect balance of making money and having fun—they never expected this outcome.

"No way! I spent four pounds to buy this title, I have to get my money's worth!"

"Yes, with the royal name, they won't be unable to make money."

Soon, the employees found a Kirk ship bound for Bergen. This merchant ship was loaded with woolen cloth produced in Tyne and sold to merchants in Northern Europe. It also stopped in Edinburgh for two days en route to purchase a large quantity of pig iron ingots.

When official business was involved, Sir Huck set aside his status and chatted with ordinary people, gleaning a great deal of useful information.

The recent turmoil in Northern Europe has caused the prices of weapons and pig iron ingots to skyrocket, leading to a rise in the price of iron tools and causing widespread discontent among farmers. Prices of all kinds of goods are rising, with the only exception being the price of slaves.

"Hmm, the tax rates for some goods should be adjusted."

(End of this chapter)