Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 219 Fleet
After persuading the Welsh people to join the war, the shrike returned to Tamworth to report back.

After listening to the report, Vig remained calm. "Eight hundred sets of damaged armor, plus a fiefdom of an entire county, in exchange for two thousand militiamen and seven hundred longbowmen. The price was fair. You did a good job."

With the Welsh reinforcements settled, and the shrike gone, Vig picked up his water glass and had a guard fetch Theowl, who was waiting in the reception room.

After Ivar led his army north, Theowough remained stationed in Oxfordshire and was soon besieged by four thousand Wessex soldiers.

During this period, the attacking side was busy building siege equipment. Upon learning of Charles Portini's defeat, the Wessex army was surprised by Vig's swift action and quickly packed up and retreated to Reading.

With the siege lifted, Theowough, having heard about the recent series of events, rode to Tamworth to probe Vig's next plans.

"Hand over the cavalry and supply them with provisions. You will garrison Oxfordshire with the remaining infantry. Your territory will not be reduced after the war."

With different stakes, everyone's treatment differs. Now, the power of nobles like Theowough and Pascal the Younger has been greatly diminished, rendering them almost useless; it's already a miracle they can hold onto their territories.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Theowough accepted the condition.

He had only fifty cavalrymen left, fewer than Earl Leonard. With the reinforcements of the two, Vig's cavalry force recovered to seven hundred.

Theowl took his leave, and Vig declined further visitors. He returned to his study, lost in thought about the messy map on the table, occasionally adding a new annotation with a quill pen.

"The cavalry is at a disadvantage, severely limiting our tactical initiative and reconnaissance range. Hmm, we must think of a suitable solution."

Meanwhile, in Londinew.

Gunnar has also been having a hard time lately, entangled in numerous affairs in Lentinium.

First, the southern cities of Om and Ulf are still stubbornly defending their territories. These damned castles are too tough; a direct assault would be time-consuming and laborious, so the only option is to send troops to besiege them for a long time.

To make matters worse, the situation in places like Rendeneum and Cambridge was in deep chaos. Soldiers were extorting money from surrounding villages every now and then, initially targeting the Vikings, but eventually even the Anglo-Saxons of the same faith were not spared, causing the resentment among the people to grow stronger day by day.

The Vikings hated Gunnar, considering him a traitor and unwilling to accept his rule. The Anglo-Saxons were also plotting to find a ruler of their own, and Ethelbad clearly fit the bill.

"This good-for-nothing can't even take Oxfordshire, yet he's jealous of my Landinium?"

Gunnar sent messengers to Reading to warn his mediocre ally in person to withdraw his spies who were spreading rumors, or else he would take action.

Having finished everything else, he focused his main efforts on dealing with Vig. According to Charles's report, Vig possessed five thousand sets of standard armor, and almost every soldier was an armored infantryman, whose combat power far surpassed that of the Franks.

“Strange, a set of ordinary armor costs at least two pounds. Five thousand sets of armor means ten thousand pounds of silver. In addition, each spearman is equipped with a spear and an iron axe. Where did he get so much money?”

Gunnar, seated on his throne, came to three conclusions:
First, during his tenure as Prime Minister, Wiegand secretly embezzled a large sum of money from the national treasury, deceiving Ragnar and cabinet members.

Second, Vig's ability to manage territory is even better than his military ability.

Third, the legend is true; he is the chosen one of the gods, and these black armors are a gift from the divine realm. "Something's not right. The northern climate is cold and the terrain is rugged, so there's not much profit to be made. He must have embezzled the national treasury and deceived everyone. Good tactic. I must quell the situation in Rendinium as soon as possible and deal with this cunning viper myself."

For more than a week afterward, the fighting in southern Britain reached a stalemate. Vig stared at the map on the table, feeling that the situation was similar to that Ivar had faced.

Should we start with the difficult parts and then move to the easy parts, or start with the easy parts and then move to the difficult parts?
After much deliberation, Viggo was torn. He chose to remain inactive and instead send his navy to attack Gunnar's transport fleet, deciding on his next move based on the situation.

Currently, the Duke's mansion has temporarily requisitioned five bimasted sailing ships: two belonging to merchants in Tyne Town, and three ordered by young Eric. Adding to the two ships already owned by the Duke's mansion, this brings the total to seven new-style sailing ships.

As the most advanced ships of the time, the two-masted sailing ship far surpassed the sailing performance of the cog and the Viking longship. Coupled with new weapons, it was enough to crush the enemy's transport fleet.

Regarding the selection of the fleet commander, Vig first thought of Helgi, but the other party accidentally twisted his waist while playing football and would be unable to fight for a short period of time.

After careful consideration, he assigned the task to Yoren.

Upon receiving his appointment, Yoren rode back to Tyne to inspect the fleet assigned to him.

Boarding a two-masted sailing ship, he noticed two enormous crossbows mounted at the bow and stern. Vig had mentioned such weapons before departure, but Yoren hadn't grasped their workings. Puzzled, he scratched his head and asked the crew on deck, "Are these things any good?"

The captain stepped forward and replied, "It works quite well. The stone projectiles it fires are enough to penetrate the hull of a Viking longship, and it can also fire oil canisters to burn the hull of enemy ships."

This strange crossbow, called a torsion crossbow (Ballista), was invented in ancient Greece and popularized in ancient Rome. The Duchess learned its detailed structure from a parchment scroll and built the first finished product three months ago.

The principle of the crossbow is relatively complex. Its power comes from a torsion spring assembly—two bundles of horsehair wrapped together to form a rope bundle, which is vertically installed in a wooden frame. By twisting the rope bundle, energy is accumulated and the stone projectile or javelin is launched forward.

After numerous tests, the crossbow can launch stone projectiles weighing about 20 kilograms three hundred meters. Moreover, it uses direct-fire capability, resulting in a straight trajectory. By adjusting the sights and directional mechanism, it can aim at targets with high accuracy.

In contrast, counterweight catapults have a parabolic trajectory and lower accuracy. Furthermore, the ballista's base allows for horizontal rotation and elevation adjustment, facilitating aiming during combat and making it more suitable for modern naval warfare.

Having become familiar with the principles of shipborne weapons, Yoren convened a meeting of the seven captains and announced that they would set sail for combat in two days.

Someone asked, "Admiral, where should we attack?"

"we'll talk about it then."

For reasons of secrecy, Yoren kept his mouth shut before setting sail. Once the fleet had left the mouth of the Tyne River, he summoned the seven captains and told them the detailed battle plan.

"Should we attack the Franks?"

Some were filled with fear and resisted this extremely dangerous mission, but they had no choice. Each sailing ship was additionally equipped with twenty-five soldiers wearing cloth armor, who, in addition to carrying out boarding maneuvers, also served to maintain military discipline.

(End of this chapter)