Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 228 Army and Navy

After forming his cabinet, Vigé began to adjust the military system.

He planned to maintain a standing army of four thousand men, including three infantry regiments, a mountain infantry battalion, two ranger companies, and various support staff.

In addition, each of the direct territories had a garrison of three thousand men, responsible for suppressing bandits and defending against pirates. Most of the garrison members were militiamen, serving a one-year term and confined to their respective counties.

The functions of the standing army and the garrison army are different, and their treatment is naturally different. The former's military expenditure is estimated at £1,200 per year, and all personnel are equipped with iron armor. The latter has a lower armor coverage rate, and their wages and benefits are significantly lower, with an estimated annual military expenditure of £500.

Finally, there is the Imperial Guard, whose strength is tentatively set at 1,500 men, composed of students and elites selected from various departments.

As the core force protecting the royal family, the Royal Guard enjoys the highest level of treatment, with an estimated annual military expenditure of nine hundred pounds.

The total maintenance cost for the army was £2,600, in addition to the newly formed navy.

The Navy currently has four two-masted sailing ships. Due to the inherent defects of the hull gunboat, it is not suitable as a warship. Therefore, all subsequent warships will be two-masted sailing ships, with a tentative scale of twenty ships.

Naval expenses have always been high. In the original timeline, monarchs such as Alfred, William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart, Edward III, and Henry V all built a large fleet.

However, this was not a standing navy in the modern sense; the fleet mainly consisted of merchant ships requisitioned during the war and oblig ships provided by the privileged "Five Ports Alliance." By the end of the war, the fleet would have shrunk rapidly, sometimes even lacking the funds to maintain the royal shipyards.

It wasn't until the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547) that he formally established a standing navy and set up a Naval Affairs Committee to manage ship construction, personnel deployment, and logistical support.

Following the system established by Henry VIII, Vigé delegated related matters to the Lord Naval Secretary, Hergé, and also founded a small naval school to train commanding personnel such as captains and first officers.

"This will cost a lot of money, are you sure?" Having worked at the West Sea Fur Company for many years, Hergi's accounting skills had improved significantly. After a little thought, he estimated that the cost of setting up this navy and related institutions (dockyard, school) would exceed three thousand pounds.

In addition, the maintenance costs of the navy are also expensive, costing at least four hundred pounds a year even in peacetime.

"Go ahead and do it. If you need more money, just ask me."

Surrounded by powerful enemies, even if West Franks did not land, the small-scale Viking raiders would still suffer considerable losses. Vig must gain control of the nearby seas.

After Hergé left, he picked up a pen and paper and made a preliminary calculation, setting the maintenance cost for the army and navy at three thousand pounds.

"It seems that even the Ragnar royal family could afford this expense, but unfortunately they are extravagant and lack detailed financial planning from top to bottom. They spend as much money as they can, and the entire civil service system is chaotic and disorderly, employing a large number of illiterate incompetents."

After complaining for a long time, he suddenly remembered the 1,800 French soldiers in the prisoner-of-war camp. During the retreat, the French fleet was scattered by a storm, and some ships were damaged, so they were stranded on the nearby coast and had no choice but to become prisoners of war.

After counting, there were more than eighty nobles among them. Vigé was unwilling to let this expense pass by, so he sent an envoy to Calais to inform West Frankish authorities to ransom these prisoners of war as soon as possible.

The lord of Calais responded coldly to the envoy, saying, "Gonnar started this war on his own. You should ask him for money, provided that the king pardons his crimes and allows him to retain the title of 'Duke of Normandy'."

Upon learning that Gunnar had secretly sent troops, "Bald" Charlie's first reaction was anger; he wished he could kill this ambitious rebel with his own hands.

When news of Gunnar's capture of Lentinium reached Paris, Charles, wary of Gunnar's power, suppressed his anger and tacitly allowed nobles from various regions to send reinforcements. However, Gunnar actually lost. First, supplies in Lentinium and Calais were burned, then the final battle was lost, and he fled in panic back to Normandy, leaving the main force of his army behind and allowing a large number of soldiers to become prisoners.

"You are neither loyal nor have you lost much of your strength. What use are you?"

After careful consideration, Charles ordered Gunnar to travel to Paris for an audience, while simultaneously preparing for a military campaign to quell the rebellion. The enemy was a Viking, long ostracized by the nobility, and the recent defeat had squandered the nobles' investments, resulting in the deaths or surrenders of some nobles' second sons and illegitimate children; no one was willing to protect him anymore.

Upon receiving the news, Gunnar had no choice but to rush to Paris to defend himself.

Gunnar's strategy was clear: first, to publicize Vig's threat, claiming that he was far more threatening than Ragnar.

“Your Majesty, you fought him on the banks of the Seine and know his command abilities well. If one day Vig leads a pagan army to invade West Frankish, who else but me is suitable to stop him?”

Recalling the horrific scene, Charlie was still shaken. He glanced coldly at his vassal and gestured for him to continue.

“I am a Norman, and lack legitimacy in West Francia. My only reliance is on your trust. There is no need to worry about me colluding with other nobles. Spare me this time, and I swear to support you wholeheartedly from now on, helping you eliminate all hostile forces and make you the true emperor.”

Charlie leaned back in his chair, gazing indifferently at the blond barbarian. Recalling past experiences, he concluded that this man was a rare enforcer, but his ambition was too strong.

God above, why can't I find a commander who is both loyal and capable?
The faces of other nobles flashed through his mind, and Charlie changed his mind, deciding to give him another chance. "I heard you brought back a British queen?"

"Yes, she is Ragnar's daughter, she has converted to Christianity, and the bishop presided over her coronation ceremony."

“A coronation ceremony?” Charles realized that Gunnar had reached some kind of agreement with the church, “to send her to the court for instruction.”

“But she is already engaged to my eldest son, Robert.”

Charlie's tone carried a hint of sarcasm, "In that case, why not send them both over together? What do you think?"

Gunnar's chest heaved rapidly, not because of his father-son relationship with Robert, but because of his identity as "Enya".

In fact, he didn't find Princess Enya at all, but instead picked a girl who looked similar and hastily crowned her to the throne, thus solidifying her status as queen.

If her identity is exposed, Gunnar's relationship with the Vatican will be completely over.

At this moment, Charlie leaned forward slightly, his eyes sharp, "You look down on my court?"

"I'm willing." Gunnar had no other choice but to get through this ordeal and consider the future later.

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(End of this chapter)