Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 243 Conspiracy
Edmund was secretly pleased to see the young man's fear and helplessness, but his expression remained serious.

"Our two families are not trusted by the king and are weak, making us the most suitable targets. We have no choice but to take the risk."

Upon learning that war was to be waged against the Serpent of the North, Budden grew increasingly panicked. "When it comes to military campaigns, how can we compare to Vig Tyneburg?"

Edmund slowly shook his head. “Not just us. The Duke of Eamon of Ireland is a direct descendant of Ragnar, and he must be very interested in the throne of Landineum. Gunnar has Princess Enya, or rather Queen Enya, and is also thinking of attacking Britain. Also, the Flemish merchants have suffered heavy losses, and they will send troops to reclaim the textile market.”

Upon hearing Gunnar's name, Budden's panic lessened slightly. The Frankish cavalry were formidable, comparable to the king's standing army and royal guard.

"When to act?"

Edmund pulled out a pen and paper. "Vigg could make a move at any time, so the sooner the better."

After finishing a letter to the town of Bruges, Edmund stamped his seal at the end. Noticing that Budden hesitated slightly, he almost forcibly grabbed the man's left hand and stamped his seal on the letter.

Next came letters to Gunnar and Immon, which Edmund again had Budden stamp, fearing they might suspect him. Edmund then gave the last letter to Budden.

"My relationship with Ivar and his son Imon is strained. You should have someone deliver this letter as soon as possible."

Budden was still in shock. He stared at the two seals at the end of the letter, feeling utterly lost and bewildered.

He had only embezzled a thousand pounds, so why had he ended up in a rebellion?

Seeing his colleague's foolish behavior, Edmund worried that he might change his mind at any moment, so he immediately made an excuse to leave, saying, "I'll send people to Flanders and Normandy right away, you should hurry up too."

Outside the courtyard, Edmund saddled his horse and galloped out of the village at almost breakneck speed. Watching the man's receding figure, Budden was deeply shaken.

Oh no, it seems we've been set up.

The money was hidden in Scunthorpe, essentially his own spoils of war. Even if the embezzlement of the treasure were exposed, the king would at most reprimand him and order him to hand over the money; he would not risk offending all the great nobles by forcibly stripping him of his title.

After an unknown amount of time, Buden finally understood everything, but it was too late.

Upon returning to his territory, Edmund sent messengers to contact Gunnar and the towns of Flanders.

Soon, the messenger who had gone to Flanders returned, claiming that the group of textile merchants had reacted strongly. In order to defend the existing commercial order, they were willing to provide four thousand men, mostly untrained civilians with weak land combat capabilities.

However, merchants can also hire cavalry to fight, such as the second sons or illegitimate sons of knights. As long as they are willing to spend money, it is not a problem to gather hundreds of cavalry.

"Four thousand men, plus the militia that Buden and I recruited, that's at least six thousand, enough to make quite a stir."

A few days later, the messenger brought back news from Gunnar. The Viking traitor's ambitions remained burning. As soon as a civil war broke out in Britain, he immediately persuaded the French king to gather troops, and it was expected that he would send troops within two months.

Despite persuading Normandy and Flanders, Edmond remained uneasy. Soon after, Budden sent word that he had convinced Edmond to fight, but the latter resented Gunnar's betrayal and believed that even if he defeated Vig, further conflict was inevitable. "Never mind, let's get through this first."

In winter, the North Sea was rough with strong winds and waves, preventing the troops from Flanders, Normandy, and Ireland from crossing. Edmund's greatest fear was that the conspiracy would be exposed. He went to church almost every day to pray, begging Vig not to discover his plot.

As his fears lingered, time passed, and the king and his cabinet focused their efforts on surveying the fields of the five counties and dismissing unqualified officials, remaining completely unresponsive to the impending rebellion.

Royal Palace, Cabinet Meeting Room.

At this moment, a large stack of parchment books was piled on the conference table. Goodwin took out the top volume and reported the results of his six-month work to the King and his colleagues.

Despite numerous setbacks, the cabinet still obtained detailed statistics covering population, land, and the wealth owned by residents of the five counties.

Looking at the densely packed handwriting, Goodwin felt a genuine sense of exhaustion and relief. During the old dynasty, his job had only one focus—to satisfy the various needs of the royal family. He was often responsible for accumulating wealth, while the Grand Steward was responsible for pleasing the royal family. Nominally the Prime Minister, he was essentially a household slave.

After the new king ascended the throne, his meticulous and rigorous personality led to a sudden increase in the workload of the cabinet. However, Goodwin was more satisfied with the current situation than to succumb to depravity and collude with sycophantic eunuchs like Parfise.

He cleared his throat and read out the statistics: "In summary, the five counties have 322,305 permanent residents, in 62,000 households."

After the Prime Minister finished his report, Vig secretly calculated his own resources: the five counties had a population of 320,000, Tyne County and the North had 330,000, for a total of 650,000.

Looking at the numbers alone, the Crown Territories have a population of 650,000, which is not much different from Ireland's 500,000.

However, upon closer examination, the vast majority of Ivar/Imon's subjects were locals. Due to the chaotic and disorderly administration, the Irish had very low identification with the Duke and could only rely on the 40,000 Viking immigrants.

In comparison, the Dominion had 140,000 Viking immigrants. Moreover, Queen Harriet was Anglo-Saxon, and the Crown Prince was half Anglo-Saxon, which effectively increased the Anglo-Saxon residents' identification with the royal family.

Furthermore, Vig's selfless sharing of agricultural techniques helped Wales escape famine and significantly improved the region's reputation. Although the region did not pay direct agricultural taxes, it provided indirect commercial taxes and could supply high-quality longbowmen during wartime.

Then there are the Picts of the North, who, over the years, have become accustomed to the rule of the Tyneburg family and can provide taxes, but are not suitable as soldiers.

Finally, there was the Gaelic clan of the Highlands. They lived in poverty, were brave and fearless, and were relatively inexpensive to hire, making them excellent reserve soldiers.

Taking all factors into account, the royal family's strength far surpasses that of the domestic nobility.

The two surviving dukes each had their disadvantages: Eamon was still young, and his territories were frequently in rebellion. Theowough only controlled Oxfordshire, while the rest of Worcester, Telford, Chester, and other areas acted independently and did not submit to the duke's control.

The counts varied in strength, with a few powerful countdoms roughly equivalent to a county in Vig, posing no threat individually. This was unless Vig angered the nobility, leading to a widespread rebellion.

(End of this chapter)