Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 249 Sugarcane Wine

In Cavatu's view, Josa was the Queen's younger brother, and if his eldest daughter were to marry him, they might gain the protection of the British royal family.

Upon hearing the chief's marriage proposal, Hosa vehemently opposed it, fearing that if his peers found out he had married a native woman, the whole kingdom would be laughing at him for it.

“Your Excellency Chief, I swear on my honor that if you release me, I will do everything in my power to facilitate a peace agreement between you and the Earl.”

When his beloved daughter was rejected, Cavatu was furious and ordered his guards to lock the prisoner back in the cave, intending to starve him for a while.

After driving away the prisoners, Cavatu looked at Adrian and asked, "If there were no marriage alliance, would the Viking nobles keep their peace promises?"

Adrian's expression was grave. "For now, it's fine. The nobles and Hosa's goal is to make money by growing sugarcane, and they have enough land for now. But in a few decades, as the number of immigrants increases, I suspect they will need more land, and that will lead to the next round of conflict."

Having been hungry all day, Hosa was listless, but he firmly believed that the chief would not dare to kill him.

“These past few days, the chief has invited me to his home several times. Those tribespeople must understand that I have a special identity. After a while, once this news attracts Helgi's attention, he will definitely bring people to rescue me.”

On the morning of the third day, as Hosa gazed at the sunlight outside the cave, he was momentarily dazed, and the thought of surrender gradually took over his mind.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the cave, and a faint aroma of food filled the air. Hosa forced himself to sit up and coldly stared at the Viking translator who walked in. "The chieftain is planning to force me into marriage."

Adrian looked embarrassed and didn't know how to reply for a moment. He put down a bowl of water and a small piece of bread, just enough to keep the prisoner from starving. "This is your food for today, Your Excellency."

"Stop dreaming. I will not marry the chief's daughter. Just give me a quick death."

After uttering those harsh words, Hosa suppressed his inner turmoil. Once Adrian had left, he quickly devoured the bread, slightly relieving his hunger.

He licked up the breadcrumbs that had spilled on the floor, then lay back down on the bed, whistling to pass the time and praying that Hergi would receive the news soon.

A few days later, Helgi received a rumor that a chieftain named Cavatu was holding a prisoner of high status, and his hope was rekindled.

"Quickly, send someone over to investigate. As long as Hosa is still alive, I'm willing to pay any amount of money."

Having confirmed that the target was alive, Helgi led 600 militiamen and 200 Guache auxiliary soldiers straight to the valley where Chavatu was located, forcing the other side to release the person.

At this moment, a low wall hastily built with logs and stones stood at the entrance of the valley, where hundreds of Guaqie people, holding wooden spears, watched the Viking soldiers in iron armor with trepidation.

"The shaman said these people made a deal with the demons and thus gained a shell that is immune to any attack."

"This is not magic, but a creation of mortals. You can still kill them by stabbing the gaps with an obsidian dagger."

Not long after, the chief rushed to the low wall and proposed to negotiate with the Viking chief on the other side, to which Helgi agreed.

Surprisingly, Helgi did not oppose the marriage alliance. He was worried about the possibility of a Berber attack at any time and was therefore eager to achieve peace.

Half an hour later, the two reached an agreement, demarcating their border and agreeing to conduct trade monthly. The young man from Guaqie could be hired to work on the plantations and at the port.

Cavatu: "What about Hosa?"

Hergi, concerned only with Hosa's safety and not his own thoughts, said lightly, "I'll send someone to persuade him."

The cave. "I just want to do business, why are you making things difficult for an honest and law-abiding businessman?"

Hergi's "betrayal" shattered Hosa's fighting spirit and defenses. He deeply regretted investing in the sugar company, wishing he had stayed in Britain and run the textile factory.

After a hasty wedding, Hosa returned to the plantation with his new wife. Helgi, seeing his sullen expression, went to his side to comfort him.

"The archipelago is inhabited by the Guache people and threatened by the Berbers from the outside. We must stabilize the internal situation as quickly as possible. For the sake of the sugar company, we have no other choice."

Helgi devised a new development plan: to gradually control the tribes of Sun Island through trade, and with the help of this manpower, to gradually infiltrate other islands and accelerate the development process, similar to the West Sea Fur Company's approach in Greenland.

Back at the plantation, he gathered everyone to celebrate this hard-won peace, but Hosa, not wanting to join in, returned to his quarters with a gloomy face.

Looking at his newlywed wife behind him, Hosa said indifferently, "This is your residence. You can move to the port later, or return to your tribe. Forget it, you can't understand me anyway, it's just a waste of time."

Entering the bedroom, he saw a wooden bucket in the corner. He lifted the lid and tasted the liquid inside, his lips and teeth filled with a refreshing sweetness.

"I guessed right, this stuff really can be used to brew wine."

With a new business opportunity in front of him, Hosa's spirits instantly lifted. He took a few more sips of the newly brewed sugarcane wine and found Helgi drinking and making merry by the campfire.

"I need to sign an agreement with you to sell all the molasses produced by the sugar company to me."

The two of them together own more than half of the shares. If they can persuade the other party, Hosa can buy these perishable molasses at a very low price and then make huge profits.

Hergi put down the grilled fish skewers in his hand, lost in thought. "You've found a way to process molasses?"

"Yes. Don't refuse, this is what you and the company owe me."

Having suffered numerous setbacks, Hosa's personality became more composed, and he met Helgi's gaze with composure. After a tense standoff lasting more than half a minute, Helgi nodded casually.

Perhaps fearing he might change his mind, Josa drafted a business agreement allowing the sugar company to sell molasses at a near-free price. After both parties signed, Josa finally felt relieved. He returned to his room, brought out the barrel of homemade sugarcane wine, and distributed it to everyone to taste.

"It's delicious, give me some more."

"Hey, this stuff tastes pretty good. How did you come up with that idea?"

Listening to the praise from others, Hosa casually made up an excuse to fool them, "My sister invented beer and whiskey, and I invented sugarcane wine, haha, it seems our family has been blessed by the gods."

With the dispute settled, the fleet prepared to set sail for home, its holds loaded with wool, wheat, bay leaves, and a very small amount of sugar.

Midway through the voyage, the fleet purchased spices in Lisbon. By this time, the Moors already knew of the existence of the Canary Islands, and the governor summoned the fleet's commander, Garros, to inquire about the true intentions of the Kingdom of Britain.

Gallo: "Your Excellency, we only wish to cultivate sugarcane, grapes, and citrus fruits. Moreover, the Canary Islands do not belong to any kingdom, so why can't we occupy them?"

After hearing this, the governor still had doubts. Given the strength of the British navy, he decided to be patient for the time being and report the news to the court in Cordoba.

(End of this chapter)