Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 272 Rurik's Request
After the cabinet meeting ended, Vig returned to his office to handle official documents. In the afternoon, he received news that Rurik's envoy requested an audience.

"Understood. Tell him to wait in the side hall."

The main hall of the royal palace was completed three months ago, requiring a huge investment of manpower and resources.

The main hall adopts a common rectangular single-hall structure, approximately 35 meters long and 18 meters wide, with rows of stone pillars supporting the vaulted ceiling on both sides, forming side aisles. Light comes from windows high in the walls, which are made of multiple pieces of stained glass. For heating, there are stone fireplaces on the left and right walls, and the smoke is vented to the outside through chimneys in the roof.

Surrounded by guards, Vig walked toward the throne at the end of the hall. The throne was set on a platform with five stone steps. The lower chair next to it belonged to the queen. The princes had no seats and stood below the throne.

If a banquet were to be held, long tables and benches would be placed on both sides of the hall, providing ample space for nobles, cabinet members, high-ranking military officers, and their families.

After taking his seat, Vig said calmly, "Let him in."

Soon, amidst the shouts of the guards, the messenger entered the hall, calmly bowed to the king, and after a long string of meaningless pleasantries, relayed his monarch's request—to purchase armor and weapons.

Vig leaned against the throne, his left hand supporting his chin, his mind racing.

"Rurik has long operated the trade route from Constantinople to the mouth of the Neva River. The Eastern Roman Empire has advanced metalworking technology. Why not purchase military equipment from them instead of going all the way to Britain to find me?"

He asked, "Who does your lord, uh, king want to go to war with? The Pechenegs?"

The envoy said, “You guessed right. Those nomads often harass the tribes on the west bank of the Dnieper River. King Rurik can’t stand this bullying of the weak. He is building up an army and vowing to clean up the trade routes.”

Seeing that it was profitable, Vig agreed to sell the arms, and in one go sold six hundred sets of old-fashioned armor, a large quantity of bows and arrows and iron spearheads, wine, and processed wrought iron ingots, for a total value of two thousand three hundred pounds.

As for what the buyer intended to do with it, he didn't care. The other party's influence was far away in Eastern Europe; could they possibly cause any trouble?
"Oh, and one more thing, any transaction must be settled with cash and goods exchanged. I really don't want to send a fleet to your doorstep to collect a debt." The memory of the Bergen lord defaulting on his debt still troubled Vig.

"That's only right. This is a deposit. Once your fleet delivers the goods, we will immediately make up the remaining payment."

The messenger whistled towards the outside of the hall, and four red-haired Slavs carried in a heavy bronze box containing a large amount of amber, with three gold ingots at the bottom.

Vig gave a wink, signaling to his servant to estimate the price, which was roughly equivalent to one thousand pounds.

Finding that the other party showed sufficient sincerity, he nodded in satisfaction and agreed to have the fleet deliver the goods to his door, on the condition that an additional two hundred pounds be paid for shipping.

The deal was struck, and the messenger requested to depart the next day. Although Londinium was prosperous and wealthy, he had no time for leisure; war was imminent, and he had to return to Novgorod as quickly as possible.

The Royal Navy attached great importance to this deal, dispatching its three best-condition warships to transport the goods to the Neva River estuary in mid-September, taking advantage of favorable winds.

At this time of year, the Neva River estuary is bathed in autumn colors. Continuous rains have raised the water level in the marshes, making them muddy and difficult to traverse. The birch leaves along the banks are turning yellow, and elk and wolves can be vaguely seen in the forest. In the cold wind, golden leaves rustle and fall onto the surface of the marsh, resembling a brightly colored carpet.

The warships had a deep draft, and the fleet commander was worried about running aground in the Neva River. He requested that the goods be delivered at the river mouth, and the envoy agreed.

Two hours later, the fleet anchored at a Viking fishing village on the south bank of the Neva River estuary. The local villagers were busy repairing their houses, fishing, and the women were gathering berries and mushrooms from the forest to store food for the winter. That afternoon, the black smoke from the messengers' fires attracted twenty longboats loaded with furs and amber to be used as payment.

After the goods were delivered, the messenger, named Holmren, invited the commander to visit Novgorod, but was politely declined.

"The north wind is biting. The fleet should return to Britain while the wind and waves are still calm. Farewell, Your Excellency."

Holmren paid no attention to this, rested for a night in the fishing village, and then the rowing fleet went upstream on the Neva River to Lake Ladoga.

Two years ago, Rurik built a new castle on the south bank of Lake Ladoga and claimed it as his territory. Because the new lord levied a low agricultural tax rate, the locals did not have much resistance.

The fleet then sailed south along the Volkhov River south of Lake Ladoga, arriving at Novgorod, a settlement on the shore of Lake Ilmen.

This place was the capital of Rurik, with a population of four thousand, mainly Vikings and local Slavs. Their customs blended together and they lived in relatively harmonious coexistence.

"Where's the equipment? Let me see!"

At the eastern dock, Rurik jumped onto a longboat with oars, picked up an old piece of armor and examined it for a long time. He then pulled out a knife and stabbed it a few times. The quality was acceptable.

"Are they all secondhand goods like this?" he asked Holmren.

"The armor is secondhand, but the iron sword and yew bow are new and of excellent quality." Holmren gestured for the monarch to pry open a large oak barrel containing the yew bow and arrows.

Rurik took out a purple yew bow, nocked it, aimed at a distant birch tree, and shot an arrow that hit the trunk perfectly. Upon closer inspection, he found that the arrow had excellent penetrating power.

What is even more remarkable is that he observed the remaining purple-robed bows and arrows and found that they were very similar in size and almost identical to each other.

“Very good, this batch of goods is of good quality and worth the price.”

Then Rurik turned his gaze to the taciturn Nils. "You stayed in London last year selling spoils of war. I heard that the standard British armor was made of linen and plates. Do you remember?"

When asked by the new boss, Niels honestly replied, "When I was a guest at the palace, I observed the guards' black armor up close. I estimate that it has similar protective capabilities to normal iron armor, but the production cost is low. Otherwise, Vig would never have been able to equip the entire army with armor."

Looking back at the British Civil War, Vig was able to defeat Gunnar for two reasons: his personal military talent and the large and well-trained armored infantry.

Taking advantage of the vast and sparsely populated northern region, this person quietly amassed five thousand sets of standard black armor, which Niels still finds somewhat unbelievable to this day.

Rurik and Nils discussed everything about Vig, their feelings a mixture of envy, jealousy, and admiration. After a long while, Rurik broke up the pointless conversation and ordered the troops to assemble and distribute the newly acquired weapons.

　Thanks to book friend 20250627210803301 for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)