Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 288 The Chaotic Currency System

In the evening, Yoren and the governor reached a peace agreement. After all, there was no fundamental conflict of interest between the two sides, and there was no need to start a full-scale war over such a trivial matter.

Afterward, the main force of the fleet anchored off the coast of Lisbon, awaiting the handover of personnel. Eight armed merchant ships took the opportunity to sell goods; they had anticipated that the war would not break out, and therefore carried large quantities of furs, whale oil, and textiles.

With the advancement of textile and dyeing techniques, the textiles carried by merchants unexpectedly became widely popular. These dyed fabrics had uniform color and soft texture, allowing them to make a fortune even after paying high taxes.

After some time, Sunshine Island selected some of the prisoners and brought them to sell in their captured dhows. The Vikings were not skilled at maneuvering this type of ship, so they had to resell them to the Moors.

In September, Yoren successfully obtained more than fifty people involved and brought them back to the maritime court in Londinium for trial.

As agreed beforehand, Chief Chavatu of Sun Island was granted the title of Baron by Hergi. He needed to go to the Heraldry in Landineum to register his personal and family information and officially become a nobleman recognized by the kingdom.

Before parting, Helgi instructed him: "Although we have more than a thousand captured pirates, the island still has a great labor shortage. After the investiture ceremony, remember to persuade His Majesty to send more laborers over."

"As ordered."

On his first long journey, Cavatu was astonished by the sights he saw along the way, especially the prosperous and wealthy Lisbon and the massive fleet anchored in the open sea, which completely shattered the arrogance and reserve he had cultivated over the years.

Carrying the purchased goods, the fleet set sail for home, stopping again at Gijón port en route.

The local people were extremely disappointed to hear that the conflict between the Vikings and Moors had subsided. Moreover, rumors were circulating that the Moors were in a hurry to compromise in order to accumulate strength and wait for an opportunity to attack Asturias again and wipe out resistance throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

The local nobles approached Yoren, requesting to purchase more equipment, but received only perfunctory responses.

The reason is simple: the agreement reached in Lisbon explicitly stipulated that the Vikings were not allowed to sell arms in bulk, otherwise they would lose their right to trade and anchor in Lisbon.

After weighing the options, Joren wisely sided with the Moors, as they could offer more commercial value.

As for Asturias, the kingdom was located in the mountains of northwestern Iberia. The terrain was rugged and the resources were scarce. It is said that the population of the whole country was no more than 150,000. There were only a few scattered iron mines in the country, which even the Vikings did not bother to visit, so it had no commercial value.

Yoren gazed at the rolling mountains and the scattered flocks of sheep on the hillsides, his heart filled with disdain. "It's even poorer than Northern Europe, at least Northern Europe produces fur and amber."

Sensing Yoren's impatience, the local nobleman was helpless. He dared not break ties with the Vikings, for if the Viking merchant ships stopped docking at Gijón, he would lose more than 70% of his annual income.

After replenishing their freshwater supply, the fleet continued its journey and returned to Rendiniume without any obstacles.

As the ship docked at the pier, the voyage came to an end. Cavatu leaned over the gunwale, gazing at the endless stream of people, and asked Adrian, "How many people are in this settlement?"

"When I was exiled, there were only about five thousand people. According to the crew, there are at least fifteen thousand now."

After a brief discussion, the chief instructed Adrian to sell sugarcane, which did not belong to Helgi but was a product of the tribe's own cultivation. The chief intended to use the money to purchase supplies and expand his new territory. "Understood, I will definitely sell it for a good price."

Adrian received the order and headed to the busy street not far from the dock with the manifest.

In his memory, Baker Street was a place for trading bulk commodities. Looking at the signs erected on both sides of the road, Adrian felt as if he had returned to a time from a few years ago.

After walking several dozen steps, he entered the sugar exchange. Inside was a large hall, with a notice board on the left wall displaying numerous orders, such as a merchant from a certain place seeking to purchase two hundred pounds of medium-quality sugar at a desired price.
Adrian took out his notebook, recorded the sugar purchase prices of various chambers of commerce, judged the approximate market price, and then wrote a sales order and posted it on the bulletin board, claiming that he had a large quantity of sugar available for sale.

Half an hour later, Adrian secured a deal with a client from Dover who offered a very generous price and demanded immediate settlement.

Under the supervision of a notary, the two reached a written agreement and then went to the dock warehouse.

Prying open a well-sealed wooden barrel, Adrian gestured for the buyer and notary to inspect the goods. The sugar cubes were reddish-brown in color, moderately sweet, and had few residual sugarcane impurities, classifying them as medium quality.

After the notary carefully examined the transaction, he signaled the buyer to make payment. Just as the transaction was about to be completed, he suddenly called for a halt.

Adrien: "What's going on?"

The notary shook his head, picked up a silver coin, walked out of the warehouse, examined it for a long time in the sunlight, and said regretfully, "The sugar is fine, but the silver coin the buyer gave us is of inferior quality."

The buyer protested loudly, "Hey, look closely, this is a West Frankish Denier silver coin."

The notary glanced at him. “I know this is Denier,” he said, gesturing for his attendant to open the wooden box and take out a Denier silver coin for comparison. The two coins were identical in shape, but their fineness was clearly different; the buyer’s coin contained significantly less silver.

Despite the undeniable facts, the buyer still muttered to himself, "This is indeed a newly issued silver coin from West Frankish coinage."

The notary examined the remaining "inferior" deniers and found that their color and specifications were consistent, making it impossible for them to be counterfeit. He quickly reported the news to his superiors, which eventually alarmed the king.

Based on information from various sources, Vig came to a conclusion.

In his entanglements with Middle Francia and East Francia, Charles the Bald spent enormous sums: war expenses, bribing powerful nobles, and building new castles after the war nearly drained his treasury.

Therefore, Charles deliberately broke the rules left by his grandfather (Charlemagne) and intentionally reduced the silver content of the currency in order to mint more silver coins to meet his expenses.

During Charlemagne's reign, he decreed that the right to mint coins would be monopolized by the royal family, and the rules for currency conversion were as follows:
1磅白银=20索里达（solidi）=240德涅尔/第纳尔（denier），1枚德涅尔含银1.7克。（注：法兰克人的1磅重达408g，与盎格鲁人的磅规格不同。）
"The silver content of Denier has been reduced by more than 10%, haha, it seems that Bald Charlie is having a hard time."

Vig requested West Frankish prices from the intelligence system in recent years. Comparing various data, grain prices have generally increased by 2% to 3%, and with currency devaluation, grain prices will continue to rise.

(End of this chapter)