Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 307 The Baltic Sea
Besides military considerations, Vig also planned to develop Gotland into a trading center in the Baltic Sea. He sent his fleet to Pomerania, Livonia, and Finland to invite tribal leaders to trade fairs.

In early August, an unexpected guest arrived in Visby, requesting an audience with the King of Britain.

"You are, Eric?"

Vig was shocked to see the fat old man in a black cloak leaning on an oak cane. Eleven years had passed since Eric the Younger usurped the throne, and he never expected that the old man was still alive.

The portly old man removed his cloak, revealing a calm and composed smile.

“Your Majesty, I have long since renounced my title as King of Norway and the name ‘Eric.’ I am now a shaman of Uppsala, my sole purpose being to serve Odin. You may call me ‘Wind Chaser.’”

The Wind Chaser took the glass of wine offered by Vig, drank it all in one gulp, and explained the purpose of his visit: to thank Vig for his outstanding contributions in this war, Uppsala would henceforth honor him as the "Guardian of Faith".

Vig remained silent, letting the Windseeker make his demands.

In recent years, Uppsala has been deeply influenced by the Tyneburg Order, including its new writing system, doctrines, and various institutions. However, lacking financial resources, Uppsala has been unable to implement these reforms and has therefore sought help from Vig.

What exactly do you want?

Wind Chaser: "Train shamans in medical skills and provide them with some financial support."

“Okay, I agree.” Vig didn’t care about the cost and agreed to send their shamans to Lundnium for training.

On August 10th, tribal chiefs from various places arrived one after another. Vig warmly received them and announced some important news.

In order to maintain normal commercial order, he vowed to protect merchants traveling to Visby, assuming that any pirate attacks on merchant ships would be met with a crackdown by the Baltic Fleet.

After making his tough talk, Vig led the guests to the exhibition area near the port, where a wide variety of goods were on display, including but not limited to:
Grains, textiles, various alcoholic beverages, iron farm tools, sugar, and fish sauce.
After introducing each shop to its owner, Vig let them tour the place on their own, with the shop assistants from each shop handling their needs.

Unsurprisingly, fish sauce, this "new thing," was unanimously welcomed by them. At this time, the variety of seasonings was scarce, and spices such as pepper and cinnamon were expensive, beyond the reach of the tribal chiefs. Fish sauce, on the other hand, was relatively cheap and suitable for bulk sales.

The exhibition proceeded smoothly. After leaving the venue, Vig wandered around the area and saw that the entire port had become a busy construction site.

According to the plan, Visby would be built into a model town, complete with banks, post offices, hospitals, temples, public baths, and arenas, to promote British culture and lifestyle to the Baltic region and subtly expand Vig's influence.

"Iberia has strong purchasing power, but its weakness lies in instability, making it difficult to maintain in the long term. The Franks and Britain are in a hostile relationship, and trade between the two sides is officially severed, with only sporadic smuggling occurring."

The only overseas markets I could count on were Northern and Eastern Europe. Although their purchasing power was low, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and explore those markets.

After wandering around for a while, he returned to the lord's longhouse and saw a middle-aged man waiting at the door.

With the help of the translator, Vig learned that the guest was a tribal chief from the Livonia region named Gatova, who was requesting the king to send troops to help him attack the nearby Courland tribe.

Why?
I just want to do business, but you're treating me like a free thug?
Vig's expression remained calm as he asked the Crown Prince in Latin, "What do you think?" Frode shook his head slightly. "The kingdom has too many things to deal with and is not suited to intervene in the Eastern European situation. Even if troops are sent, the intelligence system should gather sufficient information to avoid getting bogged down in a long and unprofitable war."

Vig shared the same view, and he politely declined Gatova's request, agreeing to sell arms on the condition that the other party had the ability to pay.

Gatova left the lord's longhouse in disappointment. He returned to the port and observed the goods sold by the British merchants, especially the iron sickles, which were both hard and tough, making them particularly easy to wield.

"Although it is just a farm tool, its quality surpasses that of the iron swords forged by the tribe's blacksmiths."

Gatova reluctantly put down his scythe and walked to the weapons display next door. The British weapons were equally impressive, and there were even captured armor pieces. Unfortunately, he had brought too little amber and could only buy ten iron swords and five hundred arrows.

Soon after, a British merchant approached Gatowa and offered to help.

"Can you sell me ironware?"

“My name is Jason, and I’m from the Pontiland Merchant Guild. If the conditions are right, I might be able to lend you some money to buy weapons.”

After a brief conversation, Jason decided to conduct an on-site investigation. The following day, the Pontilian Merchant Guild's Kirk ship departed Visby, following Gatova's longboat to Livonia.

After two days of sailing, Jason saw the Livonia coastline, filled with rolling pine forests. The air was filled with the scent of pine resin and sea breeze. The Gatova tribe was located at the mouth of the river, surrounded by a simple wooden fence, with more than a hundred houses standing inside.

These houses were built of logs and covered with turf. Jason observed the locals' clothing and daily life, as well as the farmland outside the walls, and was greatly disappointed.

Farmland consists of temporary plots cleared from the forest, with tree stumps and ash visible at the edges from burnt land. The newly reclaimed areas have bare, grayish-black soil, while the fallow land is covered with knee-high weeds and shrubs.

Their wooden plow, pulled by two oxen, could only cut through the shallow topsoil. In the distance, people were harvesting rye. Jason stared intently and saw that someone was even using a flint sickle.

"The farming skills are so poor that sowing one bushel of seeds will only yield two to three bushels of grain. We're so poor that we can't make any money at all."

Jason returned to port and had his crew set up stalls to sell their goods. Since silver coins didn't circulate locally, they had to use a barter system. The Vikings sold iron farm tools and dyed cloth, and bought amber and elk hides.

Because the locals had very low purchasing power, the crew worked until the early morning of the third day, but the value of the goods they had acquired was less than thirty pounds. Jason abandoned his previous intention to cooperate and told the crew to weigh anchor and set sail.

In late August, the Visby trade fair ended, and the trade volume did not meet Vig's expectations. However, he still insisted on his previous plan: even if he did not make much money, he would gradually expand his influence in the Baltic Sea.

"The tribes in Eastern Europe are generally weak. When the second and third sons come of age, they may be able to find a suitable place to settle down. It is better than having the three brothers crammed into Britain."

With this in mind, Vigé ordered the intelligence system to set up a branch in Visby, specifically responsible for collecting intelligence on Northern and Eastern Europe, in case of emergency.

(End of this chapter)