Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 322 Comparison of Strength
In early November, the Sheriff of Lundnewme sent people to assess the militia training in each town, and surprisingly, Luton town met the standards.

When the training camp finally ended, the crowd erupted in uncontrollable cheers. Traditionally, civilians are entitled to forty days of unpaid labor each year, but they would rather undertake other tasks than this tedious and exhausting military training.

The militia was disbanded, and Frode took out a small bag of silver pennies to pay the instructors' wages and send the group away. The training camp was finally over, and his life returned to normal.

That evening, Ostra suggested to her husband, "The Queen has sent many daily necessities and sent word that we should return to the palace for a few days when we have some free time."

"After getting through the militia training, we'll have plenty of free time." Frode was tired of rural life and decided to take his wife back to the city to relax.

In the palace's back garden, Frode saw his two younger brothers flying kites. He went over to chat, and Frode casually complained:

"Recently, the army academy has seen a surge in new students, and the number of trainees in short-term training courses has doubled. During mealtimes, the canteen is always packed, making it impossible for me to get my favorite fried cod. Bro, give me some money. The cod at the food stalls near the school gate is pretty good; I plan to have lunch there from now on."

Frod pulled out a handful of silver pennies from his pocket, which made Frey cheer loudly. His third brother, Greck, also clamored for money, so Frod had to take out another two pennies to send them away.

He temporarily ignored his two younger brothers, his mind racing. "The army academy is expanding, militia training is underway in twelve counties, and Father is still thinking about expanding the army?"

Frode walked toward Vig's office, where Vig was reading a document, then picked up a quill pen and drew a mark on the giant map on the wall.

Noticing the Crown Prince's confusion, Vigé explained, "Saxony has been in turmoil lately, and it's related to the silver mines in the Hearts Mountains."

As early as the third century AD, scattered mining sites appeared in the Hearth Mountains, extracting copper and lead. After Charlemagne conquered Saxony, the scale of mining expanded, but copper remained the primary focus until the discovery of a large silver mine last year, attracting the covetous eyes of neighboring lords.

Frode: "This is good news, and hopefully it will cause a civil war in Frankish territory."

According to Vigf, "In recent years, Bald Charlie and his nephews have exercised restraint. If a dispute arises, they no longer call in the army to fight, but instead resolve the issue through negotiation."

The reason is simple: in their minds, I have become an undeniable threat, surpassing even the Iberian Moors and the various tribes of Eastern Europe.

Britain, with a population of only 2.6 million, faced the hostility of the entire Frankish world. Fortunately, the royal navy controlled the seas; otherwise, the Frankish coalition would have landed long ago.

At this moment, Frode's gaze shifted to Northern Europe. Vig understood his meaning and shook his head with a sigh.

"After years of war and a large influx of immigrants into Britain, the Nordic countries were greatly weakened. The combined population of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark was only a little over 800,000."

In the last war, Hafdan led the Nordic coalition against the Carloman brothers. Before that, I defeated the Carloman brothers, but even so, the Nordic coalition was no match for the remnants of the Carloman army. You'd better not have too high expectations of them.”

After dismissing the Crown Prince, Viggo dealt with the remaining official documents. The report submitted by the Army Department showed that in the twelve directly governed counties and ninety towns, only 40% of the towns had met the militia assessment standards.

The Army Department's assessment standards are as follows:

The militia marched in four columns over short distances, with no more than half of the troops straying from the ranks.

After the militia had formed ranks, the cavalry charged to within twenty paces. The militia did not flee. Instead, they deployed into an offensive line and launched a bayonet charge at the wooden targets. Within the allotted time, they managed to knock down more than 70% of the targets.

In addition, scout riders and longbowmen are assessed separately, and the pass rate is slightly better, reaching 50%.

The report concludes with the Army Department's assessment: even if the assessment is passed, the militia still needs a month and a half of advanced training before they can be organized into infantry regiments and undertake various combat missions.

"The training system has been successfully implemented, which has alleviated the problem of reserve personnel. What is currently in short supply is officers."

Vig reviewed the army school's curriculum, a plan he had personally drafted years ago, and found nothing worth streamlining or shortening the teaching time.

At noon, Vig and his family had lunch and then returned to his office to continue working on documents. He had been so busy lately that he hadn't even had time for a nap.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Vig finished reading the last document and began to receive visitors, patiently listening to the various demands of the nobles and merchants.

Two hours later, a captain from the New World walked into the office. Vig remembered seeing this man before. "Captain Tollier, how is Bjorn doing?"

The captain accepted the sugarcane wine offered by the king and began to introduce the New World.

Through continuous immigration, Bjorn established a settlement at a river mouth in the New World, with thousands of residents. Following the customs of the Indigenous people, the settlement was named Quebec.

Quebec's core industry is trade. Vikings traveled upstream into the Great Lakes region, selling ironware, textiles, and glass beads. They also purchased furs from the locals and transported them back to Britain to sell, making more than ten times the profit.

Are three-masted sailing ships allowed to enter the Great Lakes region?

The captain shook his head. "We can't get in. There are shallows and rapids along the way, which large sailboats can't pass through. We can only use traditional longboats with oars. Some sections are not suitable for navigation and we have to tow the boats on land."

Oh, and there's this crazy guy who ate too many wild mushrooms and actually suggested digging canals and dredging waterways to make it easier for large ships to enter the Great Lakes! Haha, that's just wishful thinking!

When the guest's glass was empty, Vig simply opened a whole bottle of sugarcane wine for him and continued to ask, "Besides the Great Lakes, have you explored any other areas?"

Tollier continued the conversation, saying that Quebec had sent two brigs south. The first one ran aground, and the second sailed south along the coastline, stopping at a river mouth to rest and trade with the locals, who called the place Massachusetts.

Late at night, the Vikings were ambushed by the Indigenous people. Most of the crew were killed or wounded, leaving only about twenty men who managed to sail the ship back to Quebec.

Having experienced these events, Bjorn temporarily lost his desire to explore southwards; he was busy amassing warhorses. Cavalry possessed an overwhelming advantage against the untrained natives, and Bjorn planned to gather a cavalry force of fifty men before considering further expansion.
After listening, Vig's tone was slightly regretful, "What a pity. If you had sent ships south, you might have encountered naval exploration vessels."

Tollier looked puzzled. "Why didn't your expedition ship follow the original route?"

(End of this chapter)