Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 349 Recruitment
Since the start of the war, the British army has suffered four thousand permanent casualties (killed, died of illness and wounded).

Upon receiving instructions from the front lines, the cabinet convened a meeting to discuss the next phase of troop and equipment replenishment.

Prime Minister Mitcham set a hard target: "Ten thousand soldiers must be sent to Cherbourg by next spring. What are your thoughts on that?"

The Minister of War responded, "Nobles from various regions have been sending knights and militia, totaling an estimated 6,500 men. There are 600 Pechenegs in the northern suburbs undergoing training. The remaining 3,000 places are distributed among the twelve directly governed counties, with less than 300 in each county, which is still acceptable."

Do we need to draw labor from them?
Agriculture and Education Minister Kemi Wildfire was alarmed. With over 50,000 soldiers fighting abroad, agricultural output at home was severely impacted. If more troops were to be redeployed, and food supplies ran short, the King would surely hold him accountable.

Kemi looked at his colleagues on both sides, remained silent for a moment, and suggested recruiting mercenaries from regions such as Finland, Pomerania, and Livonia to make up the numbers.

Prime Minister: "The current fiscal revenue and expenditure are barely balanced, and we cannot afford to spend extra money to hire people."

Kemi Wildfire: "First, the spoils brought back from the front can be exchanged for five thousand pounds. Second, with the recent great victory and the high morale of the people, we can issue a second batch of war bonds and raise another ten thousand pounds. This can hire more than six thousand miscellaneous soldiers. It's more cost-effective to have this group in charge of sieges and street fighting."

At this point, the Minister of Industry, sitting across the long table, spoke up, "The directly administered counties only have a population of 930,000, and the mines, shipyards, and arsenals also require a large workforce. If we conscript more people, it will probably delay more than just agriculture."

Taking multiple factors into account, the Prime Minister agreed to expand the size of the mercenary force.

The Frankish territory is vast, and the war will last at least two years, so sooner or later they will need to recruit foreign cannon fodder. Moreover, the Battle of Dunwall was very fruitful; of the more than 8,000 sets of armor captured, 6,000 sets are worth repairing and can be issued to newly recruited soldiers.

“But,” he asked a crucial question:
“The sea conditions are poor in winter, and it is too risky to transport thousands of troops from Eastern Europe. If we delay until next spring to send them to Lendneum for training, they are not expected to be sent to Cherbourg until May, which may delay the fighting on the front lines.”

After a few minutes of silence, the Crown Prince suggested that the mercenaries train on Gotland Island so that they could be sent directly to the front lines next spring without having to be transported to Rendinium.

The plan was quite feasible, and the ministers did not object. The meeting then moved on to the next topic—the affairs of the New World.

With the outbreak of war, the country temporarily lost interest in the New World. The Prime Minister briefly read through the reports of the three settlements. The populations in each place were roughly the same, only three or four hundred people, and there were few indigenous tribes that had been contacted so far.
Are there any other questions?

Just as the Prime Minister was about to end the discussion, the Secretary of State for Overseas Affairs quickly interjected, "The pearls provided by the Governor-General of the Caribbean are of great value. I think we can allocate more resources to them."

Sensing the distractedness of the crowd, the Minister of Foreign Affairs cut to the chase, saying, "Jersey is holding 18,000 prisoners. Sending a few hundred to the New World will be of no loss to us."

The Prime Minister grew impatient with the man's persistence. "Next April and June, the navy will send ships to the New World, taking some prisoners with them. That's all."

The cabinet meeting continued until noon. The Crown Prince went to the restaurant for lunch. His younger brother, Greik, was studying at the Royal Court School. Only the Queen and the Crown Prince and his wife remained in the restaurant, making it seem particularly quiet.

After lunch, the Crown Prince reviewed the official documents sent by various departments. He had grown accustomed to this job, but he still felt a little disappointed that he had not been able to witness the decisive battle involving tens of thousands of people.

The following day, the Red Falcon and two two-masted sailing ships departed the dock with two missions:
Travel to Funen Island to observe the current situation of the Nordic Allied Forces, transport weapons and money to Gotland Island, and recruit Eastern European mercenaries.

Enduring harsh sea conditions, the fleet spent half a month rounding the Jutland Peninsula and entering the Kattegat Strait.

Six months earlier, the Karl-Heinz brothers' army had captured Skahn at the northern tip of the peninsula, completely occupying the entire Jutland. The Nordic forces retreated to Funen, where they faced off against the French army across the narrow Little Belt Strait.

The strait is only 800 meters wide at its narrowest point and 28 kilometers wide at its widest point. Fortunately, it is deep enough that the Baltic Fleet can blockade the sea and prevent the Franks from crossing the sea in small boats to attack the weak Nordic coalition.

"The coalition forces are holed up on the island doing nothing, which is a waste of our food."

With this in mind, Colonel Hadawat piloted the Red Falcon to Zealand and docked at Copenhagen, a port town on the eastern side of the island.

The pale sun hung overhead, offering no warmth whatsoever, and a biting wind swept across the deck, prompting the crowd to mutter curses.

More than thirty ships were moored at the dock, their hulls covered with a thin layer of gray-white ice. Several dockworkers, bundled up in heavy clothing, hunched their necks and stiffly carried a small amount of cargo, their breath instantly torn apart by the wind.

Upon learning of the navy's arrival, Count Fawell came to the dock and warmly welcomed the three captains and officers.

Pushing open the heavy oak door of the lord's longhouse, a wave of heat, a mixture of cooked meat, ale, sweat, and wood smoke, hit them, instantly invigorating the officers. Several thick pieces of firewood were burning brightly in the fireplace in the corner, the orange flames leaping and crackling softly from time to time.

After taking his seat, Hadawa loosened his thick fur coat, drank two cups of warm ale, ate fish pies with gusto, and inquired about the recent battle situation.

Favre: "The Allied forces have 4,000 men left, half of whom are stationed on Funen and the other half on Zealand. Lacking the British Army, the morale of the Allied forces is low, making them only suitable for defensive operations and unable to play a significant role."

More than a month ago, news of the Battle of Dunwall reached Northern Europe, but it failed to boost the morale of the allied forces. Instead, it fostered a sense of wishful thinking—that it would be better to stall for time and let His Majesty deal with the Frankish army alone than to fight to the death.

Hearing the count's complaints, Hadawat's face turned serious. He silently finished his fish pie and found a warm room to rest.

That evening, a cold wave swept south, and the temperature in Copenhagen plummeted. Hadawah decided to stay a few more days until the temperature rose slightly before setting off again.

Five days passed, and the cold wave still hadn't ended. The temperature was dropping even lower, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow. The crew members huddled in their warm rooms playing cards and chess, showing no desire to go out to sea.

"Phew, this is the first time I've ever experienced such low temperatures in all my years of life."

After wandering around outside, Hadawa returned to the lord's longhouse and spent the whole day doing nothing. That night, as he fell asleep with the warm body of a maid in his arms, he suddenly felt that this kind of life was quite nice, and he wouldn't mind staying a little longer.

(End of this chapter)