Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 368 King of Livonia
In mid-May, at Londonew.

In his office, Vig summoned Prince Frey, the second prince, and inquired about his intentions. "You are now an adult, with sufficient experience and ability to govern the territory. You have two choices: Nantes or Livonia. What do you think?"

Frey did not reply immediately, but stared blankly at the map on the wall. Nantes had excellent natural conditions and was located at the mouth of the Loire River, making it suitable for developing both agriculture and commerce.

However, the northern part of the region is a directly administered territory, while the eastern and southern sides are the domains of dukes and earls, which limits future development.

In contrast, Livonia is vast and has no powerful enemies nearby, offering great potential for development. The downside is that it requires a long period of development; it is estimated that over three or four generations, the benefits Livonia will provide will not be comparable to those of Nantes.

At this point, Vig offered an additional condition: "Livonia is full of vast forests and has a harsh environment. If you choose Livonia, you will receive a subsidy of three thousand pounds per year for the next fifteen years, enough to allow you to establish a foothold in the area and expand outwards."

Three thousand pounds? That's six times the annual income of the King of Sweden—that's far too much.

Frey's worries vanished instantly. With this money, he could maintain an army of two thousand men, wipe out any disobedient indigenous tribes, and then organize the locals to clear forests and reclaim wasteland.
“Alright, if you’re willing to give me two thousand sets of captured armor, I’ll choose Livonia.”

Noticing his second son's excitement, Vig nodded slowly and instructed him: "Forest areas are the easiest to ambush. I will assign you another batch of experienced officers and non-commissioned officers. You shall confer upon them minor noble titles and use them as the backbone to form two mountain infantry battalions. Also, remember to stay in the rear during battle."

"I understand. I've followed you in the Frankish campaign for two and a half years. What haven't I seen? Do you think I'm afraid of those Eastern European barbarians?"

As the second son, Frey had long awaited this moment. Now that his wish had come true, he gathered his childhood classmates and invited them to Livonia.

The eldest sons of nobles or wealthy merchants often declined, as they were destined to inherit the family business and saw no need to risk their lives in the forests of Eastern Europe.

Conversely, the second sons and illegitimate children were in high spirits. They knew they would be kicked out by their elder brothers sooner or later, so they might as well find a suitable place to go in advance. Livonia was sparsely populated, and if they worked for the second prince for a few years, they would eventually be able to obtain a fiefdom.

After more than a month of preparation, the second prince's fleet departed from the docks of Rendynew.

The members included his newlywed wife, fifty experienced officers or sergeants, twenty-five second sons or illegitimate children who volunteered to accompany him, one hundred clergy who could also serve as doctors, scribes or teachers, as well as three hundred soldiers and more than one hundred servants.

The destination of the voyage is Veryanka, which, after four years of development, has a population of two thousand and is suitable as the capital of the Livonia region.

On the dock, Harriet held her young son, Grek, and wept uncontrollably, but she did not stop them. From a political standpoint, it was better to send the adult princes to the provinces than to leave them in the capital.

Before they knew it, the vast expanse of sails disappeared at the end of the Thames. Without saying much, Vig turned and left.

According to his recollection, the eastern and southern coasts of the Baltic Sea were important grain export areas in the late Middle Ages. The Hanseatic League purchased crops such as rye and wheat and then transported them to Britain and the Netherlands, where handicrafts were highly developed.

In a few decades or even a century, when Britain begins to industrialize, Livonia can provide enough agricultural products, and the two sides will complement each other perfectly.

After more than twenty days at sea, the fleet successfully arrived in Veryanka.

After the three-masted sailing ship came to a stop, the naval captain in charge of the escort produced a decree and read the emperor's order to the garrison. From this moment on, Veryanka officially became the territory of the King of Livonia. The king toured the town and, in addition to the standard infrastructure of a post office, temple, and hospital, there was also a newly built school, which was not yet in use.

"Similar to the towns under the jurisdiction of Rendinium."

This was the king's first impression of Veryanka as he followed the guards up the wooden stockade wall. Outside lay flat, open wheat fields, and further out stretched vast primeval forests. A group of residents were clearing land from the forest, and the black smoke rising into the sky lingered for a long time.

The next day, the king ordered the summons of the nearby tribal chiefs, and twenty-five people answered the call. He greeted these chiefs with a smile and rewarded them with fine clothing, wine, and sugar.

After the meeting, the king opened the register and found that fifteen tribes had refused the invitation. He nodded slightly and said, "Very good, I'll use this excuse to deal with you."

Following his father's advice, the king sent officers to Northern Europe to recruit soldiers, "at least a thousand men to form two mountain infantry battalions. Don't delay too long; I plan to launch an attack in September."

Soon, news of Livonia spread throughout the Baltic coast.

At this time, Hafdan was doing business in Pomerania, specifically helping the British Pontilian Merchant Guild collect debts. In return, Hafdan would receive 40% of the recovered amount.

After a brief and intense negotiation, Hafdan forced the debtor to compromise and hand over property worth £260, including silver, amber, furs, and plenty of rye.

"That's all. Do you think it's enough?" Hafdan asked the guild manager to calculate the value, then took out a tin wine jug from his pocket and sipped the mellow wine.

Half a minute later, he let out a satisfied burp. "This tribe is weak. My two hundred armored soldiers can take care of everything in just ten minutes. Why bother with all this trouble?"

The manager fiddled with the abacus and explained in a low voice, "In business, reputation is everything. It's reasonable for us to come and collect debts from this tribe. But if we were to attack and wipe out this tribe, it would be going too far and would be detrimental to the future development of the Chamber of Commerce."

After the inventory was completed, the manager instructed the workers to load the goods onto the merchant guild's two-masted sailing ship. The silver and rye were left to Hafdan as commission for this operation.

"Your Majesty, on behalf of the Pontilan Merchant Guild, I sincerely thank you for your help."

"It's nothing, just a small matter. Remember to contact me if you need similar business in the future." Now that Vig has taken over Britain and Frankish territory, Hafdan doesn't dare to raid his lands and can only stay at home doing nothing. If he could take over the debt collection business of the major merchant guilds, it would greatly alleviate the kingdom's financial pressure.

As they parted, Hafdan mentioned the new king of Livonia, and the merchant guild manager casually revealed some of the information, which shocked him greatly.

"Three thousand pounds a year? That desolate place has nothing but forests; it'll probably take hundreds of years to break even. What is Vig thinking?"

The thought of how he had lowered himself to cooperate with the Chamber of Commerce for a hundred pounds filled Hafdan with despair. They had once been equals, but now the disparity between them was so vast—there couldn't be anything worse in the world.

(End of this chapter)