Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 400 Territory Planning
royal palace.

Vig called twelve-year-old Grek into his office and asked, "Where do you want to live when you grow up?"

"Huh?" Grek had just returned from the court, looking like a dirty, muddy monkey. He was bewildered and didn't know how to reply.

At this moment, Harrigif arrived uninvited. Her biggest concern was for her youngest son, fearing that he would make a rash choice and end up with no good home.

The three looked at each other, and Vig rubbed his forehead wearily. "The situation in northern Italy is complicated and too difficult to govern, so we'll rule that out. That leaves only the Duchy of Nantes or eastern Moravia. You need to choose quickly; the investiture ceremony is in a few days, and those nobles can't wait."

Grek glanced tentatively at his parents and blurted out, "Eastern Moravia."

Vig: "Why?"

"Because there are many vacant plots of land to its east, which are suitable for future expansion."

Vig patiently explained to him, “This place is indeed quite nice. Both Brno in the north and Vienna in the south are good enough to develop into the capital of a kingdom. The drawback is that it is vulnerable to invasions by nomadic tribes.”

Many years ago, the Avar Khanate was active in the Carpathian Basin until they were defeated by a combined force of Charlemagne and Bulgaria. Perhaps sometime in the future, new tribes will invade this land.

Vig pointed to the map on the wall. If the youngest son settled in Central Europe, the southeast side would be the flat and open Carpathian Basin, which would put a lot of pressure on defense.

After he rambled on for more than ten minutes, Grek said nonchalantly, "I'm not afraid of them at all. I'll kill as many as they come. We'll bombard them from a distance with cannons, use crossbows at medium range, and employ hollow phalanxes at close range. What can a bunch of barbarians lacking iron weapons do to us?"

Vig was amused by the guy. "You're still young. I'll keep the Duchy of Nantes and Brno-Vendorbonne for you. In a few years, when you graduate from military school, you can choose again."

During dinner, Frey heard about the third son's treatment and realized that this territory was far better than Livonia. So he asked Vig to increase the funding, otherwise he would be losing out.

After some arguing, Frey got his wish and increased the annual allocation from three thousand pounds to five thousand pounds. He also demanded five thousand prisoners of war to be sent to develop the kingdom's borders and fight with the local natives.

As time passed, the atmosphere in Lentinium grew increasingly restless, and Vigé and his cabinet quickly drafted a list. On the morning of July 20th, he held the investiture ceremony in the central square.

This war lasted only a year, but its intensity was in no way inferior to the previous Third Viking-Frankish War. The two empires fought fiercely in northern Italy, producing a large number of meritorious individuals.

First was Kozel, a Moravian nobleman. Vig fulfilled his pre-war promise and appointed him Duke of Bohemia (western Moravia), on the condition that the royal family would have the right to mine silver within the territory, and the duke would receive 30% of the profits.

As a native Moravian, Kozel had no idea there were silver mines in western Moravia, and readily agreed.

Afterwards, Vig distributed numerous territories to the remaining meritorious officials, granting a total of twelve earls, one hundred and thirty barons, and over a thousand knights.

Their fiefdoms were located in northern Italy, Slavonia, and Tyrol, Carinthia, and Styria (these three areas are located in southern Austria).

Cavalry Colonel Havelun was promoted to Earl and acquired Nice.

This territory is located at the border of West Frankish and Northern Italy, and most of the area is the Alps, with only scattered mountain valleys suitable for development.

Furthermore, a piece of land was excavated to the west of Nice as part of the newly established Free City of Cannes, resulting in the loss of a suitable coastal plain for development. From an agricultural perspective, Nice was the least desirable county.

Among the crowd below the temple steps, Harry heard the news and smiled with satisfaction. He reached out and grabbed his eldest son's shoulder, breathing weakly.

These days, Harry has hardly been home, spending his time in the city's opera house, upscale restaurants, public baths, arenas, and other entertainment venues, with expenses totaling five thousand pounds.

As it turns out, it was all worthwhile. Now that the youngest son has become an earl, the family has joined the ranks of the great nobles and entered the core of the empire. Although the natural conditions of the earldom are somewhat unfavorable, there is still a chance to make up for it.

The fact that Cannes is being planned as a trade hub on the western Mediterranean coast is actually a good thing. As the city gradually prospers, the demand for agricultural products and daily necessities will become increasingly strong.

Harry plans to invest in an olive plantation to produce olive oil soap or ointment, and also plans to grow cash crops such as grapes, figs, citrus fruits, and flowers to sell to wealthy citizens.

"It seems His Majesty still cares about me."

At the edge of the square, more than two hundred Italian merchants watched the ceremony. They came from all over northern Italy and had been in Londinium for some time, gradually realizing the commercial potential of this emerging empire.

After the investiture ceremony, the cabinet had extra energy to entertain the group, giving a detailed introduction to the operation of the free city-state, and then registering each person's investment intentions.

In September, the merchants returned to Italy and began to build distribution networks. Some became textile dealers, while others chose furs or wine.

At this moment, Venice had received news that a few merchants had settled in Ravenna, while the vast majority of merchants were busy transporting Frankish immigrants and had no time to attend to other matters.

After the war, the Eastern Roman Empire took control of Corsica, Sardinia, and central and southern Italy. According to the peace agreement, Basil was required to relocate the remnants of the Frankish forces to other areas far from the border.

For strategic reasons, Basil granted land on the north bank of the lower Danube to Charles the Bald, bestowing upon him the title of "King of Wallachia".

In the second century AD, Emperor Trajan launched two consecutive wars and eventually conquered the north bank of the Danube, turning the region into a province.

In 271 AD, with increasing pressure on other borders, Emperor Aurelian was forced to order the withdrawal of troops and administrative institutions to the south bank of the Danube.

Later, centuries of barbarian invasions caused the Eastern Roman Empire to retreat repeatedly along its Balkan borders, and even the Thracian plains were invaded by foreign enemies.

Basil learned from this lesson and decided to throw the remnants of the Franks to the north bank of the Danube as a bulwark for the empire's borders, to defend against barbarian tribes from Eastern Europe.

Therefore, he generously covered the transportation costs, hired Venetian fleets to transport immigrants, and promised a ten-year economic aid package of six thousand pounds of silver per year to help the Franks through the difficult early period.

"Weigh anchor, hoist the sails!" With the cries of seagulls, the "Blackback Dolphin" lowered its seawater-soaked anchor chain, and its oak hull rose and fell gently with the waves, embarking on its long voyage to the East.

This immigrant convoy, carrying 3,000 people in 80 large and medium-sized vessels, sailed south along the familiar coastline.

During the later years of Michael III's reign, the Eastern Roman navy gradually recovered. After Basil ascended the throne, the navy's strength was further enhanced, driving out the Saracen pirates in the Adriatic Sea, and the voyages of immigrant fleets proceeded smoothly.

The fleet sailed south along the Epirus coast, rounded the headland of the Peloponnese peninsula, and began its northward journey across the Aegean Sea. Each night, the captain instructed the sailors on how to orient themselves by the stars. On nights with a full moon, they could even see dolphins chasing the ships on the shimmering surface of the sea.

Twenty days later, they arrived in Constantinople.

In the morning mist, towers and domes gradually came into view. The Theodosian city walls stretched along the coastline, and masts lined the docks. Frankish immigrants all went up to the deck, and the enormous dome of the Hagia Sophia shimmered in the sunlight, as if plated with gold.

The fleet anchored in Constantinople for five days to receive armor, tools, winter clothing, and food as gifts from the emperor.

At the end of September, the immigrant fleet sailed out of the port of Constantinople and into the Black Sea—a vast body of water that the Greeks called the "Hospitable Sea."

Compared to the Aegean Sea, the water here is darker, the waves are more turbulent, and the coastline is more desolate.

More than a week passed, and the seawater gradually turned murky. They sailed to the mouth of the Danube River, where the red flags of the Eastern Roman Empire fluttered over the fortresses on the south bank of the river.

After inspection by the garrison, the fleet sailed into the Danube River and traveled upstream for three days before anchoring at a makeshift dock on the north bank.

Before them stretched a vast, open plain, its withered grass undulating like waves in the wind. On the bank, Alfred led two hundred carriages to meet them.

At the officer's command, the immigrants loaded their supplies onto the wagons and slowly headed north. The road ahead was rutted with deep grooves from the wagons, and abandoned pottery shards were scattered along the roadside.

The following afternoon, their long journey came to an end, and they arrived at Charles Fort, the capital of Wallachia.

This place was originally an abandoned Roman fortress, which was chosen by Charles the Bald as his capital. The surrounding terrain is flat, and there is a small river to the north.

Near the fortress, many Franks were building houses and constructing simple fortified walls. Others were driving oxen and using the Vikings' new heavy plows to till the land. Autumn was not yet over, and they were busy sowing winter wheat seeds in hopes of a harvest next May.

Including the newly arrived immigrants, Charles the Bald had a population of 40,000, including 3,500 soldiers, more than 8,000 family members, and 30,000 civilians who did not want to stay in northern Italy.

"The prices in Constantinople are too high. The six thousand pounds of silver that Basil paid is not as durable as I thought. It will be gone in the blink of an eye. I must find a way to make money from other sources."

At the top of the tower, Charlie gazed at the endless, withered grassland, pondering his next move. Suddenly, a figure on horseback appeared on the western horizon. He fled hastily into the stockade walls, claiming he had been attacked by nomads.

The group of nobles headed towards the west gate, and Earl William of Orléans asked, "Is it the same tribe as last time?"

"I don't know. These nomads all dressed the same, wearing tattered sheepskin coats, felt hats, and riding steppe horses. I couldn't tell where they came from. The bandits captured five people and stole our oxen, seeds, and hoes. Fortunately, the iron plow was heavy enough that they didn't have time to take it with them."

After being robbed twice in just one week, everyone's patience reached its limit. Only Alfred remained calm and suggested waiting another month.

Bald Charlie: "It's October now. Locals have mentioned that it starts snowing in November. Why wait until winter to launch an attack?"

“Traditionally, nomadic tribes spend the winter in fixed camps. We can attack them then, and they won’t be able to escape.” The combat environment in Eastern Europe is different from that in Western Europe. Alfred believes that defeating the nomads is easy; the key is how to annihilate them and obtain the greatest benefit.

Alfred continued, “Years ago, there was a Viking commander in Constantinople named Nils, a skilled military leader. You should have heard of him—the White Raven of Gnutz. I inquired about his experiences in Eastern Europe and know how he dealt with these nomads.”

Bald Charlie adopted his young subordinate's strategy, refraining from taking the initiative to attack. Instead, he sent farmers out of town in groups of 30 to 50 to cultivate the land, with wagons loaded with spears, bows and arrows, and armor, ready to deal with any incursions by nomads.

In addition, he organized people to cut down trees, produce supply wagons suitable for field marches, and sent scouts to nearby settlements to gather information.

After a month of careful preparation, Alfred led two thousand soldiers westward, with the group carrying one hundred and fifty wagons loaded with large quantities of grain, cured meat, tents, weapons, and heavy blankets for warmth.

A cold wind howled, and withered yellow grass blades covered with a thin layer of white frost stretched endlessly under the leaden sky until they merged with the blurred horizon.

The cart shafts creaked and groaned, as if complaining about the endless journey and the increasingly biting cold. When camping at night, the Franks used their wagons to form a square, like a makeshift fortress.

On the morning of the fifth day, the scouts who had gone out rode back, their faces showing the excitement and tension of having found their prey, and reported the news to their commander:
Fifteen miles ahead, on the southern slope of a rolling hill, numerous felt tents were spotted, with plumes of smoke rising into the sky.

"understood."

Alfred pulled at his wool scarf to ward off the biting wind, his gaze sweeping across the rolling hills in the distance. At the top of the hills appeared five figures on horseback, nomads who had followed the scouts all the way.

He remained calm, knowing that even if the enemy discovered his presence, it would be too late.

For most of the next day, the group was harassed by nomads multiple times, but Alfred calmly dealt with them and finally found the enemy camp at 3 p.m.

At the edge of the horizon, the hills lay sprawled on the ground like a sleeping behemoth. And on its warm southern slopes, just as the intelligence had indicated, countless gray-white tents were scattered.

At first glance, the tents vaguely form a huge circle, surrounding several larger tents in the center. Wisps of smoke rise from them, mingling with the low-hanging clouds. Scattered flocks of sheep graze on withered grass roots around the perimeter of the camp, while some nomads dry their harvested hay.

Looking at the panicked figures, Alfred's mood suddenly improved. "Ah, I've found you."

(End of this chapter)