Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 50 Regional Division
The refugees' emotions were calmed, but Vig was not going to let certain guys off the hook.

Under his strict orders, Yoren led his Shield Guard in a swift operation, arresting the most egregious gentry, confiscating all his property, and deporting him. Once the verdict was announced, the remaining individuals quickly made up their debts, significantly increasing the refugees' goodwill towards Vig.

Thus, the refugee crisis came to a rather chaotic end. Viger then focused his efforts on the brewing industry as the next priority.

Regarding the types of alcoholic beverages, he faces the following choices:

First, the most expensive and best-tasting wines are from West Frankish wines, but the region is not suitable for growing grapes, so this option is excluded.

Secondly, there was mead, a highly prized beverage in Viking society. Made from honey, water, and yeast, it was fermented in wooden barrels for over a month, and could be flavored with wild berries and herbs. Due to the high price of honey, ordinary people rarely had the opportunity to enjoy it.

To mass-produce mead, it was necessary to expand the scale of beekeeping. To this end, Viger made a special trip to visit beekeepers in the countryside.

These people use a woven straw basket as a beehive, with the top covered with waterproof clay. The beehive is not very mobile, and the hive needs to be destroyed every time honey is harvested.

Observing the entire honey harvesting process, he casually asked, "Why not design a beehive that can harvest honey repeatedly?"

"Repeatedly harvesting honey?" The beekeeper looked puzzled, not understanding what the lord was talking about.

After racking his brains for a long time, Vig couldn't come up with a specific structure. He could only suggest that beekeepers and their peers exchange experiences and find a way to create a new type of beehive.

"As you command, sir."

Sensing the casualness and perfunctoriness in his tone, Vig shook his head regretfully. With honey production unlikely to increase in the short term, this option had to be put on hold.

Excluding the first two, the only remaining option is ale, made from malt, water, yeast, and herbs. Locals prefer to use peat as fuel when drying the malt, which seems to impart a unique smoky flavor.

Why must peat be used?

Vig asked many locals with brewing experience, and they learned that the locals not only use peat to dry the malt, but also use peat to bake the inside of the barrels, which seems to be a customary practice.

Over the next few days, he searched everywhere for recipes and learned that the fermentation of ale required the addition of a herbal mixture called "gruit," whose main components were yarrow and sage.

In addition, Helgeve found a new recipe in the monastery's scrolls, and unable to contain her curiosity, she added rosemary and wormwood, claiming it would extend the shelf life.

A gentle breeze blew by, causing the candlelight to flicker. Watching his wife add various herbs, Vig felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he were observing an alchemical experiment, and he paused for a moment in surprise.

"you sure?"

“Of course, books don’t lie.” Herylgef unfolded the parchment scroll filled with Latin writing and realized she had missed a sentence in the corner.

"Wait, darling, it mentions somewhere in East Francia that they brew ale with 'Humulus lupulus,' try to get some over there." Humulus lupulus? What's that?
Vig had never seen the plant in person and did not understand that the word represented hops. However, after much persuasion from his wife, he agreed to this seemingly absurd request: "When I went to York to pay taxes in the fall, I asked wool merchants in continental Europe to help me find the seeds of this strange plant."

To ensure rigor, Viger set up multiple control experiments. Barrel No. 1 ale had no herbs added, Barrel No. 2 had gerroot added, Barrel No. 3 had wormwood and rosemary added, and Barrel No. 4 had all kinds of herbs added.

After brewing was complete, Vig distributed the beer to the Shield Guards for tasting, and they all agreed that the No. 4 ale tasted the best. Having finalized the brewing recipe, he built a brewery in the western part of Tyne, strictly controlling the process, with different workers responsible for each stage, including malt preparation, saccharification, fermentation, and barrelling.

Aside from the brewery and blacksmith shop, Vig had no energy to manage other businesses. He had Micham spread the word that Tyne would have its taxes halved for two years, plus interest-free loans, to attract small traders and artisans from the surrounding area to settle there.

Based on his own experience observing in York, Leeds, and Duffield, he made the following plan:

Food processing industry: The location of the water mill remains unchanged, and a baking workshop will be built next to it. The livestock market and slaughterhouse have poor sanitation and are prone to breeding mosquitoes and flies, so they will be located in the southeast area (downstream).

Textiles and Leather Industry: Wool textile production was primarily family-run, and Viger allocated the Northeast region to individual weavers, allowing them to operate independently. Tanning leather caused serious pollution problems, so leather workshops were also located in the Southeast region.

The blacksmith shop is of utmost importance, and its location in the southwest area, not far from Tyneburg, facilitates daily supervision. (Tyneburg is situated on a low hill in the southwest corner of Tynetown, overlooking the entire town and close to the riverbank.)

The carpenters' workshops were located near the water-powered sawmill, bringing all the carpenters' shops together on one street for easier management. The sawmill continuously produced cut planks, which were sold to the carpenters, who then produced furniture, barrels, farm implements, and carriages.

The shipyard was located on the south bank of the river. The Vikings were skilled in shipbuilding, so they continued to work in this traditional craft.

As for shops such as taverns, pottery workshops, barbershops, herbal medicine shops, and tailor shops, Vig didn't bother to pay attention and let the practitioners choose their own locations.

In terms of sanitation, in light of the plague outbreak in the late Middle Ages, he prescribed a number of measures, including digging drainage ditches along the roads, encouraging residents to keep cats, building public baths, strictly prohibiting littering, and organizing a city-wide cleanup every month.

As word spread, people began to move to the newly established town, including residents from Derwent and Tees. By October, Tyne had over eighty households and a total population of nearly three hundred.

In order to promote Tyne Town, Vig announced that on the 1st and 15th of each month, the tavern would offer discounted drinks to attract farmers from the countryside to the market. Initially, the market would only collect very low taxes, and the tax rate would be increased as the town developed.

"By producing basic resources, accumulating wealth through trade and taxation, and ensuring the survival of industries through military defense, Tyne Town will become increasingly prosperous. In a few years, the commercial taxes generated by the town may even exceed the agricultural taxes generated by the countryside."

As for the mayor, Vig carefully considered the options and chose a shield guard with mediocre martial arts skills but a meticulous mind. "Bavers, you're in charge of this task. Put in the effort and don't let my investment go to waste."

Upon learning that he had been favored by the lord, Bafus was overjoyed. He immediately knelt down on one knee, grasped Vig's left hand, and kissed it. "I was born to carry out your will, my lord."

After settling all matters, Vig led his team south to York to pay this year's tribute.

(End of this chapter)