Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 70 Strategy
As Theowuff prepared to leave the Viking army's territory, he bid farewell to Vig:

"Thank you for keeping your promise; this quality is especially precious among the Vikings."

Riding on horseback, Vig yawned. "Reputation is a precious asset, and I'm not willing to ruin the credit I've built up over the first half of my life for this worthless thing."

Looking out over the hilly area on the south bank of the river, he posed a question: "Where do you intend to go after giving up your ancestral fiefdom?"

Theowough: "It depends. The Battle of Tamworth led to the downfall of the royal family and the deaths of many nobles. Perhaps I can find a vacant fief to settle down in."

After seeing the group of Mercians off, Vig returned to Tamworth to report.

Upon entering the residence, he found Ragnar eating, with a tall and robust Viking woman sitting beside him. This woman had striking and imposing features, long red hair that was casually draped over her shoulders, muscular arms, and hands covered in calluses from years of hard work.

“You must be the ‘Chosen One’ Vig. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Asuragi.”

The woman finished all the food on her plate, picked up a jug of mead and gulped it down, then walked out of the official residence with a carefree attitude, showing no restraint whatsoever.

Asuragi?

Vig retrieved a piece of information from his mind:
In later legends about Ragnar, a woman named "Aslaug" was indeed mentioned.

Could this person become Ragnar's third wife?

five minutes later.

After listening to Vig recount the surrender process, Ragnar nodded in approval and convened a meeting of the military's top brass.

He spread out a tattered map of Mercia on the long table. "We have captured Nottingham, Repton, and Tamworth, occupying the richest part of Mercia. What are your thoughts on the subsequent battles?"

Ulf: "Split your forces to capture the settlements and completely seize the northern territory of Mercia." He considered himself to have made the greatest contribution to the war and looked forward to going out to fight and choosing a rich new territory for himself.

Ivar: "The Mercian royal family has been destroyed, but two collateral branches remain. Prioritize sending men to attack their estates, eliminate them completely, and prevent the remaining forces from installing someone on the throne, thus keeping this war going indefinitely."

Having suffered greatly in Ireland, Ivar's focus was on ending the war as soon as possible so that his soldiers could return home to harvest the winter wheat and avoid missing the farming season.

When it was Vig's turn, he offered a relatively pessimistic view: "Three years ago, we conquered the entire territory of Northumbria, and now we have occupied Tamworth and killed all the members of the royal family. The other five nations are not fools; they will not stand by and watch us grow stronger, especially Wessex, the most powerful of them all. I fear that King Ethelwough will lead the formation of a coalition and march north to attack us!"

Ragnar: "What do you mean?"

"It is not advisable to disperse our forces. The entire army should remain assembled and await orders at Tamworth. At the same time, we should draw more reinforcements from the homeland to prepare for the war after the spring."

Noticing the troubled expressions on everyone's faces, Vig added, "This is just my guess. Perhaps we should send an envoy to Wessex to test Esserwolf's attitude towards us."

Upon hearing the word "messenger," Pascal and Goodwin felt their hair stand on end. They were Anglo-Saxons, the most suitable people to go on missions to gather information. If they were to be executed on the spot by Ethelwaugh, it would be too unjust to die like that.

"Let me go!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Gunnar, the commander of the palace guard. Looking at his old subordinate whom he had known for twenty years, Ragnar understood why Gunnar had requested to go on the mission—he wanted to gain more merit and join the ranks of powerful nobles after the war.

"Have you made up your mind?"

"Think about it!"

His confidant was eager to take the position, and Ragnar had no reason to stop him. He sighed and had Pascal write a letter of state.

After finishing, Ragnar bundled the letters into a tube, dripped molten sealing wax onto the seal, and before the wax solidified, pressed his gold ring on his ring finger onto it, forming a lightning bolt pattern.

"Go, let them see the spirit of the Viking warriors!"

Ragnar patted Gunnar on the shoulder and watched his figure disappear through the doorway.

After securing supplies, Gunnar, accompanied by two volunteer attendants and a captured Mercian scribe, rode south along a Roman-era road.

The journey from Tamworth to Winchester, the capital of Wessex, is over a hundred miles long and takes five days on horseback.

(The mile originated in Roman times and was equal to one thousand "steps," approximately 1480 meters. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the definition of a "mile" gradually diverged across Europe. For ease of reading, this book sets one mile to 1500 meters.)
During the journey, the captured clerk briefly introduced the history of Wessex:
In the sixth century AD, a leader named Cherdic founded Wessex, which gradually grew in power over the centuries. After the death of King Aufre of Mercia, Ecbert of Wessex defeated Mercia in 825 AD and replaced Mercia as the dominant power.

With this, Wessex became the most powerful nation in Britain.

On the afternoon of the third day, the group crossed the border and arrived in Oxford, within Wessex.

"Vigg was right, Wessex is indeed assembling troops."

Oxford was bustling with activity. The yellow dragon flag, representing the royal family, fluttered above the city walls, and farmhouses in the suburbs were filled with militiamen who had come to assemble. Soon, several soldiers noticed the thunder flag in Gunnar's hand and came to inquire about his identity.

Upon learning that they were envoys of the Viking king, the soldiers roughly pulled the four men off their horses and shoved them all the way to the mansion in the center of town.

At the head of the table sat an elderly man in his fifties with gray hair. He scrutinized the three Viking envoys repeatedly, his disgust mixed with a hint of fear.

Ragnar instructed his attendants to unfold the letter, which he read word by word. The letter was carefully worded; Ragnar stated that he was under threat from Crown Prince Bergred and forced to attack Mercia as a defensive act. He would only cede one-third of the land, leaving the remainder to be ruled by the Mercian nobles.
"Passive defense? According to Ragnar, he seems to have suffered a great injustice. How utterly ridiculous!"

Looking back, Esserwolf's hatred for the Vikings grew stronger.

During the reign of King Ecbert, he ordered the six kingdoms to submit to Wessex, planning to gradually unify them. However, the Vikings launched a major invasion, forcing Wessex to focus its forces on coastal defense. As a result, the vassals gradually slipped out of control, and the unification process was abruptly interrupted.

When Æthelwaugh ascended to the throne, he devoted most of his energy to dealing with pirate raids across the land. As time went on, the situation worsened; the Vikings had conquered Northumbria and were now marching south to seize Tamworth. In two more years, once they had regained their strength, it would one day be Wessex's turn at the southernmost tip of Britain.

"No, this is the end!"

Esselwolf tore up the letter and poured out his anger on Gunnar, saying, "You filthy Viking barbarians, you want to take the land of the Anglo-Saxons? When spring comes, I will personally lead my army north to cleanse every inch of the land you have defiled."

(End of this chapter)