Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 49 Archipelago Alliance
Vig remained calm and continued sipping his mutton soup, reminiscing about his time in the Gothenburg countryside. He recalled drinking mutton soup no more than ten times, and the memory still stirred something within him.

"one more bowl."

Since Stein didn't welcome him, Vig didn't bother to join the fun. Apart from himself and his shield guards, the entire chieftain's longhouse only had two pieces of iron armor—Hergi's chainmail and Stein's old scale armor. With equipment so inferior, the so-called attack on Glasgow was just a joke.

"It's better if I'm not allowed to participate, so that news of the Allied forces' defeat doesn't get out and severely damage my reputation."

Today, Vig is acutely aware of the importance of reputation. A steady stream of Viking farmers are flocking to him from Northern Europe, partly because of the thirty acres of free farmland, and partly because of the illustrious reputation of "The Chosen One" and "The Serpent of the North"—they endorse this brand.

Furthermore, if Vig were to spread the word that he intended to attack the Picts in the north, he could very well amass a raiding force of over a thousand men. These men would not require pay, would be highly motivated, and their only demand would be a share of the spoils after victory—making them excellent free henchmen.

Soon, Hergi led forty men on a longboat and set off. Vig stood on the cliff and watched the sails disappear into the distance, his brow furrowed with worry.

Britta handed the child to a slave beside her and asked in a low voice, "Do you think this battle could be lost?"

"Yes, war is a very serious matter. Before going to war, we should gather as much intelligence as possible, procure weapons and equipment, and set a clear war objective. The Battle of Northumbria and the Battle of Dufelin are two opposite examples."

When discussing the two wars, Vig had many reflections:
"Throughout the Northumbrian War, the Allied forces were like a swarm of headless flies, running around aimlessly with chaotic command and no idea what they wanted. First, they were ambushed at Manchuni, and then they hesitated outside York, giving the enemy ample time to recover their strength, bringing us one step closer to total annihilation."

As for the Battle of Dufilin, Ivar and I began preparations last winter, building ships, procuring armaments, and inviting the noble families of Mancini and Lancaster to join us. Our objective was clear—to completely capture Dufilin. Ivar and I were responsible for all decision-making throughout, without any major disagreements, and we achieved our war objective in just two months.”

After saying that, he noticed that Britta's expression was not right, so he quickly comforted her: "Hergi is wearing chainmail, so ordinary arrows and swords can't hurt him. There shouldn't be any major problems."

Over the next few days, Vig, guided by local residents, went to Keda Island, but to his disappointment, there weren't many guano stones on the island, making the trip a complete waste.

Upon returning to Skye, he discovered that less than half of the troops who had set out for Glasgow had returned, but fortunately, Helgi was unharmed.

In the latter account, the entire operation was a complete disaster. The fleet of more than 400 people arrived at a nearby bay, only to get lost and waste two days finding the mouth of the Clyde River.

Rowing their longboats upstream, the raiding party arrived at the gates of Glasgow, where the Gaels had gathered thousands of militiamen to wait. The two sides formed a shield wall and began their decisive battle.

With overwhelming numerical superiority, the Gaels easily defeated the Viking raiders, and the first military operation of the Archipelago Alliance ended in a crushing defeat.

After hearing about the plight of these good-for-nothings, Vig didn't even feel like complaining and decided to head home the next day. Before leaving, he invited his sister's family to live in Tyneburg.

"It's a waste of life to hang out with those insects from the Archipelago Alliance. It's much better to move to Tyneburg, where the soil is flat and suitable for farming. It's much better than suffering on Skye Island."

Helgi spoke up before his wife could: "It's just a setback, not as bad as you make it out to be."

Very well, since her brother-in-law couldn't bear to part with this desolate island, Vig didn't insist any further and returned to Tyneburg to continue managing his own territory.

In the Battle of Dufilin, Vig gained a fortune worth 240 pounds of silver, equivalent to three years' worth of taxes from his territory. With ample funds, he intended to allocate some of them to build towns and develop industry and commerce within his domain. In his study, summoning his core members, including Herigif, Micham, and Yoren, Vig spread out a papyrus and used a homemade charcoal pencil to mark out a large open area of ​​approximately 0.6 square kilometers on the east side of Tyneburg.

“Tyneburg is too small to accommodate too many workshops. I plan to build a wooden wall around it and enclose the open space to serve as Tynetown.”

Since agriculture doesn't generate much income, Vig plans to shift its focus to industry and commerce, attracting nearby small vendors and artisans to settle there.

Micham agreed with the lord's idea, but still expressed his concerns: "As a lord, you have the right to conscript your people for two weeks of unpaid labor every year, but the work on the outer wall is too much, and two weeks is far from enough."

"It doesn't matter, I'll just spend more money."

The number of refugees on the south bank of the Tyne River is now close to two thousand, and Vig is preparing to hire an engineering team to work there long-term.

Having made up his mind, he took a boat to the south bank, where refugees were cultivating their own thirty acres of wasteland.

In ancient times, when large machinery was scarce, transforming uncultivated land into cultivated land (farmland) was a long and complex process.

First, the refugees needed to cut down trees, burn the remaining stumps and bushes, and then remove stones from the fields to build embankments or houses. Most importantly, they had to thoroughly remove tree roots and grass roots deep in the soil to prevent these plants from growing back and stealing nutrients and sunlight from crops.

According to the agreement reached between Vig and the local gentry and village chief, the refugees' food and tools would be supplied by various localities during the two-year period of land reclamation.

The gentry and village chiefs dared not oppose the lord openly, so they could only feign compliance while secretly resorting to underhanded tactics. The bread they provided was mixed with sawdust and sand, which caused the two thousand refugees to complain bitterly.

"Sir, these loaves of bread are harder than sticks."

"The tools we were given were all defective, and the oxen were too old to plow the land."

"This approach is clearly meant to starve us all to death."

As the number of villagers around them increased, Yoren gave a signal and led his shield guards to surround the lord.

"Gentlemen, I am willing to hire you to build a wall, and I guarantee that I can support your entire family."

Sensing that the refugees' emotions were on the verge of collapse, Vig immediately offered a generous price to recruit four hundred young men into the construction team.

With the addition of this workforce, construction on the wall of Tyne Town proceeded smoothly. Vig stood on the watchtower, overlooking the surrounding area, and suddenly had a flash of insight: "Hiring refugees to build large-scale projects in order to support their families, is this what is called 'work relief'?"

　Thank you to readers Daowu Huaxia and Claudio for their generous donations.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)