During the banquet, Vig sat quietly at the end of the long table, watching the subtle expressions of the guests.
After a long time together, he realized that Ragnar was not a mediocre man, greedy for comfort. Under that friendly and generous face, he hid an endless ambition, like an abyss.
Under the dim candlelight, a bard in green robes played the harp and pipes, performing a scene of celebration after the hero Beowulf defeated the monster Grendel:
King Hrothgar gave every warrior and lord a golden collar,
which was the glory of a hero on the battlefield.
A warrior should do worthy deeds with such gifts,
leave them to future generations and make his reputation eternal!
...
With wine glasses and dim lights, Vig waited patiently for the banquet to end. Looking at the guests lying on the table, he raised his eyes and looked around, and found Ragnar winking at him.
"Of course, there is another plan."
Vig, following Ragnar out of the tent, looked around as if he wanted to find a hidden swordsman, but unfortunately he found nothing.
"What are you looking for?"
"I have drunk too much and feel a little dizzy." Finding that Ragnar did not dare to go against tradition and kill the guests, Vig did not say much and followed him into the dark and narrow tent.
Soon Ivar, Bjorn, Gunnar and the other retainers arrived one by one to discuss the plan for the next battle.
Today, the Viking pirates number only 2,600, and more than half of them are planning to follow Eric back to Northern Europe. The remaining pirates do not want to fight to the death with the Northumbrian army, but plan to switch places and plunder the weaker East Anglia and Kent.
"It's all Eric's fault for being a cowardly insect. He finally built siege equipment, but as the siege approached, he thought about returning to Northern Europe and partying with his wives and concubines."
As Ragnar's heir, Ivar is born with an adventurous spirit and despises those nobles who only know how to drink and have fun. Unfortunately, the situation is exhausted, and it seems there is no other way.
At this time, Vig seemed careless and said: "After the battle of Manchun, the palace guard under the command of Elaud suffered heavy losses, and the two thousand peasant soldiers who arrived recently are not effective in battle. It is a pity that we are not united. Until the retreat is cut off, Eric will never join the war."
"Hiss, that's right." Ivar suddenly understood and came up with a brilliant and vicious plan:
"In that case, why not cut off everyone's escape route! There are many prisoners in the camp, so why not reveal the location of the fleet and deliberately let them go. After this period of plundering, the southern region of Northumbria was badly damaged, and Elaud mobilized militias from all over the country, causing a labor shortage in the fields. Tax revenues will fall sharply in the next few years. To make up for the loss, he will never watch this wealth being sent back to Northern Europe."
After listening, everyone looked at each other, and the flickering candlelight made their faces freeze. Ragnar paced the narrow tent several times, unable to make a decision.
Noticing his boss's indecision, Vig spoke again:
"During the sea raids this year, I found that Eric had opposed you many times. Why? Because he was afraid of your reputation. The old man is very powerful and always wants to be king of all Norway. If that day really comes, Gothenburg is small and weak, will you resist or surrender?"
Vig looked his boss straight in the eye and said what he really thought: "Such an opportunity is rare, and raising this army is not easy. Let's take a chance and conquer Northumbria completely this time, and you will be king. And then whether to continue south or send troops to conquer northern Europe, it all depends on your heart."
Whig didn't like the life of raiding everywhere. Fighting and killing was not a long-term solution after all. One day he would no longer be able to fight, and he needed to make some preparations as soon as possible.
Frankly, he would rather conquer a piece of land and rule it himself. The ideal situation would be to find a loser to become king, occupy the "rich land" of York City, withstand constant counter-attacks from the southern countries, and slowly rule an insignificant piece of land in the north.
In terms of pure martial arts, Vig isn't as good as the big bads like Ragnar and Ivar, but when it comes to the ability to rule a territory, he's considered the best in all of Northern Europe.
"King of Northumbria," Ragnar repeated the word, the candlelight illuminating half of his face, his expression alternately fierce and relaxed.
After a long moment, he exhaled with difficulty. "The chances of this plan succeeding are too low. Once Elaud burns the ships and seizes the baggage train, we really have no way out."
Why is this man still hesitating?
Vig was completely speechless. This is not a small business. What's the point of constantly thinking about retreating? How can you conquer the world without taking risks?
The atmosphere had reached this point, and Bjorn, Nils, Gunnar and the others could not help but join in the persuasion.
"Father, you were just an ordinary farmer in the mountains. Have you forgotten the courage to go to sea?" "
Uncle, the prophet foretold that one day you would wear the crown. Such is the fate prepared for you by the gods. Why refuse?"
...
Under pressure from his confidants, Ragnar finally made up his mind and began the most dangerous adventure of his life.
When everything was settled, Vig and Nils came out of the tent, carrying jugs of wine to the place where the prisoners were kept, and talked drunkenly, as if no one was around.
"Hey, this time we finally got rich. Once this treasure shipment is sent back to Northern Europe, we won't have to come to Britain to loot for the next few years."
After Nils finished speaking, Vig called out to him, "I can't count how much you've stolen in all?"
Ignoring the indignant looks from his captives, Nelson sighed, "A total of 3,000 pounds of silver and over 100 pounds of gold, iron goods, woollens and food, piled up like mountains. It would be difficult for a fleet to transport it all back to Northern Europe in one go." "
Really?" Vig found that several of the captives had subtle expressions and apparently understood his Norwegian, so he brought up the key point:
"The baggage and boats are hidden in a bend in the river on the north bank of the Humber estuary. Where exactly is it? It was so long ago that I forgot."
Nils: "The place is easy to find. There is an abandoned monastery at a fork in the road nearby, and a mill on the east side..."
To make sure that Elaud had figured out the exact location, Nils repeated these key references several times, then staggered off with Vig, "accidentally" dropping the key to the cage before leaving.
Since the soldier in charge of the sentry had been dragged off by Ivar to get drunk, the prisoners smoothly opened the iron lock. When they reached the nearest wall, they accidentally discovered a large enough dog hole. They escaped from the Viking camp under cover of night and disappeared.
The next morning, Ragnar discovered that thirty prisoners of war had escaped. In a rage, he struck the sentry twenty times, and then planned a second feast, inviting Eric and the others to rejoice again.