Vig remained calm and continued to sip the mutton soup from his bowl, reminiscing about the past in the Gothenburg countryside. He hadn't drunk mutton soup more than ten times, and he was still touched when he thought about it.
"Another bowl."
Since Stein hadn't greeted him, Vig was too lazy to join in the fun. Apart from himself and his shield bearers, there were only two pieces of iron armor in the chieftain's longhouse - Helga's chainmail and Stein's old iron armor. The equipment was so poor that the so-called attack on Glasgow was just a joke.
"Better not let me participate, lest I spread the news of the coalition forces' defeat and cause serious damage to my reputation."
Vig now deeply understands the importance of reputation. A stream of Viking farmers flocked to him from northern Europe, partly because of the thirty acres of farmland available, and partly because of his distinguished reputation as the "Chosen One" and the "Snake of the North," and they accepted the sign.
Moreover, if Vig spread the word that he was going to attack the Picts in the north, it was likely that he would gather a force of thousands of men. These men do not need military pay and have high morale. Their only request is to share the spoils after victory. They are the ideal free fighters.
...
Soon Helgi led forty men in a longboat. Vig stood on a rock and looked at the sails in the distance, his brows full of worry.
Britta handed the child to the slave next to her and asked in a low voice, "Do you think this battle could fail?"
"Yes, war is a very serious matter. Before a war, we must gather as much intelligence and weapons as possible, and set a clear goal for the war. The Battle of Northumbria and the Battle of Dufillin are two opposite cases."
Speaking about the two wars, Vig was full of emotion:
"Throughout the Northumbrian War, the coalition forces were like a swarm of headless flies, scurrying around the command level in confusion and having no idea what they wanted. First, we were ambushed in Manchuria, and then we hesitated at the city of York, which gave the enemy enough time to recuperate. We were only one step away from annihilation.
As for the Battle of Dufillin, Ivar and I had already started preparing for it the previous winter. We had built ships, collected weapons, and invited nobles from Manchuria and Lancaster to help. The goal of the war was also very clear: to completely capture Dufillin. Ivar and I were in charge of making decisions throughout the entire process. There were no major disagreements, and we achieved the goal of the war in just two months."
Having said this, he noticed that Britta's face was not quite right, and he quickly reassured her: "Helgi wears chainmail, and ordinary arrows and swords cannot harm him. There shouldn't be too many problems."
Over the next few days, Vig set out for Kida Island under the guidance of the locals. Unfortunately, there weren't many guano stones on the island, which was a futile effort.
Returning to Skye, he found that less than half the force that had set out for Glasgow had returned, but fortunately Helgi was unharmed.
According to the latter, the entire operation was a complete disaster. The fleet of over 400 men had arrived in a nearby harbour, but had accidentally lost its way and spent two days searching for the mouth of the River Clyde.
Taking the famous longboat upstream, the raiding party arrived at the foot of Glasgow. The Gaels had gathered thousands of militiamen here, and the two sides formed a shield wall to fight a decisive battle.
With overwhelming numbers, the Gaels easily defeated this band of Viking marauders, and the first military operation of the Isles Alliance ended in a disastrous defeat.
Having heard of this group of useless snacks' experiences, Vig was in no mood to complain and decided to go home the next day. Before leaving, he invited his sister and her family to stay in Tyneburg.
"Being with the Isle Alliance insect group is a waste of life. Better to move to Tyne, where the soil is level and suitable for farming. It is much better than staying on Skye and suffering."
Helgi said to his wife: "This is just bad luck, not as bad as you say."
Well, since his son-in-law does not want to leave this deserted island, Vig does not insist any more and returns to Tyne to continue governing his territory.
...
At the Battle of Dufillin, Vig collected wealth worth 240 pounds of silver, equivalent to three years of taxes in the territory. Having abundant finances, he intends to withdraw some of the funds to build cities and develop industry and trade in the territory.
In the study, he called upon key members such as Geligiv, Miham and Yolen. Vig laid out a piece of papyrus and used a homemade charcoal pencil to outline a large open space on the east side of the Tyne, covering an area of about 0.6 square kilometers.
"Tyneburg is small and cannot accommodate too many workshops. I plan to build a wooden wall outside and enclose the open space as Tyne Town."
Since he could not make much money relying on agriculture, Vig planned to turn his attention to industry and trade, attracting small tradesmen and artisans nearby to settle.
Mitcham agreed with the lord's idea, but still expressed his concerns: "As a lord, you have the right to call upon men for two weeks' unpaid corvee each year, but the work of the outer wall is too great and two weeks is far from enough." "
It does not matter, at best it will cost more money."
With the number of refugees on the south bank of the Tyne now approaching two thousand, Vig is ready to hire an engineering team for the long-term work.
Having made his decision, he took a boat to the south bank, where the refugees were reclaiming thirty acres of wasteland belonging to their own family.
In ancient times, when large machinery was scarce, turning uncultivated land (untilled wilderness) into arable land (farmland) was a long and difficult process.
First, the refugees had to cut down the trees, set fire to the remaining stumps and brush, and then move the stones in the fields to build beds or houses. Most importantly, the roots of the trees and grass, deep in the soil, had to be completely removed to prevent these plants from growing back and stealing nutrients and sunlight from the crops.
According to the agreement reached between Vig and the squires and village elders, food and tools were supplied to the refugees from various places during the two years of reclaiming the wasteland.
The squires and village elders did not dare to confront the lord personally, so they could only pretend to obey and play some tricks. The bread they gave was mixed with sawdust and sand, which caused complaints from two thousand refugees.
"Master, this bread is harder than sticks."
"All the tools provided are defective, and the oxen are too old to plow the land."
"This approach is clearly aimed at leaving us all to starve."
...
The number of villagers around was increasing. Yolen winked and led the guards to surround the lord in the middle.
"That's it, I'm willing to hire you to build the wall, and I guarantee that I can support your family."
Sensing that the refugees were on the verge of collapse, Vig immediately offered a generous price and recruited 400 young and strong men to join the construction crew.
With the addition of these workers, the construction of the Tyne Town wall went smoothly. Standing on the watchtower and looking down at the surroundings, Vig suddenly had an epiphany: "Hiring refugees to build large-scale projects to support their families, is this the so-called 'work for the sake of relief'?"