novelraw Chapter 118: Investiture
Chapter 118: Investiture
Ch 118: Investiture
To show his appreciation for his confidant, Vig decided to grant him a title above that of a knight—a baron, from the Latin baro.
In Francia, baron referred to warrior chieftains who exchanged military allegiance for land grants. Times changed, and it eventually evolved into the lowest rank of hereditary nobles—a baron.
“Joren, with the longest service time and having participated in the most battles, is granted Dunbar and five surrounding villages, with a cultivated land area of four thousand acres.”
“Shrike, for capturing Edinburgh and purging bandits, is granted Boness and four surrounding villages, with a cultivated land area of three thousand eight hundred acres.”
“Torger, for leading the cavalry to a decisive victory over the Gael Alliance, is granted Whitburn and three surrounding villages, with a cultivated land area of three thousand four hundred acres.”
“Viper, is granted Lanark and the surrounding forest, with a cultivated land area of two thousand acres.”
Vig simultaneously ennobled seven barons: Joren, Micham, Barfus, Torger, Shrike, Viper, and Brecon.
The first three were long-time followers, Torger was a knight who had recently transferred, and the last three were chieftains of three Welsh tribes, thus receiving slightly more favorable terms in their ennoblement.
Seeing no objections, Vig closed the scroll, drank some water to moisten his throat, then brought out a large stack of sheepskin scrolls, and began ennobling knights. Given that this was the first large-scale ennoblement, he had been agonizing over it for some time, finally drawing up a long list, totaling one hundred people.
First were the thirty-eight survivors from the first three groups of his Viking shield-bearers, then thirty-two soldiers who had demonstrated outstanding performance in past battles, twenty-five mercenaries willing to pledge allegiance, and finally five technicians, including Lucal, the blacksmith steward.
As time went on, Vig’s voice became increasingly hoarse, but he did not delegate this task to anyone else, instead insisting on reading to the very end.
“That’s all. The Northern Border is vast, and if anyone subsequently achieves merit, I will continue to allocate land for ennoblement.”
After reading the list, Vig pulled out another scroll, outlining the vassals’ obligations.
Each knightly fief possessed five hundred acres of cultivated land, as well as surrounding pastureland, woodland, and ponds, approximately three to four hundred acres, bringing the total manor area to 800-1000 acres.
In wartime, the knightly fief must provide one knight in iron armor, one mounted mercenary, two infantrymen, and a groom to care for the horses, with forty days of service per year. For service exceeding this time, the feudal lord must pay wages.
If a knight is unable to serve, such as Micham and Lucal, civilian officials with low combat capabilities, or if a knight is elderly or ill and their heir has not yet come of age, they may pay a shield tax to be exempt from military service.
As for the seven barons, they bear different levels of obligation based on the amount of cultivated land within their territories.
For example, Joren, lord of Dunbar, possesses four thousand acres of cultivated land, equivalent to eight knightly fiefs, therefore, in wartime, he must provide eight knights in iron armor, as well as the corresponding mounted mercenaries, infantry, and grooms.
Obviously, this is a heavy burden, but such are the rules. If wealthy landowners possessing vast lands are unwilling to fulfill their obligations, and allow the kingdom to gradually decay, then when a foreign enemy invades one day, all classes will suffer the consequences.
Besides barons and knights, he did not forget the common soldiers. Whether Vikings, Welshmen, or Anglo-Saxons, anyone willing to settle on the newly conquered lands will receive thirty acres of cultivated land.
By this time, night had deepened, but Vig showed no sign of stopping, continuing:
“Everyone, throughout the years of warfare, I have never been stingy with rewards. Especially this year’s war; everything except the scrolls has been distributed among you, and I imagine you have accumulated a considerable amount of wealth, enough to develop your respective territories. Furthermore, I have decided to exempt taxes for two years, hoping that during this period you will diligently manage your territories and use your minds effectively.”
Considering that some people are prone to extravagance, Vig provided a friendly sponsorship, including ten shields, ten short axes, ten spears, ten bows and arrows, to help knights and their retainers control their territories, as well as one hundred bushels of rations.
As for livestock and farming tools, the knights would have to purchase them themselves in the market. Regarding warhorses, Vig planned to help with bulk purchases, but he wouldn’t object if anyone chose to buy them individually.
“Any other questions?”
Vig scanned the crowd, then drew Dragon’s Breath Sword, signaling for the barons and knights to take turns swearing allegiance. By the time everything was finished, dawn was breaking in the sky outside.
However, there was still a pile of trivial matters waiting for him to deal with.
Regarding the current territory, Vig planned to divide it into five counties: Tyne County, Edinburgh County, Glasgow County, Stirling County, and Orkney County in the far north.
Tyne County would be directly ruled by the Duke, while the remaining four counties would be governed by Earls. The Earls would be responsible for administrative affairs and taxation; the County Judges would handle all judicial matters; and constables would be responsible for law enforcement, bandit hunting, and recruitment.
Currently, there were only a little over forty students in the first graduating class, a severely insufficient number, barely enough to maintain the operation of county-level administrative agencies, and temporarily unable to control the settlements under their jurisdiction.
Opening the roster of fifth-year students, Vig assigned them to positions such as Earl’s Secretary, Agricultural Officer, Tax Collector, and Teacher, based on their results and personal preferences.
“In the next few years, after more students graduate, we will establish settlements with over seven hundred people as towns, also managed by civil servants. As for the lower-level villages, due to their inconvenient transportation and extremely high governance difficulty, let the locals elect their own village heads. As long as they pay sufficient taxes and do not instigate rebellion, I don’t want to pay attention to other trivial matters.”
Rubbing his temples, he turned his head to glance at the Raven Speaker.
“You mentioned earlier that you want to build temples in four counties. Land and funds are not a problem; the key is, do you have enough manpower?”
According to the agreement reached between the two in private, the temple shamans in the four counties would also serve as physicians. Vig worried that the Raven Speaker would draw too many people to the local areas, neglecting the teaching and medical work at the Tyne Town headquarters.
“It’s just some simple dispensing work, it won’t take much time, and this year seven new shamans have passed the examination; it’s enough to maintain the most basic operation.”
Seeing the Raven Speaker’s confident expression, Vig chose to acquiesce. After eating breakfast in half an hour, he pondered how to maintain order in the new territory.
After preliminary planning, each of the four counties would maintain a garrison of two hundred troops, responsible for dealing with small-scale bandits in the surrounding areas.
To deal with large-scale bandits in the Northern Highlands and Southern Highlands, Vig planned to maintain two mountain infantry battalions long-term.
Eight hundred garrison troops and one thousand mountain infantry, totaling eighteen hundred standing troops. The soldiers’ annual wages are thirty silver pence, and when considering the expenses for equipment and food, the annual expenditure would be three hundred and sixty pounds of silver.
The only fortunate thing is that Vig doesn’t need to worry about troop numbers.
Nowadays, the Seven Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and West Francia are no longer suitable for pillaging; many warriors accustomed to fighting can only look elsewhere. As long as he has the money to pay wages, there will be enough warriors flooding into the Northern Border.