novelraw Chapter 145: Competition
Chapter 145: Competition
Recalling the past, Viggo drafted a set of rules for football matches, striving to make them as simple and easy to understand as possible.
That afternoon, he had craftsmen sew a simple football together and selected twenty-two shieldbearers to play a match.
At first, the men had absolutely no interest in chasing a leather ball around; they were only participating for the two pence bounty promised by the Duke. However, as the match progressed to halftime, their competitive spirit was ignited, and they began discussing their coordination and positioning with one another.
By the final ten minutes, the shieldbearers had completely forgotten about the trivial silver pennies. They chased the ball like men possessed, which eventually devolved into a full-blown fistfight.
"Enough! Stop fighting! Both the winners and the losers will get their prize money!"
Watching the crowd gathering and shoving each other on the field, Viggo felt a massive headache coming on. The appeal of this sport seemed to be a bit too strong.
Over the following period, he put all his effort into promoting football throughout his territory. Along the way, he had the Raven Speakers' Temple System assist with the propaganda, linking this competitive activity directly to the Aesir gods.
In just a few short months, football swept across the entire Northern Marches. Even the Pictish farmers, who had always feigned compliance while secretly resisting, were no exception.
During the farming off-season, they ignored the discouragement of conservative factions and spontaneously gathered on flat grassy fields, desperately chasing a leather ball printed with the Yggdrasil motif. Occasionally, when formal matches were held between two villages, the Pictish farmers would even invite a Viking Shaman to act as the referee.
In August, Helgi led four Knarr ships fully loaded with furs, tallow, and walrus ivory to the docks of Teyne Town. There, he saw many young men kicking a ball around a square clearing, surrounded by a circle of spectators cheering them on enthusiastically.After waiting for a moment and realizing that no one was paying him any attention, Helgi had to take the initiative to recruit porters. "Hey! Hurry up and come unload these goods! These are high-quality items for the Duke, and your wages won't be shorted!"
Because the workers were so distracted, the unloading process was severely delayed. Once they finished, he treated the workers to a round of beer, as was his custom, and asked why everyone was so obsessed.
"Burp! That was a match between the Dockyard Team and the Textile District Team. If our lads win this one, they'll make it to the semifinals!"
'Dockyard Team? Match? Semifinals?'
Helgi's mind ground to a halt. Barely half a year had passed since he set sail, yet he felt as if the world had left him behind for a whole decade!
"This must be another one of Viggo's bizarre ideas," he muttered.
Pulling out a handful of silver pennies to pay the tab, Helgi walked briskly toward Teyneburg, only to hear the shieldbearers discussing football matches as well.
"Those last ten minutes were incredibly satisfying. To think they could score two goals in that time."
"It's all because that goalkeeper was too stupid. He ought to be hung upside down by a rope and given a good beating..."
Entering the main hall of the keep, Helgi saw Viggo leaning over a desk, writing furiously on the highest-grade parchment.
"Are you issuing a decree?"
Viggo glanced at his brother-in-law before lowering his head to continue writing. "Uh, it's quite similar in nature. These are the new rules for the Football League, or what you might call version 2.0. I plan to hold a unified league across the five counties next year, with the winners from each county coming to Teyne Town for the finals. I hope this league will promote interaction among different groups and, while we are at it, expand the influence of the Teyneburg Order."
Finishing his final stroke, he had a maid fetch a wooden basket filled with footballs, all of which were uniformly printed with the Yggdrasil motif.
"To promote this sport, I had the tanners sew two thousand footballs to distribute for free. This is the latest batch. Do you want to take a few to the residents of Iceland? I heard they are bored out of their minds on that island and constantly bicker over the most trivial matters."
Helgi picked up a football, didn't notice anything particularly special about it, and decided to get down to business first. "The battles went smoothly. We routed that tribe and seized the coastline in the surrounding area. Afterward, we built houses out of stone and dug a shallow moat. Unfortunately, the area lacks timber, so we couldn't construct a wooden palisade.
"Regarding the haul, we brought back a total of twelve thousand various pelts and five hundred barrels of tallow.
"The cargo is valued at seven hundred pounds. The crew will split fifty percent of the profits, and the remaining half will be deposited into the Fur Company's accounts to prioritize paying off the three hundred and twenty-pound debt we owe you."
Viggo was genuinely startled. "The profit margins are that high? You can recoup the investment in just one year?"
Helgi straightened his back and replied, "Yes. We are family, so of course I wouldn't intentionally cheat you out of your money. This year's profits will pay off the debt. Assuming the company pulls in another three hundred and fifty pounds next year, we will distribute dividends according to our share proportions. That way, you'll net a clean hundred pounds of profit every year."
In Helgi's eyes, this was only the beginning. The company would expand its operations in the future and attempt to establish trade relations with neighboring tribes. Multiplying their earnings several times over would not be an issue.
Ultimately, Bjorn's ambition—to be wealthier than the King—was not just a mere fantasy.
Learning of the company's broad prospects, Viggo began to consider other aspects.
"Such lucrative profits will inevitably attract the covetous eyes of outsiders. After conquering Northumbria, Bjorn couldn't be granted a noble title, so Ragnar has always felt a lingering sense of guilt toward him and won't have the audacity to snatch this business away. As for the Kingdom of Norway to the east, Erik's strength isn't even worth mentioning. If that old dog tries to pull any dirty tricks, I will personally step in and deal with him.
"Furthermore, some nobles might request to take part in this business. Go back and discuss it with Bjorn; you can either refuse them or let them join, provided they pay the hunting license tax to the company. As for those scattered raiders, you will just have to rely on yourselves to eradicate them. Greenland is a vast territory, so completely wiping out poaching will likely be very difficult."
Over the next twenty days, the four ocean-going Knarr ships underwent maintenance in the shipyard's dry dock. The workers filled the gaps between the hull planks with fresh waterproofing materials and used scrapers to clean away the barnacles attached to the ships' hulls.
Taking advantage of this downtime, Helgi made sure to spend time with his family. He brought Breda and Leif to watch the football matches, and his initial indifference gradually morphed into him becoming an irritable, hot-tempered fan.
"You useless trash! You're a defender, what are you doing in the offensive half? Hurry back and defend!"
"Get back and defend!"
"Defend!"
When the final whistle blew, Helgi hurled a string of curses. "A bunch of useless trash! I'd be better off getting out there and playing myself!"
Following several post-match brawls, his reputation spread far and wide. Nearly every townsman knew that the Duke of Tainburg had a one-eyed brother-in-law who was absolutely fanatical about football.
"This sport really is interesting. It's perfect for young men to pass the time."
By this point, Helgi had completely fallen in love with the sport.
In late August, the fleet was preparing to set sail. Aside from food, beer, armaments, clothing, and timber, they specifically loaded over two hundred tons of honeycomb coal for heating and cooking.
Carefully folding a piece of parchment that recorded the rules of football, Helgi sighed. "The lack of forests is Greenland's biggest flaw; the locals have to eat their meat raw. Compared to beer and iron tools, I think honeycomb coal will actually have much higher sales."
With that said, he embraced Viggo, Breda, and Leif in farewell before leading his fleet back out onto the long, arduous journey.