Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 149: Trade Disputes

After many twists and turns, the chaotic and bloody tournament finally determined its victors. The Mounted Combat Champion was the Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard, "White Hair" Oleg, while the Foot Combat Champion emerged from the commonfolk—a Norse youth named Sveg.

Once the awards ceremony concluded, Viggo yawned as he left the stands, nearly getting knocked over by two Berbers on his way out.

Before he could react, two Rus squeezed onto the stands. The Royal Guard responsible for security made no move to stop them, leading Viggo to suspect that their commander had secretly accepted a bribe.

"If I am not mistaken, they must be the representatives elected by the merchant groups."

According to the rumors over the past few days, the Rus in Londinium had temporarily formed a local merchant guild, electing an Elder and an Arbiter. The Elder was responsible for coordinating relations with the local upper class, while the Arbiter resolved internal disputes.

Similarly, the Berbers had banded together to form a similar guild organization to negotiate for more generous conditions from the rulers.

The other Norse merchants and Flemish merchants were doing fairly well with their businesses and currently had no intentions of grouping together for mutual support.

Up in the stands, the Rus and Berbers pestered Ragnar, desperately airing their grievances, while the ministers they had bribed beforehand spoke up on their behalf. Even Queen Aslaug had been bought off, urging Ragnar to forgive the actions of the Rus.

Since Aslaug was advocating for the Rus, Queen Sola took the side of the Berbers, advising the King to strictly enforce the law and severely punish the Rus who had initiated the provocation.

In the end, Ragnar managed to avoid offending either side. The royal family was in desperate need of funds, so he had no reason to expel these foreign traders.After symbolically fining the involved merchants a sum of money, he immediately showed great mercy by leasing out the land near the docks at a high price, permitting both guilds to establish trading posts and extending their permitted stay in Londinium.

Looking at the pleasantly surprised faces of the merchants, Ragnar thought to himself,

'Rather than bribing the cabinet ministers and the queens, it would be much better to give the money directly to me. It avoids the exploitation of the middlemen and saves a lot of trouble.'

Upon returning to Teyne, the weather grew increasingly frigid, and Viggo began auditing the accounts for the year 851.

The finances were running smoothly this year, with annual revenue rising to one thousand eight hundred pounds. The primary contribution to this growth came from the agricultural tax of the four counties in the Northern Marches.

As the frequency of rebel activities slowed down, coupled with the promotion of football, the locals' resistance toward the Duke of Tainburg had slightly decreased. The agricultural tax had doubled compared to last year, reaching four hundred pounds.

"Not bad. It has finally surpassed Tain County's three hundred pounds."

Considering that the four counties boasted a population of one hundred and sixty thousand—roughly five times the number of farmers in Tain County—the growth potential for the agricultural tax was massive. Viggo strictly ordered the Sheriffs not to slack off, urging them to continue wiping out the rebels and improving the security of their jurisdictions.

Regarding expenditures, the figure Viggo announced at the annual meeting was one thousand six hundred pounds, which included an inflated excess of three hundred pounds.

These siphoned funds were used to secretly produce brigandine armor in preparation for any unforeseen contingencies.

In terms of population, the permanent residents of Tain County had expanded to thirty-seven thousand. The villagers totaled thirty-three thousand, while the residents of Teyne Town amounted to four thousand.

"After two and a half years, the order in the Scottish Central Lowlands has largely stabilized. Compared to Ivar, who is bogged down in the quagmire of war, my progress is much faster."

After handling various miscellaneous tasks, Viggo spent the entire winter in leisure. That was until March of 852, when he received a piece of bad news from Norway:

The port officials in Bergen announced an increase in the tax rate, an order that came directly from King Erik.

"Is he genuinely short on money, or is he intentionally targeting me?"

Not long after, a merchant from Northern Europe requested an audience, asking the Duke to dismiss all idle personnel.

Once the servants and guards in the main hall had dispersed, the merchant revealed his true identity. He was an envoy sent by Erik Jr.

"My Lord, I have been entrusted by His Royal Highness the Prince to explain the recent changes to you." Following the dispute over the Shetland Islands, King Erik had gained practical benefits but lost face. After mulling it over, the thought of being humiliated by a junior left him feeling deeply aggrieved.

The King was very angry, and the consequences were severe.

Erik decided to lightly punish this insolent country peasant, simultaneously boosting his own income, which led to the increased tax rate at the port of Bergen.

As the acting lord of Bergen, Erik Jr. dared not defy his father's wishes.

While he outwardly obeyed the command, he privately dispatched an envoy to Teyne, suggesting that Viggo's cargo ships head to a remote fishing village not far south of Bergen, where he himself would handle the sales (smuggling).

If the volume of goods was massive, Erik Jr. could also pull some strings and redirect the cargo ships to settlements on the Swedish East Coast, such as Kalmar and Stockholm.

"A son picking his own father's pocket? Interesting."

Viggo leaned forward slightly, his vigilance raised to its peak. "Why would he help me?"

The envoy smiled in response. "Friendship."

"And what else besides friendship?"

The envoy's gaze swept across the hall once more. "My master only requires your friendship. Ever since his younger brother Heath has been thriving, my master's right to succession has begun to waver. Furthermore, the King's brother Hrolf has risen to power in Denmark, making him equally qualified to contest the throne.

"With a bleak path ahead, my master desperately needs a reliable ally. Looking across the entire known world, the promise of the North's Serpent is the most trustworthy. Before I departed, he swore an oath to the gods that once he ascends the throne, you will be his closest brother in this world."

Viggo nearly lost his composure. "Brothers? I am a peasant by birth. I don't share a single drop of blood with him."

"No, blood relations are unreliable. Only bonds forged through mutual interest are truly unbreakable."

Pondering the envoy's words, Viggo agreed to forge a secret pact with Erik Jr., promising to provide support when the necessary time came.

To play it safe, he dispatched Seaxburh to Northern Europe to gather intelligence.

Before setting off, Viggo warned his most outstanding first-rate graduate, who also served as the Sheriff's Secretary of Edinburgh County:

"Your primary focus is to conduct a field inspection of places like Kalmar and negotiate with the Swedish nobles. Remember: cash on delivery, and absolutely no credit. That is my bottom line."

Evidently, the bitter memory of Lord Ole defaulting on his payments still haunted Viggo. As long as nothing went wrong, he was willing to make some concessions regarding the price.

"Understood."

Seaxburh nodded heavily and boarded a brand new Knarr ship dedicated to Northern European transport, the "Albatross."

After ten days adrift at sea, the Albatross arrived in the waters near Bergen. Under the envoy's guidance, the captain steered the Knarr ship southward along the coastline for a short distance before turning into a hidden fjord.

At the end of the fjord stood an abandoned fishing village. Noticing the arrival of the Knarr ship, a group of raggedly dressed slaves emerged from the buildings, preparing to unload the cargo under the urging of an overseer.

Upon learning that the trade prices remained the same as the previous year, the captain breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around to face Seaxburh, "My Lord, my responsibility was to safely escort you here. What about the rest of the journey?"

Seaxburh exhaled a breath of frosty air. "Erik Jr. has arranged for a guide to sail with me to Kalmar. You don't need to worry about it."