Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 240: Land Survey

Over the next few days, acting on the advice of the sugarcane workers, Helgi relocated the camp to a hillside about ten miles south. A small river flowed nearby, making it an ideal location for a sugarcane plantation.

Pressed for time, Helgi assigned over three hundred men to clear the brush. It took them more than half a month to carve out a small plot of arable land.

Afterward, the sugarcane workers cut the cane into suitable segments for planting, smeared the cut ends with plant ash, and placed them into freshly plowed furrows. Once covered with soil, they diverted water to irrigate the crops.

Due to the lack of irrigation canals and waterwheels, the hired laborers had to haul water using heavy buckets. The grueling work left everyone utterly exhausted, with many groaning that they could not survive such a harsh life.

Even after planting, the backbreaking labor continued. The sugarcane workers approached Helgi, requesting him to assign men for regular weeding, as well as to dig irrigation canals and construct waterwheels.

"They can't work anymore. Let them rest for a while," Helgi sighed.

Because the workload was excessively heavy, Helgi sought out investors like Hrogeir, suggesting they sail back home to deliver the next batch of hired laborers and supplies as soon as possible.

As it happened, Hrogeir had grown thoroughly sick of this endless toil. Standing on the ship deck, he gazed out at the sun-drenched archipelago, his mind churning with countless thoughts.

"The scenery here is quite nice, and the climate is pleasant, but the initial development is simply too exhausting. We must supplement our workforce," Hrogeir muttered. "Phew... in a few years, once the islands are somewhat developed, I will definitely build a holiday manor here."

Aided by the westerlies and ocean currents, the fleet made excellent time on their return voyage, arriving back in Londinium in early June.Upon learning that sugarcane cultivation had begun in the Canary Islands, several nobles were intrigued and sought out Hrogeir to inquire about the details.

"Helgi was right. The region has ample sunlight and a favorable climate. The only drawback is the presence of native tribes," Hrogeir replied honestly, describing the local conditions. He advised the nobles to invest cautiously, making it clear that they should not come crying to him if they ended up losing money.

A few days later, he took his five children to visit Heregyth. He also presented her with a peculiar, emerald-green bird capable of mimicking human speech.

"A parrot?" Heregyth had read about this species in ancient scrolls left behind by Ancient Rome, which noted how popular they once were. With the fall of the Roman Empire, these brilliantly colored birds had gradually vanished from Europe. She never expected to see one with her own eyes.

"Where did you get this?" she asked.

The parrot squawked, "Where did you get this?"

Hrogeir waved his arm dismissively. "Don't interrupt, you stupid bird."

The parrot squawked again, "Don't interrupt, you stupid bird."

"Hehe, what an amusing little creature." Heregyth let out a long, genuine laugh before ordering her handmaidens to take good care of the parrot.

Once the parrot was taken away, Hrogeir finally answered his sister's question. "The fleet stopped in Lisbon on the way back, and I went out of my way to buy one as a gift for you. The Moorish nobles of Iberia live in absolute luxury and possess all sorts of novelties. Compared to them, we are nothing but a bunch of ignorant, country barbarians."

Sensing that her brother had something important to discuss, Heregyth had the handmaidens take the children away to eat pastries. She then sat up straight, her previous languid demeanor vanishing entirely, replaced by a sharp sense of majesty and alertness.

"What do you propose?" she inquired.

Hrogeir detailed the climate and terrain of the Canary Islands, asserting that the land was perfect for cultivating sugarcane, grapes, and citrus fruits. However, they were in desperate need of a massive workforce.

"Because the journey is so far, we still cannot recruit enough hands even when offering triple the wages. I think it would be better if we tried this approach..."

Hrogeir's idea was straightforward: since they could not recruit commoners, it would be better to have the King amend the laws and exile criminals to the Canary Islands. This would accelerate local development while simultaneously reducing the crime rate at home.

At first glance, Heregyth found the proposal highly feasible. "Alright, go back and wait for news. I will discuss this with Wigg tonight." After listening to Heregyth relay the idea, Wigg's reaction was rather plain. Whether in Europe or the Central Plains dynasties, the practice of exile was quite common. Since his wife was currently pregnant, he could not be bothered to fuss over such a minor issue. After a brief moment of consideration, he agreed to the plan.

The next day.

Wigg personally attended the Cabinet meeting. Initially, he discussed Hrogeir's proposal with the Cabinet. Since no one voiced any objections, the plan passed effortlessly.

Following that, the meeting moved on to its primary agenda—a land survey of the five southern counties.

In Wigg's memory, William the Conqueror had conducted a comprehensive census of population and land across all of England in 1086, a scale unparalleled in medieval Europe.

Given the chaotic state of the five southern counties, he decided to conduct a small-scale survey. The staff would be composed of civilian officials from Tyne County and the Five Northern Counties, along with middle school students who were nearing graduation.

Taking half a day, he and the Cabinet devised a detailed work plan. Starting from Lundinium County, they would survey each village one by one. Investigators would question the villagers using a standardized questionnaire, focusing primarily on three areas:

First was the land information. Investigators would record the name of the manor or village, as well as the area of arable land, woodlands, pastures, and fish ponds, in order to calculate the overall value of the land.

Second was demographic information. This included the gentry, free farmers, cottagers (who possessed too little land to sustain themselves and occasionally worked for wages), villeins (tenant farmers obligated to perform labor for the manor lord), and slaves (who were entirely dependent on the lord and owned no land).

Lastly, there was livestock information, encompassing pigs, cattle, sheep, horses, and even beehives.

Aside from the commoners, the directly administered territories also contained numerous fiefs belonging to barons and knights. Since they fulfilled their military service obligations, they were exempt from directly paying land taxes.

However, if they had purchased additional land, those extra properties had to be taxed according to the same standards as the commoners. This was a key area of focus for Wigg, and he would brook absolutely no compromise on the matter.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Wigg asked.

His gaze swept across everyone present. Gorm, Mitcham, Om, and Bafors belonged to the great nobles. Because their earldoms fell outside the scope of the survey, their interests remained entirely unaffected, giving them no reason to oppose the bill.

Minister of Naval Affairs Helgi was far to the south planting sugarcane, so he automatically abstained.

Floki, serving as the Chief Great Shaman, oversaw all the temples within the kingdom. The temples' funds came from royal family appropriations, donations from believers, medical income, and revenues from affiliated real estate. These temple-owned lands would also be subject to taxation. Wigg had already negotiated this with him beforehand, so Floki voiced no objection to the bill either.

That left only the Minister of Agriculture and Education, Kemi Wildfire, and the Minister of Industry, Lucar. Both men were newly promoted barons with fiefs located in Cambridgeshire, meaning their interests would be directly impacted.

Having served as a shaman for a long time, Kemi cared very little for worldly wealth. He supported the King without a moment's hesitation.

Lucar, on the other hand, had bought up massive tracts of land last year while prices were low. As someone whose interests would be harmed, he had remained silent throughout the meeting. Upon hearing his colleagues declare their stances, Lucar had no choice but to begrudgingly agree.

Spending a few minutes to personally draft the bill, Gorm stamped it with the Prime Minister's Seal and handed it to the King.

After carefully inspecting the document, Wigg affixed his own seal at the very end. He ordered the Cabinet to put it into effect as quickly as possible. "Aim to have this finished within half a year. I will dispatch an infantry regiment and two ranger companies to escort the surveyors, just to deter any fools who might dare to cause trouble."