novelraw Chapter 295: Expedition
Chapter 295: Expedition
After ascending the throne, Wigg dedicated himself to promoting new agricultural techniques and selling iron farming tools at low prices. Grain production increased year by year, and the warehouses of Londinium were filled to the brim, more than enough to supply the consumption of war.
Secondly, the domestic finances were abundant. Even if the Treasury's savings were exhausted, Wigg had countless ways to extract war funds. In all fairness, he felt that no one on the continent was better at amassing wealth than him.
As for weapons and equipment, the Treasury had accumulated tens of thousands of standard sets of brigandine armor, while weapons and arrows were piled up like mountains. Looking across the continent, he even surpassed Charles the Bald in this regard, only inferior to the financially powerful Michael III, who could be called the richest man in the Western Hemisphere.
With grain, military pay, and equipment all fully prepared, his only remaining concern was transportation.
It took a two-masted sailing ship seven to twelve days to sail from Londinium to Denmark. The speed of a Knarr ship was even slower, usually taking two weeks.
The combat style of the standing army was similar to that of the early Roman Legions. Standardized logistics and supplies improved combat effectiveness and marching speed, but it required a continuous stream of supplies from the rear, consuming a massive amount of transportation resources.
Wigg took out paper and pen, considering the standing military strength to be mobilized for this expedition:
The First, Second, and Third Infantry Regiments, the Mountain Infantry Battalion, the Ranger Battalion, the Marine Battalion, plus the First Imperial Guard Battalion. Counting support staff and the field medical battalion, the total military strength reached five thousand six hundred.
In addition, he planned to conscript four thousand militiamen, organizing them into four temporary infantry regiments for contingencies.
During the expedition, Wigg did not plan to summon knights from various regions. The main reason was the tight transportation capacity; it would be too difficult to transport more horses.A Knarr ship with a cargo capacity of a hundred tons could transport eighty men, assuming it carried heavy infantry and a small amount of supplies. If transporting warhorses, it could only carry ten.
Each warhorse required a dedicated stall to prevent them from biting and kicking each other due to stress, with a thick layer of hay laid down inside to prevent slipping.
Every day, a single warhorse required ten kilograms of forage and twenty-five liters of fresh water, a consumption rate far exceeding that of an individual soldier. Moreover, warhorses despised bumpy environments, were prone to illness, and easily spooked. The attrition rate during long-distance sea transport was simply too high.
Besides cavalry, the militia from the nobles' territories were also excluded. These groups had low combat effectiveness and were of little use, yet they would occupy precious transport capacity. Once their unpaid service period exceeded forty days, wages had to be paid, making them incredibly cost-ineffective.
Having made up his mind, Wigg convened a Cabinet meeting, instructing his ministers to prepare for the relevant matters.
This operation relied primarily on the standing army, so the response speed was extremely fast. In just a week, the first batch of troops was ready, including two infantry regiments, the Marine Battalion, and the First Imperial Guard Battalion.
At this moment, the civilian merchant ships requisitioned by the Kingdom were still gathering. Wigg did not delay; he ordered the troops to board and set sail. If they dragged this out any longer, the Viking forces on the Jutland Peninsula would only continue to dwindle.
On the early morning of February 21st, the expeditionary force officially set out.
Surrounded by more than twenty attendants, Wigg and the Crown Prince stepped onto the deck of the flagship, the "Black Sea Bass".
This was the second three-masted sailing ship built by the Kingdom. Launched last June, it possessed excellent seaworthiness and thus became the flagship of the Southern Fleet.
The Black Sea Bass featured three masts, carrying a mix of square rigs and lateen sails. This allowed it to better utilize crosswinds, reaching a speed of ten knots with a tailwind. To prevent barnacles and other parasites from attaching to the hull, the bottom was specially sheathed in a thin layer of copper plates, making it incredibly expensive to build.
The total length of the Black Sea Bass was about thirty-five meters, with a width of eight meters. It required a crew of one hundred to maintain its voyage. To exchange for sufficient maneuverability and sturdiness, the sailing ship sacrificed some of its cargo capacity, resulting in a maximum load of about two hundred tons. "Set sail!"
Receiving the King's order, the boatswain shouted loudly, commanding the crew to adjust the rigging. The sailors untied the mooring ropes at the dock and pulled up the gangway. The mainmast sail was hoisted, and the ship slowly began to move under the blowing of the west wind.
On the aft deck, a fresh-faced cadet officer waved two small flags, using semaphore to relay the King's commands. The fleet weighed anchor in an orderly fashion, forming a single-file line as they sailed downstream, reaching the mouth of the River Thames by noon.
At this point, the Black Sea Bass unfurled all its sails. The hull tilted slightly as it cut through the waves, reaching a speed of ten knots. The lookout climbed high up the mainmast to observe the movements on the surrounding sea.
That afternoon, the fleet arrived at the port of Dover. Earl Ulf hosted a banquet at Candletower, graciously entertaining the numerous distinguished guests. Now growing increasingly old, he was no longer suited to participate in this expedition, giving him a lonely sense of being left behind by the times.
The next morning, the fleet left the Isle of Britain and crossed the Strait of Dover. West Francia only had a handful of Knarr ships with outdated warship designs; not daring to contend with this fleet, they had all retreated entirely into the port of Calais.
Subsequently, the expeditionary fleet advanced eastward along the Continental Coastline. Twelve warships were stationed there, responsible for monitoring the British Channel, with a primary focus on the port of Calais, Harfleur Fortress, and Cherbourg.
After multiple clashes, a consensus had formed within the British Navy: the Knarr ships, fitted with square aftcastles at the stern, were bulky and sluggish. Their combat prowess was not even on par with the Moorish Dhows. They were unqualified to contest for naval supremacy over the British Channel and could only carry out warning and patrol missions in coastal waters.
Until new types of warships were built, Gunnar had no choice but to huddle up in Normandy, no longer able to replicate the massive landings of the civil war era.
On March 3rd, the fleet arrived at a fishing port on the west coast of Denmark named Esbjerg, where the flags of Viking nobles still fluttered in the wind.
Learning that the Serpent of the North had appeared in person, the nobles withdrew their temporarily assembled militia and allowed this army to disembark unhindered.
After disembarking, Fridleif looked up at a wooden statue about the height of five men, appearing slightly puzzled. "Who is this?"
From within the crowd, Pascal Jr. replied with a gloomy expression:
"This is a statue of King Ragnar. Back then, after Ragnar died of illness, I was ordered to escort his coffin back to Gothenburg for burial. When the fleet stopped at Esbjerg, that bastard Niels forcibly seized the coffin. He led a group of charlatan shamans singing and dancing, and even made a gilded chair, claiming that Ragnar's soul was attached to it..."
Hearing this recollection, Fridleif looked thoughtful. "Where is that gilded chair? We might as well take it back and keep it in the museum."
Pascal Jr. said, "The situation in Denmark was turbulent, and Niels fled into exile to the Eastern Roman Empire. That thing probably had its surface gold scraped off by someone and was then burned as firewood."
From the mouths of the local residents, Wigg learned that Louis "the Younger" was attacking Aalborg in Northern Denmark. With a force numbering between five to seven thousand, the offensive was fierce. Halfdan Whiteshirt had already fled by ship, leaving only a small number of soldiers who refused to evacuate still holding the line.
"There's no rush. Let it drag on for a bit longer. Even if Aalborg is lost, it won't matter."
Estimating the schedule, the second batch of troops had already set off. Once they arrived, Wigg planned to cut off the retreat of Louis "the Younger" and permanently bury this army in Denmark.