Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 307: The Baltic Sea

Beyond military considerations, Wigg also planned to develop Gotland into the trade hub of the Baltic Sea. He dispatched fleets to Pomerania, Livonia, and the Finland region to invite various tribal chieftains to a commercial exhibition.

In early August, an unexpected guest arrived in Visby, requesting an audience with the King of Britain.

"Are you... Erik?"

Looking at the plump old man draped in a black cloak and leaning on an oak walking stick, Wigg was utterly shocked. Eleven years had passed since Erik Jr. usurped the throne; he never expected the man to still be alive.

The plump old man removed his cloak, revealing a calm and composed smile.

"Your Majesty, I discarded the title of King of Norway long ago, along with the name 'Erik.' I am now a shaman of Uppsala, and my sole mission is to serve Odin. You may call me 'Wind-chaser.'"

Wind-chaser accepted the wine cup Wigg handed him and drained it in one gulp. He then explained the purpose of his visit: to thank Wigg for his outstanding contributions in the recent war, Uppsala would henceforth honor him as the "Defender of the Faith."

Wigg remained silent, waiting for Wind-chaser to state his demands.

In recent years, Uppsala had been deeply influenced by the Teyneburg Order, adopting their new script, doctrines, and various institutional systems. However, Uppsala lacked the financial resources necessary to implement these reforms, leaving them with no choice but to seek Wigg's assistance.

"What exactly do you want?""Medical training for our shamans, and some financial support," Wind-chaser replied.

"Very well, I agree." Wigg did not care about such a trifling expense. He consented to let their shamans travel to Londinium for training.

On the tenth of August, tribal chieftains from various regions arrived one after another. Wigg warmly received them and announced a monumental piece of news.

To maintain normal commercial order, he vowed to protect all merchants traveling to Visby for trade. Should any pirates dare to attack the passing merchant ships, they would face total annihilation by the Baltic Fleet.

After laying down the law, Wigg led his guests to the exhibition area near the port. The commodities were vast and varied, including but not limited to:

Grain, textiles, various liquors, iron agricultural tools, cane sugar, and fish sauce...

After introducing everything one by one, Wigg allowed them to browse freely, leaving the clerks of the various merchant guilds to handle their reception.

Unsurprisingly, the novelty of fish sauce was unanimously welcomed. Condiments were scarce in this era, and spices like pepper and cinnamon were exorbitantly priced, far beyond what the tribal chieftains could afford. Fish sauce, relatively inexpensive, was perfectly suited for bulk sales.

The exhibition proceeded smoothly. Wigg left the venue and strolled around the vicinity. As far as the eye could see, the entire port had been transformed into a bustling construction site.

According to the plan, Visby would be developed into a model town. It would have everything, from banks and post offices to a hospital, temples, public baths, and an arena, all serving to promote Britain's culture and lifestyle throughout the Baltic Sea region, subtly expanding Wigg's influence.

'The market in Iberia has strong purchasing power, but its flaw lies in its instability, making it difficult to maintain in the long term. Francia and Britain are engaged in hostilities; our trade is officially severed, leaving only sporadic smuggling operations.'

'The only foreign markets I can rely on are Northern Europe and Eastern Europe. Even though their local purchasing power is poor, I have no choice but to bite the bullet and develop them.'

After wandering for quite some time, he returned to the lord's longhouse, only to see a middle-aged man waiting at the entrance.

Through a translator's introduction, Wigg learned the guest's identity. He was a tribal chieftain from the Livonia region named Gatoi. He requested that the King dispatch troops to help him attack the neighboring Courland tribe.

'Why should I?'

'I just want to do business, yet you want to treat me as a free hired thug?'

Wigg's expression remained placid as he asked the Crown Prince in Latin, "What do you think?" Fridleif gently shook his head. "The Kingdom has too many affairs to handle; it is not suitable for us to intervene in the situation in Eastern Europe. Even if we were to dispatch troops, our intelligence network should gather sufficient information first to avoid being dragged into a protracted war with incredibly low returns."

Wigg shared the exact same view. He tactfully refused Gatoi's request, but agreed to sell him military equipment, provided the man had the ability to pay for it.

Gatoi walked out of the lord's longhouse in disappointment. He returned to the port and observed the goods being sold by the British merchants. He was particularly drawn to the iron sickles; possessing both hardness and flexibility, they were exceptionally handy to swing.

"Even though they are merely agricultural tools, their quality surpasses the iron swords forged by our tribal blacksmiths," Gatoi muttered.

Reluctantly, Gatoi set the sickle down and walked over to the neighboring weapons display. Britain's weapons were equally outstanding, and they even had captured armor for sale. Unfortunately, he had brought too little amber with him, only enough to purchase ten iron swords and five hundred arrows.

Before long, a British merchant took the initiative to approach Gatoi, offering his assistance.

"You can sell me ironware?"

"My name is Jason, from the Ponteland Chamber of Commerce. If the terms are right, perhaps we can lend you a sum of money to purchase military equipment."

The two conversed for a moment, and Jason decided to conduct an on-site inspection. The next day, the Ponteland Chamber of Commerce's knarr ship departed from Visby, following Gatoi's oared longships toward Livonia.

After two days of sailing, Jason caught sight of Livonia's coastline. Rolling pine forests filled his vision, and the air carried a mixture of pine resin and the ocean breeze. Gatoi's tribe was situated at the mouth of a river, surrounded on the periphery by crude wooden palisades, with over a hundred dwellings erected inside.

These houses were constructed from logs, their roofs covered in turf. Jason observed the locals' attire and daily lives, as well as the farmlands outside the enclosing walls, and could not help but feel profoundly disappointed.

The farmlands were temporary plots carved out of the forest. Along the edges, stumps and ashes left over from autumn burning were clearly visible. The newly reclaimed soil lay exposed in a grayish-black hue, while the fallow fields were overgrown with knee-high weeds and shrubs.

Their wooden plows were pulled by two oxen and could only scratch the shallow topsoil. In the distance, people were harvesting rye. Peering closely, Jason was astonished to see that some were actually still using flint sickles.

'The level of farming is far too poor. Sowing one bushel of seeds will likely yield only two to three bushels of grain. Being this impoverished, there is absolutely no money to be made here.'

Jason returned to the port and had his crew set up stalls to sell their goods. Silver coins did not circulate locally, so they could only resort to bartering. The Vikings sold iron agricultural tools and dyed cloth, purchasing amber and elk skins in return.

Because the locals' purchasing power was abysmally low, the crew busied themselves until the morning of the third day, yet the goods they acquired were valued at less than thirty pounds. Abandoning his previous intentions for cooperation, Jason ordered his crew to weigh anchor and set sail.

In late August, the Visby exhibition concluded. The trade volume did not meet Wigg's expectations, but he remained steadfast in his previous plans. Even if he could not make much of a profit, he still intended to gradually expand his influence across the Baltic Sea.

'The tribes in Eastern Europe are generally weak. Once my second and third sons come of age, perhaps I can have them find a suitable place to settle down. It would certainly be better than having all three brothers crowded together in Britain.'

Harboring such thoughts, Wigg ordered the intelligence network to establish a branch in Visby, entirely dedicated to gathering intelligence on Northern Europe and Eastern Europe for future contingencies.