Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 336: The Eve of War

That afternoon, Wigg swiftly completed a reshuffle of his cabinet members. He established a new Department of Overseas Affairs, tasked with managing the New World, the Canary Islands, the Azores, and their territories in Northern Europe.

As a result, there were three vacant positions within the cabinet.

The first was Seaxburh, a student Wigg had personally taught during his time as the Earl of Teyne. He succeeded Lucar to become the new Minister of Industry.

Next was Pascal Jr. The former Minister of Naval Affairs transferred to fill Mitcham's vacancy in the Department of Administrative Affairs, leaving the Admiralty in the capable hands of Pascal Jr.

Finally, there was Loki. As an outstanding administrative bureaucrat, he was assigned to manage the newly formed Department of Overseas Affairs.

With the personnel adjustments complete, Wigg convened a cabinet meeting, announcing the decision to go to war and the scale of the mobilization:

Across the twelve directly governed counties, possessing a total of eighty thousand reserves, twenty-four thousand men would be conscripted at a ratio of one-third and entirely organized into field units.

The dukes and earls within the kingdom were also called upon. The number of troops each noble household was required to provide was based on the Mobilization Act enacted the previous year, totaling sixteen thousand soldiers, including two thousand heavy cavalry.

Wigg planned to draft the cavalry of the great nobles to fight alongside the barons and knights from his directly governed territories, expecting to assemble roughly two thousand eight hundred heavy cavalry. Furthermore, the Standing Army had organized four Ranger Battalions boasting over one thousand two hundred light cavalry, bringing the total number of cavalry for this campaign to over four thousand.

"...In summary, the Royal Guard and the Standing Army total ten thousand men, the conscripts from the directly governed territories number twenty-four thousand, and the noble conscripts amount to fifteen thousand, making a grand total of fifty thousand troops.Among them, the ten-thousand-plus militia provided by the nobles suffer from low combat effectiveness. Only the cavalry, a handful of heavy infantry, and the Welsh longbowmen will be truly useful. Even so, we will still command nearly forty thousand capable field troops."

Pascal Jr. observed his eight colleagues seated around the table. He noticed a widespread sense of astonishment among them; clearly, not a single one had received any advance notice.

He never could have imagined that the very first cabinet meeting of his life would be quite this thrilling.

Since he was not skilled in marching and warfare, he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut, simply listening intently to the discussion between the King, Prime Minister Mitcham, and the Minister of War, Bafors.

An unknown amount of time passed, and the light outside dimmed. Attendants lit the whale oil candles on both sides of the room, instantly illuminating the entire conference chamber as bright as day.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the meeting paused for a half-hour intermission. Servants brought dinner for the King and his ministers, and Pascal Jr. swiftly polished off his portion.

'The pan-fried steak has an exquisite texture, not to mention the cream cake and the golden, crispy egg tarts. Hiss, I really wish I could have a glass of sugarcane rum.'

Of course, he only lamented this inwardly and would never be foolish enough to ask for alcoholic beverages. The King demanded absolute rigor from his administrative staff and deeply detested anyone drinking during work hours, especially during such a critical meeting.

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Pascal Jr. stepped out of the stuffy conference room. He took an aimless stroll to clear his mind, breathing in the fresh air of the garden until the meeting reconvened.

After hearing the cabinet's opinions, Wigg organized the combat forces into one Royal Division and three Field Divisions.

Each Field Division comprised six infantry regiments, two Mountain Infantry Battalions, and one Ranger Battalion, along with a vast number of logistical personnel, totaling eight thousand five hundred men.

The Royal Division was personally commanded by Wigg. It included the Guard Battalion, the Standing Army, and the soon-to-be-assembled two thousand eight hundred heavy cavalry, totaling twelve thousand troops. Additionally, the ten-thousand-plus militia provided by the great nobles were organized into ten Garrison Regiments to handle auxiliary tasks, such as transporting supplies, garrisoning towns, and clearing out scattered enemies.

Regarding logistics, the gold, silver, textiles, grain, and other supplies in the treasury held a total value of thirty-five thousand pounds. Moreover, West Francia was rich in resources and highly suitable for foraging on-site; sustaining a two-year campaign would be no issue.

If Charles the Bald could not be dealt with in two years, Wigg felt there would be no need to continue this war.

Ever since Wigg ascended the throne, the armories in Teyne and Londinium had been operating at full capacity. The storehouses were brimming with all sorts of military equipment, enough to outfit every soldier in the combat units with brigandine armor. The surplus of two thousand captured suits of armor would be allocated to the ten Garrison Regiments.

Clutching several reports provided by the cabinet, his eyes flickered. "Over thirty thousand heavy infantry and four thousand cavalry. This is the fortune I have accumulated over more than twenty years. I want to see exactly how much the Franks are willing to wager."

More than half a century ago, Charlemagne forged a massive Frankish Empire with a population of roughly twelve to fifteen million, surpassing the Eastern Roman Empire of the same era and becoming the absolute dominant power in Western and Central Europe.

After Charlemagne passed away, the empire fragmented due to the influence of gavelkind succession. The heirs of the Carolingian dynasty engaged in endless disputes, causing a decline in national strength, though the total population still exceeded ten million.

Based on a mobilization rate of one to two percent, Wigg estimated the enemy's maximum mobilization limit exceeded one hundred thousand and might even reach two hundred thousand. However, a larger number of soldiers meant greater logistical pressure. In the current era, lacking radios, trains, and canned goods, the Frankish logistical system was insufficient to support such a colossal number. The functional troops they could deploy were estimated to be only fifty to eighty thousand.

Suddenly, Prime Minister Mitcham interrupted Wigg's thoughts. "Your Majesty, once the war breaks out, prices are bound to skyrocket. I fear our savings are insufficient. Have you considered levying a war tax?"

'A war tax?'

Wigg was slightly tempted, but then reconsidered. The kingdom had a total population of two million seven hundred thousand. Drafting fifty thousand able-bodied youths for a prolonged overseas campaign would seriously impact agricultural production. Levying extra taxes under such circumstances would inevitably exacerbate civilian discontent and even breed rebellion.

"That is inappropriate. We should find a more suitable method," he declared.

He introduced a new idea to the cabinet members: war bonds. They would raise funds from merchants and the gentry, promising to repay the principal with interest after five years. Assuming the war was victorious, the buyers would also receive a piece of real estate in West Francia.

The final topic was the landing site.

West Francia had a long coastline, but suitable landing spots were few. Considering logistical factors, Wigg had to capture a port capable of docking a large number of ships.

He had an attendant spread a detailed map of West Francia on the conference table. It was annotated with West Francia's towns, fortresses, major roads, and rivers, embodying years of painstaking effort from their intelligence system.

Calais was the port closest to Britain, but it was heavily guarded, and the fortresses in the surrounding area were particularly dense, making it unsuitable for a landing.

Next was the mouth of the River Seine. Ragnar's first attack on West Francia was by sailing upstream from the River Seine. Later, Charles the Bald learned his lesson and built the Harfleur Fortress at the river mouth, making a siege extremely difficult. The subsequent river channels were also strung with many river chain barriers, severing the possibility of advancing upstream.

In recent years, because Britain occupied the Hebrides, the nearby seaports in Normandy had also strengthened their defenses. Saint-Malo and Cherbourg had built stone city walls and mounted large trebuchets, making them equally unsuitable for an advance.

Excluding the above options, Wigg decided to land on the Brittany Peninsula. To be precise, the port of Brest at the westernmost tip of the peninsula.