Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 366: The Judicial Power of Nobles

After the meeting concluded, Wigg assigned the Crown Prince a new task: to inspect the six newly established directly-administered counties on the island of Britain.

Having been cooped up in Londinium for two and a half years, the Crown Prince gladly accepted. He returned home to play with his newborn son for a moment, then packed his belongings and set off northward with a detachment of the Royal Guard.

Before long, the Crown Prince returned to Luton Town, a place he had not seen in many days. The layout here had not changed much, but a faint aroma of liquor lingered in the air, suggesting a grand banquet had been held not long ago.

"What happened here?" the Crown Prince asked as he stepped into the official residence, questioning the mayor who was busy processing the accounts.

"Your Highness? Ah, it is nothing major. Members of the Expeditionary Force have been returning home one after another. Some have been squandering their newfound wealth, inviting their families and neighbors to feast and drink. This has been going on for quite some time now."

In the ensuing conversation, the Crown Prince learned of the town's experiences during the war:

Luton Town and its surrounding villages had a total population of nine thousand residents. They had dispatched a total of three hundred and ten men, all of whom were integrated into the field units. After numerous battles, sixty had died in combat or from illness, twenty were maimed, and fifteen fortunate souls had been promoted to knights, successfully ascending the social ladder.

After the revelry, these newly appointed knights invited the young men of their villages to travel with them to Continental Europe, promising them land and tax exemptions.

Following the recommendations of the War Department, each knight was required to recruit at least five able-bodied youths. These fellow townsmen would assist in maintaining order and prevent the Franks within their newly acquired manors from rebelling.

"The knights have been leaving one by one. Including their families, a total of two hundred and eighty people have relocated. Counting those who perished in battle or died of illness, Luton Town has lost three hundred and forty residents. The vast majority were able-bodied laborers. I imagine our assessments over the next few years will be quite difficult to pass..."Amidst the mayor's incessant muttering, the Crown Prince flipped through the various paper documents on the desk.

Luton Town's situation was fairly typical. Its conscripts had been used to replenish the Third Field Division and had not encountered too many grueling battles. Both their casualty rate and noble promotion rate hovered at an average level.

Overall, the highest casualties were suffered by the First Field Division. During the Battle of the Rick Plains, one infantry battalion was struck by a cavalry charge, resulting in an appalling attrition rate of over ninety percent. This entire battalion hailed from a single town in Nottingham County, leaving the local populace utterly devastated.

Consequently, the First Field Division's noble promotion rate was far higher than that of any other unit. They produced three Earls, forty-three Barons, and over five hundred knights.

After lunch, the Crown Prince strolled through the town. The post office was quiet, the temple was operating normally, the hospital was overwhelmingly busy, and a newly built primary school stood at the edge of town.

The primary school only had two full-time teachers to handle its myriad affairs, though a shaman occasionally came over to help. This phenomenon was quite common. The King possessed a diligent nature and naturally could not tolerate idleness among his subordinates. Thus, temple shamans across the land often wore multiple hats. Aside from assisting at hospitals and schools, they occasionally had to attend the circuit court to audit verdicts.

According to the Cabinet's plans, town primary schools were currently only being promoted in the counties of Londinium and Tyne. Only after the war bonds were paid off would it be Paris County's turn.

Tyne, Londinium, and Paris possessed special status and held the highest priority. As for the remaining thirty or so directly-administered counties, the plan was to establish one public school, comprising both primary and junior high school, in each county.

Furthermore, the Cabinet planned to build a public school in every earldom across Britain, thereby cultivating a sufficiently literate populace.

After touring the town, the Crown Prince went to inspect the countryside. Due to a severe lack of labor, the winter wheat seedlings were growing poorly. Some fields had been left completely uncultivated and were instead being used to graze flocks of sheep.

Passing by a small stream, an old man fishing caught his attention.

"Are you Lawrence?"

"Your Highness, you remember me?" The old man stood up, leaning heavily on a crutch. He had a pronounced limp in his left leg, and a prominent scar marred his face. Without waiting for the prince to ask, he explained, "During the winter campaign in Bavaria last year, our brothers were ambushed by the enemy. I let my guard down for a moment and took five arrows. I spent some time recovering in the field hospital afterward. Fortunately, I managed to scrape my life back."

Although he hadn't achieved any monumental merits, Lawrence had followed Wigg for an incredibly long time—twenty-five years in total. Thanks to this deep seniority, he had fortunately been promoted to Baron and awarded a massive manor in the Champagne region.

Unfortunately, the Baron's health was failing, and he had no desire to relocate. He sent his eldest son to govern the fiefdom while he chose to remain in Luton Town to enjoy his retirement.

As dusk approached, the Baron invited the Crown Prince to his home for dinner. At the dining table, the Crown Prince remained silent for the most part, listening attentively to the old man's stories and experiences.

Previously, the Crown Prince had only viewed the war from a macro perspective, interacting solely with various reports and documents. Now, seeing it through the eyes of a grassroots military officer, he gained a far deeper understanding of the cruelty and hardships of warfare.

'With such a colossal amount of manpower and warhorses, the Franks truly deserve their title as the hegemon of Continental Europe,' the Crown Prince mused. 'Thank goodness my father commanded us properly. If the conflict had dragged on, the Franks would have eventually bled us dry.'

After spending the night at the manor, the Crown Prince continued his journey northward to inspect the newly acquired directly-administered counties.

Traveling along the smooth, spacious main road, the group headed toward Liverpool. Passing through the territory of Mancunium, the Crown Prince noticed over two hundred commoners gathered on a grassy field near a temple, seemingly holding a makeshift court.

An oak table sat in the center of the grass. A judge and a temple shaman sat behind it, while two arguing farmers stood before them, fiercely contesting a vegetable patch that measured less than a tenth of an acre.

The judge listened, his fingers occasionally tapping against the tabletop. He sported a gray beard and wore a respectable fine wool coat, with clean linen lining peeking out from the cuffs. The onlookers whispered among themselves. Every so often, the sound of someone yawning, a woman's muttered coaxing of her child, and the noisy call of a cuckoo bird in the distance could be heard.

The evidence was a moth-eaten piece of parchment marked with crooked lines. The judge spread it out on the table, using a small stone to weigh down the curling corner. The farmers craned their necks to watch, their discussions growing louder by the minute.

Soon, the judge delivered his verdict. The temple shaman drafted three copies of the ruling document: one was nailed to the notice board in front of the temple, one was kept in the Earl's estate, and the final copy was dispatched to Londinium for the archives.

'It seems father's measures are working,' the Crown Prince thought, falling into deep contemplation.

During the reign of the old dynasty, the Great Nobles possessed absolute judicial power within their territories. Ragnar and his two queens had been too busy indulging in pleasure to have any interest in intervening in such matters.

After the civil war concluded, the Tynemouth family became the new Royal Family. Wigg promulgated the Kingdom's Legal Code, declaring that ultimate sovereignty and supreme judicial power belonged solely to the King.

Subsequently, the King implemented a series of reform measures to continuously weaken the judicial power of the Great Nobles. Today, they could only adjudicate civil disputes involving land, debts, property, and inheritance among their populace, as well as minor infractions like theft and small-scale brawls.

According to the information the Crown Prince had received, once the compilation of the Empire's legal code was complete, the judicial power of the Great Nobles within Britain would be weakened even further.

Any property disputes involving more than five pounds, serious felonies like murder or plunder, and land disputes exceeding thirty acres would all have to be transferred to the royal circuit court.

As for the noble territories in Continental Europe, the Cabinet's administrative capacity was currently insufficient, so they would not interfere with the judicial powers of those nobles for a very long time. Even if a disturbance broke out somewhere in Frankish lands, it would be unable to cross the English Channel and spill over into Londinium.