to the banks of the Seine, Vig discovered that the expedition was led by Eric the Younger, with fifty ships and two thousand infantry.
"The war is over, what are these people doing here?"
Seven thousand Vikings remained indifferent to this belated friendly party. Ragnar, unable to go against the general will, rejected Eric the Younger's request to divide the spoils, despite being the nephew of Queen Thora.
The division of war spoils is the most important aspect of battle; favoritism can at best cause discontent, and at worst lead to mutiny.
"You are two weeks late, there is nothing to divide." "
Uncle, that is not so, is it?" Eric the Younger tried to soften the situation. "We have been through so much hardship from Oslo to Paris. If we return to Northern Europe empty-handed, these bloodthirsty bandits will not let us go." "
Rules are rules. No one wants to share money with you."
Seeing Ragnar's determined stance, Eric the Younger felt depressed and asked if there were any settlements nearby that could be plundered.
"Yes, but I do not advise it. Your troops consist exclusively of light infantry, too weak to withstand a charge of Frankish cavalry. It is better to move elsewhere."
Hearing this, Eric the Younger smiled mockingly, but with a hint of sadness. "Changes? Where do you want us to go?"
The Vikings' main goal has always been the Seven Kingdoms. Now that they had been conquered by Ragnar, their options were limited.
Rus', Livonia (later Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), East Francia...
Eric the Younger's mind raced, but he decided to plunder West Francia. The next day, he led two thousand cursing bandits downriver, planning to cross the coast, plundering everything they could find.
Ragnar's face remained impassive as he watched the sails recede down the river. Lamberto soon approached, checking to see if the Normans had other plans.
"These are the troops of Prince Eric the Younger of Norway. I have nothing to do with them."
"Then this was all a misunderstanding." Lamberto wiped the sweat from his brow and hurried back to the Ile de la Cité to report the news.
"Your Majesty, these are Norwegian raiders, not in league with Ragnar. From what I have seen in the camp, the Normans are busy repairing their ships and counting their spoils, seemingly eager to return to Britain." "
Very good," said Charles, leaning back in his throne. Two days later, he decided to formally sign the peace treaty with Ragnar.
In recognition of Lamberto's contribution to the peace negotiations, Charles appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"You have done well recently, reducing the amount of silver from 30,000 pounds to 20,000. Moreover, this 20,000 pounds includes ransoms for various nobles, as well as nearby monasteries and nobility. In the end, the crown will receive only 5,000 pounds. Very good! I underestimated you." With the
warming, both sides lost interest in the war. Finally, outside the bridgehead on the southern shore, a peace treaty was drawn up, providing for a five-year period of non-aggression.
Then Ragnar handed over the list of prisoners and gestured for Karl to pay the ransom. "I cannot wait long.
Perhaps you could pay the ransom in advance?"
"Very well."
Karl leafed through the list with his left hand, holding his pen in his right, occasionally noting down names. There were more than five hundred people in all, including nobles, guardsmen, and nobles.
Ragnar asked, "What about the others?" Karl
finished the list with the words, "The treasury is exhausted. We will have to wait and see. Do not worry, they are in your hands. I will certainly pay the ransom for them."
With nine hundred warhorses and twelve thousand pounds of silver, the Vikings left Paris by ship and sailed back to Kent on June 10.
For convenience, the remaining five thousand captives were housed there. Gunnar was in charge of the negotiations with the Franks. As soon as the money and supplies arrived, he was to release the captives.
Gunnar was chosen for these negotiations because he enjoyed the greatest reputation in the West Frankish kingdom.
As a cavalry commander, he invented the tactic of charging with two spears, routing the Frankish cavalry despite overwhelming superiority in numbers. He then broke the French line, killed several cavalrymen in the shallows, and moved alone to the bridgehead on the south bank to challenge them. He outshone them all and earned the nickname "Bear" from the French.
As for Vig and Ivar,
one commanded his troops from a high platform throughout the battle, while the other led the slow advance of the heavy infantry, without achieving the same impressive effect as Gunnar.
The day after the landing, Ragnar divided the spoils under the expectant gaze of the crowd.
The distribution ratios were the same as the previous year: 15% to the royal family, 40% to the nobility, and the rest to his subordinates.
Due to his outstanding services on the Seine, Vig received the largest share of the spoils, valued at 1,400 pounds of silver.
After a moment's consideration, he demanded 600 pounds of silver, 130 warhorses, and a large chest of Latin books.
The profit from this war greatly exceeded that of the previous year, and together with the nominal duchy, it was an outstanding value. It was a pity that such a fortunate opportunity would not arise again.
The next morning, Vig went to Goodwin for supplies, but received only 60%. He was instantly furious. "What happened?" "
It's simple. Charles the Bald paid only 12,000 pounds and a little over 500 warhorses, which is 60% of the total. Of course, you can only get 60%; every noble family does the same."
Goodwin took out his account book, swearing that he was not so stupid as to squander on such a scale. "The lower soldiers got 100%, because Your Majesty paid for it out of his own pocket. Yes, you heard right. Not only did he not get any property, but he even paid in gold and silver from the warehouses in Londinium..."
After a long and incoherent conversation, Vig reluctantly resigned himself to the situation and returned to his camp with his belongings and horses. While he was packing, a palace guard approached him.
"Your Majesty, please come forward." Why do you
need me?
Wygh bravely marched to the main camp, but soon received unexpected news:
Ivar had originally planned to attack Wales, but due to renewed rebellion in Ireland, Ivar was unable to leave. So Wygh had to deal with the mess left by Halfdan and Aethelwulf.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your attention. Unfortunately, Wales is a rugged and forested land, requiring incredible resources and time."
As for the Welsh War, he proposed two plans:
one, a combination of suppression and pacification, which would bring the war to a quick end with a few decisive victories forcing the tribes into submission.
The other is total conquest.
Remember, during the reign of King Offa, Mercia was at its height, and the other six kingdoms had submitted to him. However,
King Offa was unable to conquer Wales. To protect himself from the Welsh raiders, he spared no expense in building Offa's Wall, a 150-mile-long western embankment. So I strongly recommend that you choose the first plan.
Politically, Ragnar's idea was to send a large army to suppress the English, lest they underestimate him. After repeated persuasion from Wyg, he finally suppressed his anger and agreed to appease the various factions.
"Very well, if the nobles of each tribe are willing to submit and swear not to disturb our borders, I will end this war. Otherwise, I will prefer to continue fighting. "Hell, I've only heard of Viking raids on other lands, but never on ours."