In mid-June, Vig's envoys arrived in Londinium, accompanied by two bandits, asking for an audience with the king.
When Ragnar learned that five hundred bandits had attacked Tyneburg, he interrupted the envoy and said unequivocally: "
That's it! Tell Vig to let me negotiate with Eric."
In Ragnar's opinion, the cause of the conflict had become more pressing and irrelevant. The current domestic situation was unstable, and some nobles were harboring rebellious ambitions. War with Norway was unacceptable, and the only solution was peace.
"Ulf, go to Oslo and tell Eric to keep his men in check. Britain and Norway have much land; there is no need to fight over a barren island."
"Me?"
Ulf, who had come to deliver his warhorse, stumbled upon this unpleasant situation and reluctantly agreed.
Ragnar quickly ordered Pascal to compose a letter, sealed it, and handed it to Ulf. "King Eric is considered my ally. Be careful of your manners and do not be too boastful."
"As you command."
Queen Thora, who was standing to his right, wanted to say something, but Ragnar silenced her so as not to interrupt his thoughts.
"Vig attacked Bergen across the sea and won a decisive victory. The earl of Bergen, on the other hand, incited the raiders to attack Tinburg, which led to a crushing defeat.
Why?
First he thought about numbers. Vig led a thousand men, while Earl Bergen brought only five hundred.
The first had won, the second had lost. Was Earl Bergen's defeat simply a consequence of his small numbers?
A moment later, Ragnar refuted that conclusion.
As an experienced and legendary pirate, he believed that speed in a raid was of the utmost importance. If Earl Bergen was recruiting more raiders, the longer the delay, the greater the risk of information leaking out, which would force Tinburg to prepare and thus lose the element of surprise.
"So the key to Vig's victory is his standing army. Once he has made up his mind, he can immediately gather his forces and march on Bergen, taking Lord Ol by surprise."
Ragnar raised his empty goblet, and Aslach quickly filled it with mead. As
the sweet, cool wine flowed down his throat, Ragnar's mind raced. He motioned to Pascal and whispered to the Prime Minister,
"What is the projected budget surplus this year?"
"It's hard to say, maybe £500 to £1,000."
That's enough.
Ragnar set down his goblet and announced the formation of a new Kingsguard, estimated to consist of 1,700 infantry and 300 cavalry.
If there was a rebellion anywhere, Ragnar wouldn't have to wait for the rest of the nobles to gather. On receiving the news, the King's Guard would be sent out at once to suppress the rebellion before it could spread.
He also planned to create a fleet to patrol the English Channel, fight pirates, and prevent the Franks from making overseas incursions.
"Are you sure?" Pascal warned. "If we use up all our surplus, what will we do in case of an emergency?"
"Increase taxes!" Ragnar cleared his throat and issued a new decree:
Henceforth, a customs house would be established at Dover in Kent. The purchase of warhorses would be subject to an import duty of sixty pence, and all goods sold to the European continent would also be taxed.
Pascal looked up at the King, seeing his determined stance. Reluctantly, he drew up the decree.
Having written, he handed the parchment to Ragnar to seal, and his heart was filled with anxiety. "Is the maintenance of this guard worth the expense of taxing all the nobles?"
Ten days later, Ulf rode into Oslo on horseback and handed Erik a letter.
In it, Ragnar proposed that both sides accept the status quo. There was no need to start a war between the two countries over a ruined island; it was better to focus on domestic affairs.
After reading the letter, Erik quietly grumbled:
"Domestic affairs? The population of Northern Europe is declining. Farmers once competed for arable land, but now vast tracts of uncultivated farmland lie uncultivated in the countryside, and farmhouses have become havens for wild animals. If Ragnar were to take on this, I fear he would not be able to find a solution."
Although he had no specific figures, Erik knew that Norway's tax revenues and population were far smaller than Britain's. In a direct war, he would not even be able to capture Tuneberg.
Forced to save face, he announced the result of the dispute:
the two countries cease hostilities, restrain their vassals, and restore the border to its pre-war state.
With Lord Oh's disappearance from Bergen, Eric sent Prince Eric the Younger to take "temporarily" control of Bergen, returning it to Oh's heirs after ten years.
Thanks to King Eric's rantings, the Shetland dispute was declared settled.
Overall, Eric had lost face, but gained a valuable advantage. He had eliminated a powerful and recalcitrant vassal and captured Bergen, the second-largest settlement. This increased the royal family's annual income by £300, making him the most profitable player in the dispute.
Vig, after much effort, acquired a deserted archipelago of 1,500 square kilometers, with virtually no tangible benefit.
The only casualty was Earl Ol, who not only died (later, upon learning of the incident, Vig swore that he had never killed Earl Ol), but his family also lost control of Bergen.
Although King Eric had announced that Bergen would be given to Ol's heir upon his coming of age, any discerning person knew that this was an empty promise. Ten years was too long, and there was no possibility of a "perfect" event that would leave Bergen entirely under royal control.
After the peace agreement, King Eric held a banquet in Ulf's honor, featuring traditional dishes such as mead, whole roast pig, and cheese,
but he showed no interest.
Since moving to Kent, Ulf's standard of living had improved considerably. Kent, as a trading post between Britain and the European continent, brought him enormous profits, offering a wide range of luxury goods such as wine, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, truffles and sugar.
Six months ago, he had even hired several Frankish cooks. Including the Norse and English cooks already working for him, his appetite had become incredibly sophisticated, and he despised this coarse, rustic food.
Out of respect for his host, Ulf picked up a pork chop with his fork, put it in his mouth, symbolically chewed and swallowed, washing it down with honey.
"Country cooking is simply disgusting. The spices in the roasted whole pig were not at all soaked in. The skin is burnt, and the meat inside is still raw.
Eric is truly pathetic! The King of Norway, and his life is worse than that of an ordinary West Frankish lord. No wonder the Vikings were constantly thinking about moving to Britain and West Frankia. Hell, life in Northern Europe is simply inhumane." It is easy to go
from frugality to luxury, but it is more difficult to return to frugality after luxury.
At this time, Ulf gradually adopted the new way of life, like most of his colleagues. Ragnar wanted to dissuade him, but in the end he never put it into practice. After all, his life was the most luxurious.