At the end of July, Bjorn returned north by ship and reported to Vig on the situation in York:
"I saw the cavalry exercises, they look very good. I heard from my father that he plans to go to West Francia next year. Haha, I hope I can get there in time to see a large cavalry charge with my own eyes."
After a day there, the fleet loaded up with woollen cloth, wine, and fifty slaves purchased in York, and sailed from the docks.
After seeing Bjorn off, Vig headed to the southwest part of Tyne Town. Thanks to the influx of refugees from Northern Ireland, the number of smiths had increased to twelve, and work was in full swing. Each smith hired two apprentices, for a total of thirty-six masters.
Eight of them, including Kader, worked for the lord. Kader was the chief smith, responsible for the production and repair of military equipment, and sometimes also made iron products for civilian use. Among them, the largest order was an iron blade for a Saxon wheeled plough.
...
Viger entered the forge, built of brick and stone. Hot breath mixed with coal ash hit him in the face. The door was open for ventilation. The forge was in the middle, connected to a leather bellows. Hammers, pliers, chisels and other tools were scattered on the ground.
"My lord?" Kader handed the tools to the apprentice, took a rag to wipe away the sweat, and asked the lord what he wanted.
"Two hundred suits of damaged iron armor, how much is available now?"
Kader: "Eighty-five suits repaired. Are you in a hurry to use them?"
Viger nodded: "Try to finish before September. And fifty more crossbows. The inventory is a bit short."
Twenty miles northwest of Tyneburg are a vast rolling hills that stretch all the way to Edinburgh in the north.
Recently, villagers living on the edge of the hills have been complaining about the increasing number of mountain bandits who are stealing sheep and harvesting crops from the fields. Viger plans to launch a cleanup operation to prevent the mountain bandits from spreading and eventually threatening the area around Tyne Town.
Leaving Kader to his work, Vig sat down in the open to watch the blacksmith at work.
Before work begins, the apprentice must blow the bellows to heat the cast iron red hot. The blacksmith forges the iron with pliers and hammers it, removing impurities.
When forging an iron ploughshare, it must be repeatedly bent and hammered to increase its strength. When forging an iron sword, the blacksmith uses a technique called "sandwich steel." Two pieces of high-strength iron are sandwiched around a high-carbon steel in the middle, preventing the sword from breaking. This process is complex, which is what makes iron swords so expensive.
Most of the manufacturing capacity is now used to repair damaged iron scale armor. This type of armor consists of small iron sheets laid on a backing plate to create protection.
There are two possible causes for damage:
The iron plate is cracked or bent by a blow from an iron axe.
Long-term use causes some iron plates to fall off.
When repairing, if the lining is in good condition, the blacksmith only needs to replace the damaged iron plate, thread a linen thread through the hole in the plate, and sew it up.
If the lining is seriously damaged, all the iron plates can be removed and a piece of undamaged leather can be found to sew them on.
Compared to chainmail, iron scale armor is easier to make and repair, and is suitable for mass production. In addition to these used goods, there are still 70 sets in stock. Including the 80 sets of shield bearers, Vig has a total of 350 sets of iron armor.
"Attacking Edinburgh is a bit difficult, but more than enough for these bandits."
After staying there for a while, Vig couldn't stand the heat of the forge, wiped his sweat and went out the door.
At that moment, a carriage with iron materials drove up by chance. This raw material comes from the Picts in the north. The mining area is located in Stirling, northwest of Edinburgh. The locals mine the reddish-brown iron ore in an open pit, process it into cast iron ingots and sell it to Britain and Northern Europe on merchant ships. According to Vig
, Victorian Scotland was famous for its mining industry, rich in coal and iron. Once the north was captured, an industrial base could be built. In September, banditry was rampant, and hillside villages were overrun. Almost every day, villagers came to the official residence to complain. After Cader delivered the equipment, Vig recruited 400 men for a week's short-term training and rushed into the north-west hills to suppress the bandits in the eyes of the people. "My lord, you are here at last." Harry's fat squire rushed to the grey horse and shouted that his estate had lost ten sheep. In addition, bandits occasionally gleaned crops at night. Seeing that no one would stop them, they eventually resorted to open extortion. Depending on the area of arable land, the bandits demanded a certain share of the property from squires, small landowners, and ordinary farmers, threatening to attack villages that did not want to cooperate. As a squire, Harry was entrusted with the largest sum - a full 300 bushels of wheat, which was beyond his patience. If Vig hesitated, he would have no choice but to raise a militia himself and fight the bandits to the last. Hearing this, Vig immediately became angry: "You really collected protection money on my territory? Do you think I do not exist?" After a night's rest, he chose three nimble-footed hunters to act as guides, and more than four hundred men resolutely entered the difficult forest area. The September mountain breeze wrapped everyone's faces in a light coolness. A few red wild fruits hung on the bushes on both sides of the mountain road. Looking closely, I dimly saw a few partridges nearby. After walking for more than two hours, the mountain road gradually disappeared. The vanguard swung their iron axes to clear the way, and the progress slowed considerably. "How far is it?" The hunter answered hesitantly: "We still have three hills to cross. Your warriors are in iron armor and too slow. We should arrive by noon tomorrow." Looking at the large birch forest on the opposite ridge, Vig asked casually: "Do you know the exact situation of the bandits?"The hunter shuddered as he recalled the past: "About two or three hundred, some use indigo dye to paint various patterns on their skin, which is quite deceptive." Hearing the word "indigo dye," Wig realized that these bandits were Picts. Their name "Picts" comes from the Latin word Picti, which means "painted ones." A small group of Picts had gone deep into Northumbria to plunder. Was this an accident or a secret experiment by northern nobility? ... Having made camp for one night in an open area halfway up the mountain, the party continued on. As Wig crested the last hill, he heard the faint sound of a bowstring shaking. Whoosh, whoosh~ In an instant, hundreds of feather arrows flew out from the bushes on both sides, and countless figures with blue patterns flashed behind the trees, trying to scare the enemy with their piercing roars.However, what followed exceeded all the bandits' expectations. The feathers whistled towards the squad, but did not cause much damage. Some were pierced by five or six arrows, but they still stood there in a daze.Enraged by the slowness of his subordinates, Vig shouted at the top of his voice: "What are you standing there for? Shoot!"Under his command, two hundred crossbowmen pulled their bowstrings, fighting back under a hail of enemy arrows. After several rounds of gunfire, the Pictish bandits had taken heavy casualties, and only five Vikings were dead. Except for two unfortunate fellows who had been shot in the face, the other three were lying on the ground, screaming desperately in loud voices, and it did not look like their wounds were fatal.