After watching for a while, the gang leader realized the enemy's sinister intentions. This group of people deliberately wore dirty rags on the outside, but well-protected armor on the inside.
"Don't shoot, retreat quickly."
Faced with a two-fold numerical superiority and a lack of equipment, the leader ordered a retreat to the mountain fortress, counted the people one by one, and discovered that the ambush had lost as many as sixty people!
"The treacherous Viking barbarians attacked our mountain fortress with four hundred armored warriors."
The leader drank several glasses of cold water in a row and called on the people to gather themselves and prepare to flee, but unexpectedly, more than twenty Vikings blocked them at the entrance to the mountain fortress.
Looking at these gasping Viking barbarians, the chieftain led the charge despite everything. More than eighty bandits brandished the iconic Pictish short swords and round shields, fighting for a long time with the Vikings blocking the gate, but they were unable to break through their barrier.
"Master, the Viking barbarians are in iron armor, and they cannot be defeated!"
The minutes passed by, and one by one the Vikings trotted up to the mountain fortress. After making sure that the shield wall at the gate was still intact, Vig, breathing heavily, rested his hands on his knees and ordered several warriors to follow along the wall to go around the back road, trying not to miss anyone.
Seeing more and more Vikings outside, the bandits scattered and decided to climb over the five-meter wall to escape.
Leaving behind their luggage and weapons, someone climbed to the top of the wall with great difficulty, but suddenly several crossbow bolts flew out from outside, whistling past his head, and he, frightened, fell backwards and hit his back hard against the wall.
…
Eventually, with the exception of a few lucky ones who managed to escape into the mountains, the remaining 120 bandits were forced to surrender and sit in the open space awaiting reprisal.
Surrounded by shield bearers, Vig carefully examined the interior of the mountain village. This was his first visit to a Pictish settlement. In the open space stood a huge stone slab decorated with complex spiral patterns and abstract images of animals that appeared to be snakes, wolves, and bears.
Entering the warehouse, he found a large quantity of grain and furs inside. Vig ordered his men to search the entire mountain village, but found no suspicious traces.
With the help of a translator, he chose a small room to interrogate the prisoners alone. In total, he interrogated more than ten people, and the answers he received were roughly the same.
These bandits belonged to a small tribe. As a result of a conflict, they lost their territories and were forced to migrate south. No nobles gave them instructions.
After making sure that no one was plotting against him, Vig cast aside his worries and leaned back in his chair. Unfortunately, his good mood did not last long. The prisoner's unintentional words set him on edge again.
"What did you say? Are the Picts interested in an alliance with the Gaels?"
The two largest settlements in the north are currently Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Picts control Edinburgh on the east coast, and the Gaels control Glasgow on the west.
The two cities are less than 40 miles apart. If an alliance were to be formed, it was likely that they would unite into a single entity in the future.
Vig straightened up and asked them both the reason for the alliance. The prisoner looked at him and answered hesitantly:
"The attacks by Viking pirates have become more frequent in the last two years. To deal with the possibility of war, the Gaels in the west were the first to propose an alliance."
Damn!
When Vig heard of the pirate attack, the first thing he thought of was the Union of the Isles off the northwest coast of Scotland.
These scoundrels had been terrorizing the west coast of Scotland for days, plundering the countryside day after day, and had finally awakened the vigilance of the Gaelic settlements. No doubt they had made his conquest of the North much more difficult.
"A bunch of idiots, more trouble than help. I wish you had never fallen into my hands."
With that, Vig ordered the mountain fortress to be burned, and then escorted the prisoners home.
…
Two days later, on the morning of the following day, hearing that the lord had destroyed the bandits in one fell swoop, the locals came to see the merriment, demanding that the sinful prisoners be executed.
The fat country squire Harry and a dozen smallholders asked in unison, "Sir, have all the bandits been eliminated?"
"Over 30 of them escaped, and the rest either died or surrendered."
Harry's smile froze. "Are you planning on going into the mountains to clear them out?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? There's so much to decide. I don't want to lead over 400 men in armor to wander through the mountains!"
Vig felt with all his heart that this trip was the most he could do. All expenses were paid for by the lord's treasury, without any distribution or oppression of the people of the neighboring villages. No matter how others judged it, at least he could find no fault.
He took out a waterskin and took a few sips. He proposed a way to formally deal with these people:
"If you are worried about future attacks by bandits, why don't you form a militia of 40 men? Collect men and food from the neighboring villages, I will provide captured weapons, bows and arrows, and regularly go into the mountains to search for and destroy them. Small bandits will not be difficult to deal with."
Vig waved his right hand, indicating to his subordinates to throw the captured rags on the ground, and generously did not take any payment.
A voice suddenly called out from the crowd, "Could you spare a few suits of armor?"
Vig's gaze turned cold, and the villagers, frightened by him, cast aside their pitiful thoughts of getting more and more.
Having dealt with the locals, Vig rode around the area on horseback. He planned to hand over the Pictish prisoners to the construction crew to disperse, and then rescue 60 Viking pirate prisoners from the crew to build a charcoal workshop at the edge of the forest. As
Tyne Town grows and develops, so does the demand for fuel, especially at the forge, which is running at full capacity and consuming large quantities of high-quality coal daily.
Nowadays, the charcoal burners in the area are mostly farmers. They take advantage of the lull to cut down trees and produce charcoal. Production capacity is insufficient and quality is difficult to guarantee.
In the newly built charcoal kiln, Whig designed a clear division of labour. The felling of timber, the construction of kilns, the management of fires and the transport of coal were all entrusted to dedicated men. The quality of the charcoal was improved by standardisation and specialisation.
'Charcoal burns better than peat on the moors north of York. The consumption of charcoal will increase in the next few years unless we seize the northern border and find a shallow coal mine.'
He made a decision, dismissed most of the conscripts and hired the remaining 15 men as camp guards to prevent prisoners from secretly escaping.
Under the supervision of the guards, the prisoners cut down trees to build camps and earth kilns. Vig patiently stayed there for five days to make sure everything was going according to plan. He told the head of security:
"The workshop has only just started working, so don't overdo it with production. Be careful in everything. In case of a mass escape or rebellion, don't forget to ask for help from the nearest militia."
Having solved two problems – bandits and charcoal, Vig returned to Tyne Town to take care of other matters. The total population had reached 18,000 people, and there was enough food, so he relaxed the requirements for settlements in Tyne Town, allowing more artisans to settle.
Looking around, there are no cities in the Tees and Derwent with a predominance of artisan production. Due to the lack of competition, the development of Tyne Town went extremely smoothly. The city's population is expected to exceed 3,000 people in a few years.