Having assessed the income of the king and the duke, Wygh turned his attention to the earls.
At the time, Leonard, who controlled Manchuria, was far more powerful than the other lords. However, as Ragnar's holdings expanded, Leonard fell out of the upper echelon.
In contrast, his old neighbor Ulf enjoyed a comfortable life.
The murder of Burgred, the crown prince of Mercia, gave Ulf a new estate in Kent, on the southeastern edge of Britain.
Kent, being the closest to the European continent, was a frequent stopover for merchant ships, making it an ideal place for transit trade. Ulf made a fortune by reselling warhorses, wine, wool, and pickled fish.
Having finished his calculations, Vig rubbed his aching wrists. "In the coming years, with the spread of the three-field system and heavy iron ploughs, the incomes of the lords throughout the country will gradually increase. I think I must hurry and earn some money to keep up." While Vig and his wife were calculating their expenses, Lord Oh of Bergen arrived at the docks in Oslo. Four years ago, Oh had allied himself with the nobles of Norway's west coast to fight King Eric, eventually reaching a peace agreement that guaranteed him formal subordination to Eric and exempted him from frequent visits and military service. Now his lands had been plundered, his life's savings destroyed, and even the furniture in his longhouse had been ravaged by rowdy men. Left with no other choice, Oh was forced to shamelessly seek justice from his lord. Following the muddy and chaotic streets, Ohr, led by the locals, reached a clearing in the north of the city. Years had passed, and the original longhouse had disappeared, giving way to a brick and stone castle. The castle boasted a stone wall as tall as three grown men. A trench dug outside diverted water into the structure, forming a moat, and towering arrow towers stood at equal distances from each other. "Where did an old man get so much money to build a stone structure?" Ohr muttered. He then introduced himself to the soldier guarding the drawbridge and requested an audience with His Majesty. After passing the drawbridge and the gates, Ohr discovered that only the main structure of the castle was completed; the rest of the buildings were still under construction and would take at least a year to complete.Entering the great hall, Oher, ignoring the crowd's astonishment, approached the throne respectfully. Then he dropped to one knee, took Eric's thick, rough left hand, and kissed the ring hard. What's going on? Frightened by his appearance, Eric instinctively pulled his hand away, suspecting that he was planning an assassination. He winked at the guards on either side, calling for extra vigilance. Then, hesitantly, he said, "My lord, what do you want from me?" For the next few minutes, Oher poured out his carefully crafted rhetoric, claiming that Vig had sacked Bergen without cause and begging the king for justice. "Pfft!"Eric was so overcome with joy at the news that his master, who had often contradicted him, had been plundered that he almost lost his composure. "Well, well, well, you got what you deserved! It was retribution for gathering your forces to fight me. The gods have finally shown a rare justice." To suppress his laughter, Eric drained two large glasses of mead in one gulp and straightened up."Wig has always been reckless. Seven years ago, when Ragnar and I were raiding Northumbria, he even stood in my way of a group of English prisoners at York. Now that he has risen through the ranks to become a duke, such behavior is not surprising. Do not worry, my lord. I will write to Ragnar to discuss the matter, and I will make sure that justice is done." Eric was not foolish enough to attack Wig. At fifty-three, he had long since accepted that his command was mediocre, capable of dealing with little more than a few inexperienced provincial nobles. In their place, he would never have managed to completely destroy the main body of the French army at the gates of Paris. "Vig, Ivar, Gunnar," Erik repeated the three names in his head, lamenting why the gods favored Ragnar so much, allowing their demons to gather such excellent commanders. "Compared to them, my men are just a bunch of scum. Not to mention the three mentioned above, they don't even reach the level of Bjorn, Nelson and Orm." Seeing that the monarch was distracted, Ol wanted to continue persuading him, but suddenly little Erik, standing next to him, spoke up: "My lord, I have a question about Vig's behavior in Bergen. According to you, he distributed food to civilians. He distributed it, not sold it?" Ol: "For free." Knowing that Vig would not take anything, little Eric guessed: "He is willing to distribute food, not to seize territory or rob civilians. He wants to make it clear to the outside world that you are his only target. Ha, it seems you have greatly offended the Serpent of the North." His son's words brought King Eric to his senses. He held out his hand to call a scribe and dictated the contents of the letter: "To King Ragnar of Britain: In early May, your vassal attacked Bergen... His lands were attacked, but Eric's words were devoid of hostility, as if he were discussing a harmless matter with an old friend. He then sent messengers with four fine polar bear skins – one each for Ragnar, his sister Thora, his nephew Sigurd, and his niece Enya. Sensing the king's willingness to soften the situation, Ol couldn't help but ask loudly, "Your Majesty, I think you could take a tougher stance." At that moment, Eric's roar echoed throughout the hall. "You're telling me what to do!" As he spoke, the guards around the hall stepped toward Ol, their right hands on their sword hilts, ready to kill on sight. Eric gave Ol a cold look and raised his right hand, signaling... for the guards to return to their positions. "Veg doesn't understand the rules. I'll send messengers to warn him. If he refuses to listen, I'll call in the army. My lord, you've traveled so long that you're not prepared for the undue strain. Come down and rest for a while." Is that all? You don't even dare to say a harsh word to Ragnar, so how dare you invade Britain at all? Or's gaze suddenly turned cold, completely disappointed in the old, fat man on the throne. He bowed and left the hall. As he left, Eric sent two messengers: one with gifts to Londinium, and the other to Tyneburg, demanding an answer from Vig about the attack on Bergen. Ten days later, Eric's messengers entered the main hall of Tyneburg and relayed the king's warning verbatim. Vig remained unperturbed by this weak threat. If Eric led his troops across the sea, he would be absolutely certain of defeat.
I have already sent a detailed report to Londinium, along with two witnesses, one from Shetland and one from Bergen. With personal and material evidence, I am confident that King Ragnar will handle this matter properly. If you are interested, you can bring a copy of the report to Oslo.