Having assessed the revenues of the king and duke, Wygh turned his attention to the earls.
At the time, Leonard, with his control of Manchuria, was far more powerful than the other lords. However, as Ragnar's territories expanded, Leonard fell completely out of the upper echelon. In comparison, his old neighbour Ulf lived a comfortable life.
Thanks to his exploit in killing Burgred, the crown prince of Mercia, Ulf was given a new
fief in Kent, on the south-eastern edge of Britain. Kent was closest to the European mainland, and merchant ships often stopped there, making it suitable for trade. Ulf made a fortune reselling war horses, wine, wool and pickled fish.
Vig calculated that his annual income had long since surpassed Leonard's, making him the richest of the earls, perhaps even surpassing Ivar.
Having finished his calculations, Vig rubbed his aching wrists. "In the coming years, with the spread of the three-field system and heavy iron plows, the incomes of the lords throughout the land will gradually increase. I suppose 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 granted him nominal subordination to Eric and exempted him from frequent visits and military service.
Now his lands had been plundered, his life savings destroyed, and even the furniture in his longhouse had been plundered by the rioters.
With no other choice, Oh had to shamelessly seek justice from his lord.
After walking through the dirty and chaotic streets, Oh, accompanied by the locals, reached a clearing in the north of the city.
Years passed, and the original longhouse disappeared, giving way to a brick and stone castle.
The castle boasted a stone wall as tall as three grown men. A trench dug on the outside diverted water into the structure, forming a moat, and at regular intervals towers with arrows rose up.
"Where did the old man get so much money to build a stone structure?"
Oher muttered. He then presented himself to the soldier guarding the drawbridge and asked for an audience with His Majesty.
After passing the drawbridge and the gate, Oher 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 main hall, Oher, ignoring the astonishment of the crowd, respectfully approached the throne. Then he dropped to one knee, took Eric by the thick, rough left hand and kissed the ring hard.
What was happening?
Startled 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 them to extra vigilance. Then, hesitantly, he asked, "My lord, what do you want from me?"
For the next few minutes, Ol 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 lord, who had often contradicted him, had been sacked 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 stifle his laughter, Eric downed two large glasses of mead and straightened up.
"Vig was always 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 Vig. At fifty-three, he had long since accepted the fact that his command was mediocre, capable of dealing with only a few inexperienced provincial nobles. If he had been 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,"
Eric repeated the three names in his mind, lamenting why the gods favored Ragnar so much, allowing their demons to assemble such excellent commanders.
"Compared to them, my people 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 Eric, who was 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, and did not sell it?"
Ol: "For free."
Knowing that Vig does not take anything, little Eric guessed: "He is ready to distribute food, and not seize territories and
not rob civilians. He wants to make it clear to the outside world that his target is only you. Ha, it seems you have greatly offended the Serpent of the North."
His son's words brought King Eric to his senses. He stretched 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 had been attacked, but Eric's words were devoid of hostility, as if he were discussing an innocuous 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 could not help but ask loudly: "Your Majesty, I think you could take a firmer stance."
At that moment, Eric's roar echoed through the hall. "You tell me what to do!"
As he spoke, the guards around the hall stepped toward Og, their right hands on their sword hilts, ready to kill on sight.
Looking coldly at Og, Eric raised his right hand, signaling... for the guards to return to their positions. "Veg does not understand the rules.
I will send messengers to warn him. If he refuses to listen, I will call the army. My lord, you have traveled so long that you are not prepared for excessive exertion. Come down and rest for a while."
Is that all?
You do not even dare to speak a harsh word to Ragnar, so how dare you invade Britain at all?
Or's gaze suddenly turned cold, completely disappointed by 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 one 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 forces 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 the Shetland Islands 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.