Sitting in the main seat, Vig listened to Gwyn's report and broke into a stunned, incredulous grin.
"I sent you in as an undercover agent… and they sent you back as an undercover agent? What is this—double undercover?"
After muttering a string of nonsense to vent his amusement, Vig forced himself to focus and began evaluating the next step.
"Should I mobilize a full army and sweep the entire Isles Alliance…
or depart immediately to cut off the roots—Steinn and Morgan?"
He chose the second, safer answer.
Because the fleet was insufficient, he went to the docks to requisition civilian vessels—traditional longships and two cog-ships from Mancuny and Mancuny.
"Gentlemen, I urgently need to hire your ships. Wages and rent will be paid after the battle.
If damaged, the shipyard at Tyne Town will compensate you with a vessel of the same type."
Relying on the reputation he'd built through years of fair dealing, Vig persuaded captains and sailors alike to cooperate.
He assembled two cogs and ten longships, enough to carry five hundred soldiers toward North Uist.
The Expedition Sets Out
Due to contrary winds, the fleet was forced to anchor at Islay for two days before pushing on.
At dawn on June 20th, they reached the harbor under Steinn's control.
Before the attack, Vig ordered Shrike to take six longships northward.
"Block the escape route of the Pictish rebels. Morgan is the priority—dead or alive, don't let him escape!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Once Shrike departed, Vig led two cogs and four longships in a sudden assault—260 warriors, 40 sailors in total.
As for the enemy: Steinn's little harbor held around 140 households, which meant at most 140 able-bodied militia.
"Raise my banner. Let the townsfolk see clearly who has come."
The tall mast unfurled Vig's black dragon banner—the personal sigil of the Duke of Tyne Town.
Panic instantly consumed the harbor.
As the black flag approached, the townspeople trembled, faces pale, silently cursing their chief's stupidity for provoking such a calamity.
The Harbor Falls
"Shield-wall! Hold the line!"
Under Steinn's shouts, over a hundred militia pressed together into a shield wall near the docks.
Moments later, the heavy arbalests on the cogs fired—thick bolts punched through shields and bodies alike.
Longbowmen followed with wave after wave of arrows.
After six or seven volleys, the entire shield wall collapsed.
Militiamen ignored Steinn's orders and fled into their homes.
Steinn himself vanished.
"Go ashore! I offer ten pounds of silver for his head!
Any information leading to his capture earns half!"
As the de facto leader of the Isles Alliance, Steinn still held influence across the surrounding islands.
If he escaped, trouble would rise again.
Warriors surged ashore and spread word of the bounty through the streets.
The reward—a fortune large enough to feed a family for life—made the locals frantic.
They swarmed forward with information: two possible cave hideouts, and a secluded beach where a boat might be hidden.
Vig sent three yuanyang squads to investigate.
Two hours later, the team sent to the beach returned carrying a corpse—Steinn's.
With the threat eliminated, Vig honored his promise.
The ten pounds of silver were divided among the fourteen squad members; the informant received five.
Morgan Captured
By evening, Shrike returned with sixty filthy Pictish rebels, including their leader Morgan.
After tallying the results, Vig exhaled in satisfaction.
"Both problems solved at once. Not bad.
Five hundred new prisoners—our reclamation teams grow again.
More workers means we can accept more immigrants each year."
After pacifying the locals, Vig returned to Glasgow.
Using confessions from captured rebels, he identified thirty-odd gentry who had funded the uprising and stripped them of their lands.
Thus ended the Pictish rebellion that had plagued him for three years.
Reorganizing the Isles and the Highlands
With the uprising extinguished, Vig summoned the Viking chiefs of the Isles Alliance and the clan leaders of the northern Highlands to settle the postwar order.
For the Isles Alliance
Thirteen chiefs were knighted.
Their existing territories remained unchanged.
Their annual tax would be salted fish.
Because they were not skilled horsemen, Vig exempted them from providing cavalry in wartime—instead, each must send four armored warriors and eight levied infantry.
For the Highland Clans
After waiting a week, fifty Highland clan chiefs finally arrived.
"No more waiting. We start now."
In the county hall, Vig faced the chiefs—each wearing wool tunics dyed in red-blue tartan, with woolen cloaks fastened by bronze or silver brooches depending on their wealth.
From his observations, Highlanders were fierce but poor.
They could offer little tax revenue; squeezing them too hard would only trigger endless uprisings.
So Vig settled on a strategy of indirect rule.
Land & Inheritance
As Duke of Tyne Town, he formally recognized:
each chief's ownership of clan land
the hereditary right of succession
the line of succession: son → brother → nephew
strict prohibition against lower-ranked clansmen challenging the chief's authority
The chiefs unanimously approved.
Once they realized the duke understood their difficulties, praise poured in.
"Long live the duke!"
"May the gods bless your family!"
Taxes
Given Highland poverty, Vig demanded only a small annual tribute of wool.
While minimal on paper, the real revenue would come indirectly—once iron tools, beer, and other goods flowed into the Highlands, commercial taxes would rise naturally without resentment.
A win–win situation.
Military Service
Highlanders were famously fierce—ideal as light infantry.
One respected elder hesitated:
"Uh… we're not keen on fighting southern wars. Please forgive us."
"I'll pay.
Your warriors get wages.
And each chief receives an additional finder's fee."
Instantly, the mood shifted; faces brightened.
"Young men accomplish nothing sitting in the mountains—they should see the world!"
Religion & Healing
Vig didn't demand conversions to Norse polytheism.
Instead, he introduced the shamans' medical skills.
He knew: once the clans saw their illnesses cured, cooperation would come naturally.
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