That very afternoon, Vig swiftly completed a reshuffling of the cabinet.
A new Ministry of Overseas Affairs was established, responsible for managing the New World, the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Britain's Nordic territories.
As a result, the cabinet now had three vacant positions.
First was Sebert Windrage, one of the students Vig had personally trained back when he was still Earl of Tynecastle.
He succeeded Lucar as the new Minister of Industry.
Second was Little Pascal.
The former Minister of Naval Affairs moved into Mitcham's old position overseeing the Administrative Affairs Department, while the Navy Ministry itself was handed over to Little Pascal.
Finally came Loki.
An exceptionally capable administrator, he was appointed to manage the Ministry of Overseas Affairs.
Once the personnel changes were complete, Vig convened a cabinet meeting and announced both the decision for war and the scale of mobilization.
"The twelve directly administered counties possess a total reserve force of eighty thousand men.
"We will mobilize one-third of them—twenty-four thousand troops—and organize them all into field armies.
"The dukes and earls throughout the realm will also be summoned according to last year's Mobilization Act.
"They are expected to provide sixteen thousand men total, including two thousand heavy cavalry."
Vig planned to combine the major nobles' cavalry with the barons and knights from the royal domains.
Together, they would form a force of approximately 2,800 heavy cavalry.
In addition, the standing army had already organized four Ranger Cavalry Regiments totaling more than 1,200 light cavalry.
The cavalry strength for this campaign would therefore exceed four thousand.
"…In summary:
"The Royal Guard and standing army total ten thousand men.
"The directly administered domains contribute twenty-four thousand conscripts.
"The noble levies contribute another fifteen thousand.
"That gives us a grand total of fifty thousand troops.
"Among them, the ten thousand-plus militia supplied by the nobles are of poor combat quality. Only the cavalry, a small number of heavy infantry, and the Welsh longbowmen are truly useful.
"But even so, we still possess nearly forty thousand effective field troops."
Little Pascal quietly observed the eight other ministers seated around the table.
To his surprise, all of them appeared genuinely shocked.
Not a single one had known about this in advance.
His very first cabinet meeting—
and it turned out to be something this explosive.
Since he lacked experience in military command, Little Pascal wisely kept silent, listening instead to the discussions between the king, Prime Minister Mitcham, and Minister of War Bafus.
Hours passed.
Outside, the light gradually dimmed.
Attendants lit whale-oil candles along both sides of the chamber, instantly bathing the entire room in brilliant light.
At eight in the evening, the meeting paused for half an hour.
Servants brought dinner to the king and ministers.
Little Pascal quickly finished his portion.
"The grilled steak is excellent… and there's cream cake and golden egg tarts too. Damn, I'd kill for a cup of cane liquor right now."
Naturally, he only thought this privately.
He would never be foolish enough to actually request alcohol.
The king demanded precision and discipline from the administrative system and despised drinking during work—especially during critical meetings like this.
After exhaling deeply, Little Pascal stepped outside the stuffy chamber and wandered aimlessly through the surrounding gardens, breathing the cool night air until the meeting resumed.
Taking the cabinet's opinions into account, Vig organized the army into one Direct Command Division and three Field Divisions.
Each Field Division consisted of:
Six infantry regiments
Two mountain infantry battalions
One ranger cavalry battalion
Large numbers of logistical personnel
Total strength: 8,500 men.
The Direct Command Division would be personally led by Vig himself.
It included the Royal Guard battalion, the standing army, and the 2,800 heavy cavalry gathered later.
Total strength: 12,000 men.
Meanwhile, the ten thousand militia supplied by the major nobles would be organized into ten garrison regiments.
They would perform auxiliary duties such as transporting supplies, guarding towns, and hunting down scattered enemies.
As for logistics, the royal treasury currently held gold, silver, textiles, grain, and other supplies worth a total of £35,000.
Furthermore, West Francia was a fertile land rich in resources.
The invading army could requisition supplies locally.
Maintaining the campaign for two years would not be a problem.
If Charles the Bald still couldn't be defeated after two years, Vig felt the war itself would no longer be worth continuing.
Since ascending the throne, Vig had driven the armories of Tynecastle and Londinium into full production.
The arsenals were packed with equipment.
There was enough gear for every combat soldier to receive padded armor, while an additional two thousand captured suits of armor would be distributed among the ten garrison regiments.
Clutching several reports submitted by the cabinet, Vig's eyes flickered coldly.
"More than thirty thousand heavy infantry. Four thousand cavalry.
"This is the foundation I've built over twenty years.
"Now let's see just how much the Franks are willing to wager against me."
Half a century earlier, Charlemagne had forged the vast Frankish Empire.
Its population had reached roughly 12 to 15 million—surpassing even the contemporary Eastern Roman Empire—and it had become the absolute hegemon of Western and Central Europe.
But after Charlemagne's death, the empire fractured due to the tradition of equal inheritance.
The Carolingian heirs fought endlessly among themselves, weakening the realm despite its population still exceeding ten million.
Based on a mobilization rate of 1–2%, Vig estimated the enemy's theoretical maximum mobilization exceeded one hundred thousand men and might even reach two hundred thousand.
However, the larger the army, the greater the logistical burden.
This era lacked radio communications, railroads, and canned food.
The Frankish logistical system simply could not sustain forces of that scale.
Vig estimated that only fifty to eighty thousand troops could realistically be fielded effectively.
Suddenly, Prime Minister Mitcham interrupted his thoughts.
"Your Majesty, once the war begins, prices will inevitably soar.
"I fear the treasury reserves may prove insufficient.
"Have you considered imposing a wartime tax?"
A war tax?
Vig considered the idea briefly, but quickly rejected it.
The kingdom's total population was only 2.7 million.
Mobilizing fifty thousand young men for long-term overseas warfare would already severely impact agricultural production.
If additional taxes were imposed under such circumstances, public resentment would intensify sharply—
perhaps even leading to rebellion.
"No. We need a more suitable solution."
He then introduced a new concept to the cabinet:
War Bonds.
Funds would be raised from merchants and landed gentry.
After five years, the kingdom would repay both principal and interest.
Furthermore, if the war ended in victory, bond purchasers would also receive estates in West Francia.
The final topic concerned the landing site.
West Francia possessed a long coastline, but suitable invasion points were relatively limited.
Considering logistical requirements, Vig needed to capture a harbor capable of accommodating a large fleet.
He ordered attendants to spread a detailed map of West Francia across the conference table.
The map marked cities, fortresses, major roads, and rivers—
the result of many years of painstaking intelligence work.
Calais was the closest harbor to Britain, but its defenses were extremely strong.
The surrounding region was especially dense with fortifications, making it unsuitable for landing operations.
Next came the mouth of the Seine.
Ragnar's first invasion of West Francia had traveled upriver along the Seine itself.
Afterward, Charles the Bald learned his lesson and constructed the fortress of Harfleur at the river mouth.
Besieging it would be extraordinarily difficult.
Further upstream, numerous river chains had also been installed, completely preventing another naval advance inland.
In recent years, Britain's occupation of the Channel Islands had caused Normandy's ports to strengthen their defenses as well.
Saint-Malo and Cherbourg had built stone walls and installed large trebuchets.
These locations were equally unsuitable.
After eliminating all other options, Vig made his decision.
The invasion would land on the Brittany Peninsula—
more specifically, at the port of Brest on the peninsula's westernmost edge.
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