Vikings: Nordic women

Chapter 63: Ragnar and Floki, King of Iceland
Margaret left the cottage. She didn't know how she walked out. Listening to the faint sobbing coming from behind her, she felt that all the strength had been drained from her body.

"Let's go. We still have sixty-one death notices to send out. When you return, recruit the boys who died in the battle to Juscarz and the girls to the palace, and I will raise them! Orders for military uniforms and other items will be given priority to the families of the fallen soldiers! In the future, try to use slaves in combat!"

"Your Majesty, we are honored to follow you as a king! But you cannot deprive us of the opportunity to gain the attention of the Valkyrie!"

Margaret did not answer. She was the king and it was up to her to decide who to send to the battle. She came to the door of another house, hesitated for a while, and walked in with gritted teeth.

Crying broke out in the house.

As the number of flowers and bags of gold carried by the knight's squire dwindled, Margaret became negative.

But her fame spread throughout the territory, and wherever she went, she could see the people's fanatical eyes of admiration.

People generally believe that Margaret is a "gift" that Lady Ouni brought to the people of the territory from the Palace of the Sea of Fog "Fensaril".

They gave Margaret a unique title, calling her "Queen of the Sea of Mist".

……

"Polly, your arrival is just in time. During the time you were away, I found that the progress of government affairs has become unusually slow. This new territory urgently needs your management and wisdom!" Margaret was extremely tired when she returned to the lord's hall, and she forced out an ugly smile.

Ms. Polly smiled and said, "Congratulations, Queen. I have heard about your recent glorious victory. You are much more outstanding than any previous lord of your family! In addition, I brought all the items in the territory, so it took some time."

During Margaret's visit, the Viking warriors, led by officers of various regiments, followed the fleeing enemy troops like wolves chasing prey, conquering cities along the way, and successively occupied six territories, keeping them firmly in their hands.

Huscarz promptly reported this series of victories to Margaret, who heard the news with a gleam in her eyes and made a quick decision.

She immediately granted the four towns of Krashenov, Lokum, Nicholson, Sayech, and Zebjir to Ralph, Joachim, Higrun, Magrus, and Florent the Elder, in order from near to far, which were to be captured. The coastal town of Barnia was granted to Polly, so that she could conveniently take up the post of chief minister nearby.

Margaret also gave the subordinate villages to other small lords one by one. She also specially gave the extra villages to several warriors who made outstanding contributions in the war, such as Yilma, who bravely negotiated with old Florent.

In the envious and jealous eyes of all the soldiers, Yilma knelt on one knee and kissed Margaret's pledge ring, his eyes full of gratitude and loyalty. He solemnly swore: "You are so generous, I swear to be loyal to you and your family forever!"

Sven also congratulated Yerma, his eyes sparkling with admiration for his good friend Yerma.

Through this series of actions, Margaret sent a clear signal to everyone: with her, as long as they are willing to obey her command and make contributions, everyone has the opportunity to receive generous rewards, or even become Master Jarre.

After beheading the families of the lords she had executed and offering them as sacrifices to the gods, Margaret distributed food to the lords according to their needs. She used all the spoils she had harvested, except for the food, to reward the warriors who followed her in the operation and the people who came later. Even though the people who came later only got silver ingots as big as rings, they were very happy.

But only adults can have it, and no matter how much treasure is harvested, it will be distributed equally to stimulate economic development.

Later she would earn it back through business, and only in this way would the lords have tax silver to collect.

Margaret had always insisted on this distribution method, not just randomly, but with far-reaching considerations. She wanted to create a martial environment in this way, so that everyone would be happy to hear about war, and all mothers and wives would encourage their husbands and children to join the battle. Margaret distributed all the captives equally to all the lords and asked them to treat them well. But she always adhered to one principle: the Norsemen would always be first-class citizens of the Kingdom of Gotland, and only those slaves who were beheaded in battle could become second-class citizens.

Dividing people into different classes and then opening up channels for upward mobility, this is Margaret's European version of the twelve-class peerage system.

During this week alone, Margaret allocated large tracts of territory as knighthoods and distributed slaves.

Everything seemed to be on the right track, however, reports from his lords mentioned frequent frictions in the border areas.

"I plan to build a magnificent palace foundation with stones, and for this, we need a large number of slaves. I plan to teach the enemies of the neighboring kingdoms a lesson and seize their treasures and food!"

Margaret held the chess pieces and played the King's Game with Polly while chatting.

"Your Majesty, now is not the best time to attack. I suggest waiting until next year, when the territory is more stable, before launching a war. After all, our strength is growing, while the enemy's strength is relatively fixed."

"Good idea. By the way, have you looked at the blueprint of the palace I gave you?"

Just as Margaret and Polly were discussing the construction of the palace, Huscarz hurried over to report.

"Your Majesty, a group of Vikings have landed near the village of Barnyasi, and Lord Yilma is requesting reinforcements from you!"

Margaret immediately stood up and walked outside. She ordered, "Gather all the soldiers, including the slaves, and distribute weapons to them! The Knights of Huscarz, follow me first!"

Yerma was her newly appointed lord, with only the ten soldiers she had assigned to him and more than thirty slave families under his command. He was no match for the Viking raiders.

Moreover, her fleet was docked along the coast, and it would be troublesome if it was snatched away by these people!

That would disrupt a lot of her plans.

……

"Hey, Ragnar, we're rich. With so many ships, if we take them all away, we can sell them for a lot of money!" A tall Danish pirate raider cheered as he twirled his hand axe above his head.

"Floki, the enemy won't let us take them away!" Ragnar looked fiercely at Lord Yerma and others who were staring at them not far away.

They are none other than Ragnar, the future ruler of Ireland and parts of Britain, and Floki, the king of Iceland.

Yerma knew very well that he and his men were no match for the group of 300 raiders. Since the words Margaret said when she charged the formation with the fire bulls had spread among the shocked soldiers, he did not act rashly. As soon as the enemy approached them, he retreated, and when they gave up the pursuit, Yerma led his men to catch up.

If you can't beat the main one, just drag it away. It's slippery and impossible to catch it.

(End of this chapter)