I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 246 The Christian Vikings
"You mean, in such a short time, you traveled all over the Duchy of Burgundy, went to the County of Champagne, and even almost went to Île-de-France?"

"That's really far."

Looking at Raoul, whose beard had grown even thicker, Luc sighed. In an era of inconvenient transportation, troubadours could, to some extent, be considered travelers and adventurers.

"The key is being lucky enough."

Raoul shrugged and laughed, half self-deprecatingly and half proudly, "God has still blessed me. In fact, I've had several brushes with death in the past six months."

“Of course,” Raoul paused, glancing at Knightsburg, “compared to you, these experiences are insignificant.”

"It seems you've already heard about what happened here."

Luke casually waved to one of the villagers, and soon someone brought over a few chairs.

After thanking Luc, Raoul sat upright in his chair, looking somewhat solemn, and said:

"The Brotherhood of Charity, the fields that yield fifteen times the harvest from one planted, the Battle of Knightsburg—each of these is worthy of being written about in great detail. In fact, even before I set foot in the baronial territory, I had already heard about these deeds from some devout followers."

"Oh?"

Luke served several cups of tea. He was used to using tea to entertain guests, and because of its light nature, he had fabricated the name "abstinence wine" for it, which inexplicably made it seem more noble.

He put down his teacup in surprise, and said with slight astonishment, "You mean, my reputation has already spread beyond the baronial territory?"

"No, your reputation is renowned throughout the baronies, but outside, only a small number of pilgrims are aware of it."

Raoul shook his head. "But a good bard must have a keen ear."

Luc spat out the tea leaves, remaining noncommittal. Many troubadours did indeed work as intelligence brokers.

"Besides seeing the pilgrimage site of the harvest with my own eyes, another reason I came here is that I hope you will allow me to continue writing poems about you, such as the Battle of Knightsburg, the bountiful harvest in the fields, and so on."

In the entertainment-scarce Middle Ages, nothing was more popular with the common people than heroic epics and erotic songs.

The aristocracy could occasionally organize martial arts tournaments or clown performances, but in taverns and on the ridges of fields, a silver-tongued bard could talk the old farmers into a frenzy and make them blush with excitement with just a loaf of bread and a glass of ale.

Raoul has been eating until he's stuffed with stories of the Holy Knights lately, since the tale of the Holy Knights defeating heretics and evil bishops is timeless.

Luke readily agreed.

"As usual, I will write it on parchment and give it to you. You can stay in Knightsburg for a while."

Knowing that the other party was about to start fabricating stories again, Raoul, who had already tasted success, had no objections. He even spoke up when he saw Luc's gaze begin to wander over the burly man behind him:

“Sir Luke, I would like to introduce you to this gentleman, Thorstein, the knight I met and hired in the County of Champagne. Thanks to him, I have been able to escape danger many times.”

"He is from Denmark, and as you can see, he is a true Viking."

As Luc listened to Raoul's introduction, he sized up Thorstein.

The man named Thorstein had unusual red hair, and his red beard was tied into small braids. He was tall and burly, even half a head taller than Luc, only slightly shorter than Hans. He wore a leather short-sleeved coat over a linen shirt, and a small wooden cross on his chest, but also a hammer-shaped amulet, and a long-handled axe hanging at his waist.

The samurai was somewhat displeased by Luke's somewhat rude scrutiny, but he did not get angry. He simply met Luke's gaze without flinching.

This action enraged Ryan and Miller, who drew their swords almost simultaneously and shouted, "You vulgar heretics, how dare you provoke the master!"

"Oh no, don't misunderstand, Thorstein is a true Christian! He didn't provoke Lord Luke, he was just a little ignorant."

Raoul quickly waved his hand. In a society with a strict feudal hierarchy, even looking a noble in the eye was considered impolite. While apologizing to Luc and the others, he turned his head and muttered a few words to Thorstein in an unintelligible accent. The warrior also showed a panicked expression in an instant. Finally, he bowed slightly and apologized in broken Latin.

"No need to apologize, ignorance is no excuse, but Thorstein, when you apologized just now you said you were from Denmark and England, what's going on?"

Thorstein's self-introduction during his apology differed somewhat from Raoul's; he even claimed to be from the kingdom of Danes and England, which puzzled Luc.

Does such a country exist today?
"My lord, it is Knut."

Raoul chimed in, explaining, "His father was a warrior of Knut, but nearly ten years ago, the Knut Empire collapsed, and his father was exiled. The family began wandering, but they haven't changed their habit of talking nonsense." "No wonder."

Luc nodded. Simply put, it's another Henry.

"I've heard that the Vikings were very good at shipbuilding. Could they have done it?"

Luke looked away, suddenly remembering a topic that interested him.

The Vikings, who once dominated the seas for nearly a century, were not only renowned for their formidable martial prowess, but also for their unhindered Viking dragonships.

Thinking of this, Luke unconsciously thought of the rivers around him.

Burgundy is indeed inland, but several of France's major rivers are located within or near Burgundy, inevitably resulting in some narrower tributaries that are barely wide enough for fishing boats to pass through.

However, if you want to travel as a merchant, you will inevitably have to travel by water, and sometimes, waterways are even safer than land routes.

Therefore, ships are absolutely important, not to mention that ships themselves can be sold at high prices. Don't underestimate the shipbuilding industry. Burgundy has a network of rivers, and ships are in short supply.

Take the Agate River for example. Luc once wanted to build ships not only to connect the two banks, but also because having ships would give him an unexpected backup plan: an additional waterway!

With Joseph Jr. dead, Luc knew that as long as Berry didn't do anything foolish, Finn becoming a baron was a foregone conclusion.

But he still ordered George to keep a close watch on Cooper Castle and report any disturbances.

Why did he help Fane? Was it really because he was greedy for the pie-in-the-sky promise of a third fief? No, the biggest reason was his accurate realization that as long as Fane became a baron, the Berri family's power would definitely decline drastically!

He had observed Finn; both being second sons, Finn might be comparable to Berry in cruelty, but he was far inferior in ability and prestige.
Berry, who was illiterate, was absolutely a qualified medieval lord.

But Fein might not be.

Is a truly brilliant strategy a flawless, multi-pronged plan? Actually, no. A true strategy is a plan tailored to the personality of a particular individual.

To deal with the greedy and calculating Berry, Luc would choose to lull him into complacency with money and then defeat him with force.

To deal with the arrogant young Joseph, one would ambush him by the roadside, letting this proud eldest son die in a rather clumsy ambush.

As for Finn, whose personality became extreme due to his inferiority complex since childhood, it's better if he doesn't become a baron. If he does, he is likely to do crazy things.

Luc was certainly not afraid of him, but expanding the waterways was definitely the right thing to do.

Moreover, there are geographical reasons for Knightsburg.

Having already thoroughly explored the Baron's territory, Luc discovered that several villages lay between Knight's Castle and Tiha Village. One of these villages was quite far from both Tiha Village and Knight's Castle, but they all shared one thing in common.
—A river that can accommodate larger than fishing boats.

"Knight's Castle is mountainous, and connecting it by land is too troublesome. Perhaps connecting it by water would be more suitable."

Tihar is called an enclave because it cannot be connected to Knightsburg at all, but as long as it controls that fiefdom, the three can form a winding linear whole.

In addition to a large amount of timber, Luke also had a shipbuilding treasure that he was reluctant to sell: tar.

Upon hearing Luc's words, Raoul, who was acting as the translator, turned around and asked a question, listened for a moment, and then replied:
“My lord, Thorstein certainly does. He also said that his father was an excellent shipbuilder, and having inherited his father’s skills, he can build not only Viking dragonships but also flat-bottomed shallow-water boats.”

"but."

"But what?"

Luc had already stood up; the idea of ​​a shipbuilder, a Christian Viking warrior had piqued his interest.

"However, he said that he had become a mercenary and wanted to go to distant Constantinople to take a look. If you want to hire him, you must pay enough pennies."

“Finney? That’s not a big problem.”

Luc's lips curled into a smile. He wasn't short of money now. "Tell him that as long as he does well, the treatment here will only be better than in Constantinople!"

(End of this chapter)