Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 210 Crossroads of Fate

On March 13, French troops arrived on the south bank of the Thames.

Even now, Gunnar still harbored illusions and sent messengers into the palace of Lundinium to persuade Aslaci.

Stripped of all polite phrases and embellishments, Gunnar's meaning is quite simple:
Sigurd won't be able to hold out for long. Losing the young king is tantamount to losing your right to rule the country. In the past year or so, you've offended countless people; your future is surely bleak. If my eldest son marries Enya, you will still be the Queen Mother, enjoying wealth and luxury in the palace, with no reduction in your food, clothing, or other necessities.

With the situation beyond saving, Asura appeared remarkably calm. Leaning lazily against the throne, she said sarcastically, "If Sigurd dies, there's no point in me guarding this lousy throne. I've long since given up on this godforsaken place. Get out."

Negotiations broke down, and Gunnar pondered a plan to attack Londinium.

The Thames is 300 meters wide, spanned by a long stone bridge, with a small bridgehead standing on the south bank.

He had no intention of launching a full-scale assault on the bridgehead. Even if he did capture it, his army could only advance along the narrow stone bridge to the north bank, unable to deploy its ranks, let alone capture the city walls.

“Recruit nearby civilians and have them dig trenches outside the bridgehead to block the enemy.”

Unfortunately, a sudden downpour began, leaving Gunnar with no choice but to disperse his troops to various settlements on the south bank to take shelter from the rain and wait for the rainy weather to end before considering crossing the river. However, he did spread the word that he was willing to protect the fiefdoms of all Viking nobles who had surrendered.

This statement made no mention of the minor nobles and Viking landowners in the directly controlled territories. They guessed the general reason: if Gunnar became king, he would certainly have to feed his soldiers. Since the territories of the counts had not changed much, he would definitely take a cut from other groups.

After heated discussions, the group sent representatives to Ireland to invite Ivar to ascend the throne.

Duflin, the Duke's residence.

Today was a rare sunny day. Ivar lay on a chair enjoying the sunshine, his abdomen wrapped in a plain linen cloth, exuding a faint smell of blood and herbs.

According to the traditions of the Tynburg Order, one should not drink alcohol after suffering an injury. Ivar was forced to temporarily give up those fine wines and stay in Dufelin with nothing to do.

War, conquest, rebellion, and suppression. These things occupied his life for more than ten years. The local nobles fought again and again after repeated defeats. Even when they were driven into the western hills by well-equipped Viking cavalry, they did not surrender. They would launch large-scale attacks whenever they had the chance, which annoyed everyone.

When will this kind of life finally end?

In the afternoon, a servant brought in a roll of parchment. The contents were simple: the Viking nobles and gentry of County Rendyneum unanimously invited Ivar to inherit the throne, and it ended with everyone's signatures and fingerprints.

These bastards didn't come looking for me before, but now they want me to go and fight them?
Ivar closed his eyes and pondered for a few minutes, then summoned the clerk and began to dictate the contents of the letter.

He wrote to powerful nobles such as Leonard, as well as the sheriffs of York, Nottingham, Tamworth, and Cambridge, urging them to pledge allegiance to him and join him in defeating the Franks.

Half an hour later, the clerk rubbed his sore wrists. "Sir, it seems you forgot about Tyneburg?"

"No rush, I haven't thought of what to say yet."

Due to a series of upheavals last year, the authority of the royal family has declined significantly, and there is almost no restraint on powerful nobles in various regions. Recalling Vig's actions, Ivar vaguely sensed his old friend's ambition and couldn't help but sigh repeatedly.

"What exactly was Father thinking?"

As the eldest son, Ivar had enough power and prestige to take over the entire kingdom, and the nobles and his brothers would never dare to act recklessly. Unfortunately, his father had lost his mind and actually allowed the youngest son, Sigurd, to ascend the throne. Suddenly, he remembered a long-standing rumor that Aslachi and the court steward had conspired to tamper with the will. Upon careful consideration, he realized that there was indeed some possibility to it.

"Once I have taken over Londinium, I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly."

The following week, Ivar's envoys visited various noble families, one of whom went to Tyneburg to persuade Vig to send troops south.

"The troops are currently undergoing intensive training. Please wait for me for another two months."

"Two months?" The messenger was incredulous, thinking the Duke was making excuses. "Are you sure you want to answer His Majesty with these words?"

Vig was silent for a few seconds, then repeated with difficulty, "Yes, we cannot send troops at the moment."

After dismissing the messenger, Vig leaned back in his chair, lost in thought for a long time.

First of all, he was indeed busy organizing the army and did not have time to participate in this battle.

Since receiving word of Gunnar's impending attack, Vig began mobilizing and training his troops in early February, recruiting a total of 8,000 soldiers, 70% of whom were Vikings. The Vikings had a martial tradition, and their mobilization rate, physical fitness, and morale were higher than those of ordinary civilians. The remaining troops consisted of Anglo-Saxons, Welsh immigrants, and Highland mercenaries (Gaels).

The quality of the soldiers was acceptable; the problem lay with the officers. The advantage of Vigé's regimental, battalion, company, platoon, and squad organization was its tight organization, which allowed for effective control of the troops and faster implementation of military orders. The disadvantage was that it required a large number of officers, which kept Vigé extremely busy.

To speed up the process, he dismantled the original standing army, promoted veterans to squad leaders, squad leaders to platoon leaders, and then conducted centralized training.

Because some illiterate people could not understand military orders, maps and soldier rosters, Wieg also transferred most of the junior high school students from Tyneburg School to serve as military clerks, totaling seventy-five people, and placed them in the battalion and company headquarters.

Finally, his reasons for not participating in the war also included personal motives: once Gunnar had occupied Lundnium and even more areas, he could then go south as the savior and gain even more benefits.

Upon receiving replies from various regions, Ivar was both pleased and worried. Most nobles and county magistrates agreed to participate in the war, but on different conditions.

For example, Leonard of Mancini demanded a knighthood from the sheriffs of Liverpool and Yorkshire on the west side of his territory. All of this was like a pack of wild dogs scrambling for carrion.

To make matters worse, Esselbad of Wessex and Vig of Tyneburg refused to join the fight, asking to wait a little longer.

Ivar sensed their wariness and estrangement. What disappointed him most was Vig. If he had a choice, Ivar really didn't want the two of them to end up fighting each other.

"A king is destined to be lonely. Ah, Father was right. Perhaps this crown will not bring me happiness, but I have no choice."

Ireland had only 40,000 Viking settlers, and Ivar managed to muster 5,000 soldiers, with an additional 2,000 stationed at Duflin to prevent the territory from being captured by rebels.

At the end of March, Ivar's army arrived in Liverpool by boat, sailed up the Mersey River, and landed at Manchone, where they called for troops from all over to assemble.

　Thank you to reader Wudi Fenghuochun for the generous donation.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)