Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 342 Training and Logistics

After hiring riders and herds of prairie horses to leave, Frode, having nothing else to do, went to patrol the northern suburbs again.

Accompanied by the Imperial Guard, he entered the camp of an infantry regiment to observe their training process, which mainly consisted of marching and formation changes. Officers occasionally issued instructions to have the soldiers change from marching columns to bayonet squares, and then deploy into offensive lines.

After a long while, Frode headed to the next camp and suddenly saw many familiar faces—the militia of Luton.

"Your Highness?"

Lawrence, his hair now gray, stepped out of the ranks and greeted the Crown Prince with a beaming smile. Frode dismounted and inquired about the training progress from the old knight.

Lawrence patted his chest and guaranteed, "After the two training camps in 865 and 866, we have eighty days of training time. With this training, the total training time is expected to exceed four months. Everyone has been training hard and will never let you down."

Lawrence then commanded two companies of Luton militia to practice formation changes, target practice, and bayonet charges.
Frode was genuinely pleased that the Luton militia had performed exceptionally well compared to other companies. He had spent two years in Luton and had an unbreakable bond with the town, much like his father had with County Tyne.

"I really wish I were in charge of this infantry regiment."

The training continued until 5 p.m., and on a whim, Frode stayed at the camp to eat with the Luton militia.

Dinner consisted of flatbread and herring stew. Everyone lined up with square tin lunchboxes, and the chef used a long-handled wooden spoon to scoop a piece of fish into the lunchbox, then added a spoonful of broth.

Following the old custom, Frode broke the hard bread into small pieces, soaked them in the broth until softened, and added onions, turnips, and a little fish sauce to the fish soup, making it taste acceptable.

According to his observation, the soldiers didn't dislike the taste, only occasionally complaining that the cooks gave them too little meat. Frode didn't participate in the discussion; the army was too large, and half a pound of fish per person was already the cabinet's limit, unable to provide better rations.

In late July, the Army organized another joint exercise involving three field divisions, a cavalry division, and eight garrison regiments, with a total of 40,000 personnel.

Frode and his cabinet members went to a nearby hill to observe the large-scale exercise.

In the distance, a column of soldiers gradually approached, surrounded by numerous rangers and small cavalry units to prevent sporadic enemy attacks.

Upon arrival at the designated location, the column unfolded into square formations of thousands of people, resembling numerous moving black cubes.

After nearly an hour, the army finally completed its adjustments and slowly advanced towards the haystack target several hundred paces ahead. When the distance was reduced to a hundred paces, the army stopped moving, and the archers moved to the front ranks, firing continuously at the target area.

After firing approximately 100,000 arrows, the crossbowmen retreated back into their ranks, while the spearmen advanced. The heavy cavalry on both flanks also launched a charge, coordinating with the infantry to attack the Frankish formation.

Subsequently, the army conducted drills on anti-cavalry phalanxes, simulating a surprise attack by a large number of French cavalry. Each infantry regiment immediately converted into a bayonet phalanx, while the Viking cavalry retreated to the center of the formation, awaiting the moment to counterattack.

After the exercise, the massive military formation transformed back into a marching column and returned to camp along the original route.

"It's finally over. It's been a long and difficult journey." Witnessing this scene, the Crown Prince and cabinet members breathed a sigh of relief.

After the training camp ended, the cabinet dispatched troops in batches, sending them on foot to Southampton to board ships, thus shortening the voyage time.

The Crown Prince read the plan for crossing the sea submitted by the Navy and was filled with worry. "Soldiers, warhorses, food, and weapons will take at least a month. I hope there is still time."

At the same time, in the suburbs of Paris, the sky was clear and cloudless, and the sun generously bathed both banks of the Seine. A temporary arena had been set up on the grassy south bank, and the stands were filled with Frankish nobles.

Suddenly, the sound of horns interrupted the commotion. Two knights came to the center of the field, bowed slightly to the king in the stands, and then returned to their respective ends of the field.

They wore chainmail over robes embroidered with their family crests, and their warhorses pawed restlessly, snorting white breath.

The horn sounded again, and the two warhorses moved almost simultaneously, first taking small, quick steps, then transforming into two shadowy figures skimming the ground as they charged straight at each other. Reaching their maximum speed, the two knights leveled their blunt-tipped lances, aiming the tips at their opponent's shields.

Click!

The knight on the left was hit, his entire upper body jerked backward, and his heavy body crashed onto the grass with a dull thud. He rolled several times and lay paralyzed on the spot, unable to move.

Amid cheers from the audience, two servants rushed to the vicinity, carefully moved the injured man's body, and carried him on a plank to the medical tent for treatment.

"The winner is Sir Berian of Gugnon."

In the center of the stands, bald Charlie stood with a cold expression. He didn't care about the winners or losers. The tournament was held to vent the knights' excess energy and prevent them from disturbing the villagers.

During the lunch break, Charlie asked the Prime Minister, "Including the reinforcements from this morning, how many men are there?"

Lambert gave a rough answer: "About 24,000 men. According to replies from various places, reinforcements from Central Frankish and East Frankish are still on their way, and the total number of reinforcements is expected to exceed 40,000."

Approximately 24,000 people?

Bald Charlie was greatly shocked. "Even now, you still don't know the exact number?"

Lambert explained, "It's not my fault. Some nobles deliberately exaggerated the number of soldiers in order to receive more supplies. I lacked enough officials to verify the numbers."

After talking for a while, the two heard a commotion outside the tent, as if a large number of soldiers were causing trouble.

Bald Charlie walked toward the scene of the incident and saw a group of nobles surrounding the quartermaster in charge of logistics, complaining about the supply problems.

"I have five hundred archers. I asked you for arrows a week ago, but why did I receive crossbow bolts yesterday? Are these even usable?"

"The oats provided were mixed with sand and leaves, and could only be used to feed pigs, not warhorses."

The atmosphere grew increasingly heated, and Charlie quickly intervened to stop the crowd. After the crowd dispersed, he asked for recent account books and discovered serious logistical waste, with the whereabouts of many supplies unknown.

"Lock him in the dungeon and interrogate him thoroughly!"

After dealing with the quartermaster, Bald Charlie had no interest in participating in the tournament. As the army expanded to 30,000, he felt increasingly overwhelmed, like a draft horse burdened with too much cargo, struggling to breathe under the weight.

After a few minutes of consideration, he asked his cabinet to draft a list, including merchants, gentry, and nearby monasteries, to "send people to 'borrow' grain, anticipating that the war would last until the end of the year, or even next year, and the more grain stored, the better."

(End of this chapter)