Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 376 Power in the Cracks
Late April, Magdeburg, Central Europe.

Pale golden sunlight pierced through sparse clouds, casting dappled shadows on the dock outside the city. With the help of a strong north wind, a longboat laden with cargo left the pier and headed towards Moravia on the upper Elbe River.

The first day of sailing went smoothly, with the north wind propelling the boat upstream. By the afternoon of the following day, the river began to meander, and shoals became more frequent. The captain gripped a long pole and probed the river depth at the bow to prevent running aground or hitting a reef.

On the morning of the third day, a thin mist rose over the river, and dew condensed on the masts. The crew spotted a capsized fishing boat ahead, half of its hull resting on a sandbar. The captain ordered his men to row closer and inspect it, but they found only an empty wine flask.

On the fourth day, the merchant ship arrived at a remote fishing village called Dresden, which is the traditional border between East Frankish and Moravian.

After the war, the defense of the area was taken over by the Duke of Bavaria. Meanwhile, the Emperor firmly believed that there were silver mines nearby and retained the mining rights in the region. He dispatched a large exploration team from the mainland to search for traces of silver in the surrounding area.

After a night's rest, the merchant ships continued their voyage. Occasionally, Slavic hunters could be seen standing in the woods on the riverbank, facing each other across the river, their gazes as if scrutinizing an intruder who had entered their territory.

On the fifth day at dusk, a settlement surrounded by wooden walls appeared in the river bend ahead; we had arrived at the Moravian border trading post.

Compared to the past, a steel cable now spans the river, and stone fortresses are being built on both banks. Greek-looking stonemasons and engineers can be seen everywhere on the construction site.

The captain paid the taxes and an extra kickback, then continued upstream, eventually arriving at the dock south of Zatatzi.

"Here we are."

Twenty sailors prepared to unload the cargo at the captain's command, while five passengers, carrying their luggage, bid farewell to the captain. One of them, a young man, went straight to the east of the city after disembarking, heading in search of Lord Kozel's residence.

In the lord's hall, after the two checked the code, the lord was shocked and led the young man to a secluded spot in the backyard. "Who are you?"

"Agent, codename Red Snapper, belongs to the Intelligence System—Investigation Division—Moravia Branch, and is stationed in Zarates. Why are you so nervous? What trouble have you encountered?"

As they walked, the Red Snapper detects that the atmosphere on the street is very unusual. Pedestrians are in a hurry, most of them walking quickly with their heads down and rarely interacting with others. It is highly likely that something has happened in Moravia.

Kozel's eyes swept back and forth across the lush garden, his tone kept to a minimum.

"Recently, the old king finally made up his mind to fully accept the faith of the Eastern Roman Empire and expelled the five nobles who had the strongest opposition from the court."

With Emperor Vig to the west and Emperor Basil to the east, how could Moravia possibly remain stable when it was being targeted by two powerful monarchs simultaneously?

Kozel's territory was located in western Moravia. He had long been dissatisfied with the old king's rule and raised his most pressing question: When will Emperor Vig make his move?
The Red Snapper agent paused for a moment, offering no definitive answer: "Uh, it depends."

The agents are too low-ranking to access this kind of critical information.

From his perspective, the empire was not yet ready to launch another full-scale war. Magdeburg's eight thousand soldiers were only suited for small- to medium-sized conflicts and could not conquer towns quickly. If they attracted the Croatian army from the south or the Eastern Roman army from the Balkans during the siege, it would only cause more trouble.

Ideally, the Moravian nobles would stage a coup in the name of defending tradition, quickly seize control of the king, and then the Viking army would move in to assist the locals in defense.
Frustrated, Kozel plucked a red flower and crumpled it into a ball with both hands. "Fine, I'm willing to contact other nobles. Once it's done, I need the entire western territory. Hmm, let's call him the Duke of Bohemia."

Red Snapper spread his hands: "My lord, my rank is insufficient to make such a promise. Of course, the empire never mistreats its meritorious officials; the more merits you accumulate, the greater your rewards will be, depending on the emperor's evaluation of you." Having reached this point, Kozel finally staked everything and began plotting a rebellion.

In May, the woods were lush and green. Kozel invited four familiar noblemen to go hunting in the countryside. Sunlight filtered through the intertwined branches and leaves, and the air was filled with the fragrance of wildflowers.

"Look over there!"

Kozel suddenly reined in his horse and pointed to a thicket of bushes to his left. A large stag was raising its head warily, its antlers gleaming a deep brown in the sunlight.

Almost simultaneously, the three nobles behind them tacitly drew their bows and arrows; two missed, while the third accurately shot into the stag's abdomen.

"Haha, I hit the target."

The nobleman blew a loud whistle and led two attendants into the woods.

In the afternoon, they reined in their horses to rest in an open area by the river. The river water shimmered in the sunlight, and a large patch of pale yellow wildflowers grew on the opposite bank.

Soon, the servants cooked the venison, and Kozel and the four nobles lay on the blankets, drinking and eating while listening to the songs of the bards.

More than ten minutes later, the guests entered a state of semi-drunkenness. Kozel dismissed the servants and bards and mentioned the recent situation in the capital, Villeherd:
"His Majesty is only concerned with currying favor with Basil and has abandoned our ancient traditions. Now his court is filled with Greek priests, advisors and officers. Perhaps it won't be long before he also enfeoffs Greeks as lords."

Under the influence of alcohol, the four guests, unusually, spoke their minds, complaining about a series of measures issued by the king, especially the special taxes levied on lords in various regions to fund the establishment of a standing army and the construction of churches.

"Why should we pay? My territory is located in a valley, where we can't collect commercial taxes and can only rely on meager agricultural taxes. I almost couldn't afford my daughter's dowry."

“That’s right. Since the king has chosen to side with the Eastern Roman Empire, Basil should pay for it!”

Kozel remained calm throughout, observing the reactions of the four guests. After the hunt, he visited the young nobleman who had reacted most strongly, inviting him to join his cause.

After two months of back-and-forth, Kozel's conspiracy team expanded to six people, and he also received a message from Lentinium: if the operation went smoothly, the emperor promised to make him a duke.

However, just as he felt the situation was going very well, a messenger suddenly arrived from the capital, Welehrad, claiming that the king had urgent business to attend to and summoned all the nobles.

not good!

Kozel approached Agent Red Snapper, "What do we do now? How many people are there in Magdeburg?"

“Eight thousand soldiers. In addition, the Duke of Bavaria can also raise an army of more than four thousand men, but it will take time.”

If war were to break out now, Kozel was not confident of victory. Lacking the courage to fight to the death, he could only cling to a sliver of hope and follow the messenger to the palace for an audience.

(End of this chapter)