After forming the cabinet, Vig began reforming the military system.
He planned to maintain a standing army of four thousand men, consisting of three infantry regiments, one mountain infantry battalion, two ranger cavalry companies, and various support personnel.
In addition, the royal demesne would collectively maintain three thousand garrison troops, responsible for suppressing bandits and defending against pirates. Most of these garrison soldiers were militia, with a one-year term of service and duties restricted to their own county.
The standing army and the garrison forces had different roles, and naturally, different待遇. The former was projected to cost 1,200 pounds per year, with all soldiers equipped with iron armor. The latter had a much lower rate of armor coverage, poorer pay and benefits, and an estimated annual cost of 500 pounds.
Finally, there was the Royal Guard, temporarily set at 1,500 men, composed of academy graduates and elite soldiers selected from various units.
As the core force protecting the royal house, the Royal Guard enjoyed the highest待遇, with an estimated annual cost of 900 pounds.
Altogether, the army's maintenance cost totaled 2,600 pounds per year, not counting the newly established navy.
The Navy
At present, the navy possessed four two-masted square-rigged ships. Because of inherent design flaws, cogs were unsuitable as warships, so all future naval vessels would be two-masted square-rigged ships, with a planned strength of twenty ships.
Navies had always been expensive.
In the original historical timeline, rulers such as Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart, Edward III, and Henry V all assembled large fleets. However, these were not standing navies in the modern sense. Their fleets mainly consisted of requisitioned merchant ships during wartime and obligatory vessels provided by privileged entities like the Cinque Ports.
Once wars ended, fleet size rapidly shrank, and at times the crown couldn't even afford to maintain royal dockyards.
It was not until the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547) that a true standing navy was established, along with the Navy Board to centrally manage shipbuilding, personnel assignments, and logistics.
Vig drew inspiration from Henry VIII's system. He handed naval affairs to the Minister of Maritime Affairs, Helgi, and established a small naval academy to train captains, first mates, and other command personnel.
"This will cost a lot of money. Are you sure?"
After years running the Western Sea Fur Company, Helgi's accounting skills had improved significantly. With a little calculation, he estimated that establishing the navy and its associated institutions—dockyards and schools—would cost over 3,000 pounds.
In addition, naval upkeep was notoriously expensive. Even in peacetime, it would cost at least 400 pounds annually.
"Go ahead and do it," Vig replied. "If the money isn't enough, come to me."
Surrounded by powerful enemies, even if West Francia never launched a landing, small-scale Norse pirates alone could inflict serious losses. Vig needed control of the surrounding seas.
After Helgi left, Vig picked up pen and paper and made a rough calculation, setting combined army and navy maintenance costs at 3,000 pounds per year.
"By this reckoning, even the Ragnar royal house could have borne this expense. Unfortunately, they squandered everything—no fiscal planning from top to bottom. Whatever money they had, they spent it all. And the entire civil bureaucracy was chaotic, stuffed full of illiterate deadweights…"
After venting for a while, he suddenly remembered the 1,800 Frankish prisoners of war in the camps. During the retreat, storms had scattered the Frankish fleet, damaging several ships. Unable to leave, many soldiers had been stranded along the coast and captured.
Among them were over eighty nobles. Vig had no intention of letting this potential revenue slip away and dispatched envoys to Calais, urging West Francia to ransom the prisoners as soon as possible.
The response from the Lord of Calais was cold:
"This was a war Gunnar launched on his own. You should demand money from him—assuming the king forgives his crimes and allows him to retain the title of Duke of Normandy."
West Francia
When "Charles the Bald" first learned that Gunnar had launched the war without authorization, his initial reaction was fury—he wanted to kill the ambitious rebel with his own hands.
But when news arrived that Gunnar had captured Londinium, Charles, wary of the man's strength, suppressed his anger and tacitly allowed nobles across the realm to send reinforcements.
Then Gunnar lost.
First, supplies in Londinium and Calais were burned. Then he was defeated in the decisive battle, fled back to Normandy in disgrace, abandoned the bulk of his army, and allowed countless soldiers to fall into captivity.
"Disloyal—and now severely weakened. What use are you?"
After careful consideration, Charles summoned Gunnar to Paris and quietly prepared to suppress him by force. Gunnar was a Viking, long ostracized by the nobility. After this defeat, he had squandered the nobles' investments and caused the deaths or surrender of many second sons and bastards. No one was willing to protect him anymore.
Receiving the summons, Gunnar had no choice. He rushed to Paris at once to defend himself.
His strategy was clear: first, exaggerate Vig's threat, claiming that Vig was far more dangerous than Ragnar ever had been.
"Your Majesty," Gunnar declared, "you fought him by the Seine—you know his command ability. If one day Vig leads a pagan host to invade West Francia, who besides me would be fit to stop him?"
Recalling the devastation of those battles, Charles felt a chill. He glanced coldly at his vassal and gestured for him to continue.
"I am a Norman and lack legitimacy in West Francia. The only thing I can rely on is your trust. You need not fear me colluding with other nobles. Spare me this once, and I swear to serve you with all my strength—helping you eliminate hostile powers on all sides, so you may become a true emperor."
Charles leaned back in his chair, staring indifferently at the blond barbarian. From past experience, he judged Gunnar to be a rare and capable enforcer—just one whose ambition was dangerously excessive.
By God, why can I never find a commander who is both loyal and capable?
As other nobles' faces flashed through his mind, Charles changed his approach and decided to give Gunnar another chance.
"I hear you brought back a Queen of Britannia?"
"Yes. She is Ragnar's daughter. She has converted, and a bishop has crowned her."
"Crowned?" Charles realized Gunnar had reached some agreement with the Church. "Send her to the court for proper instruction."
"But she is already betrothed to my eldest son, Robert."
Charles' tone carried a trace of mockery. "In that case, send them both. What do you think?"
Gunnar's chest heaved violently—not because of paternal affection for Robert, but because of 'Enya's' identity.
In truth, he had never found Princess Enya at all. He had simply chosen a girl of similar appearance and hastily crowned her to cement the title of queen.
If her identity were exposed, Gunnar's relationship with the Roman Church would be completely destroyed.
At that moment, Charles leaned slightly forward, his gaze sharp.
"You look down on my court?"
"I am willing," Gunnar replied. He had no other choice. All he could do was survive this crisis and think about the future later.
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