During his inspection tour, Gunnar promoted Sir Oliver to the rank of baron and ordered him to continue raising his illegitimate son, Henry.
Over the past two years, the relationship between the duke and his wife had grown cold. They barely spoke anymore. Gunnar feared that sooner or later she might move against Henry. It seemed safer to keep the boy in Iberia—better to face Moorish swords than return to Normandy and risk assassination.
After completing the tour, Gunnar remained in Iberia to help Alfonso stabilize the situation.
Following emergency recruitment, Alfonso assembled an army of fifteen thousand men, training them intensively in preparation for a possible Moorish counterattack.
According to the plan he had made before departing the previous year, Gunnar should have returned to Normandy by now. But he simply could not leave.
Military duties, governance of his new territories, and the need to maintain relationships with Visigoth nobles kept him entangled in endless responsibilities.
At this rate, he might not return even by autumn.
He had no choice—working two jobs at once inevitably meant exhaustion.
At the same time, the court in Córdoba was stunned by the course of the war.
Bad news arrived one after another. Moorish nobles argued endlessly, unsure how to respond.
Some proposed requesting reinforcements from North Africa—from regions such as Morocco and Algeria. Others suggested seeking assistance from Britain, which they considered another potential ally.
Before long, merchant fleets carried this information back to Britain.
Using reports gathered by ship captains, Vig took up a quill and drew a thin line across the map of the Iberian Peninsula.
From his perspective, the situation was far from one-sided.
The Moors' defeat earlier in the year had stemmed mainly from overconfidence and slow reaction. Gunnar, skilled in offensive warfare, had struck rapidly, triggering a chain of collapses and heavy losses in their field armies.
However, Iberia's terrain was complex.
South of the Meseta Plateau stretched a central mountain range running southwest to northeast. By holding those mountains, the Moors could maintain a defensive position for at least half a year.
Their overall national strength still far exceeded that of Asturias in the north.
Once they rebuilt their field armies, they might even regain the initiative and push the Visigoths back into the northwestern mountains.
At an emergency cabinet meeting, Vig laid out his assessment:
The Visigoths had won a major victory, but not enough to change the fundamental balance of power.
In the coming years, the war would likely settle into a prolonged stalemate. Neither side would be able to destroy the other quickly.
Britain's best strategy was to stay out of the conflict.
The Minister of Internal Affairs raised a concern:
"What if the Moors threaten us through trade restrictions?"
Vig replied calmly:
"Then we deploy the navy. I invested enormous sums to build that fleet precisely for situations like this. If necessary, we can sweep along the Iberian coastline.
Besides, we've recently established new trade relations—with the Idrisid dynasty in Morocco. The more profitable the trade, the more merchants compete to participate."
With that issue settled, Vig presented a new document.
It outlined a new mobilization system.
Key Provisions of the New Military System
In the twelve royal counties, farmers owning more than 30 acres of land must undergo 40 days of military training each year, organized by their local towns.
Landholders owning more than 200 acres must provide their own horses and serve as mounted messengers or reconnaissance riders.
Retired officers and soldiers under 45 years old would enter the reserve force and serve as instructors for militia training.
In wartime, instructors would select qualified trainees to form militia regiments for combat duty.
The ministers passed the document around, stunned by the king's determination.
The prime minister mentally reviewed the numbers in the royal domain:
Population: 870,000
Households: 135,000
Farm households with 30+ acres: 80,000
Organizing military training for such a vast population raised an obvious question:
What exactly was the king preparing for?
Vig produced another document listing major wars across Europe over the past decades.
"Over time, the intensity of warfare is increasing," he said.
"A standing army of a few thousand men is no longer sufficient. We need a larger reserve force to face an increasingly dangerous future."
Under the king's firm insistence, the cabinet reluctantly approved the plan.
Orders spread like snowfall across the realm.
Local officials were instructed to complete registration quickly and organize militia training in every town before October.
Meanwhile, Vig and his wife temporarily set aside state affairs to focus on arranging their eldest son's marriage.
After careful consideration, they selected the safest political match:
The Count of Kent's youngest daughter.
She met every requirement:
healthy
literate in Norse
familiar with some Latin
free of scandal
Frode accepted his parents' decision without protest. He had met the girl before and did not dislike her.
In mid-June, the royal family held the wedding at the temple in Londinium.
To show gratitude for the king's favor, the elderly Count of Kent provided a dowry worth 2,400 pounds, astonishing the assembled nobles.
Among the crowd, the count's longtime rival Leonard muttered quietly:
"That old eel is incredibly lucky. He started in poor Liverpool, then got transferred to Kent. With Dover's trade, he made a fortune—he's richer than I am now."
The celebrations lasted ten days.
Total cost: 1,800 pounds.
Extravagant expenses filled the schedule:
ceremonial carriage parades, with attendants tossing silver coins to crowds
a grand knightly tournament in the arena
free admission to all four theaters in the city, funded by the crown
discounted beer and cane liquor in taverns
Each day, the royal palace hosted banquets attended by:
nobles
officials
military officers
merchants holding knightly titles
"Ten days," Vig sighed,
"and we've spent an entire year's revenue from Aberdeen County. What extravagance."
Despite his discomfort, he did not reduce spending.
Public perception mattered.
A lavish royal wedding demonstrated strength and authority. Excessive frugality, by contrast, could weaken the crown's prestige among nobles and commoners alike.
After the wedding, Vig assigned his eldest son to govern a town within Londinium County to gain administrative experience.
Fresh from graduating the army academy, Frode had expected a military appointment. He had even studied the strengths and weaknesses of various units.
Instead, he received a civilian post.
"Luton Town?" he asked.
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
"When you helped suppress the rebellion in Ireland, you experienced life among soldiers," Vig replied.
"Now you must observe the lives of ordinary people. That understanding will be invaluable for your future rule."
After reviewing the town's records, Frode accepted the assignment.
He departed Londinium with:
his new wife
one hundred royal guard soldiers
more than twenty servants
And with that, he began the first official duty of his adult life.
—------------------------------
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