Over the next two months, Salomon and his followers chose to linger in Londonium. Compared with their anxious life hiding in the mountains of Brittany, their current situation—steady meals and warm shelter—suited them perfectly.
As the year drew to a close, government affairs grew hectic. Vig ignored these freeloading guests and focused his attention on the annual performance reviews of the royal counties.
Overall, the results were excellent—far exceeding expectations set at the beginning of the year. The numbers almost felt unreal.
Thirty thousand pounds.
That was the Crown's total annual revenue.
And this had been achieved while keeping the agricultural tax rate at only 15%, with no increases in other taxes. The treasury was in far better shape than it had ever been under King Ragnar.
A Record Year
During the cabinet meeting, ministers stared silently at the reports in their hands—especially Godwin and Om, veterans from the previous regime.
Back then, Aslaug and Pafis had devised countless desperate schemes to extract wealth, yet managed to collect barely ten thousand pounds, while provoking widespread resentment and weakening royal authority.
In terms of governance and revenue generation, Vig had surpassed them completely.
Godwin thought to himself:
"Forcing him to resign as prime minister was the greatest mistake Ragnar ever made."
Turning the page, he noticed that the fastest-growing sector was textiles—far outpacing ironworking, brewing, shipbuilding, and papermaking.
In hindsight, the king's decision to invest heavily in the textile industry—even going to war with Flanders to secure it—now looked unquestionably correct.
Spending and Military Strength
Total annual expenditures reached 23,000 pounds.
Military spending alone approached 8,000 pounds.
The standing army had expanded to:
4 infantry regiments
1 mountain infantry battalion
1 ranger (light cavalry) battalion
1 field medical battalion
Meanwhile, the navy now operated more than 50 vessels, including:
32 twin-masted warships
2 newly commissioned three-masted warships
Transport ships
Training ships
Thames River defense flotilla
Immigration and Population
Another major expense came from immigration.
That year alone, 46,000 new migrants arrived—
40,000 of them from Denmark, effectively emptying central and southern Denmark of population.
After several wars, last year's refugee crisis, and this year's mass migration, the Danish kingdom's population had fallen below 200,000. With more land now available per person, the incentive to emigrate declined sharply. Denmark would no longer be a major source of migrants.
To settle these newcomers, the cabinet and the counties of:
Londonium
Cambridge
East Anglia
worked relentlessly, spending a total of 7,000 pounds.
As a result:
Population of royal direct territories: 830,000
Viking immigrants within that total: 260,000
Entire kingdom population (including noble lands): 2.4–2.5 million
Policy Adjustments
After ten minutes, the ministers finished reading the report. Vig began commenting on each category.
Finance:
Once immigrants stabilized their livelihoods, they would become both producers of agricultural goods and consumers of manufactured products. Revenue was expected to rise significantly again next year.
Population:
Large-scale migration had already reduced the Nordic population. Future immigration would slow and increasingly rely on:
Eastern Europe
Finland
But this posed new challenges.
Cultural differences between Vikings, Slavs, and Finns meant:
longer adaptation periods
heavier administrative burdens
Therefore, Vig decided not to push for another massive migration wave. Instead, he would allow immigration to proceed naturally at a few thousand people per year.
When ministers realized the king had lowered the target, they visibly relaxed—especially Minister of Justice Om.
New immigrants often lacked familiarity with the kingdom's laws, leading to frequent theft and robbery cases. Om had spent much of the previous year dealing with these issues—sometimes even muttering legal statutes in his sleep.
With fewer migrants, the supply of cheap labor would shrink, raising construction costs. Consequently, Vig planned to slow large infrastructure projects.
He announced:
"The road from Londonium to York to Tainburg was completed a year ago.
I have decided to extend this main artery northward from Tainburg to Edinburgh, and then connect Edinburgh to Glasgow.
There is no need to rush—the construction period will be set at two and a half years."
A Rare Moment of Rest
When the meeting ended, Vig stretched and left the chamber.
After a year of relentless work, a rare and peaceful holiday had finally arrived.
After lunch, he reclined in his chair, preparing for a short nap, when Helgifa came to discuss an important matter: their eldest son's marriage.
This was not a decision to take lightly.
Vig rose, pushed open the window, and let the cold wind clear his mind as he considered potential marriage alliances.
In dramas and legends, royal in-laws are often portrayed as villains. But reality was more complicated.
In certain moments—especially during the transition to a young ruler—
maternal relatives could serve as protectors of royal authority, balancing other political factions.
If one wished to eliminate the influence of in-laws entirely, the only method would be similar to the Ming dynasty approach: marrying the heir to a commoner's daughter, severing the political base of the queen's family.
But that would also mean losing their support.
After careful deliberation, Vig decided to follow established custom and arrange a marriage with a noble family.
"Over the next period, quietly prepare a list of suitable candidates," he told Helgifa.
"I will have the intelligence service investigate their personalities and family backgrounds."
Helgifa gave him a knowing look.
"I knew it. Every time you don't want to deal with something, you pass it to me—or to the cabinet."
She complained for a few minutes—then suddenly realized her husband had already left the room.
Rushing to the window, she saw him in the distance:
wrapped in a black cloak,
carrying a wooden box in his left hand,
and a fishing rod in his right,
walking away surrounded by royal guards.
The King Goes Fishing
On the open northern riverbank, Vig sat on a folding stool wrapped in fur, wearing a thick sable coat. Beside him stood a small silver brazier glowing with charcoal warmth. Behind him, attendants had erected a windbreak to shield him from the bitter northern wind.
He gazed at the slow, muddy waters of the Thames.
"Hopefully I can catch a few perch."
From time to time, he glanced downstream toward the docks:
four treadwheel cranes turning endlessly
crowds of workers moving back and forth
tavern chimneys releasing steady plumes of smoke
The harbor was alive with activity.
Fish accumulated steadily in his bucket:
roach
roach
pike
more roach
Yet still no perch.
As evening fell, lights flickered on across houses and along the stone bridge spanning the river. Vig wiped sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and returned home for dinner, slightly disappointed.
For several more days, he continued fishing along the riverbank.
Finally—on the fifth day—he caught a pale yellow perch marked with five dark spots.
"Ha! This is a good spot. Quickly—throw more bait in the water!"
He excitedly removed the hook.
At that very moment, a mounted attendant galloped toward him, delivering urgent news:
Denmark has been invaded.
Ubbe is dead.
"Why are the tidings from Denmark always so grim?"
In his moment of distraction, Vig's grip loosened.
The perch flicked its tail— slipped from his hand— and vanished back into the river.
—------------------------------
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