Ch 142: Ships And Fur
AD 851, Spring.
Bjorn and Helgi strode into Tyne’s main building, demanding three carracks. “Those natives are too much! We must get even this year!”
Next, Bjorn drank deeply of honey wine, recounting his misfortunes. Vig did not rush to interrupt him, quietly stroking the half-meter-long, creamy yellowish walrus tusk.
After hearing the whole story, Vig gave his price:
“It just so happens that the shipyard has two carracks for sale, and one nearing completion. Each costs eighty pounds （, fifty pounds in costs ）. Three in total cost two hundred and forty pounds. Payment in silver or goods?”
Carracks are suitable for maritime trade; only 20-30 sailors are needed to transport hundreds of tons of goods, greatly improving transport efficiency.
Unfortunately, their drawback is their high price. One carrack costs as much as several Viking longships. Ordinary merchants cannot afford them and can only purchase them jointly.
Currently, Tyne’s shipyard has produced five carracks in total. The Bluefish is kept for the Duke’s Mansion’s own use, transporting goods to Calais and then Frankish warhorses, wine, and other products back to Tyne Town.
The second was sold to Harry’s Tyne Wool Merchant Guild, transporting wool, iron ingots, paper, and pickled fish to Flanders, and buying books, glass, and spices back to Tyne Town.
The third was sold to a Danish noble named Horst, whose fiefdom is located in Schleswig. He is responsible for the route between Denmark and the Neva River Mouth （, the site of future Saint Petersburg ）, and trades with the Rus’ of Eastern Europe.
The fourth and fifth have yet to find buyers and are quietly waiting at the south dock of Tyne Town. In comparison, traditional Viking longships only cost 10-20 pounds, and there are many buyers.
Bjorn: “I don’t have the money right now. The silver from the Frankish war was spent. Can I have credit?”
Vig: “.”
The two stared at each other for a long time. Vig couldn’t help but speak: “Two hundred and forty pounds is no small sum. I’m waiting to use that money to pay off debts; this request is excessive. Besides, you should go to Londinium’s Royal Shipyard. Your Majesty promised to give you twenty percent of the profits, which is just enough to buy ships.”
Bjorn rolled his eyes. “I’ve asked. Half of the carracks these past two years have been sold, and half have been used as warships. The shipyard didn’t make much money, so there’s no profit to share with me.”
Is that so?
Vig said nothing more. Seeing his intent to refuse, Helgi interjected, “As long as we defeat over two hundred barbarians, the walruses and seals on the nearby beach are ours to hunt. The profit will surpass your imagination!”
Vig remained unmoved. The indigenous people of Greenland are definitely more than that. What if that tribe brings more reinforcements?
After a few minutes of deliberation, considering their past friendship, he promised to provide ships and military supplies, but with two conditions:
First, if he and the Island Alliance go to war, Helgi must not have any dealings with Stein and the others.
Second, establish the West Sea Fur Company to develop the lands west of Iceland in a corporate structure. Tyne will have the priority right of first refusal for any goods discovered during any expedition.
The division of future interests led to a heated dispute, and a compromise was reached after half an hour.
First, the equity in the Fur Company: Bjorn would have forty-five percent, Vig thirty percent, and Helgi twenty-five percent.
Regarding the sale of goods, the Duke of Tyne guaranteed the best prices at the marketplace for ships, ironware, and grain. In return, the company would prioritize selling its expedition’s goods to the Duke, with prices negotiated every two years.
Parchment was fetched, and the three signed their names and stamped their seals, keeping their own copies of the document.
Finally, the three carracks, along with iron armor, crossbows, and other military supplies, totaling three hundred and twenty pounds, were transferred to the Fur Company on credit, to be repaid with goods later.
Holding the supply list, Bjorn grinned. “Haha, don’t worry. Including my accumulated iron armor, I can muster one hundred soldiers, enough to seize that coast. Then I’ll use the hunting yields to buy more military supplies and seize more beaches.”
According to Bjorn’s estimate, there are thousands of walruses on the beach near the landing site alone. Greenland is vast, its coastline winding and tortuous, and the number of walruses and seals is practically endless.
His only regret was that the climate of Iceland and Greenland was severe, and not many Viking immigrants were willing to go there, so he could only buy slaves to increase the population.
Sensing their excitement, Vig remained silent. Being beaten like that by indigenous people armed with beast bone weapons was utterly shameful.
He thought to himself:
“Odin above, I hope Bjorn and my brother-in-law take it easy. In the future, just get by in the southwest fjords of Greenland. Don’t go to the Americas, and don’t provoke the native forces of Central America. Guns and cannons haven’t appeared yet. Don’t rush over there to embarrass yourselves.
The indigenous population of Mexico is huge; raising an army of several thousand is no problem. If you’re sacrificed by them, Ragnar and my sister might take their anger out on me.”
Over the next half a month, Bjorn recruited raiders in various places. Based on a crew of sixty per carrack, he planned to form a troop of two hundred and forty men, with an armor rate of about forty percent, to crush these barbarians with overwhelming equipment superiority.
Helgi took the time to return to the Isle of Skye. Now that he had found a new career he could entrust his latter life to, he entrusted his settlement on the Isle of Skye to an old brother and completely abandoned that life.
In mid-April, the expeditionary fleet was assembled. Bjorn and Helgi, leading over two hundred avaricious raiders, once again set out for Greenland.
After seeing off the fleet, Vig left the dock and followed Lucal to the blacksmith’s shop to inspect a new set of cloth armor made by the artisans.
The main reason for choosing cloth armor is cost. Chainmail requires thousands of interconnected iron rings, and scale armor requires hundreds of scales. The cost and labor far exceed those of cloth armor.
“Although the protective performance is slightly worse, the advantage of cloth armor lies in its suitability for mass equipment. Armor can protect against attacks and also boost the morale of ordinary soldiers. Wearing a layer of iron armor, their worries about charging into battle will also decrease.”
Vig carefully checked this set of dark brown cloth armor.
The outer layer is multiple layers of overlapping linen, enhancing the cushioning effect. Inside are more than two hundred scales, fixed to the linen with iron nails.
Besides iron nail riveting, the scales can also be fixed by stitching, using hemp thread sewn through the holes of the scales, with the knots hidden on the inside. After discussion, the blacksmiths chose the first method.
To balance protection and flexibility, the scales on the chest and abdomen are closely arranged, while those on other parts are relatively sparse.
The lining of the cloth armor is made of softer fine linen, also in multiple layers, to prevent the edges of the scales from scratching the wearer’s skin during movement.