Legends Never Die: Tide of Change (ch. 120)

I had decided on building a new capital from scratch early on in my plans to build an empire. The island of Sjaelland was perfectly located for that goal. There were two other locations that I had considered before settling on Sjaelland -- Gotland and Åland, both were more centralized in the heart of the Baltic, but I decided against them for practical reasons. 

First and foremost was the fact that my people needed to see the results of my promises, and they needed to see them relatively quickly. Building cities on those islands would be a result of natural growth, and I could see the capital one day being moved there, much like Rome had moved its capital to Constantinople. But, initially, my people would need to see real and tangible progress, else they would begin to doubt the validity of my promises. 

Secondly, it was simply easier at this stage. Sjaelland was already within my grasp, I had a surplus of population in Denmark as it was due to Horrik's attempts at building up the nation enough to resist me upon my arrival, and with my Map I already knew that it was a perfectly serviceable location. No matter what, there would be a city constructed on Sjaelland, likely a city and a town for both sides of the strait that flowed around the island. 

Lastly, it was something that I could begin working on immediately. 

“Horrik's population expansion has hobbled our initial efforts,” I said, looking down at the basic model of my kingdom that I had been carving for the past couple of weeks. It wasn't as detailed as I would like. In the future, I intended to craft a more detailed one. One that not only marked the current development of the land, but denoted areas of future expansion. “The forests of Denmark have been greatly thinned in his efforts to build the Danevirke and other palisades around various towns. A significant portion of the aged trees were cut. Some can be reused, but not all, and not necessarily how I would want.” 

That wasn't to say that every forest had been senselessly cut down. There were still great swaths of densely packed forests. The issue was that it took around a century for a tree to reach the ideal height and shape to be turned into timber. And, even if that time went by, there was no guarantee that the tree itself would grow into the proper shape that was ideal for many planks. 

“Which is why you require timber from my forests,” King Widukind noted, looking down at the model with a hint of fascination. 

“Exactly so,” I admitted easily. Not everything could be made out of concrete. My Map already marked where serviceable quarries could be found in Denmark. The kingdom itself was lacking a bit when it came to metal and mineral deposits for mining, but there were great stone and clay deposits, which would make future building projects easier. However, to build those mines, I first needed timber. 

There was an urge to rush through my projects, I could admit. I had envisioned the kingdom that Denmark could become for years at this point, and I wanted to implement everything that I had tested and developed in Norland immediately. But, that would be supremely foolish no matter how much I wanted to do it. 

Things needed to develop in stages, and I was already making good progress on the initial ones that would serve as the foundation that all the others would be built off of. 

King Widukind turned his gaze out to the side, looking away from the model and through the open tent that we rested under. What had caught his attention were the labor crews that were already preparing the ground of Sjaelland for my new capital. The work was well familiar to me by this point, but I imagine to King Widukind it was a strange sight. The ground was being flattened in some places while others were being dug up, plots were being marked well in advance before anyone had a chance to claim them, while roads were being plotted out and shaped. 

“How many do you expect your capital to house?” He asked me suddenly, a certain weight to his tone. 

“Twenty thousand, initially,” I answered without hesitation. That would make it the largest city in Denmark upon completion. It would be easy enough to find that many people. Denmark, under normal conditions, could boast a population of around five hundred thousand. That was before Horrik had drawn in migrants from across Scandinavia, and before I’d brought another fifty thousand from the Mediterranean. “I expect that number to swell over the next ten years to a hundred thousand. I’m preparing accordingly.”

Sjaelland was ripe with farmland, and the majority of it was already cultivated. In the far north, arable farmland was a scarce resource and every scrap of fertile soil was exploited. Even the soil that was less suited for farming was utilized, simply because every morsel of food was needed. Well, that was the mentality  before Horrik thoughtlessly spread my farming methods. 

“And after that?” King Widukind questioned, watching as the foundations of the city were laid before his eyes. All of the little lessons I’d learned from Norland were being implemented. From the layout of the streets to digging a sewer before we had even laid a brick, and preparing it all for the steady increase in population. 

“A million people,” I said, and that caught his attention. “I don’t know when we would reach that point, but I am designing the city with the idea that its population would one day reach a million people.” Planned expansions and grid layouts that would make it easy to add onto the city as things changed. It likely wouldn’t be for hundreds of years that the city reached that threshold, and I certainly didn’t expect it to during my lifetime. “The biggest issue would be feeding them all, but this island is capable of it.”

It had to be cultivated perfectly, and that was why I dealt with the Jarls and Thegns as I did. As things stood, Jarls and Thegns had inheritance rights that I couldn’t easily work around, especially when it came to cultivating what was considered their land. To do as I wished them to, I would have needed to negotiate with every single one of them, made compromises, and in doing so, run the risk of alienating other Jarls and Thegns by developing a rival over them. 

It was a headache that I wanted no part of, so I’d simply wiped the slate clean instead. As things were, all across my kingdom, the Jarls and Thegns that I had selected were settling in their new territories. All granted to them for a codified right by me, the King, to develop their lands as I saw fit. 

Very convenient for me. And a very dangerous power to have in the hands of future kings, but I decided that it was better for my descendants to have more power over their vassals than less. I had seen where that road led. 

The point was that the plots of farmland were cultivated to the best of our ability. Lands that were less suited for dedicated farming were subsidized with animal husbandry to produce meat, eggs, cheeses, and other foodstuffs. Then, the lands that were completely unsuited for farming were going to be cultivated for industry. Or, failing that, gardens for trees that we could use for game or lumber. 

King Widukind breathed in deeply, “You don’t dream small, King Siegfried.” He noted, sounding at peace with that fact. 

“I can’t,” I corrected. “Not if I wish to accomplish what I desire. The bones of the capital will be laid during this year. It’ll be about four before I would say that it is complete,” I continued. Which, coincidentally, was roughly the time I intended my conquest of Scandinavia to be completed. Odds were, I’d be returning from my conquests to see the first version of the city completed. 

“I underestimated your ambition,” King Widukid admitted to me before his gaze once more drifted to the model. One that displayed towns, villages, and the roads that I was planning to build to bind them. Then he reached out, his fingers brushing over the model of the Danevirke that I was planning to rebuild -- Horrik’s idea for a great defensive barrier wasn’t a poor one, despite how easily I had overcome it. 

It was a bit further down the priority list, but I intended to improve the fortification. A wide and deep moat, first inlaid with stones, leading up to tall stone walls. Not dissimilar to the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, though that was a project that would take a great deal of time, and it would be no small expense. However, I made sure to include it in the model because it would help King Widukind visualize what I meant when I spoke of building a wall for Saxony. 

Before I could even hope to begin that project, I would need to build my road network. All made of stone or concrete. People had already taken to calling it ‘the King’s Road’ and I imagine that was a nickname that would stick. The main artery of Denmark would be a stone road that was large enough for four wagons to ride shoulder to shoulder, shaped slightly curved and elevated to shed rainwater or melted snow with ease. Likewise, smaller roads would split off and curve throughout the land, connecting the towns I intended to develop. 

Because of Horrik and my immigration policy, Denmark’s population had swelled to six hundred thousand in the past few years. Horrik had been content to allow the people to dwell in villages and towns that couldn’t fit them, but I wasn’t. For that reason, just as I laid the foundation for my capital city, I was laying the foundation for several towns that would become lesser cities as time went by. All of them capable of handling the surplus of population and further developing my kingdom. 

Which was another reason why I had wiped the slate clean when it came to the existing Jarls. Some locations were just better for a city -- more defensive, with easier access to trade by road or by sea, or with more natural resources that could be exploited. 

All of it was being worked on as we sat here and spoke. The excess population were all finding work in my labor projects, and all of it was being financed with my spoils from the Mediterranean. None of it was cheap, and even my vast treasury was feeling the strain of such ambition, but if the current rates I was spending my gold held, it’d still be the better part of thirty years before I drained my coffers dry. 

Work crews that numbered in the thousands were earning their pay under the watchful eye of my trained architects. All of it was still in the early phases, but at the moment, things seemed to be going well. Experience taught me that it wouldn’t hold, and there would always be delays for one reason or another, but I anticipated that and accepted that when an architect said a project would take six months, he really meant a year. 

“Could…” King Widukind began, only to trail off as he seemed to consider if he wanted to finish the sentence. He did. “Could you do the same for Saxony? The roads, the city, the walls?”

“Not as easily,” I admitted. “Your Jarls and Thegns would submit under peaceful means, and that prevents me from removing the factors that would get in the way of such development. Should I try, they’d undoubtedly rebel. Which can be useful in justifying their removal, but the act itself would taint my reputation within Saxony as it would be an obvious power grab.” It was the same issue that I would face with Norway when it came time to integrate it into my empire. 

The other territories? I would be invading them. Conquering them. That gave me the pretence of wiping the slate clean so I could develop the territories as I wished. 

“What would be the alternative?” He asked, his brow furrowing as he leveled a heavy stare at me. I understood what we were talking about. It was a conversation that we were continuing from the ramparts of Hedeby. 

“A slow erosion of local autonomy,” I answered, not dressing it up to be anything other than what it was. I witnessed the dance of politics that rulers had to master to get anything done. How they had to wield influence with finesse to avoid stepping on toes to achieve something that should be within their rights to do. I understood the game that was played, but at this stage, such a game would be an anchor to the progress I desired. 

I did away with it for now, but that wouldn’t last. Not forever. Those whom I instilled in their positions wouldn’t always remember my generosity. They’d get fat, lazy, and content with their success. They would become entitled to whatever favor and influence they felt were owed. Which is precisely why I’d structured the Jarldoms as I did. 

“It would need to be something done over the course of years, and cultivated deliberately. Inflame tensions between rivals so I can punish one of them. Deliberately give them opportunities to overreach, so that I can cut them off at the wrist. Instigate a rebellion with unpopular policies that have public approval, then crush it. Appeal to their short-term sensibilities in exchange for long-term power,” I listed off a few possibilities before I offered a cutting smile. “I learned much in Rome.”

“So I see,” King Widukind muttered, seemingly almost wary of me, before he nodded. “You are right, however. Such a thing would taint your reputation. For that reason… I shall do it,” he decided, clenching his jaw before letting out a slow breath. Then, deliberately, he reached up to the crown on his brow and rested it on the table. We both glanced down at it, understanding the implication. “I have leeway and the existing support. I can use Charlemagne as an excuse. Or you, even.”

That would work. Charlemagne had gone against the spirit of the treaty, if not the word of it. He’d marched no armies into Saxony, but there had been consistent raids that I knew were bleeding the kingdom. There were a number of ways we could approach the issue -- King Widukind could use the Franks as a reason to tighten his grip on his kingdom. As for myself and my empire, we could be both a threat and a partner. Whatever I needed to harness the natural resources of Saxony. 

“You’ve proven your ability with Denmark,” King Widukind acknowledged freely. “You did exactly as you said you would, and you made it look easy. For that reason, when you say that you will conquer the rest of Scandinavia in a handful of years? I’m inclined to believe you.” He leveled a heavy stare at me before he rested a hand on his crown. “Five years. Build your empire over that time, and in five years… I shall prepare them to submit.”

I didn’t say anything, only holding his gaze. He was committing Saxony to become a vassal.

Slowly, I offered a hand and King Widukind clasped my forearm, and I his. 

The deal was struck, and I had gained another crown, even if it would take a few years for it to adorn my brow. 

…

Not all of my reforms were material in nature. A great deal more of them were political and economic. 

“Are you trying to instigate a rebellion?” Lagertha Hare-Foot questioned me, her hands on her cane as she squinted at me, like she was trying to see if I was serious. Or perhaps she was just trying to see me. She was quite old, after all. 

“With this? No,” I answered, amused by the sharp tone. 

“Coulda fooled me, young one,” Lagertha huffed. “Men are a stubborn lot. You should know that. What you're proposing is a slap in the face for most tradesmen. You're bringing in foreigners and claiming that they are better at their craft.” 

“Because they are,” I stated firmly. That was never in doubt. The metalworking of my people was poor and primitive compared to the methods that I had found in Rome and the Abbasids. Even the Franks had better metalworking than us. 

“Aye, from the sounds of it, that's true. But if you go and tell them that, you'll bruise their fragile egos and you'll have a real mess on your hands,” Lagertha voiced, and I fought off a frown. Of course I had considered that, but I deemed it a inconsequential. In the end, blacksmiths, carpenters, and other tradesmen had to work, and with the new practices that I'd introduced… they would either learn and improve, or be forced to find another trade. 

Such was the nature of change. They would find work, for a time at least. For the next decade, I would be in a state of constant construction, meaning that there would always be a demand for stone masons, laborers, haulers, and the like. Meanwhile, those that were interested in learning blacksmithing, carpentry, or any other of the half dozen trades I had brought to Denmark -- they would naturally drift to those that produced a superior product and were more successful. 

“That is unavoidable,” I admitted with a small shrug, leaning back into the makeshift throne that had been carved for me. At this stage, it was a glorified dinner chair. My true throne was still being crafted, and very slowly, considering that I was sculpting it myself. “Those that can't adapt will find themselves left behind. Those that are unwilling to learn have no one but themselves to blame.” 

Learning was the cornerstone of my ambitions. Within my capital, I planned to construct a university, but it would be a useless thing without students. In Rome and the Abbasid Caliphate, the vast majority of the students within their learning institutions were nobility, or those that came from wealthy families. I understood why, but it felt… limiting. 

“I shall give them the opportunities to adapt,” I continued, my voice stern. “They are offered invitations to learn at the university or to send an apprentice in their stead.” There were many within the university of Constantinople that hadn't taken their lessons and learning seriously. Because they didn't have reason to. I was hardly part of it, largely because I’d been ostracized during my time at the imperial university, but there were more parties and lessons skipped than attended. 

It was because those noble students already had a life path laid out for them. They would inherit lands or businesses. If they were the second or third son, then they had to take their lessons more seriously, but there was never a doubt that they would use the skills gained for the benefit of their family. Meaning that even they would have guaranteed employment. However, someone like me? A low-born farmer? 

We had far more limited paths to improve our station in life. There was the path that I had taken -- the warriors path. I’d raided, I’d accrued wealth, then I gathered a band of warriors, raided some more, gained more wealth, and then found lands to claim as my own. I was a very extreme example of what you could accomplish, but overall, the journey I took to this point was similar to all others. Another path was to learn a trade. There would always be a need for blacksmiths. And there would always be a need for carpenters. And stonemasons, glassworkers, weavers, cobblers, and so on. 

As such, those of low-birth that had the opportunity would work harder to make the most of it than a noble, simply because they had more to gain. 

“And you truly expect them to swallow their pride and learn?” Lagertha questioned, raising an eyebrow at me. 

“Most will. Some won't. And those that don't will choke on their pride,” I admitted. “I have no sympathy for those that are content to wallow in their own ignorance. Those who close their eyes and cover their ears to the opportunity to lessen their obliviousness.” 

I clenched my jaw, “From the ground up, education is one of the single most valuable things I can offer my people. Call it the will of Odin or simple common sense. I don't care why they learn, only that they do.”

In every hamlet, village, town, and city -- I wanted to increase the general education of my people. Expecting everyone to want to receive higher learning was simply unrealistic and forcing them would be unsustainable, but learning how to read and do basic arithmetic? That was doable. Very much so. Those with talent could be noted by the village leaders for their clever minds or skilled hands, and from there, they could attend university to hone their talents. Perhaps a swordsmith could sponsor the education of an apprentice, or perhaps the Jarl of a territory, or even the crown could. 

It would take years, decades even, before I saw the fruits from such an endeavor, but it would be worth it. Those that had the potential to rise would be given the opportunity to do so, and that would make my kingdom stronger. Perhaps I could even create other universities, each one created for a singular trade where talented metalworkers could not only learn how to ply the trade, but experiment to develop new and more efficient ways to work with metal be they armorers, swordsmiths, or jewelers. 

Lagertha sighed, seeing that I couldn't be swayed from my path. “Well, I suppose it's a good thing you can't be convinced so easily. The only thing worse than a foolish king is one whose spine bends with the breeze.” She inclined her head to me in acknowledgment and I got the impression that I had passed an unspoken test. “But you speak of opportunity quite freely. As if all can grasp them -- men and women alike.” 

And now I saw why she traveled this way to meet with me. 

Lagertha was in an interesting position. She was related to the former King of Denmark, but she had also been the first to declare for me. She was an old woman, but one that wielded incredible influence amongst my people because of her long saga, and with my wife in particular. Yet, she was not someone I would call an ally, but nor would I declare her an enemy. So, it surprised me when I heard that she wished to meet with me. 

“Ability matters most in this realm. I care not if it is a man or a woman -- so long as they are suited to the work… then let them work,” I answered. My travels had also taught me another thing about the wider world, and it was that my people granted women an unusual amount of freedom. In Rome, or the Abbadids, or Francia -- their women could not own property, they could not divorce their husbands, and they could not run a business. 

But, that was not to say that women were treated the same as men in my homeland. I had never heard of a woman blacksmith or carpenter or shipwright. Even the Shieldmaidens, the few that there were, were something of… a novelty. Though I would never dare say that out loud, else Astrid would have my tongue. That didn't make me wrong however. Women could be warriors, but they faced many more challenges on that path than men did. 

Lagertha let out a deep and hearty chuckle, “You are a firebrand. Far more so than I expected,” she said, sounding rather approving of that fact. “Oh, I wish I was a few decades younger. I'd like to see if you’ll manage to succeed, or if you're doomed to the most spectacular failure.” 

“I just don't see the point of such petty distinctions,” I confessed. That, I suspected, was the result of being the youngest child in a large family. 

Lagertha just laughed, “More the fool you are for it, King Siegfried. But, there are worse things in this world than a fool for a king.” The words were undoubtedly an insult, but the tone she said them with wasn’t. “Ah, no offense intended, of course.”

“No, you intended to offend me,” I rebuked, earning a ghost of a smile from the old woman. “However, I am not so easily offended. Either cease your attempts or do better.”

That just got a laugh from her, and I allowed myself a smile. I was glad that I was able to deal with the legendary shieldmaiden. Because, despite her concerns about her death being near…

I got the distinct impression that I would be dealing with her for many years to come.