This would be yesterday's chapter. I didn't upload it because I had things to do and I had to go buy a bunch of stuff.
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Anno Domini 829, October-20
The campaign continued to go well, although we had lost some time and the weather was beginning to turn cold. It was clear the snow would not take long to arrive. Even so we had secured much of the land north of the Danube.
The local lords quickly came under the banner of Rome. Many still remembered the stories told by their fathers and the fathers of their fathers, when Dacia had been a Roman province. For many of them those had been the old good times. Vlachs and Rhomaioi began arriving under our standard, offering men and competing for my favor.
Among all the local lords nearly five thousand men had already joined my ranks, all of them on horseback. Their equipment left much to be desired, but in these lands having horses mattered far more than possessing heavy infantry.
However the numerical difference with the Slavs was obvious. They were nomadic and warlike peoples. They probably outnumbered the Vlachs and Rhomaioi by several hundred thousand and could offer six times more men if they mobilized everything they had.
The Slavic tribes we had subdued offered me nearly thirty thousand riders. Between all the vassalized tribes we had gathered an enormous cavalry force. That quickly brought much of the Carpathian steppes into alignment with us. It was enough to send several Slavic chiefs along with a small group of my men to bring other tribes into submission.
It worked well. Most of the Slavic tribes joined us, forming a massive caravan of nomads that followed us as we advanced.
Eventually we reached Porolissum, an ancient Roman fort that to my surprise was incredibly well preserved.
The place was occupied by a small Slavic tribe we had previously subdued and which had handed it over as a sign of submission. That tribe was weak and could barely provide two hundred riders.
I wanted to continue the campaign westward but that would have to wait until winter. I was also waiting for the arrival of Hakon and his sons. I had sent several letters to Crete requesting more administrators and I had asked Leo to accelerate the education of as many men as possible. We would need many of them to organize these lands.
So I remained in Porolissum waiting while I began mapping the region and deciding how to deploy the Slavic tribes.
I quickly began settling them near the rivers of the region. In that way the enormous group that followed us would not consume all the resources of a single area, although with winter approaching it would make little difference.
For several days we worked restoring the fortress of Porolissum to recover part of its former glory. The Slavs were set to work in the quarries and repairing the walls.
We continued receiving supplies thanks to my network of merchants, although shipments of construction materials began to grow scarce. Most of them were being diverted toward Târgoviște which had to become the great city controlling the entrance to the Carpathians. That city needed to be properly built before I departed because every shipment would pass through there, both the supplies heading toward Carpathia and the tributes that would be sent to Rome.
"My strategos, the Varangians coming from the south have finally been sighted" one of my guards announced while I was lighting the fireplace inside the fortress.
"Good, bring them in. Hakon has finally arrived with more people. I hope he has brought many colonists. We need to populate this place as soon as possible" I replied while splitting a piece of firewood with a steel bar.
I calmly watched as the hird accompanying me used the fire to heat bread with honey. They complained about the heat while devouring it anyway. According to them the real flavor came from the ashes.
Finally my old friend from the North Sea appeared.
"Hakon, it is good to see you" I said while still watching to make sure the hird did not burn the bread too much.
Hakon approached, shaking off the cold from the journey.
"Yes… but tell me something. What exactly did you say to Hjalmar? I met him in your city north of the Danube and he told me we should come here with as many colonists as we could bring… and there is more. Some Danes followed me, also several Norwegians" Hakon said while frowning. "And not all of them came with the intention of obeying orders".
"I see… is it a very serious problem?" I asked while looking at Hakon.
Hakon walked toward me and embraced me firmly."Well… I cannot guarantee their obedience" he answered after stepping back. "There was not much I could do with the number of people I brought. Entire clans came. Your offer was too generous, so much land to distribute… the news no longer spread only through Svearrike or Götaland. It reached other nearby kingdoms and clearly everyone wants to take part in this".
After the embrace he introduced me to his firstborn who greeted Sigurd respectfully.
"Yes I understand Hakon, but here I am not too worried about that" I replied while watching one of the hird take bread from the fire and cover it with honey. "Here there are no Romans who can complain to imperial authorities. There are people we should not provoke of course, but as long as they dedicate themselves to farming and not raiding there should be no problems. In any case I plan to take a couple thousand Varangians as permanent military forces to defend the passes of the Carpathians".
Hakon nodded though he still looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"I understand… but that is not my real question. What is Hjalmar doing here? He has not told me much".
I smiled slightly."I need men I can trust, men not tied to Roman politics, men who can govern these lands in my name and in the name of the emperor. I thought of Hjalmar. But he will need to marry a daughter of some Slavic leader. I was also thinking of asking the same of some of your other sons. That way I would have men I can trust ruling here".
Hakon opened his eyes wide. "Are you serious?"
"Of course. I need someone who can act in my name, and that means administering… and crushing rebellions when necessary. Romans are a minority here. The position also comes with certain conditions, the marriage… and a false conversion to Christianity, only to keep the clergy of Rome quiet".
Hjalmar let out a dry laugh. "That would be like spitting in Odin's face when he asks us".
"You know religion means very little to me" I replied with a shrug. "In fact I prefer some things about the way Odin promises his paradise more than what the Roman church says. That idea of dying between the thighs of a maiden is the dream of many men. But if I place someone here who does not pretend to believe, the bishops will start causing problems… and they already complain enough about the Varangians in Crete who refuse to convert".
Hakon looked at his son. "Hjalmar…"
The Varangian remained silent for a moment before speaking. "How much land are we talking about?"
I spread the map across the table.
"You will govern everything between the river Marisus and the river Tissus. It is a large territory. As personal property I could grant you one hundred plots if you accept".
Hjalmar snorted. "Fine… I suppose I would only have to say I converted, correct? Nothing about participating in Christian rituals".
"Some bishop may try to demand certain things from you" I replied. "But normally you will not have to obey anything unless I order it".
Hakon studied his son for a few seconds."So…" Hakon said while looking at him.
"Fine. Consider it done" Hjalmar finally said while glancing at his brother.
I gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.
"This fortress will be your administrative center. It sits well within the territory you will govern. I know your father prepared you to follow his path as a merchant, so you understand numbers… but here you will need a different system. You will govern using that system".
I pointed again at the map."The marriage with the Slav must happen as soon as possible. She will be your official wife in the eyes of these lands. Your real wife will have to remain out of sight whenever religious authorities appear. For them we are monogamous" I said with a faint smile.
Hakon frowned."Why not place one of your own men here?"
I shook my head."Because here I need someone capable of dealing with a majority that is not Roman. There are Vlachs, Slavs… how many people did you bring with you?" I asked.
"Almost forty thousand, from many lands" Hakon replied.
"You see? I do not have… let me think… not a single Greek here. All authority depends on me. And what happens if I die? If something happens to me? If some political game in Constantinople removes me from power?"
I looked at all the Varangians present in the room.
"Everything would collapse. The Slavs would rebel. The Vlachs would try to seize power. The emperor will not send hundreds of thousands of Roman settlers to populate these lands. That is why I need trusted men… men with their own base of power". I spread my hands toward the Varangians in the room. "You".
"I see" Hakon said slowly nodding.
"So… what do we do now?" Hjalmar asked.
"Well, you marry. I will inform Rome that I am leaving a converted Varangian governor to rule this region. This fortress will become a Varangian-Slavic settlement from which control of the entire area will be exercised.
As for me, I must continue marching west toward the Danube and see how far we can advance, perhaps until we encounter Frankish influence. I understand they have established border marches with their lords in these lands. When the Avars were defeated they occupied some areas to secure their frontier… and they might try to expand here. So we must keep moving" I said calmly.
"I understand… so you want me to send for more of my sons and offer them the same arrangement?" Hakon asked.
"If they are interested, of course. They would be very useful. The same dynasty ruling several territories would help keep the Slavic tribes under control through marriages. In time we will have to make them abandon their nomadic life… but first we must secure the region.
Besides I will bring many teachers when Leo finishes educating more men. I want the next generations to learn Greek as a second language. That will allow the Slavs to be integrated into the imperial system and used as foederati in future campaigns, just as we do with the Varangians. Warriors like that are always necessary".
Hakon and his firstborn nodded.
"Good, Sigurd. We leave. We must keep riding even with the infernal cold that is coming. There is no other choice. We must secure as much territory as possible before beginning the preparations to urbanize these lands… and see if we can find more mines of valuable minerals. This province was once said to be immensely rich in gold and silver".
"Let us go… and congratulations Hjalmar" Sigurd said while placing his helmet on his head.
Without wasting time we left the fortress with a group of around twelve thousand riders while leaving the rest behind.
I looked at the enormous group of Varangians that had recently arrived. It was easy to see where many of them came from by the way they dressed. Their clothes and weapons reflected the resources of the lands they came from. Now there were men from all across Scandinavia, not only from Sweden.
After leaving the construction plans for the city in the hands of an architect I mounted again and rode quickly westward. We had to continue taking control of the region before the Franks tried to take advantage of our efforts.
It would be a disaster if they claimed these lands after we had defeated the Bulgars and opened the road.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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