Ch 59: School

The exam ended, and Vig summoned sixteen shamans, including the Raven Speaker. He didn’t rush to speak but sat silently behind his desk, waiting for these fellows to give him an explanation.

As the High Priest of the Temple and Headmaster, the Raven Speaker was the first to step forward to explain. He now wore a simple, neat black robe, the strange tattoos on his face mostly gone, his smooth black hair falling behind him, revealing an air of serenity and kindness.

“Sir, actually, everyone has been very dedicated, it’s just that some shamans have only recently arrived, and their understanding of the teaching materials is still shallow. My colleagues and I swear to the Gods that we will earnestly follow your teachings in the next two months.”

After expressing his determination, the Raven Speaker saw the Lord impatiently wave his right hand, and instantly relaxed. Based on observations over the past two years, this meant that the other party wasn’t going to investigate further. Conversely, if the Lord had turned and left with a livid face, it would have meant someone was in for big trouble.

“Regarding improving the quality of teaching, what are your thoughts?”

A female shaman suggested, “Increase class hours, extending from six classes a day to eight.”

“Improper. People’s energy is limited, especially children; their attention can only last for five or six hours at most.” Vig rubbed his eye sockets, signaling for others to continue.

“Increase the supply of paper,” a young man named Kemi Wildfire spoke. This man had bright red hair and a somewhat Eastern European look.

“Currently, the school only has fifteen sets of parchment textbooks. Even we cannot have one per person, let alone allow students to study on their own after class. From my observation, about one-fifth of the children have a strong desire to learn, but they lack textbooks, so they can only copy the content using fragile papyrus, which is easily damaged during the process.”

“Finance is difficult; don’t expect me to spend more money buying parchment.” Vig interrupted Kemi’s statement.

Parchment is difficult to make and expensive. After slaughtering a livestock, a leather craftsman uses a curved knife to scrape off the outer hair and inner fat, soaks it in lime water, tans it, stretches the leather, and polishes the surface. The whole process takes about three weeks.

Once completed, each calfskin can be cut into 4-8 double-page sheets. Assuming that a single page has 1000 characters, the total number of characters is 4000-8000.

Sheep are smaller, and each sheepskin can be cut into 3-6 double-page sheets, with a total of about 3000-6000 characters. Some people tried writing on both sides, but the ink on both sides might contaminate each other, affecting the reading effect.

As for papyrus, this papermaking technique has a history of thousands of years and is relatively cheap. Every time wool merchants from the Continent come for trade, they always bring a few boxes of papyrus. Its drawback is that it’s not easy to preserve; children can easily damage the paper if they are not careful.

During class, students use charcoal and wooden planks. After writing, they wipe it off with their hands. Only some relatively high-achieving students are eligible to receive a small amount of papyrus.

At this time, Kemi Wildfire carefully took out a thin bark booklet from his bosom.

“Sir, I spent my boyhood in Novgorod. The shamans there couldn’t afford parchment, so they could only peel the inner bark of birch trees, boil and dry them to draw patterns, and then sew them into booklets with needle and thread. If a layer of beeswax is applied to the surface, it can extend the preservation time.”

Beeswax?

Hearing the word “beeswax,” Vig’s bright eyes instantly dimmed.

Because beeswax candles burn with a bright flame and have a fragrant smell, they have become luxury goods exclusively used by the Church and the Palace, and their prices have remained high for a long time. Using beeswax to extend the preservation time of birch paper is unlikely to be cheap.

Taking the bark booklet, he flipped through a few pages casually. To avoid discouraging his subordinates, he agreed to invest a small amount of money, “Get fifty silver pence from Micham. If the cost and effect are not too problematic, then we will consider large-scale promotion. If not, then forget it.”

Near noon, Vig had a meal at the dining hall.

The school’s food didn’t have much variety: fish soup, bread, and vegetables grown in the garden. Sometimes, if lucky, everyone could also get a small cup of sheep’s milk or cow’s milk.

Having barely eaten seven-tenths full, he yawned and went to his office to write textbooks for the middle school. Middle school subjects included Latin, history, and a basic economics course.

The economics course roughly refers to Keynes’s theory, mixed with some of Vig’s personal understanding. In the future, when these students are sent to various places for work, Vig hopes that their minds will be more flexible, that they will try to make profits from commerce and industry, and not always think about levying agricultural taxes.

In the afternoon, the Lord, busy all day, was about to go home for dinner when he was stopped by the Raven Speaker.

“Sir, besides cultural courses, we haven’t forgotten the glorious traditions of the Vikings, teaching them many combat skills. Are you interested in watching?”

Having received permission, the Raven Speaker summoned one hundred and fifty students, who quickly formed a shield wall in formation and slowly advanced towards the other end of the open space. They simulated being struck by an arrow shower, shrinking the shield wall into a circular formation. By the time the training ended, Vig’s tense expression finally relaxed slightly.

“Loyalty and Glory!”

Leading the shout of the slogan, the Raven Speaker announced dismissal and personally saw Vig out of the gate.

In the following two months, Vig focused his energy on training teachers. As the Norwegian war gradually subsided, the number of marauding raiders and refugees decreased significantly, and the trouble that had plagued him for more than half a year finally ended.

According to the news brought by the refugees, King Eric had conquered more than twenty settlements in southern Norway and enfeoffed four Earls and hundreds of Knights. However, when this “Charlemagne of Northern Europe” advanced to the western coast of Norway, he was blocked by an allied army led by the Lord of Bergen.

After continuously conquering more than twenty settlements, Eric’s army suffered heavy casualties and low morale. They were stalemated with the allied army for more than a month, neither side able to defeat the other. With the whistling of the fierce north wind, both sides reached a compromise.

The treaty contents are as follows:

Fifteen Lords from Bergen and other places swore allegiance to Eric, acknowledging him as the supreme ruler of Norway, paying a symbolic tribute annually, not having to bear military obligations, and not having to go to Oslo to see the King.

With the war over, the export of weapons from Tyne decreased sharply. Vig reviewed the accounts; this business earned him forty-seven pounds of silver. Coincidentally, the cost of settling refugees was also about fifty pounds of silver. In and out, the accounts didn’t change much.

The only thing worthy of praise is that the number of Vikings in the territory has expanded to four thousand, and the total population of the territory is close to fifteen thousand. Once the two-year tax exemption period is over, coupled with the promotion of the three-field system, tax revenue will experience explosive growth.

“Choosing Tyne, not only facilitates northward expansion but also allows for the absorption of a continuous stream of Viking immigrants. They arrive in Britain by ship, I pick them first, then York. By the time York is finished, there won’t be many people left in Mancunium, Leeds, and Sheffield in the south. In a few years, Tyne’s strength will completely surpass Mancunium.”