Chapter 59 School

After the exam, Vig called the sixteen shamans together, including the Ravenspeaker. He was in no hurry to speak, but sat silently at the table, waiting for an explanation.

As the head priest and director of the temple, the Ravenspeaker was the first to speak. He had now changed into a simple and neat black robe, and most of the strange tattoos on his face had disappeared. His soft black hair was combed behind his head, revealing a quiet and kind disposition.

"My lord, everyone is indeed very attentive, but some of the shamans have only just arrived and are poorly versed in the textbooks. All my colleagues and I swear by the gods that we will listen carefully to your instructions for the next two months..."

Having expressed his determination, the Ravenspeaker saw his lord impatiently wave his right hand, and immediately felt relieved. According to observations over the past two years, this means that the other party is not going to continue the investigation. On the contrary, if the master turns away with a sullen face, it means that someone will be in big trouble. 

"What do you think about improving the quality of education?" 

The female shaman suggested, "Increase the number of hours of study from six a day to eight." 

"Inappropriate. Humans have limited abilities, especially children. Their attention span can only last five to six hours." Vig rubbed his eyes and gestured for the others to continue. 

"Increase the supply of paper," said a young man named Kemi Wildfire. He had bright red hair and a slightly Eastern European style. 

"Currently, the school only has 15 sets of parchment textbooks. Even we cannot give everyone a set, let alone provide them with something to study with after school. In my experience, about a fifth of the children are very eager to learn, but due to the shortage of textbooks, they can only copy the text onto fragile papyrus, which is easily damaged when copied." "

Financial difficulties, don't expect me to spend even more money on parchment," Vig interrupted Kemi.

Parchment is difficult to make and expensive. After slaughtering the animal, the tanner scrapes off the outer hair and inner fat with a curved knife, soaks the skin in lime water, tans it, then stretches and polishes it. The entire process takes about three weeks.

Once made, each calfskin can be cut into 4-8 sheets. Assuming that there are 1000 words written on one page, the total number of words is 4000-8000. 

Sheep are smaller in size, and each sheepskin is cut into 3-6 sheets, with a total of about 3000-6000 words. Some try to write on both sides, but the ink on both sides can contaminate each other, which affects the quality of reading. 

As for papyrus, this papermaking technology has a history of thousands of years and is relatively cheap. Every time wool merchants from the European continent come to trade, they always bring several boxes of papyrus. Its disadvantage is that it is difficult to store, and children can ruin the paper if they are not careful. 

In class, students use charcoal sticks and wooden boards, erasing them by hand after writing. Only a few students with relatively good grades are allowed to receive a small amount of papyrus. 

At this time, Kemi Wildfire carefully took out a thin birch bark book from his hands. 

"Sir, I spent my youth in Novgorod. The local shamans could not afford parchment, so they had to strip the inner bark from the birch trees, steam and dry it, draw patterns and sew them into booklets with needles and thread. If you apply a layer of beeswax to the surface, you can extend the shelf life." 

Beeswax? 

At the word "beeswax," Vig's originally shiny eyes instantly dimmed.

With their bright flame and fragrant scent, beeswax candles became a luxury item used exclusively in churches and courtyards, and their price remained high for a long time. Using beeswax to extend the shelf life of birch paper was probably not cheap. 

He picked up the birch bark book and casually flipped through a few pages. In order not to dampen the enthusiasm of his subordinates, he promised to invest a small amount: "Go to Miham for fifty silver pennies. If the cost and effect are not a big problem, then consider promoting it on a large scale. If not, forget it."

...

Around midday, Vig dined in the canteen. 

The school meals were not very varied: fish soup, bread, and vegetables from the garden. Sometimes, if you were lucky, you could each get a small cup of goat's or cow's milk. 

Having eaten barely seven-tenths of his ration, he yawned and went to his study to write textbooks for the high school. The high school curriculum included Latin, history, and a basic course in economics. 

The economics course is based loosely on Keynes's theory, spiced up with Vig's personal knowledge. In the future, when Vig sends these students to serve in various places, he hopes that they will be more flexible in their judgment and will try to make money from business and industry, and not think only about collecting agricultural taxes.

In the afternoon, the lord, busy all day, was about to go home for dinner, but was detained by the Raven Speaker. 

"My lord, in addition to cultural activities, we have not forgotten the glorious traditions of the Vikings and taught them many fighting skills. Would you like to see?" 

Having received permission, the Raven Speaker gathered 150 students, quickly formed a shield wall according to the established formation, and slowly moved to the other end of the open space. Along the way, they imitated how they were hit by a hail of arrows and retreated from the shield wall, forming a circle. When the training was over, Vig's tense face finally softened a little. 

"Loyalty and honor!" 

Having proclaimed the slogan, the Raven Speaker declared disbandment and personally escorted Vig out the door.

...

For the next two months, Vig concentrated his efforts on training teachers. As the war in Norway gradually died down, the number of marauders and refugees decreased significantly, and the problems that had plagued him for more than half a year finally ended. 

According to news brought by the refugees, King Eric had captured more than 20 settlements in southern Norway and granted fiefdoms to four earls and hundreds of knights. However, when this "Scandinavian Charlemagne" advanced toward the west coast of Norway, he was stopped by a coalition led by the Lord of Bergen. After

capturing more than 20 settlements, Eric's army was significantly reduced and his morale was low. After more than a month of calm with the coalition, neither side could counter. Under the whistling of a piercing north wind, the parties came to a compromise.

The peace treaty was as follows:

fifteen lords in Bergen and elsewhere swore allegiance to Eric, recognized him as the supreme ruler of Norway, paid a symbolic tribute annually, did not perform military service, and did not travel to Oslo to meet the king. 

The war died down, and the export of weapons from Tyneburg decreased significantly. Viger took stock. This business brought him forty-seven pounds of silver. Coincidentally, the costs of resettling the refugees also amounted to about fifty pounds of silver. Considering that one entered and one left, there was no significant change in the calculations. 

It is worth noting that the number of Vikings in the country has increased to four thousand, and the total population of the territory is approaching fifteen thousand. After the end of the two-year tax-free period, combined with the introduction of the three-field system, tax revenues will increase sharply.

"Choosing Tyneburg will not only facilitate expansion northwards, but will also attract a steady stream of Viking immigrants. They come to Britain by ship, and I will choose them first, then York. Once York is chosen, there will be very few people left in Manchuria, Leeds and Sheffield in the south. In a few years, the power of Tyneburg will crush Manchuria."