Scandinavian leftovers

13

Troops send by Vespasian landed in the Gothic capital of Scandinavia. It was 1000 men and 500 German auxiliary troops. The arrival of the troops caused terror in the hearts of the civilians. It has been two years since the Batavians made peace with the Romans in exchange for greater autonomy in Gaul. Dagmar and her daughter Dina lived in the palace, while Josephine, her two sons (3 and 1 years old) stayed in a trade settlement at the Eastern shore named Agnafit. The town has 400 civilians, 40 troops and two crowded prisons. Josephine lived in the headquarters of the local governor together with 50 of her servants. Arvid decided to keep the two wives apart to prevent rivalry concerning the line of succession. Dagmar's relatives began to blackmail her into forcing the senators to grand them plots of land in the North of Scandinavia. The Senators, who wanted to avoid a scandal, agreed to give in to their demands. Arvid was furious when later found out about the whole affair. He calmed down quickly, but he made plan to Dagmar that ''you should never negotiate with terrorists!''. Dagmar since then went no contact with the remainder of her relatives. She also had to stop her pen-palling with her Alpine pen pals. Arvid revealed unto her that the Roman state might use the letters to spy on the Scandinavian affairs. 

Josephine held contact with the Han court. Furthermore, the Han ambassador to Scandinavia communicated regularly with the Han ambassador to Rome. It's through this communication that the Vespasian court found out about the situation in Scandinavia and about the annexation of Germanic territory by Scandinavian troops. Vespasian wanted to secure the trade routes towards the Black Sea. The occupation by Scandinavia would hinder Roman commerce between the Empire and the Sarmartian tribes. One of the Roman senators suggested an attack on Scandinavia. But, Vespasian didn't want to initiate another war. There were still bloody fights in Syria and Judea against Jewish revolts, despite the Temple and Jerusalem being destroyed almost three years ago. Furthermore, the Roman civil war bankrupted the treasury of the Empire. Another war would only further collapse the economy. 

The commander of the troops requested to speak to the ruler of the country. Arvid, who didn't trust the situation, send the prime minister. The prime-minister read a treaty made by the Roman senate. The treaty forced Scandinavia into becoming an economic ally of Rome, in exchange for giving up their colonisation of Germanic territory. Furthermore, all elites in Scandinavia would receive special Roman citizenship in exchange for a portion of their relatives to move towards Britain. Also, Scandinavia was forbidden to have their own navy. Instead, they were requested to become dependent upon the Rhine, Elbe and Cimbrian fleets of the Roman navy. Rome would also expand their military presence in Norway, and an official embassy would be established for Roman-Scandinavian relations in Oslo. The Iron trade of Norway would be synchronized with the iron trade of Britain and it would be administered by corporations in Britain. The treaty was discussed for about a month. Eventually, Arvid agreed with the treaty on the condition that Norse men would be hired on a regular basis for service in the Roman army. The commander of the fleet agreed and they signed the deal. Arvid left with the troops towards Rome to ratify the deal in the presence of the Emperor. Arvid left with 50 Scandinavian troops and several top senators to guide him. 

While Arvid was absent the prime minister appointed each month a 'vicegerent' to secure the safety of Arvid's estate. Arvid at this time owned much farmland, a fleet of cargo ships (used in Iron and wheat trade), many apartments in diverse towns and he was also the head of the diplomatic relations of Scandinavia. Because women were not permitted to own property, he was also the manager of the servants and economic activities of his wives. This made him one of the most wealthy men in Northern Europe. To avoid envy from other nobles, his estates were run by local butlers. Nobody, except the prime-minister, the vicegerent and the queen consorts knew that Arvid was absent. He has reduced his public appearances dramatically since bandits attempted to kidnap his daughter Dina. The bandits were executed as an example for others who would consider their example. There were also several assassination attempts on Arvid's life past three years. There were even noblemen arrested on suspicion of involvement. A potential hitman sought refuse in Cimbria, but he was imprisoned by the locals. The Cimbrians didn't want any criminal refugees among them. They were afraid it might become a trend and consequently pollute their community with bad people.