Update Thread 43: ... I got nothin'

[Mamorien]

I forgot something for last week's A Thing of Vikings.

One of the more serious diplomatic errors that Hiccup made was failing to pay a visit to the King of Francia, Henry of the Capets, until late in AD 1042. He made multiple visits to Normandy, a visit to the Holy Roman Empire, and visits to many other monarchs and high lords, but seemed to avoid a visit to Paris and King Henry until circumstances forced his hand. This apparent snubbing in favor of more powerful and connected nobles, including some who were nominally Henry's vassals, combined with Hiccup's later actions, served to highlight Henry's lack of power and influence, and the king did not take the lack of interest well at all. Simply put, it seemed he wasn't important enough for Hiccup to bother with.

While Hiccup had his reasons for his decisions—setting up the Dragon Mail being one of them, following the coastal route of his merchant contacts—the implicit lack of importance his actions assigned to King Henry soured relations between them before they even had a chance to formally open.

With that bit of old business tended to, onward! to this week's update.

The legendary Zhou general Sun Tzu defined strategy, bing-fa, as a set of rules to help make decisions about possible situations and decisions that a person might encounter on the battlefield and off. Personally, I prefer to define the concept somewhat more broadly: A strategy is the set of approaches one takes towards a goal that one has selected. 
On a gameboard, the goal is to defeat the opposing player.  At war, the goal can vary, from conquest to defense to punitive measures or other such possibilities.  But the strategy is how one goes about implementing those goals.  On a gameboard or at war, the strategy might be aggressive or defensive, offensive or reactive, straightforward or subtle.  At play, my strategy might be to capture as many pieces of my opponent's as possible, or to outmaneuver them so that I can capture the enemy's key pieces without a protracted struggle.  At war, the possibilities are even more numerous; I might have the goal of conquest, in which case, occupying and seizing control of the enemy's territory is my strategy—or, alternatively, I might strike at the head directly, aiming at the enemy leader with the intent of capture in order to force a surrender and settlement.  In either case, the goal is served and possibly fulfilled.
But the goal is the why and what, and the strategy is the greater how and the when and where, and it is important to never lose sight of that distinction.  You do not have a battle just because you wish to have a battle; no, battles are done in service of a greater strategy, and while stirring tales of heroism might seem like incentive to some, oftentimes it is better to not fight at all, or only fight on one's own terms.  Many of the ruminations on dragon combat in these pages are seen by many as glorifying such battles, and I will certainly agree that there is glory and honor in fighting when necessary.  And that is key.  When Necessary.  But if it is not necessary, then it is just a waste—and there is no honor in that.  To win without fighting should be the strategy any commander worthy of being followed should aim for, and to preserve their forces for another day.

In Rouen, Hiccup takes a decision about William's safety and wonders what he'll tell his dad. In the ruins of Glenfinnan, Stoick has more immediate concerns, like who destroyed the village and why. In Inbhir Niss, Mac Bethad receives the after-action report from Dagur and Savage, then immediately discovers a need for Maneuvering Room. On the great steppes, Drago is ready when Gökhan and his followers finally make their move. Back on Berk, Stoick gets Mac Bethad's official announcement of regret, passes it on to Jacob, then greets Hiccup's arrival with another youth in need of sanctuary. After getting William settled, Hiccup heads over to the smithy and learns of Gobber's decision. Stoick tries to talk to Jacob, with limited success on his own, followed by needed assistance. Finally, Wulfhild and her loves are presented with the results of the synod...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/104089...s/56656750