Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 104: Morning Meeting at the Leicester Branch

Ragnar spent the first shift of the night on watch, protecting the perimeter of the "Leicester Construction Site" as a foreman in the trenches. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The use of a trench line supported by sandbags, barbed wire, and "Employee Only" signage was an invention that would normally not exist until the late 19th century.

However, with his past life’s memory as a project manager who dealt with OSHA regulations, Ragnar developed such a defensive system with ease.

Barbed wire had been used extensively in his northern territories to keep the "Interns" from wandering off the job site.

However, after the skirmish at Northampton, Ragnar quickly learned to utilize trench tactics to protect his high-value assets—specifically the prototype locomotive.

When he was resupplying in Nottingham, he ordered Leif the Elder to strip every chainmail shirt in the armory and twist the links into wire.

The engineers in his army spent some time constructing such complex fortifications.

Still, in the end, the encampment was so well defended that the likelihood they would suffer significant casualties from a Saxon sally was extremely low.

Luckily for them, after seeing the odd defenses of the camp the enemy did not bother to send a force to test it; it was already terrifying enough to suffer the noise pollution of the steam whistle.

After staying on the watch for the first shift, Ragnar returned to his tent and slept until the dawn, where he was among the first of his troops to awaken in the morning.

Though he did not have access to an espresso machine at the moment, he had the "Black Broth" captured from the Frankish trade caravans.

Ragnar poured himself a cup of the bitter, energizing sludge.

"Tastes like tar," Ragnar muttered, taking a sip. "Excellent."

As for now, Ragnar and his troops primarily relied on their own natural ability to awaken and stay awake.

When the morning came, the armies gathered in the trenches, and those with the "Type-2" repeating crossbows fired off shots at the defenders on the wall with a fair degree of competency.

Though not every bolt claimed a life, enough of them hit their mark to permanently scare the garrison of Leicester to keep their heads down.

While his troops utilized their advanced weapons to intimidate the enemy forces, Ragnar was in discussion with his officers over his plans for the ongoing "Hostile Takeover."

Like normal, Ragnar drank from his tin cup as he continued his discussion about the operation to his officers and the Mercian Consultants in command of the many units of interns that comprised their ranks.

"It will take another day or two before the track reaches the main gate; as such, we will continue to blow the whistle regularly; when the track is finally laid, we will roll the ’Screaming Kettle’ right up to the door.

The Saxon Interns will dig the final approach while the ’Iron Gear’ provides suppressing fire. The Cavalry will stay and protect the rolling stock until a time arises where the enemy has been pushed back."

Though the Mercian consultants who had shown their support to Ragnar were perturbed by the fact that their former peasants would be used to dig under fire, they could not very well decline. As for Ragnar’s officers, they were more concerned about the success of Project: Iron Horse as a whole, and as such, one of them voiced their concerns.

"What about General Bjorn and Leif’s divisions? How are they faring?"

Ragnar slid the wooden pieces which represented the allied forces into position outside of the city walls of Northampton and the Thames Crossing and addressed the Officer’s question.

"I have recently received notice that Bjorn has secured the perimeter at Northampton. Leif is currently dealing with a ’Livestock Issue’ on the tracks near Derby, but he remains on schedule. Within a week, the majority of the resistance in the Midlands will come to an end, and we will be able to roll the train all the way to the border of Wessex, thus ending the stagnation within England once and for all!"

The push into the Thames Valley would require the unification of his three armies.

With his ambitions to monopolize the logistics of the island, Ragnar was taking advantage of the chaos in Mercia to seize the land in its entirety.

The Thames Crossing was not technically part of the Midlands; it was, in fact, the border of Wessex and recognized as King Aethelred’s personal property.

Due to the conflicts between Ragnar and the traditionalists, Ragnar had fully intended to acquire the region and incorporate it into his supply chain.

Especially since the Bishop of Winchester had openly declared his support for the Mercian rebels, simply out of spite for Ragnar’s "Godless Machines." By doing so, the Church had given Ragnar an excuse to invade the Thames Valley and thus unite the entirety of the trade routes under his authority; since Ragnar was given this opportunity, he did not intend to waste it.

His plans to bridge the Thames did not sit well with the other Consultants who considered it an unlawful annexation of Crown Land. Ealdorman Aelfgar even spoke his mind on the matter, which visibly annoyed Ragnar.

"You intend to build a bridge across the Thames? Under what grounds do you dare to usurp the territory of the King of Wessex?"

Ragnar stared coldly at the old and pious nobleman who had sided with Ragnar out of fear of bankruptcy, despite his religious objections to the industrialist known by the church as the "Iron Demon."

The look in Ragnar’s eyes displayed his corporate intent; rather than justify his actions through feudal law, Ragnar took a more daring approach.

"King Aethelred has already blocked my trade caravans! Therefore the Thames will be mine by right of Eminent Domain! Since I have the might to build the bridge, I will do so, and if the King of Wessex has any complaints, he can file a grievance directly with my Torsion Spikes!"

The fact that the King had sent mercenaries to block Ragnar’s wool shipments was already considered a breach of contract by the young Director’s standards; as such, he did not fear invading their nearby lands and capturing them for himself.

As for the allied Consultants, they could tell by the look in Ragnar’s eyes that he was entirely serious about bridging the Thames and that he would not be persuaded otherwise.

Though they disagreed with his actions, they were far too frightened by the steam engine his army possessed.

Thus they were intimidated into backing down and following orders; though they secretly prayed that they would not be excommunicated for following Ragnar’s blueprints.

After concluding his thoughts and informing his Officers of how to proceed, Ragnar dismissed the men and allowed them to spend their free time as they wished.

There was not much to do outside of maintaining the boilers and waiting for the track to be laid. Thus Ragnar used this time to write to Gyda and Princess Judith. Informing them of his progress and that his audit would swiftly come to an end.

As the steam whistle screamed and the crossbows clicked throughout the day, Ragnar found himself in a tranquil mood.

Soon enough, the rails would reach the gate, and his forces would initiate the merger.

By then, the defenders would either surrender the city to him in fear of the "Iron Dragon," or a liquidation would unfold. Either way, Ragnar would be happy with the results.

As for Bjorn and Leif, their armies were similar in laying track to the enemy while staying in their camps.

While the construction in the Midlands progressed rapidly, the remainder of the conflicts in the Saxon kingdoms were bogged down in long speeches and muddy skirmishes.

Only Ragnar and his use of superior logistics and thermodynamics could so quickly win a war.

As for the rest of England, Ragnar reckoned it would be years before they understood what a "schedule" was, and he fully intended to spend a fair portion of his time securing his monopoly and advancing his new territory once he officially conquered the Thames and established himself as the Director of Infrastructure.

Ragnar finished his coffee and looked at the blueprint of the "Thames Bridge." It was a simple truss design, made of iron and timber.

"Beautiful," Ragnar whispered. "It will hold the weight of a train. And it will break the back of the old world."

He stood up and walked to the edge of the trench.

"Keep digging!" Ragnar shouted, waving his clipboard. "We have a deadline!"