Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 73: Grandmaster

Helga the Brewer hastily completed the routine titration check on the vat of concentrated nitric acid, grabbed her safety goggles, and ran out of the Ministry of Chemistry without looking back, yet once she was out the door, she turned around swiftly to steal a glance at the Director of Industry.

Ragnar watched her retreating figure, blinked in surprise, and said to General Bjorn, "What’s with her... Did she inhale the fumes again?"

...

The Governor’s Palace, West Wing.

In the office of the Prime Minister, Gyda took the budget proposal, which was significantly thinner, from Ragnar’s hands, and asked with a puzzled tone:

"Director, it seems you have removed many of the import tariffs?"

Ragnar nodded, "Yes, it’s an attempt of mine."

Gyda quickly flipped through the bill, her frown deepening as she went, and when she reached the halfway point, she couldn’t help but look at Ragnar and say, "Director, all the clauses you’ve removed benefit the Saxon merchants?"

"Yes, Prime Minister."

Gyda put the bill back on the table and shook her head:

"Why would you do that? The Council of Jarls will be furious. They want to tax the Saxons until they bleed."

Ragnar countered. "Do you think that by constantly squeezing them, the trade volume will increase?"

Gyda shook her head. "Exactly, so we might as well take a different approach. You can submit this version of the Trade Reform to the Council to start with."

Gyda let out a sigh.

"Ragnar, but doing this will only infuriate the Jarls and achieve nothing else. They will accuse you of being soft."

Ragnar smiled and said. "Have you ever watched a wolf pack hunt?"

"A wolf pack? Yes, I have."

"The alpha doesn’t chase every rabbit. He lets the young wolves tire themselves out, and when the prey is cornered, he strikes," Ragnar said. "Let those Jarls get angry; there’s no harm in it. Please trust me, even if it’s rejected this time, this bill will eventually pass!"

Gyda still appeared skeptical and asked, "Can you tell me how you plan to do it?"

"Don’t bother reasoning with those people; target their weak points, divide and conquer, and at the same time, control the public opinion so they have no choice but to submit."

Gyda looked at the Director with a surprised gaze, catching the confident and somewhat sly look in his eyes, and for some reason, suddenly felt that he might not be making a rash move.

After a long moment, Gyda nodded, then started to smile.

"Alright then, I will send this bill to the Council, but please don’t say that these changes were made by you, otherwise those greedy old men will surely bear a grudge against you. And as for me, if I can’t get the budget balanced by the end of the quarter, I should probably leave my position as Prime Minister. With the little patience I have left for them, I might as well take a risk."

"I appreciate your trust."

Ragnar didn’t expect to persuade Gyda so quickly. He wasted no time and turned to his assistant.

"Please contact the scribes at the Ministry of Propaganda and reserve prominent space on the town notice boards. Once the Council rejects the Trade Reform this time, immediately publish the first clause on the boards, with a detailed interpretation, such as who will benefit from cheaper grain, what impact it will have on bread prices, etc. From now on, publish one clause every day until the entire content of the bill is disclosed to the public and everything is clearly interpreted."

"Yes, Director."

"Additionally, organize a group of town criers to report in detail on the proposed law, from the time of its introduction to its rejection by the Council. Oh, don’t report it all at once, shout a little bit at a time to keep the momentum."

"Yes."

"And another thing..."

After being busy in the Prime Minister’s office until noon, Ragnar finally completed the preliminary preparations for the trade reform bill and then had lunch with King Horik (who was complaining about the lack of turnips). Leif the Smith reported that Helga was requesting an audience.

Ragnar followed him back to his own reception room and saw Helga pacing anxiously back and forth. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Ms. Helga, is there an issue with the chemical workshop?"

Helga hurriedly bowed respectfully, first nodding, "There is a matter..." then she said nervously, "Director, I heard that last night my assistant spilled a vat of lye near the river. She is young and surely didn’t mean it! Please forgive her."

Ragnar smiled and gestured with his hand:

"Your assistant has made no mistake; it was I who ordered the drainage test. Oh, and the fish didn’t seem to mind too much."

"Thank you for your generous understanding." Helga quickly bowed again and said with a shaking head, "I really shouldn’t have let her handle the caustic soda. That child, she even went into the soap factory in the middle of the night to mix perfumes..."

"Your assistant is very talented. Actually, you could let her practice mixing in the Royal Perfumery. Oh, if you don’t want others to know, I can order the guards to keep it a secret for her."

"I don’t know what to say." Helga’s eyes filled with gratitude. "You are too enlightened. If the people at the Brewer’s Guild were half as open-minded as you, she would have already earned her Master Brewer license and saved many batches of ale."

Ragnar noticed the glass bottle in her hand and asked, "Right, you mentioned there was something about the chemical workshop?"

"Oh, yes, yes." Helga hurriedly handed over the glass bottle, excitement returning to her face. "That converted longhouse is just perfect! It has a very comprehensive set of clay vessels, it even has a dedicated ventilation shaft. I only added some high-precision distillation coils and condensers, which are enough for the purification of sulfur."

"Also, the thralls are quite good, skilled, and many of them have experience with charcoal burning. Look, this was produced last night by the craftsmen, and neither Leif nor I intervened."

Ragnar looked at the yellow powder, nodded with satisfaction, and then asked:

"How much do you estimate the output could be?"

Helga thought for a moment before replying:

"If we have enough raw material from the volcanic vents in Iceland, about 50 kilograms a day. Once the workers get skilled, it should be possible to double that."

"Mmm, that’s basically enough for all the Project Vulcan needs, and we should even be able to supply some to the mining operations for blasting," Ragnar said.

With sulfur used for its explosive properties in gunpowder, a daily output of 50kg meant that they could produce enough black powder to fill hundreds of grenades a week.

Helga nodded and said, "Director, Leif and I have estimated the costs, each grenade casing containing 0.5kg of powder would cost about 2 silver pennies to make. We plan to initially stockpile them for the defense, what do you think?"

One silver penny could buy a loaf of bread a very reasonable price for a handheld explosive.

"You can decide on the allocation," Ragnar said.

Ragnar then remembered his own "Special Project" and said to Helga, "Ah, Ms. Helga, I have some special requirements. Please purify 5kg of high-purity saltpeter for me daily, with as few impurities as possible."

With only a little needed for the advanced fuses, 5kg a day was enough to produce reliable ignition systems for the landmines.

Helga readily agreed, "No problem, Director."

...

On the same evening that Ragnar and Helga were discussing the chemical factory matters, 400 kilometers away from York in the port of Calais, Frankia, the leader of the Order of the White Cross, Grandmaster Pierre, was welcoming guests from the Vatican.