Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 76: Future Projections

After addressing the Board of Shareholders in the Grand Assembly Hall, Ragnar returned to the Governor’s Palace, which he occupied for the time being while the executive suites of City Titan were being finalized.

He thought deeply about the composition of his corporate hierarchy. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Truth be told, the current "Council of Jarls" and the "Saxon Middle Management" were not exactly elected officials, nor were they voted into power by a democratic demographic.

Instead, Ragnar placed those who had proven themselves efficient, profit-oriented, and terrified of his "liquidations" into the positions for the time being to act as a form of governance during this transitional period.

At the same time, he would spend the next few years educating the population enough to allow for proper labor unions—controlled ones, of course.

The "Junior Board" was filled with the guild masters who already had a basic understanding of supply chains, arithmetic, and inventory management.

During the 9th century in which Ragnar currently found himself, cities like York had craftsmen who were not mere thralls and who instead worked in trades within the local economy, and it was these partially educated people, like Leif the Smith, who were appointed to work in his rudimentary "Operations Department."

In reality, the Junior Board comprised a dozen or two people whose current responsibility was to take some of the micromanagement off Ragnar’s shoulders and act as a public face of Saxon-Viking cooperation.

As for the "Senior Board"—the Jarls—the men within it were far more dangerous and responsible for the overwhelming majority of heavy lifting.

They were mostly comprised of the younger generation of raiders who proved to be more amicable towards Ragnar’s "Salary over Plunder" philosophy.

Technically these actions were legal under Ragnar’s so-called "Articles of Incorporation," as he gave the Director the power to directly appoint people into positions of management, including the Board, as well as terminate them, or even directly dissolve the Board as a whole where he could then appoint whoever he wished—or simply automate their jobs.

After returning to the private solar, he quickly found himself hugging Gyda, whose belly was now visibly swollen with the heir to the Industrial Empire.

Gyda had not yet given birth, but the "Asset" was due within the month.

However, Ragnar had not fully announced the succession plan, as doing so would provoke King Horik into a fit of jealous rage regarding his own legacy, which Ragnar could not afford to manage right now.

Of course, the pregnancy was a massive PR boost in its own right, and the traditionalists cheered for the continuation of the bloodline; it was only thanks to Gyda’s iron-fisted control of the treasury that no one dared to suggest the child be named after a pagan god instead of a corporate concept.

After embracing his Prime Minister, and his future intern, Ragnar kissed Gyda on the forehead and asked her the question on his mind.

"How is the expansion progressing?"

Gyda gave him a dry look as she rubbed her lower back before addressing Ragnar’s double-entendre.

"Do you mean the womb or the walls of Titan?"

Ragnar smirked as he responded to his partner.

"I mean both!"

Gyda smiled gently as she leaned against her desk, which was cluttered with grain reports.

"We’re optimal. The Asset is kicking like a mule, or so Helga says after listening with her glass tube."

Ragnar smiled at the news; the last thing he wanted was his firstborn child to suffer from the same degree of medical ignorance that plagued this era. Meanwhile, he thought to himself in the back of his head.

’Mother, Father, you finally have a grandchild. It is just a shame you will not be able to see him audit his first ledger!’

Obviously, he was referring to his parents from the 21st century, whom he had left behind with absolutely no legacy to speak of. To this day, he deeply regretted how his fate had turned out in his past life yet there was nothing he could do about that.

If he had not died and transmigrated to this savage world, he never would have met Gyda, nor would he be able to achieve the monumental disruption he had already accomplished. To Ragnar, this was only the beta phase of his legacy.

After holding onto his wife for a little bit, he helped her to a chair.

Gyda had a serious expression on her face; it had nothing to do with the baby, and Ragnar immediately noticed the shift from "Wife" to "Prime Minister."

After organizing her papers, Gyda began to address the recent intelligence she had received from the Raven Flight.

"The inventory has arrived..."

Ragnar was not surprised by this news and was actually quite happy about it; this meant that his plans for the hostile takeover of the Frankish equipment could begin soon enough.

Of course, the first objective on his list was to seal the trap at Scarborough and declare a total monopoly on heavy plate armor; as such, his first question was regarding the enemy’s movements.

"When will Grandmaster Pierre march on the Roman Road?"

Gyda did not have the slightest bit of fear as she revealed the enemy’s logistics to her Director as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"He marched this morning. It should take him at least three days for his baggage train to reach the ’Kill Zone’ outside Titan.

By now, General Bjorn has already begun moving the ’Can-Openers’ to the trench lines where they will wait for the heavy cavalry."

Ragnar nodded with a stern expression on his face before responding to the information.

"Then I will depart for Titan in the hour; it should be more than enough time for the Grandmaster to exhaust his horses."

Gyda wrapped her arms around Ragnar’s neck and kissed him passionately as she conspired with her husband against the entire feudal order of Europe.

"Should I address you as Emperor Ragnar?"

Ragnar laughed at the ambitious woman’s response before tapping her on the nose; she could not wait to nationalize the Frankish treasury.

Unfortunately for her, Ragnar was adamant about waiting until the ink was dry on the surrender treaty before claiming any imperial titles.

Seeing as the battle had not yet been won, Ragnar easily broke away from her grasp. To avoid hubris before the quarterly review, it was best to wait a while before engaging in such branding. Since Ragnar wanted his empire to be built on solid concrete, not hype, he chose to abstain for the time being. Thus he teased Gyda slightly as he responded to her temptation.

"Not yet. I refuse to use such a title until I have acquired the controlling interest by right of conquest!"

Of course, by refusing her, Gyda began to pout; though Ragnar had explained his reasoning for doing so, she still felt impatient without the crown she desired.

Nevertheless, it was only for a short time longer, and thus the couple got ready for the separation. Tomorrow was a day where Ragnar would spend mostly with his engineers, getting the "Welcome Mat" ready for detonation.

His forces had grown substantially over the last six months, and he was confident in claiming the Frankish armor for himself and putting down any resistance that would naturally occur from the knights who swore fealty to the Pope.

When the time came for Grandmaster Pierre to call the charge, Ragnar would provide him with a force of "Landmines" and a gift of "Lucerne Hammers" to apologize for his lack of chivalry.

Though it would surely infuriate the man, the physics would undoubtedly be accepted.

Thus leaving Ragnar and his superior industrial capacity with the ability to liquidate the Order of the White Cross.

Though Grandmaster Pierre was unaware that he was marching into a pre-registered kill box designed by a civil engineer, that would not stop Ragnar’s plans from coming to fruition.

Even if he were aware of the trap, the Grandmaster’s arrogance would force him to behave in the same way; after all, with the might of his ego, he believed he could trample the "peasants" before they even reloaded.

It was the dawn of a new era, an Industrial era, one where Ragnar would construct an empire of steel and steam!