Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 132: Another masterpiece

A month had passed since the hostile takeover at Sandwich.

Overcoming the loss of his perfect gait was not an easy task, and he needed to teach himself how to command a boardroom while leaning on a prop.

As such, when he was not hard at work managing the realm's spreadsheets, he was adapting to his circumstances by installing handrails in the shower.

After being healed, he sent a telegraph to Princess Elfwynn informing her of what had transpired and the injury he had suffered, though he assured her the "Directorate was stable" and despite losing 6% of his walking speed, he was doing quite well for himself.

He made sure to emphasize the need for her to stay efficient in these troubled times, and as such, he implied to her not to approve any overtime pay without his signature.

Before long, Ragnar found himself looking at construction blueprints.

After the thermal restructuring of the Frankish army, several of his own "Interns" (Saxon levies) had suffered grievous injuries so much so that their bodies could not be identified.

This reminded Ragnar of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in his previous life.

Ragnar decided to have a monument similar to that constructed within City Titan to represent all of the unidentifiable employees who had perished in his audits, as well as those who might one day go missing during a shift change.

This was yet another of his many monuments that were undergoing construction.

He had the Frankish gold to splurge, so he felt it necessary to create a corporate culture that honored its workers as early as possible. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

One day, the Iron Empire would be united under a sense of "Brand Loyalty" much like Apple had done in his previous life's timeline.

When Ragnar met with the Board of Directors to discuss his new monuments, they were happy to see him.

Since his injury, he had seldom left his office, and many of them were worried about his market value.

After all, his heir Magnus was still teething. When they saw the cane in his hand, they knew that he had suffered a permanent depreciation, and as such, took a moment of silence to commemorate his loss.

Nevertheless, Ragnar quickly managed to convince the Board to take action, and as such, he displayed his plans for a Tomb of the Unknown Contractor for all to see; the design was essentially a rip-off of the modern brutalist style, with the same words carved upon it, albeit slightly altered to fit his needs.

"Here lies in honored efficiency a Directorate Employee, known but to the Payroll Department."

One of the bodies of an intern killed in the Battle of Sandwich would be interred within, and it would be a Grand Ceremony for all of Titan to be invited to attend.

The cost of this monument would be significantly lower than the large iron statues dedicated to different aspects of industry that were currently undergoing welding, such as the "Spirit of Steam" and the "Guardian of the Gear."

It was a much more simplistic design but it was because of this simplistic design that it was a beautiful monument in its own right.

Seeing the depiction of the monument and its cost-effectiveness, the Board held a vote for approval, which was merely a formality's sake at this point since Ragnar's word was still the law in the North, despite the drafting of an "Employee Handbook."

At the end of the day, a Handbook was a piece of paper whose principles were only enforced through the threat of Torsion Spikes.

Considering the "Iron Gear" security force was a branch indoctrinated with loyalty towards Ragnar and the Iron Brand, more so than the State itself, Ragnar, in practice, wielded near-absolute authority.

Especially when the Board was stacked with members Ragnar had personally promoted from the mailroom.

On paper, the Directorate was a "Meritocratic Oligarchy," and as far as the people believed, this was true. In reality, it currently acted more like a tech startup run by a dictator, albeit with an intricate and highly efficient HR department.

Ragnar did not just appoint yes-men to their positions; they had to have been capable in their own right so that he may delegate responsibilities; he simply appointed capable men who were terrified of him.

However, there were no complaints about the establishment of this monument, and it was met with a unanimous vote by the Board.

After the vote was over, General Bjorn, who was currently the VP of Security, approached Ragnar to check on his physical and mental health.

"Director, I was wondering... how are the diagnostics?"

Ragnar smiled and tapped his cane on Bjorn's armored shoulder in a friendly gesture.

"I am operating at 94% capacity, Bjorn. You could say I am quickly adapting to my circumstances, even if it is a bit tedious taking the elevator instead of the stairs."

Bjorn grinned when he heard the good news and began to make small talk with Ragnar about current events.

"Director, have you heard about the recent market fluctuations in the South?"

Ragnar had been on administrative leave until recently and had not yet heard about what had happened in the Mediterranean. As such, he gazed at Bjorn with an inquisitive gaze and asked about what he was referring to.

"I'm afraid I am unaware; did the wool futures crash?"

Bjorn was sure that Ragnar had spent the last month spending quality time with Gyda and the baby, and in his opinion, the young Director deserved a break for once; the man was practically working himself to death every day.

As such, he was not shocked to know that Ragnar was not informed of the current happenings in Spain. Thus he elected to inform him.

"The Caliphate has attacked the Kingdom of the Franks in the Pyrenees..

In response, King Charles has marched his armies to the South in an attempt to hold onto the territory. It appears the loss of Grandmaster Roland and his 25,000 men has greatly affected their liquidity."

Ragnar chuckled lightly when he heard this before expressing his views.

"Good. That ought to keep them busy for some time. It gives us a much-needed reprieve so that we can focus on constructing our coastal railways and implementing our Sanitation Reforms."

Bjorn agreed wholeheartedly with this statement, and as such, he began to question Ragnar's plans for the future; after all, Ragnar had not shared with many people his vision for a unified British Market.

"So tell me, Director... what do you think the Caliph's chances of winning this merger are?"

Ragnar scoffed at the idea before saying the objective truth..

"I do not bother speculating about the future, Bjorn, for the future is malleable based on our R&D budget.

However, I have a suspicion that the ultimate winner of this chaotic era will be a holding company that the higher nobility least expects. Someone who will take advantage of the weakened factions towards the end of the fiscal year to become the market leader."

Hearing Ragnar's thoughts on the matter left Bjorn with a lot of speculation. However, Ragnar had not outright admitted it.

It sounded to Bjorn like the young Director had lofty ambitions, and something deep inside his mind told him it was entirely plausible for Ragnar to achieve these things.

After all, the young man went from being a raider with a rusty axe to a CEO with a steam train in roughly two years.

He had stood beside Ragnar as he went through this monumental transition and knew now that the Iron Empire's security was ensured, Ragnar would undoubtedly focus on rebuilding the workforce and constructing "Station Towns" across the region.

If the peace in the North could last, Ragnar would ultimately be in such a position towards the end of the war, one in which he could buy out the competition.

Of course, as Ragnar had stated earlier, time was malleable, and the market was volatile.

It might be possible for a "Black Swan Event" to occur in the near future which could drag Ragnar into this massive conflict far earlier than he expected. Or things could go exactly how Ragnar planned. The only entity who could know the future was the Algorithm, assuming one existed.

As such, Ragnar stayed with the Board for the rest of his day's work, overseeing his plans for military expansion and defensive spending.

The budget he had outlined perfectly took into account all of their current assets and the potential for future growth with the trade to the Caliphate.

Peace is always a temporary market condition, and Ragnar planned to take full advantage of the downtime.

"One more thing, Bjorn," Ragnar said as the meeting adjourned.

"Yes, Director?"

"I want the Tomb built near the train station. I want every new arrival to see it."