Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 185: Negotiating the Iron Fleet

Since Hendrik the Builder was a Frisian, Ragnar knew he most likely appreciated a strong brew, so he brought forth a specialized cask of stout that he had developed.

It used the local Titan barley as a basis, fortified with imported hops and allowed to age in charred oak.

The man instantly tasted the dark liquid and his eyes widened with surprise; it was intense but had a robust flavor and was unlike the watered-down swill he had encountered in Wessex.

Hendrik immediately asked about the brew.

"What is this? I have never had such a stout before. It tastes like... progress."

Ragnar chuckled lightly, adjusting his monocle before briefly explaining the origin of the stout.

"I call it the ’Titan Reserve’. It is a specialty we brew right here in the industrial sector. I find it optimal for late-night audits."

The man instantly frowned; as a connoisseur of strong drink, he wanted more details about its brewing process, but Ragnar was unwilling to share such trade secrets without a signed non-disclosure agreement. Instead, he used it as further enticement to draw the man into his corporate structure.

"If you sign a contract with me, you can drink as much of this as your constitution allows!"

Hendrik’s blue eyes flashed when he heard this, and he began to stroke his braided blonde beard.

The man was in his late thirties and had spent his life building longships and cogs, like his forefathers.

He was exceptionally talented at it. However, it would take more than just good stout to convince him to work for an eccentric Viking accountant, and thus he immediately put on a slick, mercantile demeanor.

"Bah, it will take more than a good brew to convince me to restructure my career!"

Hearing this, Ragnar merely smiled, especially when he saw the first round of dishes being brought out by the serving staff, as he replied to the man with a smug expression on his face.

"I think you will soon enough realize the benefits of joining my firm. For now, let us evaluate the assets in front of us."

On the table were a group of appetizers, different kinds of salted meats, aged cheeses, and pickled fish were laid out for the man to partake of.

With each bite, Ragnar could see the light of excitement glimmer in Hendrik’s eyes.

Despite his initial reservations, he quickly began to compliment Ragnar for his corporate hospitality.

"For a man obsessed with gears, your logistics team knows how to secure good provisions..."

Ragnar chuckled upon hearing this and accepted the man’s compliment.

"Well, thank you. My supply chain works efficiently every day to provide the best rations for my executives and my guests to dine upon.

Such standardization is slowly starting to spread across the rest of the Midlands."

Hearing this news, Hendrik started to desire to work for the Directorate more and more, but he quickly pressed the concern to the back of his mind; it would take more than good food and drink to convince him to sign a binding contract.

Thus he quickly brought up the matter of compensation as the main course of roasted boar was brought out.

"Though I admit the provisions you have presented are of high quality, I am more concerned with two things that will determine whether or not I relocate to Titan and work for you.

First, my salary. But more importantly, these so-called ’Iron Ships’ you spoke about with such arrogance in your summons!"

Seeing that the man was rather impatient in discussing the quarterly budget, Ragnar decided he might as well get it over with and began to negotiate with the man.

Ragnar was bold, and he needed a competent shipwright who could construct his Iron Navy for many fiscal years to come; as such, he let out an offer that nearly made the man’s eyes jump out of his sockets.

"I will double the bullion the Franks are paying you and give you the title of ’Chief Naval Architect’. You will receive a percentage of the shipping tariffs collected by your vessels.

As for my ship design, once we are finished with the meal, I will gladly show you the blueprints I have been drafting..."

The Frankish Kings were paying the man a large sum to build galleys, and Ragnar knew it; Gyda’s intelligence department had audited the Frisian shipyards to find out this information.

However, with all of his current monopolies, and the new coal mines he had recently acquired, he could afford such an overhead expense.

After all, the capital required for building his Navy itself was going to be an astronomical figure; he might as well pay a premium for a competent manager.

Of course, when Hendrik heard this, he nearly choked on the piece of boar he was chewing.

Not only would he be presented with a massive salary, but also a C-suite title, and equity in the form of tariff percentages... this was too good of a contract to pass up.

Yet, even this did not fully sway the man; most importantly, he would have to look at the engineering specs that Ragnar had prepared.

Thus he quickly finished his meal, to the point where Ragnar still had half a plate left.

Nevertheless, seeing how impatient the shipwright was to evaluate the intellectual property, Ragnar sighed before standing up and wiping his mouth with his napkin.

After doing so, he began to convey his agenda to Hendrik.

"If you would follow me to the drafting room, I would be more than happy to show you the schematic I have finalized for the first and heaviest class of dreadnoughts I intend to launch."

Hearing the term heaviest got the man’s hopes up.

If it were anything more robust than the longships he had been building, he would greatly enjoy his new project.

With that, the two men left the Boardroom and entered Ragnar’s private study, where he unrolled the blueprint for Hendrik.

The moment the man saw such a monumental, iron-clad monstrosity, he scoffed. However, before he could express his thoughts that the Director was out of his mind and the thing would sink like a stone, he once more looked over the displacement calculations and noticed that such a ship could feasibly float!

It would need a massive, modernized drydock and take immense capital to construct, but the physics were sound.

The ship was designated, DIR Gyda. The DIR stood for the "Directorate Ironclad."

The man could not believe his eyes and stood still and in awe for several moments, going over every detail of the complex set of schematics.

It was only after an hour of intense auditing had passed that the man put down the blueprints and snapped his attention over to Ragnar, who was leaning on his cane, staring at him with a smug grin the entire time.

"When do we break ground on the drydock?"

Ragnar’s corporate smile increased when he heard this, and he began to outline the project timeline to the man.

"It will take roughly two quarters to construct the specialized shipyards I have in mind; the first of these facilities will be built at the mouth of the Humber, others will follow near London.

During the time it takes to build these drydocks, I will be mass-producing pre-forged iron plates and steam pistons at Titan, so that once the yards are completed, we can immediately use an assembly line to construct the ships in a rapid, standardized process."

Hearing this, Hendrik was excited; he could see that Ragnar’s manufacturing base would soon be able to produce a fleet of these dreadnoughts in quick succession if his supply chain proved reliable.

Despite only analyzing one ship’s design and overhearing Ragnar’s projections for the future, the man was wise enough to know that the Directorate would quickly become the premier maritime monopoly in the known world within a decade.

The idea that he would be the one to engineer such a sudden disruption to the global market brought tingles to the man’s spine.

He was excited just thinking about the scale of the operation.

He quickly reached out his calloused hand and said to Ragnar with a joyful, greedy expression on his face.

"I accept the terms! I will relocate to the Humber estuary as soon as I am able and oversee the construction of the drydocks. Rest assured, your vision for an Iron Monopoly will become a reality before the decade is out!"

Hearing this, Ragnar was filled with satisfaction; he had taken the first step into establishing himself as a major Naval Power.

He could already envision the vast, smoke-belching fleets of his future Corporation dominating the world’s major trade routes and liquidating any competitor foolish enough to try to block his path to global market dominance.

As such, he quickly latched onto the man’s hand and shook it firmly with an equally calculating smile on his face.

He could tell this would be a highly profitable partnership and was glad to have another capable asset under his management.

Despite making such a monumental allocation of funds on behalf of the Iron Empire, Eadwig was left utterly unaware that Ragnar intended to build a massive fleet and challenge the Franks, the Danes, and the Caliphate for maritime dominance.

If the boy had known, he would have filed a grievance, believing Ragnar to be bankrupting the coal guild.

For how could they possibly fund a modernized navy in such a short period while still maintaining the army?

Luckily for Ragnar, he was smart enough to keep the young Figurehead locked out of the ledgers.

As Sole Trustee, he had full authority to sign the checks while Eadwig remained a silent partner.

Luckily for the Midlands, Eadwig had no voting rights, or else the boy would undoubtedly lead their stock to zero.