Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 124: Supply Chain

After the "Taco Tuesday" negotiation was over, Ragnar saw his guests off to the Executive Dormitories in Sector 4.

He had made quite an impression on these Andalusian scholars and merchants, and in the following days, would make sure to negotiate proper non-disclosure agreements with every one of them.

The more contacts he made in the Caliphate, the better his Series B funding would become.

After reclaiming much of their scientific heritage since the Umayyad conquest, Al-Andalus was wealthy. They were the center of algebra, astronomy, and hygiene.

Though the Caliphate had to repel Christian reconquista attempts a couple of times a decade, for the most part, their economy was stable, and Ragnar saw an opportunity in building a "Strategic Partnership" with them.

As such, he made sure to take care of his guests during this feast, even offering them the premium "Double-Ply" toilet paper he had recently invented.

After sending the men off, he returned to the Governor's Office, where he sat down and had a glass of filtered water alongside his beautiful, terrifyingly competent wife.

The water was from the new municipal pump and was of significant clarity, thus Ragnar wanted to taste the progress.

After swirling the water around in his tin cup and inspecting it for sediment, Ragnar sipped upon the liquid before nodding his head in approval.

"The filtration system is holding at 98% efficiency. No dysentery this week."

On the other hand, Gyda had some questions on her mind and was not afraid to audit his logic; as such, she quickly asked Ragnar about his long-term strategy.

"You sure seem to be treating these men from the South quite well. Do you intend to establish an arms trade with the Caliphate? They are enemies of the Church."

Ragnar smiled and nodded his head before explaining his business plan.

"The Caliphate of Cordoba was always the wealthiest region of the Mediterranean. Due to being near the Kingdom of Asturias and the Franks, they are constantly under threat of crusades and spend a large amount of wealth on their military. Now that they know I have a substantial supply of Crucible Steel, when they return to Cordoba and spread the news of this, the Generals of the Caliphate will be begging me to supply their Mamluks with high-carbon blades."

Ragnar estimated that the Caliphate would most likely be victorious in their ongoing skirmishes if they had better steel, further increasing their purchasing power.

As such, he intended to get on their good side and make as much profit from their wars as possible. Conflict was a growth market for those who held the patent on blast furnaces.

Gyda carefully observed Ragnar's estimation before nodding her head in agreement; what Ragnar said was statistically probable. As such, she complimented him on his market analysis.

"You really think everything through, don't you? Even the political fallout?"

Ragnar chuckled as he refilled his cup before responding.

"Not everything, but I try to be a few fiscal quarters ahead of my competitors. Make no mistake, in the future, when I have united my Iron Empire, the Caliphate will be a rival for global hegemony. At the rate they are advancing in mathematics, they could become a threat if relations are not properly managed through trade dependency."

Luckily for Ragnar, he knew about the New World and the coal-rich regions of America.

After unifying his market, he would take advantage of his knowledge and lay claim to the best resource nodes for industrialization.

By the time the Caliphate and the Franks realized the value of anthracite coal, the critical mines would already be under Viking management.

Gyda saw the proud expression on Ragnar's face but could not read his internal monologue about steamships.

However, she knew when it came to Ragnar and his ambitions that it was best not to interrupt his "Visioneering Session," and as such, she decided to switch the topic.

"So, will you be showing the merchants your steel stockpile? The warehouse in Sector 7?"

Snapping back to reality from Gyda's words, Ragnar quickly nodded his head in response and smiled once more.

"Of course! They need to know just how much tonnage I can output so that they can brag to the Caliph about my surplus. The greater the surplus, the larger the bulk order they will place. I will show them the extent of my 'Just-In-Time' manufacturing tomorrow; it will be sure to leave a lasting impression on these scholars."

With that said, the two partners quickly finished their water before returning to their private quarters, where they... reviewed the budget for the new coastal defenses until late into the night.

...

After the sun rose in the morning Ragnar got up and began his daily routine of calisthenics and coffee. It was well past noon when he finally met with Vizier Al-Hakam and the others in the Industrial Plaza below.

After meeting up with Al-Hakam, Ragnar patted the man on the back with a wide, corporate grin on his face.

"Come, Vizier! Let me show you the Volume of my industry!"

Hearing these words, a flash of intellectual greed filled the eyes of the merchants who surrounded Ragnar like a flock of hungry investors. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Ragnar knew what they were thinking about from the gleam in their pupils; unfortunately for them, he would not allow them to see the Bessemer Converters, only the finished product.

As such, Ragnar led the men through the industrial district of Titan, whose secrets were heavily guarded by the "Iron Gear" sentries; only properly authorized personnel with stamped ID badges were allowed through the blast doors.

But since these men traveled with the Director, they were easily able to pass by the strict security. After all, Ragnar owned the patent on the locks.

Ragnar made sure to give the men a tour of the district outside of the critical R&D labs; as such, the Export Warehouse was the first he showed.

Of course, he showed the warehouse which explicitly stored ingots for foreign trade, not the armory where he kept his explosive shells.

Seeing such a large warehouse filled with thousands of uniform steel bars stacked on wooden pallets, the Andalusian merchants were shocked by the sheer mass of the operation. In Cordoba, steel was precious. Here, it was pavement.

Ragnar smiled smugly at the expressions on their faces before introducing the area.

"This is the Stockpile, where we store high-carbon ingots for export to our strategic partners. Of course, if you desire finished goods we could also manufacture that for you. From my understanding, the Caliphate uses a mixture of light cavalry and heavy infantry, and I would be more than happy to cast standardized spear-tips if an agreement can be reached."

Seeing the grand scale of production, Al-Hakam felt the need to ask about where such supplies would be sold off to.

"Just who is your customer for such a large supply of metal? Surely the Saxons cannot afford this?"

Ragnar smiled and did not hide that this equipment was largely funded by his recent hostile takeovers.

"My largest customer at the moment is myself. The expansion of the Grand Trunk Line consumes forty percent of my output. However, the Frankish Kingdom has recently begun placing orders for wool and tools through my proxy in Normandy.

Luckily for them, they do not know the steel comes from me. However, a lot of this is also speculative production; as the war goes on, the demand for reliable metal expands."

The sight of the warehouse left a lasting impression on Al-Hakam, and he could hardly believe his eyes.

"Director," Al-Hakam said, picking up an ingot and marveling at its lack of slag. "If you can produce this... why do you not build a fleet of iron ships?"

Ragnar froze. The Vizier was sharper than he looked.

"Iron ships?" Ragnar laughed nervously. "Iron sinks, Vizier. Everyone knows that."

"But Archimedes' principle states that if the displacement is sufficient..." Al-Hakam mused, tapping the metal.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves!" Ragnar interrupted, steering the Vizier away from the secret dry-dock where Project: Ironclad was currently just a sketch on a napkin.

"Come, let me show you the Water Treatment Plant. I believe you mentioned an interest in hydraulic engineering?"

As they walked away, Ragnar wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. The Andalusians were smart. He would need to be careful.

"By the way," Al-Hakam asked as they walked toward the giant pumping station. "About the Naphtha. My alchemist tells me it is highly volatile. How do you plan to transport it to the coast without exploding your precious train?"

Ragnar grinned, regaining his composure.

"Ah. That is why I invented the 'Safety Barrel'. It is lined with lead and suspended in water. We call it... a Tanker Car."

If the mighty Vizier knew that Ragnar was currently building a train car filled with liquid fire to drive straight into the Frankish army, he would truly lose his mind in astonishment.

But for now, the tour continued. And the alliance between Steel and Algebra grew stronger with every step.