Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 181: Casus Belli.. and Investment

After meeting up with Leif the Elder and discussing the new designs, Ragnar proceeded to the local cathedral with his Iron Guard following discreetly behind.

While the Grand Cathedral of Industry was under construction the local parish had been seized from the Catholic Church and was being used by Bishop Aethelwold to preach the gospel and the bylaws of Ragnar’s new order.

When Ragnar arrived in the chapel, he noticed a service was currently underway.

Ragnar watched from the back of the church while listening to Aethelwold’s sermon.

The sermon was about the separation of Church and Market, and therefore he was quoting scripture with a unique industrial interpretation as he preached to the crowd of factory workers and miners who had gathered.

"Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. ’Teacher,’ they said, ’we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?’

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, ’You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’

They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ’Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ’Caesar’s,’ they replied.

Then he said to them, ’So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away."

Aethelwold then continued to interpret the words in a way that spread Ragnar’s corporate message.

"Thus, in Christ’s own words, we are to respect the currency of the Realm while owing our productivity to the Creator! For just as the coin bears the mark of the King, so too does the iron bear the mark of the Smith! We are the gears in God’s great machine, and our labor is our prayer!"

The sermon went on for some time before the people of City Titan were finally dismissed to their shifts. Eventually, after some time, all that remained in the Chapel were Aethelwold and Ragnar.

Seeing the man who had led him to spiritual efficiency standing with a grin on his face in his church, Aethelwold could not help but smile.

Ragnar quickly walked over to the man and tapped his cane on the stone floor.

"That was an efficient sermon, Bishop; you are truly fit to lead our branding campaign!"

However, Aethelwold decided to tease Ragnar as he was organizing some of the tithe ledgers from the gathering.

"I have not seen your top hat around these parts lately; I was beginning to think that you had diversified your portfolio away from the faith."

Ragnar, however, adjusted his monocle and shook his head.

"Not in the slightest, Bishop. I have merely been too busy overseeing the hostile takeovers and auditing those who would disrupt our supply chain. I try to attend board meetings when I can, but the work of a Director is never truly finished."

Aethelwold sneered at Ragnar’s comment and posed a question to him.

"The work of a Director... or a Lord Protector?"

Ragnar once more laughed at Aethelwold’s jest before making a joke of his own.

"Careful, those words are a breach of contract; if you let the little Intern hear you say that, he is liable to file a complaint!"

When Aethelwold heard this, he could not contain his laughter and snickered at the remark.

"Eadwig? Tell me, Ragnar, without your signature who would obey the Nottingham Boy? Everyone knows it is you who truly holds the voting rights in the Midlands. Eadwig is just your proxy."

Ragnar did not deny the charges against him and merely smiled innocently before switching the subject.

"So, how is the IPO progressing?"

Upon hearing Ragnar dodging his statement, Aethelwold took the hint and began to talk about business.

"It is going well; large swaths of Mercia are adopting the new bylaws, despite the war they held against you. Especially in the industrial centers, it has also spread into Northumbria and the Danelaw. The Iron Faith is making progress in the South, all the way into Wessex.

As far as the Midlands go, we have established a monopoly."

Ragnar was delighted upon hearing this news and congratulated his partner.

"That is optimal! Well done, this is all thanks to you and your marketing strategy!"

However, Aethelwold did not seem too happy, and Ragnar immediately noticed that; thus, he inquired about the details.

"What’s the variance?"

To this question, Aethelwold sighed heavily before voicing his concerns.

"In the South, our shareholders are being persecuted. The Catholics still hold a large control of public opinion, and our early adopters are being branded as heretics. It is truly inefficient the lengths they will go to regulate us."

Though Ragnar put on a solemn expression as if he were calculating the depreciation of human capital with a heavy heart, in reality, he was incredibly excited by this news; such actions gave him a Casus Belli to march into the South after he had consolidated the Midlands in the coming fiscal years.

The longer this persecution in Wessex persisted, the better his chances of having a just cause for declaring a monopoly on the entire island.

Inadvertently by persecuting the Industrialists in Wessex, the Catholics had given Ragnar a reason to invade when his capital reserves were finally ready.

However, he could not very well admit this to a man of cloth, and thus he pretended as if he was overwhelmed with grief.

"Truly it is a market failure as you have proclaimed. The fact that the Catholics would terminate those who interpret the Divine Plan differently shows how corrupt their business model is. They do not care about salvation but maintaining their market share."

Ragnar’s words reached an accord with Aethelwold, and he wholeheartedly agreed.

Thus he nodded his head and spoke the words Ragnar wanted to hear.

"Promise me that when your stock price is high enough, you will march on the South and liberate our partners from the sinful monopoly of the Catholic Church!"

Ragnar put on a facade as if he was shocked about such a statement and pretended to be risk-averse.

"I don’t know about this... the overhead would be immense..."

However, Aethelwold was adamant and thus shook Ragnar’s arm slightly.

"Director! Promise me! You must save our investors!"

Finally, after a few moments, Ragnar seemingly relented and sighed heavily as if he were deeply conflicted about the budget.

"Okay, I promise you that when I have enough liquidity, I will invade the Southern Kingdoms and rid them of the horrific influence of the Catholic Church..."

Seeing Ragnar agree to Aethelwold’s plight, the Bishop smiled before patting Ragnar on the back.

"Do not fret, my friend; we are merely acting in the interest to protect our assets from the wickedness of the Vatican! How could the Invisible Hand scorn such a merger?"

Ragnar finally smiled and nodded his head in approval of Aethelwold’s words.

The man never ceased to exceed expectations. Thus he decided to switch the topic to something else.

"Do you require any additional funding? Just let me know how much capital you need, and I will gladly donate it to the Cathedral fund!"

Aethelwold began to chuckle as he heard these words, and he began to chastise Ragnar.

"You are already building a Grand Cathedral to rival St. Peter’s! How could I possibly ask for more gold from your treasury?"

However, Ragnar shook his head after hearing this response and informed Aethelwold of his opinion.

"For the work of the Brand, you just need to submit a requisition form, and I will gladly fund anything you require so long as the budget allows!"

Aethelwold was more adamant than Ragnar realized and rejected his offer.

"I thank you for all you have done, Director, but we receive enough tithes from all of the Guildmasters who support our reformation; you do not have to spend so much..."

This news brought a smile to his face; the more Guildmasters who contributed to the Iron Faith, the better, and the Church was now making enough revenue to stand on its own without his subsidies. At least for the most part. Thus Ragnar finally relented on his offer.

"Okay, just let me know if you ever encounter a cash flow problem, and if it is in my power, I will be more than happy to assist you."

With that said, Aethelwold smiled and nodded.

"Certainly, remember to keep your promise. When the market opens, you must liberate our partners to the South!"

Ragnar chuckled when he heard that before posing a rhetorical question.

"Have I ever defaulted on my debts, my dear Bishop?"

With that said, Ragnar bid Aethelwold farewell and began to return to the Governor’s Mansion.

He took a pleasant stroll observing the progress of City Titan when he did so.

Though he had built many structures out of brick and iron, he knew one day he would have to rebuild many of them with Reinforced Concrete to ensure their structural stability for a thousand years.

After all, he could not build the foundation of his Empire off of materials that depreciated too quickly.

Iron and brick were cheap to produce and quick to turn into factories.

Still, the cost of that was maintenance, and as such, Ragnar made a vow when he looked at his grand designs being rapidly built that he would reconstruct them with steel and concrete within his lifetime.

For if his corporate headquarters could not last the test of time, how could his Brand?