[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry":3,"chapter-building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-chapter-159":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1365147,1804,"Chapter 159: Cannons?!","building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-chapter-159",159,"\u003Cp>Unfortunately, the strategic synergy between Ragnar and Princess Elfwynn did not last long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after they finished discussing the turbine, a courier from the south arrived. He was practically vibrating with exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If news could liquidate assets, this message would bankrupt the Directorate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the desperate look in the courier’s eyes, Ragnar immediately signaled for General Bjorn to secure the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man quickly marched up to Ragnar and handed him a sealed scroll before collapsing like a market index during a crash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Director! Urgent news from the front!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar broke the seal with a calm efficiency that belied his concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He scanned the document, his monocle glinting in the gaslight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It seems King Aethelwulf is not as insolvent as we projected,\" Ragnar announced, his voice devoid of emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He has secured a loan from the Franks. And he is using it to hire Swiss Mercenaries.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elfwynn gasped. \"Swiss? But they are...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Expensive,\" Ragnar finished. \"And highly disciplined. They don’t break for coffee, and they don’t accept stock options.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This changed everything. The hostile takeover of the Midlands was based on the assumption that Aethelwulf’s feudal levies would crumble against professional soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if he had Swiss pikes... the cost of acquisition just tripled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar turned to his map of England. He needed a pivot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A way to bypass the Swiss without engaging them in a costly war of attrition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elfwynn,\" Ragnar said, tapping the map with his cane. \"How fast can we get the Leviathan to the Thames?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With the new turbine? Three days,\" Elfwynn calculated instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the fuel consumption will be astronomical.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Burn the furniture if you have to,\" Ragnar ordered. \"We need to strike the head of the snake before the body realizes it’s dead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Elfrida burst into the room again, looking smug. She had clearly heard the rumors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Trouble in paradise, Director?\" she sneered. \"I hear the King has new friends. Perhaps you should have been nicer to the nobility.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar merely laughed at Elfrida while Elfwynn gazed in confusion at her sister’s audacity; after taking his time to enjoy the moment, Ragnar finally responded to Elfrida with a question of his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What exactly makes you think I am worried about mercenaries who fight for gold, when I own the gold mine?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elfrida quickly realized she had miscalculated. She assumed Ragnar was panicking. Instead, he looked... energized. Like a shark smelling blood in the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Next time, you should check the market trends before you short sell my stock,\" Ragnar added, dismissing her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar grabbed ahold of Elfwynn’s arm and began to lead her toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come, Chief Engineer. We have a ship to launch.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>****\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two Days Later, The Port of York\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Leviathan sat low in the water, smoke billowing from its dual stacks. It was a beast of iron and steam, uglier than sin but more beautiful than any cathedral to Ragnar’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elfwynn stood on the dock, checking the pressure gauges one last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was wearing her favorite oil-stained jumpsuit, a stark contrast to the silk dresses of the noblewomen watching from the walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The whistle is installed. It’s... loud.\" she reported.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good,\" Ragnar nodded, stepping onto the gangplank. \"We depart on the tide.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as they were about to cast off, Bishop Aethelwold hurried down the dock, his robes flapping in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Director! Wait!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar paused, leaning on his cane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bishop? Have you come to bless the engines?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have come to warn you,\" the Bishop panted. \"There are rumors... the Church is not happy with your ’innovations’. They say you are challenging God’s order.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar smirked. \"God created the laws of physics, Bishop. I am merely... optimizing them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bishop looked at the iron ship, then at Ragnar. He crossed himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just... be careful, my son. Pride comes before the fall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And efficiency comes before the profit,\" Ragnar countered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We will return with a treaty, Bishop. Or a crown.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, the Leviathan cast off. The paddle wheels churned the water into white foam, and the massive ship began to move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they steamed out of the harbor, Ragnar turned to Elfwynn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Test the whistle.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elfwynn pulled the lever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound was deafening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Birds fell from the sky. Windows in the harbor rattled. The Bishop covered his ears and fell to his knees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar laughed, the sound lost in the roar of the steam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"London won’t know what hit them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the Leviathan, The Next Morning\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The journey south was uneventful, mostly because no ship dared approach the smoking iron monster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar spent the time in his cabin, reviewing the blueprints for Project: Prometheus - the next phase of his plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a knock at the door. It was Elfwynn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Director,\" she said, holding a tray of coffee. \"We are approaching the Thames estuary. But... there is a blockade.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar took the coffee. \"Frankish ships?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Elfwynn said, looking worried. \"It’s a chain. A massive iron chain stretched across the river mouth. And... they have cannons.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar’s eyes narrowed. Cannons?! The Franks didn’t have cannons. Unless...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Unless someone sold them the technology,\" Ragnar whispered. \"Industrial espionage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood up, grabbing his cane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Full speed ahead, Elfwynn. We are going to test the structural integrity of that chain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But Director! The hull...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is made of reinforced steel,\" Ragnar reminded her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And momentum is mass times velocity. We have the mass. Give me the velocity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elfwynn hesitated, then nodded. \"Aye, Director. Full steam.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Leviathan surged forward, the black smoke turning into a thick cloud, Ragnar went to the bridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through his telescope, he saw the chain... thick links of iron, supported by rafts. Behind it, on the shore, were crude cannons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They are trying to stop the future with a fence,\" Ragnar muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cannonball splashed into the water fifty yards short. They didn’t have the range.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gunners!\" Ragnar shouted into the speaking tube. \"Target the shore batteries! High explosive!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Leviathan’s forward cannon roared. The shell whistled through the air and struck the battery. Dirt and timber flew into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Direct hit!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now,\" Ragnar said, gripping the railing. \"Brace for impact!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Leviathan hit the chain at full speed. There was a screech of metal on metal, a groan of iron under stress. The ship shuddered violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then... SNAP!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chain broke. The tension whipped the ends back, smashing the rafts to kindling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Leviathan plowed through the wreckage, unstoppable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We are through!\" Elfwynn cheered from the engine room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ragnar smiled. The path to London was open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sound the whistle,\" Ragnar ordered. \"Let them know the audit has arrived!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound echoed up the Thames, carrying a message to King Aethelwulf, to the Swiss mercenaries, and to anyone else who thought they could stop the march of progress.\u003C\u002Fp>",1133,"2026-06-05T21:25:06.413Z",1,"novelbin.me","e387385dad9f263f4f51281d95ef6774ad29ed37c8e78ba568fdb75a37856dd3","building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-chapter-10","building-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-chapter-9",357,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbuilding-a-viking-empire-with-modern-industry-cover.jpg"]