Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry

Chapter 394: Dumping Inventory

King Rudolf I stared at the Breton naval commander, "Buy them?" Rudolf asked.

He lowered his sword a fraction of an inch. "You sailed your ships into a warzone... just to buy the muskets before I did?"

"Yes, King Rudolf." the Breton commander, an anxious man named Alan, nodded frantically.

He ignored the armored Burgundian knights pointing their muskets at his head. "We have been chasing this iron fleet ever since they left the port of Calais."

Bernard, the captain of the Burgundian guard, dropped his jaw. He looked at the King, bewildered.

"But... we are allies now," Bernard stammered, waving his hand toward the Breton ships floating in the river. "King Salomon just allied with the Iron Kingdom! Why in the hell would he chase down a trading fleet to buy weapons like a merchant in a fish market?"

"Because there are not enough weapons to go around!" Alan yelled, "King Salomon knows King Ragnar is generous, but he also knows the Iron Kingdom cannot instantly forge enough muskets to arm the western and southern fronts at the same time."

Alan pointed a finger at the forty iron ships docked at the pier.

"If Burgundy gets these forty ships full of forged muskets..." Alan swallowed hard. "Then Brittany has to wait for the next shipment. And we refuse to fight the Frankish army with rusty swords while we wait for boats that might sink in a winter storm."

Though the situation was tense, a loud laugh shattered the quiet air of the docks.

"Well, well, well!" King Rudolf spun around.

Hakon was walking down the gangplank of his flagship. The Norseman was covered in soot from firing the cannons, but he had a greedy grin plastered across his scarred face.

"I must say, King Rudolf..." Hakon chuckled, stepping off the gangplank and walking right up to the group. "I love southern hospitality. I haven’t even been in your beautiful kingdom for a full day, and I already have two wealthy monarchs fighting over my cargo!"

"This isn’t a joke," Rudolf snapped, gripping the hilt of his sword. "My men just blew four thousand Frankish knights to pieces! We just saved my city! These muskets and tools are mine! We already made a deal!"

"A deal is a deal, yes." Hakon nodded slowly, "But you must admit, your Grace... a chest of raw Breton gold right here, right now, sounds tempting. Especially since you demanded I stay in your castle as a hostage."

"I will double whatever King Salomon is paying you!" Rudolf roared, abandoning any pretense of royal dignity.

He was not going to let these magical fire-tubes slip through his fingers!

"Bernard. Go to the royal treasury right now! Empty the vaults! Bring every piece of silver and gold we have down to this mud-pit!"

"My King, the treasury?!" Bernard gasped, his eyes wide. "But we need that gold to pay the farmers for the winter grain."

"If we don’t have these fucking guns, the Franks are going to burn the grain and slaughter the farmers anyway!" Rudolf yelled, pointing at the Viking ships. "Go!"

As Bernard scrambled to organize the knights, Rudolf turned his gaze back to Hakon.

The Viking was grinning from ear to ear, enjoying the bidding war taking place on the docks.

However, as Rudolf watched the warrior laugh, his mind clicked.

The adrenaline of the battle began to fade, replaced by an unsettling realization.

Rudolf took a slow step back.

Ragnar Ulfsson, the Iron King, was brilliant.

Ragnar wasn’t sending these iron ships out of the goodness of his heart. He wasn’t giving away his best weapons because he was terrified of the Frankish army.

No, Ragnar was trading with all the kingdoms and gaining massive alliances with it.

The truth was much darker.

More importantly... Rudolf realized, staring at the wooden crates of muskets on the ships.

He doesn’t even need the alliance at all.

Ragnar knew that Emperor had figured out how to make explosive black powder. He knew the Franks were mass-producing their own primitive muskets.

The terrifying secret of gunpowder was officially out in the open.

So, what does a King do when his greatest monopoly is broken?

He sells his old inventory.

Ragnar was dumping his stockpile of basic, single-shot muskets onto the desperate southern kingdoms.

He was forcing kings like Rudolf and Salomon to empty their royal treasuries to buy weapons that Ragnar probably considered outdated anyway.

Why horde single-shot muskets when your own elite guards are already carrying advanced repeating rifles?

He just knows that there is another man making muskets now, Rudolf thought, a dark, impressed smile slowly forming on his tired face.

So why not profit from it before everyone in the world begins producing them like swords and spears?

Ragnar was financing his own war against the Byzantine Empire by selling basic guns to the very people who were terrified of the Franks.

"You northerners are wicked," Rudolf whispered, shaking his head in disbelief.

Alan, the Breton commander, stepped forward. "...Lord Hakon? Will you sell the remaining crates to King Salomon? We have the gold ready on our ships."

Hakon let out a sigh, rubbing his chin. He looked at King Rudolf, and then looked at the Breton commander.

"Tell you what, Alan," Hakon said, dropping his hand onto the hilt of his battle-axe. "King Rudolf here already secured the cannons and the heavy tools. He earned them by blowing Louis’s vanguard into the mud. But... the single-shot muskets sitting in the cargo holds?"

Hakon grinned fiercely. "I will split them fifty-fifty between Burgundy and Brittany. You both pay me full price, of course. And you both hold your borders against the Franks. Do we have a deal?"

Alan collapsed in relief. "Yes! Thank the heavens!"

"Fine," Rudolf grumbled, crossing his arms.

He didn’t like sharing, but half a shipment of muskets was better than fighting the Frankish army with nothing but rusty iron.

"Excellent!" Hakon cheered, clapping his hands together.

The smoke of black powder finally began to clear from the river.

Hakon tossed his musket back into the crate. He turned to the Breton naval commander, Alan. "Get your men to load half of these crates onto your ships, Alan. I want the gold transferred to my ironclads by sunrise."

Then, Hakon turned back to King Rudolf, dusting the soot off his coat. "It is time for me to leave. I will leave with the Brittany ships right now. I need to escort this pile of Breton gold back to my brother."

After hearing such words, King Rudolf eyes widened. "Leave?!"