Chapter 445: Vassals of the Iron Kingdom -2
When Ragnar’s ironclads and steam-powered war machines first demonstrated their supremacy on the continent, most European monarchs reacted with archaic hubris. They desperately clung to their castles and armored cavalry, foolishly believing that noble blood could somehow deflect a steel bullet.
Salomon and Rudolf, however, possessed a rare trait among the nobility of their era: basic common sense.
Recognizing the vast technological disparity, they eagerly bent the knee...
In exchange for their vassalage, Ragnar did not pillage their lands or slaughter their people. Instead, the Iron King practically buried them in wealth and advanced technology.
The Iron Kingdom had opened heavily guarded trade routes directly into Brittany and Burgundy, supplying the two fledgling vassal states with crates of smoothbore muskets and massive quantities of refined black powder.
But more valuable than the weapons were the blueprints.
Ragnar had gifted them detailed, meticulously drafted schematics for undershot water wheels, advanced crop rotation systems, and basic blast furnaces.
If these two kings had been left to their own devices, it would have taken their scholars centuries to naturally develop such crucial infrastructure.
With the blueprints and a core group of Iron Kingdom engineers dispatched to oversee construction, Brittany and Burgundy experienced a rapid, localized industrial and agricultural revolution.
Their crop yields tripled, their textile production skyrocketed, and they were now fielding professional, musket-wielding militias capable of obliterating any traditional medieval levy.
However, this rapid advancement came with a significant demographic shift, one that fundamentally altered the cultural makeup of their territories.
Currently, more than 25% percent of the population in both Brittany and Burgundy was now completely Northern in origin.
Life in the unforgiving climates of Scandinavia and the northernmost territories of the Iron Kingdom was notoriously harsh. Despite Ragnar’s sweeping agricultural reforms, there was only so much food that could be pulled from the icy earth of the north.
To alleviate the domestic strain and secure his new continental footholds, Ragnar had enacted sweeping new immigration laws.
He heavily incentivized tens of thousands of his citizens to migrate south, promising them vast tracts of fertile, arable land in the territories of his new vassals.
Initially, the native nobles had been extremely wary of this massive influx of northerners.
Yet, as the months passed, they quickly realized the sheer economic value these immigrants brought...
The northerners were highly disciplined, literate, and intimately familiar with Ragnar’s new methods of production. They intermingled with the local populations, establishing efficient new towns, managing the blast furnaces, and fundamentally modernizing the local economy.
It was a flawless assimilation that practically erased the ethnic tensions that typically plagued the primitive societies of this era.
Furthermore, this newly integrated population provided the manpower necessary for the two kings to fulfill their primary obligation to Ragnar.
Salomon and Rudolf were not simply allowed to sit back and enjoy their newfound wealth; they had a highly specific strategic purpose.
They were the great Wall of the Iron Kingdom against Frankia.
For the past six months, the remnants of the Frankish armies, desperately commanded by the usurper Emperor Zwentibold, had repeatedly attempted to breach the borders of Brittany and Burgundy to disrupt Ragnar’s continental supply lines.
Every single incursion had been met with slaughter...
While Bjorn, Ragnar’s brilliant military commander, was currently stationed to the northeast in the heavily fortified port city of Calais Salomon and Rudolf had bled the Franks dry on the southern and eastern fronts.
Their newly trained musket battalions, heavily supplemented by the disciplined northern immigrants, engaged in brutal, mechanized volley fire that shattered the Frankish cavalry charges before they could even cross the field. It was an industrial slaughter.
Today’s festival was not merely a celebration of the harvest; it was a victory celebration. After half a year of relentless defense, the Frankish forces had officially retreated.
King Rudolf wiped the grease from his beard with a linen cloth and leaned over the table, clapping Salomon on the shoulder.
"I must admit, Salomon, when we first bent the knee to the Iron King, I feared we would be reduced to nothing more than glorified tax collectors," Rudolf said. "Yet, look at this! My treasury has never seen so much gold. The Franks throw themselves at our borders like mindless beasts, and our musketeers mow them down like wheat. It is almost too easy!"
Salomon chuckled, taking a long sip of his spiced wine. "Indeed, Rudolf. Zwentibold is a fool. He fights with spears and pride, while we fight with steel, powder, and intellect. The Iron Kingdom’s trade has made us richer in seven months than our ancestors were in seven generations. The blueprints alone are worth their weight in diamonds."
Rudolf nodded. "The water mills alone have doubled the output of my capital. The northern engineers operate with an efficiency that is simply unnatural. And the immigrants? Hard workers. Fierce fighters. Truly, Ragnar Ulfsson is a sovereign favored by the heavens."
The two kings sat in companionable silence for a moment, basking in their superiority over their former Frankish rivals...
They were the untouchable lords of the continent, securely nestled beneath the protective wing of the Iron Kingdom.
However, amidst the revelry, Salomon reached into his heavily embroidered tunic and produced a sealed envelope bearing the distinct iron-pressed wax seal of Titan.
"There is, however, one minor matter that was brought to my attention this morning by a courier from Calais," Salomon noted. "It is a formal request from Eadric, the High Minister of the Treasury in Titan."
Rudolf raised a bushy eyebrow, setting his goblet down. "A request? Do they require a larger tithe of our grain this season? I have more than enough to spare."
"No, it is not a matter of taxation or grain,"
Salomon replied, breaking the iron seal and unfolding the pristine parchment.
Even the quality of the Iron Kingdom’s paper was vastly superior to the crude parchment used by the rest of the continent.
"Eadric is requesting that both you and I send our eldest sons, our designated heirs, to the city of York."
Rudolf frowned in confusion. "To York? For what purpose?"
Salomon scanned the polite handwriting of the High Minister. "The letter states that the Iron King wishes to establish an academy for the future leaders of his empire. He is inviting our sons to study the advanced principles of governance, economics, and mechanical engineering under his finest scholars. Eadric insists it is an unparalleled opportunity to ensure that the next generation of our houses is fully prepared to lead in the new age."
"Incredible," Rudolf breathed, his eyes lighting up with genuine excitement. "We would be fools to decline such an honor. I shall have my son’s bags packed before the week is out."
"Agreed," Salomon said with a satisfied smile, folding the letter and tucking it safely back into his tunic.
"It seems the Iron King truly values our partnership. Our dynasties are secure for a thousand years!"
The two kings raised their goblets in a triumphant toast, oblivious to the reality of the situation.
They were so blinded by the promises of enlightenment and industrial wealth that they failed to see the trap closing around them...
By taking the heirs of Burgundy and Brittany to York, Ragnar was securing high-value hostages to guarantee their continued obedience.
Furthermore, the "academy" was merely a centralized indoctrination facility.
Their sons would be broken down, stripped of their native loyalties, and rebuilt into perfectly compliant, culturally assimilated governors loyal to the Iron Kingdom.
Pleasantly unaware of the sinister maneuvering happening right beneath their noses, Salomon and Rudolf continued to drink and feast, content in their illusion of power, while the sovereign across the sea tightened his iron grip upon their future.