Tyranny of Steel

Days passed, and with it, all of Berengar's guests returned to their homes. Berengar had successfully crowned himself King, pledged his support to Granada in their ongoing conflict with their neighbors, and negotiated with the Byzantine Emperor for Honoria's hand in marriage.

With those things out of the way, Berengar now had a long list of tasks that needed to be taken care of. First and foremost, Berengar was required to prepare for his wedding with Adela; now that he was home from war and she was of age, it was time for such a merry occasion. However, not much preparation was needed on Berengar's part as he had already planned the wedding years in advance. As such, he left the remaining plans to Adela and her underlings.

While the preparations were being completed, Berengar quickly set himself to task with an important objective. Now that he had bought himself a few years of peace, he would make sure to take full advantage of the situation.

The time had come; the era of steam and steel awaited him. While Berengar had no plans to change his methods of steel production, for the time being, it was becoming increasingly clear that he had advanced to the pinnacle of what a pre-industrial society could muster. With this in mind, Berengar had a single thought in his head as he began to scribble out blueprints for an important tool that could be used to increase production by a wide margin.

Though Berengar desired to create Steam Engines, he realized he would first need a more efficient means of riveting if he were to begin the mass implementation of steam-based machinery. The first item he intended to invent for his new industrial age was essential to Austria's industrialization.

The Pneumatic rivet gun was a device that utilized compressed air to propel a rivet into the targeted area after the operators pressed the trigger.  Without something like welding coming into existence, Berengar would need rivets to manufacture his machinery; as such, he figured the most efficient means would be this simple but effective tool. Thus, he began to draft plans to set up a facility to make compressed air cans so that the rivet guns could always be functional.

After spending many hours drafting up the necessary plans for producing these tools, Berengar had finally finished his task. As he reclined in his office chair and sighed, he noticed a warm ceramic mug touch his cheek.

Looking over towards the origins of this strange phenomenon, Berengar saw his future wife, Adela staring at him with a gorgeous smile on her doll-like face. In her hands was a cup of coffee brewed for Berengar's consumption.

Seeing that Adela was in a good mood, the young monarch smiled before accepting the gift. After taking a sip from the mug, Berengar complimented the pretty young woman who had instantly sat in his lap.

"Well, Adela, I must say, you do know how to brew a cup of coffee!"

Adela nodded silently while staring at the various plans Berengar had drafted on the table. It was not just Pneumatic rivet guns and their production facilities; there were also designs for more advanced lathes that used peddle-driven power to operate. The precision needed to create steam engines, advanced artillery, and superior rifles could be achieved with this invention.

When the young woman noticed these plans, she could not contain her curiosity and immediately inquired about their uses.

"Berengar? What are these blueprints for?"

The young monarch wrapped his arm around his loving fiancee and placed his mug of coffee down upon his desk. After doing so, he fidgeted through the papers and began to explain their uses to Adela.

"I have decided to begin the process of industrialization, which means we will be manufacturing more advanced machines and the means to power them. This will increase productivity and lead to the rapid development of technology. To do this, I am creating a few tools that will be extremely helpful in the early stages."

Though Adela did not have the faintest idea of how these tools functioned, the summary Berengar had given her was enough for her to understand their intended purpose. As such she smiled, before sipping from her cup of coffee. As she did so, Berengar stroked her silky golden hair while drinking from his mug.

The couple stayed in silence for some time before Adela finally lifted herself from Berengar's lap. After doing so, she departed with the empty cups of coffee in her hands, where she would proceed to bring them back to the kitchen for cleaning.

As for Berengar, he decided that he had done enough work for the day and followed Adela out of his study with his plans in hand. After reaching a certain point in his palace, he noticed one of his servants and handed the man the papers with strict instructions.

"Bring these to Ludwig in the Industrial district; he will know what to do with them. If he has any questions, he can visit the palace personally."

After saying this, the servant bowed respectfully before disappearing from Berengar's sight. With the servant gone, Berengar entered the dining room, where he began to drink beer. As he sat in silence for some time, Linde approached him with a dossier in her hands. The information contained inside of it was classified intelligence that her field agents within France had received.

After tossing the folder to Berengar, she sat down next to him with a sultry smile on her face; as she did so, she leaned towards Berengar and whispered in his ear.

"There's some important information about the Crown Prince of France in there; you might want to take a look."

After saying that, Linde ordered a glass of wine for herself, where she began to drink while Berengar researched the document. His spies had retrieved some valuable intel; the illicit relationship between Prince Aubry of France and his various lovers was contained within the dossier. When Berengar saw this, he immediately halted his attempt to drink his beer and placed it down on the counter.

After doing so, he looked over at Linde, who was still smiling at him before asking the question on his mind.

"Is this confirmed?"

Linde did not respond vocally. Instead, she silently nodded her head. As she did so, Berengar flipped through the pages once more before a smile spread across his face. As he did so, a curious thought crossed his mind.

So the Joan of Arc of this world is nothing more than a slutty twink, and the French Prince at that? So much for a feminist icon...

After thinking this, Berengar began to contemplate the best way to use this information. After all, a united France that lie upon his eventual western border was not something Berengar desired; as such, he instantly began to scheme a way to balkanize the region into smaller, weaker, independent Duchies and Kingdoms.

When Linde saw the devious smile on her lover's lips, she immediately questioned him about his intentions.

"So tell me? What's the plan? You seem to have thought of something..."

When Berengar heard this, he handed the dossier back to Linde; as he did so, he took a sip from his beer. Only after he finished, did he begin to speak about the conspiracy he had started to hatch within his mind.

"I think it is about time we get involved in France's little war. I want our agents to contact the French and English Crowns. Supply both sides with firearms, and the munitions necessary to use them. As for the Duke of Burgundy, supply his uprising as well. With this, I will ensure that their war wages on for decades to come. In the end, there will no longer be a unified France sitting on my future borders."

When Linde heard this, she was pretty shocked and asked for clarification on the issue at hand.

"You want to dismantle the Kingdom of France?"

After hearing this, Berengar took a sip from his beer once more before answering his lover's question. A wicked grin etched itself upon his immaculate visage as he did so.

"Indeed..."

Upon hearing this, Linde smiled before approaching Berengar; as she did so, she began to kiss him passionately; it was only after a few minutes of making out, did the couple part ways in silence. Linde would relay the King's orders to her field agents, and Berengar would continue to drink by his lonesome. The conspiracy to undermine the authority of the French Crown had just begun.

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