Tyranny of Steel

Roughly a month had passed since Berengar's wedding. With it, Ludwig's workshop was fully updated with the steam-powered, precision engineering equipment that Berengar had designed and begun to introduce across Austria.

This did not mean that the entire industrial district of Kufstein was updated, in fact, it still had several months to go before such a feat could be achieved, but it did mean that Ludwig could get to work on some prototype weapons that Berengar had recommended for use in the armed forces.

For Austria to truly dominate on the battlefield, more modern artillery was desperately needed, especially since Berengar had begun to fear that his current artillery was dreadfully obsolete compared with his infantry's weapons.

As such, Berengar had designed a horizontal sliding block rifled breech loader loosely based upon the designs used by the German army in the latter portion of the 19th century. For now, this was the best his factories could manage to produce, as anything further would require an advanced recoil mechanism that his factories were simply incapable of making at this point.

Over the past month, Ludwig had endured substantial difficulties in producing and refining the prototype that Berengar had designed; however, with the help of his team of Engineers, and Berengar's support, the man had finally managed to create several rifled horizontal sliding block artillery pieces capable of undergoing field testing.

At the moment, Berengar and a few of his Generals were gathered at the testing ground, where they witnessed the artillery crew load one of the weapons from the rear. While the crew was busy doing so, Ludwig stood in front of the gathered military officials dressed in formal attire, with the same groomed appearance he had during Berengar's wedding. He began to make a speech as the weapon was rapidly loaded, his voice brimming with confidence.

"What you see before you is the newest innovation in field artillery! This weapon utilizes a 75x200mmR separate loading cased charge shell filled with TNT. It can launch this projectile up to five miles in the distance, with far greater lethality than the primitive ordinance used by our current muzzle-loading cannons!

In a minute, you will see this weapon tested! With it, I hope to show you the new era of firepower that our soldiers will wield on the battlefield to bring greater glory to our King and Fatherland! Without further ado, feast your eyes on the brilliance of my newest invention!"

After saying this, Ludwig sat down next to Berengar, who tapped him on the shoulder and nodded.

"That was an excellent speech, my friend!"

Ludwig smiled as he heard this before shifting his attention ahead to the weapon on display. He had gone through exceptional lengths to ensure these weapons were correctly manufactured. Without the precision instruments that Berengar had introduced, he would never have been able to create such a complex piece of engineering.

After a few moments, the artillery team yelled their commands as they pulled the lanyard attached to the operating mechanism. The moment they did so, a roaring thunder filled the air as the projectile was launched into the distance.

Approximately five miles out, the shell landed and exploded upon roughly five straw targets contained within sets of full plate armor. After the shell exploded, not a single salvageable piece of the armor or the dummies themselves remained.

Berengar and his advisors gazed through their binoculars and witnessed the sight of the explosion, the moment the shell had impacted the targets, Berengar cried out in joy.

"Wonderful!"

However, the show had not finished there; the artillery crew immediately withdrew the spent casing before loading a separate shell. After doing so, they fired the shell, which landed only a few feet away from their last blast; whatever had remained of the targets was unguled in a fiery explosion.

It did not end there; the artillery team repeated this process eight more times, for a total of 10 shells fired in one minute from a single artillery piece. Such speed, power, and range completely shattered the Generals' expectations as this one cannon had proven capable of outperforming an entire battery of their current issued artillery.

Though this was just a simple demonstration, Ludwig hoped to convince the Generals of the Army to immediately begin extensive field testing of the weapon. As such, he crossed his fingers as Berengar discussed with his Generals about the testing and procurement of such weapons.

Berengar approached his Generals with his arms stretched out in excitement; as he did so, he spoke informally with the men under his command.

"What did I tell you? It is an absolute game changer! With these weapons, we can sell off our old artillery to our allies for a substantial sum, and if they have the nerve to bite the hand that feeds them, we can destroy their artillery with our own before they can even leave a scratch on our army! We have hundreds of the old Model 1417 12 pounders lying around that would fetch a high price from our allies! What do you think? Should we begin rigorous field testing of these new weapons?"

The Generals could not get over their shock by just how effective a single artillery piece of this new design was. If they successfully replaced all 350 of their current artillery pieces with this new design, no alliance in the world could stop their advance. The very idea of their infantry being equipped entirely with needle rifles and their artillery fitted with the new rifled breech-loaders filled the Generals with excitement and ambition.

With this in mind, not a single General declined the idea of immediately beginning field testing of the weapons. As such, they nodded their heads with eager smiles on their faces before complimenting Berengar and Ludwig for their efforts.

"Your Majesty, as always, the weapons you and Lord Ludwig come up with are exceptional. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we are excited to begin field testing of these magnificent weapons immediately."

Berengar clasped his hands together with a broad smile on his face when he heard this and expressed his agreement.

"Wonderful! Very well, I will allow the Department of Defense to begin the process of testing the weapons; if they prove suitable to field conditions, we will then place an order to begin replacing our obsolete muzzleloaders! Gentlemen, it is the dawn of a new era, and we are leading it!"

After saying this, Berengar turned his attention to Ludwig, where he approached his old friend with a smile on his face.

"Come, Ludwig, let us go for a drink; I feel like celebrating the occasion and discussing some of my ideas with you!"

Ludwig did not deny the King's request, and as such, he followed him into the city of Kufstein, where the two men entered a local pub. The new Fashion designs that Berengar had begun to implement hadn't entirely overtaken Kufstein yet. Berengar and Ludwig were exceptionally well dressed compared to the common laborers who still dressed in largely renaissance attire that dwelled within the pub.

Berengar was currently clad in his full military dress uniform, similar to his wedding attire but in black, with a dark grey collar and sleeve cuffs that were filled with golden embroidery. Every other medal and order he had on his wedding uniform was the same on his military uniform. As such, he stuck out like a sore thumb when he entered the tavern.

Despite this, not a single person in the room looked at him with a sign of greed or envy. When the King entered the pub, more than half of the men jumped up and saluted him. Many of these men had either served in the military or were currently serving in the military, and as such, were well accustomed to doing such a thing whenever they were in the King's presence.

Berengar motioned for the men to be at ease before he sat down at the bar, where he ordered two fingers of whiskey for both himself and Ludwig. As well as a liter of beer to chase it down with. After doing so, he immediately began to discuss some of the arms developments he wanted to introduce in the upcoming years with Ludwig.

"So Ludwig, what do you think about metallic cartridges?"

The moment Ludwig heard Berengar say this, he was pretty shocked. As such, he lowered his voice before answering the King's question with one of his own.

"How did you know I have been working on metallic cartridges?"

Berengar merely chuckled as he heard this and downed the whole two fingers of whiskey in a single go. After doing so, he took a sip of his beer before speaking his thoughts.

"You came up with the needle rifle on your own; logically, the next progression is to build a bolt action rifle that is capable of using metallic cartridges. Or am I assuming too much?"

Ludwig was stunned when he heard this; it was exactly as Berengar had said; the moment he completed the needle rifle, he wanted to replace the paper cartridge due to its inherent disadvantages. However, despite tinkering with the idea of metallic cartridges in his free time, he had not been able to produce a reliable version. Thus Ludwig asked with suspicion on his mind as he dared to utter the words.

"You know the solution, don't you?"

Berengar merely smiled as he drank from his beer, not revealing the truth behind the matter. However, his silence was enough for Ludwig to comprehend the answer, and as such, the older man sighed heavily before asking Berengar the question he had been dwelling on for years.

"So tell me, my King, how do you know so much about... well, everything?"

Berengar smiled as he heard this before deciding to tease his old friend. As he did so, he leaned in and whispered to Ludwig the truth of the matter.

"Would you believe me if I told you I was from the future?"

Ludwig thought about it for a few moments and chuckled before responding to Berengar's wild claim.

"I don't know if you're actually telling me the truth or just messing with me. However, I know one thing that is a better explanation than anything I have been able to come up with to explain your unworldly knowledge..."

Berengar chuckled as he heard Ludwig's response; after doing so, he patted the man on the back before saying.

"Regardless as to how I know these things, I'll help you out with your metallic cartridge problem, send me your designs when you get the chance, and I will gladly assist you with how I think they can be improved."

After hearing this, Ludwig nodded with a smile on his face. Whether Berengar was telling the truth, or he was a man who had sold his soul to the devil for unlimited knowledge. It honestly did not matter; at the end of the day, Berengar's reforms immensely helped the people living in Austria, and to Ludwig, that was the most important thing of all.

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