Tyranny of Steel

Berengar was currently within his study, sitting at his chair, and drafting new blueprints for a series of vessels he wanted to construct for his Navy. He had been at this for many hours and once more was what one would call sleep-deprived.

While the Linde-Class Ship of the Line was the pinnacle of naval vessels, at least in those powered by the sail, it was pretty frankly overkill and would require a lot of resources, particularly that of oak. Such vessels were an enormous expense, and he could only build a few of them before venturing to the Americas.

To put it simply, he had realized that the construction of such vessels was a waste of his limited resources, at least until he had begun colonization. As a replacement, Berengar was currently drafting plans for a 38 gun fifth-rate frigate that would become the standard warship for his fleet in the Meditteranean.

The frigate was a fast and maneuverable single-deck ship. In the Meditteranean with its little wind, at least when compared to the Atlantic, such ships would be far more helpful in securing his power. They would also be fully capable of traversing to the new world and protecting Berengar's interests abroad.

These 38 gun fifth-rate frigates would be armed with a total of thirty-eight 32 lb cannons and a few Schmidt guns on their swivels. With a fleet of these ships, there would be nobody who could challenge his authority in the Mediterranean.

However, it was not simply frigates that he was designing, but also a clipper for trade and transport. The clipper was a high-speed and long-range vessel. So much so that it did not even need to be armed because there was no ship in this world that could catch it in pursuit.

Thus they were the perfect design for merchant vessels and would allow him to rapidly exchange goods between his colonies and the fatherland in the future when he had a massive Colonial Empire. For the time being, these two ship designs would allow him to rule the Mediterranean and rapidly engage in trade with the various powers in the region.

Berengar had shifted the design of the zinc-plated hull to that of galvanized steel and made it slightly thicker to protect against enemy cannon fire. These galvanized steel plated hulls would be properly lacquered with a base layer of black paint and a white stripe over the gun deck. Overall the ships would be highly effective in protecting against enemy fire and wood-eating parasites alike, thus increasing the vessels' lifespan and decreasing maintenance costs.

As for his Linde-Class Ship of the Line, it would be shelved until a time where he had the means to produce such mighty vessels in large numbers. Though it may disappoint Evio, the man was also practical, and as such, he would indeed be convinced to focus production on Frigates and Clippers.

After finishing the blueprints for his new ships, Berengar quickly got to work on designing Naval uniforms. As per usual, he focused on renaissance-era designs for the clothing. In particular, he was inspired by the outfits worn by the old English privateers known as Sea Dogs during the Elizabethan era from his past life. The uniforms were designed in the colors of black, charcoal, and gold.

Now there was only one more thing to take care of, and this was of vital importance. A Naval flag to fly would symbolize that his vessels were from the Duchy of Austria. At this point, the idea of Naval and national flags were, for the most part, non-existent.

Berengar had thought about this for quite some time and had a rudimentary idea in his head. Now that he was a Duke, he thoroughly planned to change his coat of arms, and as such, he designed that first. Previously his coat of arms was reasonably simple; it was per bend sinister with the colors of black and gold. There was also a white bend in the center separating the two factions.

Now that he was a duke, he intended on making something more elaborate. Thus he created a white field with a black eagle in the center. This eagle wore a gold crown and had a golden beak with a red tongue and white eyes. The eagle's wingspan had a visible golden ridge, and in the center of its body was his family's old coat of arms. The eagle's feet and talons were also in gold.

After designing the new coat of arms, Berengar designed his naval flag, which would one day be the basis for his national flag. It was a Prussianized flag with a white center and a thin black bar on the top and bottom. However, unlike the Prussian flag, there was also a thin gold layer below that. In the white center, there was his new coat of arms within it.

In the future, every Austrian ship, whether it be a military vessel or merchant's vessel, would fly this flag or some variant of it. It would symbolize that they were from the Duchy of Austria and were protected by its powerful Navy. Any attack on an Austrian vessel would be considered by Berengar an act of war.

With the ship, designs finished, his Naval uniforms, his new coat of arms, and his naval flag Berengar had one primary task left. He had to think of a name for the frigate and its class. He thought deeply on this issue and decided to name the frigate after himself. The Berengar-Class Frigate. As for the clippers, they were not a warship, and thus he did not feel the need to give them a Class designation.

After taking care of business, Berengar leaned back in his chair and stretched his upper body while yawning. He had been in this seat for quite some time, and as such, desired to stretch his legs. Thus he rose from his seat and began to send the new designs to their respective builders.

The naval uniform designs would go to the garment district in Kufstein. At the same time, the ship blueprints would be sent to Trieste, where Evio was currently located, and working on building Berengar's mighty shipyards.

Berengar had already written a letter to the shipbuilder about his reasoning for why he would need to transition the work to the construction of frigates and clippers instead of the mighty ships of the line he had initially designed.

He would attach this letter to the blueprints and send it with an armed caravan to Trieste so that his rivals could not intercept the critical schematics and steal it. He attached great importance to the construction of his Navy, and had no intentions of leaking his ship designs to other nations.

After sending out the designs to the people responsible for making them a reality, Berengar entered his great hall, where he sat down on his ducal throne. It was at this moment that Linde entered the room with their young child in her arms. Hans was growing by the day, and not just in size, but brain capacity too.

The boy, who was not even a year old yet, had begun to speak more words than just "mamma and dadda," which thoroughly convinced Berengar that this child would be a genius. As Linde approached Berengar, their son reached out for his father and struggled within his mother's grasp.

Seeing this, Berengar smiled and took the boy from his mother's arms before placing him on his lap. This caused Linde to pout in jealousy as she always considered that to be her seat, especially while Berengar was on this ducal throne.

Seeing the look on his lover's face, Berengar smiled wickedly before teasing her.

"Why Linde, my dear, are you perhaps jealous?"

Linde, of course, looked the other way and pouted even further, refusing to acknowledge Berengar's words with a response. Hans looked at his mother and father and had a glimpse of understanding in his eyes. Thus he reached back out towards his mother and spoke to her.

"Mamma! mamma!"

With this, Linde grabbed ahold of Hans from Berengar's grasp and then sat on Berengar's lap herself with a satisfied expression; in doing so, she petted Hans' strawberry-blonde hair, which matched her own and praised her son.

"My baby boy is so caring and understanding!"

Berengar smirked at this but eyed the boy cautiously; this kid was too smart for his good. Somehow, he recognized that his mother was jealous that he was sitting on his father's lap and created a compromise.

This degree of intelligence was terrifying when one considered that Hans was not even a year old yet. This just reinforced Berengar's belief that the boy was destined for great things.

After sitting on his ducal throne for a while, Berengar grew tired; after all, he had burnt the midnight oil coming up with his designs and thus decided to get some rest. He made sure to kiss his lover and child on the cheek before sitting up, forcing them to stand with him.

"I am going to go get some rest; I will see you two later."

With that, Berengar departed to his bed chambers, where he fell asleep. As for Linde and Hans, they would continue their day as usual.