Tyranny of Steel

In the middle of the Kufstein Testing Grounds, an Austrian Soldier loaded a projectile down into the bore of the standing device; in the next moment, the 60mm shell flew through the air and towards the group of straw targets at the training ground. The moment it impacted, it blew up in a fiery explosion, sending shrapnel in all directions. 

Despite their utter destruction, the weapon was quickly reloaded and fired a second shot on the targets' location. The shell whistled into the air and impacted once more only a few centimeters off its previous mark. 

Berengar witnessed the display of the newest mortar design that Ludwig and his son Jakob had come up with. This lightweight, highly mobile mortar could be deployed either as a crew-served weapon or operated by a single individual.

Berengar was quite shocked to see that without his instruction, such a valuable weapon of war had been developed by his engineers. To an even greater shock, it was not Ludwig who was the lead designer but his eldest son Jakob. 

After witnessing the demonstration performed by his soldiers, the young monarch began to clap repeatedly with a wide grin on his face. Initially, he had intended to create a mortar design of his own after returning from the war effort, but in reality, his engineers had developed an entirely functional lightweight mortar without his input. Thus he was delighted to see such a valuable weapons platform come to fruition. 

"Wonderful! Wonderful! It would appear that Jakob has inherited his father's intellect!"

The young engineer had a bashful response as he heard the King's mighty praise. 

"You flatter me too much, your majesty; if not for the efforts of my father, I don't believe that I alone would have come up with such a functional design."

However, Berengar dismissed the boy's humble claims and placed his hand on his shoulder as he complimented him once more.

"You are too hard on yourself, Jakob, your father, has informed me of how much he contributed to this mortar, and I assure you that this weapon would not exist without your brilliant mind coming up with the basic design! 

This weapon will revolutionize our Infantry and their tactics! I will award you with the Order of Civil Merit for your actions! You have done well, son!"

Though Berengar spoke as if he was substantially older than Jakob, the reality was that he was at most three years his elder. Thus it came off quite awkward as he said these words. Despite this, Jakob had a humble smile on his face as he nodded his head in agreement. 

Berengar returned his gaze to the ongoing display; when he witnessed the baseplate easily removed and the weapon operated by a single user, he was genuinely shocked. Such a device would be considered exceptional even by modern standards. This was well beyond what he had in mind for a mortar. 

He watched intensely as the man placed his foot on the bottom of the mortar and held it with one hand by the handle as he skillfully laid the projectile down into its bore before firing the device. However, the 60mm ammunition had decreased in effective range. It was still a sight to behold; immediately, the young King asked the question on his mind.

"Jakob, what is the weight of this weapon without its baseplate?"

The young engineer immediately smiled as he obediently answered his King's question.

"Approximately 20 lbs, your majesty!"

Berengar could not hide his awestricken state as he returned his gaze to the device. This was a genuinely lightweight mortar that could be lugged through any terrain and operated by a single soldier. The thought of such firepower in the hands of a soldier, while still capable of carrying a rifle, brought a sense of wonder to his eyes.

Berengar was aware that such weapons were scarce in his past life and primarily utilized by special operations units. Yet here in the 15th century, his engineers had come up with a design that was a close replica while not on par with the so-called commando mortars of his past life. He was genuinely astounded by the work of his engineers. 

Perhaps only Berengar would recognize just how useful this weapon could prove to be in the hands of the correct units, thus when he made his following statement, all of the officers gathered stared in awe at their monarch.

"Jakob, tell me? What is it that you desire? So long as it is within my power, I shall grant it to you!'

Even Ludwig was surprised when he heard this, and thus he nudged his son's shoulder and whispered something in his ear. After this had occurred, Jakob nodded his head before responding. 

"There is not much I require, your Majesty, thanks to the efforts of the father, my family is wealthy and has a noble title no matter how minor it is. I suppose if there is anything I might need in this life, it is a proper wife!"

Berengar chuckled when he heard this and immediately responded to the young man's request.

"Well, I can't force a woman to marry you, but if that is your desire, I can at least make it, so you are more desirable in the eyes of our Kingdom's many ladies. Very well, I at this moment name your family the Dukes of Thurgau, henceforth Ludwig and his trueborn sons shall be given the surname von Thurgau, and rule over the Duchy of Thurgau within the Grand Duchy of Switzerland!"

All of the men present were greatly surprised when they heard this remark. Even Ludwig didn't expect Berengar to give them such a prestigious position. Though with Berengar's political reforms, Noble Titles had essentially become ceremonial rather than actual political rulers. Still, the title of Duke was no laughing matter. 

It came with a level of Prestige that would allow plenty of young ladies of noble descent to come clambering after Ludwig's sons with the intent for marriage. Although the actual Dukes of the old Nobility would likely snub Ludwig's family as they were recent upstarts, such a thing would not be a case for the women from the families of Margraves and Counts. 

After a few moments of silence due to the shock, Ludwig and his son Jakob got their act together and correctly thanked their monarch for his generosity.

"Thank you, your majesty; I swear I won't let you down!"

"Your Majesty, I don't know how I can ever repay you for such generosity. However, my son will work hard to live up to your praise!"

Berengar smiled and nodded to the two men's responses before gazing upon the weapon's display once more. Now that the mortar had been taken care of, there were a few more weapons he would need to introduce. What he needed to design was a proper landmine. 

Though landmines were one of the most brutal and unforgiving inventions of the 20th century, Berengar knew how effective they would be at securing his borders from invaders. With the upcoming Crusade against Austria, he wanted to take every precaution to ensure minimal losses while maximizing enemy casualties. 

Thus he vowed that after this demonstration was over, he would get to work on one of the most gnarly weapons ever to exist in his past life. For now, he sat back and drank from his chalice as he gazed upon the destructive power of the 60mm Mortar. Every time the explosion went off, he gazed with fondness upon it.

As for Ludwig and Jakob had excited expressions; they had once more elevated their status in society and by such a large margin this time. With the wealth Ludwig had accumulated as the head of the Austrian Royal Armory, now a large plot of land, and the title of a Duke. He knew that his family would be set for generations. 

Despite this, the older man swore he would make sure that his heirs were proper noblemen and did not waste away on the wealth that their forefathers had created; he desired to create a Noble House whose name was embedded within the Industries of the Kingdom of Austria. 

While his father and King were occupied with their thoughts, Jakob was intensely focused on his own. He knew he had just hit the tip of the iceberg and thoroughly planned to become even more helpful to the Kingdom of Austria in the future. Thus he vowed to produce new weapons designs and continue the family lineage of Noble Engineers. 

With the three men dwelling on their thoughts, eventually, the demonstration came to an end. Not only was Berengar fully satisfied with the results, but so were the officers in charge of overseeing the testing and implementation of weapons into the Armed Forces. A unanimous decision was made this day to implement the 60mm Mortar into service within the Austrian Royal Army as soon as possible. 

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