Chapter 388: Locomotives and Weapons

While the war for Granada increased in intensity, Berengar was at home swamped with the business of industrializing the Kingdom of Austria. At the moment, he was viewing the reports on the progress of his railroad, which was being constructed between the capital and the Kingdom's prominent port city. 

At roughly 292  miles in total length, the railway was nearing completion after months of strenuous effort by the laborers who opted to build such an important invention. Berengar had made sure to pay anyone remotely associated with constructing the railroad a special bonus. Thus driving the desire for skilled workers to aid in its development.

The first railway would be constructed in Austria by the end of spring, after which Berengar could begin expanding it to all corners of his kingdom. With this in mind, Berengar started designing a proper locomotive to drive his train cars. 

Berengar had chosen a specific locomotive from the memories of his past life as the basis for all future steam-powered locomotives. This was the Union Pacific Big Boy, the largest steam-powered locomotive ever built in his past life. 

This locomotive was powerful, reliable, and durable. Frankly, Berengar intended for these behemoths of the industry to carry both freight and passengers throughout the confines of his future Empire for decades to come. He also spent time designing various rail cars designed for different purposes.

In his past life, it took six years for the Americans to construct the transcontinental railway; considering he was dealing with a substantially smaller amount of land, he knew that he could build a railway across his current domain within the five years he estimated it would take for the Crusaders to march on his territory. 

Berengar was not just limiting his railway map to his current territory. He was designing a rigid structure across all of the lands he desired to conquer in the future, from Konigsburg in the east to Flanders in the west and finally the Adriatic Littoral in the South. Berengar spent hours designing a massive railway system to ensure that what he envisioned would one day become the Fatherland of his future Empire would be thoroughly connected. 

After god knows how many hours, Berengar was finally interrupted from his task by the sound of a knock on the door. It was not the standard soft-handed knock usually accompanied by one of his women. Instead, it was the firm knock that only a man could produce.

As such, Berengar's interest was immediately caught, unless it were something urgent, or someone of significance, his guards would rarely allow anyone to gain entry into his Palace, let alone his study.  With this, Berengar immediately called out to whoever was behind the door. 

"It's open."

When the door creaked open, it revealed none other than the Baronet, and close friend of the King,  Ludwig Schmidt. The short older man was carrying a wooden display case in his hands which immediately captured Berengar's interest. The older man quickly approached his King with a smile plastered on his face before laying the container on his desk. 

"Your Majesty, I come bearing gifts. As you know, the 1422 Service Revolver has been undergoing field tests for some time now. Well, I am happy to announce that just now it has been approved for use in combat. As such, I am here to give you the first revolver off of the production line so that you may be able to properly safeguard your body in the field. "

Berengar gazed upon the service revolver within the case with a glimmer of joy in his sapphire eye. Not only was it a functional weapon but it was also a work of beauty in his opinion. This firearm was based upon the Swiss 1929 Ordnance Revolver used by the Swiss Army during Berengar's previous life. Functionally, the design was an improved version of the Swiss 1882 Ordnance revolver, which meant it was a gate-loading, double-action pistol that utilized an Abadie system. 

Upon seeing this exceptional weapon, Berengar grasped ahold of the revolver and held it carefully in his hands. In his left hand, he felt the checkered grip swell in the palm of his hands. The grip was solid and sized well enough that even a man with relatively large-sized hands like himself could easily grasp ahold of it. 

Berengar then opened the loading gate with his right hand, which disabled the hammer, allowing him to press the trigger, thus cycling the cylinder in a safe state. After confirming that it was completely unloaded, he closed the loading gate, reactivating the hammer. Afterward, he aimed down the weapon's sight in a safe direction before pulling back the hammer with his left thumb. After he had done this he lightly squeezed the trigger with his left index finger, thus dry firing the gun.

The single-action trigger pull was crisp and smooth, bringing a wide grin to Bernengar's lips; he then lowered the weapon and opened its loading gate before placing it within its fine black leather holster, which was provided alongside the firearm. After doing all of this, he returned his gaze to Ludwig as he complimented the man and his workers for their efforts.

"Wonderful! Simply wonderful! My friend, you never fail to amaze me with your abilities! You and your workers should be proud of yourselves; I look forward to how quickly you can outfit the First Division with such exceptional sidearms."

Ludwig smiled as he heard the King compliment his work. Truth be told, he had some difficulty working with the designs Berengar had presented, but in the end, he was able to create the weapon that Berengar had desired. As such, he shook his head before humbling himself in front of the King.

"It was nothing, your majesty; I merely used the blueprints you designed and made adjustments where necessary. Truly, you are the one who deserves the credit for coming up with the design of such a beautiful weapon."

Berengar chuckled in response to this before placing his hand on the older man's shoulder; as he did so, he gazed over at another exciting piece presented within the case. After noticing the sword lying next to the revolver, Berengar was astonished. As such, he quickly grabbed ahold of the handle and swung the sword in a safe direction. 

After a few twirls, he gazed upon the Damascus steel blade with a wide grin on his face. The blade was in a shape reminiscent of the 1889 Prussian Infantry Officer's sword. As for the hilt, its design was based upon the 1869 Austrian Cavalry Officer's Sword but with what he presumed to be a white gold plating over the steel material; there were also some minor adjustments to display the Crest of Austria from this world. It had a white gold silk sword knot attached to the bottom, representing his status as an Officer in the Austrian Royal Army. 

Overall the sword was a functional piece of art, and Berengar greatly admired Ludwig's talent in creating weapons of all kinds. After playing around with it for a bit, Berengar sheathed the sword in a black leather sheath with white gold fittings attached to a Sam Browne pattern belt. This greatly pleased Berengar, and as such, he complicated the craftsman once more.

"Ludwig, my friend, you have truly mastered your art!"

The older man smiled in response to this while bowing his head in humility. As he had stated earlier, if not for Berengar providing the designs, it would have taken him a long time to develop such weapons. He would likely die before his work could be completed. However, he was glad that the King thought so highly of him. As such, he decided to take the opportunity to ask for Berengar's aid on a particular project of his son's.

"Your majesty, if you don't mind me asking, my son has been busy with a certain project, and I think he could use your help when you get the opportunity to do so. I a much too busy overseeing the arms factory here in Kufstein, so I have delegated Research and Development to my son and a team of talented engineers, mostly comprised of those from the younger generation. If you can find the time, they would appreciate your input on this new weapon."

Berengar thought about it for a moment before sighing heavily as he responded to the request.

"If I can find the time, I will certainly aid in whatever way I can. After all, I look forward to working with your son for many years. However, I am dreadfully busy, and my schedule is full for some time. If I can manage to escape the mountains of paperwork you see before you, I'll swing by and see if I can assist."

Ludwig smiled and bowed with respect before thanking the King for his benevolence.

"Thank you, your majesty! That is the most I can ask for. If there is nothing else I can help you with, then I will be on my way."

After saying this, Berengar nodded his head, dismissing his Chief Engineer; after doing so, he sat back down at his desk and gazed at his newest weapons. He looked forward to testing out their effectiveness personally whenever he got the chance.

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