Tyranny of Steel

After consulting with his mother about his previous Actions, Berengar arrived at Ludwig's workshop. Where He greeted his old friend with a quick hug; both men had been swamped with work recently and could immediately feel each other's growing exhaustion.

"Ludwig, my old friend, tell me you have some good news?"

Ludwig chuckled lightly as he heard Berengar's remarks; he indeed did have good news.

"Well, My Lord, you picked the most opportune time to pick a fight with the Church! After all the Printing Press machines you invented have long since been implemented and are currently working at full capacity. You just have to say the word, and we will change their production output to help you fight the misinformation the Church is bound to present about you!"

Berengar slapped Ludwig on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up.

"Ludwig, you are a genius!"

The old man smiled at the compliment and brought Berengar into the factory, which had been constructed explicitly for paper manufacture and printing materials. Water-powered Paper mills were set throughout the large factory. Once processed, they were placed on the printing presses to make the various reading materials Berengar introduced for public education. However, right now, he had a dire need to spread the word of the Church's sins, and as such, he needed a lot of pamphlets.

Berengar currently stood in front of all the workers who had gathered before him. By now, they were well aware of the ploys against him by the church, and as such, he did not need to explain the whole situation. Berengar took out a prototype pamphlet he had designed and sent it to the foreman of the factory.

"I need these made in the thousands so that we can ship them across the German-speaking regions, it is my hope that every literate man may read of the Church's misdeeds. Can this be done?"

The foreman of the press was a middle-aged man with short gray hair and a mustache. He was dressed in the new renaissance style peasant attire Berengar had introduced to his population through his textile factories. His hair was also slicked back with pomade much like Berengars, and his mustache was properly waxed with the material. The man had an ecstatic expression on his face; he was always excited to help the Regent of Kufstein; after all, without the young man's innovations, he would still be breaking his back tending to a farm somewhere while gaining nothing but the scraps. Now, this man was part of the growing middle-class and was quite wealthy among the common population. He owed his success in life to Berengar and would never forgive the bastards in the church for trying to frame him. As such, he quickly nodded his head and gave Berengar a satisfactory answer.

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"Of course, My Lord, I promise you, by the time the Church hears about what you have done to those damned inquisitors, all of Tyrol and most of Austria will be aware of those bastard's misdeeds!"

Berengar smiled and shook the man's hand with excitement; it was good to have capable people working for him. If this man pulled this off, he might actually have to give the whole factory a raise. However, he made sure to give the man and his crew a fair warning before doing so.

"Overtime is completely voluntary; I do not want you guys working so much that you neglect your family and your health. Just know That I will be offering proper compensation if you choose to work extra hours! If not, that is entirely up to you, and I respect your choices."

To Berengar, the people under his rule were part of the people he showed his more gentle side to. These were men, women, and children under his protection as sovereign, and he would not mistreat them if he could avoid it. He genuinely cared for the happiness and well-being of his people, as he too had once been a commoner in his previous life. With that said, he bade farewell to the factory workers and returned to his family's Castles, where Linde quickly greeted him; by the look on her face, she had good news, and as such, Berengar dragged her to his study.

He sat down on his desk and offered his pregnant lover a seat before asking her about the reason for her excited appearance.

"Do you want to tell me why you are smiling from ear to ear?"

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Linde was smiling fervently and could not wait to inform the father of her child of the good news she had.

"I have successfully established another cell in Innsbruck and Trient! soon enough, the entire Counties of Tyrol and Trient will be under our surveillance!"

Berengar was delighted by the news and rushed out from his desk and kissed the heavenly beauty passionately after hearing the information she provided. It was too early in the day for the couple to fool around, but he could not help himself from doing so after he heard the good news. Eventually, he managed to contain his growing lust and instead sat next to his lover. He wanted to know more about the details of her operations.

Linde carefully explained how she had contacted trustworthy people and informed them that she wanted to form a spy network, though she did not explain who it was that she was working for when regarding her contact in Trient. Over time, the cells were fully established and were operating independently as per usual. As of right now, Berengar's ability to disseminate propaganda had greatly expanded beyond his own borders. Pretty soon, the commoners of other regions would see him as an ideal candidate for leadership. By the time he began to make his move for his political aspirations, few among the common population would believe the Church's lies.

After spending some quality time with Linde, Berengar dismissed her before returning to the village. Where he oversaw another day of instruction of basic education for the commoners in his realm. He began to wish for the day he did not have to instruct these people himself. Hopefully, he could find some competent teachers soon.