Steel Empire
Meet With Shipbuilders

The two men entered the Berengar Castle Dining Room, where they immediately sat down for breakfast. Berengar fully intends to display the culinary arts of his County and has thus ordered a variety of dishes, both breakfasts, and dinners to bring to the table.

Since Evio was Italian, Bernegar knew most likely he wanted wine, so he brought the fortified wine he had developed. It uses local wine production as a base and adds distilled liquor to it. The man immediately tasted the alcohol and almost jumped in excitement; it was strong but had an excellent taste and was unlike any wine he had ever encountered before. 

Evio immediately asked about the wine. 

"What'sthis? I've never had wine like that before?"

Berengar chuckled lightly before briefly explaining the origin of the wine.

"I don't have a name for it yet, but it's a typical meal we make in South Tyrol. I enjoy the taste." 

The man immediately frowned; as a wine connoisseur, he wanted more details about his production, but Berengar was unwilling to share such a secret. Instead, he used it as a further inducement to pull the man to his side.

"If you work for me, you can drink as much as your heart wants!"

Evio's yellow eyes flashed when he heard this, and he started stroking his brown beard. The man was in his early thirties and spent his life building ships, like his ancestors. He's very talented at it. However, it took more than just good wine to convince him to work for Berengar, and thus he immediately showed a slick demeanor.

"Well, it takes more than wine to convince me to work for you!"

Hearing this, Berengar only smiled especially when he saw the first dish being brought out, as he replied to the man with a satisfied expression on his face.

"I think you'll soon realize the benefits of working for me; for now, let's enjoy the food in front of us."

On the table was a group of appetizers, various kinds of bread, cheese, and sausage dishes laid out for the man to eat and in each bite Berengar could see a light of joy shining in his eyes. Despite his initial doubts, he quickly began to praise Berengar for his hospitality.

"For a group of Germans, your people know how to cook very well ..."

Berengar chuckled after hearing this and received the man's praise.

"Well, thank you, my chef works hard every day to provide the best food for me, my family, and my guests to eat. Such cuisine is slowly beginning to spread throughout Austria."

Hearing this news, Evio increasingly wants to work for Berengar, but he quickly presses those worries to his mind; it takes more than wine and good food to convince him to work for a man. So he quickly brought up the issue of compensation when the next round of food was brought out.

"Although I admit the food and wine you serve are of excellent quality, I am more concerned with the two things that will determine whether I settle in Austria and work for you. Compensation, but more importantly, the so-called sentence ships that you speak passionately in your letters!"

Seeing that the man was a bit impatient in discussing business, Berengar decided to settle it and start negotiating with the man. Berengar was brave, and he needed a competent shipbuilder who could build his Navy for years to come; therefore, he needed a competent shipbuilder who could build his Navy for years to come, he issued an offer that almost made the man's eyes jump out of its sockets.

The Venetians paid the man a large sum, and Berengar knew it; his spies had infiltrated the Venetian republic to find out about this information. However, with all his current company, and the one he had just established recently, he was able to afford such a fee.

After all the cost of building his own Navy would be an astronomical number, he might as well pay a hefty price for a competent subordinate. Of course, when Ezio heard this, he almost choked on the piece of schnitzel he was eating.

Not only would he be given a large sum of money, but also a noble title, and an Estate, this was an offer that was too good to pass up. However, even this did not fully affect the man; most importantly, he had to look at the ship design Berengar had prepared. So he quickly finished his meal, to the point where Berengar still had half the plate left.

Nevertheless, seeing how impatient they were to see the design of his ship, Berengar sighed before standing up and wiping his mouth with a napkin. After doing so, he began to convey his thoughts to Evio.

“If you want to follow me, I will be happy to show you the design I have made for the first and largest class ship I want to make. Hearing the biggest terms makes the man wish.greater than the Carracks he has built, he will greatly enjoy his new job."

With that, the two men left the Dining Room and entered the Berengar Workspace, where he showed Evio the blueprints. When the man saw the monumental ship, he sneered, but before he could speak his mind that Berengar was crazy, he once again looked up and noticed that surprisingly such a ship could be built properly! It would require a large, dedicated shipyard and take years to build, but it could be done.

The ship was titled, SMS Linde. The SMS stands for German Spelling "Ship of His Majesty". The man could not believe his eyes and stood still and in awe for a few moments, examining every detail of the complex set of schemes. Only after an hour of intensive study had passed did the man lay down the blueprint and turn his attention to Berengar, who was staring at him with a satisfied grin the entire time.

"When do we start?"

Berengar's smile intensified when he heard this, and he began to tell the man about the process.

"It will take about a year to build the shipyard that I think; the first of these shipyards will be built in Trieste, the others will follow in Pola and Fiume. During the time it takes to build this shipyard, I will mass-produce pre-manufactured parts so that once the shipyard is completed, the shipyard is finished, we can immediately use the assembly line to build the ship in a quick process."

Hearing this, Evio was very excited; he could see that Berengar's shipyard would soon be able to produce many of these ships in quick succession if he planned to come to fruition. Despite only seeing the design of one ship and hearing Berengar's plans for the future, the man was wise enough to know that Austria would soon become the world's major maritime power within a decade. 

The idea that he would be the one to usher in a sudden change in the world's power structure made the man's backbone amused. He was excited just by thinking about it. He quickly extended his hand and said to Berengar with a joyful expression on his face.

"I'm looking forward to it! I will move to Trieste as soon as I am able and help supervise the construction of the shipyard. Rest assured, your vision for the Austrian Great Navy will become a reality in just a few years!"

Hearing this, Berengar was filled with excitement; he had taken the first step to establish himself as a major Naval Force. He could already imagine the great fleet of his future German Empire dominating the world's major trade routes and destroying enemies foolish enough to try to block his path towards world hegemony.

Therefore, he quickly clung onto the man's hand and shook it solemnly with an equally joyful smile on his face. He knew this would be a profitable partnership and was happy to have another capable subordinate under his sphere of influence. 

Despite making monumental decisions on behalf of the Duchy of Austria, Conrad was completely unaware that Berengar intended to build a large fleet and challenge Venice, Genoa, and other Mediterranean powers for maritime dominance.

If that brat knew, he would throw a tantrum, believing Berengar to be stupid, because how could they possibly build a Navy strong enough in such a short time to fight against the world's major naval forces? 

Lucky for Berengar, he was smart enough to keep the young Duke out of the loop. As Regent of Austria, he had full authority to enact these laws as long as Conrad was a child. Luckily for Austria, Conrad had no authority, or the boy would definitely lead them to destruction.