Steel Empire
Visiting the Mine

At dawn Berengar awakens from his sleep, he quickly gets dressed and leaves Linde alone in his room while he is still sleeping. Today would be a busy day for Berengar as he personally visited the mine to oversee their expansion. He didn't even have time to exercise this morning. Over the next few weeks, Berengar will be in a mine near the village of Wildschonau. Wildschonau is currently under the direct control of one of Sieghard's vassals, known as Lord Ulrich von Wildschonau; it is the perfect opportunity to leave a good impression on the little lord and his family. After all, rumors about Berengar as a petty, slow, and sickly young master still stood out outside of Kufstein city and those who had direct contact with him.

After picking up a fast food snack where the chefs woke up early to prepare for his trip, Berengar left his family's estate while only leaving a letter to inform them of his absence. He was the one who acted, and since he had decided to supervise this endeavor personally, he would not waste time with farewell words, either, especially since he'll only be gone for a few weeks. As she stepped into one of her family's carriages and looked back at the window of her room in the tower above, she could see Linde's heavenly figure staring at her as she waved her hand. Clearly, her absence had awakened the beauty from her precious slumber. Berengar's parting gift for her was the kiss she blew towards him before stepping onto the carriage that quickly took off from the castle and regrouped with the supply Caravan in the city below.

When his Caravan arrived, Berengar got out of his carriage to greet Lord Ulrich and his family; he had sent a letter in advance to inform God of his arrival. As the son and heir of the Baron, he still had to follow proper etiquette when approaching the subordinate territory of his family. After stepping out of his carriage, the family's facial expression changed from imposing a friendly smile to being extremely shocked. Berengar looked much different from the last time they met. Although they could not see the extent of his fitness under his smooth folds, they could tell that his skin had a healthy glow and his cheeks were no longer sunken. Evidently, the sickly boy they once knew had recovered from his childhood weakness.

Berengar approached Lord Ulrich, who was bowing before him; after all, despite his prejudices about Berengar as a person, the young master was still the son of the Baron and, thus, held a higher position than him.

"My lord, it is a great honor to host your stay in our humble abode."

Lord Ulrich was a man in his early thirties, and his wife was nearly ten years younger. They were a young couple, and Ulrich recently obtained the title of Lord from his late father. He was not very handsome, nor was he strong enough. He is a really mediocre guy, at least from an aesthetic point of view. The man had half-length dirty blonde hair and sea-blue eyes with a beard trimmed to match his hair color. Her skin was not as beautiful as Berengar's skin, nor was it as brown as an ordinary person. His wife had a very similar appearance to Ulrich and Berengar began to wonder if they were related in some way. In his hand, he held a baby boy, who was Ulrich's third son. Kneeling beside the couple were two other boys who were in their formative years. The little ones stared at Berengar ‘ s with a sense of wonder. This was the first time they had met a member of the Baron family, and they were well aware of the position he held within the household.

Berengar beckoned for the family to rise as he smiled charmingly

"You honor me with your kind words, Lord Ulrich. I am only here on business and will spend most of my time in the mines. However, I will not deny the hospitality you have shown me; know that if I may not be busy, then I will entertain you to get to know your good household completely."

Berengar's words were wisely chosen; he did not want to offend Lord Ulrich or his family, but he also needed to make it clear that he would be inundated overseeing the expansion of the mine. Thus he would not be able to comfort his host well. On the other hand, Lord Ulrich almost sighed in relief when he heard those words, the last time he met Berengar, the young master acted like a spoiled brat with low intelligence. He wanted to avoid wasting time with such waste if given the chance. However, Ulrich was quite surprised by Berengar's attitude; it was very different from his former self.

Ulrich quickly dispersed his family when Berengar explained that he wanted to go to the mine as quickly as possible. He personally chose to guide the young to the mine; if this little young master oversaw the expansion of the mine that Sieghard ordered, it was best for him to stay close and prevent any accidents. As the two nobles boarded the train and set off for the mine, Ulrich inevitably asked about the project.

"So, what's the mine expansion plan?"

A smile surfaced on Berengar's face as he began a lengthy discussion of new safety standards that include stronger support systems to prevent mines from collapsing and safety lights. He also demanded proper working hours and sufficient payments, which the Baron would personally take care of. There was also a ban on child labor in mines where Berengar had received approval from his father. Finally, Berengar told Ulrich that he would use gunpowder to blow up a certain area of the mine, revealing new blood vessels to extract the ore. Having no dynamite, Berengar had to use gunpowder and much to expand the mining shaft quickly. It was a risky move, but he was willing to take it. As long as it was done correctly, he could reduce the risk of mine collapse on the workers. Lucky for him, he had stockpiled black powder to use in his militia. He had an abundance that he felt afraid of leaving lying in his own territory. So Berengar chose to bring in enough to help open the mine.

After hearing all of Berengar's plans in great detail, the man did not believe that the young master was petty, boring, and dull, and the laziness he had known all those years ago had made such an extensive plan to overhaul the mine. It would take weeks to implement it, but if successful, mine productivity would skyrocket, especially as Berengar brought along some unemployed farmers to act as additional labor. Until Berengar can build a viable steam engine and rail system, he will be forced to move the family to a territory ruled by Lord Ulrich to increase mining productivity.

Berengar also handed to God a set of documents containing all the details of his four-field system. He will also supply the Lordship fields with enough fertilizer for the season. However, Berengar had no plans to inform Ulrich of the current irrigation system. Until Kufstein's fields could properly farm the irrigation system itself, he would not lend the knowledge behind its application to Ulrich. For the time being, he wanted to increase the yield in his Vassal region, and giving the four-field system to his subordinates did not incur any major losses. Even if Ulrich leaked it to other regions, an increase in food production across Europe as a whole is a good thing. His plan to become an Austrian food barn would remain a reality even if everyone knew about the four-terrain system,

When Ulrich saw the design of the four-field system, he could not believe his eyes. He had to ask a question in his mind at that moment.

Berengar smiled gracefully as he responded to Ulrich.

“I came up with a theory, but I got help from a good friend who tested it. We won't know how effective the yield will be until this year's harvest. However, myself and many others are pretty sure there are at the very beginning.at least there are no disadvantages to this system."

The man could not believe what he heard; berengar had given him this information without asking for anything in return. This knowledge would greatly affect his crop yield, and in turn, the income his Land earned. Why did Berengar give away this incredible knowledge for free?

"What do you want in return for this information?"

Berengar continued to smile as he assured God that there was nothing he wanted from exchanging information.

“Nothing I want in return for this design. The more food we produce on our land, the better for everyone and the fewer farmers we need. The unemployed farmers could then be employed in the mine.plan the resources contained within that mine, and I would need everything I could get to produce it."

Ulrich struggled to believe that Berengar was so good-natured; he actually gave him this knowledge for free, just to make commoners more productive? Lord had difficulty comprehending such a concept, naturally, he had no idea how big of a plan Berengar had for the industrialization of Barony and his subordinate realm. Therefore, he could barely think of the need for a large workforce.

Finally after some time to think for himself, Ulrich accepted the plan and promised to implement the four-field system and the use of phosphate fertilizers that had been given to him as soon as possible.

"I humbly accept the design and will do my best to implement it as quickly as possible."

Berengar smiled gracefully at the man's humble demeanor; lord Ulrich truly knew his place in this world. A quality that not everyone can say. After a long conversation about the ongoing changes in Kufstein, the supply caravan finally arrived at the mine where they saw a camp set up outside its entrance. Many miners have a hard time getting back to their families with all the work they have to do, and therefore, have a hard time, it has built a slum outside the entrance of the mine which miners refer to as "Mining Village".

Berengar was disgusted by the conditions imposed by these poor farmers and vowed that he would at least make some improvements to their temporary residences. After all, with forty hours of work a week being introduced as one of Berengar's many safety and health innovations, they will no longer be forced to work until they are exhausted. After descending from the chariot the two nobles were riding, the miners stood watchfully as they saw the coming of their Lord, who ruled the region where they lived. It was rare for him to visit the mine, and many men did not react. Berengar, however, was the first to speak.

"Like you"

he has a lot to deal with in the coming weeks and has no time to mingle with the locals. Eventually, dozens of men began to disembark from the caravan and bring supplies to repair the mine. Seeing the handsome and well-dressed men standing beside their master and giving orders, the, the miners with common sense mean that Berengar is the boss of their boss and quickly obey his orders and get back to work. Just ask each other and the newcomers about who the man with golden hair is combed back.

After a few hours the miners became accustomed to Berengar giving orders while staring at the mine map and their current excavation process. It will be a long and difficult journey to get this mine code. However, Berengar would be damned if he failed to return in time for his engagement ceremony. Therefore, he once again burned the midnight oil. Only after the whistle went off and the miners returned to their huts did Berengar finally rest. He will work as long as the miners do and lead by example. That was how he handled things when in a leadership position and would not change now just because he faced the danger of mines. Berengar lay on the makeshift cot under the shelter while gazing at the moon and the stars above, thinking about his life in the past and present.