Tyranny of Steel Chapter 27: Visiting the Mines

Chapter 27: Visiting the Mines

As the rise of dawn awoke Berengar from his slumber, he quickly got dressed and left Linde by her lonesome in his quarters as she still slept. Today would be a hectic day for Berengar as he personally visited the mines to oversee their expansion. He did not even have time to work out this morning. For the next couple of weeks, Berengar would be at the mines near the village of Wildschönau. Wildschönau was currently under the direct control of one of Sieghard's Vassals, known as Lord Ulrich von Wildschönau; it was a perfect chance to leave a favorable impression on the minor lord and his family. After all, the rumors of Berengar being a petty, indolent, and sickly young lord were still prominent outside of the town of Kufstein and those who have had direct contact with him.
After grabbing a quick snack in which the chefs woke up early to prepare for his journey, Berengar left his family's Estate while only leaving a letter to inform them of his absence. He was a man of action, and since he had decided to oversee this venture personally, he would not waste time with parting words, especially since he would only be gone for a few weeks at most. As he stepped into one of his family's carriages and looked back at the window to his room in the tower up above, he could see Linde's heavenly figure gazing down at him as she waved goodbye. Evidently, his absence had awoken the beauty from her precious sleep. Berengar's parting gift to her was the kiss he blew in her direction before stepping into the carriage which swiftly took off from the castle and regrouped with the supply Caravan down in the town below. He would travel for several hours before reaching the Lordship of Wildschönau.
When his Caravan arrived, Berengar stepped out of his carriage to greet Lord Ulrich and his family; he had sent a letter in advance to inform the Lord of his arrival. As the Baron's son and heir, he still had to follow the proper etiquette when approaching his family's vassal territory. After stepping out of his carriage, the expressions on the family's faces went from forcing a gracious smile to deep shock. Berengar had appeared far different from the last time they had met. Though they could not see the extent of his fitness beneath his fine doublet, they could tell that his skin had a healthy glow and that his cheeks were no longer sunken. Evidently, the sickly boy they once knew had recovered from his childhood infirmity.
Berengar approached Lord Ulrich, who bowed before him; after all, despite his preconceptions about Berengar as a person, the young lord was still the son of the Baron and, as such, held a higher position than him.
"My Lord, it is a great honor to host your stay at 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 had recently acquired the title of Lord from his late father. He was not exceptionally handsome, nor was he sufficiently strong. He was truly an average guy all-around, at least from an aesthetic perspective. The man had mid-length dirty blonde hair and ocean blue eyes with a trimmed beard to match his hair color. His skin was not as fair as Berengar's, nor was it as tanned as the commoners. His wife shared a strikingly similar appearance to Ulrich and Berengar began to wonder if they were related in some way. In her hands, she held an infant boy, which was the third son of Ulrich. Kneeling next to the couple were another two boys who were in their formative years. The little tykes gazed up at Berengar's with a sense of wonder. This was the first time they had met a family member of the Baron, and they were well aware of the position he held in the household.
Berengar motioned for the family to rise as he put on a charming smile
"You honor me with your kind words, Lord Ulrich. I'm merely here on business and will be spending most of my time at the mines. However, I will not turn down the hospitality you have shown me; be aware that I may otherwise be preoccupied to become acquainted with your fine household fully."
Berengar's words were chosen wisely; he did not wish to offend Lord Ulrich or his House, but he also needed to make it clear that he would be swamped overseeing the expansion of the mines. Thus he would not be able to entertain his hosts properly. On the other hand, Lord Ulrich nearly sighed in relief as he heard those words, the last time he had met Berengar, the young lord had acted like a spoiled brat of lower intellect. He wanted to avoid wasting time with such a wastrel if at all given a chance. However, Ulrich was quite shocked by how Berengar was behaving; it was quite different from his old self.
Ulrich quickly dismissed his family when Berengar made it clear he wanted to head to the mines as quickly as possible. He personally elected to guide the youth to the mines; if this petty young lord was overseeing the expansion of the mines in which Sieghard had ordered, it was best for him to stay close by and prevent any mishaps. As the two noblemen got into the carriage and departed for the mines, Ulrich could not help but ask about the project.
"So, what are the plans for expanding the mines?"
A smile appeared on Berengar's face as he began a long discussion about the new safety standards which included a more robust support system to prevent mine collapses and the safety lamp. He also demanded proper work hours and sufficient payment, which the Baron would personally take care of. There was also the ban on child labor in the mines in which Berengar had gotten approval from his father. Eventually, Berengar informed Ulrich that he would be using gunpowder to blast certain areas of the mine open, revealing new veins to extract the ore from. Because he did not have dynamite, Berengar had to use gunpowder and lots of it to expand the mining shafts rapidly. It was a risky move, but he was willing to take it. As long as it was done properly, he could mitigate the risks of the mine collapsing on the workers. Luckily for him, he had been stockpiling black powder for use in his militia. He had an overabundance of it which he felt fearful leaving lying around in his own territory. Thus Berengar had opted to bring quite a lot of it with him to aid in blasting open the mines.
After hearing all of Berengar's plans in great detail, the man could not believe that the petty, dull, and indolent young lord he knew years past had come up with such an extensive plan to overhaul the mines. It would take weeks to implement, but if it were done successfully, the productivity of the mines would skyrocket, especially since Berengar brought with him some of the unemployed farmers to act as the additional workforce. Until Berengar could build steam engines and a proper rail system, he would be forced to relocated families to the territory ruled by Lord Ulrich to increase mining productivity.
Berengar Also handed the Lord a set of documents that contained all the details of his four field system. He would also supply the Lordship's fields with enough fertilizer to last the season. However, Berengar had no plans to inform Ulrich about the irrigation system at the moment. Until the fields of Kufstein could properly field the irrigation system itself, he would not lend the knowledge behind its implementation to Ulrich. For now, he wanted to increase crop yields in his Vassal's territory, and gifting the four-field system to his vassals posed no major disadvantage. Even if Ulrich leaked it to other regions, the increase in food production throughout Europe as a whole was a good thing. His plans to be the breadbasket of Austria would still come true even if everyone else found out about the four-field system, as that was not his only agricultural innovation that would result in massive growth.
When Ulrich looked over the designs of the four-field system, he could not believe his eyes. He had to ask the question on his mind at that moment.
"You... you came up with this?"
Berengar smiled gracefully when he responded to Ulrich.
"I came up with the theory, but I had some help from a good friend testing it. We won't know how effective the results are until this year's harvest. However, I myself and many others are fairly certain there are at the very least no disadvantages to this system."
The man could not believe what he was hearing; Berengar had gifted him this information without asking for anything in return. This knowledge would greatly affect his crop yields, and in turn, the income his Land would garner. Why would Berengar give this tremendous knowledge away for free?
"What do you want in return for this information?"
Berengar continued to smile as he assured the Lord that there was nothing he wanted from exchanging information.
"There is nothing I want in return for these designs. The more food we produce in our lands, the better it is for everyone and the fewer farmers we need. The unemployed farmers can then be put to work in the mines. I have great plans for the resources those mines contain, and I will need every hand I can get in producing it."
Ulrich struggled to believe Berengar was so benevolent; he was truly gifting him this knowledge free of charge, merely so that his commoners were more productive? The Lord had a hard time grasping such a concept, of course, he had no way of knowing how grand Berengar's plans were for the industrialization of the Barony and its vassal territories. As such, he could hardly think of the need for a massive workforce.
Ultimately after some time to think for himself, Ulrich accepted the plans and promised to have the four-field system and the use of the phosphate fertilizer he had been gifted implemented as soon as possible.
"I humbly accept the designs and will do my very best to implement them as quickly as I can."
Berengar smiled graciously at the man's humble demeanor; Lord Ulrich truly knew his place in this world. A quality he could not say everyone had. After a long conversation about the ongoing changes in Kufstein, the supply Caravan finally arrived at the mines where they saw a camp set up outside of its entrance. Many of the miners had a difficult time returning to their families with all the work they were required to do, and as such, had built a shantytown outside of the mine's entrance which the miners referred to as "Miner Village."
Berengar found himself disgusted by the conditions these poor peasants were forced to live in and vowed that he would at least make some improvements to their temporary housing. After all, with the forty-hour workweek being introduced as one of Berengar's many safety and wellness innovations, they would no longer be forced to work until they dropped from exhaustion. After getting out of the carriage in which the two noblemen had ridden, the miners stood at attention as they noticed the arrival of their Lord, who ruled over the territory they found themselves dwelling in. It was sporadic for him to visit the mines, and many men did not react. Berengar, however, was the first to speak.
"As you were"
he had many things to handle in the upcoming weeks and did not have the time to mingle with the locals. Eventually, dozens of men started getting out of the caravan and bringing supplies over to improve the mines. Seeing the handsome and well-dressed men standing next to their lord and giving commands, the miners with more common sense took it to mean that Berengar was their boss's boss and swiftly obeyed his orders and got back to work. Only asking each other and the newcomers about who the man was with the slicked-back golden hair.
After several hours the miners became used to Berengar giving commands as he stared at a map of the mines and their current excavation process. It would be a long and arduous journey to get these mines up to code. However, Berengar would be damned if he failed to return in time for his engagement ceremony. As such, he once more burnt the midnight oil. It was not until the whistle blew and the miners returned to their shacks did Berengar finally get some rest. He would work as long as the miners did and lead by example. That was always how he had handled things when in a leadership position and would not change now just because he faced the dangers of the mines. Berengar lied down upon in a makeshift cot under a lean-to shelter as he gazed up the moon and stars above, thinking about his past and present life. Eventually, he fell to sleep thinking about the two lovely girls waiting for his return.