Tyranny of Steel

A few weeks had passed since the day that Berengar had legalized polygamy within the Kingdom of Austria. The legalization of polygamy came as a great shock to the people of Austria, and many traditionalists were entirely against the idea. As such, they had gathered in the streets to make their complaints known to the Crown.

However, these peaceful protests were quickly snuffed out; while Berengar could have used overwhelming force to crush the voices of dissent, he decided on a more subtle method. He had empowered a countermovement of young men and women who embraced the lifestyle to kick the old farts out of the streets and shame them for being unpatriotic. 

The motto used in the propaganda to enforce Berengar's will within the minds of the people was ripped straight from the bible and had become the chant of the young couples who had embraced this new law. Over time, it became merged with another slogan rising in popularity among polygamists.

"The Earth belongs to the German People! Be fruitful and multiply!"

The population growth of Austria since Berengar first seized control of it as a Duke had rapidly increased. With a combination of mechanized agriculture, the four-field system, and advanced fertilizers, more food was being produced than ever before. It allowed the common people to provide for many children. 

When combined with the government's medical reforms and fertility incentives, the infant mortality rate was down to an all-time low. As such, there was a baby boom in Austria the likes the world had never seen before. 

After all of this, Berengar had legalized Polygamy and utilized a manifest destiny form of propaganda to whip the Austrian people into a sense of zealous nationalism, to the point where it was considered a patriotic duty for a man to have multiple wives and create many German children among them. 

With these reforms, Berengar knew that it was only a matter of time before he ran out of teachers to provide education to this new Generation of Austrian children. With this in mind, he began to sign into law significant reforms to the Austrian Department of Education. Berengar had revised his federal department of education to provide a unified curriculum throughout his realm and hire new teachers at an attractive rate.

After roughly three years of public education in Austria, many common people had become literate and capable of performing the basic arithmetic; Berengar intended to instruct this educated population further to become the teachers of the next generation.

Berengar had begun to modify the three stages of education for the youth in Austria. Starting in Elementary school, children would now learn basic German, Math, Science, History, and Civic Responsibility. 

When they entered Middle School, Boys and Girls would be split into separate courses. Boys would begin Physical Training and Military Courses as additional classes loosely based upon the American JROTC program from Berengar's past life. 

As for Girls, they would begin something akin to Home Economics, where they would learn to become good wives and mothers. They would also have their separate Physical Training; of course, not only were the classes separated by sex, but so were the instructors. 

In High School, the preexisting classes would be expanded upon. Math would turn into Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus. At the same time, science would be split into Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.

For the Boys, they would begin two additional classes: Firearms Qualification and Combatives. A system of hand-to-hand combat based upon the US Combatives Program that Berengar had learned during his tenure in the army within his past life. Boys could also choose several electives, such as Metals class, Woodshop, masonry, etc., providing basic trade skills to the next generation of Austrian workers.

The girls would continue in Home economics and would have specialty electives like cooking, sewing, and other skills necessary to make good homemakers. After all, Berengar did not intend for women to work unless they were forced to provide for themselves. 

On top of this, Berengar had decided it was about time to create a University; as such, he set aside part of the budget to create three new Universities. One was the Austrian Royal Military Academy, a place where young men who had graduated from primary education with exceptional grades could receive a fully funded higher education under the condition that they would serve in the Austrian Royal Army for a minimum of eight years. 

In a way, the Royal Military Academy was Berengar's version of Westpoint, and it was primarily modeled after the University he had graduated from in his previous life. It would be located within the city of Vienna. When one graduated from the Royal Military Academy, they would automatically be instilled with the rank of Second Lieutenant and become a Commissioned Officer in the Austrian Royal Army. 

The second University was the Austrian Royal Naval Academy; it was essentially the same as the Austrian Royal Military Academy, except designed with Naval Officers in mind. This University would be located in Malta, where a Naval Base was currently under construction. After seizing Malta as part of his victory in the Austrian War for Independence, Berengar began to create a giant Naval Colony upon the small island.

With these Military Academies, anyone who was granted the Order of Saint George was awarded the right for their children to attend either of the Universities. It was one of the perks of being awarded the highest military honor in Austria. 

The third University was none other than Kufstein University, a State-Funded University where the elite among the civilian academics would go to get a higher education. It did not matter what one's social class was in this University; as long as one received high enough marks, they were allowed entry inside its grand halls, where they would be given one of the best educations in the Country. 

After Berengar had finished drafting the many, many plans required to overhaul his education system and ensure that future generations were equipped with the knowledge necessary to maintain and advance the civilization he would leave behind. He sat back in his chair and sighed. 

The moment he did so, he noticed that Adela had crept inside his study and was standing beside him with a warm cup of coffee in her hands. As usual, she was always there to assist him in whatever way she could manage. 

Berengar gratefully accepted the gift and began to sip upon the drink, which provided a much-needed boost to his depleted energy reserves. After he did so, he thanked his young wife from the bottom of his heart.

"Thank you, Adela; things have been much easier ever since we got married. I don't know how I ever managed to get all of this work done without you."

Adela smiled and sat down upon Berengar's lap as he drank from his coffee; she immediately rested her head on his chest, where she responded with a slight nod. Despite the competitive nature of her relationship with Berengar's other girls, she had never been happier than she was now. At this moment, she revealed some information that Berengar had already suspected to be the case.

"Berengar, my love..."

Berengar looked down from his mug of coffee and into the deep sapphire eyes of his young wife, who was staring at him with a solemn expression. He smiled softly as he petted her head before encouraging her to continue her train of thought.

"Yes, dear?"

Adela played with Berengar's chest by prodding it a few times before revealing the thoughts on her mind.

"I'm pregnant..."

In response to this, Berengar smiled and kissed his angelic wife passionately; he had honestly begun to worry that Adela was infertile; after all, it had been over a month since they first got married, and she had not informed him about such a matter.

Berengar could feel his heart beating rapidly as he thought about what this meant; though he already had two children with Linde, he had yet to have one with Adela, the current Queen of Austria. When he finally married both Linde and Honoria, Adela would be the High Queen, and as such, it would be dreadfully awkward if she did not at the very least have a child on the way before then. 

After making out for some time, Berengar released his tongue from Adela's with a broad smile on his face. After doing so, he smiled and petted her golden silk hair as he said the words he knew that she wanted to hear.

"I will pray that it is an exceptional boy worthy of inheriting my throne." 

Adela giggled before revealing her thoughts on the matter.

"Funny, I don't believe I have ever seen you pray before..."

The moment Berengar heard this, he stared at her with a questioning gaze, he knew she was a devout reformist, but there was a deep-seated implication in her tone as she said this. Before he could ask what she meant by her words, she kissed him on the lips one more time before revealing her truest desire.

"I swear, before we pass away from this world, I will save your soul Berengar. If it is the last thing I do, I will make sure that you forever reside in paradise with me."

With this said, she got up from Berengar's lap and left the study, leaving Berengar filled with a bunch of questions about how he had managed to slip up around her. She was aware that he was not a true believer; despite this, she did not seem upset; instead, she appeared delighted as if the fact that Berengar was an atheist gave her a goal to look forward to. 

For the first time in a long time, Berengar dwelled upon the nature of the divine force that had brought him into this world. If God and Heaven truly existed, then how did he manage to reincarnate into this world after his previous life's untimely demise. Why would a holy and righteous being like God give a sinful man like himself a second chance at life in a world where his knowledge and expertise could lead him to become a Tyrant?

Ultimately Berengar could not reach a conclusion, for what mortal could understand the mind of a divine being? As such, he sighed heavily before a smirk appeared on his lips. As he did so, he muttered something in a voice so low only he could hear it.

"Good luck with that!"

---

If you want to support me so that I can commission art of the characters in my novel, as well as maps, coat of arms, and other important illustrations, please visit my Patreon page at 

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=7947078

All of the art will be released within my discord server for free.

https://discord.gg/nMWVhMaukT