Chapter 241: Salt and Glass

Now that Berengar had complete control of Austria, he had access to the Mediterranean via Istria. This presented a valuable opportunity to expand his business into two major areas. Glass and Salt production. 

The man was hard at work drafting factory blueprints to create facilities in Istria to mass-produce such materials. The first object on his list of designs was what was once called the glass cone in his previous life. An invention used in England during the 18th Century for making glass. 

Due to technological limitations, such as a lack of electricity Berengar was incapable of using modern techniques like float glass to manufacture ample glass supplies. Thus he had to dig back further into his memory to make a glass industry from scratch.

If Berengar wanted to out-compete the Venetians in the glass trade, who at this point were the major Glass producers of the world, then he needed a superior product. Luckily he knew of an invention from the late 17th Century that made England the world's top glass merchant.

This invention was known as Lead Glass in the modern era, also known as Crystal Glass due to its superb clarity. This glass was invented by adding a minimum of 24 percent lead(II) oxide to the mixture. With this technique, Berengar could create a superior glass quality compared to the Venetians and slowly take over the market.

However, drinking from lead glass could be harmful, and lead was a valuable resource in the production of munitions. Thus Berengar had opted to replace the Lead(II) oxide with Zinc Oxide instead. This created a similar level of clarity within the glass, but it was lighter weight and safe to drink from. 

Berengar had an overabundance of Zinc due to its content within his mines and those of the Lords underneath his rule. Thus he was more than happy to make glass this way. Berengar intended to produce such materials in glass cone factories, where after its production, it would be manufactured into various objects. 

A glass cone furnace was powered by coal and had a large central furnace surrounded by smaller furnaces to ensure that the glass did not cool off quickly. Within the center of this formation was a work area for the glassblowers to shape the glass into the final product.

He intended to build a large factory containing several of these glass cone furnaces where he could produce a sufficient amount of glass. By doing this Berengar planned to dominate the glass trade and add another industry to his portfolio.

On the other hand, the saltworks would be much easier; all he needed to do was create a large salt evaporation pond, also known as a salt pan. Essentially, all that was required was to create a shallow area where seawater is trapped and left to evaporate in the sun.

After the water was evaporated and the salt remained laborers could quickly gather it, where it would then be treated and purified into proper edible salt. The Byproducts left over would be valuable chemicals that can be used elsewhere in Berengar's industry.

If he could set up several of these saltworks across Istria, he could gain access to a large amount of salt and thus help him gain access to the salt trade. Though he would not be able to dominate the industry like the others he had entered into, it would still add another means of revenue to his pockets which would aid him in the long run. 

After spending half a day designing these things, Berengar ventured to the Parliamentary building that contained the House of Lords. Though it was merely a formal procedure, he needed their approval to begin the production of the two trades he had in mind.

The moment he entered the House of Lords, the various men he had assigned to the task or were voted in by other members of the nobility all stood up from their seats as a sign of respect. It was not every day Berengar ventured into Parliament; usually, it was over something important that he wanted voted upon right away when he did so. 

Thus when Bernegar stood at the podium, all of the men gathered were waiting patiently for the words he began to speak. After getting his files in order, Berengar cleared his throat before addressing the members of the nobility.

"My Lords, I have come here today to introduce a set of the legislature that needs your approval. In essence, I will be entering our Duchy into the glass and salt trades. I require your consent to construct various facilities within the province of Istria that will provide us with a large amount of the two materials.

"With my production methods, we can enter the glass trade and eventually dominate the market due to the clarity and quality of the glass produced. The wealth that is afforded to the Venetians via their stranglehold over the market shall shift to us!"

When the Lords heard this, they began to debate among themselves. One of them raised a serious concern over the matter of getting into the Glass trade, especially after hearing Berengar's ambitions to dominate the market.

"With all due respect, your Grace, do you think it is wise to steal the glass market from the Venetians? It will surely invoke their ire; we might even potentially be faced with war because of this!"

Berengar was calm and collected when he heard this information; the Venetians were not a threat to him. In this timeline, the Republic of Venice, much like the one in Genoa, were vassals of Italy's Kingdom and, by extension, the Holy Roman Empire. They maintained a significant degree of autonomy, much like other larger states within the Empire, such as Austria. Thus Berengar boldly declared his stance on the issue.

"If the Venetians are bold enough to declare war on us over a bit of competition in the glass trade, then I will march on their capital with the full force of my army and force them into subjugation. As for their Navy, when I have constructed my fleet, I will lay it to waste!

However, I doubt they have the gall to declare war on us so rapidly. By the time they realize they have lost the market, we will already be in a dominant position. Thus we have nothing to fear from angering the Venetians!"

Berengar was not afraid of war or making enemies; after all, he had spit in the face of the Vatican and caused a Reformation in Germany, which had made all of his neighbors except for Bohemia hostile towards him.

The only thing keeping his enemies from invading Austria was the fear of a defeat; after Berengar crushed the Teutonic Order and the Bavarian Army, few were bold enough to venture in to Austria until they could figure out countermeasures to his terrifying weapons.

Hearing his bold stance on the issue, the other Lords mainly were persuaded; after all, many of them had marched to war alongside Berengar and knew though boastful, he was not arrogant. They did have the means to defeat Venice, as for his claims about the Naval power they were creating? Well, in their eyes, it was yet to be seen how effective Berengar's fleet would be.

Thus after some deliberation, the House of Lords unanimously approved of the measures. Gaining dominance in the glass market would bring an absurd degree of wealth to Austria, and thus the potential gains far outweighed the potential risks. 

With his plans approved, Berengar stayed around and discussed some of the other topics of interest. Though many minor things were discussed, ultimately, it was all relatively insignificant, and thus, Berengar returned to the Castle in Kufstein after some time. 

Legislating laws was up to the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and Berengar would for the most part not get involved in such affairs until it was placed on his desk where he could either sign it into law, revise the bill and send it back to the House of Lords for approval, or veto it. A fairly streamlined process gave him significant control over the Duchy while still taking the weight off of his shoulders of micromanaging every detail. 

After returning to his home, Berengar had a meal with his family and then took a bath with Linde before returning to his room. After closing the door, Linde quickly latched onto Berengar and began to kiss him passionately while the two began to undress. 

After doing so, Linde made a request of Berengar that he was not expecting.

"Would it be too much to ask, to give Hans a little brother or sister?"

Hearing this, a wide smirk filled Berengar's immaculate visage as he responded by pressing Linde down on the bed and having his way with her. Initially, he planned to wait a while to produce more children, but he would not refuse his lover since she was asking for it. As such, Berengar spent a large portion of the night trying to impregnate his lover once more.

Thus Berengar ended the day with a wide grin on his face. Whatever future troubles may appear, he would answer them with firm resolve.