Tyranny of Steel

In the docks outside the city of Trieste, lie a massive warship. This vessel had been under construction for between two to three years, and now, after substantial effort, it was finally completed. In Berengar's past life, historians would have referred to this vessel as a super-dreadnought, and rightfully so, as it dwarfed the thousands of other ships in the harbor. 

This warship would be the first of many such vessels to replace the existing Adela-Class Armored Frigates that saw common use in the German fleets. In the Adriatic, there were three German Shipyards, all of which were dedicated to the construction of Linde-class Battleships. The SMS Linde was the first to be completed, with the others following in the coming days. 

The German Empire currently had access to fifteen military shipyards spread across its territory. Three in the Adriatic, five in the Baltic, five in the North Sea, one in Malta, and one in Gibraltar. Out of these fifteen shipyards, eight were dedicated to the construction of Linde-class Battleships, five were dedicated to the construction of Henrietta-Class Battlecruisers, and two were dedicated to the construction of Adela-Class Destroyers, each of which could produce four of such vessels in the time it took to manufacture one battleship or battlecruiser. 

Specialty shipyards were already under construction for the manufacture of submarines and aircraft carriers. This did not include the civilian shipyards, which were already capable of producing the so called Dominion II-class Cargo Ships in a period of roughly fifty days. 

This warship was the lead of its class, and would be the capital ship of the First Fleet. Currently, Berengar was standing in front of a large crowd announcing a new era of German dominance to the people of his realm.

"This is the SMS Linde, first of the Linde-class Battleships, a true leviathan that shall rule the waves, and dominate naval warfare for decades to come. It is named after my beautiful wife, who you see standing beside me. 

This ship is armed with 38cm guns that are capable of hitting a target out to 47,500 metres. With these weapons, the brave sailors of the Kriegsmarine shall be able to obliterate any threat they may find when they are out to sea, and secure the waters for Germany!

In the coming days, another seven of these ships shall be laid down across the Empire. Along with five Henrietta-class Battle-Cruisers, and eight Adela-Class Destroyers. These vessels shall replace the existing Adela-class Armored Frigates in the First Fleet stationed here in Trieste, where the older ships shall be retrofitted and sold off to our allies for a fair price. 

In the coming years, we shall produce more, and more of these vessels along with other, newer designs until we can expand our fleets into a global force, capable of dominating the world's oceans! Glory to the Reich!"

Those in the crowd, who were either military personnel or former military personnel, threw up their salutes and shouted their battle cries. While the civilians took off their hats and placed them on their chests in a sign of respect. 

"For Kaiser and Fatherland!"

Upon hearing this, Berengar smiled where he approached Linde and handed her a bottle of champagne, before speaking to her in a gentle tone.

"Will you do the honors?" 

Linde wore a pretty smile on her face as she grabbed hold of the bottle and broke it against the ship's hull, which was followed by the cheers of thousands of men and women. Prince Zhu Zhi was in the crowd, and could only stare in astonishment at the massive behemoth that was lying in front of him. He had seen this vessel on his initial journey to the Reich, however; now that he was mere feet away from the ship, he could truly witness all its glory. 

This steel hulled ship was beyond the scope of what his country had produced with their grand treasure fleet. Which less than a decade ago was the great pride of the Chinese nation. After hearing how far this vessel's weapons could reach, the man nearly shat himself in fright. One of these ships was enough to obliterate the entire Ming Fleet, and yet Berengar had clearly said seven more were on the way.

He did not know the scope of the other vessels Berengar had listed in his speech, but he expected that they were fearsome in their own rights. To think that the Germans had produced such monstrous ships for their navy, it was no exaggeration to say that in a few years' time they would rule the waves of the world. 

After previously discussing things with Berengar, the Ming Prince came to learn of Itami's plans to expand her military and naval capabilities to match those of the Reich. If she were to actually do so, the Ming would not have a chance against the Japanese Empire, at least not on the oceans.

Even if the Germans supported the Ming by selling them their old Adela-class Armored Frigates. Zhu Zhi expected one of these so called Linde-class Battleships could obliterate five or more of the armored frigates.

The Ming Prince did not know how Itami would be able to create comparable vessels, but he had heard of her innovation with her steam powered turtle ships, and expected that perhaps she might be able to pull it off in a few years.

This caused a deep sense of fear to grow in the man's heart, as he thought about the effect combating such a powerful navy would have on his homeland. It was at this moment the Ming Prince felt that perhaps the greatest ally he could ask for was Germany. Even if they weren't willing to share their secrets, they could help defend the Ming Territorial waters through a military alliance. 

He was now determined to convince his father to approach the German Empire as equals, even if such a thing was clearly not the case, and do whatever was necessary to broker a proper alliance with the Reich. Although he did not know what Berengar wanted from the Ming if anything at all, he had great hopes for fostering an alliance with the Kaiser. 

Thus, while Berengar was in the middle of another speech, thanking the hard work of the German people in the construction of these vessels, the Ming Prince was thinking of ways he could gain the Kaiser's favor. The christening event continued for some time, with a small celebration, the serving of some seafood, and a band playing the background. 

After several hours Berengar and his family returned to the Palace, during the car ride Linde was clinging to her husband's arm with a happy smile on her pretty face, she was extremely pleased to have a ship named after her, especially one as large, and powerful as the super-dreadnought. Thus, she kissed him on the cheek and expressed her thanks. 

"Thank you. I've always wanted a ship named after me, especially after you named those damn armored frigates after Adela. I felt slighted, but now knowing that your most impressive warships are named after me, it fills my heart with pride."

Berengar chuckled as he thought about how far his navy had come from his initial sailing designs. In the end, he decided to admit the truth to the woman as he stroked her silky strawberry blonde hair with his firm hand.

"It should have been done a long time ago. Before we were even a Kingdom, I had designed three sailing warships. The largest and most impressive of which was named after you, the mid-sized was named after Honoria, and the smallest ones were named after Adela. 

However, by the time we had the means to produce such ships, our technology had advanced to the point where those designs were obsolete, and thus I decided to scrap them. When I came up with my new ship designs, I revisited the original names, but replaced Honoria's with Henrietta's since my dear sister is German, and Honoria is a Roman."

Linde was surprised to hear this, and instantly questioned why the biggest warship was named after her both times. 

"Berengar, my love, answer me this: why did you decide, in both cases, to name the biggest warships after me? Are you perhaps calling me fat?"

In response to this ludicrous question, Berengar broke into a fit of laughter. He had no choice but to reveal the secret behind the naming conventions he had used for his naval vessels. After wiping a tear from his eye and calming down, he responded to Linde's question with a serious expression on his face.

"I chose you to represent the largest class of warship because out of my three lovelies, you have the largest breasts. It had nothing to do with your weight. If I'm being honest, even after having four children, your body is still absolutely flawless."

Hans had overheard this statement and immediately dropped his jaw at his father's shamelessness. He half expected his mother to slap the man across the face for such a flawed reasoning, however Linde merely smiled and nuzzled her head in Berengar's chest before taking his words as a compliment. 

"Thank you..."

Berengar merely responded to this by kissing the woman's forehead, and petting her hair, the sight of which confused Hans. For the rest of the car ride home, the boy tried to understand of why his mother would be pleased with knowing a warship was named after her simply because of her bust size. His conclusion was that women were incredibly self-conscious about their breasts, and the larger they were, the prouder a woman would be.