Tyranny of Steel

The young Austrian King took a sip from the tea contained in his ceramic cup. Sitting across from him was none other than Vetranis Palaiologos. With a simple letter, Berengar was able to summon the mighty Emperor of the East to his humble abode. Thus, the two men were currently within the confines of the Austrian Royal Palace, specifically in its study discussing important matters of State.

Berengar placed his teacup down on the coaster as he gazed at the man sitting before him. By his side was Strategos Palladius Angelus, who had become the chief advisor of military matters to the Byzantine crown after Arethas' untimely demise. The stark contrast between Berengar's modern fashion and the medieval attire that his guests wore signified just how much more advanced Austria was compared to the next most powerful State within the Mediterranean.

Though their alliance had not been in effect for long, the King of Austria and the Byzantine Emperor were now engaged in a fierce negotiation over military action in Iberia. Berengar, who had already pledged support to his ally in the West, attempted to persuade his father-in-law to join the Anti-Catholic Coalition and annihilate the vast armies who had begun to march to their deaths. 

"I have dispatched the Second Division of the Austrian Royal Army to Granada, where they will unite with the First Division and what remains of the Royal Granadan Army. From there, they will push the Catholics out of Granada. 

Before long, I will join them and lead my troops into battle as I have always done; the problem at hand is that there are now hundreds of thousands of zealous Catholics marching on Iberia in a foolish attempt by the Pope to beat my armies via proxy. 

What the Pope should be doing is saving these bodies for the so-called Crusade he has declared against me and adequately outfit them to invade my lands. However, I won't complain; if I can slaughter a few hundred thousand would-be crusaders in Iberia, it simply means the incursion into my Kingdom will be weaker. 

While my soldiers will likely be able to handle the situation, I would feel safer knowing that I have more men in the field to combat the enemy's numerical advantage. Without this support, I fear the conflict could go on for many months, perhaps even a year. I have three children on the way, and I would prefer to return home in time so that I can welcome them into this world. 

So, I request that you send one of your armies as an expeditionary force into Iberia to fight alongside Austria and Granada to drive the Catholics out of the Moorish lands. More men, with more guns, is always a bonus on the battlefield."

After hearing this request, Palladius whispered something into Vetranis' ears which caused the Emperor to nod his head. After doing so, he began to speak in an authoritative tone that resembled what Berengar would expect from a man of his position.

"After driving the Catholics from Granada, what is your plan then? Do you intend to keep arming the Granadans to resist any further incursion into their lands?"

Berengar took another sip from his tea before responding to Vetranis' comments. After several moments of introspection, the young Austrian King revealed his plan for the Iberian Peninsula.

"After I have crushed the Catholic Armies of Iberia and the fanatics who flock to their cause. I will begin rebuilding the Granadan Army and Navy from scratch. My intent is not to spend years of my life fighting their wars. Instead, I plan to outfit them with the means to reclaim much of Al-Andalus by themselves.

A unified catholic Iberia is frankly unacceptable for my plans. While Hasan may not be the most competent ruler or even a half-decent strategist, he has something far more valuable, in my opinion. The young Sultan of Granada has a degree of tolerance for those with different views than himself.

Suppose that Al Andalus were to somewhat resurface under the control of his Dynasty, it is possible that we will see a reformation in the Muslim Faith, which would make them far less hostile to those of different religions, thus strengthening cooperation between our people. At the end of the day a cooperative, and moderate Islamic State in Iberia, is a far better alternative than that of a fanatical and militant Catholic one."

A wide smile formed on Palladius' face as he heard this; such grand ambitions for establishing a powerful ally in the West of the Mediterranean reassured the man of his ploy to place Berengar and Honoria's heir on the Byzantine Throne. 

Though Vetranis may not be aware of Berengar's intent, Palladius had a very tacit understanding after listening to this conversation. The young King of Austria intended to create an economic and military alliance between several powerful states that could dominate the Politics of Europe, the Near-East, and North Africa, all with Austria at its head. 

While Palladius did not desire for his Empire to play second fiddle to the Austrian Kingdom, he was rational enough to realize that there was not much he could do to prevent this fate. It had been half a year since he last visited Austria, and in his absence, the fires of industry had been introduced to its Capital and had even begun to spread across the entire realm.

The veteran Strategos also knew that Berengar would never give the supreme weapons that he had begun to manufacture to anyone but his own army. However, the use of older models and the means to manufacture them was something Berengar had already shown interest in equipping his allies with.

With this in mind, Palladius whispered his thoughts on the matter at hand into the ear of the Emperor. After hearing what Palladius had to say, Vetranis nodded his head in agreement afterward. He sighed heavily before making his demands.

"If you wish for us to assist you in this conflict, then there are some demands that I would like to make in compensation for the blood that my men will naturally shed."

A smile etched itself upon Berengar's immaculate appearance as he nodded his head while responding with a single phrase.

"Go on..."

After hearing this, Vetranis cleared his throat before making his demands of Berengar.

"After this conflict is over, you will supply us with the technology needed to replicate the weapons you have already begun to sell to us. We will not consider joining this alliance with the Moors in Granada unless this condition can be met."

Contrary to what the Byzantine Emperor expected, Berengar silently took a sip from his tea before uttering a single word.

"Done..."

After hearing this, Vetranis gazed at him with shock; he could not even think of what his second demand was at this point. He was simply astonished that Berengar would quickly give away such valuable technology. 

However, he had no way of knowing that Berengar had already planned to do such things in due time. Hell Berengar even planned to sell the technology behind his Frigates and Clippers to the Byzantines after he had replaced them with his proposed Adela Class Light Cruisers and Dominion Class Cargo Ships.

It was as Palladius had suspected, Berengar wanted his allies to be powerful enough to hold their own against their enemies while still being technologically inferior to his realm. After all, he wanted Germany and its future Empire under his Dynasty to rule this powerful alliance. The only way to ensure such a thing was to maintain a vastly superior State. After silence prevailed for a while, Berengar raised his brow before asking the question on his mind.

"Is there anything else?"

After discussing it with his advisor for a few moments, Vetranis shook his head, realizing that asking for anything more was likely to jeopardize the progress he had already made. As such, the Emperor reached out his hand to seal the deal. In response, Berengar firmly grabbed ahold of his father-in-law's hand and shook it as he said the following words with a smile on his face.

"A pleasure doing business with you... I expect you to send a sizeable army into Granada within three months. When the war is over, and we have won, you will get the technology behind the 1417/18 Rifled Muskets and the 1417 12 lb Field Guns, as well as the knowledge behind the tools to produce them."

Berengar had no intention to equip the Byzantines with the Bessemer Converter. Instead, he would give them the technology behind the puddling furnace, which could be used to create the steel necessary to make the springs in the flintlock action. Albeit in a severely limited supply, aside from this small amount of steel, such technology would significantly increase the iron that the Byzantines could produce. 

With this agreement made, the Byzantines had secretly entered the Reconquista. They would soon enough be fighting alongside the Austrians and Granadans for the sake of repelling the Catholic Armies from the Moorish Kingdom.

After finalizing their agreement, Vetranis and his advisor departed from Berengar's study, the Emperor of Byzantium would spend some time with his Daughter over the next few days before returning to Constantinople. As a man who ruled over a vast empire, his time was severely limited, especially now that he had much to prepare for. 

As for Berengar, he would get his affairs in order in the coming days before departing for the warzone himself. He was not the type of man to hide away at home while his soldiers fought on the frontlines of a dangerous conflict. With this in mind, he stretched his back before getting back to work, for he too had much to prepare for. 

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