Tyranny of Steel

The sun held high in the clear blue sky above the Andalusian Hills. In the valley between the mounds was an army standing and drilling within the formation. These were the men of the Granadan Royal Army, and excited expressions were on their faces as they donned their new attire and wielded their most recent acquisition.

Like the Byzantine Army, the Granadan Army was now equipped with mirror pattern armor, arkebuse firearms, and pikes. If anything, the Granadan forces with their newest armor began to resemble the Ottoman forces from the 16th century of Berengar's previous life.

Within the Ranks of the Granadan troops were a series of Officers dressed in the black and gold attire afforded to the Grand Army of Austria. These men were instructing the Granadan troops on the knowledge and tactics of how to wield their new weapons with efficiency.

Standing on the hilltop above, under the protection of an awning, stood Sultan Hasan Al-Fadl and Viscount Arnulf von Thiersee. Since Berengar's rise to the position of Duke, Arnulf, Berengar's other most capable General, had been rewarded with the position of the Viscount of Trent.

With Berengar overseeing the Duchy of Austria, the loyal nobleman and General of Berengar's Grand Army had been sent to supervise the training of the Granadan Royal Army. While entertaining his guest, Hasan poured himself a glass of the fortified wine that he had purchased in bulk from Berengar's wineries. As he did so, he poured another for Arnulf. However, the man declined it with a stern expression.

"Apologies, Sultan, but I am on duty, and it is forbidden to drink while in such a position."

Hearing this, Hasan smiled bitterly; the level of discipline that Berengar's troops held was to a degree he had never seen before, and as such, his respect for Berengar raised even more. After hearing this, the young Sultan took a sip from his glass before responding to Arnulf.

"Tell me, General, how is his Grace Berengar at the moment?"

Arnulf did not break his focus as he observed the Granadan troops form ranks before firing their arkebuses at the targets. While keeping the soldiers' actions below, he answered the Sultan's question with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"He's busy. The Duke works harder than anyone I know; I swear if it weren't for his beautiful lovers who take care of his stress every night, he probably would have blown his brains out by now..."

Hasan laughed when he heard this and merely sipped from his drink with a smug grin on his face. He too knew the pleasures of being surrounded by beautiful wives, and though Berengar had yet to marry his women, the young Sultan did not doubt that the man would eventually do so. As such, he sighed with desperation before responding to Arnulf's claims.

"I offered to marry my beautiful older sister off to him, but he declined. His wives appear to be the jealous type. By that little blonde girl's expression, I could tell that she was far from willing to allow such a thing. It is a pity, my dear Yasmin is already twenty-five, and yet I still have not found a man for her to marry.

Though I have not given up on Berengar, it is clear to me that he intends to engage in polygamy, and I greatly desire to be brothers with the man! Besides, he only has three wives so far, right? In my country, a man is allowed up to four wives, so there is still hope for the two of them!"

Arnulf shook his head in silence when he heard this; after one visit to a Muslim country, Berengar had practically gone native. It was one thing for him to have one wife and several mistresses, but to entertain the idea of polygamy as a Christian? That was asking for trouble, and for whatever reason, Berengar enjoyed antagonizing those around him.

As such, Arnulf returned his attention to the Granadan troops below. The pikeman had begun to take the place of the arkebusiers who reloaded their weapons. Due to the technological limitations of the matchlock design, these Arkebuse firearms took up to a minute to prepare the next volley; compared to the Austrian flintlocks with quick loading tubes, the difference in reload speed was quite vast.

In Berengar's previous life, it took weeks to train pikemen and arquebusiers; however, Berengar had a higher standard than the early modern armies. As such, he taught his troops for much longer.

As for his allies, Berengar expected the same discipline level; as such, he had his officers train them according to his standards. It would not be long before the Granadans could field a much larger and well-trained force than their enemies nearby.

Part of the reason why firearms were destined to replace the traditional bows and crossbows was due to the short amount of time it took to train someone in their use effectively. At the same time, one would have to spend their whole lives to master a bow effectively.

Learning how to wield a firearm within formation took weeks of training. The same could be said about pikes when compared to more traditional melee weapons. Even though the Arqkebuse had limited range compared to Austria's Rifled Muskets, or even the bows of the era, the number of arkebusiers that could be trained in a short period greatly outnumbered the alternative.

With this in mind, Arnulf watched the Granadans undergo their training and could witness the results within a short time frame. After just a few weeks, they were beginning to resemble a proper army, at least in accordance with the stringent standards of Austria.

As for Hasan, he was greatly impressed by the weapons wielded by his troops and now understood why Berengar was able to rise to power so rapidly. These weapons were revolutionary and could undoubtedly change the tides of war.

With Berengar's support, the rise of a new Al-Andalus was highly likely, and Hasan had grand ambitions for the Iberian Peninsula. Seeing that the dreams of his forefathers now had the potential to become a reality, the Sultan asked the question he was most concerned about.

"How long until they are ready for combat? When my neighbors find out about the aid you have provided me, they will without question invade my lands."

Arnulf scratched his chin and rolled his head to the side as he thought about the question; The only sound that could be overheard was the echo of the falconet cannons firing in the distance. After several moments of ambiance, Arnulf lifted two fingers as he addressed the Sultan's concerns.

"Two weeks, and your troops will be prepared to face whatever challenges the Catholic armies will throw at them. As long as your commanders are competent in the tactics we have provided them, the Iberian Kings will be kneeling before you, begging for mercy in a matter of years."

Upon hearing this, Hasan lifted his chalice and took a swig from it, smiling as he did so. After drinking from his goblet, he stared at his troops mustered below with a grin curved upon his lips, releasing the thoughts held deep within his mind.

"This is just the beginning, soon I will have a Grand Army of my own, and it is all thanks to Berengar..."

With that said, the troops continued to train in the field below while the Austrian advisers corrected any faults in their efforts; when the new wave of Reconquista found itself at Granada's gates, they would be more than prepared to handle such a frightful event.

In doing so, Berengar would find the pressure he faced from the Catholic Church alleviated as the Moors and Iberians began a new wave of warfare that would consume the peninsula in fire and blood. Who would remain at the end of such a brutal conflict? Only time will tell.