Tyranny of Steel

Berengar sat down at the head of his table. On the opposite side sat the ambassador of the Anagpur Empire. His delegation was surrounding him much in the same way that Berengar's family did to him. The representatives of the two opposing realms made small talk as wine was poured by the servants, and the food was being prepared.

The Austrian king took a sip from his gilded chalice before speaking about inquiring about current events on the other side of the world.

"So tell me, Ishwar, just what is it like living in the Anagpur Empire? I have not been to that particular part of the world just yet, though I very much would like to see the glory of India with my own eyes at least once during this lifetime."

Ishwar looked up from his wineglass with a complicated expression on his face. He knew that his family's Empire was one civil war away from being completely disintegrated, and while normally he would deny this to ensure the prestige of their once mighty empire remained intact in the eyes of foreigners, the sites he had witnessed in Austria had so humbled him, that he could not very well in good faith keep up his usual confident facade. Thus, with a heavy sigh, he revealed an honest answer about the state of his homeland.

"Gone are the days of our Empire's glory, instead corruption is rife within the aristocracy, and my father the Regent is merely living out his fantasy of being a wealthy Emperor while our family's realm collapses around us. Truthfully, he would rather spend the expense of acquiring your weapons on lavish feasts and exotic concubines.

However, the boy emperor still has some degree of authority, and is greatly interested in purchasing your weapons, for what use he has in mind I do not know. Perhaps he aspires to conquer our southern neighbors in one last attempt to restore the glory of our dying Empire.

Or maybe the boy is afraid that the Muslims to the west are planning another invasion, as they have continued to pursue the wealth of our lands for the past few centuries. It should be no secret to a Kingdom as wealthy and powerful as yours that the Timurid Empire is amassing troops. Unfortunately, our spy network is under-funded, and riddled with incompetency, thus we do not know for sure whether they plan to attack our western border or attack their neighbors to the west."

The Austrian King took a sip of his wine as he listened to the Ambassador's story, he was quite surprised that he did not bother to present an image of power and glory even if his realm was really in a state of decline. After all, one should always negotiate from a position of power. Despite this, Berengar felt inclined to give the ambassador a bit of good news to help lift his spirits.

"You do not need to worry so much about the Timurid Empire, at least not for the time being. The troops they are preparing for war are not meant for your Empire, instead they seek to reclaim the holy land from the Byzantine Empire, a conflict my troops are sure to take part in. I promise you that when my armies have finished dealing with this little jihad of theirs, they won't have the strength to invade your borders for another hundred years."

The confidence that seeped from every word that left Berengar's mouth was enough to charm the Indian Ambassador, however there was still a hint of doubt in his minds towards Berengar's words, and thus he inquired about the source of this information.

"How can you be so sure about this?"

In response to this question, Berengar wore a smile before nodding his head towards his Second Wife, who immediately knew what Berengar was implying. She sighed before revealing her esteemed position within the Austrian Government.

"Because my agents have infiltrated every major civilization west of the Indus, when it comes to Austrian Intelligence, we pride ourselves on our ability to obtain and verify accurate information from all over the western world. The Timurid Empire plans to launch a jihad against Byzantium. In doing so, they plan to bring the might of the Mamluk and Jalayirid Sultanates to their side as they make one last attempt to reclaim the holy land from the Orthodox Empire."

It shocked Ishwar to hear not only the King of Austria, but his Queen was so confident in their ability to accurately predict their enemies' movements. Though there was one specific phrase that caught his attention. Thus, he asked for clarification on it.

"Last attempt? How do you know this will be their last attempt?"

Upon hearing this question, both Berengar and Linde began to chuckle. After a few moments, Berengar swirled the wine in his glass before making his stance on the Jihad clear.

"By the time I am through with the Muslim world, they will never again dare to march upon the western world. The price for their arrogance will be paid with the blood of millions of their people. They will understand the dominance of Austria and its allies, or they will face extinction.

The German people do not have the patience to endure centuries of bitter warfare simply because the Saracen's faith dictates that all should bow before their god. Nor should my people be expected to. One way or another, this will be the last Jihad. I will make sure of that..."

Again, Ishwar and the Anagpur delegation were surprised to see the limitless confidence on Berengar's face as he spoke about putting an end to Islam's invasions of the west. For centuries the Christian and Muslim faiths had been bitter rivals, and though in this timeline the Christians had been victorious in the crusades, and in doing so restored the might of their Byzantine allies. The resentment between the two peoples had never ceased, nor had the hostilities.

To so boldly claim that he would be responsible for ending the centuries long feud between Europe and the Middle East would be considered an act of arrogance by anyone else, but after witnessing the technological marvels of the Kingdom of Austria, Ishwar was inclined to believe that Berengar was speaking the truth.

Thus, the ambassador chuckled before taking a sip from his wine. His father would never believe the things he had witnessed on his visit to Austria, nor would he care for the words of hubris that this foreign King spoke. Yet Ishwar was determined to see whether Berengar's words would become reality. He smiled gracefully before responding to this strange man from the west.

"I would very much like to see your vision come true..."

Berengar did not respond to this comment, instead the servants entered the room and brought forth the meal that had been prepared for this occasion. After digging into the fine Austrian cuisine, Berengar realized now would be a great time to get involved in the spice trade. Thus, after taking a bite of his schnitzel, Berengar addressed the foreign ambassador.

"You said earlier that you wanted to purchase weapons from my kingdom. this could be arranged for a fair price, however I also have an interest in establishing trading ties between our two realms, and I mean more than just a mere arms deal.

For quite some time now, I have had to use the Byzantine Empire as a proxy to obtain certain goods from the Eastern World. Now that I am meeting with a representative from the Anagpur Empire face to face, I was wondering whether you are interested in exporting some of your spices to the Kingdom of Austria?"

After hearing this, Ishwar felt excited. Austria appeared to be absurdly wealthy, and establishing a trade with them in terms of spices was a good way to add another stream of revenue to the treasury, which by now was becoming depleted. Thus, he quickly nodded his head before asking the question on his mind.

"This could be possible. Tell me, what kinds of spices did you have in mind?

Berengar pretended to think about it for a few moments before naming a few spices that came to the west because of British Colonization of India in his past life.

"Off of the top of my head, I would very much like to introduce turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, ginger, and cardamom to the Austrian palette. What do you say? Do you have the authority to begin shipping these to my Kingdom En masse? I assure you that travel to the western world will be much more convenient in a few years."

Ishwar nodded his head with a pleasant smile on his face, before taking a bite out of his schnitzel, though it differed vastly from the cuisine he was used to, he seemed to enjoy it as his smile grew even wider after tasting the fine Austrian Cuisine.

"It is not a problem. I assure you whatever demand your Kingdom has for it, we have the ability to supply. The biggest problem is getting the goods to your lands. Anagpur is a long distance away from Austria, and there is no direct route via the sea."

Berengar shook his head when he heard this while wearing a confident smile.

"Not to worry, I have an alliance with the byzantine Empire. You simply need to get your goods to the red sea, and my merchants will do the rest."

Upon hearing this, Ishwar smiled before nodding his head in agreement.

"Very well. I look forward to doing business with you."

With that said, Berengar and Ishwar would continue to enjoy the feast until late into the night. In doing so, beginning a prosperous trade between their two realms.