Tyranny of Steel

News of the Ming Dynasty's annexation of over all of Indochina quickly reached the ears of both the Japanese Empress and the German Kaiser. At the moment Nakamura Hana, who was the head of the Kempeitai, was informing Itami Riyo of what had recently occurred in the south-east.

"According to our intelligence, it would appear as if the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty has led a brief campaign throughout the jungles of south Indochina in a successful attempt to subject them to the tributary system.

Why, all of a sudden, the Ming Dynasty has decided to aggressively expand its sphere of influence, we are uncertain. However, it would appear that the German arms they have purchased have played a large role in their swift victory."

Itami portrayed herself in a calm and collected manner, but in reality she was slightly perturbed. For some time now, she knew that the Ming Dynasty was being supplied with weapons from the German Empire, however the amount of money Germany was raking in by selling weapons to the Ming was surely a large sum.

While the Ming Dynasty was the Japanese Empire's largest trading partner, the goods that were exchanged were largely luxury items. Not once had the Ming Emperor requested the sale of arms. It was almost as if he was spitting in her face by doing so.

Thus, Itami could not help but expect that Zhu Wudi was secretly violating his neutral stance by supporting the German Empire. Of course, she had no way of proving this, and thus she could only vent her frustration on the Ming Prince.

"At the very least, this Zhu Zhi is more capable than his fool of a younger brother. I wonder why that old dog Zhu Wudi did not send this child as his ambassador to my Empire. Is he perhaps looking down on me?"

Nakamura had no answer to this question, and instead looked aside, not willing to gaze into the fury that devoured the Empress's crimson eyes. After several moments of contemplation, Itami gave a simple order before changing the subject.

"Keep an eye on Ming activities within the Southeast. If they begin expanding further, I want to know about it. Besides that, update me on the status of the German warships in the Indian Ocean. Were they not previously spotted by our own fleets sailing westward?"

Upon hearing her Empress's question, the intelligence director quickly flipped through her notes before stumbling upon the most recent news of the German Fleet.

"Yes, here it is! A small fleet composed of what appears to be a corvette, and a few destroyers sailed to the southwest before going beyond our range of detection. I don't know precisely where they were headed, but just recently they have re-appeared east of the Majapahit Empire."

A frown formed itself upon Itami's luscious lips. She could guess where this fleet was headed, though why it had done so was up to interpretation. It could not feasibly be that the Germans had begun to explore Australasia with the intent of colonizing the region, could it? Upon expecting this possibility, Itami eye's darted towards Nakamura before giving her a direct order.

"Relay my commands to the appropriate branches. I want an expeditionary fleet assembled and sent south-west in the direction that the German fleet was headed. If you find any presence of the Germans within the region, immediately report it back to me!"

Nakamura had no way of knowing why the Empress was so concerned about such a small fleet. But she did not refuse her orders, and instead bowed her head humbly in response.

"Yes, Tenno heika-sama"

Itami barely noticed the woman's response and was instead in deep thought. Australasia, as a whole, was filled with many natural resources, especially Australia itself. If the Germans colonized the region before she did, they would not only gain an additional industrial advantage. They would also have the ability to flank her forces with military bases posted in Singapore and Australia. Such a scenario was a nightmare for her future war efforts.

It was only after several moments of silence did Itami realize Nakamura was still present, and quickly dismissed the woman with a rather irritated tone in her voice.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

This shrill remark nearly made the director of intelligence jump out of her skin, as she quickly bowed her head once more before scurrying off like a scared cat. Once she was gone, Itami gazed upon the portrait of Berengar intensely as she questioned what the man was thinking.

"Just what are you up to?"

Naturally there was no response, but Itami felt as if she was peering into the eyes of a very mysterious man, one who had repeatedly one upped her. As a result, she could only frown before cursing at the painting.

"Fucking bastard!'

Berengar felt the need to sneeze, as if someone was speaking ill of him. Despite this sudden urge, he mustered his will and prevented himself from doing so. After all, he was in a very important meeting with a man he had not seen in years.

In the colony of Berenstadt, Berengar sat in a lovely villa, which acted as his perosnal abode during his visits to the region. The colony of Berenstadt, like most German colonies, had developed rapidly into a sprawling city.

One whose technology was similar to that of the fatherland. With the thousands of Dominion II class cargo ships constructed over the years and operated by German Merchants, the exchange of resources between the German colonies and the fatherland was a constant flow of goods.

This allowed the Colonies to develop at a rate similar to the fatherland. In this city, electricity was a common sight, as were indoor plumbing and flowing water. Waste treatment facilities existed, as did recycling plants.

In the nearby farmlands, combine harvesters and tractors, which were powered by hemp based bio-diesel, did all the work. In other words, the colonies of the German Empire, or at least those that had been established years ago, had similar living conditions to the fatherland.

Meanwhile, the neighboring Aztec Empire was still in a similar state as its previous iteration. The primary difference being the use of steel tools, which were purchased by the reich, and in an increase in agricultural output.

In fact, the rapid progress that had occurred in the colony of Berenstadt astonished Emperor Itzcoatl. If this city was a fraction of the glory that existed in what the Germans referred to as the fatherland, then they indeed were no different from living gods. Ultimately, Berengar had to snap the Aztec Emperor out of his daze, as he spoke to the man in a rather courteous tone.

"So... I heard that you successfully conquered the neighboring Mayan Empire. Is that correct?"

Itzcoatl immediately snapped to attention as he heard these words by nodding his head in silence thrice. Upon seeing this, Berengar smiled before proposing an opportunity for the Aztec Emperor.

"Good, I have plans for the southernmost regions of the territory which previously belonged to the Mayans. I intend to invest a substantial sum of time, effort, and resources into building a great canal that would allow my ships direct access to the pacific ocean. Though in order to do this in the most timely manner, I will need the support of your empire. More specifically, the vast network of slaves you have access to. You can fulfill my requirements can you not?"

Though the Aztec Empire was technically a tributary state, its entire existence relied on the protection and trade that the Germans provided them. So much so that Itzcoatl was willing to do whatever Berengar asked of him. Thus, he nodded his head with a submissive smile on his face as he responded to Berengar's 'request'.

"That won't be a problem. We captured far too many slaves from the Mayans. Now that we no longer sacrifice people, we have more slaves than we know what to do with. How many do you need?"

A sadistic grin curved itself on Berengar's face as he thought about this particular issue. While the man had outlawed slavery, he was not so delusional that he was unaware of its practicality. In fact, slavery was a rather efficient means of labor. One that had been used throughout the entirety of human history to accomplish grand feats.

The reason Berengar had outlawed slavery was not because he found the practice to be morally abhorrent. In fact, in this world, it was still a regular practice outside of the reich, and he had done nothing to stop that. As he did not see such a thing to be his personal responsibility.

No, Berengar outlawed slavery, and inflicted severe punishments on his citizens who were caught engaging in such a crime because he wanted to avoid the disastrous consequences that Western Civilizations had endured in the centuries that followed after the Atlantic Slave trade ended during his past life.

The last thing he needed was for future generations of Germans to be a bunch of spineless, self-loathing cowards who spat at their own civilization's history solely because they committed an act which had been normal for the entirety of human existence.

Nor did he desire the existence of a substantial ethnic minority which demanded reparations for this past deed, while blaming all the problems which their community faced on this historical practice. If there was anything that the failures of the United States of America had taught Berengar, it was to avoid a multi-ethnic and multicultural nation at all costs.

Thus, the importation and trade of slaves was strictly outlawed, specifically to avoid the civil strife caused by such a failed society. As a result, Berengar had no qualms about using the slave labor of the Aztec Empire to build the Panama canal as quickly as possible. As it was in a foreign land, with a foreign populace. Thus, he responded with the number he desired.

"At the bare minimum, ten thousand. I can import workers from the fatherland and the equipment needed to build the canal. However, the project would still progress much quicker with the aid of slave labor. If you can promise me ten thousand slaves, I will be able to complete this effort in less than five years."

Itzcoatl chuckled upon hearing such a paltry sum and immediately began to boast of his abilities. If there was one metric the Aztec Empire beat the Reich in, it was the number of slaves they had access to. Something he, as an Aztec, took great pride in.

"Ten thousand? I can double that, and still have tens of thousands of slaves too many within my markets. Why don't we just call it fifty thousand, and you can do what you want with them after you have finished your work?

This number surprised even Berengar, but ultimately he nodded his head in response. If he had five times the number of slaves, he could finish the project five times as quickly. Perhaps all he needed was a year to finish the Panama Canal. Thus he smiled and nodded his head silently, and in doing so condemned fifty thousand slaves to a year's worth of brutal labor.