Tyranny of Steel

At the dawn of the next day, Alexandros awoke in his bedchambers. He quickly climbed out of his covers and got dressed in a silk robe, where he proceeded to take a bath. Once finished, he had his breakfast while looking at the morning paper.

The immediate headline alerted the man to something which was taking place in his own backyard. As his father had promised, A Carrier Strike Group, whose flagship was one of the new super-carriers, now sat in the Persian Gulf, waiting for the signal to launch an attack on the Arab sultanates which neighbored the Byzantine Empire.

However, Alexandros would not simply start a war for the sake of conquest without a proper reason for doing so. After all, there was a certain degree of infamy which followed war mongers, which was a stigma that he wished to avoid.

Alexandros had grown up in Kufstein watching his father masterfully manipulate his neighbors into giving him a valid casus belli time and again, and thus he had planned to follow in the man's footsteps.

Thus, while Alexandros enjoyed his breakfast with some much needed peace and quiet, his men were currently on the borders of the Jalayirid Sultanate with special orders to provoke a border conflict. This special task force of elite soldiers had disguised themselves as Arabs, and were currently in the act of harassing Byzantine merchants who were attempting to bring their wares to Mecca.

While pretending to be members of the Jalayirid Sultanate's Army, these Byzantine Operatives had set up a fake checkpoint, and were now inspecting all the goods which passed through their area. In doing so, they extorted the byzantine merchants out of coin and goods.

While many of the Byzantine Merchants decided to pay this "toll" which had set itself upon their path, others were rather furious. And had begun to make a commotion.

"You can not do this! Who do you think you are to demand that we pay a hundred solidii just to pass through this canyon? You are no different from common highwaymen!"

The Byzantine operatives who were disguised as Arabs simply smirked as they spoke in Arabic to the disgruntled roman merchants.

"If you don't like it, then go around, but if you do so, I doubt you will make it to your destination alive!"

As the Byzantine operative said this, he placed his hand upon the hilt of his scimitar, in a threatening gesture. The act of which did not frighten the outraged merchants, but instead emboldened them.

One of the merchants, in particular, reached into his waistband and pulled out an old revolver, which he cocked back the hammer before pointing the muzzle at the Byzantine operative's forehead. With a stern tone in his gruff voice, the Merchant began to threaten the men who he believed were members of the Jalayirid Army.

"Move out of my way now and you can keep your life!"

This was exactly what the Byzantine operatives were waiting for, as the man pushed the revolver out of the way, while drawing his jambiya dagger, which he used to cut the merchant's throat. With the spilling of fresh blood, the Merchants who had gathered in the ravine began to panic. Most of them simply wanted to pass through the ravine and were even willing to pay the toll that was asked of them.

However, now that blood had been spilled, an all-out brawl broke out, where the Byzantine Operatives standing on the cliffs above aimed down their matchlock muskets, and fired upon the crowd. Thus ending several dozen more lives.

As for the rest of the Byzantine merchants, they fled the way they had come, with two goals in mind. The immediate objective was survival. Considering the soldiers of the Jalayirid Army had suddenly gone mad, they had no choice but to run.

However, the second aim of these fleeing merchants was to spread word of the massacre that unfolded at the border between the Byzantine and Jalayirid Empires, after all, they needed to seek restitution from these Arabs, even if it meant dragging the entire empire into a war.

Once the surviving merchants had fled, the man tasked with leading the Byzantine operatives scoffed with disdain, before kicking the corpse of the man whose throat he had cut.

"You can get up now. They are all gone!"

With that said, the merchant who had started the whole border conflict, and who was seemingly dead, climbed to his feet, where he dusted off his clothes, and wiped the fake blood from his throat.

He was not alone, as the twelve or so men who had been "shot" by muskets also did the same. Revealing that they were all a part of the byzantine task force designed to spark a conflict with the Jalayirid Sultanate, who would, in turn, drag their Timurid allies into the war. With a smile on his face, the lead "merchant" chuckled before posing a question.

"Do you think they bought it?"

The head of the task force nodded his head with a solemn expression on his face, before looking west towards Constantinople, where he knew that the young emperor was most likely preparing for the upcoming conflict.

"Without a doubt, there is no going back to this. War is now inevitable. I just hope that our emperor knows what he is doing!"

It took a few days for word to reach Constantinople about the supposed '"Jalayirid attack" on a group of Byzantine merchants. And when it did, rumors were flooding through the streets of the eastern roman capital of an upcoming war between the Jalayirid Sultanate, and the Byzantine Empire.

Unsurprisingly, the Byzantine people were outraged at their Arab neighbors and demanded blood in return for that of their own which had been spilled in the sands of the Arabian Peninsula. Naturally, Alexandros took advantage of this incident, and publically sent an ultimatum to his Arab neighbors. Specifically, the Jalayirid Sultan.

There were a list of demands regarding the immediate execution of the "Jalayirid Soldiers" who were involved in the incident. Reparations for an unprovoked attack, restitution for the families of the slain, and a public apology from the Sultan himself.

If the Ultimatum were just these few things, then it was entirely possible that the Jalayirid Sultan would agree to the terms, even if they were a tad bit excessive. However, the last demand that Alexandros made of his Arab neighbors was simply unacceptable, and thus resulted in an immediate refusal.

That last demand was none other than for the Jalayirid Sultanate to submit to Vassalization. This would effectively end their sovereignty as a State, and would make them a subject of the Byzantine Empire.

No matter what happened, the Jalayirid Sultan would never accept such a stringent demand, and thus, after receiving the man's response, Alexandros smiled sadistically, before arranging a public announcement to the people of Byzantium.

Gathered outside of the Royal Palace in Constantinople, Alexandros stood by his lonesome at a podium. Which was wired with microphones provided by the German Media, as his voice echoed across the capital of Byzantium.

"My fellow Romans, I stand here today to make a public declaration of war against those who would unjustly slay our merchants, and steal their wares! The Jalayirid Sultan, has in an act of provocation spat upon the terms I presented to cease hostilities between our two realms, and in doing so, he has spat upon the lives of the slain. These were innocent men who were killed by his soldiers for refusing to be extorted!

It is clear that the corruption of our neighbors has become a problem that is bleeding into our own lives. This is something that I refuse to tolerate, and as such, I am officially declaring war on the Jalayirid Sultanate, and all of their allies!

For your crimes against the Roman people, we will invade and annex your lands. So that a situation like this may never again befall the good and honest people of Byzantium. Glory to Constantinople!"

The crowd of civilians who had gathered to hear the Emperor's speech all broke out into cheers and began to chant the last words which Alexandros had spoken.

"Glory to Constantinople! Glory to Constantinople! Glory to Constantinople!"

With this, the drums of war had begun to beat, and the Byzantine Army, which was already mobilized and waiting for an excuse to invade their neighbors, would immediately depart and march into the Arabian Peninsula in a bid to annex the Jalayirid Sultanate.

As for the Kriegsmarine, and its Luftwaffe attachment, they were watching the Byzantine Emperor's broadcast with excited expressions on their faces. They would finally be able to test their latest weapons against an adversary. It was just a pity that the Arabs were so primitive that they did not even have trains. Regardless, the damage that a single Carrier Wing could commit was no small amount.

Thus, Byzantium and the Arab World were now officially at war. Perhaps the only Muslim state which would stay out of this conflict would be the Iberian Empire, who would take advantage of the chaos to annex their neighbors in North Africa.

If you're not reading this on Webnovel, consider supporting me by donating at https://ko-fi.com/zentmeisterc