Tyranny of Steel

After the feast was over, Berengar saw his guests off to the quarters they were staying in his city. He had made quite an impression on these Byzantine noblemen and merchants, and in the following days, would make sure to negotiate proper trade agreements with every one of them. The more contacts he made in the East, the better his business would become. After reclaiming much of their lost territories since the Crusades had begun, The Byzantine Empire was wealthy, far more than a region like Germany; after all, they were in the center of trade between the West and the East.

Though the Byzantines had to repel Saracen invasions a couple of times a decade, for the most part, their power was stable, and Berengar saw an opportunity in building relations with them. As such, he made sure to take care of his guests during this feast. After sending the men off, he returned to his Castle, where he sat down and had a glass of wine alongside his beautiful young lover. The wine was a gift from the Byzantine Empire and was of significant quality, thus Berengar wanted to have a taste of it.

After swirling the wine around in his chalice and inhaling the thick aroma, Berengar sipped upon the fine alcohol before nodding his head in approval.

"The Byzantines sure know how to make a good wine...."

On the other hand, Linde had some questions on her mind and was not afraid to speak of them; as such, she quickly asked Berengar about his intentions.

"You sure seem to be treating these men from the east quite well. Do you intend to establish an arms trade with the Byzantines?"

Berengar smiled and nodded his head before explaining his plans.

"The Eastern half of the Roman Empire was always its wealthiest region, with much of their lands reclaimed the Byzantines have amassed quite a fortune over the previous centuries. Due to being near the Saracens, they are constantly under threat of invasion and spend a large amount of wealth on their military. Now that they know I have a substantial supply of steel, when they return to the East and spread the news of this, the Generals of the Byzantine armies will be begging me to supply their forces with high-quality equipment."

Berengar estimated that the Byzantines would most likely be victorious in their ongoing war with Egypt and reap great spoils from the region, further increasing their wealth. As such, he intended to get on their good side and make as much money from their wars as possible. Wars were a profitable business to those who had the means to take advantage of them. Linde carefully observed Berengar's estimation before nodding her head in agreement; what Berengar said was most likely true, and getting in the good graces of the Byzantine Empire provided substantial benefits. As such, she complimented him on his schemes.

"You really think everything through, don't you?"

Berengar chuckled as he took a swig from his glass of wine before responding.

"Not everything, but I try to be a few steps ahead of my potential rivals. Make no mistake, in the future, when I have united my German Empire, the Byzantines will be a rival for global hegemony, at the rate they are expanding, they could become a threat if relations are not properly maintained."

Luckily for Berengar, he knew about the new world and the resource-rich regions of Africa, most of which were sparsely populated and posed no major threat to an advanced army like his own. After unifying his Empire, he would take advantage of his knowledge and lay claim to the best regions in the world for colonization. By the time the Byzantine Empire and the other powers realized the value of these regions, the critical areas would already be under German sovereignty.

Linde saw the proud expression on Berengar's face but could not read his mind, and as such, did not know what he was smirking about. However, she knew when it came to Berengar and his ambitions that it was best not to overstep her bounds, and as such, she decided to switch the topic.

"So, will you be showing the merchants your steel stockpile?"

Snapping back to reality from Linde's words, Berengar quickly nodded his head in response and smiled once more.

"Of course! They need to know just how much I can produce so that they can brag to the Empire about my steel surplus. The greater the surplus, the larger the interest the Empire will have for my steel. I will show them the extent of my people's labor tomorrow; it will be sure to leave a lasting impression on these merchants and noblemen from the East."

With that said, the two lovers quickly finished their wine before returning to their bed chambers, where they embraced each other passionately for many hours into the long night. After the sun rose in the morning, Berengar got up and began his daily routine. It was well past noon when he finally met with Arethas and the others in the city below.

After meeting up with Arethas, Berengar patted the man on the back with a wide grin on his face.

"Come! Let me show you the extent of my industry!"

Hearing these words, a flash of greed filled the eyes of the merchants from the east who surrounded Berengar like a flock of hungry buzzards. Berengar knew what they were thinking about from the gleam in their pupils; unfortunately for them, he would not allow them to see the machinery used to create such a massive stockpile of steel, only the results of production.

As such, Berengar led the men through the industrial district of Kufstein, whose secrets were heavily guarded by the garrison; only properly authorized personnel was allowed through the gates, but since these men traveled with Berengar, they were easily able to pass by the strict security. After all, Berengar owned this entire city.

Berengar made sure to give the men a tour of the industrial district outside of the critical areas of development; as such, the armories and arms factories were the first he showed. Of course, he showed the factories which explicitly produced equipment for export, not the manufacture of his own supplies. Seeing such a large warehouse filled with hundreds of employees working in well-organized assembly lines to create sets of brigandine and plate armor, the Byzantine merchants were shocked by the size of the operation. Berengar smiled smugly at the expressions on their faces before introducing the area.

"This is the armory, where we manufacture brigandine and plate armor for export to our customers. Of course, if you desire a different armor style, we could also manufacture that for you. From my understanding, the Byzantine army uses a mixture of mail and mirror-pattern armor, and I would be more than happy to craft such equipment if an agreement can be reached."

Mirror-pattern armor was a style of armor used by eastern forces; it consisted of a group of interlocking iron plates, usually in the form of circles and squares which protected the torso; these plates were grouped together by rivetted mail rings. Generally speaking, the mirror pattern armor was worn over a mail hauberk. Berengar produced very little mail armor because it was a time-consuming practice, far more so than brigandine and plate. He would honestly prefer to introduce this western style of equipment to the Byzantine forces, but that was not his decision to make.

Seeing the grand scale of equipment production, Arethas felt the need to ask about where such supplies would be sold off to.

"Just who is your customer for such a large supply of equipment?"

Berengar smiled and did not hide that this equipment was custom ordered and paid for by the Duke of Austria and his vassals.

"My largest customer at the moment is Count Otto of Steiermark. However, Duke Wilmar has recently begun placing orders for his personal armies as well. Luckily for him, he came into a large supply of weapons and armor from the late Count Lothar and his armies; due to the size and speed of my Industry, he has given me the task of repairing and outfitting the equipment for his purposes. However, a lot of this is also new production; as the war goes on, the demand for more equipment expands."

The sight of the armory left a lasting impression on Arethas, and he could hardly believe his eyes. Of course, when the Byzantine noblemen and merchants arrived at their next destination, they would be equally shocked by the scale of industry in which Berengar had fostered in Kufstein. If the mighty Strategos knew that Kufsatein was just one of Berengar's industrial cities and that Innsbruck had been developing its own industrial sector, he would truly lose his mind in astonishment.