Tyranny of Steel

While Yasmin was overcoming her grief with the company of Berengar's other women, the man himself was busy managing the Sultanate of Al-Andalus. The first thing that Berengar did upon seizing the position of Regent was establish the National Conscription Act forcing all men between the ages of eighteen to twenty-four to serve a minimum of two years in the newly reformed Andalusian Armed Forces. 

With the unification of Iberia under the reign of a single monarch, Berengar had to work hard to create a military system that integrated the various different cultures, languages, and religions into the same army, one that could efficiently work together as brothers in arms against hostile forces. It would not be easy. He had to take into account the Portuguese language, the various dialects of what would one day be the Spanish language, as well as the Arabic tongue. 

The integration of so many languages into one army was already giving Berengar a headache, and he was just glad that his own empire was ethnically, culturally, and linguistically homogenous. There were some slight dialectal differences in Germany, such as the Bavarian tongue, but such minor barriers could easily be overcome. This was not the case for Iberia. 

On top of the military conscription, Berengar had forced the refurbishment and sale of the remaining unconverted Berengar-class sailing frigates to the Sultanate of Al-Andalus. A total of fifty vessels were to be sold to Al-Andalus in the coming years. In honor of the previous sultan, these ships would be repainted and renamed as Hasan-class frigates. This would make the Sultanate of Al-Andalus the second greatest Naval Power in the Mediterranean. 

Unlike the fatherland, whose economy was robust and booming, allowing the crown to have a constant influx of funds to fuel their endeavors, Al-Andalus was devastated from years of warfare. It had never been given the time to fully introduce the agricultural and pre-industrial reforms that Berengar had given Hasan.

When Berengar first gazed upon the ledgers of the Royal Palace, he was shocked to see just how many funds were embezzled by Hasan so he could continue to afford the luxurious products of the Reich.  He was actually embarrassed by this stunning revelation, believing that Hasan's death may have been the greatest thing to happen to the people of Iberia. He could not help but curse the man for his corruption.

"Hasan, what the hell were you thinking? Those funds could have been used for agricultural and educational reforms, instead you wasted it on personal frivolities!"

Standing by Berengar's side as he enacted new laws on behalf of the new Sultan was General Ziyad, who gazed at the ledgers in the same state of disbelief as Berengar. He had not been privy to this massive scandal. If he had been, he surely would have advised Hasan to use the money he spent more wisely. 

Though this technically wasn't a crime, as Hasan had never advanced his realm beyond that of a feudal state, and because of this the Sultan could do whatever he wished with his nation's treasury. It was still a monumental waste of resources in Berengar's view. Though Berengar may live in a state of excess that few men in history have or ever will achieve. He had not spent a single thaler of taxpayer's money on himself and his family, at least not since he advanced beyond a feudal realm.

It was true that Berengar had used his feudal power to invest in the many major corporations that now dominated German trade, but that was the end of it. The personal wealth of the von Kufstein Dynasty came from having massive shares in major corporations such as the Gunther Merchant Company as well as personally owning a few corporations themselves, such as the Kufstein Armory, which was the largest and most prosperous arms corporation in the world. There was also the fact that Berengar owned the intellectual rights to all his inventions, which every company in his empire relied upon for business. 

Berengar sighed heavily as he looked at the meager funds he had to work with in order to rebuild Al-Andalus from the state it had suffered from under its previous ruler. He quickly concluded the best way to do that was step by step. He would use what funds he had now to invest in the agricultural innovations he had given to Hasan years prior. After fully implementing such a thing across the realm, the profits would be meager, but enough to sustain development in other areas. 

It was with this in mind that Berengar signed a new law that would overhaul the agriculture of Iberia so that it resembled Austria prior to the invention of the steam engine. Berengar still had a stockpile of the old agricultural devices lying around that he could sell to Al-Andalusian farmers at a reduced price. 

When Ziyad saw this, he could not help but question if such a vast expense was really acceptable.

"Are we really going to spend such a large sum of money on agricultural improvements?"

When Berengar heard this, he simply scoffed before responding to the man's question.

"Of course, agriculture is the basis of any functional civilization. The more food you produce, the more your people can eat. The more they can eat, the more healthy they will be. The more healthy they are, the longer they can work, the longer they can work, the more they can produce. Without a surplus of food, this Kingdom will never truly prosper. So we will invest in agricultural production, then when we have gained the profits from that, we will invest in the industry."

Ziyad merely nodded his head in response. What Berengar said had made sense, and if he was just going to follow the route he had used to make Germany so successful, then the man did not have any complaints. He had no grand vision that Al-Andalus would ever rival the Reich, but under the regency of Berengar von Kufstein, the old general felt that Al-Andalus would most certainly be superior to its neighbors. 

Berengar gazed at the next document in his hand and sighed heavily before grabbing hold of his flask and taking a stiff drink. The report was from Imperial Intelligence, who had infiltrated a resistance movement in Northern Spain. With the announcement of Ghazi's ascension to the role of Sultan, and Berengar's appointment as regent. The Catholic Church was whipped up into a frenzy. 

For the papacy, this was the worst situation imaginable. Iberia, which they had long since sought to unite, and would have normally been a major backer of the Holy See, was now completely under control of their greatest enemy. As a result, the Papacy immediately diverted attention from the crusade in the Holy Land which had reached a stalemate, and funneled supplies into the hand of Iberian rebels.

The fact of the matter was that there was simply no conceivable way to drive the German Army from the region, and because of this, the papacy had come up with a sinister alternative. They had one target, the new Sultan Ghazi Al-Fadl. The Catholic church believed if they could assassinate the boy, then they could remove Berengar's regency over Iberia. 

Upon uncovering this plot, Berengar was trembling with rage. If there was one thing in this world that Berengar would never tolerate, it was threats to his family. As a result, he had decided to send a message to the Pope and all of his followers across the world. With a sinister smile etched upon his lips, Berengar posed a question to the nearby general. 

"Ziyad... Tell me, are there any men in your army who are fanatical haters of the Catholic Church?"

The man scoffed in response to this. Was there really a need to ask such a question? However, when realizing that Berengar was serious, he recovered his demeanor and nodded politely.

"Of Course! Why? What did you have in mind?"

Berengar did not explain in detail the malevolent plot he had conducted, instead he wore a terrifying smile as he gave the man an order.

"I need you to assemble a list of candidates. I need one man to undertake a dangerous operation that will ultimately result in his death. If he succeeds, he will be able to wipe out the college of cardinals in its entirety..."

Ziyad raised his brow in confusion and horror as he heard what Berengar had in mind. His first thoughts unknowingly escaped his lips.

"You have the means to achieve such a thing?"

Berengar nodded his head slightly before revealing what he was thinking. 

"I do... It is a detestable method, but an effective one. Normally I would never ask a man to perform such a suicidal act, but the Papacy has gone too far. They are now targeting a member of my family, and I will not allow them to get away with even thinking about such action. The college of cardinals must die, and it must be an Andalusian who sends them to hell. Your orders are simple: compile a list of men who are ready and willing to give their life in martyrdom, and leave the rest to me."

Ziyad bowed his head respectfully before responding in affirmation of his orders.

"Yes, sir!"

After saying this, he immediately got to work on finding the list of candidates for Berengar's secret mission. Berengar, on the other hand, took another drink as he gazed off into the setting sun of the Granadan sky. A single phrase escaped his lips as he dwelled on what he was about to do.

"I'm going to go to hell for this..."