Tyranny of Steel

Berengar was sitting in his office with a stern expression on his handsome visage. Standing across from him was his wife, Linde, who was dressed in her intelligence uniform. The busty redheaded beauty was his director of intelligence, and she had received a radiotelegraph from the Byzantine Empire. She handed the communication over to her husband before summarizing its contents.

"Emperor Vetranis requests further military aid in the form of material support. He has lost control over large swaths of the Holy Land. His armies that can be deployed to the region have suffered heavy losses, and the Timurids are in a worse position.

He is afraid that the Crusaders will march south and attack our little project in Egypt. Egypt, as you know, is a considerable source of income for the Eastern Empire, and they are afraid of losing it. Thus, they are using our canal as a means to inspire us to help them."

Berengar read over the communication that was sent between the two Empires and gazed upon the intelligence report constructed by his agents in the field. It would appear that the Byzantine and Timurid Empire had suffered severe losses. More than Berengar had estimated.

These casualties were mostly the result of several tactical blunders on the part of the Strategos who were deployed the region. If Palladius had been tasked with leading the troops, the war would have been over already. Yet he was the man trusted with protecting the Balkans, and thus he could not move his forces further east. 

The report also stated that the Byzantine Emperor would be calling for the heads of his generals who had failed so miserably to defend Jerusalem. As expected, the moment the Byzantine and Timurid forces lost the city, the Crusaders butchered its inhabitants. Only the catholic denizens were spared from the sword of the invaders. 

The immense loss of life from this conflict, the damage done to the Byzantine and Timurid armies, and the turmoil in the Byzantine court had created the necessary chaos that Berengar was expecting. Thus, he sighed heavily before inquiring further about the political situation of his allies.

"What news do you have of the Dove faction? Have they made any moves to negotiate peaceful terms with the Papacy?"

Linde wore a smug smile on her pretty face as she handed over another document to the main. It was an intelligence dossier on the dove faction, which was led by the first prince of the Byzantine Empire, a young man named Quintus. She quickly summarized its contents in the easiest way to explain.

"The doves have caused quite the chaotic scene in the Byzantine Court. As the war progresses further into turmoil, they seek to end it via a peaceful negotiation. Prince Quintus has been very vocal about reaching a solution that the Catholics, Orthodox, and Muslims can all agree upon. He states this war is a result of your reckless actions, and that they must sign another treaty with the Catholic World. 

However, such views are unpopular among the Timurids who seek to avenge their losses. If the Byzantine Empire were to sue for peace, all of your work to achieve peace between the Byzantines and Saracens would go to waste. How should we proceed?"

Berengar thought about this question for a while, before deciding on how to deal with the middle-eastern crisis. After several moments of deliberation, he voiced his conclusion aloud with a hint of pride in his voice. 

"Use our agents who are embedded in Constantinople to work alongside Quintus in search of a peaceful solution to the crisis in the Holy Land. At the same time use our spies in the papacy to influence the Pope into making a horrific treaty that would cause the Byzantine Empire to suffer dearly.

Make sure these negotiations end in a way that heavily favors the crusaders and penalizes the Byzantine-Timurid alliance. I want Vetranis to know just how incompetent his pacifistic son is, especially within the field he supposedly specializes in.

Once Vetranis realizes that both of his sons are garbage, he will be open to the idea of placing Alexandros on the throne. Alexandros will become the light in the eyes of a nation filled with despair."

This remark slightly surprised Linde. She did not expect Berengar wanted the Byzantine Empire to plunge into the depths of despair. Such a thing would be difficult to achieve, but Berengar had long since formulated a plan for how to accomplish this. Thus, he continued on with his speech.

"I want you to secretly provide military aid to the Catholic forces, leak to them the knowledge of rifling, so that their infantry will be on par with the Byzantines. You can also sell off some of our black powder reserve through an unofficial channel to the crusader armies. Once the Crusaders are confident in their means to fully field firearms, they will easily take over the Holy Land and parts of Anatolia. 

The Byzantine and Timurids will suffer heavy losses and will be forced to the negotiating table. Where they will accept whatever terms the Catholics give them. I want this conflict to end bloody. After the Catholics have won the war, our agents will influence the papacy, to negotiate a peace, that sees large sections of Byzantine and Timurid territory annexed by the Church and split into so-called crusader kingdoms. As part of the treaty, the Byzantines and Timurids will be forced to pay a large sum of gold, and will have to limit their army. This humiliation will drive a form of resentment towards the ruling dynasty and the Catholic World. 

I want Alexandros to not only be the Emperor of the Romans, but the savior who restored their Empire to its former glory. I want him to end the Palaiologos dynasty's control over the Empire and forge his own. A cadet branch of both of our houses, the Palaiologos-Kufstein Dynasty. Naturally, Alexandros will have Germany's full support in these endeavors. 

It may take years for the resentment of the Roman people to boil to a point that they demand Vetranis' replacement, but when the time comes, Alexandros will be ready to assume his role as the new emperor of the East."

Linde gazed in astonishment at her husband and the lengths of her machinations. She did not know that her husband wanted to forge a mythos behind his son to ensure that he was admired by future generations, much like he had done to Germany. She always assumed that Berengar just wanted Alexandros on the throne of Byzantium as a puppet. 

Truth be told, the treaty of Versailles inspired Berengar in how to properly punish a nation in defeat. Despite reviling said treaty in his past life and seeing it as the cause of the Second World War, he knew he needed to break the Byzantine people's spirit in order to make his son with Honoria venerated for centuries beyond his death.

Who would be the Hero to rise in a time of darkness and restore the Byzantine Empire to its previous heights? Why, the son of Berengar von Kufstein, of course. The father of Germany and world hegemon would foster two children who would become legendary figures in their own right. That was the legacy Berengar wanted to leave behind.

Naturally, nobody would know about Germany's involvement in the defeat of their allies, or their mistreatment caused by the abhorrent treaty. As far as the world was concerned, Germany would continue to provide military support to their allies via means of weapons and training until the end of the war. 

Linde gazed upon her husband as if she no longer knew the man she was married to. To think that his machinations were beyond her exceptional understanding of his character. It surprised her that there was still more to this man's character that even she couldn't see through.

Such a thought compelled her to learn more about the man she loved, until she knew everything there was to know about him, something she had previously thought she already accomplished. A seductive smile formed itself upon the women's pretty lips as she cocked her head to the side and spoke to the man sitting confidently in front of her. 

"Master?"

Berengar's gaze shifted to the woman's odd behavior as he questioned her intentions.

"What is it?"

Linde quickly lifted the skirt of her intelligence uniform to reveal her pantyhose and thong, which were drenched in her juices. With a lust filled gaze in her sky-blue eyes, she revealed her thoughts to the man. 

"I'm dreadfully wet right now..."

In response to this, Berengar smiled and rose from his seat, before walking over the woman and grabbing hold of her shoulders as he whispered in her ears.

"I think I might have a cure for what ails you."

After saying this, Berengar and Linde engaged in the throes of passion for the next hour, before sending off a variety of communications that would ultimately end the war in the middle east in Berengar's favor.