Tyranny of Steel

Deep within the lands of the Anangpur Empire there existed a makeshift military base which had been established by the German Army Corps of Engineers the moment after Emperor Dharya Tomara reclaimed his throne. Though it was not a proper base in comparison to those used by the Reich, it was capable of fulfilling its current task, and that was to train a new generation of soldiers for the Royal Anangpur Army..

In an act of mandatory conscription. Dharya had made a legal decree that every abled body man aged 16-20 was taken out of the fields, and forced into armed service. Though it did not aid with his popularity as a man who recently ascended to the throne, it was entirely necessary for the continued survival of his people. 

These youths were currently undergoing physical training via the methods that had been established by the German Army over a decade prior. Pushups, situps, pullups, long distance running. These were all things that thousands of young men were currently engaging in across the military base.

Despite the fact that this was an Anangpur Military base, the drill instructors were not Indian, nor were they German. Instead, they were from the Majapahit Empire. Due to a shared language, Berengar had requested his lovely little concubine to convince her father to send officers to the Anangpur Empire to train its newest recruits. After all, the Royal Majapahit Army was already two years into their training, and could easily fulfill this task. 

The Majapahit drill instructors yelled towards the young recruits in the Sanskrit language as they continued to perform pushups to build strength so that they could be fully capable of armed conflict in the months to come.

While this was occurring, Emperor Dharya Tomara watched the scene as it unfolded. He was no longer dressed in the traditional attire of his home country. Rather; he wore a military uniform loosely based upon those used by the British Indian Army during the second world war of Berengar's past life. 

By the young emperor's side were the two Generals who had been dispatched to oversee the progress of the Royal Anangpur Army. General Arnwald Gerwig from the German Empire, and General Budiono from the Majapahit Empire.

The two men were giving Dharya a tour of the facility. As they passed by the field where the recruits performed their daily physical training, Arnwald discussed the purpose of these exercises. 

"Basic training is about building strength of mind, character, and most importantly, the body. While also teaching the soldiers to obey all commands given to them without hesitation. We also provide fundamental use of arms and tactics.

Due to the fact that the enemies you will be facing are equipped with repeating firearms, the Kaiser, in his infinite wisdom, has seen fit to equip your soldiers with the G25 Bolt-Action rifle as the standard issue armament. 

Once the soldiers complete their basic training, they will be sent to specialized training based on their talents. Most of these men will be assigned to either the infantry or artillery. Come this way, and I will show you a presentation of the weapons your soldiers will wield into battle."

Dharya nodded his head in silence as he followed General Arnwald Gerwig to the range, where hundreds of his soldiers lie prone, firing their G25 bolt action rifles towards the steel targets that existed one hundred meters down range.

The explosive blast of the 8mm round as it broke the sound barrier crackled in the air as each soldier pulled the trigger to their weapon before racking their bolts and chambering another round. After doing so, they aimed down their sights and pulled the trigger once more after acquiring their target. 

Dharya was impressed that the men scored their hits, and nodded his head in satisfaction. Arnwald continued to explain the training as they walked past the shooting range. 

"The marksmanship training is split into different grades based upon how many hits a soldier scores, as well as the time it took them to do so. The best of your soldiers will be issued a rifle with an optic when they finally deploy to the battlefield, which should increase their lethality by a wide margin."

Dharya nodded his head as he heard the words that Arnwald had spoken. He knew little about managing an army, luckily he had the experience of Germany on his side, or else he would never be able to resist the might of the Bengal Empire. 

The tour of the facility lasted for some time before the sun began to set, and Dharya grew tired. He had observed many things today that he never thought he would see. It was truly an enlightening experience.

As an end to the tour, Arnwald led Dharya into the Officer's mess, where they cracked open a few bottles of German whiskey and began to speak about the facts of life. After several drinks when the three men had enough alcohol in their bloodstream, Dharya was quick to ask the Majapahit General about how his nation had come to align itself with Germany. 

"So tell my General Budiono, as I am naturally curious. How did Berengar manage to get your King's support?"

The Indonesian General took a sip from the whiskey that had been imported from the reich and sighed in relief. There appeared to be a conflicted expression on his face as he told the tale of how the Majapahit Empire had sold its soul to the Reich. 

" Approximately two years ago, the princess of our Kingdom visited the borders of the Reich. Her father, the King, had tasked her to negotiate with the Emperor of Germany in regards to taxes that were supposed to be enforced on all who passed through the Malacca strait.

Imagine our surprise when she returned home, pregnant with the man's child. Claiming that the Japanese Empire intended to invade our lands and subject our people to the same atrocities they were committing abroad. Evidently she had some proof in her hands, as the woman managed to convince her father to agree to the Kaiser's demands. 

Over the past two years, the Germans have been training our army and selling us weapons so that we may resist the upcoming invasion. Though many of the nobles in our society are a bit skeptical, believing this to be a lie concocted by the King so he can centralize power in his hands. Regardless, there is nothing they can do, as the army is loyal to him alone. 

The reason we are here in your realm is that the Kaiser has requested we assist with the training of your forces. His reasoning is that we are more effectively able to communicate with your troops since we share a common language. 

Naturally, due to the nature of their relationship, our Princess decided to accept this request, and so here I am. I must say that I am surprised by the audacity of the Japanese Empire. Arming and supplying the Bengal Empire to conquer the entire subcontinent. If their Empress was aware of the Reich, she should have known they would never let such a thing occur." 

Dharya nodded his head in understanding as he heard this. It was quite a tale, and he was surprised that Berengar had not told him this earlier. Though he remembered the Majapahit Princess visiting the Palace, he was unaware that Berengar had slept with her during the visit. This in itself filled him with various worries. However, he quickly shook them out of his head and prepared a toast to this new alliance. 

"To our Alliance, may it stand strong in the face of Japanese aggression!"

The other two men clanked their glasses together in the toast before downing the contents. Though Dharya was upset with Berengar for turning his family's empire into a puppet, as the weeks went by, and he was burdened with the responsibilities of leadership, he had come to accept German support, as he realized he would never be able to rule this land effectively by himself. 

However, after hearing that Berengar had knocked up the Princess of the Majapahit Empire, he became increasingly concerned about his sister's chastity. Judging by the way that Berengar treated foreign princesses. It was only a matter of time before Priya conceived his child. 

Ultimately, there was nothing he could do about that, and so Dharya decided to have his fair share of alcohol. The three men would continue drinking long into the night until they passed out at the bar. When they awoke the next morning, they would forget all the things they had discussed the night before. 

---

If you enjoy the novel and want to support my work, please consider donating at https://ko-fi.com/zentmeister