Tyranny of Steel

Itami's wrath had settled after lengthy negotiations with the German diplomat. Though the man had a way of getting on her nerves like few others, she had finally conceded to a point which was satisfactory for both parties. 

The Japanese Empire would pay a ransom of 4,000 pounds of gold in exchange for Princess Yi-Min'ah. It would be conducted covertly as to not raise any brows from the German or Japanese public, as both sides would be outraged to learn of this matter. 

As part of the negotiations, the German Empire had agreed to bring Min'ah to the Beijing Embassy, where she would be handed off to Itami's royal guards in exchange for the agreed upon price. Though the amount of gold was staggering, especially for Itami, who did not have access to the plethora of gold mines which the Germans owned. She could easily make up for the loss by introducing a form of fiat currency. 

Thus, after a brief period of silence, Itami posed the next question which she was most curious about.

"So, Mr. Schauffhusen, when is this international conference happening?"

Tilicke was in the middle of drinking some fine Japanese tea when he heard these words. His brow twitched slightly as he gazed up from his steaming cup and into the sanguine eyes of the Japanese Empress. With a smug grin on his face, he told her the words she least wanted to hear.

"Hmm? Oh, it's currently ongoing. I believe you are not invited, since you are probably one of the most notorious war criminals in the world right now. All of Asia knows what you have done to the people you have conquered.

I'm afraid to say that it would most certainly go against the spirit of the conference to invite you after executing Emperor Asha for the same very crimes... In fact, we are still investigating if you are directly responsible for his actions, or if he acted independently."

The calmness within Itami's heart was once more stirred into a frenzy as she glared fiercely at the man sitting across from her. Not only had the Kaiser sent her this taunting message, but he had also ensured that there was no feasible way for her to crash the party. Thus, she could only let go of her previous plans to interfere with the Vienna Accords and squash her growing fury before she did something foolish.

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"What defines an internationally recognized state? What exactly is a civilian, and in what way is an enemy combatant considered a prisoner of war? These are the questions we must ask ourselves. If you would all take a look at the board behind me, I have outlined the answers to these questions myself. Now whether we can all agree on these definitions, that is another story."

After saying this, Berengar moved out of the way, where a projector displayed the contents of his report onto the board behind him. The various world leaders reacted in shock at this alien technology, but managed to contain their curiosity, if not simply for the fact that they were currently in an important meeting. 

Compared to the airplanes which flew them out from their home countries, this projector was far less impressive. Thus, after a brief upset, the world's leaders sat back down in their seats and paid attention to the presentation. Berengar nodded his head in approval before continuing on his lecture. 

"We will first start with what we can define as a legally recognized state. For this, I have established six key principles which we must abide by. If we are to recognize a state that is to be protected by this treaty, it must meet these requirements:

Centralized government

Organized religion

Job specialization and social classes

Arts, architecture, and infrastructure

Writing

A permanent population

A defined territory

The capacity to conduct international relations

Any culture or society which does not meet these conditions is not to be considered a legally protected state. Instead, they are more akin to savages, and thus are not afforded the protections guaranteed by these accords. 

So, for example, if you find yourself in some piece of land that does not have a pre-existing state with these elements, and is instead inhabited by various tribes. You are free to conduct warfare and conquest however you see fit. Does anyone have any arguments with this proposed definition of an internationally recognized State?"

Berengar left the room up to discuss where the various monarchs debated with themselves for several minutes. The savage clause was greatly appreciated by several of the Monarchs, as many of their Empires had what could be considered barbarians at their borders.  In the end, there was no resistance to this point, and Berengar was allowed to continue, which he was quick to do so.

"As for how we define a civilian, if you will look at this next slide, you will see what I have come up with. Like the previous topic it is open to discussion, but I would appreciate it, if you all considered this carefully.

A Civilian is defined as anyone who is neither a member of a State's armed forces, nor a member of an organized armed group with a continuous combat function, nor a participant in national conscription.

If someone meets these requirements, then they are to be considered a civilian by law, and are thus protected from murder, torture, rape or any other form of brutality. Nor are they to be directly targeted by any military operation. 

Now allow me to make a clear distinction here. If you are attacking a military target, but there are civilians in the vicinity, you are allowed to disregard the collateral damage in the pursuit of military victory. However, directly targeting civilian populations is prohibited. Are there any disagreements with the information I have provided?"

Once more, the room broke out into a brief debate, but ultimately Berengar's opinions were settled pretty quickly as the appropriate definition of a civilian, as well as their legal protections. Which allowed the Kaiser to quickly move onto his next point. 

"Now, as for the definition of a prisoner of war. I define a prisoner of war as any of the following who have fallen into the power of the enemy.

Members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.

As for the legal protections that prisoners of war are afforded. First and foremost, any enemy soldier who has made an attempt to surrender is to be taken prisoner, where they are to be treated with dignity and respect. Such as being afforded three meals a day, being given a proper shelter, etc. 

Prisoners of War shall also not suffer insult, or injury of any kind, and of course, we are all prohibited from executing prisoners of war, unless, for example, they commit a crime worthy of such a sentence while in captivity and only after having gone through a proper trial to determine his guilt. Now you are all free to deliberate as you please."

It was no surprise that a minor discussion formed among the world's leaders. Though some argued against certain points, and required some convincing, in the end, they all agreed that these definitions and protections were all perfectly valid. However, it was ultimately the Ming Emperor who spoke up about a certain concern.

"What about rebels and terrorists within one's own borders? Do these definitions and protections apply to them as well?"

Berengar smirked when he heard this, before shifting to the next slide where he presented the information he had regarding this concern. 

"As I said before, these accords are only regarding wars between two internationally recognized states. Internal security is not related to this treaty. Thus, if, for example, one were to have a rebellion on their hands, they will be free to deal with the rebels and their supporters however they believe is most appropriate.

This also applies to newly conquered regions and any resistance movements which might appear. So long as the land is legally annexed, you shall be free to deal with any rebels, terrorists, revolutionaries, criminals, freedom fighters or what have you, as you see fit. Are there any other questions?"

It took several minutes of debate among the various world leaders, however, in the end, they all came to a unanimous agreement regarding the treaty Berengar had established. They, of course, each read the fine print of the treaty, to ensure that there were not other stipulations, or definitons that Berengar had glossed over.

However, as promised, this meeting was merely to afford protections to civilians and prisoners of war during an armed conflict between two internationally recognized states. As for Berengar, he was truly losing nothing from this treaty, as he had ensured that there were loopholes allowing him to completely disregard civilian casualties in a zone occupied by enemy combatants.

There was one minor exception to this rule. If, for example, one were to bombard a city that was occupied by a military force. Then, they would first have to inform the civilian population of their upcoming attack, giving them a chance to flee before all hell let loose.

Of course, Berengar had already operated under similar rules in the past, and now with the ability of air power, dropping leaflets into a city before attacking it was a simple enough task. Thus, he had barely, if at all, restricted how he waged warfare. 

Thus, after every major Monarch west of Japan signed and ratified the Vienna Accords, Berengar smiled, and concluded the meeting with a simple gesture of gratitude. 

"Very well, with this, we have all agreed to these rules of war, and thus will be held accountable by the international community if any of us were to break them. Just to make this clear, you are also protected by these rules.

So for example if you engage in a military conflict with a foreign power who has not signed or ratified these rules of war, and you emerge victorious, you can hold them accountable for breaking these laws with all of our support.

Since you are all here in the lands of my Empire, I would appreciate it if you took the next few days off and followed me around my realm, so you can experience everything the German Empire has to offer. I assure you, you won't regret this." 

With that said, the Vienna Accords had come to an end, and Berengar now had a powerful weapon to leverage against his rivals in Japan. 

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