Tyranny of Steel

The bastard of luxembourg sat upon his ducal throne with a pitiful expression on his face. His closest friend and ally lie dead, and he had not had a proper moment to grieve. Days had passed since Renault's assassination, and a group claiming to represent the people of Germany had declared open rebellion. 

As far as Hartman was aware, insurgency cells had instantly appeared in every corner of his realm, and that of his allies. It became immediately apparent to the man that Berengar had been secretly training and funding these groups without him being any the wiser. 

Unfortunately for Hartman, this meant he could not even attend the funeral of his late mentor. With an ongoing rebellion in full effect, he didn't have the time for such a thing. Because of Renault's untimely demise, the Bastard of Luxembourg was forced to seek council from an old friend and had thus dragged the Count out of isolation and into his court. The young Duke remained entirely unware that this friend had already sworn his service to Austria. more specifically, its beautiful and mature female spy. 

Count Hilmar von Senheim stood at his liege's side as an emissary from the church stood before them. This Cardinal was a man of great prestige within the Catholic world and hailed from the Kingdom of France. Though he did not kneel before Duke Hartman, the crimson clad cleric showed his generosity with gifts, which his servants brought forth. 

Hartman responded with a warm smile as he welcomed the representative of the Holy father into his home. Despite the defection of the German Cardinals towards the Reformation, there were still plenty of Catholics in the German World, mostly centralized within the Northern States. After all, the South and Eastern portions of Germany were under direct influence of the Kingdom of Austria, and Berengar would never allow the Catholic Church to thrive within his lands. 

Still, in the North, many German noblemen still clung to the old traditions of the Catholic Church and looked towards Rome, and not Kufstein, as the capital of their religion. Hartman was one of these men, and his conflict with Berengar was not simply one of ambition, but religious duty. With a graceful expression, the Bastard of Luxembourg greeted the French Cardinal with all the civility he could muster. 

"Cardinal Mahieu, it is a great honor for a man of such piety to visit me in my humble abode, let alone provide me with such generous gifts. Though I am a bit confused about your reasoning for visiting Luxembourg, especially during this time of crisis I am facing, surely the journey to my realm is a perilous one, what with the ongoing rebellion I am currently facing."

The Cardinal wore a sinister smile as he bowed his head gracefully before revealing his true intentions for traveling all the way from Avignon

"But of course, this heretical rebellion is the reason for my visit. The Holy Father would like to extend his generosity towards your realm in the form of some much needed weapons. According to our intelligence, these are no mere peasants that your armies find themselves in conflict with. Rather, they are a Legion of the Damned armed, supplied, and trained by the devil'd minions. Surely you know who I speak of?"

<br/>Hilmar, who stood at his master's side, scoffed when he heard this remark. The Catholic Church would stop at nothing in their efforts to paint Berengar as the physical incarnation of Satan himself. In many parts of Christendom, such superstitious propaganda worked wondrously. However, in Germany, the average person viewed the Austrian King in a better light. If that were not the case, then why would so many thousands of rebels appear in Northern Germany at the behest of their Southern Master? 

Meanwhile, Hartman was more concerned over the weapons the Catholic church was providing. Surely, whatever they brought forth could not compete with the overwhelming firepower the Austrians had at their disposal. Despite these internal thoughts, the bastard of Luxembourg was far from condescending as he investigated the gifts further. 

"The Papacy's support is most welcome, but I am curious. Just what sort of weapons have you brought to me which I can not manufacture on my own?"

Cardinal Mahieu smirked sadistically before whistling to his servants. Once this was done, they pried the crates open to reveal the hidden contents. Inside were several crudely manufactured matchlock muskets. These weapons were the product of the Catholic Church's years of research into reverse engineering those captured muskets that the Italians had scavenged from their battles with Austria during the war for independence. 

Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the Papacy could not figure out how to replicate the rifling, nor did they discover how to manufacture the springs used within the flintlock mechanism. Thus, despite many efforts, the Catholic church had resorted to replacing the superior flintlock system with the earlier matchlock mechanism, which was used by the arkebuse firearm that was now commonly found throughout the Mediterranean as a result of Austria's massive arms trade. 

Still, these weapons were better than anything the North German states had at their disposal and could penetrate through Austrian armor at close distances. Of course Hartman had no way of knowing this, thus he had a look of disdain on his lips as he gazed at the primitive firearms. 

"Just what am I looking at here? It looks like it is just a longer, heavier arkebuse?"

When the Cardinal heard this, he frowned before lecturing the young Duke on his errors.

"This is no mere arkebuse, it is a musket, or at least that's what the Austrians call it. I am ashamed to admit, these weapons are not as effective as the ones Austria sells to its allies, but its range and penetrative power is superior to the arkebuse. I have little doubt that at close range, your soldiers will punch straight through the average Austrian soldier's armor. 

Granted, you may have to rethink your tactics, as we both know the Austrian Army has superior range, and firepower over your armies, but at least with these weapons you will have a fighting chance against your enemy, assuming you can find a way to fire upon them at close range that is. 

There was a hint of worry in Hilmar's eyes as he heard these words, though it would be difficult to pull off. If they could succeed in their endeavors, they could fight a war of attrition with Austria, using every soldier and every villager to fire upon the invaders within the streets of the Northern cities. 

Such a thing filled the young Count with endless dread. He was well aware of Berengar's reputation. The Austrian King had destroyed more than one city to prevent injury and death among the men beneath his command, and would surely do such a vicious thing once more if put into such a situation.

As for Hartman, he was thinking the best way to utilize such weapons in the field, regardless as to how he made use of these muskets, it was surely better than equipping their soldiers with arkebuses. After a while, the bastard of luxembourg broke his silence and asked the question in his mind. 

"How many of these muskets are there in total?"

When the Cardinal heard this question, his expression sank. Unfortunately, the Papacy's manufacturing capability was not nearly as efficient as Austria's, and they had many Kingdoms to equip with these weapons over the coming years. Thus, he lowered his voice as he responded with a hint of shame.

"roughly fifteen hundred..."

When Hartman heard these words, he curled his fists in rage, so much so that he practically broke the skin on the palm of his hands. He could not help but lash out at the Cardinal at this moment.

"Fifteen hundred! You think that will make a difference when the armies of Austria number in the hundreds of thousands! That's not even enough to wipe out a single contingent of Austria's infantry! You might as well not have visited in the first place!"

The Cardinal was about to retort to the bastard of Luxembourg with an equally hostile tone when Hilmar interjected in the conversation.

"Your grace, surely such weapons can at the very least be used to bolster your personal guard. With these so-called muskets, your protection is greatly enhanced. You should be thanking the Cardinal, and the Holy Father for their efforts to aid you."

Upon hearing this advice, Hartman sighed heavily before nodding his head in silence. After a few moments, he apologized for his harsh words.

"I am sorry, Cardinal Mahieu. The death of a close friend and the ongoing rebellion have put me under a lot of stress. I understand your intentions and thank you for the help you have provided. Please stay in Luxembourg and enjoy yourself for the time being. When you finally feel it is time to return to Rome, bring my regards to the Holy Father."

The Cardinal's anger subsided momentarily as he too sighed in exhaustion. He had no choice but to accept the young Duke's apology, thus he forced a smile as he responded to the man.

"Apology accepted. I understand you are going through a difficult time, and I absolve you of your sins. I will relay your kind words to the Pope when I finally return to Rome and thank you for your hospitality."

After saying this, the Cardinal departed from the room, with some of the Duke's servants leading him to his quarters. When Hilmar and Hartman were finally alone, they discussed their options in hushed voices. The bastard of Luxembourg was the first to voice his concerns.

"You think these muskets will help in the slightest?"

Hilmar scoffed when he heard this question before shaking his head.

"Not in the slightest, at most they might be able to protect you from the Austrians at close distance, but judging from the Cardinal's words, these things are practically useless against the enemy's armor at longer ranges, and we all know how capable the Austrian army's rifles are. 

My guess is the Pope is merely showing you respect, and doing what little he can to help against his greatest adversary. If things continue as they are, we will lose this war before the Austrians even invade. I think it is time to call your Counts back to Luxembourg. We will need all the help we can get..."

Hartman sighed heavily as he heard these words. However, ultimately, he could not help but agree with Hilmar's sentiment.

"Very well. We will have to make do with the weapons we have. Bolster the border defenses, the last thing we need is Austria's armies intervening while we fight against this rebellion."

Hilmar nodded his head as he responded in affirmation to the Duke's orders.

"Of course, your grace."

After saying this, he left the room. His next task would be to coordinate with the Austrian Spy and see what the best course of action in the future would be.