Tyranny of Steel

Within the city of Rome, several powerful monarchs from across the Christian world had gathered at the behest of Pope Julius. The recent establishment of the German Empire under Berengar von Kufstein and his dynasty had frightened the Papacy, and many of the neighboring kingdoms, into action. One thing was certain: they could no longer sit idly by and wait for Berengar to amass more power. 

Among those present for this international council were the rulers of the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of Spain, the Duchy of Burgundy, the Duchy of Aquitaine, the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Scotland, the Kingdom of Naples, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and several of the Rus States. 

Aubry sat in silence as he listened to the words spoken in the room. For the sake of this occasion, he had neither dressed in women's clothing, nor had he worn any makeup. His pretty and delicate features were noticeably less so than they usually were. Thus, the scowl on his face was not as attractive to the men present as it would otherwise be. 

The object of his detest was none other than Duke Godeffroy de Burgundy, his ex-lover, and current rebel against his rule. The Duke of Burgundy was currently arguing with the other rulers over his disagreements with France. What started as a discussion about forming a coalition against Berengar and his Empire had now turned into endless bickering between the Christian Kings.

"You ask me to unite with this effeminate King who sleeps with his knights like a common whore, against an Empire which poses no threat to my borders? Give me one good reason!"

When Aubry heard this insult, he could no longer hold his tongue and immediately snapped back at his former lover.

"Oh please, you're only pissed off because your tiny dick wasn't enough to satisfy me. Now Berengar, I hear he is quite the savage in bed... It's just a shame I failed to seduce him..."

When the Duke of Burgundy heard this insult to his manhood, he could hardly contain his fury. However, when Aubry said that he had attempted to seduce Berengar, the man absolutely lost control of his emotions and ranted towards his former lover. 

"You fucking slut! You tried to seduce a filthy German? If we were not in the presence of his holiness right now, I would kill you!"

It was pretty well known among the European nobility that the whole dispute between France and Burgundy began because Aubry had cheated on Godeffroy. Thus, the other European monarchs had varied expressions on their faces as they were forced to listen to this lover's quarrel. Only Pope Julius was actually enraged by the open discussion about homosexuality in his own court. Thus, it was no surprise that he burst out into a fit of fury. 

"Enough, I will not listen to such blasphemy! Can we please move on to the discussion at hand? The German Empire poses a significant threat to not only the Church but all of Christendom! There is no other choice. We must take action, and I don't mean in the form of outright invasion. We simply do not have the means to win against Berengar, the accursed, right now. 

It has become clear that this so called German Empire intends to challenge all of our authority, and seeks to force you all beneath their boot. We can no longer sit idly by and allow Berengar to accumulate more power. We must come together as Christians and support one another.

I am calling on all of you to forget your petty disputes for the time being, and focus on the genuine threat to us all. You must halt your ongoing hostilities and unite against a common foe. We must all share technology, trade resources, and most of all oppose the German Empire in all their efforts. If we can not destroy the German Empire via conventional warfare, then we must target their treasury. 

Berengar has, through masterful manipulation of the international market, forced his currency upon many of your kingdoms as the staple of international trade. So our solution is simple: we will no longer accept German currency, nor will we trade with the German Empire for the foreseeable future. We must also combine our intelligence efforts to gain what knowledge we can from the Germans and replicate their technology to be used against them."

This troubled many of the Christian Kings. Enacting sanctions against Germany would also have a negative effect on their own economies. Many of those present relied on Germany for many of the products that entered their kingdoms. However, two of the men present had even greater concerns, and thus Aubry was not afraid to raise his voice in disagreement.

"Berengar currently imprisons my sister. If I were to put economic sanctions against his realm, he could retaliate by claiming her life. I would rather bend over and present myself to the man as his plaything than risk the safety of my precious older sister.

I'm sorry, but I will not take part in economic sanctions or acts of espionage against the German Empire. As for the sharing of technology and resources, my Kingdom would be more than willing to agree to such terms."

When the Duke of Burgundy heard this here merely scoffed, before he could chastise Aubry for his perceived cowardice, the King of Poland spoke up in agreement with the French King.

"I agree with King Aubry. Berengar currently holds my daughter, Natalia, as a ward. Should I make a move against him and his Empire, it will only result in her being harmed. I have already lost a son to the man. I will not risk losing my daughter as well. Thus, I will not take part in any sanctions or espionage against the German Empire. However, like Aubry, I am willing to share technology and resources with other member states of this coalition."

If looks could kill, then surely Aubry and his Polish counterpart would have been slain by Julius' inner fury. However, as the Pope, Julius calmed himself and sighed heavily while maintaining control over his emotions, if barely. 

Having heard that two kingdoms would not be willing to engage in espionage and sanctions, the other Monarchs became doubtful as the stability of this proposed alliance. Just when others were about to back down, King Felipe of Spain shockingly announced some news that turned the tide of favor towards the idea of uniting against Germany.

"My spies have recently discovered an extensive mining operation conducted by the German Empire within my borders. I do not know how Berengar discovered the existence of such a vast quantity of saltpeter in my lands, but via deception, he has coerced me into agreeing to give him and his realm mining access to the territory. Make no mistake, if we can gain control over these mines, we will have the gunpowder needed to combat Berengar and his armies in the future!"

The moment the other European monarchs heard this claim, their attention shifted towards the Spanish delegation. If such a thing were true, then for the sake of competing with Germany, they all needed to get their hands on these mines. In the next statement, King Felipe made an even bolder claim.

"I will agree to this alliance so long as every member present agrees to three out of five of the terms listed by Julius. We all cease our foolish wars with one another over petty squabbles until a time where we have defeated Berengar's influence. We share technology with one another, and our development progress. Finally, we agree to some form of an economic pact regarding the trade of supplies, resources, and manpower of our alliance.

As for economic sanctions and espionage, individual monarchs and their realms will choose whether they take part in these two activities. If everyone here can agree upon these principles, then I will take part in this alliance."

Silence prevailed as the various monarchs gazed upon each other. Eventually, Pope Julius called for a vote.

"All agreed?"

With this question posed, every member present raised their voices in agreement. The decision was unanimous. Every major European power, aside from those already directly or indirectly allied with Germany, had come together to form a military and economic alliance with a single purpose in mind. To oppose the German Empire and destroy its influence over the Western World. 

For the next few years, as the Catholic Church built up its crusader armies, Berengar and his neighbors would engage in economic warfare and covert espionage against one another. Unfortunately, they had made one major miscalculation. Berengar did not require trade with any of them, for he had all the resources of the New World at his disposal. Still, this alliance would vastly increase the technological development of Berengar's rivals, and perhaps even kick-start the renaissance a century early.