Tyranny of Steel

Weeks after the Aztec Princess had set sail for her home country, she now sat within the Royal Palace of Tenochtitlan. In front of her was her father, Emperor Itzcoatl, the current ruler of the Aztec Empire. In the months since the Germans first arrived in the region, disease had become widespread. If not for the efforts of the German Medics who dwelled in the settlement of Berenstadt, then the Aztecs would have suffered greatly. 

Still, these diseases had made their way to the neighbors of the Aztec Empire and had begun to devastate their populations. It was a time of expansion as far as Itzcoatl was concerned. Thus he was surprised to see his daughter, who he had assigned as his Empire's diplomat, to the Feathered Serpent sitting before him. 

The young Aztec Princess had a smile on her pretty face as she wore far more civilized attire than her father was used to seeing. Still, she did not care for the extravagant dresses that the german women wore. Years of training to be a jaguar warrior had given her a more practical sense of fashion. Thus, she was dressed in clothing that one might expect a female tennis player to wear. 

Itzcoatl was curious as to why his daughter might be visiting him so soon after following Berengar back to the land of the gods. The girl could tell her father was worried and thus she decided to ease his troubled mind with an assuring statement.

"His majesty, Kaiser Berengar von Kufstein has instructed me to negotiate with you in the acquisition of cocoa. It would appear he has some uses in mind for it, and wants a large supply of cocoa beans to be transferred to the settlement of Berenstadt. He has left the bartering up to me."

The currency of the Aztec Empire was fairly primitive. It used a copper axe-head, which was supposed to be the value of 8,000 cocoa seeds, which was the most common form of currency in the region. Since the German Empire did not have cocoa, and were instead trying to purchase cocoa beans to be processed into chocolate, they obviously could not pay with the latter.

As for the copper axe heads, Berengar had no desire to manufacture such primitive devices as a means of trade. After all, copper was a valuable resource, and he had no desire to squander it on something so meaningless. Thus he had given Tlexictli permission to barter on his behalf, despite being a diplomat of her father to his empire. It showed how much trust he had developed in the girl after she had witnessed the splendor of the fatherland.

Even now the Aztec Princess was gazing upon her own people as backward savages, despite only spending a few months in the fatherland. She desired to finish these negotiations and return to Germany as quickly as possible. Itzcoatl could tell that his daughter was displeased, despite her smiling appearance, and decided to ask about her journey to the east.

"I didn't expect to see you so soon. We don't need to discuss business right away. How have you been? What is it like over there?"

Tlexictli dwelled upon her brief time in the German Empire and could hardly described everything she had seen, in the end she could only sigh before revealing the truth of the matter.

"Compared to the Germans, we are nothing but filthy savages. It's impossible to explain the difference between our two civilizations with words. Just know that they are well ahead of us. Their military power alone is overwhelming."

Itzcoatl had not personally witnessed the power of the German soldiers who had massacred his forces, but he had heard tales. A shiver went down his spine as he inquired further about the German Empire's military might.

"How powerful are they?"

In response to this question, Tlexictli merely scoffed before answering her father in a condescending tone.

ᰍaꪧda ᱅o᱇ꫀl "They have hundreds of thousands of men whose sole occupation is to wage war. Imagine that, having such a large professional army. As you know, our Empire revolved around part-time commoner soldiers, with professional warriors among the nobility.

I have personally seen the weapons they use in war, and to think such a large force is equipped with them, it is utterly terrifying. Father, you would be wise to be obedient to the Kaiser. If he were to march a fraction of his army into our lands, we could not resist."

The prospect of hundreds of thousands of professional soldiers was just as Tlexictli had said, utterly terrifying. Upon learning that the German Empire had such means, he quickly inquired about their neighbors. 

"The Kaiser told me that he has plenty of neighbors, who, when they learn of these lands, will invade, do you have any information about them?"

Unfortunately for the Aztec Emperor, his daughter's response was less than ideal. She shook her head before informing her father of what little she had been able to learn from reading the books in the Palace's library.

"I suppose I should tell you that what you have been told about the German Empire is a lie. They are not the envoys of the feathered serpent. They merely used our mythology to convince you to kneel before them. From what I have learned, the German Empire is a recently founded state. It's a little over a year old.

Before the unification of the Empire, Germany was a loose collection of several smaller states. The Kaiser personally unified them under his banner via a series of overwhelming military victories in a span of about six years. He appears to be the man responsible for the rapid progress that Germany has achieved. Perhaps he himself is divine, but the feathered serpent has no part in it. 

However, just because he lied to you about the origins of his Empire, it does not mean he was lying about the threat his neighbors pose to us. Though they are behind the German Empire in pretty much every aspect, they are still far beyond us in every facet of society, especially warfare.

If we were to fight a war with German's neighbors our weapons could not penetrate their armor, and because of Berengar's rapid rise to power, they have been investing a considerable amount of time, effort, and expense into competing with his military technology. 

An arms race is taking place on the continent where our Suzerains are from, and Germany is well above their rivals. However, their rivals also seem to be making a rapid pace ahead of us. If we were to decline the Empire's offer of protection against their neighbors, it would only be a matter of time before our civilization is destroyed."

Itzcoatl took his daughter's words to heart. She had a better understanding of the German Empire than he did, and though he was enraged to find out that Berengar and his Empire were not the envoys of the feathered serpent, he realized that it would not be wise to break his agreement with them. Having heard they have such a massive army, and the means to project it across the atlantic, the Aztec Emperor had no desire to fight with his overlords. Instead, he nodded his head before switching to the topic of cocoa beans.

"What offer does the Kaiser make in exchange for our cocoa beans?"

Tlexictli smiled when she heard her father was more agreeable after listening to her tale of German military might. She quickly began to answer his question with a proud smile on his face.

"He has offered to exchange for cocoa beans with steel tools."

The Aztec Emperor did not know what this meant and quickly inquired about their use.

"Steel?"

Upon seeing her father so confused, Tlexictli explained more in depth about what he would be trading large quantities of cocoa beans for.

"Steel is a metal that is far superior to copper when used in tools. It is stronger, more durable, and holds an edge better. With these tools, our slaves can be more productive in the mines and in the fields. He is willing to offer a certain amount of tools in exchange for a ton of cocoa beans."

After saying this, the women went into depth explaining the different measuring systems used by the Empire. The father and daughter negotiated for some time before an agreement was made. For every one hundred steel tools, a ton of cocoa beans could be exchanged. This was a good deal for the German Empire, as they had an excessive supply of steel. 

In the end Tlexictli had reached an agreement with her father that would allow for a mass importation of Cocoa, thus making Berengar an extremely happy man, as he could now, finally, make the many chocolate deserts that Germany was known for in his past life. After fulfilling her obligations, she intended to take the first ship back to the fatherland. After all, she no longer cared for the primitive life of her people's empire.