Tyranny of Steel

Weeks passed since the incident between Hans and Casimir, the matter was thoroughly investigated by Linde herself, as well as Imperial Intelligence. In the end, Hans's words were proven to be true. As a result, Berengar convicted the Grand Duke of Moscow with one count of attempted rape of a minor, and one count of assault of a minor. In the end, Casimir was castrated and sentenced to life in prison. Which meant he would spend the rest of his days in a labor camp. 

With this action, Berengar had proved to the people of Germany that even foreign monarchs were not above the law. Though he had proved in the past that the German nobility suffered the same penalties as the common people for the crimes they committed. This was the first major incident of a foreign monarch being condemned under German Law. 

The Rus States were furious at such an action, and multiple kingdoms condemned Berengar because of it. In the end, he simply responded with a snarky remark about Germany being a sovereign nation that did not recognize diplomatic immunity. If you committed a crime in the Reich, no matter what your position in life, you would pay the price for your actions. 

As for Igor, he was being looked after until a time where he could be deported back to Moscow. He had suffered grievous wounds from the Prince's blade, and would never recover his reproductive abilities. Hans, on the other hand, was cleared of all wrongdoing.

The reason was simple: he was a young boy, who was protecting his fiancee from a would be rapist. Such action was deemed by the German people as morally righteous, even if the Ministry of Propaganda had covered up the extent of what he had done. 

Berengar was now faced with a diplomatic crisis in the east. Despite being Orthodox and tied to the Byzantine Empire, the Rus states were now threating diplomatic action against Berengar and the German Empire. The extent of what they planned to do was unknown. Regardless, it would appear his plans to utilize the Rus states to deal with the golden horde had been thoroughly crushed. 

Instead, there was talk among several of the larger Rus states into unification. If Germany could unite into a world power, then why couldn't they? This was easier said than done, and without German or Byzantine support, the Rus would have a hard time keeping up with the western powers. Still, Berengar considered this a threat to National Security and had tasked Imperial Intelligence with the difficult job of hampering the process. 

Currently in the East, within the Novgorod Republic, a middle-aged man sneered in disdain as he read about what had happened between his nephew and Berengar. He could hardly believe that the child of his fearsome brother had behaved so recklessly. 

"That German bastard Berengar the Accursed has mutilated my nephew and sentenced him to life imprisonment. This is not just a slap in the face to my house, but all the Rus! It is clear that a United Germany poses a threat to us all. In order to combat this Eagle that rises in the west, we must unite together to fight against them!"

He placed the letter down on the table and gazed at the various men who were gathered. Many among them were leaders of the various Rus States. The man who said these words was Prince Vladimir, and he was the leader of the Novgorod Republic, as well as the brother of the previous Grand Duke of Moscow. Despite acting furious, he was rather pleased with what Berengar had done to his nephew.

Vladimir had only recently inherited the position of Prince of Novgorod after his brother's death, stealing it from his nephew Casimir. One of the reasons Casimir had gone to Germany was to procure arms, not just to defeat the Golden Horde but to take back the territory his uncle had stolen from him. As for Vladimir, despite approving of what Berengar had done to his nephew, he now used this incident as a means to unite the Rus States under his banner. 

The various leaders of the Rus States gazed at Vladimir with complicated expressions. Many of them were fearful of fighting against the German Empire. After all, they were previously in a coalition with the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Golden Horde. They had seen what the Kingdom of Austria had done to those two powerhouses by themselves. Now that Germany had united under Austria's banner, it was not a simple matter to get on the bad side of the Reich. 

However, there were also those in support of Vladimir's ambitions. German propaganda had made the idea of uniting into a single Empire popular, and it was because of this that many of the Rus states now desired a powerful Empire of their own. As it stood, Novgorod was the most powerful Rus State, and due to its trading ties with Northern Germany, they had become quite wealthy in recent years.

Wealthy enough to fund a sizeable army if they so desired. With the leaking of agricultural technology, and early industrial tech such as the puddling furnace by the late Prince Decentius of the Byzantine Empire, the amount of food that could be grown in Novgorod had doubled in size, and because of this they were expecting a large population boom in the current generation. 

It was only a matter of time before they eclipsed their neighbors and established a Russian Empire of their own. Thus, many of the men in the room were hesitant, but not unwilling, to form a Russian Union. However, there was one man in particular who was completely against the idea, and that was the Grand Prince of Kiev, a young man by the name of Ivan. 

Due to the proximity of his realm to the German Empire, he had long since established ties with the Reich. Albeit he had never personally met with Berengar in person, however, his lover was a German Spy, and though he did not realize this, she had been manipulating him recently to reject the idea of a unified Russia. With a frown on his face, he called out Vladimir for his ambitions.

"And who would lead this unified Russia? You? I object to the notion. First and foremost, you are a Usurper who bribed the electors of your realm to place you into power instead of your nephew. Secondly, you say that a united Germany is a threat to all of us. Yet the reality of the situation is that Germany would only pose a threat to us if we first act against them. Casimir has been justly punished for his crimes, and since then the Kaiser has not made a single statement of hostility towards us.

His only response to your condemnation of his actions was that his Empire is a sovereign realm that does not recognize diplomatic immunity. Your nephew had broken German Law during his stay in the Empire and paid the price for it. I think you are inviting fear into this meeting because you simply wish to rule over us all!"

Vladimir was displeased with Ivan's response. The man had always been a thorn in his side, especially after he came to power as the Prince of Novgorod. He did not know why the Grand Prince of Kiev had decided to back the German Empire, but he was not going to let his ambitions fall into ruin because of this man. The only response he could come up with to counteract the man's claims was a personal insult.

"You know what I think, Ivan? I think you are afraid of Germany! You sit in your little Principality and cower in fear of the Germans that exist close to your borders. You are not fit to rule over your people, let alone all the Rus!"

In response to this, Ivan snarled before calling the man out on his words. He knew from the beginning that Vladimir would slander him in this meeting and came prepared for it.

"If Germany was hellbent on invading our lands, as you suggest, then why has the Kaiser taken action to secure his borders? You live far away from the German Empire, so allow me to educate you on the reality of the situation. On their eastern borders, the Germans have long since begun construction of massive border fortifications with their strange technology.

It is clear by these actions that they intend to be defensive and isolationist in nature. I have personally passed through the Grand Duchy of Vladimir and visited the German border on behalf of my neighbor. I have spoken with the soldiers there, and they have no ill intention of our land or people. You are stirring up trouble that none of us will be able to handle, even if we united into a single Empire. I know you grieve for your nephew, however I will not bear the cost of your warmongering, nor should the rest of you!"

Upon hearing this, many of the Rus leaders shifted their views towards Ivan's speech. If they united into a single Empire, they would be giving up a lot, especially in regard to personal power and wealth, for little in terms of gains. The only real benefit was an increase in military power under a unified Russia. However, this paled in comparison to the Armed Fores of the German Empire, who were a dominant power in all of Europe. 

With this in mind, the discussion quickly broke down into petty squabbling. For now, the talks between the Rus States about Unification had ended in disappointment to the ambitious prince of Novgorod. Unknowingly, Berengar's influence had spread across Eastern Europe, and was actively preventing a unification of the Russian Empire. For how long they could continue this subterfuge that was unknown.