Steel Empire
Coercing

While Berengar began deploying his troops into the Diocese of Prince Trent, the Duke of Wilmar engaged with the Bavarians' enemies in Munich, his siege lasted longer than he had anticipated, but it went quite smoothly. The main Bavarian army was in the north fighting against areas under von Luxembourg's influence. For the East Germans, they fought among themselves for little reason. There was not a single German territory that was not involved in some form of warfare today; only small towns could escape the rampage of passing soldiers if they were lucky; most did not.

Duke Wilmar is reading a report on Berengar's recent activities. In less than two months, he had conquered the northern and southern regions of Tyrol and had marched on Trent with the intention of annexing the territory through right of conquest. Berengar's actions greatly angered the Church, which had demanded Duke Wilmar do something to his lowly subordinates. In fact, at this time, Berengar was not directly a vassal of the Duke of Wilmar but Prince of Lothair. By supporting the Duke of Wilmar in his war against Lothair, Berengar technically violated his responsibilities as a vassal of Lothair and actually acted in treason against his direct subordinates.

Right now, Duke Wilmar was very pleased with Berengar's actions; although the Viscount was lowly, the, the young man had somehow amassed enough strength to quickly reclaim Tyrol from the surviving Garrison and the Rulers and Regents who ruled the area. However, what surprised him most was that Lothar's son and heir, Liutbert, publicly denounced his father and supported Berengar, swearing allegiance to the man who was a follower of his family. By swearing allegiance to Berengar, Liutbert had essentially given up on his claim to Tyrol, which put Duke Wilmar in a difficult position.

The Duke of Austria grinned as he chuckled and commented to himself

"You really know how to force my hand, don't you, Berengar?"

To be honest, Duke Wilmar was impressed with Berengar's abilities and wanted the person by his side, especially with the efficiency he used in warfare; despite the fact that he did not know Berengar's secret to quick victory; he was not; he still wanted the man to be his Marshal. However, since Berengar was someone else's subordinate, he couldn't do it; therefore, Berengar was someone else's subordinate, The Duke of Wilmar was convinced that making Berengar the Count of Tyrol was in his best interest at this time and thus came to a conclusion.

He would even allow Berengar to defend Trent and put him into his realm. Surely it would be enough to satisfy the ambition of a man born as the son of a lowly Baron. Of course, if Wilmar knew what Berengar would do in the years to come, he would refuse to give Berengar greater authority. However, there was no magic in this world; if the gods of the human race existed, they would definitely not show their presence. Thus, there is no way to accurately predict the future or understand the right thoughts in one's head.

Next to Wilmar was one of his Commanders, Prince of Salzburg; his name was Walfried von Salzburg, who was surprised by the statement the Duke made, therefore, he quickly questioned his superiors about what he meant.

"I apologize for my subordinates, but how exactly did Berengar force your hand?"

Normally a Count like Walfried wouldn't be familiar with some lowly Viscount from another County. However, he had heard many things about Berengar, a young man who was quite famous in Austria and some nearby German territories such as Bavaria. When Walfried received Duke's reply, the Count inevitably looked at Berengar with higher praise.

"Heard had captured almost all of Tyrol and was currently marching on the Prince-Bishopric of Trent in an attempt to annex it from the Church."

This was shocking news; after all, it had been less than two months since Berengar had first taken up arms against Count Lothar, and during that time Duke's forces were trapped besieging Munich, Munich, he began to wonder how the young Viscount managed to capture him. The vast swath of territory so quickly? Count Walfried could hardly believe his ears and, therefore, had to verify the information.

Duke Wilmar glared at Walfried in response to his tanning tone and made clear what he had said earlier.

"You heard me..."

Wilfried did not know how to react to such information; immediately, his mind thought Duke was reading the wrong information, and therefore, he asked about its authenticity.

"Has this intelligence been verified?"

Walfried was surprised, Duke Wilmar smiled and nodded; none of them knew how exactly Berengar had managed to snatch Tyrol so quickly, but they knew that it was an incredible feat; therefore, Berengar had managed to snatch Tyrol so quickly, they could not help but praise the young Viscount in their hearts. The only question left in Walfried's mind was what they should do with such a talented commander.

"What would you do with him if he won at Trent?"

Duke Wilmar continued to smile as he announced his plan to his trusted friend.

"I intend to make him Prince of Tyrol and let his annexation happen."

At first, this news greatly shocked Walfried. However, he understood Wilmar's intentions; Berengar was talented not only in military matters but also in economics and industry. If they could get his help and make it work for the good of the kingdom, Austria would soar to new heights never seen before in this world. Unfortunately, the two scheming nobles had made one small miscalculation, and it was a fact that Berengar's ambition did not stop being a Count. Thus he would never be content to use his innovation for another ruler.

However, these people had no way of knowing the depth of Berengar's purpose or the height of his pride. When the time comes, Berengar will refuse to become a Wilmar board member and instead develop Tyrol into a thriving industrial and agricultural area. As the war for Germany progresses, Berengar will choose to protect his new land and cultivate it, allowing the chaos caused by the conflict to spread to every corner of Germany, every corner except his own. Only when his circumstances were at their worst would he have the ability to rise from the ashes of the old world and present a new alternative.

Therefore, they continued to plan how they would obtain the good graces of Berengar, and in doing so, they played directly into the hands of the young Viscount. Since Berengar would never accept the yoke of slavery under another being, his pride as a man would never allow it.