Steel Empire
Testing Arkebuse
A week had passed since Berengar's meeting with Ludwig and Ludolf. During this time, Louis had fully established a small-scale production line for arkebuse firearms intended for sale to the Byzantines.
His troops tasked with demonstrating the effectiveness of the weapon have spent some time getting used to different actions, but for the most part, the loading procedure is the same.
Thus, Arethas and Berengar now stood among the audience of one of his testing fields. In the middle of the field, there were straw targets mounted where they were equipped with mirror pattern armor to represent the soldiers of the Mamluke Sultanate, the Empire's current enemy.
Seeing Berengar's troops quickly load the arkebuse firearm in a span of approximately 20 seconds raises questions in Arethas' mind, and thus he voiced his concerns.
"If it takes a long time to reload, how will I protect my troops from enemies who close the distance and enter close combat?"
Arethas was unaware of the bayonet's existence, and Berengar did not plan to sell the technology. So he smiled as he answered the question of Strategos of Ionia.
"Ideally, you would have pikemen units next to them to keep the enemy soldiers from moving while your arcbusiers refill their weapons. Once they are loaded and ready to fire, you will pull your pikeman back to prevent friend shots. Once the shot is over. is released, you'll repeat the process."
Hearing this strategy, Arethas could imagine it in his mind and nodded in agreement; he could not wait to see the effects of this arkebus. So, after loading the weapons, the soldiers who were testing fired the equipment aimed the firearms at their target about 20 yards away.
The Berengar-designed arkebuse is shorter and lighter than the longer-barreled variant; there are two reasons for this. The first is that he hates the idea of using a fork as a prop to fire a gun appropriately.
The second being a shorter barrel created less speed and thus posed a much lower threat to his troops. After all, the higher the speed of the projectile, the more likely it was that the weapon had broken through the armor of its own troops. The troops began to open fire with the command of the officer leading a small platoon of soldiers numbering thirty.
"Fire!"
After uttering the command, thunder reverberated in the air, and thirty arquebus balls were sent downwards, most finding their targets and penetrating the mirror-style armor equipped with the Empire's enemies.
After the weapons were fired, they were checked for their functions before being put back into the weapons rack where they would later be cleaned, and after negotiations, hopefully, sold to the Byzantine Empire as the first batch of such weapons.
Looking at the display from afar was an incredible sight, and Arethas had a big smile on his face like a child at Christmas. After the area was deemed safe to inspect, Berengar asked Arethas a question.
"Do you want to check for damage up close?"
Arethas was immediately attracted by this offer and silently nodded his head before standing up and following Berengar down to the field below, where the straw doll was resting, and the, most were dropped by the impact of the arkebuse ball and had to be rearranged to a standing position.
Upon closer inspection, the arkebuse ball had penetrated completely past the mirror pattern armor, into the straw puppet, and out the other side of the armor. It was indeed an effective weapon against the popular armor patterns of the time.
Arethas was surprised by the efficiency of the weapon and no longer needed to convince in terms of purchasing equipment. So he began negotiations to acquire such a weapon.
"I'm absolutely sure such a weapon is superior to anything I've ever seen, aside from maybe the weapon your troops are using. Say, Berengar, what price do you want for this incredible firearm?"
Berengar had made plans in the past week to get the most out of the Byzantine Empire's vast trade network with the East while simultaneously appearing generous. Therefore, he decided to pretend to think about the matter deeply before revealing his idea.
"Usually, I would charge five hyperpyrons per arquebus, but under certain conditions, I could make a deal and give you a twenty percent discount."
Arethas immediately took the bait upon hearing such an offer was there.
"What conditions might happen?"
Berengar smiled gracefully as he answered Arethas' question.
"Since we've become good friends, I'll give you a 20% discount on every Arkebuse sold to Empire, provided you sell me saltpeter at the same discount."
Berengar's nitraries had difficulty meeting the burping demand he needed to fuel his troops. Knowing that the Byzantines had access to a large and cheap supply of saltpeter from their trade with India, Berengar wanted to take advantage of this to obtain large quantities of material at low prices.
After careful consideration, Arethas revealed his thoughts on the matter
"I can agree to such terms, but in return for the discount, I want the Empire to take priority in the sale of such firearms."
Arethas began to wonder if he was too greedy with his demands, but to his surprise, Berengar smiled and nodded his head before replying.
"That's not a problem. As long as we can produce these weapons, I can agree for the Empire to take priority in their purchase."
With this, a deal has been made, and the two men shake hands before making a formal trade agreement, which they both sign with their signatures and home stamps. After that, Berengar submitted an invitation to Arethas.
"It's late. Will you have dinner with my family and me tonight?"
Arethas saw no reason to refuse, especially since the cuisine cooked by Berengar's chef was always delicious. Therefore, he nodded in agreement before replying.
"It would be an honor."
With that said, the two men returned to Berengar castle, where they sat at the dining table. Linde, as usual, took her place next to Berengar, and Henrietta sat opposite her. As for Arethas, he sat across from Berengar and Conrad next to him.
The boy had become very irritable over the past week, as Arethas, an important official from the East, had not noticed him, even though Conrad was officially the Duke of Austria. So he looked sullen while sitting at the table. An action that does not escape the attention of others sitting at the table.
Berengar ignored the boy; conrad had already been slowly poisoned and would eventually be hoarse in a few years without anyone being the wiser. So he only had to arrange the boy's explosion for a while before he could seize the Duke's title for himself.
Arethas also ignored the boy because he was well aware of who the real power was in Austria. Therefore, he decided to ask Berengar about his plans in the future. The Duke of Austria sits right next to him.
"So, Berengar, now that you have driven the Bavarians out of your land and established relative peace. What do you want to do now?"
Berengar drank beer from his skull trophy before responding to the nobles from the East.
"Despite the victory, large swaths of Austria were negatively affected by the invasion, entire villages were massacred, fields destroyed, and livestock massacred. It will take a great effort to recover from such a devastating victory. I will spend the next few years stabilizing the region to the best of my ability and bringing great luck to my people."
Seeing that Berengar had no immediate plans for future conquests, Arethas heaved a sigh of relief; at a rate, Berengar's power grew, one day he could potentially become a threat to the Empire, and the, and it is better to foster friendly relations with men than to make enemies out of him. Such an approach would definitely take time.
Therefore, Arethas drank from his cup before asking another question in his mind.
"I hear you're trying to implement a lot of economic, military and agricultural reforms. Aren't you afraid of a revolt by the Austrian nobility? Or the larger coalition of your neighbors?"
However, Berengar's answer greatly surpassed his imagination; berengar had a calm, perhaps even cruel smile on his face as he drank from his skull chalice. After wiping his mouth with a napkin, he replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"of course! Those caught up in their tradition will never fully accept my reform; they will surely conspire against me; in fact, they will never fully accept my reformation; they will, many nobles throughout not only Austria but also Tyrol are currently planning things as we speak. But I am not afraid of rebellion. Instead, I welcome it, because a massive cleanup is needed to usher in a new era, and when my enemies finally pull out their fangs, I will be ready to deal with it."
Arethas and Conrad were both surprised by this answer, Berengar was fully expecting a rebellion, or maybe two, and he was already preparing for such a possibility. The man clearly had foresight, but what was even more frightening was that he had declared that he welcomed the rebellion so that he could clean up any discontent in his society.
Upon hearing such a bold statement, Arethas felt he should not question the mind of a Tyrant and quickly return to eating his food; conrad, on the other hand, looked as pale as a ghost, looking like a, it was as if he had finally realized that he had appointed a monster as his guardian, which he had no power to stop.
As for Linde and Henrietta, they simply enjoyed their meal, as if the words Berengar were the most natural thing in the world; they were very used to the statement of his great ambition and the atrocities he would go through to achieve it. So the dinner went on in awkward silence for some time before it finally ended.
Arethas would soon return to the Empire with the first batch of arkebuse firearms, and Berengar would benefit greatly from it. As for the future, it is in God's hands; if one believes in such a thing, it is.