Tyranny of Steel

”Would you like to state your conditions first? After all, you are the one who requested my presence at these peace accords.”

A stern expression filled the Sultanʼs face as he listed the first of his demands.

”My first condition is simple. Vetranis must allow the Muslims who still live in the Byzantine Empireʼs borders to practice their religion freely, and without the heavy taxation that they suffer just to worship Allah and his holiest of prophets.”

Berengar shook his head and made a counterargument to the Timurid Emperor, meeting his stern gaze with an expression that exuded authority.

”Would you do the same? I understand that the Christians who live in your lands suffer the same penalty, even though the Holy Land is not under my control. I believe I speak for my ally when I say that we will not accept such a double standard. Get rid of the jizya, and we will do the same...”

Both Vetranis and the Mamluk Sultan both raised from their seated position and were about to curse once more, that is, until Berengar and Salan raised their hands signalling for them to remain silent. The two religious monarchs both bit their tongues and begrudgingly sat back down.

Salan stared deeply into Berengarʼs deep blue eye as he tried to get an understanding of the man in front of him. The only thing he could see was utter confidence. In the end, he resorted to a religious argument, unaware that Berengar was a completely secular man.

”The Quran explicitly states for us to fight against kafir until they give the jizya willingly while they are humbled. As far as I am aware, there is no religious demand of your faith for nonbelievers to pay taxes.”

Berengarʼs response to this argument was shocking to the religious leaders. He broke out into a brief fit of laughter before completely spitting on their beliefs.

”You have me mistaken Sultan, I do not give a damn what your religious beliefs are, or theirs for that matter. As far as I am concerned, there can be no peace in this world, so long as men are willing to behave in irrational behavior like killing in the name of God.

I do not ask what your deity would permit, but what you, as a man, are willing to concede in order to achieve this peace. I promise you this, As long as I am in charge of negotiations at this table, I will not accept any terms that will put my allies in an unfavorable position. Make no mistake, I can afford a war with the Muslim world. Can you say the same, sultan?”

Salan was slightly taken aback, though he did not let it show. He thought for sure that Berengar would be a religious man. After all, he had started the German Reformation supposedly in response to the Catholic Churchʼs corruption. The sultan did not know that religion was a means to control the populace as far as Berengar was concerned. Nothing more, nothing less.

To make a religious argument on why you should not be held to the same standard in a negotiation was invalid by the German Emperorʼs standards, and he would not concede on this point. If Salan wanted to adhere to his faithʼs beliefs, he would need a rational argument, and not one based on faith. Something he quickly thought of and responded with.

”Even if I was willing to abolish the Jizya in exchange for your demands, my people would never accept it, nor would my allies. In the end, it would only invite chaos and disorder within my borders. Surely you can understand this?”

Once more, Berengar shocked the man with his response. With a simple raise of his brow, the German Emperor blew the Timurid Sultanʼs mind.

”And how is that my problem? We are here to discuss a peace agreement, not an alliance. What happens within your borders is none of my concern.”

Salan finally understood why Berengar was unwilling to concede to this point as he gazed upon the confident expression on the manʼs face. The German Emperor was in a position where he did not care whether war broke out, because they both knew that there was only one possible result: total German victory.

Berengar was negotiating from a position of power, as he often did, and because he knew the Timurids were afraid of his power, he could use that as leverage to get what he wanted. He did not even need to make an overt threat. He could simply reject any terms he found unfavorable and respond with a witty retort about how it was the Timurids who opened negotiations and demanded his presence.