Tyranny of Steel

Many of the Cardinals and Bishops had gathered within the Cathedral of Cordoba to discuss the many problems currently plaguing the Catholic Church. Though they had finally found a solution to mend the old Western Schism that had been ongoing for close to half a century, there were still two major issues that presented themselves. Chief among them was the ongoing German Reformation, which had spread beyond their control. To the Southern regions of Germany. As such, the various Cardinals and Bishops were discussing how to move forward. With Simeon and Avillius removed from power, the conversation was far more cordial between the various factions of the Church.

At the moment, the answer which everyone had agreed to was military force. However, the military orders of the Catholic church were all busy fighting external enemies at the moment, and the last group of Crusaders, which was tasked with eliminating Berengar and purging Tyrol of heretics, was slaughtered in battle by Berengar's forces. As for the Vatican, they were aware that Berengar was using advanced weapons within his army. One man, in particular, acted as a second-hand witness to this information. That was the Prince-Bishop of Trent, whose lands were annexed by Berengar during his winter campaign to seize Tyrol. 

The Prince-Bishop spoke with an intense hatred for Berengar about the issues at hand and how it would not be an easy task to route out the Reformists who have mostly formed within the mountainous territory of the Alps. 

"The weapons in which Berengar's infantry use have the capacity to kill a man at over 400 yards; they penetrate through plate armor with ease and leave an untreatable hole in the victim's bodies! These are no mere hand cannons but something else entirely! The average soldier is equipped with plate armor that covers their vital areas, and is virtually impenetrable by man's weapons! If we are to march on the Alps, we would need a massive force, one in which is armed with the hand cannon in vast numbers!"

The surrounding clergymen listened to this Prince-Bishop's rant, and many of them did not believe their ears. After all, how could such a weapon possibly exist? Nevertheless, what came next shocked them further.

"He employs cannons, whose cannonballs explode upon impact, killing multiple men within the blast zone! These cannons are highly maneuverable and far more destructive than anything we have seen before! I know not how he obtained these advanced weapons, but we can not win by sheer numbers. After all, the Teutonic Order tried these tactics, and they were trapped in the mountains where the heretics mercilessly slaughtered them!

The more the Prince-Bishop ranted and raved about the spectacular performance of Berengar's weapons and the armies who wielded them, the more clergymen within the meeting began to disregard his words as pure fiction. At a point, a relatively fat and loathsome Cardinal raised his head and began to insult the Prince-Bishop.

"I suppose you personally witnessed these weapons in use?"

This question immediately made the Prince-Bishop of Trent frown; after all, he had not witnessed the battle that had taken place; instead, he was hiding like a coward in his Cathedral before fleeing the city while his soldiers sacrificed themselves. Ultimately he had to admit to the fact that this was all second-hand information from his garrison commander.

"I am afraid not; however, this information was reported to me by my garrison commander before he and his men distracted the heretics long enough for me to escape to the Vatican to deliver the news!"

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Several of the attending members of the council of Cordoba began to scoff at the Prince-Bishop of Trent's words. Clearly, the Prince-Bishop believed the wild tales of a frightened soldier, or so many of the council members believed. Ultimately few decided to take the Prince-Bishop's warning seriously. After all, they severely lacked the manpower to invade Southern Germany in the first place. That is, of course, until one of the Cardinals proposed an opportunity.

"Why don't we call for a Crusade to wipe out the heretics in Germany? It has worked before. Even if they are as well-armed as the Prince-Bishop claims, what can they possibly do against an army of a hundred thousand men who have taken up the cross? Surely we can sponsor such a vast army, by calling upon the Lords and Knights of Europe to defend Christendom from this vile blasphemy? Do we really need to wait for the existing holy orders to finish their wars when we can create new ones?"

These were all excellent questions, which could easily be answered, after all, it had been quite some time since a Pope had declared a Crusade, and due to the success of the previous Crusades in this world, the idea was quite popular and would undoubtedly draw in a lot of potential troops to invade Southern Germany with. After a bit of discussion, this was how the Council of Cordoba chose to deal with Berengar and the Reformist movement. 

Unfortunately for the future Crusaders, by the time they could fully prepare such a massive force for the invasion, years would have passed, and Tyrol would be a self-sustaining stronghold. Berengar would be more than ready for such a force. However, how could these men possibly know the future? As such, after figuring out how to deal with the German Reformation, they moved on to the last topic at hand. One of the participating Cardinals brought up the matter of the Teutonic State and the crisis they were currently facing.

"The Teutonic Order has angered the Golden Horde by waging war against the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which is their protectorate; they are currently facing a crisis the likes we have not seen in decades. If we aid them, we will only be furthering the rift forming with the Eastern Orthodox Church. How shall we proceed?"

Instantly the opinion of the participating clergymen was divided, some supported the Teutonic Order, and others believed they should never have been attacking the Orthodox to begin with. As such, they quickly devolved into an argument about this issue. One of the Bishops attending voiced his support for the Teutonic Order and their conquests of the East.

"The Teutonic Order is the bulwark of Christiandom in the East; they must not fall to these heathens! I say we supply them with the funding and equipment necessary to win the war at their doorsteps!"

However, a Cardinal instantly voiced his objection to this matter. 

"Preposterous, we should never have been involved with the Teutonic Order's war in the first place. If Simeon had not supported them in their efforts, they never would have had the ability to take over the Muscovites. Now more than ever, we need to rely on our allies to the East. The German Reformation will be causing a lot of troubles in the future, and we will need the support of the Orthodox short if we seek to end it swiftly!"

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Without a Pope in the audience, there was no way to move forward with the ideas presented unless all parties agreed; they could easily agree on a Crusade to crush the German Reformation, but supporting the Teutonic Order during their crisis in which they brought upon themselves? That was a point of contention between the various factions of the Church. As such, the men continued to squabble amongst themselves over this one issue for a week before concluding that they would provide material aid to the Teutonic Order, but they would not provide any troops or economic support. 

The Teutonic Order was left on its own to fight the enemies in which it had created, at least for the most part. After all, the Church was more concerned with putting down the German Reformation, which posed a far greater threat than the Golden Horde. If this were the army of Genghis Khan from centuries prior, then maybe there would be a need for concern. However, at the moment, Berengar was a far greater threat for the Church, and they needed time and resources to prepare for a great Crusade against him and his followers. 

Berengar, of course, anticipated this move by the Church, and he had no qualms building a sufficient force in the meantime to deal with the threat the Crusaders would pose shortly. However, for now, he was fairly relaxed as he focused his efforts on what he had been doing since his return from the campaign in Tyrol. Building his army and defenses while maintaining his trade with the various factions who wanted his arms and armor.

As for the Reformation's place in this world? It was not so easily diminished; word had spread that the German Reformation had begun, and plenty of people saw it as an opportunity to take back power from the Church, something in which most secular rulers had desired for some time. Even if they did not necessarily agree with the teachings of the German Reformation themselves, the idea of getting rid of the Church's influence over secular affairs was attractive enough to join in with the Reformist Movement as such Berengar's allies grew in numbers, which would be useful in the upcoming war with the Catholic Church.

Ultimately the Council of Cordoba ended in what could be considered a monumental success for the Catholic Church, the Western Schism had been mended, and a plan was in place to deal with the German Reformation, as for the Teutonic State, they were left to their own devices for the most part. Thus the Catholic Church had addressed the ongoing crises from which it was currently suffering. However, in the end, this would not be enough to stop the growing tide of the German Reformation and Berengar's rise to power.