Tyranny of Steel

Itami sat across from the Bengal Emperor. The two monarchs were in the middle of a heated negotiation regarding the trade of arms. The Japanese Empress's goal was to turn the Bengal Empire into her puppet. After all, if she could convince them to buy her weapons, then they would be entirely reliant on Japan for resupply of both arms and munitions.

Asha was unaware of Itami's intentions, and was more concerned with finding a way to make the woman his own. He listened to her tale, and in truth planned to buy her weapons from the moment her first laid eyes on her. After all, he had plenty of wealth lying around, and if it meant earning the eastern beauty's favor, then he wouldn't mind tossing her a few thousand pounds of gold and silver.

Itami spoke with a confident smirk on her pretty face as she outlined her proposal to the man in great detail. She used her attractive appearance to ensnare the man's attention as she voiced every word in an overly friendly tone.

"I promise you, Asha, that with my weapons, your armies will be unstoppable in the field of battle. Your armies can march across the territory of your rivals with impunity, nobody in the Indian subcontinent will be able to halt your advance. It might take some time, but within a few years, you will be the first man to rule over a united India.

I'm talking about firearms that are not only capable of multiple shots before reloading, but have a superior range over the primitive matchlocks you are currently using. Accompanying these infantry weapons will be artillery that is not only quicker to reload than your muzzleloading cannons, but also has improved range and superior destructive ability.

If you promise to buy enough of these cannons, I will even throw in a few machine guns at a reduced price. I warn you, these weapons are extremely expensive, but they will allow a small crew of men to have the same amount of firepower as a battalion. You will cut through your enemies' ranks before they even have the ability to engage you! It doesn't matter if it is man, or elephant, these guns will be enough to defeat all of your foes.

Naturally, when Itami used the words machine guns, she was referring to hand cranked Gatling guns, like those of Germany had employed for several years now. She spoke a big game, Asha had to admit that, but he was internally skeptical of the woman's claims. Or her reasoning for even bothering to trade such mighty weapons to him in the first place. Thus, the Bengal Emperor smiled when he heard these words and quickly interrogated Itami about her intentions.

"Tell me, Empress Itami, why are you willing to supply me with such weapons? We have no prior relationship, and we do not have the ability to aid you in battle. After all, we are so far away from where your Empire lies. So what possible reason do you have to support us?"

Itami obviously couldn't admit the fact that she wanted to use the Bengals as Proxies against the Germans in order to buy herself some much needed time to catch up to them. Because of this, she simply smiled and took a sip from her wine before responding to the man's question with a lie.

"If I am being honest with you, I need the gold, and selling arms to a foreign power is the quickest way to achieve this. Your Empire is so far away from mine that even if I sold you these weapons, you wouldn't pose a threat to my ambitions. Besides, having a united India that is friendly to the Empire of the Rising Sun would naturally benefit me in many ways."

Asha nodded his head and took a sip from his drink. When he heard this, he felt as if he understood the woman's personality a bit more. However, if he was going to invest money into this woman's weapons, he would need to see how effective they were in person. Itami may be among the most beautiful women he had ever seen, but every rose has its thorns, and she could easily be swindling him. Thus, he agreed to her terms, but with a condition.

"Very well, I accept your offer, under the condition that I can personally witness a display of these weapons' effectiveness. I wouldn't want to pay such a staggering sum only to find out you have been exaggerating how great your wares are."

Itami nodded her head in agreement before placing her chalice down on the table. She had finished her meal and was prepared to conclude her transaction. After all, the sooner she sold these weapons to the Bengal Empire and secured them as a proxy, the sooner she could return home and begin her plans to conquer Korea.

"Very well, follow me to the docks, and I will show you just how effective these weapons are..."

With that said, the two monarchs and their translator walked down to the docks where the Japanese soldiers were standing watch. Itami quickly gave an order to her marines before sitting back and waiting for them to set up their weapons.

"Quickly, prepare the goods so that they fire at the ocean. I want to show the buyer just how effective our weapons are!"

While the Japanese soldiers opened up the crates and pulled out the guns so that they could do as instructed, a crowd gathered around them with a sense of curiosity for what was about to transpire. In this crowd was the German agent known as Rudolf, who watched with shock as he witnessed the weapons being revealed. He immediately noticed the Gatling gun as a design employed by the German Army and had the sudden urge to report such news to the fatherland.

However, in the next moment, the Marines opened fire with the lever action rifles, firing all of their shots straight into the sea. After doing so, they pulled out their revolvers and used them as well. Having fired the revolvers, they loaded the Gatling gun, whose effectiveness stunned everyone in the crowd, except for Rudolf.

Once the Gatling gun was depleted, the marines moved onto the Armstrong gun, where they loaded an explosive shell into its breech, and fired it into the sea. The explosion erupted on the water's surface, which immediately caught the interest of the Bengal Emperor. The truth was, Asha was stunned by the destructive nature of the weapons that Itami was willing to sell him. He could downsize his army to a few thousand men and still conquer his nearest neighbors.

However, if he began conscription, he could employ these weapons among tens of thousands of soldiers, no hundreds of thousands, and easily conquer the entire Indian Subcontinent. A flash of ambition filled the man's dark eyes as he witnessed the weapons being unloaded by the Japanese Marines. He could not help but ask the question on his mind.

"You will supply my army with these weapons, and the munitions to use them?"

Itami had a devilish smirk on her pretty face as she nodded her head in agreement.

"As much as your army needs, so long as you are willing to pay the agreed price, these weapons can be yours."

Upon hearing this, Asha's lips curved into a wicked smile as he envisioned the prospect of a unified India under his control. He could see the prosperity that such an Empire would have and immediately nodded his head thrice before agreeing to Itami's terms.

"Very well, I agree with whatever price you demand of me. Simply ask and I will pay for it with gold! Once my army is fully equipped with these weapons, I will march them into the lands of my Southern Neighbor and begin my conquest. After I have united the entire subcontinent, I will repay your support by making you a war goddess to be worshipped by my people until the end of time."

Itami forced a smile on her face as she heard this. She had no ambitions to be worshipped as a genuine deity. The nickname her soldiers gave her was not one of genuine religion, but admiration for her accomplishments. Still, she accepted the man's offer and continued to speak with the Bengal Emperor about the proper price for the arms that she would sell him.

Meanwhile, Rudolf had returned to his stall. He had heard every word spoken by Itami and Asha and did not hesitate to dispatch another telegram to the fatherland, informing them of the weapons sale between the Japanese the Bengal Empires, as well as the plans for Conquest that the Bengal Emperor had expressed.

Ultimately, this news would force Berengar to act on his ambitions in India far sooner than he had initially planned. Dragging him into a war shortly after defeating the Catholic Church. Where the armies of Germany would invade the Anangpur Empire to unseat the Regent and place Dharya on its throne. Berengar simply could not allow the Bengal Empire to unite the Indian Subcontinent.

This was good news for Itami, who would use the distraction of India to launch her invasion into the Korean Peninsula, as well as her other targets. Securing her the natural resources she desperately needed to produce superior ships that would be capable of contending with the Reich on the seas.