Chapter 676 - Long Live the Sultan
In the days that followed the disastrous Moroccan invasion of Granada, German Imperial Intelligence was working overtime, trying to conceal the extent of how chaotic Iberia had become. If the Papacy were to realize that Hasan was dead, they would immediately start trouble in the region.
After all, though Hasan and Berengar had declared the end of Reconquista, the Church itself had not given up on their political ambitions in the region. They were merely buying their time and fostering dissent among the christians who lived there.
In the following days, Berengar, Adelbrand, and the young boy, Ghazi, set sail for Iberia. They were quick to deploy, with a small amount of the Imperial Guard beside them. Though the Third and Fifth Divisions of the Imperial German Army would deploy to Iberia in the coming weeks, Berengar needed to establish control as quickly as possible.
For the young boy Ghazi who was not even five years old, this was the first time he had spent any significant time with his father. He was roughly three years old, and did not have the cognitive faculties to understand what was going on. Still, his father was taking him on a trip, and he was excited.
The young boy gazed up at Berengar, who was dressed in a military uniform, and noticed that the two of them did not look very much alike. Berengar had pale skin and blue eyes, while ghazi had tan skin and amber eyes. The only similarity between the two of them was their blonde hair. He was much too young to understand the complexities of being a mixed-race child. Still, he felt a bit of pride in his heart. After all, his father had him dressed up in princely attire that bore the colors of Al-Andalus.
Berengar had a stern expression on his face. He knew the dangers that he was walking into, with his young son by his side. Luckily, he had prepared a certain device for this particular occasion. Since Berengar had not yet made combustion engines, he relied on animal power for his vehicles. As a result, he had designed and manufactured an armored stagecoach to act as protection for his son as they strolled into the capital. This armored stagecoach was equipped with a Schmidt mk 2 machine gun in case it came under fire.
The German Emperor would also be relying on his forces present in the region to clear the streets beforehand, and ensure that everything was safe before he and his son marched to the Palace. Eventually the s.h.i.+p landed at the Gibraltar dockyard, where the Royal guard escorted Berengar, Adelbrand, and the boy Ghazi to the fortress where the Al-Andalusian host lie in wait for them. The region had been secured since the Moroccan invasion a few days prior. Despite this, Berengar kept a watchful eye, in case there was any trouble.
The German Emperor led his son by the hand as the two of them entered the nearby fortress, which contained the highest ranking officer. The moment Berengar and Adelbrand arrived, they noticed a familiar face giving orders to his soldiers. Berengar was shocked to see that the man was alive and quickly called out to him with a wide smile on his face.
"General Ziyad Ibn Ya"is it has been some time... It is good to see that you are still alive after everything that has happened."
The Al-Andalusian General gazed over at Berengar with a bitter smile on his face. Things had been rough lately, and it showed on the lines of his skin. He was happy to see that his greatest ally had come to aid him in his time of need.
"Indeed, it has. I just wish our reunion was on better terms. The Sultan is dead, and he has no living heir. Though we have tried to keep quiet about this news, it is only a matter of time before the Sultanate his majesty had worked so hard to build comes cras.h.i.+ng down around us."
It was at this moment that Ziyad noticed the little boy holding onto the Emperor"s hand. Though he had blonde hair, and german features, the tan skin, and amber eyes were a signature trait of the Al-Fadl family, and this immediately piqued the General"s interest.
"Who is this boy?"
A proud smile appeared on Berengar"s face as he informed the man of the boy"s ident.i.ty.
"This is Prince Ghazi Al-Fadl. He is my son with the Princess Yasmin. This boy is Hasan"s nephew and, by the right of succession, is the new Sultan of Al-Andalus!"
Truthfully Berengar was happy that the General was still alive, he had a good impression of the man, though he wasn"t as capable as the men by Berengar"s side, he was loyal to the Al-Fadl Dynasty, and was open to the ideas of reformation. He was also a decent enough general and was part of the reason that Granada did not fall to the Iberian Union during the early days of the war that Berengar had started. Of course, his impression of the man increased when the General lowered onto one knee and bowed his head to Ghazi.
"I Ziyad Ibn Ya"is, swear my loyalty to you, young Sultan. So long as you have me by your side, I swear I shall allow no harm to come to you, and will help you with everything that you wish to accomplish in this life."
Ghazi was confused about what was happening, and looked up to his father for support. Berengar merely smiled, nodded his head, and petted the boy"s hair before informing him how to proceed.
"Accept it, Ziyad here is a good man, and a capable General, you will need his support in the future."
In an immature voice, Ghazi nodded his head and smiled as he struggled to p.r.o.nounce the words.
"I accept your loyalty..."
After introducing his son to the General, Berengar questioned the man about the ongoing situation.
"With the First Division defeated in Morocco, how many men do you have at your disposal, General?"
Ziyad sighed heavily in disappointment as he heard these words before raising three fingers.
"I have at most three thousand men beneath my command. As per the orders we received from the Reich, they have been dispatched to Granada to secure the capital. Truth be told, I tried my best to get Hasan to focus on military expansion, but he was certain that his alliance with you was strong enough to drag the Reich into any defensive operation we required. Thus, he spent a large portion of the military budget on frivolities."
Berengar understood the man"s pain. There were few things worse in this world than having incompetent and corrupt leaders.h.i.+p, something he was all too familiar with from his past life. h.e.l.l, such a thing is ultimately what got him killed.
However, the era of Hasan"s reign was over. From this day forward, Berengar would act as regent and help build Granada into a secondary power that he could rely on to aid him against his enemies. After taking some time to think, Berengar gave his orders to the nearest German comms officer.
"Inform the troops in the Capital to clear the streets and maintain a military presence for our arrival. There must be no signs of hostility in Granada before I am willing to march my son into the Palace. Once the path is cleared, we will enter the Palace and declare my son as the new Sultan. In doing so, I will be named regent until he comes of age, and we will get to work stabilizing the region. There is much work to be done if we wish to save what we have all built here in Iberia."
The comms were sent to the radiotelegraph that Berengar had established in the Granadan Royal Palace. From there, the orders were distributed to both the German peacekeeping forces and the surviving Granadan troops. After giving these orders to the men in the capital, Berengar issued further orders to the men on the Strait of Gibraltar.
"Maintain control over this area. I will lead my Royal Guard towards Granada where we will seize control of the capital and inform the Sultanate of what has transpired. Soon, two divisions will arrive in the Iberia and they will work with Al-Andalusian forces to hunt down and eliminate any threat to the new Sultan.
Once we have eliminated the dissidents and secured the region, these men will stay in Iberia until a time when you can raise a sufficient army to protect yourselves. From then on, we will withdraw our forces to a similar degree that existed before this tragedy occurred. Are there any questions?"
Ziyad had none and quickly saluted the Kaiser before shouting a war cry.
"Long live the Sultan!"
With this, the plan was now in place to begin a takeover of the Iberian Peninsula. Under Berengar"s regency, the realm would see new heights, and would be established as power that was only lesser to the likes of Germany, and Itami"s new j.a.panese Empire. Of course, it would be some time before Germany and Al-Andalus came across the rising power in the eastern world.