Tyranny Of Steel

Chapter 208 – Meeting With Ludolf

After meeting up with Ludwig and discussing the new designs, Berengar proceeded to the local chapel with his guards following behind. While the Grand Cathedral of Kufstein was under construction, the local chapel had been seized from the Catholic Church and was being used by Ludolf to preach the gospel and the words of Berengar's reformation.

When Berengar arrived in the chapel, he noticed service was currently underway, and thus he watched from the back of the church while listening to Ludolf's sermon. The sermon was about the separation of Church and State, and therefore he was quoting Matthew 22:15-22 as he preached to the crowd who had gathered.

"Then went the Pharisees and took counsel on how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us, therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way."

Ludolf then continued to interpret the words in a way that spread Berengar's message.

"Thus, in Christ's own words, we are to obey the laws of the Kingdoms of Men while owing our souls to the Father in heaven!"

The sermon went on for some time before the people of Kufstein were finally dismissed. Eventually, after some time, all that remained in the Chapel were Ludolf and Berengar, and seeing the man who had led him to enlightenment standing with a grin on his face in his church, Ludolf could not help but smile. 

Berengar quickly walked over to the man and patted him on the back.

"That was an excellent sermon, my friend; you are truly fit to lead our reformation!"

However, Ludolf decided to tease Berengar as he was cleaning up some of the leftover mess from the gathering.

"I have not seen your face around these parts lately; I was beginning to think that you had lost your faith."

Berengar, however, chuckled at these words and shook his head.

"Not in the slightest, I have merely been too busy overseeing the realm and waging wars against those who would harm us. I try to make it when I can, but the work of a Count is never truly finished."

Ludolf sneered at Berengar's comment and posed a question to him

"The work of a Count or a Duke?"

Berengar once more laughed at Ludolf's jest before making a joke of his own.

"Careful, those words are treasonous; if you let the little brat hear you say that, he is liable to have your head cut off!"

When Ludolf heard this, he could not contain his laughter and snickered at the remark.

"Yeah? Tell me, Berengar, without your approval who would obey the Habsburg Boy? Everyone knows it is you who truly holds power in Austria. Conrad is just your puppet."

Berengar did not deny the charges against him and merely smiled innocently before switching the subject.

"So, how is the reformation progressing?"

Upon hearing Berengar dodging his statement, Ludolf took the hint and began to talk about business. 

"It is going well; large swaths of Bavaria are being converted, despite the war they held against you. Especially in the Swabian region, it has also spread into Baden, Wurttemburg, and the Swiss Confederation. The reformation is making progress in the East, all the way into Dresden. As far as the Southern portion of the German-speaking regions goes, we have established a foothold."

Berengar was delighted upon hearing this news and congratulated his friend.

"That is good! Well done, this is all thanks to you and your efforts!"

However, Ludolf did not seem too happy, and Berengar immediately noticed that; thus, he inquired about the details.

"What's wrong?"

To this question, Ludolf sighed heavily before voicing his concerns.

"In the North, our people are being persecuted, the Catholics still hold a large control of public opinion, and our followers are burned at stake. It is truly maddening the lengths they will go to silence us."

Though Berengar put on a solemn expression as if he were reflecting about such matters with a heavy heart. In reality, he was incredibly excited by this news; such actions gave him a Cassus Belli to march into the North after he had unified Southern Germany in the coming years. The longer this persecution in the Northern German-speaking regions persisted, the better his chances of having a just cause for declaring war on the North. 

Inadvertently by persecuting the Reformists in Northern Germany, the Catholics had given Berengar a reason to invade when he was finally ready to do so. However, he could not very well admit this, and thus he pretended as if he was overwhelmed with grief.

"Truly it is madness as you have proclaimed, the fact that the Catholics would murder those who interpret the word of God differently shows how corrupt they are. They do not care about salvation but maintaining control over the people."

Berengar's words reached an accord with Ludolf, and he wholeheartedly agreed. Thus he nodded his head and spoke the words Berengar wanted to hear.

"Promise me that when you become powerful enough, you will march on the North and liberate our brothers and sisters in Christ from the sinful corruption of the Catholic Church!"

Berengar put on a facade as if he was shocked about such a statement and pretended to be hesitant.

"I don't know about this…"

However, Ludwig was adamant and thus shook Berengar slightly 

"Berengar! Promise me! You must save our people!"

Finally, after a few moments, Berengar seemingly relented and sighed heavily as if he were deeply conflicted about the issue.

"Okay, I promise you that when I have enough power, I will invade the Northern German States and rid them of the horrific influence of the Catholic Church…"

Seeing Berengar agree to Ludolf's plight, the Priest smiled before patting Berengar on the back.

"Do not fret, my friend; we are merely acting in the interest to protect our people from the wickedness of the Vatican! How could God scorn such a war?"

Berengar finally smiled and nodded his head in approval of Ludolf's words. The man never ceased to disappoint him. Thus he decided to switch the topic to something else.

"Do you require any additional funding? Just let me know how much you need, and I will gladly donate it to the church!"

Ludolf began to chuckle as he heard these words, and he began to chastise Berengar.

"You are already building a Great Cathedral to rival that of the Notre Dame! How could I possibly ask for more money from your coffers?

However, Berengar shook his head after hearing this response and informed Ludolf of his opinion.

"For the work of the Reformation, you just need to ask, and I will gladly fund anything you require so long as I am able!"

Ludolf was more adamant than Berengar realized and rejected his offer.

"I thank you for all you have done, Berengar, but we receive enough funding from all of the Noblemen who support our reformation; you do not have to spend so much…"

This news brought a smile to his face; the more Lords who contributed to the reformation, the better, and the Reformist Church was now making enough money to stand on its own without his support. At least for the most part. Thus Berengar finally relented on his offer.

"Okay, just let me know if you ever need anything, and if it is in my power, I will be more than happy to assist you."

With that said, Ludolf smiled and nodded.

"Certainly, remember to keep your promise. When the time comes, you must liberate our brothers and sisters to the North!"

Berengar chuckled when he heard that before posing a rhetorical question.

"Have I ever reneged on my promises, my dear friend?"

With that said, Berengar bid Ludolf farewell and began to return to the Castle. He took a pleasant stroll observing the progress of his City of Kufstein when he did so. Though he had built many structures out of concrete and steel, he knew one day he would have to rebuild many of them to ensure their structural stability for a thousand years. After all, he could not build the foundation of his Empire off of structural materials that at most lasted 100 years. 

Concrete and steel were cheap to produce and quick to turn into structures. Still, the cost of that was longevity, and as such, Berengar made a vow when he looked at his grand designs being rapidly built that he would reconstruct them with stone and cement within his lifetime. For if his culturally significant buildings could not last the test of time, how could his Empire?