Chapter 135: Successful Operation and a New Invasion

At the moment, Berengar was standing in the middle of the Grand Hall of Sterzing; after a well-fought siege, the enemy had conceded and was kneeling before him. With the collapse in the defenses of the city the night prior, it did not take long for the cowardly Regent within to surrender the Castle and the City to Berengar, a few bombardments on the castle's walls, and he quickly flew the white flag, scurrying for Berengar's favor.

With Sterzing and Meran won, all that remained in operation Trident was the fall of Schlanders, and news of victory in that area would soon follow. As such Berengar was smiling at the defeated Regent, which happened to be one of the Brothers of the Baron who ruled over this area. Though the man was trusted with the region's defense by his elder brother, he had utterly failed in that regard.

The resistance in the South had come crashing down around the might of Berengar's army, and few places still harbored ill sentiments towards Berengar's campaign, at least openly that is. At the moment, Berengar was speaking with the Regent, who was kneeling before him like a loyal subject.

"I will not punish you for your brother's defiance. Since you have surrendered willingly, you will be afforded the same respect I treat all of my prisoners of war. However, Sterzing is under my authority until the rule of law is restored within Tyrol. "

The Regent was sweating buckets as he kneeled before Berengar, not willing to look into the young man's ferocious gaze. He had never seen a siege ended so quickly before, nor had he witnessed such destruction. The rapid speed in which Berengar seized control of Sterzing was unprecedented, well, unless you count his other conquests. Truly the tactics of European warfare would change when the feudal lords of the continent eventually came to know the effectiveness of his weapons.

As such, the man kept his head bent low as he thanked Berengar for his mercy

"My Lord, I thank you on behalf of myself and my family for sparing my life!"

The church had taken advantage of Berengar's conquest to spread rumors about alleged wicked acts of his army and himself. Despite conducting themselves with a degree of civility not commonly found in this medieval age, his army was branded as demon worshiping murderers, rapists, and cannibals by the Church. As such, the fear in the Regent's eyes was understandable, he was clearly a fool who believed everything the Church told him, and Berengar had no use for such fools in his County.

That's right, his County, as far as Berengar was concerned, there was only one way for this war to end up, with him being rewarded with the title of County of Tyrol. Though at the moment he was unaware of Liutbert's decision to aid him in this regard, Berengar was still confident he would get what he wanted. Thus he looked at the Regent in front of him with disgust as the man was led away to his imprisonment.

Afterward, Berengar sat down on the seat of power in Sterzing and gave his orders.

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"Prepare to rest here, and leave a garrison of 500 men, we will prepare our forces for a push into the Prince-Bishopric of Trent when we have mustered our strength. For now, enjoy yourselves, but make sure to follow the rules I have set forth; if I find anyone who dares to ****, raid, murder, cause unnecessary harm to the civilians, and prisoners I will have them placed before a firing squad do I make myself clear?"

With that said the voices of the soldiers under Berengar's command who had gathered in the Great Hall of Sterzing voiced their support in unison.

"Yes, my Lord!"

Afterward, his forces departed, and Berengar was given a reprieve from the endless violence and bloodshed that had been going on since the beginning of his war. He initially planned to march on the Prince-Bishopric of Trent in another month; this would give him time to gather troops, and solidify his position. With many armed garrisons stationed throughout Tyrol enforcing his will upon the local Lords.

After all, for the many changes he had planned to the structure of society, the rebellion was inevitable, and he wanted his troops in place to counteract any revolution that might arise from the noblemen who were disgruntled by his changes to their feudal powers. Thus he intended to begin the constructions of small star forts in the conquered regions and house them with garrisons of local men until the day where he incorporated the entirety of Tyrol into his political, economic, industrial, and agricultural reforms.

After a few days of rest, a messenger came to Berengar and handed him a series of letters, which different people wrote, but each contained important information for his war efforts. The first came from Linde which claimed to have convinced her older brother Liutpert to support him in his bid for the title of Count of Tyrol; in fact, the man openly denounced his father and his actions during Berengar's siege of Sterzing.

The next two letters were from Arnulf and Eckhard, informing Berengar that they had seized control of their targets and that Operation Trident had become an enormous success. Berengar now held the key centers of resistance to his authority in Southern Tyrol; with it, the remaining Rebel regions would fall into Berengar's hands in weeks.

The next letter was the most important report he had received, and it was written by Adela, informing him that Lothar was surrounded in Vienna, with no way out, and the siege her father was engaging in to remove the traitor Lothar was going quite well. It would not be long until Lothar was captured by Duke Wilmar's forces and was executed. When Berengar read this news, he realized he would have to push forward his timetables. If he could not capture Trent by the time Lothar's rebellion ended, then the Duke would surely not allow him to invade Trent without a proper justification openly.

At the moment, that justification was the fact that the Prince-Bishop of Trent had openly declared support for Lothar's rebellion and had even supplied them. Realizing that Berengar no longer had the luxury to wait for reinforcements, he quickly wrote a pair of letters and sent them with a messenger off to Arnulf and Eckhard. The letters contained their further orders; Arnulf and Eckhard would leave garrisons behind and march on the regions that would later become known as Riva and Pergine Valsugana. As for Berengar and his forces, they would march on the city of Trent. They simply did not have the time to wait for reinforcements.

After sending the letters, Bernegar quickly gathered his officers, where they were confused by the unscheduled meeting but were eager to listen to Berengar's command. As such, Berengar cut to the chase and informed his troops of his monumental decision.

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"The traitor Lothar is about to fall to Count Otto's forces. It is a matter of weeks at this point..."

With this said, the room resounded in applause, this meant that soon enough, the war would be over, and they could return home. However, Berengar shocked them by raising his hand and having them hold their applause; he pointed in the direction of the map in front of them, which landed directly on the Prince-Bishopric of Trent. Berengar had a fierce and determined gaze in his eyes as he gave his decree.

"Because of this, we will have to act quickly if we wish to end the Rebellion in its entirety; as you all know, the Prince-Bishop of Trent has been supplying our enemies. If we do not invade them now, we will allow the authorities in Trent to get away with the blood on their hands. As such, I hereby declare that tomorrow morning, our forces aside from a small garrison of 250 men, designed to maintain order in the region, will march upon Trent, where we will capture the region within the next few weeks and incorporate it into the County of Tyrol!"

The Officers were shocked at first by this news; however, when thinking of the potential rewards they could gain by seizing Trent, their eyes glistened with greed. With the new territory under his control, Berengar would need to appoint noblemen of higher regard to run it for him. Since positions in his political and military structure were based largely upon merit, the more capable one proved themselves as a leader in the upcoming conflict, the better their chances to become a Baron or a Viscount.

Thus the passion for this invasion was far greater than that of the conquest of Tyrol, and every man desired to do their part to gain a prestigious position and untold wealth from the annexation of Trent. As for Berengar, he was excited by the fact that he could finally deal a great blow to the Church, who he had already made his enemies. If they think the Teutonic Order will be enough to wipe him out in a few months, they were sadly mistaken. With his orders being given, the Officers quickly relayed them to their troops, and Berengar took a sip of wine as he gazed at the map of this world. Further strengthening the resolve he had to become an unrivaled Emperor, the conquest of Tyrol and Trent was only the beginning!