Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1091

Chapter 1091: The Olympics (2) Egypt visit

25th March 1692

Maybe it was the first time in the history of the Red Sea, there was actually congestion at the Straits of Tiran leading into the Gulf of Aqaba.

Ships of every size and class, flying the flags of countless nations, lined up in a long, disciplined formation along the left bank of the Gulf. Some were grand passenger liners with ornate decks and shining hulls, while others were modest merchant vessels or nimble ferries, all gathered for the same purpose: to ferry guests, athletes, and dignitaries to their destinations. Those that had finished unloading passengers wasted no time, turning right back and sailing out of the Gulf in an orderly fashion.

To prevent the inevitable chaos that would arise from such heavy traffic, the maritime authorities of Israel and Bharat had designated strict entry and exit routes; ships entering the Gulf kept to the left, while those leaving maintained their course on the right. The entire stretch of water had, in essence, been transformed into a vast seaborne highway, alive with the whistles of steam, the shouts of sailors, and the rhythmic splash of propellers cutting through the waves. Small but vigilant patrol vessels of the Kingdom of Israel tirelessly moved up and down the lanes, ensuring that no ship dared to break formation or violate the navigation rules, keeping the massive, machine-precise movement of ships as smooth and seamless as a grand orchestral performance.

Thankfully, Vijay didn’t have to go through all that trouble. While others had to take the longer route through the Gulf of Aqaba, he chose the Gulf of Suez instead. For most people, that route was closed, the canal construction was still underway, and there wasn’t even a proper port there to handle large numbers of ships. But for him, that hardly mattered. After all, he was the emperor of the Bharatiya Empire. If he couldn’t use his position for conveniences like this once in a while, what was the point of all that power in the first place?

In fact, despite the harsh measures taken by the Coastal Navy of Israel in cooperation with the Bharatiya Empire, the port of Aqaba is already overwhelmed, hence why it is not allowing any ship, whether it is a merchant ship transporting cargo into Israel or a ship of the countries that are sending their players and spectators. They were all asked to dock their ships somewhere in the Red Sea and keep the Gulf of Aqaba free. But this was not a big problem for Vijay; he simply asked the ship to be anchored at the end of the Suez Canal and set off directly to Egypt.

Truth be told, Vijay had never been to Egypt, neither in his past life nor in this one. This was his very first visit, so he decided to treat it like a tour. Instead of heading straight to Cairo, the capital, he set off first to see the famous Giza Necropolis.

Giza Necropolis

Mustafa Khalil had his chin supported by his hands as he looked at the great entrance with a bored expression. His situation was the same every day. Most of the tourists who came to visit the pyramids and the Sphinx were poached away by the older guides, and he, because of his age, was left with people who would only pay to hire him as a guide at a fraction of the market price.

But what could he do? He was the only man in the family; he still had a sister to take care of.

Just then, he heard a commotion from the guards.

“We are under attack, assume defensive formation!” In Mustafa’s surprised eyes, the guards all ran up and blocked the entrance of the Giza Necropolis with large tower shields against their bodies and old-school muskets sticking out of the gaps.

Mustafa Khalil immediately stood up, ready to run. The current situation brought back a lot of bad memories. He had lost his mother and father during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, so he had been trying to stay as far as possible from any conflict. It proved to be extremely helpful because it was when he took his sister and went to live in a remote town that the Ottoman Empire was uprooted. He only came back to his hometown, a small town right next to the Giza Necropolis, after understanding the stability of the kingdom.

But now, his heart was pounding, with every fibre of his being telling him to run away.

Other tourists and guides did not have such an intense reaction. The guides were showing wary expressions, but the tourists, mostly from European noble families that were young and had never encountered a similar situation, had a look of curiosity on their faces.

The next moment, something surprising happened that caught everyone off guard. The guards who had formed a defensive and offensive perimeter actually relaxed and, in a hurried way, put down their weapons as if afraid of being misunderstood, and split apart like the Red Sea. What’s more, they all had expressions of fear and respect on their faces.

In the path that had been created, a bunch of men, all dressed in military uniforms no one had ever seen before, entered with advanced weapons in their hands.

“That seems to be the scope used by the Bharatiya elite soldiers,” a noble young master whispered, causing the expression of the guide next to him to change.

Not a lot of people knew what the royal guards of the Bharatiya Empire looked like, but the imposing aura and the way they were dressed from head to toe, as if they were soldiers from the future, deterred a lot of people.

Finally, a pair of a man and a woman came into view of all the people, causing exclamations. Vijay’s distinct appearance, especially his amber pupils, was circulated worldwide among the noble circles. So, when the people saw the silver-haired man who looked like he could be in his 20s despite being in his 60s, they immediately realised that this was the Rajyapati, the Supreme Emperor of the Bharatiya Empire, His Majesty Vijay Devaraya.

The air visibly froze, and everyone stood in place as if pricked by pins and needles.

They did not know why the emperor of the Bharatiya Empire had suddenly shown up in the Giza Necropolis, but everyone stood in their place cautiously. Even if a lion had no intention of going on a hunt, they, as sheep, had to do their best not to annoy this lion.

“It’s quite amazing, Vijay. I wonder how they built it all those years ago,” Kavya commented.

Vijay looked at the Great Pyramid as well as the Great Sphinx in the distance and nodded, “It is truly a wonder.”

Vijay turned towards the local agent of the external Pragya and ordered him to find a guide who was proficient in the Bharati language.

Mustafa Khalid had no clue why so many people were frozen in their places, but his instincts told him that it would be best if he stayed motionless as well, so that’s what he did. But what happened next confused him. The silver-haired nobleman sent someone to talk with an older guide who was nearest to the nobles’ group, but to his horror, the older guy actually pointed towards him and said something. The man that the silver-haired man sent directly looked at him and walked towards him.

Mustafa Khalid scolded himself for making the wrong choice and for the older guide who singled him out. What the hell did he even do to that old man? He was feeling annoyed and began to hate the old guide. But even if he wanted to run now, looking at the soldiers the silver-haired man brought with him, he was not confident he could move two steps. So, taking a big gulp, he cemented his feet to the ground, ready to face the challenge head-on.

But what the man asked him left him relieved.

“I heard you’re one of the people who know the Bharatiya language. Would you like to be the guide of the emperor?”

He almost collapsed onto the ground when his tense mood was relieved, but he became tense once again when he heard that he had to act as a guide to the emperor.

‘Which emperor?’

‘Wait, he asked me to speak in the Bharati language, does that mean this is some monarch from the east?’

‘But who could be called an emperor in the east? There are only two people, either the Ming Emperor or…’ “Gulp!!” ‘ The mighty Bharatiya Emperor. Which one is it?’

Either way, he became timid like a mouse.

“Ah s-sir, m-my Bharati… i-it’s not too good, i-is it okay?”

The man frowned, “Is there no one else who can speak Bharati?”

Mustafa didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had learnt the Bharati language in order to get out of his predicament. He thought that since the Kingdom of Egypt was now protected by the Bharatiya Empire, people from the Bharatiya Empire were bound to come to Egypt; they would become his primary customers, then he did not have to rely on the tourists from Europe. But who would have thought the first customer would end up being some emperor from the east?

“O-only I kn-know Bharati in our circle. I-if you d-don’t mind, s-sir, I’ll d-do it… i-if the emperor c-can forgive my b-broken speech.”

He suddenly got an idea.

“Or, sir, you look like someone who can speak Egyptian. I’ll talk to you in Egyptian; you can translate it much better.”

The man was lost in contemplation for a few seconds and nodded. Mustafa walked back with the man to the silver-haired noble, the eastern emperor. Mustafa did not dare to look directly at the emperor and kept his head down, lest he somehow offend this great person and get his head chopped off.

Vijay heard the idea of the boy and nodded in understanding.

Soon, Vijay had his exclusive tour with the occasional explanations from the boy.

“Your Majesty might not know this, but the Great Pyramid was the tallest structure in the world for over 3,800 years, and its record was only broken by the Lincoln Cathedral in England.”

“As for the Sphinx, Your Majesty, it is over 4,500 years old. Even now, we have no idea why it was built or exactly when, because there is a theory that the Sphinx we see now is built atop another Sphinx, a much older version of it. Some say it is the container of the Hall of Records in Atlantis, some say it was built during the Age of Leo in 10,500 BCE, and some even say that it was a massive unsuitable leftover quarry block of hardline that was shaped just because it was sitting there.”

“Either way, over 2,000 people come to watch the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids every day.”

Obviously, it was his own agent who was translating the words of the boy, but Vijay felt the boy was knowledgeable and pleasing to listen to. So, after spending the whole day in the Giza Necropolis, he left for the city after rewarding the boy with a few golden tokens, each worth about 5,000 Varaha.

Setting foot in the capital of a country that was once home to one of the oldest and most mysterious civilisations in the world, Vijay looked around with curiosity. Although much of the city had been destroyed during the Empire’s war against the Ottoman Empire, he could still see the ancient heritage and foundation of Egypt in Cairo.

Both for security reasons and in order not to be disturbed, he had not told his itinerary to anyone, not even the King of Egypt, hence why his visit was so effortless. But as he entered the limits of the city, he had no other option but to inform Ibrahim that he was in Egypt.

New Cairo Palace

Ibrahim Hasan was drinking a jug of beer and enjoying a moving picture based on ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ when his servant broke into his private quarters so rudely.

“You’d better have a good reason for your impudence, soldier!” He glared daggers at the well-armoured man.

“Gulp!”

“Please forgive me, Your Highness, but I have just received a message that the Emperor of the Bharatiya Empire is currently in Egypt, and he is about to set foot in Cairo.”

Ibrahim’s irritation immediately disappeared. Thank goodness he didn’t have beer in his mouth, because if he did, he would have spat it out right then and there.

“Quick, inform the ministers to meet me at the Torah!”

“Oh, and inform Mamdani to impose a curfew within the city. From Torah Road to the new Civilizational Museum, every house within a 200 metre radius should be cleared out, and impose a military perimeter on the next two streets!” Quickly looking around, he found his pendant and threw it to the soldier. “Tell him it is my order, and give him the pendant.”

As Ibrahim got out of his royal chambers, instead of excitement, he was filled with fear and dread. His ancestors, the Egyptians, were proud; they had been one of the strongest nations in the world and one of the cornerstones of human civilisation. But now, Egypt was nothing but a vassal power surviving under the protection of the Bharatiya Empire.

If one day, in such a vassal country, the Emperor of the most powerful empire in the world were to arrive, it would not be a blessing but a curse. Because even if there was a scratch on the body of the Emperor, a country like Egypt would have to incur the wrath of the entire Bharatiya Empire. When that time comes, not to mention Egypt, Ibrahim did not know if even the French could resist such wrath.

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