Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1115

Chapter 1115: European Merchants React

Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Thiruvananthapuram

As time went on, the European spies were horrified to discover that the Bharatiya Empire was becoming something they could not fathom. Originally, they had been extremely happy that the technology of the steam engine had been made available to some of the companies in the empire, since it could benefit them as well. But seeing how the industrial capability of the Bharatiya Empire was unleashed by that one decision of the wretched emperor, it left them horrified.

They were not standing in an empire, but in the cradle of a beast, a behemoth, a Goliath, and, a…phenomenon. For them and the European merchants, whose task was to buy back industrial goods from the Bharatiya Empire for reverse engineering, it was like witnessing their worst nightmare.

They witnessed with their own eyes as mineral resources flowed in from around the world, from places like Suvarna Dwipa, the Southeast, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and, hatefully enough, even from Siberia, Russia, and parts of Europe.

“Damn Slavs,” they could not help but curse.

The raw materials arrived on the shores of the empire in hundreds of ships every week, making up thousands of tonnes every day, leaving them numb.

The Bloody Bharatiyas were smelting in a single day the amount of metal their kingdom did in a fucking month… a… fucking… month. It’s CRAZY. With red eyes, they watched as the raw materials were transported via locomotives, through the railway tracks that were like the arteries of the body, feeding the giant called the Bharatiya Empire, all the while chugging steam.

The materials entered one of the many special economic zones, the dark-skied cities of hell, where the raw ore was smelted and transformed into raw materials, which were then turned into cars, tractors, bikes, and bicycles, all of which were sold back to the overseas market, completing the full cycle.

They could tell that the Bharatiya Emperor’s decision to open up exports of controlled products like cars and tractors was like opening up of the Pandora’s box, once open there was no one that could stop it, and they did not know even if the Emperor himself could stop it.

The Europeans could tell that the industrial hearts of the Bharatiya Empire, like Gangapuri for its iron and steel, Kalachuri Nagar for its coal, Ahom for its rubber, and Nagpur for its high-tech manufacturing, all began to beat rapidly, pumping out industrial goods faster than ever.

The speed at which the Bharatiya Empire produced industrial goods made them envious, but what could they do? Compared to the Bharatiya Empire, which was like what Rome looked like in their minds, they were from some backwater village in an irrelevant countryside.

As a result of the growth, the amount of Bhartiya population employed by the industrial sector continued to increase. Before, it was estimated to be 10 to 15%, but now, with hundreds of companies opening up every day in each of the manufacturing-focused states, and millions of jobs being created, it directly jumped to more than 20%, and it continued to increase along with the orders from the overseas market.

Since the manufacturing industry is not an isolated industry, and simply a larger core part of the Empire’s industrial landscape, with it becoming the driver of the economic growth, supporting industries like the mining industry, logistics industry, shipbuilding industry, human resources, industrial catering industry, even the real estate industry, all began to prosper.

It was a new spring for everyone in the manufacturing sector: engineers, now valued even more by their companies; managers, receiving larger bonuses; researchers, earning stock options or dividends for their work; and even the workers, whose salaries had increased by at least 20% on average across the empire and who also received bonuses for the quality of their work, their positions had become the most sought-after jobs in the empire and the envy of the streets.

What depressed the Europeans even more was that all these changes, earth-shaking in their own kingdoms, would ultimately only satisfy a fraction of the market. They wanted to occupy this blue ocean market as well, but unfortunately, they lacked both the technological capabilities of the Bharatiya Empire and the human resources of the empire, especially the educated workforce.

Some smart European nobles, noticing the rapid change in the Bharatiya Empire, formed a meeting group in Thiruvananthapuram and raised a question.

“Why is it that, under the shadow of the Bharatiya Empire, a behemoth of the East that should technically absorb all the resources in the surrounding regions and assert itself as the local hegemon, the neighboring lands are instead growing more prosperous? After all, if that were not the case, where would so much demand come from?” An Austrian voiced his doubt, which left many confused. Several nodded in agreement, still unable to grasp it. It was then that the Spanish merchant rose to speak.

“Although I do not claim that what I say is the truth, I might have some idea about what is happening.” Everyone looked towards the Spanish gentleman with curiosity. The Spaniard got up from his seat and took the centre stage at the round table. “Unlike the colonial management model, where all the resources of a place is drained for the benefit of the colonial power, Bharathiya Empire took a different route, and treated the colonial land as a possible home for its citizens. So the empire did not extract the minerals arbitrarily, and enslave the people for cheap labour. Instead, the empire made policies for the mining companies and other businesses to pay the country the fair share of the wages.”

“And this is not a new phenomenon either. This has been happening since the time the Bharatiya Empire started to accept overseas territories, around two decades ago, and in this span a quite sizeable group of native people have accumulated a lot of wealth in their hands due to the employment and development provided by the Bharatiya Empire. So now, with the Bharatiya Empire exporting automobiles, these people probably couldn’t stand still and immediately started clamouring to buy the cars and tractors.”

The merchant’s eyes brightened with realisation, and the Spaniard continued, “The Bharatiya model shines here. While the colonial model extracts the vast amount of resources in a short span of time, it is like killing the chicken that lays the golden egg, too wasteful. Instead, following the Bharatiya model of developing the occupied lands as the land their own people can live in and developing it to the same standards of the Bharatiya Empire, not only did it avoid causing enmity with the natives, but also made it possible to earn from the land for a long time to come.”

“At the beginning, the overseas territories of the Bharatiya Empire might have been a big investment, but now the Empire is seeing the profits rolling in.”

“If my estimates are correct, these earnings can last hundreds of years if the Bharatiya Empire maintains its technical lead.”

“Compared to it, the colonial model, yes, really too weak. Over time, the resistance of the natives will increase, and in the end, it will reach a point where the colonial government has to pay with its own pocket to maintain the rule. Haven’t we already seen this during the heyday of the Greeks, Romans, Vikings and other cultures?”

Everyone was left thoughtful, and everyone suddenly came to an understanding as to why the Spanish, Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, and the French had suddenly changed their minds and started developing the Americas instead of bringing the resources back to Europe.

A sense of urgency spread among the merchants whose kingdoms, or empires, did not have land overseas.

Putting the matters of the Bharatiya Empire aside, cars and tractors began to appear in the overseas markets.

Although it is still rare, the sightings began to increase in number.

Ming dynasty, East Asia

Lu Gao was a large landowner in the Guangdong province of the Ming Empire. He dressed in luxurious silk robes and got on a carriage as he set off to Guangzhou at the invitation of a rich merchant from the Southeast.

In fact, Lu Gao was not very familiar with this merchant. After all, from what he knew, the merchant was actually a landless peasant from the north who emigrated to one of the vassal kingdoms of the Bharatiya Empire in search of a job and food during the war. How could he remember such a person? But who would imagine, after going to the vassal kingdom, the guy actually started a weal making business after several years and became one of the richest in the kingdom.

Apparently, his wealth had far surpassed him, so when such a person called him and invited him to an event, he could not say no.

Several hours later, he finally reached the city and the courtyard where the event was held. To his surprise, he was not the only one present. Several people, out of whom some he could recognise, were present as well.

“Lao Lu, I haven’t seen you in such a long time. How are you?”

Being a landlord, he might not know much about other things, but he was extremely proficient at socialising. Even if the person was almost a stranger, someone he had only met once or twice, he would step forward with a smile, greet them warmly, and say hello cordially. And even if he didn’t actually know the person, he would introduce himself and try to learn a little about them. More friends = more benefits was his motto.

To Be Continued…

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