Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1120

Chapter 1120: Vijay’s big plan for Bengaluru

The construction of the Ramachandra-class battleship in the dry dock at a bay a few kilometres west of the main Ormara Port was carried out with extreme secrecy. The particular bay was chosen because it was naturally enclosed by land on most sides, with only two narrow channels connecting it to the sea, making monitoring far easier. And that was not it; logistically, it made perfect sense as well.

The location was remote enough to remain unnoticed amid the constant noise and movement of mineral transport for which the port was known, yet still close enough to maritime routes to bring in all necessary machinery and parts by sea. The shipments could even be camouflaged as regular industrial goods, since the port already handled large volumes of such cargo heading toward the heartland of Balochistan.

For the construction of the battleship, a lot of organisations, units, and departments in the empire were brought together under one roof by establishing a temporary unit under the imperial committee called the Flagship Logistics Initiative, under which all the organisations were integrated and made to work together.

In the heart of Nagpur, the engines were being custom-made for the ship by the best craftsmen Raya Power Company could muster, while Tata Iron and Steel were in the Iron & Steel SEZ of Gangapuri, in the process of casting the two crankshaft assemblies capable of withstanding 30,000 kanda metre of force each. As these core components took shape, the weapons landscape of the Bharatiya Empire added its own weight to the project.

The empire’s weapons industry had already become quite diverse, with each military design firm having one or two successful designs, so design studios like Shri Manjunatha Research Firm, Trishul Arms Consortium, Shastra Innovations, and Varuna Designs, whose weapon systems were selected for the battleship, all sent their teams of researchers to the three military conglomerates in order to guide the proper manufacturing of their systems. Their arrival created a steady flow of experts moving between facilities and ensured that every component reached the required standard.

Other large players were drawn in as well. Chidambaram Dynamics Limited, known for producing windmills and propellers, set up a secret production plant to build a pair of screw type propellers as requested. Pillai Optics took charge of all the sights and optical devices along with the temperature and pressure sensors used in the ship, which expanded the technical network supporting the project even further.

Even the government organisations became deeply involved. Garuda Aerospace was mobilised to manufacture the missile systems by itself, and the Bharatiya Samudra Submarine Research Organisation, a research institute under the same parent organisation, the Takshashila Institute of Human Exploration, took up the task of producing the 18-inch torpedo tubes.

It was like a puzzle that was coming together, all contributing their own strengths to build something magnificent.

For the citizens of the empire, everything appeared normal, calm, but they were completely unaware that under their eyes and ears, a new generation battleship, a battleship that pushes the Bharatiya Empire into a new age of naval might, was being brought into life.

A few smart people, some observant people hidden in the society, may be able to feel like something weird was happening with the navy, but even if they did, they probably would not care, since new changes were seen in the empire, changes that got everyone talking, changes much more interesting for them to observe instead of some weird phenomenon in the navy that might or might not be a big thing.

A week ago

5th May 1694

Simhasana Bhavana, Imperial Capital-Bengaluru, Akhand Bharatiya Empire

Vijay, sitting in the conference room alone, was lost in thought. He was waiting for all the Cabinet ministers and some of the directors of organisations dealing with finance in the empire to arrive.

With the printing press now being powered by steam engines, the printing of the currency was much faster. It had only been three months since his meeting with Manoj Bajpayee, the director of the monetary press of Bharat, and nearly half of the 73.88 billion Varaha had already been printed. Truth be told, if Vijay wanted, the entire 73 billion could have been printed in the span of three months, but he held back and told Manoj Bajpayee to only print half of the currency first.

By printing the 73 billion without having a gold backing, the currency of the Bharatiya Empire went from having an inflation of 0 to an inflation of around 7, 8, or even 10%. In hindsight, with a GDP growth of 20 to 23%, it was not a big deal, but still, Vijay wanted to keep the inflation down, and so he wanted to spend the money and derive its value as quickly as possible before more money could be printed. After all, when numbers reach extremely high digits, and they are left in the bank sitting without purpose, collecting dust, their value keeps going down.

When Vijay decided on the fractional reserve system, he had already decided on where the money would be invested: in infrastructure, international trade, industrial expansion, and strategic reserve. But he had now come up with a more comprehensive plan, since the effects of his decision had already begun showing.

Resources from overseas were pouring into the Bharatiya Empire, more resources than the current industry could probably handle. The situation had gotten to such a level that mining in the empire could be entirely stopped, and the resources that were coming from overseas might be able to sustain them.

Every country was trying to exchange its resources for Varaha, be it minerals, fuel like coal and oil, or even services and exports.

In this situation, the disadvantages of having only 40 or 50 billion Varaha in circulation were already becoming apparent. The value of Varaha was rising daily, while the value of goods and services from foreign countries was falling. While this might look on the surface like a good thing, it honestly was not. Living in a high-income economy had its own drawbacks, like the increased cost of living, which increased the cost of employment and increased the cost of many other essentials, including industry, the very backbone of the Bharatiya Empire. If things went on like now, Vijay would have to resort to stopping immigration in order to boost the population and reduce the overall income level per capita due to the value of the Varaha itself skyrocketing.

Vijay knew he had to act immediately, or risk stifling the empire’s dominance before it could fully take root. He did not want a situation like the USA, where financial power existed without industry. What he sought was control over both industry and finance, and to achieve that, industrial costs needed to remain low while everyone continued to use the Varaha for trade.

By the time Vijay finally came back to his senses, all the ministers were sitting silently, waiting for him to speak.

Vijay got up, his chair pushed back with a creak.

“We currently have 35 billion Varaha in reserve,” he stated, causing a few eyebrows to raise. Unseen by everyone present, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Director of the Monetary Press, and the Director of the Reserve Bank all looked at each other with a knowing glint, but they quickly diverted their attention so as not to raise suspicion on themselves, while the emperor continued, “Apart from the 1.75 billion I want to keep for emergencies, I want to start a few projects across the empire.”

“Nirmal,” Vijay called out.

” Yes, your majesty,” Nirmal, the Minister of Transportation, responded. He was a little doubtful about where the money came from, but he knew what questions to ask and what questions not to.

” An investment of 10 billion Varaha will be directed towards enriching the road and railway network in Tibet, Pashtun Pradesh, and Baluchistan. Consider this the objective of the third five-year plan, coming in advance. Immediately find the contractors and start the work.”

Nirmal was still clueless as to why so much investment was suddenly being done, but still, he was extremely happy. “Leave it to me, your majesty. I will not disappoint you or the people.”

“Kumar.”

The Minister of Communication, Kumar, stood up. “Your majesty?”

“You will be allocated 6 billion Varaha, and your task is to lay down Arkha Dristhi communication lines to build post offices across Tibet, Pashtun Pradesh, and Balochistan.”

Kumar was overjoyed. “Thank you, your majesty. I will not let you down.” Connectivity in Tibet, Baluchistan, and Pashtun Pradesh was always hard due to their harsh terrain, especially in Tibet, but with six billion Varaha, he was confident that, at least along the main road network, he would be able to install the communication lines.

“Venkatapathy,” Vijay called out, and an old man in his 60s stood up with a stiff expression. When all the ministers stared at him from the corner of their eyes, he became even more panicked.

“Ye… yes, your majesty?” He couldn’t understand why he was called to such an important meeting. After all, he was simply the head of the Panchayat. Although it was the Panchayat of the capital city, Bengaluru, a Panchayat was still a Panchayat. What role did he have to play in the cabinet meeting of the Bharatiya Empire, which not only decides the fate of the empire but also the fate of many countries in the eastern hemisphere?

Vijay was not so direct with Venkatapathy this time, since he knew that the guy was already startled. “How’s the metro coming along?”

Venkatapathy took a big gulp and answered, “It is almost finished, your majesty. The rails have now been laid down. If the metro train is installed, we can begin testing.”

“Very good,” Vijay nodded with satisfaction. “You did a good job. I heard you provided a lot of support during the construction throughout the entire project. Keep it up.”

Venkatapathy was embarrassed, especially when the Cabinet ministers looked at him with teasing smiles on their faces; his face turned redder than a ripe tomato. “It is what I should do, your majesty.”

“So here’s another task for you.” Vijay finally came to the point. “I will give the Panchayat a funding of 2.9 billion. The capital should be overhauled.”

“All the cement roads will be replaced by clean-cut rock pavements. All the public infrastructure and the government buildings will be expanded and will be made bigger. Invite artisans and make each and every building look like a palace for the giants, as if it screams majesty and grandeur, built to the same calibre as the parliament building or the simhasana bhavana.”

“The whole city should look like something that has come out of an epic ”

Vijay’s words were short, and his instructions were straight to the point, but the intent behind his speech made his voice reverberate throughout the conference room, leaving all the old men wide-eyed. Everyone was stunned, looking at the determined emperor with utter disbelief. Some ministers tried to put in a few words, but in the end, feeling the determination of the emperor, those words were choked back without even a whisper coming out of their lips. Even the Cabinet ministers and the directors of various departments were like this, not to mention the head of the Panchayat, Venkatapathy, whose throat ran dry and whose mouth had already dropped. He simply forgot for a moment where he was, with only the words of the emperor echoing continuously in his mind.

To be Continued…

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