Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1144

Capítulo 1144: Greek war: Worsening Situation!!

25th May 1698.

Souda Bay.

A sailor aboard a French reconnaissance vessel lowered his telescope with surprise written all over his face. “They’re retreating?” He muttered, almost as if questioning himself. After taking a second look through the lens, he confirmed it was no illusion.

“THEY ARE RETREATING!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, and with immense joy, relayed the message to the high command.

Soon, the message reached Admiral Anne Hilarion de Costentin, comte de Tourville.

Tourville was in a meeting with a few generals from the Italian Federation and from his own kingdom. They were discussing how they would infiltrate Souda City in the quickest way, and with as few casualties as possible. When he heard the message informed to him by Vice Admiral Jean Bart, a smile broke out on his serious face.

“Gentlemen, may I have your attention please?” He suddenly stood up in the middle of the briefing, attracting everyone’s attention. Seeing everyone looking at him, he nodded in satisfaction and elegantly corrected his clothes. “I have just received news that the Bharatiya fleet has begun its retreat, meaning,” He gave a long pause and lightly clapped his hands, “Crete is ours, we have conquered it, let’s applaud ourselves.”

As soon as his words ended, the military personnel were first taken aback, then became shocked, then slowly reacted by clapping loudly and cheering with enthusiasm.

“Whooo!!!”

Going up against a Bharatiya military unit on land, no matter how small, was nerve-racking. Not to mention, they were going up against them in their own territory. Who knew how many traps they had placed and how many tricks they had up their sleeve, but the news informed by the admiral was enough to boost their morale. With them firmly occupying the port as well as the bay, they could slowly infiltrate the city and completely take it under their control in less than a week.

In this manner, the news continued to spread until it finally reached the ears of Supreme Commander Marco Antonio Giustiniani. Marco was overjoyed upon hearing it, but he did not grow complacent. He refused to let a single victory cloud his judgment, for the state of his damaged fleet was a clear reminder that the Bharatiyas were not to be taken lightly.

The Bharatiyas’ retreat now could only mean one of two things: they were preparing for a far greater battle in the future, or worse, they had already anticipated what their true objective was.

This possibility made him sober up instantly. Without hesitation, he set off to meet Admiral Anne Hilarion de Costentin, comte de Tourville.

“Do we know where the Bharatiyas have gone?”

Tourville thought for a while and shook his head, “No, but I have sent a reconnaissance ship to observe them from behind. We should get the update soon enough.”

Marco nodded and gave out his prediction, “I think they are going to the Suez Canal.”

Tourville narrowed his eyes, “Monseigneur Marco, are you sure?”

“Yes!” Marco nodded, his eyes brimming with confidence. “They must have realized that the English and Dutch fleets are on their way to the eastern Mediterranean, and even a fool could tell that those two countries bear no goodwill toward the Bharatiya Empire, let alone any intention of coming to its aid. That is likely why the Bharatiyas did not retaliate for the attack and retreated instead.”

His expression grew more cautious. “They should also have figured out that the Suez Canal is our true objective.” Taking a deep breath, he continued, “Do not doubt it, sir. The intelligence network of the Bharatiya Empire is truly top-notch.”

“Isn’t that precisely why all our planning has been conducted only between the kings and my federal emperor? Otherwise, why would we need to be this secretive?”

Tourville was left in thought and felt that it made sense. “So what do you suggest we do?”

A shrewd glint immediately appeared in Marco’s eyes, “I suggest we simply follow our original plan without changing the order of things. Originally, we were supposed to rendezvous with the British and the Dutch to quickly clear out the presence of the Bharatiya Navy in the Aegean Sea, and then think about the Suez Canal. But since the Bharatiyas have voluntarily withdrawn from the Aegean Sea, we could directly aim for the Suez Canal, but I still suggest we stick to the plan until we occupy the bases in the Aegean Sea. With these bases as the foundation, we will have a stable backyard, and we will have a stable supply of resources funding the war.”

“Since we have the upper hand, underestimating the Bharatiya fleet and going up against them without fully consolidating our foundation, which I feel is not wise.”

Tourville was left in thought. Although he did not think much about the Italian navy, it is indeed a fact that the 40 ships of the Bharatiya Empire were able to make the enemy fleet with over a hundred and forty ships so miserable.

“Alright, let’s put this proposal in front of Admiral Lord Edwell Russell as well as Admiral Sir Johan De Witt.”

Marco nodded in agreement, but suddenly a smile broke out on his face, “I just remembered. Weren’t those two lords hesitating whether to join the battle or not? Now, wouldn’t taking back the Aegean Sea be enough proof that the Bharatiya Empire could be defeated and be driven out?”

“Maybe with them harassing the puppets of the Bharatiya Empire, we don’t even need to set up heavy defences in the ports we conquered.”

Tourville thought about it, and a smile broke out on his face as well.

Dakshinamuki Port.

After the inauguration of the Suez Canal, Agni had already gone back to the empire, but after receiving the intelligence when he was halfway home, he quickly turned back and returned. In fact, his father had already warned him that the inauguration of the Suez Canal might trigger something, but since several days passed and nothing happened, he thought that his father’s prediction was wrong this time. But now that he is back in the Dakshinamuki Port for the second time in a matter of a month, he had no choice but to concede defeat in front of his father.

Putting that aside, as a response to the recent turbulent situation, Agni set up an action bureau right at Dakshinamuki, where all the intelligence channels of the Bharatiya Empire in Europe are gathered and centralised. Thanks to all the intelligence, he quickly understood what was happening, and his expression did not look good.

“Why is there so much resistance from the Europeans to the Bharatiya Empire?”

“Has the work of propaganda not been carried out properly?” Agni asked with a furrowed brow.

Dorian Radu, who was the deputy director of the Bharatiya External Pragya and the director of the Bharatiya External Pragya European branch, looked embarrassed. “The work has been done, Your Highness, but the effects seem to have been reduced over the last few years.”

Agni was confused. He closed the book and looked at Dorian with a questioning gaze, “How so?”

“Well,” Dorian Radu chose his words carefully before answering, “we did conduct extensive propaganda efforts in Italy, but the Italians themselves are highly proficient at it. After all, propaganda was one of their primary tools in unifying the peninsula. With more channels at their disposal and far greater resources invested in a targeted manner, their own narrative effectively overlaid ours.”

“Although, at the ground level, many Italians remain genuinely thankful to the Bharatiya Empire, at the higher levels, especially among the middle and upper classes, the idea of an inherently superior Italian race has already been firmly embedded in their minds.”

“As for the English, French, and the Dutch, well, our penetration into these enemy countries was targeted against the nobles, the scientists, and the monarchs. The people we have trained for the purpose of propaganda are not too large. Although it is not a problem to guide the people on smaller issues, on the issue of war, we are quite powerless.”

“As for the Balkan countries, we have been quite successful, which is why they have not yet sided with the enemy. However, when it comes to the negative atmosphere there, the situation is more complicated. In recent years, they have borne the direct brunt of Greek ideology, which has caused significant turmoil within their societies. The top leadership has framed these problems as having originated because of the Bharatiya Empire, and as a result, the goodwill we had built has been greatly diminished.”

Agni rubbed his temples. He knew his father had propped up the Greek Republic to act as a thorn in the Mediterranean, but that thorn had grown far too large. It had created enemies on all sides, and that hostility had been neatly, almost conveniently, transferred like a posted letter straight onto the head of the Bharatiya Empire.

“Well, no use crying over spilt milk,” he let out a deep breath, and started to think about what to do next.

Crete

The British and the Dutch fleets finally entered the Souda Bay. Tourville put forward Marco’s suggestion to the British and the Dutch admirals, and they agreed.

The coalition of four navies was finally formed and launched an attack on four different locations in the Aegean Sea.

Looking at the mighty fleet of ships, everyone was scared. The trade between countries on the eastern Mediterranean came to a sudden halt.

Athens, UGSR

The expression of General Secretary Georgios Paleologos was ashen. He didn’t expect that he would be bearing the brunt of four naval fleets at the same time. Although the Bharatiya Empire had assured them it was only a temporary compromise until they could recuperate and hit back, he felt it was unacceptable for the Greek Republic to lose its strategic footholds.

Just then, a soldier barged into the office, “General, the Kingdom of Austria and the Kingdom of Slavic Byzantium have both declared war on our country.”

“What!” His eyes turned bloodshot, “Alright, alright. Don’t you guys like taking advantage when someone is down? Good, then I will show you the consequences of doing such a thing.” He clenched his fist and uttered viciously.

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