Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Vijayanagara State, Capital City: Hampi

|| 1655 Vedic Calendar, three months and two weeks after the New Year ||

It had been a few days since the naval battle in the Arabian Sea had concluded. On the very day the battle ended, Vijay received news of their victory mere hours after the conflict, thanks to a sloop dispatched directly from the battlefield. "Hahahah," Vijay exclaimed, filled with excitement upon hearing of the Empire’s triumph.

The reinforcement from the Ottoman Empire had loomed like a sword over the Empire’s naval ambitions. Now that this threat had been vanquished, Vijay could redirect his attention toward expanding the Navy and challenging the lingering naval existence of the Mughal Empire.

A flame of ambition burned in his eyes as he clenched his fist, awaiting the moment he would sever all the roots of prosperity for the Mughal Empire, The roots of prosperity that had infiltrated his motherland like a parasite.

Unfortunately, it was not all good news for Vijay, as he learned of the numerous casualties in the war. Although Vijay was confident of their victory, he still felt nervous about the Navy. He could anticipate that even if victory were achieved, it would be hard-fought and come with casualties.

However, as the tally of the numbers was not yet completed, Vijay spent the past few days back in the palace with a heart of unease as he did not know the actual numbers.

It was not until the present day that he received the report made by Gangadhar.

Gangadhar, along with the naval commanders, sat in front of him. Everyone had a lot of bandages around their arms and legs, but from the complexion of their faces, it could be concluded that these were minor skin injuries. The most seriously injured of them all was Sarvesh; he was actually limping when he entered the room.

However, with the treatment of the royal doctor, he would be back to health within a few weeks. Fortunately, he did not break any bones.

In the nervous expressions of the naval leaders, Vijay opened the report document and started to read.

The document was neatly structured, first containing the resources that were invested in this war. Vijay read the data again, although he already knew these details during the military planning and dispatch of the fleet. However, out of his recent bout of OCD, he started to peruse it once more.

In this battle, the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire utilized 180 Hampi class sloops and 35 Vinayak class frigates. With so many warships being deployed simultaneously, only 40 sloops were left in the coastal waters of the empire, with 20 located at the southern naval base and 20 at the eastern naval base.

The remaining frigates in the coastal waters of the Empire numbered only 13, with 6 stationed at the southern naval base and 7 at the eastern naval base.

The total number of naval personnel who participated in this battle was 16,800 people, out of which 9,000 personnel were serving on the sloops, 7,000 personnel on the frigates, and the remaining 800 personnel on the two battleships.

Regarding ammunition, each sloop carried a ton of ammunition, bringing the total number of mixed artillery rounds to 50, with a calibre of 20 kg. As for the frigates, they carried a total of 1.5 tons of ammunition with 50 rounds of 30 kg calibre ammunition.

The total weight of the ammunition was 180 tons for the sloops, with 9,000 rounds of ammunition, and 52.5 tons for the frigates, with 1,750 rounds of ammunition.

Vijay also reviewed the battle report regarding the new ammunition used and its results. He was very satisfied with the outcome and resolved to continue research in the direction of the projectile range.

When he saw the casualties of the Ottomans, he was even more shocked because, according to the report, Sarvesh single-handedly wiped out three battleships by himself, two in close-quarter boarding combat and one by his fleet. Vijay felt very surreal after witnessing the limping man, who was sitting in front of him with unease written on his face, achieve such a feat.

Impressed, Vijay patted Sarvesh lightly on his back as he decided to increase his rank of nobility.

Vijay also noted who came up with the tactics and decided to do the same for Gangadhar. As for the rest of the two commanders, there were no highlights about them in this battle, so Vijay chose to hold off on their rewards of increasing their nobility titles. Instead, he decided to reward them with increased wages and a bonus equivalent to six months’ wages. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

After he made these decisions in his mind, he began to digest what he had read. According to the report, the capacity of the Ottoman battleships was 4,000 personnel, but for some reason, 30% of the crew were missing, and each battleship was only manned up to 70%, making the total personnel of the Ottoman Empire only 2,800 people.

After three battleships were sunk by Sarvesh, he did not let anyone live; all 840 sailors on the battleships lost their lives on that day. As for the other ships, it was not much better, as the survival rate of each ship of the remaining seven ships was only 62.28 personnel per ship.

Finally, at the end of the battle, only 436 personnel were captured alive, and even the majority of the captured people were injured to certain degrees.

Vijay felt a sense of skepticism regarding the outcome, as he hadn’t anticipated the Ottomans losing by such a significant margin. He could discern from the intensity of the battle that his navy had suffered casualties. If the casualties among his own Navy hadn’t been too severe, Vijay reasoned, the outcome wouldn’t have been so one-sided and merciless.

Yet, contemplating this made him uneasy, considering the potential loss of his own men.

With a moment of hesitation, he turned the page to find the casualty report, but to his surprise, it wasn’t there. Instead, he discovered information extracted from surviving Ottoman naval personnel, detailing the reasons behind the reduction in personnel on the battleships.

As he read through the explanations, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

His laughter startled the naval big shots, abruptly transforming his majestic demeanour from one of stone-faced seriousness to sudden amusement. "What happened to His Majesty?" they thought to themselves, puzzled by his unexpected outburst, as they couldn’t recall any jokes contained in the report.

Vijay paid no mind to their perplexed expressions as he explained, "Hehe, you guys don’t know, it was actually I who suggested to Thomas Costa to attempt to bribe the Ottoman naval commander," Vijay chuckled, revealing his involvement in the strategic manoeuvre.

The top military bosses were suddenly shocked by this revelation. They gazed at Vijay with a hint of reverence, pondering, "Did His Majesty the Emperor predict the war even before it began?" The notion intrigued them, and they couldn’t help but entertain it.

Observing their fervent expressions, Vijay felt a little weird. While he had grown accustomed to the respect and reverence shown to him by the common people, accepting such profound compliments from the high-ranking figures in the empire still felt unfamiliar. Setting aside his personal feelings, he proceeded to narrate the full story.

"It wasn’t actually that I predicted this war," he clarified. "If I have to say, it was a forward-looking decision and a lot of good luck. I only suggested to Thomas to find the general leading the fleet to India and bribe him with some money to delay the fleet or even rob a few pirates on the way to make more money in the process. Who would have thought that this Akhtar really fell for the trick?

Not only did he slow down the fleet, but he also sold so much ammunition and reduced the capacity of the battleships by 30%, making it easier for us."

Gangadhar and the other commanders finally realized the ins and outs of the matter, as they couldn’t help but lament the fate of this Akhtar Noman. "Truly, he dug his own grave," they thought.

After further examination, Vijay turned to the page detailing the casualties. His expression once filled with joy, suddenly turned stern and heavy as he realized that the casualties among the empire’s navy were far greater than he had anticipated. Out of the 180 Hampi class sloops, 60 were lost in the battle, resulting in casualties of upwards of 2960 personnel.

What’s more, the number of casualties among the personnel of the frigates exceeded Vijay’s expectations. Although he had suspected this outcome after reviewing the strategy outlined earlier, seeing the actual numbers still caught him off guard. Out of the 35 Vinayak class frigates deployed for the battle, only 11 survived.

The remaining 24 frigates were destroyed, leading to a casualty rate of 4800 personnel.

The total casualties of the war borne by the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire is 7796 personnel, leaving only 9004 survivors for now as the survivors with heavy injuries are still in critical condition.

Vijay hadn’t anticipated this outcome. Comparing the casualties of both sides, 2364 lives of the Ottomans were exchanged for 7796 lives of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire. This meant that, on average, each Ottoman soldier was exchanged for 3.2 personnel of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire. It was the first time Vijay felt the stark gap between traditional naval powers and emerging ones like their own.

Even though the Ottoman Empire didn’t rank highly among the European powers in terms of navy, Vijay could never have imagined that the disparity would be so significant between their countries.

*Bang!*

Admiral Gangadhar and the commanders were startled by the sudden bang on the table from His Majesty. They felt as if a weight had descended upon them, lowering their heads.

Vijay noticed their reaction and quickly comforted them. "No, it’s not about you," he reassured them, "it’s just that I feel the disparity of strength between our two nations. You can leave; I will arrange for the credits you deserve, to be allocated to you."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty," they said as they left the royal palace.

Back in the royal palace, Vijay made a decision. At that very moment, he resolved to increase the pace of shipbuilding once more. He thought that if quality was an issue, he would compensate with overwhelming quantity.

"Let’s see who can stop me then," he declared with a defiant tone.

P.S. The Math and ATCD exams are over, I think I will pass