Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, Vijayanagar State, Capital City: Hampi.

|| 1655 Vedic Calendar, four months and Three weeks after the New Year ||

One week has passed since the prototype of the Raya-type printing press was tested. Following successful testing, it was promptly put into production. However, it wasn’t alone in this endeavour. Alongside the Raya-type printer, the improved Gutenberg Press also entered production.

On the banks of the river Kaveri, lies the Kaveri River industrial zone, where the construction of various buildings is in full swing. These structures emit copious amounts of smoke and deposit significant waste into the river. While people in the 21st century may view this as an environmental hazard threatening the longevity of the environment, those in this era hold a different perspective.

They see this area as a booming opportunity magnet, a place where they can ascend from lower to higher classes, a realm of boundless opportunities.

One of the people who thought like that is called Vijayanand. With the formalization and liberalization of business in the empire, he had taken a chance and started his own company. He named it Vijayanand Roadways Ltd, abbreviated as VRL. He had noticed a lot of traffic coming and going from this industrial zone in the last few months.

He noticed that these merchants or customers to this industrial zone were coming from various parts of the empire. He felt like this might be an opportunity for him, so he gave it a chance. He stood outside the Raya machinery factory and requested to speak with a merchant who had just recently bought a machine tool and was figuring out a way to ship it.

Generally, these merchants have their own carriages as they ship the goods themselves, but in some rare cases, they will have to borrow the carriage from their friends or relatives. Usually, they don’t hire carriages from strangers, especially for important goods, Hence the business for Vijayanand was initially very hard.

Although the customer of Vijayanand initially harboured doubts, He still confidently presented his idea, which ultimately persuaded the merchant. "Sir, there’s no need for concern. If any harm comes to your product, I’ll reimburse its value. Moreover, I’ll ensure doorstep delivery. Here’s my land deed; my home address is on it. You can trust me.

Nobody would dare falsify land deed documents. I’m not eager to meet an early demise," Vijayanand assured with a reassuring smile, proffering his land deed to allay the man’s suspicions. He strategically displayed his land deed to demonstrate his sincerity, even providing his precise location within the document for added trustworthiness. "Please make note of it, sir.

If you have any doubts, don’t hesitate to reach out," he added, extending further reassurance.

The merchant, left with no other recourse after his friend’s promised carriage fell through due to damage, opted to take the leap of faith. To his surprise, the risk paid dividends; the machine arrived much sooner than expected and was impeccably packed with ample protective measures. Upon inspection, no damage was detected. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

When settling the logistics company’s bill, the cost proved reasonable and within his budget. Consequently, he found himself thoroughly satisfied with the outcome.

After buying the machine tool, fortunately for the man, his business really improved a lot because of his organization’s increased production efficiency. Seeing this positive result, he ordered more. With the money he earned, he wanted to buy a carriage in order to ship all these machine tools, but then he suddenly remembered the logistics company that shipped it to him the last time.

Having a good impression of it, he took out the paper on which he had written the address when Vijayanand mentioned it and sent a letter inquiring about whether the shipment of the goods was possible.

Receiving the letter filled Vijayanand with excitement; it marked his first bulk order, a significant milestone for his burgeoning business. Eagerly accepting the order, he faced the daunting task of fulfilling it within a tight timeframe. Despite the challenges, he managed to deliver, earning him newfound respect within the merchant community.

Through word of mouth among the niche group of industrial merchants, Vijayanand’s reputation began to soar, propelling his company to new heights. As more people became acquainted with his services, Vijayanand expanded his fleet from a modest 10 carriages, acquired by selling his land, to an impressive 50, capable of traversing all corners of the empire and facilitating swift deliveries.

Capitalizing on this momentum, Vijayanand hit upon the idea of painting all his carriages yellow, enhancing their visibility and making them instantly recognizable. With this ongoing publicity, his company experienced exponential growth.

Currently, a fleet of vibrant yellow carriages adorned with the VRL logo shuttled to and fro from Raya Machineries, establishing itself as the premier service for merchants conducting business. Meanwhile, Raya Machinery finds itself in a whirlwind of activity. Ever since the surge in orders for machine tools, the factory has undergone multiple expansions to meet demand.

However, the influx of orders for Raya Printers and the improved Gutenberg Printer from the Ministry of Education and Culture has necessitated further expansion, resulting in the entire Kavery River Industrial Zone being dominated by Raya Machinery.

With that, the Kaveri River Industrial Zone emerged as the most industrialized part of the empire, with hundreds of machine tools being shipped out weekly, providing the necessary engines for the empire’s economic growth.

Unfortunately, the production of machine tools had to be slowed down Temporarily because the printing presses had to be manufactured immediately. Hence, they manufactured 10 Raya Printers and 30 improved Gutenberg printers throughout the week by reducing the quantity of the machine tools produced.

The newly produced printing machines were shipped out immediately to the five industrial zones of the empire. These printing machines were received by a new company Vijay created called Raya Printing Services. This company is responsible for providing printing services, as the name suggests.

The orders for this printing services company were placed by another company Vijay created called Raya Media Company. This company was Vijay’s main media arm of his financial empire. His future goal is to turn this media company into a media group similar to Viacom, Disney, or Time Warner. The Ministry of Education and Culture placed orders for textbooks with Raya Media Company.

The textbook syllabus and data were provided by the Imperial Committee.

The machines which were shipped quickly arrived at the various branches of Raya Printing Services company, As soon as the machines were installed, the printing started. In various industrial bases of the empire, a new sound was heard: the sound of machines running continuously.

Books were printed out every day as one batch after another was proofread and quickly dispatched to various universities of the empire. Within a few weeks, the students began to see more books in their library, and they could now borrow the textbooks for them to study for up to a week.

As the number of machines increased, the production of these books also increased exponentially.

Currently, two Raya-type printers have been sent to each of these locations: Godavari River Industrial Zone, Thapi River Industrial Zone, Mahanati River Industrial Zone, Krishna River Industrial Zone, and Narmada River Industrial Zone. Additionally, each of these industrial zones was equipped with 5 improved Gutenberg printers.

The printing of the books was done with the help of improved Gutenberg printers, whereas the images were printed with the help of Raya-type printers. Although the Raya-type printer is more accurate and has better definition in its printing capabilities, it is too costly and expensive to run.

The Raya-type printer requires a dedicated artist who is at least of a master level in order to etch the required drawings and designs onto the metal plate, which is not an easy task. So currently, only the images that have already been etched on the metal plates and some important books like religious books or scientific books of past scholars are printed through Raya Printers.

The rest of the books are printed using the improved Gutenberg printer.

Upon reviewing the report, Vijay felt a sense of contentment with the outcome. "Perhaps once the demand for textbooks subsides, I can officially launch the empire’s first newspaper," he mused, considering the inception of a media company as part of his broader vision.

However, witnessing the rapid occupation of the industrial space across the five zones, Vijay sensed the urgency to diversify energy sources; hydraulic power alone wouldn’t suffice. Then, a thought struck him: "What about wind?" Recalling his past life experiences studying aerodynamics and testing aircraft in extreme weather conditions, he remembered a particular location in Chera Nadu (Kerala).

Reflecting on it now, he realized it could serve as the ideal site to establish another industrial zone powered entirely by wind energy.

Located at approximately 9.4 degrees North Latitude and 77.2 degrees East Longitude, Ramakkalmedu stood as a hill station of extraordinary significance. Renowned as the Wind City of Bharat in his past life, this locale boasted consistently high wind speeds year-round.

Situated at an altitude of around 3500 feet above sea level, Ramakkalmedu experienced robust winds induced by the region’s two monsoon seasons. One monsoon season ushered winds from the Arabian Sea toward the land, while the other brought winds from the Bay of Bengal. This alternating pattern, coupled with the topography of the Western Ghats, contributed to the area’s remarkable wind speeds.

With steady and strong winds averaging around 35 km/h throughout the year, Ramakkalmedu presented an ideal environment for harnessing wind energy. Vijay recognized the immense untapped potential of this area, and he promptly devised plans to leverage it.

First, he called for Naveen Bhatt, who had agreed to work in Raya Machinery for a few months until mass production was achieved.

"Naveen, I need you to remove the water wheels from the Raya Printer and the improved Gutenberg Printer, and replace them with mechanisms capable of harnessing wind power. Additionally, I need you to work with the engineers in the company immediately to design a system that can transfer the power from the windmill directly to the printing machines," Vijay instructed.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Naveen replied, initially taken aback by the sudden assignment but quickly accepting it without further inquiry, recognizing it as a manageable task.

"But be careful, remember to implement a Controlled Power Drive system. If the wind speed is too high, make it in such a way that it is possible to cut off the power from the windmill. Too much speed is disastrous to the machine. Also, during the shift in gears, make a mechanism such that when shifting this gear, the power is cut off so that it can shift the gear more smoothly."

Naveen was greatly excited by these new ideas provided by Vijay. After manufacturing the Raya printing machine, he gained a lot of insights. Although he might not have known how to fulfil His Majesty’s requirements before, now it was a different matter.

After building the Raya printing machine and its mechanisms, he came into contact with a lot of interesting mechanisms and workings of machine tools, so he was confident that he could fulfil His Majesty’s requirements.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied.

After Naveen left, Vijay, as the supreme head of the Imperial Committee, placed an order for the manufacture of 200 Hampi-class sloops and 80 Vinayak-class frigates from the various shipyards of the empire. Replenishment of the naval warships of the empire was imminent for Vijay.

Due to the battle with the Ottoman fleet, a lot of warships were destroyed, and only one proper functional battleship of the empire was left. From the battle against the Ottoman Empire, the Dutch battleship which Sarvesh was commanding was heavily damaged and it was almost in a condition where it could be scrapped and no longer be used.

As for the Ottoman ships, only three were recovered from the battle, and those were also in very bad condition, so repairs were currently going on for all the battleships in the Empire. The empire is now in a very delicate state, where it has inadequate naval power to protect its coastline. This situation was not one he could feel assured by, as he had huge ambitions for the Navy.

P.S. Today was a shitty day, Sorry if it was bland.

P.S. 2 more(maybe) chapters and it’s the end of this Volume.

P.S. Chapter 250

Correction: Previously I put Gautam in place of Gangadhar so a correction now:

Gangadhar was promoted to Rank 4 noble, admiral

Goutham was still in rank 2

Akhil was still in rank 2

Sarvesh Promoted from 2 to 3 cus of his merit.