Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

2nd October 1655.

Somewhere on the outskirts of Daman in the Mughal Empire, a workshop could be seen with smoke billowing out of it. People were coming and going inside the workshop, transporting goods in and out. This workshop is owned by a blacksmith, so it is a place where iron is processed into various tools and sold to the general public.

*clang* *clang* *clang*

Multiple clanging sounds could be heard in the workshop as the men with rugged appearances kept hitting the hammer on the red-hot workpiece, which was placed on an anvil. Their faces and bodies were filled with ash and sweat, creating a pungent odour.

Among these men, there was one person in particular. While everyone was struggling with the work, this person was not even panting. His movements and aura gave off a feeling of discipline and meticulousness. Every move this person made was efficient and without any waste of movement. Each and everyone hit perfectly flattened the red-hot wrought iron, increasing the speed of crafting manyfold.

While this person was working with concentration, he was suddenly disturbed by the Chaiwala who arrived at the workshop.

"I heard that iron is called Ferrum in Latin. What do you think it is called in Persian?" The Chaiwala asked some nondescript questions that no one could understand except to get the idea that he was asking something about the name of Iron in the nobles’ language.

While no one could understand the Chaiwala’s question, the person who was concentrating heavily on moulding the metal suddenly stopped his hammer mid-air for a moment and then continued again. In the meantime, the Chaiwala went around selling chai to the workers. The person quickly completed the crafting of the iron plate and met up with the Chaiwala outside the workshop.

This person was none other than Dinesh Reddy, the captain of the Special Forces who had been undercover in Daman for a few months. Finally, he received orders for a task. If it were not for occasional communication and exchange of updates, Dinesh would have almost thought that the empire had forgotten him. Now, it looks like he was mistaken.

After reading the instructions written on the paper slip brought by the Chaiwala, Dinesh crumpled the piece of paper and threw it into the nearby furnace with a serious expression. Dinesh, along with the informant, suddenly disappeared from the workshop.

Within a few hours, the news passed through various networks formed in the city; the special forces were quickly assembled in an isolated part of the island.

Along with the special forces, a battalion of civilian recruits had been assembled. These civilian recruits were recruited after confirming their inconceivable hatred for the Mughal Empire. Among these people, there were many who had lost their family members, some who lost their daughters, wives, mothers, children, or even their whole family.

These civilian soldiers were mainly used for help in logistics supply and intelligence supply, and also in some cases, for causing riots to occur within the empire by provoking the people.

Walking back and forth on the stage, Dinesh looked drastically different. He had cleaned up his appearance and was dressed in the black attire of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire special forces. He held his back straight, his head high, with the emblem of the Bharatiya Empire on his helmet and the rank of lieutenant colonel on his badge.

Dinesh surveyed the two distinct groups of soldiers before him, totalling 1600 in number, with great satisfaction. One group sported professional uniforms and wielded sophisticated weaponry such as flintlocks, steel talwars, grenades, and armour.

In contrast, the other group wore casual civilian attire, with some displaying frail bodies lacking in physical fitness even after the short training provided by Dinesh for a few months.

However, despite their differences, both groups shared a common resolve and courage to face any challenge head-on. The ragtag group of civilian soldiers had lost enough to not care about their own lives; in desperate situations, they may be even more deadly and lethal than the trained special forces battalion.

Dinesh started to speak, "Before we start, I can guarantee one thing: most of us gathered here will not make it out of the task alive. So, this is your last chance to withdraw. If you want to quit in the middle of the task, you will be judged Under treason and will be executed immediately Without any court trial under the Privileges of Special Forces Act 103.

So considering that, Does anyone want to leave right away?"

No one moved from their place as they stared straight at Dinesh. He was satisfied with the response and started his speech.

"We have been punishing our bodies day in and day out, waiting for this exact moment. Now the time has come to put it into use. Will we hesitate?" He demanded an answer.

"No, we will not!" The soldiers replied, their eyes gleaming with determination.

"Then the time has come for the fall of the Mughal Empire. His Majesty, Emperor, Vijay Deva Raya, has officially declared war on the Mughal Empire for its atrocities. As the special forces unit of the Empire, we are the vanguard in this blaze of fire about to be ignited by our motherland, Bharat," Dinesh declared solemnly.

"Now, let us get moving! Jai Hind!" Dinesh shouted.

"Jai Hind!" the soldiers screamed.

"Jai Hind," Dinesh followed.

"Jai Hind," the soldiers rose up with fire ablaze in their hearts and eyes. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Jai Hind!" Dinesh bellowed with his hand in the air, clenched into a fist.

"Jai Hind!" roared the soldiers at the top of their lungs.

A similar scene could be seen in Diu where Lingesh was undercover. Initially, both Dinesh and Lingesh were sent to be stationed in the two islands of Dhaman and Diu as a contingency plan for when the Ottoman vessels managed to escape the clutches of the Empire’s Navy and return to Gujarat. But since the plan was unnecessary, Dinesh and Lingesh were not asked to act.

Instead, they were ordered to lie dormant in the Mughal Empire, establish a secret military base, and wait for the opportunity to strike.

At the same time, they secretly transported supplies, ammunition, and weaponry for their battalion. During their undercover operation, Dinesh and Lingesh used their locations as nodes and their connections with the local guards as support to facilitate the smuggling of arms, weapons, and ammunition.

With these resources, they were able to equip the two battalions of their soldiers multiple times over. Moreover, they had enough supplies to establish temporary military bases to resist any attacks thrown by the Mughal Empire for a few hours.

With all preparations complete, they awaited the orders of the empire, poised to act at a moment’s notice. Their wish was fulfilled when the orders were passed down, prompting Dinesh and Lingesh to act decisively.

Their existence in the Mughal Empire was not hidden for long.

News suddenly broke out in Gujarat when a battalion of heavily armed soldiers, accompanied by a battalion of civilian soldiers leading the way and acting as logistical support, broke into the naval quarters of the Diu naval base after overpowering the guards and temporarily isolating the naval quarters, consecutively assassinating multiple naval officers.

The entire naval quarters were almost burnt down. The Empire’s army acted quickly, but the hateful enemy was too quick to run. They quickly ditched all their gear and changed into civilian outfits again.

Only a few suspects were captured, and after torture, it came to the attention of the officials that the person who acted as the commander was called Lingesh, the captain of a brigade of the special forces unit of the Bharatiya Empire. Currently, they are en route to the Rajkot Regional Army Office.

Lingesh, on his way to the Sindh naval port, asked, "First Lieutenant, what are our casualties?"

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant Colonel, we have lost 400 soldiers, among which 275 are from the civilian forces and the rest are from the special forces. The injured who can no longer participate in battle number 150. Now, the soldiers capable of battle are only 1050."

Lingesh nodded his head, anticipating casualties due to their frontal assault on the naval quarters. It was already expected that there would be a lot of casualties, but at least the assigned task was almost fully completed.

Although they attempted to completely eliminate the naval officers in the quarters, unfortunately, it was not possible because even though they targeted the time when the maximum number of naval officers would be in their quarters for their attack, there were still many officers absent during the attack.

"Then has the diversion worked, First Lieutenant?"

"Affirmative, but it is a pity for those civilian lads to lose their lives. They could have escaped if they had tried to blend in with the people faster."

Hearing this, Lingesh nodded his head, as he also felt the same. "Although their actions ended up working in our favour because of the military’s interrogation protocol, it is still a pity for those guys to get caught."

Within a few hours, Lingesh and his remaining soldiers arrived at Singh in the Sindh naval base

Similar scenes to the Diu naval base occurred as Lingesh, along with his crew, raided the naval officers’ quarters. Unfortunately, there was a variable in their plan: the news had spread quicker than they anticipated. Consequently, there were not many people in the quarters, as they had evacuated as a precaution. Only those who had not yet heard of the news were staying in the naval quarters.

Despite this setback, Lingesh and his crew were able to take out at least 20% of the naval officers in the Sindh Naval base.

In the midst of the operation, they suffered the loss of an additional 500 soldiers, leaving only 550 capable of battle. Lingesh himself was injured, with a sword cut splitting open his triceps. He had wrapped a clean cloth bandage around the wound to stem the flow of blood.

Currently, Lingesh had organized a defensive formation near a hill, aiming to buy time until the Empire’s Navy arrived.

Dinesh found himself in a situation similar to Lingesh’s at the Khambhat Naval base, although his condition was better, his troops were more battered and wounded.

During the commencement of the operation, Dinesh did not encounter any resistance on Dhaman Island, as it was not a major naval base but a developed commercial shipping port. He seized this advantage and launched a direct raid on Surat, one of the main naval ports of the Mughal Empire, where most of the Mughal naval strength in the Arabian Sea was stationed.

Utilizing the familiarity of the civilian soldiers in his unit with the environment, Dinesh managed to identify various loopholes in the security of Surat City. They moved through the streets and corners of the city with minimal suspicion, swiftly dealing with any security guards they encountered.

Dinesh, with his combat battalion of 800 people and a contingent of around 800 civilian soldiers, successfully infiltrated the Surat naval base. Once inside, the operation proceeded efficiently; the battalion split into 80 squads, systematically entering one room after another, their movements swift and precise.

" Slice, Slice, Slice, Slice, Split "

"Ahhhhhh!"

Soon, screams echoed through the naval quarters, accompanied by the grim sounds of slicing and stabbing.

Meanwhile, the security personnel in the city were quickly alerted to the violence unfolding at the naval base. However, their attempts to intervene were met with swift and lethal resistance from the civilian soldier unit. However, This resistance could only last as long as the civilian soldiers maintained their numerical advantage.

Despite catching the Mughals off guard, Dinesh’s forces found themselves heavily outnumbered, and casualties began to mount.

" Stab! " *Splat*

Stabbing a Mughal naval officer in the head, Dinesh wiped his sweat, his black clothes now stained with blood, and his talwar practically dripping with it. Breathing heavily, he felt the fatigue setting in. Looking out the window beside him, he could see the lifeless bodies of civilian soldiers scattered at the entrance of the quarters.

It was evident that they were now unable to maintain their defensive perimeter.

With a heavy heart, Dinesh made the difficult decision to order a retreat. Although the mission was only halfway complete, they had inflicted significant damage.

Their equipment and kit were quickly abandoned and changed to civilian outfits as they spread out across the city, blending in with the locals. This task would have been much harder if Dinesh did not have prior connections in the city.

However, due to the assistance provided by the civilian soldiers, they found a lot of help in the city, at least enough to guide them to safety until outside the city. But that wasn’t the only tactic they utilized.

The Rajakot Misdirection tactic was employed once more, yielding exemplary results. With information from two different sources in different locations pointing to the same target, the deception appeared highly convincing. Consequently, the army generals stationed in Gujarat concentrated all their efforts on guarding Rajakot, anticipating a surprise attack.

Unfortunately, they only realized a few hours later that they had been deceived, and the enemy had actually targeted the Sindh Naval Base and Khambhat Naval Base.

Dinesh and his 800 remaining soldiers quickly made it to Khambhat. Although this place was not a major naval port for the Mughal Empire, it held a crucial central location in the Gulf of Khambhat. Together with Diu and Surat, it could form a very tight defensive naval formation station around these three places, which could spell trouble for the Empire’s navy to breach through.

Fortunately, as the Mughal Empire did not pay much attention to Khambhat, its security was highly reduced. Dinesh and his 800 soldiers managed to assassinate nearly 1200 naval officers. But by the end of the day, only 425 soldiers of his own remained. Now it was time for them to find a place to resist The offence of the Mughal Empire for a few hours.

Fortunately, due to Dinesh’s preparedness, he had already established a defensive outpost on a strategic high ground in Khambhat.

Currently, they were already resisting the violent attacks of the Mughals for a few hours. Dinesh and his men were sustaining heavy firepower from the Mughal Empire.

"Boom boom boom boom"

The artillerymen in his unit were also continuously counterattacking, but their ammunition was running out, and the pressure on them was increasing due to the reinforcements constantly increasing from the enemy’s end.

Dinesh walked into the trench with a worried expression, his body covered with ash and soot.

He came to a soldier who was observing the coast, "Is there any visual?" he asked

"No, sir lieutenant colonel, not yet," the soldier replied.

Dinesh, hearing the answer, was disappointed. "Are they all going to die here?" he thought with a sad expression. But soon he regained his demeanour and said to himself, "What’s so bad about dying like this? I will be the hero of the empire.

My name will be etched in the annals of history." He said to himself and picked up the flintlock, loading the bullet, ready to accept his inevitable death, He was about to break the bad news for his remaining crew with a brave expression.

But suddenly...

"Sir, there is a visual! There is a visual! I see our vessels! I see the Navy of the Bharatiya Empire! We are saved! We are saved!" The lookout yelled happily as he found the battleship of the empire approaching the shore.

The operation of 36 hours and 3200 Bravehearts ended like this.

P.S. For some reason this took so long to edit.