NOVEL NEXT Chapter 238: Fall of Qutbs [2]
A gentle breeze swayed through a small town in the region of Handia. A large camp was set up just outside the town by the Yadava Royal army. This army was led by the royal commander Bhishma itself. They were waiting for the royal commander of the Vijayanagara Empire to arrive to get the final confirmation to take over their agreed regions.
The annexure was coming to an end as the last region was being captured by Commander Venkata. It was the end for the Qutb sultanate. Their legacy would be forgotten forever in the sands of eternal time.
Bhishma was very elated by the news because Qutb had caused them trouble in the past and they couldn't stop it due to political situations in the region. Now the Qutb collapsed and they were thriving and moving ahead.
"Our long dream of reuniting the territories captured by the Qutbs will be fulfilled now." Bhishma muttered
Handia, Illchpur, and Mahadeo were the territories that were captured during the reign of the Queen's grandfather. It was during the very weakened era of the Yadava kingdom. They couldn't resist the sudden invasion of the Qutbs and had to cede three regions upon losing the war with them.
They broke the alliance and invaded the kingdom very suddenly, thus giving no real time for Yadavas to prepare for the war. This treachery cost them dearly. The alliance was restored by Gauri's father under the influence of her uncle but that time it was a bit different.
Kasim Sultanate present was used to balance the odds with the Qutbs. Both sultanates wanted the Yadavas. They took advantage and made the deal with both so the Qutbs or Kasim couldn't attack them without any consequences, as upon attack the Yadavas would just ally with the other to counterattack.
Then later both agreements were nullified by the new Queen Gauri and she made a historic leap ally with the Vijayanagara Empire. This kept both the Sultanates at bay, as they both couldn't take the Empire even if they wanted. The Empire was too strong to piss off and it would just cost them their own kingdom.
He sighed, sitting in his camp and waiting for the royal commander of the Vijayanagara Army to arrive. He had heard the achievements of Rajagopala. The man was one of the strongest men in the subcontinent, in his opinion. The former Emperor was also a monster and in his mind, Rajagopala was the closest to the former emperor during the time of the Bahmani and Hoysala invasions of the Empire.
A soldier came in and said, "Commander, He is here." He said, huffing heavily.
Rajagopala silently entered the tent from behind the soldier.
"Oh!! Lord Rajagopala." Bhishma got up quickly and greeted him with a warm smile.
After exchanging a few moments of pleasantries and hugs, they both sat down on the table to have a discussion.
The soldiers that guided Rajagopala left them alone, giving them much-needed privacy.
"Are you done with the annexure?" Bhishma asked with a tinge of curiosity."We have been waiting for a while in Handia now."
"Ahaha, Lord Bhishma." Rajagopala chuckled. "I just got the confirmation about the last region capture."
"That's great. So we can begin the handover right now?"
"Yes, we can. Before that." Rajagopala smiled. "I have to thank you for the support provided to us during the annexure."
"What is there to thank, Lord Rajagopala? We have received a fair share of the compensation."
Bhishma had reports of the supply delivery to the Vijayanagara army. Their needs were conveyed very properly and quickly. The Yadavas struggled to keep up at first but managed to quickly adapt to their professional and swift messages. He also heard about the use of the supplies to feed the populace in the Sultanate.
He didn't really mind that part, as the cost of the supplies was cheap compared to the amount of the compensation they were receiving in the form of three historically significant regions for their kingdom.
"I heard you took the capital a few days ago."
"Yes, a new commander was leading the charge." He began. "He is a bright kid."
Bhishma scratched his chin. "What about the nobles in the Sultanate and the family of the Sultan?"
Rajagopala's expression turned serious quickly at his question.
"Ah, them."
"They were executed publicly for their crimes. They had a horrible list of the crimes I don't want to even utter about." Rajagopala grimaced.
The execution was carried out in the capital of the Sultanate and was public to show the power of the Empire to the citizens of the Sultanate. They even read out each noble's crimes to the public before the citizens to show that they were the worst of scum to ever touch the earth.
This would just reinforce the idea of justice in the eyes of the citizens and ensure proper integration in the future.
"Hmm… That was a good decision." Bhishma exclaimed. "What of the crown prince? I don't think he was that bad."
"We have no idea about the crown prince! He probably fled the kingdom. We failed to locate him so far.
"Is that so?" Bhishma thought. "I heard that he was someone who cared about the citizens, unlike his father."
"I have also heard about it. We were planning to spare him at least but he ran away." Rajagopala sighed. "He disappeared and the location is still unknown. We still have our eyes out for him."
"I see, We also find some information on our end and share if it's fruitful." Bhishma nodded.
"That would be great." Rajagopala smiled. "Now that's done. Let's wind up this up." He extended his hand.
They both shook hands, agreeing to hand over the territories as stated in the agreement.
The Annexure of the Qutb Sultanate had officially ended with the overwhelming victory of the Empire.
Total Causalities
Qutb. Garrison soldiers: 50,700
Rebels soldiers: 10,290
Vijayanagara Empire: 510
Notable deaths
Qutb Sultan, Zafar Shah
Maulana Razik
All family members of Zafar Shah (excluding the crown prince) were executed publicly.
Territories gained
Vijayanagara Empire: Nander, Paithre, Chaul, Pune, Junir, Ahmadnagar, Thana, Nasik, Daulatabad, Dharangaon, Baglana, Mandu, Burhanpur, Washim.
Yadava Kingdom: Handia, Illchpur, Mahadeo (According to the agreement.)
The Qutb Sultanate seized to exist that day.