NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1023: 1686 (2)
"What! Are you sure?"
"I am very sure, Your Majesty. King Frederick and Archduke Peter have truly rebelled. They are marching into the empire as we speak." Robert's words were absolute, without any room for doubt.
Charles II Stuart was shocked. "Do they have a death wish? Aren't they known to be extremely capable and cunning? Why have they chosen such an idiotic decision at this time?" Their decision made no sense to him. It was simply incomprehensible. Who would rebel now, when the Russian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, strengthened by the benefits gained from the Balkans, had grown so large and strong that even his ally, the French, who once had no fear, now had to be cautious?
"Wait, in recent years, Frederick Williams has had an unusual relationship with the Bharatiya Empire. He has been sending many of his troops to Bharat for training and also sending his young people there for studies. As for Peter, there is no need to question him; he already gave his daughter in marriage to the son of the Emperor of the Bharatiya Empire. So there is a high chance that behind the actions of Frederick and Peter lies Vijay's hand."
Thinking of this, his eyes brightened. He enjoyed the feeling of slowly dismantling Vijay Devaraya's plan; it gave him satisfaction and a sense of pride.
"However, why would he do that?" This question he did not know the answer to, but suddenly he got an idea.
"Does he think that the Russians and the Holy Roman Empire are already stretched thin and can no longer handle any internal strife?"
He recalled the past condition of both empires. Having been embroiled in war with the Ottoman Empire for so long, their domestic situation was already unstable, made worse by the plague that continued to weaken them further. Perhaps, as the effects of the plague lessened, they had a chance to recover. But with the Balkans once again ripe for taking, they jumped back into the war, decisively biting the poisonous fruit.
"No wonder that scheming Vijay chose this opportunity. This is a time that could cause the maximum disruption and pull the attention from all the countries, from the Bharatiya Empire to the rebelling powers."
"Is this your idea of lessening the burden on the frontline?" Charles chuckled.
Robert stood at the side, watching with admiration as his monarch disassembled the plan of the Bharatiya Empire. But hearing the last sentence, he grew curious. "Are we not going to help, Your Highness?"
"Ha ha, no." Stewart looked genuinely amused, as if the question asked was whether he would follow the wishful thinking of a child. "Vijay wants to use this opportunity to break the balance in the frontline and firmly establish his power in the eastern Mediterranean, so why would I do that? Besides, it is only the Russians and the Germans who are going to suffer; have they not eaten quite well in recent years? Increasing their territories by hundreds of thousands of kilometres at every turn. Now let them suffer a little, for the great cause of defeating the infidels, sacrifices are necessary."
"Wise words, my lege. Should I share your discovery with the Allies?"
Charles II Stuart went silent for a few moments before confidently nodding, "Yes, share it. What if some of those idiots are swayed by the calls of help from the Holy Roman Empire and send some of their troops to support and lessen the pressure on the frontline, allowing the Bharatiya Empire to make a breakthrough?"
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If Vijay were to witness the conversation, he would applaud with admiration, because almost everything Stuart predicted was true, but there were two small details that he left out.
One, for Bharat, supporting Peter and Frederick was a win-win situation. It didn't really matter if the European allies supported the dying empires or not, since with the latest weapons provided by Bharat, and with a much better-trained army, the groups of Peter and Frederick were like wolves in a flock of sheep.
They would have faced no resistance until they reached the heart of the empire. And driven with modern Bharatiya-style war ideology, politics, and management, the time they needed to consolidate the occupied territories would be much faster, forming a snowball effect with time. This was one of the reasons Vijay was worried about supporting Peter and Frederick to succession. Historically, both in his past life and in his current life, the Germans and Russians were not easy to control once they became great powers themselves.
The second point is assuming that the Bharatiya Empire cannot maintain its war efforts and is using cheap diversion tactics. Although using diversion tactics is the truth and cannot be refuted, the assumption that his empire could not maintain its war effort was simply ridiculous. If such a situation happened, despite the vast logistical supply channels through multiple routes, Vijay might as well throw the war, wave the white flag, and burrow himself in the empire, never to step out to the light of day again.
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Away from all the war, back in the eastern hemisphere, a great change was taking place all over Southeast Asia and the Middle East. With the first shipments of Kesari engines reaching the factory floor, the factories began to get mechanised. With the steam engine now powering all the machines rather than humans or animals, the whole eastern hemisphere began to step into the age of steam and steel, boosting the productivity of the factories by several fold.
The technology of all the Southeast Asian countries was still at a basic level, but with all the countries of Southeast Asia now being in an association, the ASEAN, the trade between them was extremely convenient, making all the countries function as if they were a single large country in terms of economy. So with the resources of all the countries moving in a closed loop and utilising the power generated by the Kesari engine, factory owners in Southeast Asia began to produce simple but effective agricultural and basic civilian-level goods. Although the quality of these goods was not as good as the ones produced by the Bharatiya Empire, they outdid the Bharatiya goods in terms of undercutting the price by 20 to 30%, even after the tariff.
The complacent manufacturing companies in the Bharatiya Empire were hit with competition from the outside for the first time in their lives.
"What! Are you sure? A drop like this is unprecedented," a sales manager of a large company who specialised in manufacturing basic farm tools exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, sir, there has been a drop of over 30% in our sales. It is said that the distributors are buying cheaper alternatives from ASEAN. Also, Rumour is that they are getting bigger commissions by selling the products of ASEAN."
"Damn, don't the people know we make better quality products?"
"Uh! They definitely know, sir, but our product costs three times the rate of the competitor's product. Even if the competitor's product is not as good in quality, they make up for it in quantity. The shelf life of the three tools combined is not too different from our one tool; in some cases, it might even give the farmer better mileage. So ultimately, the farmers are still choosing the foreign goods."
The foreign goods coming to the shores of the Bharatiya Empire for the first time were a wake-up call for many. In the past, there was a lot of competition in the internal market of the Bharatiya Empire because there were hundreds of smaller manufacturers producing basic necessities for the farmers and for the professionals. But with the dawn of the steam engine, productivity exploded, making it possible for one factory to produce tools for a whole state. Now, since the Bharatiya Empire was a capitalistic society in the truest sense, mergers and acquisitions were rampant; companies with better quality, better marketing campaigns, and cheaper prices began to win, and companies that were stuck in their old ways began being acquired.
Although in this way the consumer got a big advantage, it only lasted for a while, because after the market was saturated, there were only a dozen large-scale basic tool manufacturers left throughout the empire, producing tools for everyone. This led to the gradual rise of prices in order to recoup their lost profits during the M&A wars.
The consumers were a little angry, but there was nothing they could do. But now, with the entry of foreign players, they have the chance to relive their old days of purchasing industrial tools at prices cheaper than milk.
Of course, this led industrialists to panic, and they even came together to petition the Ministry of Trade and Commerce to increase the tariff on goods coming in from Southeast Asia. But unfortunately, Vijay, who caught wind of what was happening, directly rejected them outright. The rejection was not even told to them directly; instead, His Majesty gave an interview to the Bharatam Daily newspaper, and he let everyone know what he wanted them to know.
"I recently received a petition from some of the industrialists in order to increase the tariff on goods being imported from Southeast and the frontiers."
"I have to say I'm very disappointed after looking at the petition, because companies in our empire have all the advantages to be the best, the most powerful companies in their fields. The technology we have here is cutting-edge. From these conditions, if you really worry about losing your business to foreign players at home, then you really deserve to go bankrupt."
"I will tell all the industrialists this: my priority is the general satisfaction of all my people, and that is the consumers, and it doesn't matter to me if these consumers are satisfied by industrialists within the empire or out of the empire."
"So the rule is set, people, either provide the best service to the consumers and the best price and best quality, or simply close shop. It is competition that gives rise to brilliance; it is a thousand cuts that create a diamond. People seem to be under the impression that the government is an entity that protects and coddles these companies. Here is a wake-up call: it is far from the truth. So get these words through your minds, be resourceful, be ruthless, be innovative, or go extinct."
P.S. I honestly think the sanctions on India should be far harsher. Let the U.S. crush the tech sector completely; only then can we rebuild our own platforms and take control back.