Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

25th March 1687

Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Imperial Capital

Vijay hummed a pleasant tune and entered the office with brisk and light steps. With the development of the Bhairavi J1, he was feeling much more at ease and much more open-minded about deciding on the matters of Europe.

Right after entering the office, he did not even go to his chair, but directly placed his suitcase on his table and sat on the sofa in front of the gigantic map of Europe.

"Egypt, Turkey, Syria, and Greece, what should I do with these places?" he contemplated.

Egypt was simple enough; he could support the rise of another kingdom there, just as he had done with Israel. The real difficulty lay with Turkey, Syria, and Greece. He did not know what to do with these lands. If he supported the formation of a kingdom, then who would serve as king? There were no surviving Greek monarchs after the slaughter carried out by the Ottomans. True, some descendants of the Greek royal family still lived scattered across Europe, but by now they were heavily influenced by the countries that had sheltered them. He did not trust them either.

What he wanted was for Greece to rise as a power strong enough to check and balance Italy, Austria, and Slavic Byzantium in the Mediterranean. He knew that Israel and Egypt alone would not be enough.

Since descendants of the Greek royal family are unreliable and cannot be used, his next best solution is to import a king from somewhere else. As far as Vijay knows, this is a common custom among European countries. When a region is lacking a king, an influential dynasty sends one of its heirs to rule the territory as a king. If he is not mistaken, this is what happened with Greece in his last life as well.

When the Kingdom of Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century, it needed a monarch, so Prince Otto of Bavaria was chosen as its first king. Similar examples can be seen everywhere: Belgium appointed Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from Germany, Bulgaria chose Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from Austria, and Norway crowned Haakon VII from Denmark.

So Vijay could definitely view the same, the problem is where does he import the king?

Sending someone within the empire is definitely unreliable, and importing from nearby places like Italy, Austria, Slavic Byzantium, or the Tsarist Russian Empire is also not feasible. Additionally, countries like Britain, France, and the Netherlands cannot be considered as well due to the strained relationships, and Spain cannot be considered as well, as he does not want to increase their influence within the Mediterranean even more.

'Wait, can I import it from Portugal? The Portuguese should be extremely envious of Spain right about now; they should be happy for this opportunity, shouldn't they?' Vijay felt it was feasible, it fulfils most of his requirements of Greece, like acting as a freaking nail in the backs of all Mediterranean countries.

But he quickly shook his head, completely removing the thought, because he noticed a dilemma in choosing the Portuguese. Is it really necessary for him to strengthen the Portuguese even more? Because currently, Spain has gained the upper hand in Europe and a slight upper hand in the Americas. Even in development, Spain has done slightly better, causing small cracks to form between these two powers. Now, if he allows Portugal to send one of their Braganzas to rule Greece, then the differences between them will be narrowed and the conflict that is starting to show itself will be buried.

This is not what Vijay wanted to see. Although Portugal and Spain are trading partners and could be considered kind of allies since they are still needed to balance the power of France, the Netherlands, and Britain, he hadn't forgotten how they covertly supported the Western Alliance during their attack on Israel. So he wouldn't want them to be too cosy together.

Vijay rubbed his temple with a little frustration, 'That leaves Denmark, Norway, Poland-Lithuania, Prussia, and the freaking Swiss. '

With all things considered, choosing a Swiss is probably the best choice, since they are completely neutral in Europe because of their geography, which is literally stuck between Austria, Italy, Prussia, the Netherlands, and France. Not to mention, they are not a strong power, so the influence they will be exerting on Greece is probably not much as well. Denmark, Norway, Poland, Lithuania, and Prussia are more likely to interfere with the Greek governance, which might end up contradicting the will of the Bharatiya Empire in the future.

'Do I really have to choose a Swiss?' Vijay was a little unwilling, both for personal and professional reasons. Personal reasons were: when he just took the throne, the mercenaries that came to assassinate him and his family were Swiss mercenaries hired by the French, English, and the Dutch. And the professional reasons: there are two, actually. Number one, there is no single king in Switzerland; it's a collection of states called cantons, which govern themselves after choosing a representative of each state. Number two, well, number two is that Swiss is simply not the best choice. It is a good choice, but it is a good choice among countless bad choices. He would love to make the best choice.

Vijay let out a breath of turbulent air.

'If only there were a way to naturally mould Greek into how the Bharatiya Empire wants it to be.' He sighed and kept looking at the map.

This was not the first time he recounted all the possibilities and scenarios. He had done it several times in the past month or so, and it is because of that that he was so depressed. As the empire had reached the top of the world, there were more things for him to consider, because every move of the empire has drastic consequences across the world, and now he has reached the point of interfering with Europe's future. With such power, he was extremely unwilling to make a mere 'good decision', He wanted his decision to be the best.

After thinking for a long time, and having no idea, absolutely nothing, he decided to go on a walk through the garden in order to clear his mind.

What greeted him were the blossoming Tabebuia roseas, Jacarandas, Gulmohars, Bougainvillaea, Aparajita, Frangipani, Hibiscus, Ixora, and several other flowers. The sight completely refreshed him, putting him at ease.

For a moment, forgetting his problems, Vijay strolled leisurely through the garden. The view of Bengaluru unfolded before him, brilliant and mesmerising. With industries entirely banned in the city, the quality of life was exceptionally high. Residents valued aesthetics deeply, and flowers bloomed everywhere, on trees, along paths, in gardens. Moreover, since every household in Bengaluru used flowers daily, the city's demand for them was the highest in the empire. As a result, the farms surrounding Bengaluru had been entirely transformed into vibrant flower gardens.

From his vantage point, the city appeared like a beautiful dream, a concrete jungle cradled within a sea of flowers. In his previous life, Bengaluru had been called the Garden City, though over time the title had become almost an oxymoron, as the real city no longer lived up to it. But now, gazing upon the capital of the empire he had built, Vijay couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. At last, he had done justice to the name.

Taking a deep and refreshing breath, he turned around and set off to his office, ready to jump right into the gruelling contemplation once again, but suddenly something attracted his attention. It was the sickle of the garden worker, the sickle, with the background of the red roses. Suddenly, a symbol appeared in his mind.

His eyes widened, and his steps quickened.

"Why did I forget about this?" he cursed at himself.

Looking into the core, what he wants Greece to become is not an obedient puppet of the Bharatiya Empire, but an absolute menace, a hedgehog, a son of a bitch, and a thorn in the butts of all Mediterranean countries.

He kept wanting to control Greece in his own hands, so he inadvertently tunnel-visioned his thoughts, whereas if he had thought from the perspective of making Greece a nation that naturally aligns with the Bharatiya Empire, then he could have avoided the whole ordeal. Still, it's not too late.

He quickly ran into his office and plopped himself onto the sofa as he leaned forward and clenched both hands, with eyes burning brightly.

Vijay suddenly slapped his knee in excitement as he realised something after looking at the map, "If I use this system, there is no need for me to make different arrangements for Turkey and western Syria."

"I can just have them join Greece."

He had never even entertained the idea of Greeks and Turks forming a single nation before, but now, with his new approach, it seemed entirely feasible. The reason he hadn't considered it before wasn't physical because, genetically, the Turks are closer to the Greeks than they are to the Central Asians. The obstacle was their language, history of oppression, and deeply different cultures.

Not to mention, during the Ottoman era, Muslims had slaughtered countless minorities, including Greek Christians and Orthodox believers, making the two groups like oil and water. But this is where the harsh efficiency of communism comes into play, the idea that suddenly appeared in his mind. It was miserable for absolutely everyone. It forced a single language, a single parliament, atheism for all, and stripped individuals of personal rights.

If he now gives such power to the Greeks, will they be able to forcefully assimilate the Turks into the country?

There will be a lot of bloodshed, sure, but the resulting country will be another superpower of the Mediterranean, being an absolute menace to every Mediterranean country. Besides, he noticed something else.

With the way he had just envisioned, Greece will only neighbour Austria and Slavic Byzantium, so basically Germans and Russians. Vijay already knows that Peter and Ferdinand are much more capable than Leopold and Dimitri, so by importing this ideology, will conflicts break out in Austria and Slavic Byzantium? Will it become a new Soviet Union or a new Nazi Reich?

The potential for chaos was endless, and there was a chance it could backfire on Vijay, since destruction often breeds creation. But it was far into the future; Vijay could not predict what would unfold a hundred or two hundred years from now.

All he could consider is the present and take advantage of his foresight and make his country ready for the foreseeable future. So with this mindset, turning Greece communist is actually the best choice. This could be the biggest disrupter in European power dynamics, causing conflict for a long time, and in this time, it gives ample opportunities for the Bharatiya Empire to rocket ahead into the second industrial revolution, while the rest of the East rockets ahead to the first industrial revolution, while Europe is still busy handling their conflicts and is stuck in the early industrial revolution.

With trembling hands, he rang the bell and called Ganesh.

"Immediately summon Roshan."