Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

25th September 1687

Robert entered the Royal Palace with a troubled expression on his face. His steps, usually confident and determined, suddenly looked measured and hesitant, as if every step he took, he thought about whether he should move forward or not, but in the end, being the loyal retainer of the Stuart family and the close aid of his majesty Charles II Stuart, duty came first, so even though he was disgusted by the news he was carrying, he moved forward, however reluctant he was.

Charles was in the Solar (room of nobles for private entertainment) playing chess with his son James Stewart when Robert came in to call for him. Being disturbed in the middle of the game, he was a little disappointed, especially since he was about to win the whole thing, but knowing Robert, Charles knew that he would not disturb him if there was not something important.

Declaring his victory to his son, who looked at him with a scowl, Charles came out of the Solar with a smile, "What happened?"

"Um," he quickly organised his thoughts and replied, "It's like this, your majesty. The Greeks have sent a representative and are asking for the establishment of an embassy in the kingdom. Should we allow them?"

Charles' smile faded as he finally understood why Robert looked so troubled. The situation in Greece and Turkey was no secret to Europe, and certainly not to him, the leader of one of its most powerful nations.

He knew how the Greeks had established their so-called Communist Socialist government, how they had annexed Turkey, their former occupier, and, most importantly, how they had slaughtered almost all the nobles and wealthy landlords, seizing their fortunes for themselves. For a continent where titles, nobility, and honour carried immense weight, what the Greeks had done was abhorrent. The disgust ran so deep that it came to the point where they were even more angry at the Greeks than the Israelis, because at least the Israelis only killed the hapless soldiers they threw at them, but the Greeks actually slaughtered a whole class of nobles who were one of their own, and made the peasants kings.

However, despite such atrocities, no one acted, one of the reasons was that it was none of their business, and being in a war that they lost, it was time to recuperate. More importantly, it was because the Bharatiya Empire was assuming the security of Greece and Turkey. The previous war was still fresh in their minds, and the wounds had yet to heal; they didn't want to start another war just to get spanked.

The best they could do was provide asylum to the nobles who managed to somehow escape; Charles did the same thing himself. He thought that this would be the end of it, but now, such a country has the gall to actually establish a diplomatic relationship with his country? How brave.

"Snort!"

He sneered, with his eyes expressing a look of disdain, "Reject them, there is no need for my country to have a relationship with these butchers."

Robert was overjoyed, and a slight arc appeared on the corner of his lips, as this was what he wanted as well. He turned back, ready to relay the monarch's rejection with the Greeks, but just as he got a few steps ahead, he heard his highness call.

"Stop!"

Robert turned around with a look of confusion, "Yes, my liege."

"Don't reject them just yet; wait for my instructions." Saying that, Charles quickly left the palace.

He secretly met up with his chief of intelligence, Henry McCullum, and enquired about the situation in other countries.

"The Greeks have sent a delegation to all major European countries, your highness, and most of the kingdoms rejected their requests, but kingdoms like Prussia, Tsarist Russia, Austria, Slavic Byzantium, and the Federation of Italia have agreed."

"Did Louis and William reject it?"

"I have no information on this, your majesty, but we do know that the Greeks have already made contact with both his Highness Louis and his Highness William a week ago."

After understanding the situation, Charles finally made the decision to allow UGSR to establish an embassy in the Kingdom of Britain. At first, he was completely unwilling to do so, but after calming down a little and thinking rationally, he realised that Greece could be an ally for the British in countering the Mediterranean countries. He also realised that the Bharatiyas might have supported them for the very same reason, so why let them take full advantage of the situation?

Now that he thinks about it, the existence of Greece was very good news for him, because it put a lot of pressure on the Eastern European countries as well as on Spain, which had become the biggest thorn in his eyes. Now he only had to think about countering the Portuguese.

In such a way, an unlikely alliance was tacitly formed without actual communication, and a fragile balance was formed in Europe, with multiple powers in both Eastern Europe and Western Europe all developing their industries as quickly as possible and all searching for resources to better their countries.

How long this peace can last, no one knows, but once something or someone sets off a conflict, the whole of Europe is likely to be engulfed in the flames of war.

---

Back in the Bharatiya Empire, the nation was in huge turmoil. The sale of the steam-powered cars came as a massive surprise to the common people.

"Aakarsh A-7, a vehicle of a winner."

"Vishwa Karma V-1, feel the passion of youth."

"H and B Veer, the cheapest and the most durable car under 100,000 Varaha."

Advertisements like these could be seen in all major national and regional newspapers across the empire. Companies that already received approval from the Ministry of Transportation, Bharatiya Standards Organisation under the Ministry of Standards, and the Ministry of Industry immediately put their new cars on sale after installing the Balwan 4th Gen M series engines.

Since all the cars would be using the same engine, various companies took different strategies in promoting their cars. Some cars installed luxurious seats and modern amenities like water containers and insulated boxes to place hot food, a steam-powered horn, and other things, while other car companies kept it to a bare minimum, attaching only a wheel, accelerator, brake, and a gear, which only has three gears.

Aakarsh Mobility targeted the upper middle class, affluent merchants, and industrialists, while Vishwakarma Mobility targeted tech-savvy young professionals who might have money but just not enough to afford a luxurious car.

Reading the advertisements, the upper middle class, high class, and elites of the Bharatiya Empire couldn't sit still anymore. No matter the civilisation, the upper class always sought ways to differentiate themselves from the lower class, be it middle-class people wearing expensive designer clothes to differentiate themselves from lower-class people, or higher-class people wearing expensive tailored suits and dresses to differentiate themselves from the nouveau riche. So, when they saw that they could now purchase an expensive new vehicle that not only did not require a horse to drive it but also worked simply by putting coal and water, they could not hold on anymore.

They immediately took the money from the banks and rushed to the nearest store to purchase the cars.

Murthyunjaya is one of those people. He is a prominent real estate businessman in Paramarapuri. He had done quite well for himself by investing in large tracts of farmland in the Indo Gangetic Special Economic Zone and obtained two million in dividends every year. With the money he made from the investment, he grew his business further, but he also liked to enjoy his life, so he built a big bungalow for himself, bought carriages for each of his family members, and even gold-plated the flooring of his carriage with gold leaf, but something was lacking. He travelled no differently than an untouchable.

Even though he couldn't say it out loud, since he would be socially ruined for discrimination, he felt disgusted that those untouchables had the same life as he did. So, when he saw that a new steam-powered carriage, called a car, had been invented and was on sale, he immediately rushed to Mumbai to the Aakarsh Mobility Company to purchase an A-7, the most expensive car that was put on sale.

However, to his surprise, when he reached the shop, it was actually full of people, lined up for at least 50 metres. He was immediately worried because he knew any new product would be produced in small quantities, so if he was not able to get one car today, he would lose the opportunity for at least a few months.

Without wasting any time, he asked his servant to stand in the line and sent another servant to ask around if someone at the front was willing to sell their spot for a few thousand Varaha.

A few minutes later, a servant came running back.

"Master, there is a person willing to sell his spot, but he is asking 10,000."

Murthyunjaya's eyes widened. Looking at the lengthening line, he grit his teeth and nodded.

"Is this the guy?"

"Yes, Master."

Murthyunjaya immediately felt disgusted the moment he saw the person who asked for 10,000. He was undoubtedly a low caste and peasant, but he tried his best not to show it, and quickly passed the stack of money to his subordinate to give it to him.

Bagheera could tell that the man in front of him felt disgusted by him, but he did not say anything. He was already used to such glares. Even though his majesty had completely banned discrimination against lower castes, completely eliminated the caste system politically, and banned the system from being used to stop anyone from entering the temples all over the empire, there were still a lot of people in society who discriminated against lower castes like him. Thankfully, he still had the system to protect him, so he did not say anything, took the money, and left the spot.

Murthyunjaya had considered it unlucky to have done business with an untouchable, yet he was very pleased with his spot. Being sixth in line, his earlier discontent vanished, and he eagerly looked forward to entering the shop.

P.S. Although we won the match, it was still too close for comfort. It should never have happened. This is readily putting 500 crores into the pockets of the beggar nation. Also, our guys shook the Pakistan ministers' hands before the match, now it is appearing hypocritical, smh.