Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

While the Bharatiya Empire was on the verge of creating its first locomotives ready for use, the war in the Ottoman Empire was still raging on all four of its borders.

"Your Majesty, it is not good."

Grand Vizier Fazil Ahmed Pasha abandoned all formalities and ran into the Royal Palace with panic written across his face.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Mehmed IV felt fear; the news of the Bharatiya Empire joining the war pressed heavily upon him, leaving him haggard and worn.

When the plague broke out, the empire's control over the entire Balkan region had been shaken. He had thought that it was already the most disastrous event that could ever happen, but now, with the possibility that the empire might cease to exist under his reign and even his life might be in danger, that earlier crisis felt like nothing but child's play.

" What happened?" His eyes were droopy as he asked, not having the vitality they previously had.

" Your majesty, the Spanish have sold Naples and Sicily to the Italians. They have reached a pact."

Mehmed's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? How could that be?" He knew how important the regions of Naples and Sicily were to the Spanish crown; these two principalities were the only colonies Spain had in Europe that actually turned a profit. How could they suddenly give up everything? And more importantly, now that they had withdrawn, would the Italians lower their guard against Spain and turn their attention back to his empire?

Fazil Ahmed shook his head, unable to understand what had happened either. The plague didn't just affect the war; it effectively scrambled all their intelligence channels which are yet to be fully rebuilt.

" We do not know what happened, your majesty, but we can say with some level of confidence that the Bharatiya Empire is somehow involved in this matter."

Mermed's face turned livid, ' The Bharatiya again!' His heart was filled with hatred and resentment. If Vijay were to appear in front of him at this very moment, he would dare to cut him to pieces and eat him alive.

"Summon back all the troops in the Balkans, we're giving up the region completely, and mobilise every able man in the empire." He had held off on making this decision before, clinging to the hope of regaining the lost territory in the Balkans, but now, with the Bharatiya Empire attacking, his priority shifted to protecting his home base.

"It doesn't matter if they have no training at all. I want them all on the borders, ready to defend at any cost."

After a moment of silence with only his rapid breathing, Mermed IV once again spoke out, " Has the solution to the ammunition problem been figured out? "

" Unfortunately, no, your majesty, we still have not mastered the technology of the machine tools that are able to produce bullets in uniform sizes, but we did come up with workarounds where we can ship the ammunition in special paper cartridges that will be quite hard to replicate. This should be enough to stop the enemy from dumping subpar ammunition into the military."

Mermed IV frowned. This was not good enough; he was dissatisfied. Why was the research so slow?

" The Europeans have already replicated the machine tools of the Bharatiya Empire. Why haven't we done it yet? What are the engineers doing? "

The Grand Vizier was stumped by the question, ' Didn't you order for all the minorities to be executed? Then why are you dissatisfied when you see progress has obviously come to a halt?' He murmured in his heart, but he did not dare to say it out loud, " We are facing a shortage of talent, your majesty; the people who are well versed in mechanics are simply too few and far in the empire."

Mermed IV wrinkled his eyebrows, but given the desperate situation, he was not in a position to do anything about it.

"Alright, let's do as you said, make the unique cartridge as a form of identification, and once again have the artisans start manufacturing the guns."

"Oh, and have either the English, French, or the Dutch agreed to aid us?"

"It looks like they are still deliberating, Your Majesty."

"**** **** it." He couldn't hold back anymore and cursed. His disgust for these three Western European countries was no less than his hatred for the Bharatiya Empire.

In the end, he let out a turbulent breath, suppressed the evil fire in his heart, and spoke in the tone of someone utterly defeated, "Keep trying, the terms are negotiable."

---

The Spanish selling off Naples and Sicily came out of the blue, and no one was expecting it. But unbeknownst to anyone, this deal was brokered by the Bharatiya Empire in secrecy.

The root of all this occurred over a month ago.

Madrid Royal Palace

Charles was holding a banquet with some of the top nobles in the empire, as the research on the third generation of Machine tools was successful, and they could now produce their own early version of flintlock weaponry.

Despite being a banquet, it was a secret one in which only the top nobles of the empire attended, since Charles did not want the neighbours and other kingdoms and empires in Europe to know that they had developed the third-generation machine tool technology.

"I suppose congratulations are in order, sire." An archduke came forward with a wine glass in his hand and clinked it with Charles.

Charles nodded with a smile and accepted the greeting gracefully.

"Does that mean we can not only produce flintlock rifles but also the atmospheric engine in large quantities, Your Majesty?"

A duke who was mostly involved in the military asked with curiosity.

"You would be right." Before Charles could respond, another duke answered with a hint of melancholy, "But what's the use? The flintlocks we produce will be lower in quality than the ones produced by the Bharatiya Empire, as well as more expensive, and the same goes for the atmospheric engine."

"Currently, we have some breathing space because of the plague ruining the transportation lines, but once they recover, our markets will still be impacted by the cheap and high-quality goods of the Bharatiya Empire."

"Unless we add a tariff on the goods imported from the Bharatiya Empire to protect the local market, this problem cannot be solved."

Everyone looked at the emperor with some expectation.

Charles knew what those gazes meant. Each and every one of the nobles was not only among the highest-ranking aristocracy but also a leading businessman controlling a significant share of the empire's wealth. They were the ones most affected by the cheap industrial goods from the Bharatiya Empire. Still, he hesitated to raise the tariff, worried about the consequences.

He had signed a trade agreement with the Bharatiya Empire all those years ago, and in that, the tariff agreement was also signed.

If he unilaterally breached this agreement, would the Bharatiya Empire stop providing support for the colony?

He could not let this happen, especially since the colony was at a crucial stage, with basic industries just about to be established to make it self-sufficient.

Not to mention, he had realised how much influence the Bharatiya Empire held over the colony, enough to incite thousands of slaves to riot and escape to the small estate owned by the emperor of the Bharatiya Empire.

Noticing that the emperor still showed some reserve on the issue, an old noble with a kind face spoke out, "Your Majesty, the tariffs should really be increased, especially considering the actions of the Bharatiya Empire in supporting those Italians, which cost us several provinces in the Italian Peninsula and can already be considered a violation of our agreement."

These words were really effective in swaying Charles' decision, but just when he was about to nod in agreement, a knight ran in and passed to him a letter.

Reading the letter, Charles' expression stiffened.

Looking at the nobles, he made up an excuse, bid farewell, and left the banquet.

On his way, he couldn't help but wonder why the Bharatiya Empire would suddenly contact him, and the person who had contacted him was not a simple person to begin with.

" Welcome, Mr. Roshan, to my empire."

Even though the relationship between the two empires was not the best, the etiquette should not be missed, so there was no shortage in treatment provided to Roshan.

However, Roshan was in a hurry, so only a little small talk later, he made his point clear.

"Your Majesty, I convey my emperor's sentiments. He is deeply saddened by the differences between allies, and on his behalf, I wish to say that we are willing to mediate an agreement between you and the Italian Federation."

Charles was taken aback, ' What are the Bharatiya thinking? ' He could not understand, " And how would you do that? " he asked in curiosity.

" We can support the Spanish Empire's annexation of the Alawi dynasty, your majesty."

" In exchange, you sell the territories of Naples and Sicily to the Italian Federation and increase the friendship by helping the Italians be unified once again."

Charles opened his mouth in disbelief, but it only took a few seconds for him to return to normal.

" It's a really tempting offer, it's an offer that I cannot really refuse, but how serious is the Bhartiya Empire in putting out this offer, especially since the Alawi dynasty is being controlled by the Ottomans?"

"We are very sincere, Your Majesty, and you need not worry about the Ottoman Empire's current occupation of the Alawi dynasty. It will only be temporary, as the empire has decided to take direct action against the Ottomans."

These words shocked Charles even more. "Does that mean the Bharatiya Empire is directly going to war?" He didn't know whether to be worried or pleased that acquiring the Alawi dynasty was now a done deal.

"Precisely, Your Majesty. In fact, it should have already begun; the news should reach you in the coming weeks."

Charles leaned back and shook his head, " I can see your sincerity, but it is not enough, you have to know that Naples and Sicily have been a part of the Spanish Empire for many years, they are basically a part of us, how can I sell my own people? " In fact, he was already very tempted; the current importance of Naples and Sicily to him was nothing more than wealth and having a strategic hidden weapon against the Italians.

But if he were able to take over the Alawi dynasty, then he would be able to amass more wealth by taking tolls on all the ships passing through the Gibraltar Strait. As for the strategic initiative, what could having a knife on the back of the Italians compare with blocking the road and demanding money from all the Mediterranean countries? Such a multiple-choice question even a toddler could answer.

However, he still wanted to see if there was anything more the Bharatiya could offer.

Roshan smiled in his heart after looking at Charles. His majesty had said something like this would happen, so he came prepared.

" Unfortunately, this is the best we could offer, your majesty. If you are unwilling to accept this deal, then we can only find the Italians to sell the Alawi dynasty."

These words immediately startled Charles; didn't this mean the Italians would have a knife to his back as well?

His face immediately changed. "Haha, although it is a little less, we Spaniards and the Italians have been close friends for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. How could we watch our Italian friends suffer? Let us do as the Bharatiya Empire intends, I will directly sell the principalities of Naples and Sicily in exchange for the Alawi dynasty."

That day, a preliminary agreement had been reached, and a deal had been finalised.

P.S. Alawi dynasty = Morocco