25th October 1688

Simhasana Bhavana, Imperial Capital - Bengaluru, Akhand Bharatiya Empire

The excitement of the festival of lights slowly dwindled, and all the trash from the fireworks was cleaned up and people who had been on paid vacation returned to work one by one. The same goes for Vijay, who was currently in the office in a meeting with the directors of Bharatiya External Pragya and Internal Pragya.

Vijay was calmly listening to the report of Selvan, who was recounting the suspicious people and oddities that were observed over the festival week. Once in a while, the vague and distant sound of a firecracker going off could be heard, which caught Vijay's attention a little, but ultimately Vijay was not fazed and continued listening to the report.

In his last life, Vijay had seen people bursting firecrackers even after a month of the actual festival, so given that people in this era were no different, he was not surprised that some mischievous kid or a young man hoarded some of the firecrackers, wanting to burst them at a later date. Similar things happened for the last two and a half decades, so aside from him, Selvan and Roshan did not flinch either.

Vijay's calm face took on a contemplative expression as he supported his chin with one hand and repeatedly tapped the table with the other, "Is there some sort of network helping out in the smuggling operations?" He enquired, because given that potassium nitrate, the main substance occupying more than 70% of the black powder used in fireworks, is a controlled substance and is not allowed to be exported in its purest form, usually people try to smuggle out the potassium nitrate in this time of year, given that special permits are given to firework manufacturers to purchase potassium nitrate in excess amounts due to the festival.

Due to this, firework companies become a big target for interested people to steal large quantities of potassium nitrate. Last year was the worst; it turned out that a group of four to five firework manufacturers actually joined hands with the smugglers to export small quantities of their allocated stock in order to make a lot of money. After all, although the festival season is profitable, it is not as profitable as smuggling out potassium nitrate, which nets them 10 to 20 times the profit of simply selling the firecrackers. Besides, there is a chance that firecrackers might not sell, but this problem does not exist with potassium nitrate.

Luckily, the coastal navy of the empire caught the ship that was smuggling 2.3 tonnes of potassium nitrate before it left the influence of the Bharatiya Empire.

Thankfully, it looks like the liquidation that took place last year was still fresh in the minds of whoever it may concern, since, Selvan's expression did not change as he answered.

"No, your majesty, we have not encountered any large-scale smuggling activity this time. We did encounter it on a small scale, though, like small amounts of 10 kgs to 100 kgs going missing, but the police recovered most of them, while the rest remain unknown."

"Hmm, not bad, but stay alert. The excess black powder that has been manufactured has to be shipped back to the military. Make sure that no one has secretly intercepted this stash."

"Will do, your majesty. Oh, and your majesty, one more thing. I have come across a report about a suspicious group of people travelling all over Cholapuri, asking around a lot of things about the empire."

"Oh!" Vijay was immediately intrigued as he clasped his hands and leaned forward, "Do you know who it is?"

" Not exactly, your majesty, but.." He closed his eyes and recalled the report, "It is said that they look to be from the Ming Empire, but when one of our agents came in contact with them and asked where they were from, they said they were from Nippon."

Vijay's eyebrows immediately jumped, which was keenly noticed by Selvan and Roshan.

"You know who these people are, your majesty?"

Vijay nodded his head, "They're from Japan. Nippon is what they call themselves. For the last few months, they have been roaming around the vassal kingdoms. I guess they are finally here."

Hearing Vijay's words, Roshan immediately became thoughtful, since despite being the director of Bharatiya External Pragya, he knew nothing about it. But to be fair, he spent most of this year in Europe, so all the intelligence coming from the East and Southeast went directly to his majesty. 'I should read about this now that I am back in the mainland.' As for Selvan, he became slightly cautious, "Are their actions suspicious, your majesty?"

"Well, sort of, since they are trying to learn our governance systems and the technological systems."

Selvan's brows furrowed, "Then should I have them removed, your majesty?"

"Hmm," Vijay did not directly answer, but stroked his chin and asked, "Did they break any law since entering the empire?"

Selvan recalled the report and slowly shook his head with a little doubt, "No, your majesty, they seem to be speaking to and inquiring with the civil servants, civilians, and private companies. They did not approach any of the Military barracks or private laboratories or anywhere restricted..."

"In that case, let them be."

"I do have some plans for them."

Selvan was curious about the emperor's plans, but he did not want to delve into it, so he became quiet, "As you wish, your majesty."

In fact, Vijay's plans were simple. He wanted to see if he could turn Japan into one of his pawns.

For example, even though Russia, Slavic Byzantium, Austria, and Prussia were currently trustworthy and economically allied with the Bharatiya Empire, he arranged for the United Greek Socialist Republics, Kingdom of Israel, and Kingdom of Egypt to act as a counterbalance to all the Mediterranean countries. He also helped create Lalisthan, a country for the Yzidies, to counter the Persians, there are more Bharatiya military bases in Lalisthan and this is not a coincidence.

He conquered the Hawaii Islands and secured a small piece of land near Panama to maintain deterrence over the European colonies in America. In the southeast, several vassal kingdoms remained completely loyal to the Bharatiya Empire, with their military and finances still under imperial control. There were also islands where the Bharatiya Navy was permanently stationed to project power and enforce deterrence.

Officially, this was to safeguard trade routes and maintain peace, but everyone knew the real reason in their hearts.

But how to balance the power of the Ming Empire and the Russian Empire in East Asia? This question had been in his mind for quite some time.

Taiwan is one option, but, although it served its purpose in the beginning and continues to stand as a stronghold of the Bharatiya Empire, its influence is limited. It merely keeps the Ming Empire from thinking about Taiwan, looking eastward, or even daring to build a proper navy.

But this is ultimately temporary. As Ming becomes more powerful, the deterrence of the Bharatiya Empire will continue to decrease, and given that the Chinese have the philosophy of biding their time until the right moment, it is easy for the Bharatiya Empire to be caught off guard if not prepared.

However, for this very reason, Vijay cannot rapidly increase the military presence along the shores of the Ming Empire or the Russian Empire, because doing so would inevitably strain the relationship between them. Although this relationship was temporary to begin with and had a limited shelf life, any direct action by the Bharatiya Empire could shorten that lifespan by 70% or more.

If he can support Japan to become a strong country, it could attract the firepower instead of Bharat. After all, from the Ming Empire's and Russian Empire's perspective, Japan is closer and far more threatening than the distant Bharatiya Empire.

Besides, he would not need to invest much either. He only needs to teach the Japanese advanced governance, educational, and industrial methods and allow them access to raw materials. They will build a strong nation themselves, since that is exactly what happened in the last life. But there is one danger, though, the Japanese might go rogue and start conquering everywhere. However, he is not worried, since if that happens, he can let the Ming Empire and the Russian Empire bear the brunt, and once they are sufficiently weakened, the Bharatiya Empire can swoop in and offer assistance, just like how the Americans offered assistance to the Soviets to resist the Nazis, and the Soviets were the ones who paid the greatest losses, while the Americans still prospered due to all the money they had made during the war. In this world, Bharath can take this role.

In this way, the relationship between Ming, Russia, and Bharat could be cordial for a longer time, and Japan could be made docile.

In Vijay's chessboard, only a single piece was missing, but now, with Japan appearing, there is a chance that all the pieces are placed and the board is complete, with the empire already in a solid winning position. In the future, after his abdication, Agni would just have to maintain the military dominance of the Bharatiya Empire, keep the military in first-class combat effectiveness, and simply play the chess game he had set up, making pawns fight each other, and stay in the corner of Asia, silently developing.

He made so many considerations, but to Selvan and Roshan, his majesty, the emperor, was only in a daze for a few seconds before his eyes regained their clarity.

"Right, Roshan, do you have any important news from Europe?"

"Ah, yes, your majesty." Remembering the intelligence he possessed, his expression turned slightly worried. "Your majesty, the Europeans have successfully cracked the proper Kesari steam engine technology. Their best models have already reached the equivalent specifications of the second-generation Kesari engine, and even the weaker ones are now comparable to the first-generation models."

"Also, your majesty, through various intelligence reports, I am confident that the Europeans are now trying to replicate the Balwaan engine."

To Be Continued...

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