21st January 1658


    Akhand Bhartiya Empire, Imperial Capital Bengaluru


    It has already been a week since the negotiation of the treaty ended. The Treaty of Bengaluru was a great sess for the Bharatiya Empire . Not only was the Empire able to avoid a war with the Spanish Empire, but it was also able to firmly grasp the economy of the Spanish Empire for at least the next five years or more.


    Naturally, this was not known to the Spanish, as due to limited knowledge, they agreed upon things they initially thought were not of much importance.


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    When drafting the treaty, the Minister of Justice Bhuvan, with the assistance of Minister of Finance Jagannath Mohan, wrote the different uses in such a way that they provided significant strategic economic advantages for the Bharatiya Empire Over the Spanish Empire in the long term.


    For one, by using the Varaha currency provided by the Bharatiya Empire, the Spanish would find it more convenient to use paper currency than the bulky and heavily guarded metal currency.


    Also, due to economic troubles, the Spanish Empire naturally had to import a lot of products from the Bharatiya Empire, be it military products, civilian products, or entire industrial chains, and To do so, the Spanish would have to exchange arge quantity of gold for Bharatiya Varaha currency.


    This situation ensures that the Spanish Empire will inevitably hold substantial reserves of Bharatiya currency, increasing the Bharatiya Empire’s influence over the Spanish economy. Any fluctuations in the value of the Varaha—whether increased or decreased—could have profound consequences on the Spanish Empire, which heavily relied on Bharatiya exports for its industrial production.


    Additionally, even though the Bharatiya Empire promises to export the basic industrial equipment needed to build industrial chains in various sectors, this promise only extends for five years. Moreover, the promise only includes the basicyout and not the upgradedyout, which the Bharatiya Empire is currently using.


    For example, the Bharatiya Empire will export the first generation of machine tools, the first generation of st furnaces, the first generation of water-weel-powered looms, the first generation of lens manufacturing equipment, etc.


    So, even though with these industrialyouts the Spanish Empire could most definitely reduce its dependence on European products for consumption, it cannot truly escape dependence on Bharatiya technology. The Spanish will inevitably need the Bharatiya’s help in upgrading their technology.


    Even though they could theoretically put more resources into R&D and develop it themselves, it is very unlikely to happen under normal circumstances, as it is not easy to upgrade equipment without experienced professionals.


    And the Spanish Empire, whose top scientists have already left the country for nations like France, Britain, and the Vian Republic, finds it a very difficult task to Bring together all the remaining talents in order to develop industrial upgrades which are considered outdatedpared to the Bharatiya Empire.


    Putting future predictions aside, the benefits brought by the deal to the Bharatiya Empire are already visible. The Spanish put in a deposit of 900 kilograms of gold in order to convert it to Varaha, and almost all of the Varaha was used to buy grain.


    Vijay, who received the report about the order, was greatly shocked. ’What do the Spanish want? Why are they buying grain worth 26,470,588 Varaha? Are they going to war?’


    "Ganesh, what’s the average price of a kilogram of grain on the wholesale market?"


    "Depending on the grain, it can range anywhere from 2 Varaha per kilogram to 13 Varaha per kilogram, Your Majesty."


    Vijay fell into deep thought. ’So, taking an average of 10 Varaha per kilogram, the Spanish bought about 2,647 tonnes of grain, give or take.’


    Although 2,600 tonnes of grain is not arge amount since in thest few months, tens of thousands of tonnes of grain had been transported to the Philippines, the situation of the Spanish is different.


    The Philippines is in the process of rebuilding, so both the United States of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Mindanao require arge amount of grain, hence the tens of thousands of tonnes being transported is not surprising. But the Spanish, who have therge New Spain colony and the Argentina colony, which has some of the most fertilends, buying so much grain is a bit suspicious.


    In the end, after considering many possibilities, Vijay gave up thinking.


    The Spanish wanted to set off soon after the purchase, and suddenly two additional galleons arrived at the Bharatiya Empire. Including the galleon that the Spanish delegation arrived in, the Bharatiya Empire now had three Spanish galleons in total stationed in the port of Mangaluru.


    ’So the grain purchase was only an excuse for you to show off your strength, huh?’


    A smile soon appeared on Vijay’s face as he quickly realized that this was yet another show of strength by the Spanish Empire and also a kind of warning.


    A dangerous thought arose in Vijay’s heart, but he soon suppressed it. He Instantly realized that the two additional galleons were stationed on some ind on the edge of the Indian Ocean, on standby.


    He also figured out that if the negotiations did not go well, the Spanish Empire would use the three galleons they brought to attack a major port of the Bharatiya Empire or set their sights on the Andaman and Nicobar Inds.


    Vijay knew that he had to immediately take control of the Bharatiya Ocean if he wanted to expand the hard power of the Bharatiya Empire.


    "Ganesh, call all the major ship designers in the empire. I want to have a talk with them."


    "While you’re at it, set up a meeting with Prime Minister Vinod, Minister of Internal Affairs Arjun, and Minister of Finance Jagannath Mohan for tomorrow."


    "Right away, Your Majesty." Ganesh quickly noted down the schedule and soon transmitted the news through official channels, and within a few hours, all the major ship designers in the empire—whether it was Danior Boswell and Vishesh Ndri from the Boswell Design Bureau, Ganaprabu Berunda from the Berunda Design Bureau, or the three designers from the Southern United Naval Design Bureau were Informed.


    Danior Boswell and Vishesh Ndri were initially taken aback by the sudden invitation from the Simhasana Bhavana, but as if remembering something, they both looked at each other in pleasant surprise. "It looks like His Majesty is going to fund a new ship again."


    Without hesitation, both Vishesh Ndri and Danior Boswell immediately got into a carriage and rushed to the capital. The designers from the Southern United Design Bureau did not have as much experience as Danior Boswell and Vishesh Ndri, but they knew they had to go to the capital.


    Thankfully, Naveen Ambani, the leader among the three minor shipyards of the Bharatiya Empire, apanied the designers to meet with His Majesty, as they wouldn’t dare ignore the summons. As for Ganaprabu Berunda, he didn’t have any intense reaction; he simply put down his work and immediately rushed to the capital.


    ---


    Vijay, who had issued the summons, didn’t have to wait for long, as within the day, all the designers he had called for had arrived at the Royal Pce.


    Ganesh was naturally responsible for guiding them to the conference room within the Simhasana Bhavana.


    Danior Boswell, Vishesh Nethri, and Ganaprabu Berunda were looking around the pce with amazement and curiosity, as they had never been inside the royal pce.


    Meanwhile, the three designers from the Southern United Naval Design Bureau—Puneet Shetty, Bkrishna Poojari, and Bhargav Reddy—along with their leader Naveen Ambani, were nervously moving forward, as unlike the others, they had never met His Majesty, so they were a little scared. Additionally, the three designers were even more panicked when they were brought in front of their old leaders.


    Fortunately, it seemed that their old leaders didn’t even look at them, except for a casual nce, which left the three designers both happy and frustrated.


    As soon as Vijay arrived in the conference room, all the designers stood up and gave their greetings.


    "Alright, everyone, sit down. I have multiple projects for all of you. I hope you can fulfill my requirements."


    There wasn’t much reaction from the experienced designers, as they had expected something like this, but the three designers from the Southern United Marine Design Bureau were ecstatic that they were included in this meeting.


    Vijay went on to exin, "The Bhima-ss armed merchant ship and Pune-ss battleship are the only two BNV’s (Bharatiya naval vessels) currently still up to date in the Navy of our empire. The rest of the ships have be outdated and are in constant need of repairs due to the initial design considerations not being focused on long-term naval use.


    These ships, whether sloops, frigates, or clippers, have served their purpose in helping the Bharatiya Empire defeat the Mughal Navy and providing sufficient self-defense capabilities. However, now that the Empire is moving into an age of naval exploration and dominance, these ships will no longer suffice."


    " I hope to bring forward the new generation of warships."


    "I trust you all witnessed the might and grandeur of the Spanish galleons stationed at Mangaluru port."


    everyone nodded their heads with determined expressions on their faces,


    Vijay had allowed the Bharatiya Daily newspaper to temporarily use the Raya-type printer, typically reserved for printing detailed illustrations for higher studies, to print the image of the galleons at Mangaluru Port.


    Under his direction, this was made a big topic in the newspaper today, reminding the people of the Bharatiya Empire not to becent and alsoying the groundwork for the expansion of the Navy.


    "So I have decided to increase the ships in our arsenal."


    "The first project is for a new generation of clippers and a new generation of frigates."


    "The Hampi-ss sloop and Laksham-ss clipper are no longer suitable for our purposes."


    "I have decided topletely eliminate the Hampi ss-sloop modeled after European design and fully rece it with an in house design of an S series frigate ." (Small)


    "The same goes for our old clipper; it is no longer usable. I have decided topletely rece it with the new generation clipper."


    "As for my requirements, both the new frigate and clipper should be under the draft limit of 200 tonnes, with the only difference being that the frigate should be used for guerri warfare purposes, while the clipper is made for swift movement tactics. So, make the frigate more maneuverable and ensure it has a wide range of offensive and defensive capabilities.


    As for the clipper, it should be built for speed and damage; build the entire ship around the fastest speed and also design it around the strongest and most precise culverin we can produce."


    "Kolkata-ss clipper and Amravati-ss frigate—are the initial code names."