Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Ashwin let out a sigh of relief, knowing that John decided to go with non-compartmentalization. After designing the ship for John, the same design could be used to sell to other customers. However, if the design were for a compartmentalized ship, the number of potential customers would drastically reduce.

Just when Ashwin was overjoyed and felt like the deal was sealed, John’s next question left him speechless:

"Ashwin, I’ve noticed that the design includes various safety features and crew accommodation benefits. Are these necessary? European ships don’t usually have these features," John said hesitantly. "Is it okay if we remove them?"

Ashwin couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

"You don’t know this, John, but the safety features and crew living quarter regulations are all standardized by the Ministry of Standards. Various tests will be conducted to verify these standards by the Bharatiya Standards Organisation.

If the ship doesn’t pass the BSO tests, not only will it be barred from sailing, but the government won’t even allow our shipyard to sell you the ship, no matter how much money you pay."

John felt a bit troubled, "Is it really that troublesome?"

"It can’t be helped, John. Since these rules were implemented, no sailor is willing to work on a ship that doesn’t meet such standards in the Bharatiya Empire."

John Brown knew that nothing he said would change the government’s policy, so he chose to accept it. He just hoped that the add-ons wouldn’t increase the cost too much.

"Alright, Ashwin. I am satisfied with the ship so far, and I appreciate that you’ve considered the highest quality materials to ensure its durability. So, tell me, what is the price of the ship per unit?"

Ashwin let out a grin as he was waiting for this question.

"John, since you want to purchase four ships and you also funded the design, you will receive a 10% discount on each ship."

"So, the previous price of 48,422.671 Varaha, or 5.53 kilograms of gold, or 1,581.93 ducats, will be reduced to 44,220.61 Varaha, or 5.03 kilograms of gold, or 1,438.125 ducats."

John contemplated this in his mind. ’So, if I buy four ships, it will be around 5,716.5 ducats (20.12 KG), meaning I will still have nearly 10,533 ducats left. So, the add-ons didn’t really increase the cost too much after all.’ Then, remembering something, "Ashwin, is this price for a Bharatiya citizen or for a foreigner like me?"

Ashwin was hesitant, "Ah! John, This is the price for a Bharatiya citizen, but don’t worry—my father has already sent a letter stating your condition to the local panchayat. You should get a reply within this week."

John felt reassured.

"Okay, Ashwin, let’s finalize the deal. You can start the construction of the ships. How much will the prepayment be?"

Ashwin was very happy with the result but, with a sly look on his face, asked, "John, before we proceed, let me tell you something. According to the law of the empire, you now own 50% of the design copyrights for the ship, and we hold 50% of the copyrights for creating the designs. Would you like to sell these design rights to our design bureau?

We will not only waive the 80,000 Varaha design fee, which is around one kilogram of gold but also reduce the price by another 10% for each ship you purchase. This means the amount you would pay for each ship would be 39,618.55 Varaha, or 4.527 kilograms of gold, or 1,294 ducats."

John was moved. Given his limited amount of money, he did not think about it too much. "Alright, Ashwin, I will do it, but on the condition that if I buy ships from your shipyards in the future, I will buy them at the same price. If this condition is acceptable to you, then we can sign the deal."

Ashwin was overjoyed; he had hit the jackpot. However, he did not show his excitement. Instead, he put on a slightly difficult look, "What you ask is a little bit difficult, John, but since you are a high-quality customer, I can make the decision on behalf of my father and agree to your request, but only if the ships you purchase are of the same class."

"Alright, deal," John Brown agreed. He was overjoyed and did not expect the deal to close so easily. He had anticipated that Ashwin would reject the offer or reduce the discount, but unexpectedly he didn’t. John felt like he had won.

"That’s an excellent decision, John. With the additional 10% discount, the prepayment will be 10% of the total amount (158,474.2 Varaha / 18.108 kilograms of gold / 5,176 Ducats), which comes to 15,847.42 Varaha, 1.8108 kilograms of gold, or 517.6 Ducats.

This will leave you with a balance to be paid of 154,512.78 Varaha, 17.6553 kilograms of gold, or 5,046.6 Ducats, you can clear this balance after the ships are delivered ."

John Brown, making sure all the calculations were correct, happily signed the contract.

Sadly, his future self couldn’t help but endlessly scold his younger self for the short-sighted decision to sell the design copyright of the Khaki Class Grain Transporter, which ended up being one of the most mass-produced merchant ships, leading to hundreds of sales. Future John Brown regretted how much copyright money he had lost due to one foolish decision.

Unfortunately, John Brown did not know the future and was happily thinking that he had struck gold.

"Ashwin, can you tell me what ’Khaki’ means? Why is the ship named like this?"

Ashwin chuckled a little and answered, "It’s in your name, my friend. Isn’t your family name Brown? The translation of ’Brown’ in our language is ’Khaki,’ so you could say the ship is named after you: the Brown Class Grain Transporter."

___ n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

7th July 1657

Simhasana Bhavana

"Roshan, how far has the rebellion spread?" Vijay was curious as he looked at the map of the Southeast Asian countries.

Recalling the recent reports, Roshan rubbed his chin. "Your Majesty, Tamblot has taken over a large part of Luzon and has also controlled the main transportation lines between Luzon and Visayas. The royal family of Sulu has been strengthened due to a marriage with the remnants of the royal family of the Sultanate of Mindanao.

Due to this alliance, the influence of the Spanish in the islands of Mindanao has begun to wane."

"The Spanish have begun to lose their grip on the Philippines, Your Majesty."

"Also, according to the plan, we are secretly controlling many rebel leaders through various means. They are now ready to accept your orders."

"As for Indonesia, Surapati in Java has begun to gain influence, but unfortunately, the Dutch seem to value their Southeast Asian colonies too much. Even though we have made some progress in Bali, Sumatra, and Malacca, the Dutch reinforcements have been relentless, and we are unable to advance further."

"The riots against the British have yielded much better results. Thanks to the help of the Sulawesi Confederacy, British influence in the Maluku Islands has been almost eliminated. With the assistance of a local chieftain named Banten Sultan, we are about to coordinate an attack on the Bencoolen port."

"Hmm, Good." Vijay tapped on the map in thought. "The actions can continue as intended; there is no need to rush. We can handle the affairs of Southeast Asian countries slowly and strategically. We have a significant geographical advantage over the Europeans, so the longer the conflict drags on, the better it is for us. Perhaps by the end of the year, the Spanish and the English will give up.

As for our old enemy, the Dutch, if they come, let them come, we’ll deal with them."

Vijay, Head raised high and confident, declared, "We are no longer helpless against their navy."

Roshan nodded his head with pride. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

"Since things are going well, you can hand over the matters of the Southeast Asian countries to your assistant. I have a different strategic goal for you."

Roshan’s face immediately became serious because the last time His Majesty mentioned a strategic goal, it was about infiltrating the Mughal Empire.

"Please tell me, Your Majesty; I will get it done."

Vijay explained with a serious expression on his face, "Your target is the Safavid Empire. Currently, the Safavid Empire is on the verge of civil war. I need you to take this opportunity to infiltrate the empire. Use Baluchistan as a springboard and train your new agents from Baluchistan; they should be able to blend into the Safavid Empire better.

I need the total details about the Safavid Empire in a few months. Got it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I swear to get the job done."

"Good. Go now."

Roshan promptly left the office.

As soon as Roshan left, Ganesh, as if he had been waiting for a chance to enter, came into the office, catching Vijay off guard.

"Your Majesty, a problem has been brought to me by the Citizen Database Management Bureau."

Vijay was confused, as problems arising from this department were very unlikely. "What is it?"

"Your Majesty, it is like this: There is a foreigner named John Brown from Ireland. According to him, he wants to settle down in the Bharatiya Empire and start a business."

"This case was too hard for the local panchayats to handle. Hence, after the news was escalated level by level, it eventually reached Prime Minister Vinod. Since His Excellency Vinod also had no clue about your opinion, he handed it over to the Emperor’s office."

Vijay was pleasantly surprised, as he did not expect that someone would want to move into Bharat so soon. He had anticipated something like this would happen, but he did not expect it to occur so quickly. In the present day, Europe is not very safe, so immigration to America has begun to rise.

Given that there is a Bharatiya Empire available as an option, he had thought that at least some percentage of the immigrants would come to the Bharatiya Empire. With them coming, he also predicted they would bring their resources. He hadn’t even taken any actions to attract immigrants.

"Do you have any information about this John Brown fellow?"

"We do, Your Majesty. I had requested a thorough intelligence report on John Brown from Bharatiya Internal Pragya."

Ganesh handed over a document. Vijay, upon opening the document, learned about every step John Brown had taken since arriving in the Bharatiya Empire. Given that John Brown is a foreigner, his every action was a noticeable target for the spies entrenched in society, so news about him was quite complete.

"Heh! What an interesting fellow; he actually wants to do logistics business between Bharat and Southeast Asia."

"Haha, this guy has a keen sense, although his head does not seem to be too good."

"Well, Ganesh, let Bharatiya Internal Pragya continue to keep an eye on him. Although this man does not look like a spy with all the money he has brought, just in case, maintain a Separate file about him. I really don’t trust the English."

"As for the citizenship, I will draft a bill. You can leave now."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

Vijay did not postpone the work and immediately took out the paper and started drafting a bill.

"Bhartiya Citizenship Act"

"For any foreigner who wants to become a citizen of Bharat, there will be a two-year waiting period before full citizenship can be granted. Within these two years, the applicant will be issued trial citizenship, which will allow them to enjoy the treatment of a regular citizen and participate in businesses."

"However, trial citizens are not allowed to buy shares in any state-owned company or apply for any government job."

"Within the span of the trial citizenship, if the applicant is found guilty of any offence punishable by more than two months in prison, their citizenship will not only be withdrawn but the applicant will also be forced to leave the empire."

"Within two months after application, the applicant is required to learn the Bharati language; otherwise, the application will be rejected. This clause can only be overlooked in cases of mental disability."

"The applicant must solemnly vow to respect all the traditional and cultural values of the land and not impose ideas, traditions, or culture on the land’s citizens."

"The applicant will have freedom of religion, but they are prohibited from any missionary activities."

Vijay fell into thought as if considering if he had missed something. "Let’s proceed with this for now. If anything is missing, you can always add it later."

With that, the Bharatiya Citizenship Act of 1657 was passed for immigrants from all over the world.