Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

August 12th, 1657

Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Imperial Capital-Bengaluru, Simhasana Bhavana

Vijay was in his office room, sitting in his chair, leaning back, and going through the documents. "Ganesh, have all the four Directors arrived?"

Ganesh, who was standing at the door, immediately opened his logbook and checked the entries for today, Finding the familiar names, he marked them with his pen, "They have, Your Majesty. Should I invite them in?"

"Not quite yet," Vijay shook his head lightly and looked at Ganesh. "Have the people from the ministries I invited arrived?"

Ganesh went through the logbook again and nodded his head. "They have arrived, Your Majesty. They are currently in the waiting room."

"Call them in."

"Right away, Your Majesty."

A few minutes later, Prime Minister Vinod, Minister of Education Raghavendra Bhat, Minister of Finance Jagannath Mohan, Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Industry Rajesh, along with the new Director of Industry Balachandra Iyer, arrived at the office.

Vijay did not raise his head to look at the people who entered the room; he simply gestured for them to sit down while he went through the roadmap he had written for a nation to achieve an industrial revolution, based on his understanding of his previous life.

The ministers did not utter a word as they stayed silent, observing that Vijay was in some sort of contemplation. However, this caused them a lot of tension. Finally, when they were getting restless, Vijay raised his head with a serious expression on his face. "I have some questions that need to be confirmed."

"Feel free to answer when the question is related to your ministry."

All the ministers nodded their heads in understanding.

"How is the procurement and production of raw materials like iron, cotton, wool, and water in the empire?"

Rajesh’s back immediately straightened up as he knew that this question was for him. "Your Majesty, we have no shortage of any of the raw materials you mentioned. Our iron production has already reached the top position in the world with 52,000 tons per year, and we have abundant cotton, wool, and water, in quantities several times our demand."

Vijay nodded his head with satisfaction, the first step in his Industrial Revolution roadmap was abundant raw materials, and since the core strategic raw materials for the initial Industrial Revolution were available, Vijay took out his pen and ticked off in the checklist.

Leaning back onto the chair, stroking his chin, Vijay fell into deep thought. "Now the only thing that is missing is rubber." Although he knew that rubber was not very useful for the initial stages of industrial development, he understood its strategic importance for the later stages and foreseeable future.

So he had asked the Portuguese to find the Hevea brasiliensis seedlings from the Amazon Rainforest, which is the main tree from which rubber is produced. Fortunately, he did not have to worry that the Portuguese would reject his commission, as it wasn’t until the 18th century that Europeans discovered the full use of rubber, so the Portuguese should not find it too difficult to cooperate.

Once he obtained the seedlings, he would try his best to cultivate rubber on a large scale. Given that rubber only grows in tropical climates, the southernmost parts of the empire, as well as the northeastern parts, are very suitable for growing rubber. For example, Cheranadu (Kerala), Cholapuri (Tamil Nadu), Vijayanagar (Karnataka), and the Ahom kingdom can all be used to grow rubber.

-

The Second step in the roadmap for the industrial revolution is the usage of steam, which has naturally not been fulfilled as a steam engine is yet to be invented. Hence, he did not even ask the question to the ministers.

Vijay had previously written down a small roadmap for a society to produce a steam engine, including things like raw materials, metalworking capabilities, a workforce, standardization, infrastructure, technical knowledge, specialized tools, and safety standards.

All of these steps have been completed, and all the necessary conditions for producing a steam engine in the Bharatiya Empire have been met. The only thing missing was someone to find the right direction and build a steam engine.

Vijay can naturally quicken this process by providing direction, but since the Bharatiya Empire is in a period of rapid growth, he does not want to rush the process, which could bring more harm than good. So right now, while the Bharatiya Empire is on the verge of industrialization, Vijay is making final preparations.

-

The third step for a country to undergo an industrial revolution is the usage of machine tools.

"Have the latest version of machine tools been produced?"

Balachandra Iyer, the new Director of the Department of Industry, was startled as he knew that this question was for him. He was nervous, as taking over the position from a corrupt official like Mr. Dharma put a lot of pressure on him. Fortunately, his years of experience allowed him to immediately recall the information at the back of his mind.

"Ah, yes, Your Majesty. The prototype V3 of the machine tools has been trial-produced. Although we have not tested mass production of these machine tools, there should be no problem in achieving mass production in another week or two." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Hmm?" Vijay was a little taken aback. "Why hasn’t it been put into mass production yet? Do these machine tools not meet my specifications, or is there another reason?"

Balachandra immediately began to panic as he realized that his words had been misunderstood by His Majesty. "Oh no, Your Majesty. All the machine tools meet your specifications. The reason for the delay is the privatization process, which has taken time due to coordinating between the Academy of Sciences and the enterprises that are about to be privatized."

Vijay was enlightened and nodded his head in understanding. Then again, staring at the middle-aged man with a thoughtful expression on his face, considered, ’The Department of Industry will eventually be made into the Ministry of Industry. Should I test him a little?’

"Balachandra, do you know the specifications of these machine tools?"

" Yes, Your Majesty. V3 of the turning lathe can now process workpieces with a minimum length of 5 centimetres and a minimum diameter of 1 centimetre, with an increased work processing capability of an impressive 92% compared to the first generation turning lathe."

" The V3 of the hydraulic drill press can handle a thickness of 0.5 centimetres and a length/width of 5 centimetres, which is a staggering improvement of 400% from the first version."

" The V3 of the hydraulic milling machine can now handle a thickness of 0.5 centimetres and a length/width of 5 centimetres, an improvement of 900% from the first version."

" The V3 of the hydraulic grinding machine can reach a thickness of 0.5 centimetres and a diameter of 5 centimetres, an increase of 500% from the first version."

" The V3 of the screw press can now output a pressing force of 5 tons, a huge improvement from the 1 ton of the first version, which is an improvement of 400%."

" The V2 of the rifling machine can now handle a bore diameter of 0.4 inches and a length of 30 centimetres, which is an increase of 20% from its predecessor. "

" A new machine has also been produced: the first-generation hydraulic boring machine, which can handle bore processing with a minimum length of 4 inches and a diameter of 2 inches, making the mass production of artillery much easier."

Vijay, looking at the middle-aged man who was constantly recalling the numbers while staring at the ceiling, was very impressed. He was not alone; Rajesh, the direct superior of Balachandra, had a look of amazement on his face. Raghavendra Bhatt was impressed by his memory.

Jagannath Mohan felt that this man should have been in the financial industry, and even Vinod, who is hard to impress, looked a little impressed.

Overall, the third step in the roadmap to the industrial revolution—the presence of machine tools—has been solved. Vijay decisively put a tick mark on the checklist.

-

"Vinod, do we have roads, ports, canals and other transportation networks that are interconnected throughout the empire?"

The fourth step in the roadmap is proper logistical channels and transportation infrastructure.

Vinod thought for a while and then recounted, "If you are talking about the southern part of the empire, Your Majesty, then due to your emphasis on proper logistical channels for the war and economy, we currently have an adequate road network between every major city and town, allowing for travel between both sides of the coast. We also have ports and canals for adequate naval transportation.

However, if we are talking about the northern part of the empire, the network is still inadequate, and the Minister of Transportation, Nirmal, is still working on expanding it."

Vijay understood and was not disappointed, as this was something he had expected. Vijay had no illusions that the entirety of the empire could be industrialized simultaneously; that was simply impossible for an empire as large and vast as Bharat.

Hence, he would primarily introduce the Industrial Revolution in the southern part of the empire, where the infrastructure is more complete, and use the proceeds from the Industrial Revolution to further develop the northern part of the empire. So, although this step was only partially completed, it had already met the requirements, and Vijay immediately put a tick on the checklist.

To be Continued...