Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

January 9th, 1658

Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Imperial Capital Bengaluru

After a small break, the negotiations started right away.

"For what sort of price will the Spanish Empire be willing to part with the Philippine colony?" Vinod asked

There was tension in the conference room as Don Álvaro de Mendoza fell into a brief silence while Pedro Santiago, along with the two treasurers, confirmed the price for the last time.

The main negotiator of the Spanish Empire, Pedro Santiago, looked towards Álvaro for his input, but the reaction he caught from the latter wasn’t out of the ordinary; it was a simple nod, which meant that Santiago had to go with the price they had discussed earlier.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister Vinod, the Spanish Empire will be willing to part with the Philippine colony for a price of three million six hundred and forty thousand pesos, or in simpler terms, 100 tons of silver."

Vinod, Jayashankar, and Jagannath Mohan were immediately dumbfounded. They did not expect the Spanish to raise such a price—not that the price was small, but because it was ridiculously high. Even Vijay, who had been listening to the conversation from the next room, spat out the tea he was drinking.

"Cough, cough, cough." Vijay had to knock his head multiple times to calm down.

"These greedy Spaniards." There was a hint of disdain in his words, but he did not disturb the negotiation and simply waited.

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Vinod, who had gotten angry at the price mentioned by Pedro, was finally able to calm down. He got up from his chair and walked towards Jaishankar.

"Reduce our price by 100%," he whispered.

Jaishankar’s eyes widened as he was momentarily surprised, but he quickly recovered because he understood why His Excellency, the Prime Minister, had made this decision. He happily obliged with a wide smile on his face.

"100 tons of silver is a price the Bharatiya Empire cannot bear. We will be willing to pay you 10 tons of silver."

Don Álvaro de Mendoza had been prepared for their offer to be slaughtered by the Bharatiya Empire since he knew that the price they were asking was really too much. However, Álvaro truly hadn’t expected that the Bharatiya Empire would only be willing to part with 10% of their asking price.

Honestly speaking, Álvaro gave such a ridiculous price because he wanted to find out the bargaining range of the Bharatiya Empire and hoped to sell the Philippine Islands for the highest amount the Bharatiya Empire was willing to part with. But, unfortunately, his ridiculous offer seemed to have prompted the Bharatiya Prime Minister to present a ridiculous counteroffer of his own.

Pedro Santiago fumed with anger. "I don’t see the sincerity of the Bharatiya Empire at all. The Philippine colony is one of the most important colonies of the Spanish Empire. Being willing to part with it is itself a great concession, so how can it be possible to give the Philippine colony for such a low price of ten tons of silver?"

"If we sell the colony at such a price, then it will not be considered a sale but a donation." There was a hint of sarcasm in Pedro’s voice. "And we are sorry that our Spanish Empire is not as rich as the Bharatiya Empire in order to donate its colonies."

The words were really sharp, causing the room to become completely silent, but Jaishankar, who is supposed to be offended or angry, uncharacteristically showed no emotion on his face. "I remember, at its strongest, the Spanish Empire was able to procure 200 tons of silver per year from your various colonies.

But currently, due to minerals being dug out and your economic troubles, the Spanish Empire is only able to get 100 tons of silver per year."

"I don’t know who would be shameless enough to ask for a year’s silver output as payment for a colony that barely has any silver veins or precious minerals."

Jaishankar’s words were not directed as if he was refuting the Spanish, but more like he was talking to himself about the unreasonableness of the opponent.

Don Álvaro de Mendoza and Pedro Santiago naturally knew these words were directed at them. Their faces turned red as they were caught red-handed. Pedro was a little angry, as even though the price he asked was a bit high, there was no reason to openly criticize him in such an official discussion.

But remembering that the Bharatiya Empire didn’t really need this negotiation, apart from maintaining the relationship with the Spanish, he bottled up his anger and buried it deep within his heart, never to be opened again.

"It is true that the Philippines does not have many precious metal reserves, whether gold or silver, but it is in a strategic location in Southeast Asia. It has easy access to all other Southeast Asian countries, and it is also in a very strategic place, lying between the Chinese Empire and the Bharatiya Empire. So, let’s make a concession on our part.

We will be willing to part with the Philippine colony for 50 tons of silver."

This was the ideal offer for the Spanish Empire. Unfortunately, Unlike Pedro who was hopeful, Don Álvaro de Mendoza did not think the offer would succeed.

As he expected, Jaishankar immediately hit back. "Your Excellency Pedro, I will have to be blunt. Do you still think the Spanish Empire has control over the Philippine colony? We both know that the only reason we are holding this negotiation is to reach a consensus and a peace agreement between both nations, while the Philippine colony is merely a trigger for that to happen.

So please make a reasonable offer."

Pedro was at a loss for words. It was true that the Spanish Empire held no control over the Philippines and had no realistic chance of reconquering the islands, even if it wished to.

Positioned as the easternmost part of the Southeast Asian archipelago, the Philippines was the farthest point from the European continent. This distance made any military campaign costly and unlikely to succeed, especially with the Bharatiya Empire’s interference. Moreover, attempting to launch an attack on the Philippines from the Pacific Ocean via New Spain was filled with danger.

The journey was so dangerous that only two ships were entrusted to make the passage between the continents.

Vinod, getting no reply from the Spanish delegation, finally decided to move the meeting forward. "Alright, everyone, let’s take a break, reevaluate our offers, and meet tomorrow. Thank you."

Don Álvaro de Mendoza also knew that the deal could not go on, so he simply took his delegation and left for the embassy street, a place where he was living temporarily.

Vijay met up with Vinod and Jaishankar after the meeting. "You two did a good job. I can see that the Spanish are already wavering, so keep constant pressure on them and don’t let up. My final bottom line is that the price should be under 35 tons, or else it will be a huge loss."

The reason why Vijay was willing to pay such a price was naturally to maintain good relations with the Spanish, but that was not the only reason.

The second and most crucial reason was to make the Spanish Empire dependent on the Bharatiya Empire to stay economically independent from the rest of the European countries, which drained the lifeblood of the Spanish due to their lack of a proper industry.

Gaining a large market in the Americas was then an unintentional benefit that the Bharatiya Empire would receive.

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10th January 1658

The negotiations restarted.

"The Spanish Empire would be willing to part with the Philippines for 40 tons of silver," Pedro expressed the updated price with a pained expression on his face as if the price was as torturing as to giving away a part of his own body.

Jaishankar remained calm as he counter-offered, "Well, the price is a substantial reduction, but it is still far from what we feel is fair, so the Bharatiya Empire will increase its offer to 20 tons of silver,"

Pedro was immediately relieved. ’At least they are willing to negotiate. Phew!’ He immediately put on a serious expression. "No that’s too low, 35 tons of silver is the lowest the Spanish Empire is willing to go."

Jaishankar did not fall for the trick. "Well, then 25 tons is the highest the Bharatiya Empire is willing to go."

There was huge tension between Jaishankar and Pedro Santiago. Things needed to calm down, and the meeting was postponed once again since neither of the delegations wanted to budge on the price.

11th January 1658

"All right, the Spanish Empire will be willing to go down to 30 tons of silver."

Vinod and Jaishankar looked at each other without any expressions on their faces, but they both could see smiles in each other’s eyes. "We see your sincerity, but we would like the price to be at 27 tons, nothing more than that."

Pedro Santiago did not budge an inch and still kept to his offer of 30 tons. Finally, after continuous negotiations, the final price was reached at 29.65 tons of silver.

"Alright, let’s sign the letter of intent for the sale of the Philippine colony for a price of 29.65 tons of silver."

With the signatures of the Bharatiya Empire’s Prime Minister Vinod and the Spanish Empire’s valido, Count Don Álvaro de Mendoza, the deal was settled.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Certificate of Intent

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Date: 11th January 1658

To Whom It May Concern:

This is to certify that the Bharatiya Empire and the Spanish Empire have entered into a mutual agreement regarding the sale of the Philippine Colony. The following terms have been agreed upon: n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

1. Sale Price: 29.65 tons of silver

2. Payment Due: Immediately upon signing the agreement

3. Parties Involved:

- Bharatiya Empire: Prime Minister Vinod

- Spanish Empire: Count Don Álvaro de Mendoza

This certificate signifies the intent of both parties to proceed with the transaction as outlined above, ensuring a commitment to uphold the terms agreed upon.

Signatures:

_________________________________

Vinod

Prime Minister, Bharatiya Empire

_________________________________

Count Don Álvaro de Mendoza

Valido, Spanish Empire

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Seal of the Bharatiya Empire

Seal of the Spanish Empire

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This document is valid as of the date listed above and shall remain in effect until the completion of the transaction.