Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

June 28th, 1658

Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Imperial Capital-Bengaluru, Simhasana Bhavana

Vijay was currently in a very good mood since a lot of good things had happened recently.

He had just come back from the parliament building after officially lifting the national emergency that had been initiated by him a few weeks ago. Although the weeding plan looked simple to implement with the total resources of the empire being utilized, it was not so simple in reality.

In order to fully isolate every major city in the northern part of the empire, Vijay had to call a national emergency according to the constitution of Bharat he had personally drafted.

Vijay mainly did this to draw a red line that could not be crossed by politicians, bureaucrats, and military generals in the management of the Bharatiya Empire. If state politicians and bureaucrats misused their power to isolate a certain city, it would be disastrous since what could happen at that very moment would be unfathomable.

Not to mention, if any bureaucrat or politician managed to pull this off despite the various blockades he had put in place, that person would not be reckless, but rather a smart, scheming, and highly intelligent individual.

Hence, Vijay was unforgiving in his decision to completely cut off anyone’s rights to block information flow within the empire. This included even the prime minister of the empire and the chief minister of the state, with the only exception being himself, the Emperor of the Bharatiya Empire.

Any intention to cut off information channels within the nation could only proceed after he had made the decision, and only after this decision could an emergency be declared, whether on a regional or national level.

Thus, just before the first phase of the weeding plan began, he had already declared a national emergency according to his right, and only then did the operation fully start.

Fortunately, though it was impossible to avoid declaring a national emergency for the weeding plan, it was no problem keeping the national emergency under wraps since the constitution only stipulates that the national emergency should be declared in case of intelligence isolation within the empire and not that it should be publicized by the emperor.

Hence, the plan was able to stay hidden throughout the whole ordeal.

Aside from the success of the weeding plan, Vijay was even happier when he received good news from the Ministry of External Affairs, from Minister Jayshankar himself, about the arrival of nearly 16,000 Europeans, mostly Jews and Romani.

He had been worried whether those high and mighty Europeans would agree to settle in the Bharatiya Empire, but it seemed he was greatly mistaken due to his prejudices from his past life.

Vijay, like any other normal person from India in the 21st century, had low self-esteem and always felt he couldn’t compare to the people of Europe or America. Vijay didn’t feel there was anything wrong with this, as everyone around him thought the same way, and it was considered normal.

It was also one of the reasons why he worked so hard to catch up with the American space program, especially with Elon Musk, who had succeeded in catching a building-sized rocket booster with chopsticks, which left him awestruck. Anyway, the point is, he worked very hard to feel that he was not lower than anyone else, and it didn’t matter in his past life.

But in this one, he seemed to subconsciously think of himself and his empire as lower than the Europeans, even though, no matter what metric you look at, that is currently not the case. The Bharatiya Empire is currently at the forefront in many things. Maybe that was also the reason why he had such low expectations for the European Jew and Romani emigration plan.

But the good news brought by Jayshankar suddenly woke him up.

’Heh! It’s laughable that my subordinates have more confidence in the emigration plan than I do, truly very laughable. Oh, how blind I was, but no more.’ Vijay’s face immediately turned stern.

’That’s right, I’m not in India anymore. I’m in Bharat, a gigantic empire spanning four million square kilometres, with a massive population of 190 million people. A war machine of two million soldiers, every one of them ready for battle, waiting for the command to trample anyone in its path.

Its naval fleet, monstrous, cuts the waves like a group of relentless bloodthirsty orcas, taking the Indian Ocean as its own hunting ground, daring anyone to challenge its reign. As for wealth? Heh, in an age where agriculture is the main deciding factor of the economy, I’m in the empire with the most fertile land in the world, harvesting wealth like a tireless machine.’

Vijay immediately clenched his fist so hard that blood began to drip from the wound. ’Get it through your head, Vijay; you command an empire that is one of the top three economies in the world.

Bharat is not the weak and fragile India trapped between the cracks of giants like China, Russia, or America; no, it’s a juggernaut, a colossal Goliath, standing unfazed as the combined might of Europe trembles before it. Let them come, Bharat dares them to strike.’

Vijay immediately decided to take drastic actions after this realization.

"Ganesh, summon the director of the Reserve Bank of Bharat," He ordered.

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Reserve Bank of Bharat Headquarters: Imperial Capital, Bengaluru n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

A middle-aged man, no more than 38 years old, with a few grey hairs, is intently writing something on a piece of paper. This middle-aged man looks dignified and regal, as every move of his exudes an air of superiority like a person who has held a high position for a long time.

This person is none other than Dharmendra, the director of the Reserve Bank of Bharat, the bank responsible for the issuance and printing of the Bharatiya currency, the Varaha, as well as being the regulator and police for all the banks established in the Bharatiya Empire.

"Director, you have received a summons from the Simhasana Bhavana Palace."

Dharmendra suddenly lost the temperament he had been radiating just a few moments ago; he was instantly startled by the news, as he hadn’t been summoned by His Majesty for a long time. His department, although glorious, has no complex operations, as all he has to do is continuously monitor the currency of the Bharatiya Empire.

The printing of currency had already stopped and his only work was to maintain the ratio between gold and the Varaha. Additionally, the only bank the Reserve Bank of Bharat has to keep in sight is the Bank of His Majesty, the Raya Royal Bank.

Dharmendra does not have to worry about this issue since all the policies and regulations of the Reserve Bank of Bharat are personally suggested and set up by His Majesty the Emperor. He could be relieved that His Majesty’s bank would definitely follow the rules he had set up himself. His Majesty is known for following the rules, so Dharmendra was not worried.

Overall, his work was pretty monotonous without any excitement, something he had hoped for—until today, as he felt that His Majesty was going to make a big move. With excitement, he postponed the work he was doing and immediately took the carriage to the Royal Palace.

Most of the headquarters of various ministries and departments of the Empire are located in the imperial capital, so it doesn’t take long to travel between the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of Bharat, which is a large complex no smaller than the American White House from Vijay’s last life, to the Simhasana Bhavana.

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Vijay met with Dharmendra and did not beat around the bush. "Dharmendra, have the two consortiums managed to accumulate the necessary funds?"

His expression was serious as he sat cross-legged with his hands on his knees, looking straight at Dharmendra with a piercing gaze.

Dharmendra was startled, and then he suddenly became excited. ’As expected, His Majesty is going to make big moves again.’ However, he did not show his excitement, feeling timid under that gaze. "They have almost accumulated all the necessary wealth, Your Majesty. In another two or three months, it should be possible to fully gather enough money to pay the deposit."

Vijay was lost in thought as he knew that the conditions to open the bank were really too stringent, but he didn’t want to reduce them. If a banker could not gather even this much money, what was the use of opening a bank? Any bank that cannot meet the conditions cannot be responsible for the wealth of the people. But then again, he could not wait for three to four months; he had to make a move now.

Lost in thought, Vijay suddenly remembered something. He immediately called Ganesh and had him inquire about the equity of his Raya Royal Bank.

Ganesh utilized the dedicated Arkha Dristhi communication channel in the Royal Palace and immediately got the answer he needed.

"Your Majesty, the royal family currently holds 90% of the equity of the Raya Royal Bank, while the remaining 10% is divided among the Shetty family, the Kalyan family, the Bhonsle family, and other noble title-holding families of the empire."

To be continued...