Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

13th February 1659

The international market of Thiruvananthapuram

A middle-aged Jewish man wearing a yamaka is standing on the balcony of a beverage shop located directly at the entrance of the busiest street in the market town of Thiruvananthapuram.

"Amazing!"

Looking at the scene in front of him, Moshe Goldstein couldn't help but be amazed. In front of him were hundreds, if not thousands of fellow Europeans visiting the Bharatiya businesses with extreme eagerness and restlessness on their faces, almost as if they couldn't wait to kick the person in front of them to get into the shop earlier so that they could procure the stock more Quickly.

In the corner of the street, in front of a spice wholesale shop, Moshe actually saw his fellow countrymen ruthlessly bidding against one another with venomous expressions on their faces to offer the business owner, who was smiling ear to ear in the corner, a better price. All these scenes left him astonished and even made him realize how ridiculous he had been for asking whether it was profitable to trade Bharatiya goods or not. Now looking at so many so-called elite European merchants actually fighting with each other like shrews in a market to get a better deal or even a slight advantage by putting down all their so-called noble pretences, Moshe would even dare to hit someone if they said that trade with Bharat was not profitable.

With a complicated expression on his face, looking at Ezekiel, he could not help but voice out loud, "Young master Ezekiel, I have to hand it to you! I mean, I was already amazed by all the clean roads, excellent public facilities, superior security, and everything else in the Bharatiya Empire. But now, looking at this market town, I have to say it is truly impressive!" The noise of the market was too loud, so even though Moshe Goldstein and Ezekiel were next to each other, they had to speak in loud voices.

Ezekiel nodded his head with an expression that said, ' I told you so.' He felt very flattered.

"It is breathtaking, isn't it, uncle? When I was first introduced to this market town, I couldn't believe such a place existed for an entire week. Throughout that week, I was further bombarded by surprises—one after another—so much so that, in the end, I had to numb myself with some alcohol to stop feeling jealous about not having a trading company of my own and to prevent myself from doing something I'd regret."

With a pained expression, Ezekiel asked, "Uncle, would you like to know the daily transaction volume in the city of Thiruvananthapuram alone?"

Goldstein knew the number would be absolutely ridiculous, seeing the expression that almost wrote 'I'm jealous' on his forehead, but he nodded in affirmation, bracing himself so he wouldn't faint.

"It's nearly 13 million Varaha per day," Ezekiel roared, almost popping a few veins in his neck.

Goldstein "..."

Rajko " ? "

Ezekiel " !!? "

Goldstein stood there with a clueless expression on his face, and Rajko was the same. Ezekiel knocked his head in annoyance, realizing he had forgotten that these guys were still new to the empire. "Oh, for reference, it's about 290 kilograms of gold worth of currency transacted every single day for an entire year."

"Boruch Hashem!" (Blessed is the Lord!), Moshe exclaimed at the top of his lungs. He felt lighthearted as he almost stumbled to the ground; thankfully, he had taken precautions.

'That's more like it', Ezekiel was feeling pretty good about himself. Then he added, "Isn't it? That's like 100 tons of gold being transacted every year in the city of Thiruvananthapuram alone."

"Oh vey!" Goldstein exclaimed once again, because putting the transaction volume in terms of tons brought in a much larger perspective that he was not ready for.

Throughout the whole process, Rajko stood at the back, silent. It was not like he was not surprised by the scene or the number—no, he was—but since he was not a merchant, he did not see the underlying capital behind the scenery, so his surprise was only based on the direct visual and nothing else.

While he did think that Goldstein and Oppenheimer were overreacting a little, he did not mention it since he knew his ignorance, so he kept quiet.

It took a few minutes for Moshe Goldstein to calm down, but after he eventually did, he looked at Ezekiel with a burning gaze, a gaze filled with excitement and enthusiasm. "I believe I owe Joseph a larger favour than I had initially thought."

"It looks like the Bharatiya Empire is a gold mine that is filled with gold everywhere."

Moshe Goldstein restrained his eagerness a little. "Once again, I have to sincerely thank your Oppenheimer family for giving me this opportunity."

Ezekiel Oppenheimer felt proud. "No need for such distant words from you, uncle. Aren't we fighting for the same cause? Also, we are not losing out on anything in this deal. Getting one of the best tradesmen in the Holy Roman Empire to work for our family is anything but charity."

Moshe Goldstein laughed. Even though what the young master said was true, it was not entirely so. Even though many people knew his talent and abilities, who would want to employ him when he had incurred the wrath of an earl? Choosing between offending the earl and getting a talented trader who may or may not bring you profits, or sucking up to the earl and getting a lot of benefits, is an easy choice to make. So, he kept this favour of the Oppenheimer's in the heart.

For the next few days, Ezekiel introduced Moshe Goldstein to various things in the Bharatiya Empire.

" Amazing..." Moshe exclaimed after inspecting a medium-scale textile industrial factory.

Although he felt uncomfortable and odd seeing women working in the factory, he was still amazed by the machinery and hydraulic technology of the Bharatiya Empire.

"Boruch Hashem!"

He exclaimed when he saw the harvester harvesting the crops, multiple rows at a time, at an incredible speed.

"I am sure that the nobles would be delighted to have this."

"Those bloodsuckers are not very kind or nostalgic people. They will abandon their slaves and serfs in the blink of an eye if such a convenient machine is sold to them."

"Oh vey!"

He exclaimed as he saw the construction of nearly a dozen or more ships at the same time in the Raya Shipyard in Mangaluru.

"Now I know why the Naval strength of this empire is growing at such a terrifying speed."

"With shipyards like this, if the nation's naval strength doesn't grow, then I can only say that there is something wrong with the people running the nation."

"Fortunately, it looks like my country is in good hands," he said with pride on his face. He had already unconsciously considered himself a Bharatiya.

"Oh amazing," he said when he looked at nearly a million people working hard to dig a canal in Coimbatore.

"Boruch Hashem!"

"Oh vey!"

"Amazing."

"..."

After everything he had witnessed over the last few days, Moshe Goldstein felt that becoming a citizen of the Bharatiya Empire was the best decision he could have ever made.

If there had been any hesitation or aversion to the idea of becoming a citizen of this eastern empire, it had now been replaced with nothing but relief and extreme gratitude.

In the end, Ezekiel brought Moshe Goldstein and Rajko Durril to a large building complex.

Both Moshe and Rajko were confused as they couldn't understand the purpose of the building, but considering that everything they had seen in the last few days had greatly changed their worldview, they refrained from asking questions and simply followed Ezekiel Oppenheimer.

Ezekiel took out an identification card and handed it over to the guards at the gate.

One guard carefully inspected the identity while another noted the details from the identity card in a ledger.

"Welcome, Sir Ezekiel, to the Bharatiya Institute of Naturalisation. Please go ahead," the guard said respectfully, motioning for him to enter.

Moshe Goldstein and Rajko Durril followed the same procedure, taking out their newly issued identity cards and handing them over to the guards.

Once inside, Moshe Goldstein and Rajko were still confused as they couldn't see anything extraordinary about the campus.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"What are we here for, young master?" Moshe Goldstein asked with a curious expression on his face.

Rajko looked at Ezekiel as well, clearly sharing the same question.

Ezekiel didn't say anything but motioned for them to follow.

As they entered the main building within the campus, they saw multiple rooms filled with blackboards with something written on them. All the rooms contained benches where many people could sit, and there was a table on an elevated stage within each room.

Moshe Goldstein had a clue about their location. "Are we in a school, college, or some sort of educational organization?"

Ezekiel smiled. "Well, sort of. This place is called the Bharatiya Institute of Naturalisation. It was newly established a few months ago to teach people such as yourself."

"This centre teaches people who have gained their temporary citizenship and are looking forward to obtaining permanent citizenship everything there is to learn about the empire to become its citizen."

"From what I know, the main subjects include the Bharati language, legal rules and regulations, several optional languages, subcontinental history, geography, and other elective courses, which I believe could help legitimize your knowledge if you already have any."

Moshe Goldstein immediatly grasped the idea. "So it's a place where aspiring citizens like myself learn how to be Bharatiya citizens. Alright, fair enough. It's convenient that I don't have to learn everything by myself."

Ezekiel nodded in agreement.

"Yes, and that's the reason I brought you two here today. If anyone wants to become a permanent citizen of the Bharatiya Empire, they have no choice but to pass the courses put forward by the Bharatiya Institute of Naturalization."

"But no worries. For people who choose the basic courses, the institute only requires attendance two days a week for three months; the rest is left to your discretion."

Rajko Durril asked, "So we will be enrolling in this institute?"

Ezekiel looked at Rajko, "Yes, and by the way, all the Jews and Romani's emigrating to the Bharatiya Empire are currently studying in this institute."

"Your batch is the second one, I believe. The first batch had just graduated about a week ago."

"Anyway, come on. The classes are about to start, and the immigrants are about to arrive. You'll need to register at the institute beforehand so you don't miss too many classes."

Moshe Goldstein shrugged and followed along, with Rajkot Durrell coming soon after.

The registration didn't take long; it was only a few minutes of filling out some documents, and they were officially given their institute ID cards.

"Uncle Moshe, I believe you should enrol in the arithmetic courses up to the college level. You've already mastered a lot of math in your day-to-day work back in the Holy Roman Empire, so getting this certificate will make things easier for you in the Bharatiya Empire."

Following the suggestion, Moshe Goldstein enrolled in college-level courses focused on economics. Even though he had to attend the institute for two additional days a week, he listened to the young master's advice. According to him, since the entire basic course lasts only three months and with his prior knowledge of economics, he should be alright to pass the more challenging college examination, which would give him some leeway in loan procurement.

---

''Ding!"

"Well, it looks like the first class is about to start, Uncle," Ezekiel Oppenheimer said.

Moshe Goldstein nodded, and so did Rajko. They were about to bid farewell, but Moshe Goldstein remembered something. "Rajko, you go ahead. I have something to talk about with the young master."

Rajko knew that it was not his place to stay, so he simply left and gave the two men some privacy.

Looking around, Moshe Goldstein asked with a serious expression on his face, "Young Master, it looks like this is a very good chance for our Jews to gain the support of the Bharatiya Empire."

"But do you think that the Bharatiya Emperor Rajyapathi Vijay Deva Raya will follow through with his promise?" There was a hint of hope in his eyes, but even more weariness, a defence mechanism that showed he was too afraid to lose that hope more than gaining it.

The Jews had already developed a cautious personality due to their persecution for many centuries, so Ezekiel Oppenheimer immediately frowned, understanding the worry of his uncle.

"So far, I have not made contact with the Bharatiya Emperor. I have been inspecting and observing how our Jewish compatriots are treated by the Bharatiya Empire so that Father could expand his operations. If they are not treated well, even though it is unfortunate, it is still acceptable for the overall benefit of the Jewish race and an independent Jewish state. But the only problem is, without a good reputation, it becomes harder to expand the operations."

Moshe Goldstein nodded his head, as it was completely normal in his opinion for there to be sacrifices for such a great cause as an independent Jewish nation. And even if the sacrifice had to be the poor Jews, it was acceptable for him as long as it was not too much.

Ezekiel continued, "However, so far I have not witnessed any discrimination or harm done to our Jewish compatriots, and I dare say they are being treated in the Bharatiya Empire better than in Europe. So, last month I sent the message back to Father to expand the operations. For now, I have made an appointment with the Emperor, which is due sometime this week depending on his itinerary."

"So I'm currently waiting for a call from the Emperor's office to ask for a confirmation myself."

Moshe Goldstein was immediately happy, "That's good, that's good. "

''Ding!"

"Well then, I should be off now. If you do receive the call, remember to inform me, as I would like to meet with His Majesty myself, since technically I am one of his subjects."

"Sure, uncle. Nothing could be better, since I do need someone to share the pressure with me," Ezekiel said with an awkward smile.