Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1174: WWI: Siege of the Americas (1)

Chapter 1174: WWI: Siege of the Americas (1)

25th March, 1700.

United States of Philippines.

An elderly man and a middle aged man sat around a round table, surrounded by numerous men in military uniforms, each radiating the rigidity and resoluteness that came with the military. If it had been anyone else, they might not have been able to maintain their composure in the presence of so many seasoned veterans who had fought on battlefields and seen blood, yet the elderly man and the middle aged man did not let their expressions change at all. They looked unbothered.

On the contrary, their presence seemed to suppress that of the military men. Both the elderly man and the middle aged man radiated an air of majesty and infallibility, something that made even seasoned veterans careful not to speak out of line, especially in the presence of the elderly man. Looking at him was like looking at a mountain, its pressure bearing down upon the viewer, shortening one’s breath and clouding the mind.

The elderly man was none other than the emperor of the Bharatiya Empire, Vijay Devaraya, as for the middle aged man it was naturally Agni, Agni Devaraya, the prince of the Bharatiya Empire and the person who is most likely to become the next emperor, both of them sitting together with high ranking officers from the military.

“It looks like the Russians, the Chinese, and their two allied nations would not be making their stance clear after all, Your Majesty,” Agni replied with a frown. He knew his father wanted to besiege the Americas next, but having potential instability in the rear, in the form of the Russian and Ming empires, was a little concerning.

Vijay had the same concerns as his son. Making their stance clear and siding with the Bharatiya Empire was not a complete guarantee, since he had already experienced the Italians, Portuguese, Spanish, and others breaking treaties of alliance and backstabbing the empire. Still, if their stance was made clear, then going back on a treaty would come at a much larger price.

“Well, it can’t be helped,” Vijay sighed. Ultimately, he had to let something go, there is no need for him to fight every battle. Russia had chosen the same method his motherland used in his past life to get out of the vortex. Besides, he didn’t have any enmity with the Russian Empire or the Ming Empire, nor did he want to force them to his side, and he was not a tyrant who sought to wage war against anyone who did not follow his ideal situation. So the only thing he could do was make preparations for the worst, leave everything else to fate, and step forward with determination.

Vijay looked up, his gaze firm and unshaking, ” Start the operations and begin the free America Initiative”.

The military officers, everyone at the ranking of vice admiral, got up and saluted, “Determined to complete the task, your majesty”.

Vijay looked at his son, “I leave the rest to you”.

Agni resolutely got up, “Rest assured, your majesty, I will complete the task without fail”.

Vijay nodded, “Take care of yourself as well!”

Agni had already gotten up and was on his way out of the room, but he slightly paused hearing the words of his father, ” I will, father”.

Left alone in the room, Vijay leaned back into his chair, his face taking on a thoughtful expression, thinking about the non alignment treaty. ‘Will they be like the United States in my previous life, profiting when the world is burning?’ He couldn’t help but ask. But in the end, he shook his head. ‘Probably not. In my last life, by the time the Second World War started, America had already developed its foundation and industry with the benefits it got from the First World War in the form of talents and a boatload of orders, but Russia and Ming do not even have the foundation like that of the United States in the First World War.’

He felt Japan might have a chance, but they are currently not too powerful. Although they have developed their industries quite well as of recently, emulating a lot from the Bharatiya Empire, they are still quite dependent on the Bharatiya Empire, Ming Empire, and Russian Empire for its industrial raw materials. Until they can find a source of cheap raw materials so that they can build a strong military, Vijay is not too worried about the Japanese.

And on top of all this, the United States only benefited during the First and Second World War because the war was fought in Europe by the Europeans, so left with no other choice, they had to rely on the United States for military supplies and logistics supplies while their own homes were embroiled in the worst war the world has ever seen. The situation of the Bharatiya Empire is completely different. Although the war is still being fought by the Bharatiya Empire, it is not being fought on Bharatiya soil, so the industries and factories of the Bharatiya Empire have not been affected.

Given that the empire itself is a vast expanse spanning over 4.5 million square kilometers with abundant resources, its supply lines are very solid and very hard to be cut off. So naturally, Vijay does not have to rely on a third party for military resources and war supplies, and even if he takes distance into account, where the Bharatiya mainland is farther from the battlefield, he could simply use the resources from Suvarna Dwipha, which is a much better alternative than buying the resources from the countries in the so called non alignment treaty any day of the week.

Thinking of all this, Vijay put the matter aside and met with a few vice admirals from the Bharatiya fleet and gave further instructions.

The Bharatiya fleet is currently at its weakest point yet, but it cannot be helped. Half of its strength had to be lent to support the operations overseas. In the strength it had lent, 3/4 is supporting the Atlantic Fleet that is guarding the colonies in Africa that the empire had conquered from the Europeans, while the remaining 1/4 is blocking the Suez Canal with the fleet that had retreated from the Mediterranean.

Now, with the remaining half, Vijay was preparing to have them guard against any movement from the Chinese, the Russians, and the Japanese, and they would even be stationed at bases that would be evacuated once the Pacific Fleet set off on the campaign.

This will inevitably leave a huge gap in the defenses, but it cannot be helped. The moment he decided to end Europe’s reign over the world, he already knew no matter how much strength he accumulated, he could not cover the world with his own hand. So he was also prepared for some places having loopholes. But with all things considered, Vijay was not worried that the Europeans will take the opportunity to send their fleet to the Indian Ocean. After all, how can they? If they want to take the Pacific route through the Americas, then a surprise is waiting for them. If they want to take the Atlantic route, then the Atlantic Fleet is right at their doorstep. And if they want to take the route of the Suez Canal, congratulations, the entire coast of the Red Sea is now armed to the teeth with more naval cannons than there are ships.

So although the decision he had made was risky, he had accounted for the potential actions of the Europeans and the countries in the non alignment treaty. The only ones he still had to worry about were his own allies in ASEAN and the vassal kingdoms. If they seized the opportunity and tried to attack the mainland for whatever reason, it would be extremely dangerous. After all, Vijay’s defenses were designed to counter external enemies, and the allies in ASEAN and the vassal kingdoms lay within those defensive lines, meaning they could reach the mainland coast in a day or less if they chose to act.

Thankfully, the chances of such a scenario was extremely low. And even if, for some reason, they all joined together to conspire against the empire, Vijay had already taken precautions. Not trusting anyone had practically become his second nature. Rather than relying on loyalty or lineage, he ensured that his close allies gained far more profit and benefit by cooperating with the Bharatiya Empire than by opposing it. Though he constantly propagated the ideals of loyalty and lineage, he himself did not take such notions too seriously. With interests so tightly aligned, what reason did they have to betray the empire?

Moreover, within the Pacific Fleet, ships from the ASEAN countries and troops from the vassal kingdoms had been deliberately included. Originally, before the war began, the Pacific Fleet numbered over 371 ships, including 36 Delhi class battleships and three Ramachandra class battleships. Now, however, the fleet had grown to 472 warships. Around fifty of these were added by the empire itself, among them two Maharaja Ramachandra class battleships and several Delhi class battleships, while the rest came from the ASEAN countries. The troops, too, were largely drawn from the vassal kingdoms.

In this way, Vijay not only strengthened the Pacific Fleet, greatly improving its chances of victory, but also subtly reduced the threat posed by the ASEAN countries and the vassal kingdoms themselves.

On top of this, he had already covertly upgraded the Coast Guard’s weapons systems to the latest standards. This had been ongoing for the past five years, ever since he had a premonition that the empire would one day go to war with Europe. Preparations had begun quietly in the background, even though, at the time, he did not know how the Coast Guard would be useful in a conflict spanning the entire globe. Still, he believed that a well placed chess piece was never wasted, and now it had proven its worth. The Coast Guard could act as a defensive shield against anyone who tried to harm the mainland until the main force returned to reinforce it.

“Well then, it’s time for me to get back to business.”

He said to himself. While he sent Agni to the Americas, he had to deal with the other places himself, be it the Atlantic Fleet in Africa or the Mediterranean Fleet in the Red Sea. He knew as soon as Agni launches his attack, the Europeans will try their best to breach the defences he had set up, and he had to make sure that it does not happen.

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