Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1211: WWI: Taking back the Suez (1)

Beads of sweat dripped down the Duke of Sofia’s forehead. He had remained in the same chamber as His Highness the King ever since they began discussing how to deal with the Bharatiya Navy advancing toward the Bosphorus Strait, and since then, more than a dozen messengers had rushed in, each carrying a different report, and without exception, every single piece of news had been extremely unfavourable to them.

It started with the news about the Bharatiyas killing all the defence guards at the beach, and then, the latest, the coastal defences being dismantled and the Bharatiya Battle Group fast approaching the Bosphorus Strait.

At first, he could still give some suggestions to cope with the enemy, like bringing over the reserve troops that were undergoing training in the nearby town of Arnavutköy, but as time went by, when the news of the Bharatiya’s relentless charge from the southern frontier was heard, he could no longer utter a sentence.

Looking at his highness Dimitri, the Duke of Sofia could not help but feel his throat go dry. His Highness, unlike the prince who was as pale as paper, did not show any unusual reaction; even his face remained expressionless, but that alone proved that a volcano was brewing in his heart. Being the only person in the hall who could be considered a subordinate, he was worried that his highness would take out his anger on him.

Although he was a Duke, the Duke of Sofia at that, ruling over one of the most prosperous regions of the kingdom, he, and in fact none of the nobles, possessed any real military power.

They held positions within the military hierarchy, yes, but they did not command private armies. This was the system His Highness Dmitri had established after founding the nation, having carefully analysed the reasons for his defeat against his brother, Emperor Peter. As a result, if His Highness chose to vent his anger on him, there was nothing he could do to resist. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

In ordinary times, he might have formed political alliances with other nobles and exerted some pressure on His Highness. But now, with the kingdom at war and the Duke of Bucharest most likely dead, he had no real avenue for resistance.

Thankfully, what he was worried about did not happen.

His Highness Dmitri simply let out a deep breath and shook his head.

"You were right, Borisov, the Bharatiyas really did not take action recklessly."

Sigh.

"Unfortunately, we couldn’t get enough time to prepare. If the enemy had simply taken the safer approach and docked their ships while travelling through the storm, the situation might have been different, but alas."

Dmitri shook his head once again and massaged his temples.

"Let’s inform the council. I believe reinforcements will arrive in a few days. Perhaps, if we are fortunate, we can rebuild the frontier where we have lost ground and re-establish control over the Bosphorus," he said. Yet Dmitri himself did not have much confidence that it would succeed. He sensed that the Bharatiyas were conducting a rapid action operation, one that might last only a few days, so by the time reinforcements arrived, their objective might already have been accomplished.

The Duke of Sofia, Nikolay Vladimirovich Borisov, nodded in understanding. "I will deliver the message immediately, Your Highness. Please rest assured."

As Nikolay turned and walked out of the hall, the apprehension on his face, born from the fear of being blamed for the disastrous loss, slowly shifted into sadness, the quiet, heavy sadness of a man who realises that the leader he once served in his youth is no longer the same.

Make no mistake, Nikolai was truly relieved that he had not been made into a scapegoat, but at the same time, he was disappointed, disappointed that he could not see even a sliver of fighting spirit left in his king. When he first followed His Highness Dimitri, he had been high-spirited and had spent his days plotting every moment of his life, planning how to get revenge against his brother and how to regain control over the empire. But as the years passed, that fighting spirit slowly began to smooth out, like a rock worn down by a gentle stream of water over hundreds of years, and now it had reached a point where his king no longer had the ambition to even think about how to counterattack the enemy.

"Haaaa!"

He let out a turbid breath and put away the distracting thoughts. In fact, if it had been before the formation of the European Union, and if a similar situation had occurred, he would actually have been happy. The king was weak, his greatest competitor’s life and death were unknown, and on top of that, the prince was incompetent.

This would have been the perfect situation for him to gather supporters and rebel, take over the kingdom for himself, and declare the Borisov family the royal family. But unfortunately, under the watch of the council, instead of being recognised as one of the royal members of the council, he would be put to the guillotine for causing political instability, and a new king, one more convenient for the council members to control, would be appointed.

So he did not even entertain the thought.

The Bosphorus Strait

The battle group had momentarily stopped at the southern coast of the Bosphorus Strait. Rear Admiral Anurag Abhimanyu, standing atop the bow of a Delhi-class battleship, looked at the supplies that were being loaded up and nodded in satisfaction.

"Are we ready to depart?" he asked his logistics officer.

The logistics officer, a middle-aged man with a pair of spectacles, looked at his notebook and nodded, "We are, Your Excellency." He looked up, his eyes gleaming under the sun, "All the ammunition has been delivered as requested. We could engage in an all-out war for a whole day before needing additional supplies. If it is simply the living supplies, we can last for about a week."

"Well, that’s plenty."

Abhimanyu looked towards his Vice Commander, "Give the orders to advance, our target, the Suez Canal."

The next moment, the sails were unfurled, the chart was set, and the battleships began to move.

Thankfully, the operation was a well-thought-out, coordinated mission that had been planned for the last half a decade by Vijay himself, so the timing chosen was absolutely perfect.

For one, the Europeans had suffered great losses due to the destruction of their Mediterranean fleet, so there isn’t a professional, large-scale naval fleet currently present in the Mediterranean waters. While the Europeans temporarily used all the fishing boats and merchant ships as naval vessels, Vijay managed to find a way to temporarily suppress these vessels and stop them from interfering with the main operation.

According to Vijay’s plan, the target of the Bharatiya Empire would be unpredictable to the Europeans. Just as the Empire seized control of the Bosphorus Strait, various resistance and rebel groups simultaneously launched attacks on the naval bases the European Union had occupied on the Greek mainland. As a result, major port cities and naval bases such as Thessaloniki, Athens, Izmir, Rhodes, and several others were set ablaze.

"Your Highness, all the Bharatiya forces are attempting to take back the Aegean Sea!" A messenger rushed into the Royal Palace in London to inform Stuart.

"Your Highness, our barracks in Athens have been attacked, it’s the Bharatiyas, sire!" Louis XIV was suddenly confronted with the alarming report.

"Your Excellency, our warehouse in Volos has been set ablaze." This was the news delivered to William of Orange.

The Federal Emperor of the Italian Federation, the King of Prussia, the Emperor of France, the King of Portugal, the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom, the King of Sweden, the King of Denmark-Norway, and even the Emperor of Russia all received similar reports in one form or another.

Vijay had, of course, played a role in shaping such reports into the dominant narrative of what his Empire was supposedly doing. However, his direct involvement was not as extensive as it appeared. He had merely arranged the circumstances in such a way that the Europeans would naturally arrive at the conclusions he wanted them to reach.

But Vijay was certain that he could not fool the Europeans for long. Though, in the end, it did not matter since the mission would be concluded in a few days anyway.

Thanks to his planning and preparations, although the battle group encountered various small merchant ships on its voyage, it was never a fully fledged naval fleet.

Although the destruction of the merchant ships that came across the Bharatiya Battle Group did send a message to the higher-ups that there might be some mistake in their assumption, unfortunately, at the end of the day, the European Union is run by a council. Although it is quicker than a weak alliance, it is not as efficient as an absolute autocratic monarchy, where a single voice could silence everyone.

Several monarchs held differing opinions, and intense discussions followed. Messages were exchanged back and forth, arguments were made, and calculations were drawn up. By the time they finally managed to reach a consensus, an entire day had already passed. Only then did they realise, with growing alarm, that the Bharatiya battle group was not moving randomly at all; it was heading straight toward the entrance of the Suez Canal.

"Oh no, they’re aiming for the Suez! Quickly, mobilise all ships in the surrounding seas and redirect them immediately to the Suez."

Doge Leandro Contarini spoke with visible panic etched across his face. "There are only eighty warships stationed at the Suez. Under no circumstances can we allow them to fall."

"Once the Suez is breached..." His voice trailed off as a shiver ran down his spine.

The other monarchs were no different; they frantically mobilised their resources and sent out the orders at the fastest possible speed.

P.S. Thank you, Sudhanva_SH, for the IceColaX3🙏🙏🙏