Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 930: Russian orders & Hot air balloon commercialization (XXL)

Chapter 930: Russian orders & Hot air balloon commercialization (XXL)

27th February 1674

A few days after Vijay made the decision to make the diplomatic connection with Tibet, a senior diplomat from the Ministry of External Affairs, who already had a rich diplomatic experience in one of the ASEAN countries, set off from the capital on a 2-month-long journey to a place called " The roof of the world. "

In the meantime, Vijay continued to keep an eye on the immigration from the Qing dynasty, the civil war within, the situation of Europe, and most importantly, the industrial development of the empire.

When he was going through the intelligence reports, Rajesh came to visit him bearing some unexpected news.

Vijay was pleasantly surprised when he was informed that the Russians had ordered over 1000 10-kilogramme and 15-kilogramme artillery pieces, attached with a pair of wheels.

The Russians had already started to increase their orders since the first shipment reached the port of Tsaritsyn (Stalingrad) through the Middle East, but this time the orders were extremely high. He was initially unable to understand why the Russians took such a decision, but with a little thought, he caught on to a fleeting inspiration.

"It looks like Dmitri doesn’t want to let up the pressure on the Ottomans," he said, leaning back and folding his hands as he looked at the map, as the future of the war unfolded before his eyes like a film.

"This year, the winter is much harsher than previous years, so the war has effectively come to a halt. But... as soon as the curtain of snow lifts, the Balkans should be turned into a slaughterhouse once again."

"Going by previous years, the Russians should be at a disadvantage in the beginning, at least until they receive logistic supplies from us, since they don’t have proper manufacturing capabilities of their own. Even if they try to operate at full capacity, they still won’t be able to equip even a quarter of their army."

There was pride in his tone.

"But the Ottoman Empire, in comparison, blessed with vast human resources and unaffected by winter, gets breathing time and grows stronger in just a few months."

" Now it looks like Dmitri does not want to follow the norm and wants to continue maintaining the intensity of the war by importing and hoarding more weapons in the winter. "

" I have to say, although Dmitri is a traditionalist and not as capable as Peter, he did make a brave decision...at least this time "

" Come to think of it, I wonder if it is Dmitri that made the decision, or if he simply followed someone’s suggestion "

Vijay stroked his chin, for some reason, he felt like the latter possibility was most likely true. " Either way, he at least knows how to follow suggestions, " he commented, but in his heart, he began to plan. ’ Since this Russian Emperor is capable of following the suggestions of others, should I try to control a few top nobles? And in that way, gain some influence over the Russian Emperor? ’ He did not know if this plan was feasible, but still it was worth a try.

" Is there anything else? " Vijay asked, coming back to his senses after a long time

Rajesh shook his head, " Nothing except that they requested the transport to be done through the Middle East, and to be shipped as quickly as possible, your majesty. " Remembering something, he quickly added, " And they are willing to pay a 30% premium, their diplomat is already in the empire waiting to pay the down payment. "

The expression on Vijay’s face relaxed as he shrugged, " I guess they do not want to see Peter eating all the benefits, well, no matter, let’s do as they requested. The Siberian route cannot be used anyway, and it is likely to remain so until at least the end of April. "

" As for the delivery time, this is not a big problem either, simply sell the canons that are already in service as new ones, we haven’t used them in actual combat much anyway... and even if they make some trouble, you can simply negotiate to the original price. "

" Also, during delivery, it is very unlikely that someone will try to disrupt or rob our caravan, but still, it is good to be prepared, so I will assign a whole brigade to take on the escort duty, but they will be paid by the government for their troubles, convey my orders to the prime minister. "

" Yes, your majesty. "

While Vijay was arranging for the artillery to be transported, the first airfield in the empire was established.

---

Hampi, Vijayanagar State, Akhand Bharatiya Empire

In the outskirts of Hampi, a few kilometres away in an empty plain, large tents had been laid down. A pleasant art performance was going on, performed by soulful Carnatic singers, Yakshagana dancers, and traditional musicians. All the important dignitaries of the state and even from other states were arriving, with great expectations.

Reporters of different newspapers formed a swarm around the entrance, held back by several hundred policemen.

Occasionally, a few politicians can be seen moving to give an interview or answer a few questions.

At the entrance, right at the beginning of the red carpet where the carriages stopped, a pair of young men and women dressed in traditional attire greeted the Finance Minister of the Vijayanagar government with warm smiles.

"Welcome, Miss Chaudheshwari. Your arrival is a great honour to our company."

Right after the welcome, another young woman stepped forward and escorted the Finance Minister into the event grounds, while the original pair continued to receive other important figures.

Moments later, a large commotion was heard when the carriage bearing the insignia of the Shanku and Chakra arrived. Looking at the flag, even the Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers who had arrived stood up with respect.

Getting down from the carriage was a young man along with a beautiful and graceful middle-aged woman. Who else could it be other than the prince of the Bharatiya Empire, Agni, and the empress of the empire, Kavya Devaraya?

Modi, who was in the crowd, the Chief Minister of Solankipuri, felt his eyes light up. ’ It looks like His Majesty has already begun arranging for the prince to appear more in public view, ’ he realised inwardly. ’ Should I do something? ’ he wondered, becoming momentarily lost in thought.

Agni and Kavya were immediately showered with applause, a hearty welcome adorned with flower garlands, shawls, and a rain of petals. The music, too, shifted dramatically, from the earlier calm and soulful melody to a grand, orchestral fanfare, as if the entire atmosphere had brightened with the arrival of the royal family.

Even the reporters tried to break through the barricade, but fortunately, the police were strong enough to hold them back.

Experiencing the crazed welcoming, both Agni and Kavya did not feel anything; they were already used to such grandstanding treatments, so they both did not feel overwhelmed and gracefully entered the opening ceremony, casually waving at the reporters.

Looking at the big basket that had been tied to some sort of a blanket, Agni couldn’t help but sigh, " It’s a pity little brother and sister did not come. "

Kavya was greeting the Chief Minister’s and their female partners, but still, hearing the comment, she said under her breath, " It can’t be helped, your sister has her exams, while your brother is still obsessed with... well, I do not know what he is obsessed with, but he keeps working on those machines all day long, at least in that respect he is very much like your father when he decides to do something. "

Agni nodded in understanding and continued to greet the dignitaries cordially.

Among this crowd, a group of Europeans, who stood out like a sore thumb, could be seen looking around with curiosity.

A few hours passed in such a way until everyone arrived and the event finally began with the prayers to the Moola Devata, Ganapathi.

After which, Rishabh Ghosh, the designer of the hot air balloon, took the stage with palpitations in his heart. He was shaking, but he knew that the moment he made a decision to shift from pure academics to business mixed with some academics, public speeches could not be avoided.

After the hot air balloon was successful and multiple patents for the invention had been generated, he received multiple offers from the Raya Group of companies, one of which was that he establish his own company and commercialise the hot air balloon while the royal family would come in as an investor.

He originally simply wanted to sell the technology to the royal family and make a quick buck, as well as enjoy the royalties. His fellow researchers, Tarun and Neelesh, had a similar idea as well, but after he thought about his situation for a few more days, he finally decided to establish a company himself. Being in the Academy of Sciences for nearly a decade, he already understood that although he was brilliant when compared to normal professors in even the first-tier universities, he couldn’t hold a candle to the top academicians in the Academy of Sciences.

In such a way, he set up Ghosh Aeronautics, with him holding 40% of the stake, while his partners Tarun and Neelesh enjoyed 15% of the stake each. Finally, the royal family invested 5 million Varaha for a 30% stake.

In fact, Rishabh wanted to give his fellow researchers more equity, but unfortunately, not only did his partners refuse his offer, but even Mr. Bhaskaracharya, the general manager of the royal family’s assets, sternly refused the idea. He was a little embarrassed, but he could understand their reason as well.

Out of the three biggest contributors to the project, that is, he himself with his design, Tarun with the fabric, and Neelesh with the burner, only he invested the entire contribution he did to the project into the company exclusively, whereas Tarun and Neelesh had already sold the manufacturing and research rights to their invention to the Raya Group of Companies, as well as some other military-approved design firms.

In a way, they had already gained the equivalent exchange for their invention, while he had not sold his design, patent rights, or copyrights to any other private or government organisation. The complete intellectual property rights are now under the company that he established, Ghosh Aeronautics.

As Rishabh began to speak, he slowly gained confidence and started to catch the rhythm of speech.

He explained the concept of the hot air balloon to the guests in as easy a manner as possible, while also outlining how the first sky-based private company in the empire will operate.

For example, he talked about the company manufacturing the hot air balloons to other private players for civilian purposes on an order basis, while also working on a tourist attraction basis where each ride in the hot air balloon will cost a certain amount of money.

" Ladies and gentlemen, that being said, the first tour of Ghosh Aeronautics is finally launching in the magnificent city of Hampi, the place where the empire was born. "

" So, ladies and gentlemen, who of you is willing to take this ride? "

People in the crowd knew that the hot air balloon was a new technology, and given that it would take a human to the air, they knew that it would be dangerous. But still, there were a lot of brave people in the audience, including the top ministers, who raised their hands with rare excitement on their faces, faces that were used to hiding emotions all day long.

Who wouldn’t want to be written in the history books like the legendary figures in the empire?

Agni, who was looking at all this from the side, was almost about to raise his hand, but he felt a slap on his palm from his mother. He didn’t even have to look at her face to figure out that she was probably glaring at him, so although disappointed, he finally put down his urge to join in the fun.

Rishabh let out a sigh of relief and randomly picked out a few people in the crowd, among whom was a European, because he wanted the news about his invention to spread to Europe as well.

All the people excitedly gathered around the hot air balloon in a circle. By the time the ceremony ended, the balloon had already been filled up with hot air, and it was already dancing a few inches off the ground. Rishabh Ghosh naturally could not accompany the first lucky person who would be riding the hot air balloon since he was 100 kilogrammes, but thankfully, he was not idle these days. After inventing the hot air balloon, a few technicians had already been trained who would be accompanying the lucky winners.

Murugan was the Minister of Transport in the state of Cholapuri, the youngest Cabinet Minister for any government in the empire. In fact. At first, he only raised his hand with the intention of simply giving it a try, but him being picked was completely out of his expectations. He was feeling a little resistant in his heart looking at the hot air balloon, but since he had already raised his hand and he was picked, he couldn’t go back on his words, especially since so many of his fellow ministers, much older than him were looking at him with scrutiny.

What Murugan does not know is, although Rishabh picked participants randomly, his scope was still narrowed down to the people who were young. He did not want whoever would ride the hot air balloon to faint from the fear of heights or high emotional stimulation, after all.

Murugan took a big gulp and got into the basket with the young boy. Although he was feeling palpitations in his heart and he was shivering, he could only turn around, trying to maintain his best smile and wave at the people looking at him.

" Please take care of me little brother ", he muttered in a low voice as he looked at the boy who was operating the hot air balloon.

The young boy simply smiled, " Don’t worry, sir. Although the hot air balloon looks dangerous, it is actually very safe because even if something went wrong and a hole appeared in the balloon’s surface, we won’t actually crash directly into the ground. Instead, we will simply go down slowly. "

" Also, you see this harness, it is the harness made up of the same material the hot air balloon is made up of. It is extremely strong and lightweight. It is around 200 metres in length, so even if something happens and uncharacteristically strong wind blows heavily in this dry place, we can simply go down by pulling the anchor while simultaneously reducing the burner flame. "

Murugan was still not completely convinced, but at least some of his fears were alleviated.

" Alright, let’s do it. "

P.S. A very productive month this was...

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