Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 798: Buy Venezuela ?

16th August 1663

Simhasana Bhavana, imperial capital Bengaluru, Akhand Bharatiya Empire.

Vijay stood behind a tall glass window as he eyed the newly constructed clock tower on the banks of the Ulsoor Lake.

'How the times have passed.' he sighed, In a matter of a decade, the Bharatiya Empire has gone from being just another typical eastern country with a lot of people but without a lot of strength, to the most powerful and technologically advanced entity in the world. Technology that was supposed to be invented in the 18th or even 19th century could be seen readily in the Bharatiya Empire.

Thinking about what he had managed to achieve, Vijay couldn't help but feel a little proud. A few minutes later, Vijay got back to his seat; he had a very busy day ahead of him.

He opened the intelligence reports of the day prior, wanting to see what had happened in the empire. This is sort of like Vijay's newspaper, albeit a bit more detailed and a bit too classified.

'Oh! The African boys finally arrived, huh?' Vijay smiled. In fact, 2 months ago, Minister Raghavendra Bhatt, the Minister of Education, came to him to ask if private universities could accept international students. Vijay was taken aback and momentarily confused about what to do because the empire's state-run universities had their own foreign exchange program. Even the schools had something similar, where a batch of European students were studying in Bharatiya schools as they discussed.

But given that educational institutions have been privatized, and private schools and universities have grown rapidly at the start of the new decade, the exchange policy has become sort of out of date. A lot of people want to join universities in the Bharatiya Empire, but due to strict restrictions, they are not able to. So Vijay thought of putting an end to it, but he didn't want it to be too drastic. So he started off by lifting the restrictions on the European students who were studying in the Bharatiya Empire.

According to the previous policy, they weren't allowed to leave the empire unless it was the summer break. But now, since they are technically considered as students of private schools, they could do whatever they want, given that the person who bought the school they were studying in turned it into a premium school for elites of the empire. So the fee had also increased. Overall, the European students were still very satisfied, since they got more independence.

As for private universities, Vijay had not allowed them to admit foreign students without any limit. He gave them quotas, where a first-tier university could give 8 seats for every 100 Bharatiya students, the second tier 16 seats for every 100, the third tier 24, and the fourth tier up to 48. As for the prime universities, they were given a quota of only four seats for every 100 Bharatiya students.

These seats are only for foreign students who come through management seats, meaning paying a lot of money. But for those who have shown brilliant accomplishments in a certain field, the fee will be fully waived, and their seat will not be counted, allowing for the university to recruit one more foreign exchange student.

'So far so good.' Vijay was very excited for Bharat to become the educational capital, or at least the most prominent one, in the world.

---

" Your Majesty, Duke Olivera and Duke Monty De Guzman have arrived." Ganesh bowed with his right hand on his chest.

Vijay was done studying the intelligence, so he quickly got up and left for the conference room. Moments later, Duke Olivera and Duke Monty De Guzman, the right-hand men of Emperor Charles and Emperor Alfonso, arrived at the conference room.

Duke Olivera and Monty De Guzman respectfully greeted Vijay, while Vijay smiled and had a small chat with them.

"The development of Spain's Viceroyalty of Mexico, New Granada, Peru, and Rio de la Plata, as well as the Portuguese Viceroyalty of Brazil, how is it going?" Vijay casually mentioned. "Oh, and I heard that Spain is trading the Viceroyalty of New Granada with the Portuguese. Is it true?"

Duke Olivera and Monty de Guzman secretly looked at each other.

"It is true, Your Majesty. In order to deepen the cooperation between Spain and Portugal, His Majesty Baltazar Charles had just signed the treaty in February," Duke Monty de Guzman replied with a smile.

Vijay was not surprised. In this earth's timeline, due to Southern Asia being completely cut off from the grasp of the British and the Dutch, their focus was completely put on the Americas. But the traditional powers of America, Portuguese and Spanish, suffered a lot. A few years ago, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, i.e., Mexico, lost a large area of Louisiana to the British, and currently San Francisco is attracting the covetousness of the Dutch.

So, the Spanish and the Portuguese formed an alliance to help each other in the Americas to fight against the newly rising powers of the British, Dutch, and French. One of the main foundations of the alliance was the Portuguese getting the Viceroyalty of New Granada, which made their interests in the Americas more balanced, thereby having a basis for an offensive and defensive alliance.

"Talking of the Colonies, we are very thankful for the Bharatiya Empire, Your Majesty. Due to the constant industrial supplies we are getting from the Bharatiya Empire, the development of the colonies has progressed at a rapid pace," Duke Olivera did a Namaskara.

Vijay smiled and waved his hand. "There is no need for you to thank me. We're not doing it for free, this is just business. The businessmen of my empire sell the products while the businessmen of your colony buy the products. Isn't this straightforward relationship enough?" Duke Olivera and Monty de Guzman smiled, but in their hearts, they knew that it was not that simple. If it was not for the constant supply of ammunition and arms from the Bharatiya Empire, they could not have resisted the alliance of the three rising powers.

"It may be so, Your Majesty, but we still have to thank you," Monty de Guzman did a Namaskara himself.

Vijay didn't say anything and remained silent. In fact, Vijay wanted to see if he could buy a certain part of Venezuela. He wanted to propose the idea to whoever came to attend the Warriors Day Parade as a guest this time, but since the two Dukes actually showed up personally, it meant that they too had something they wanted. Hence, Vijay, not wanting to give up the initiative, didn't make his thoughts clear.

As he expected, the very next moment, Duke Olivera spoke out.

"Your Majesty, we would like to purchase 10 Delhi-class battleships for each of our empires."

"We understand that there is a limit on how many Delhi-class battleships the Bharatiya Empire sells to each country, but we have come to request you to reconsider the policy and allow for the warships to be sold to the colonies."

Monty de Guzman thought of something and quickly added, "Your Majesty, the English, the Dutch, and the French have already formed an offensive and defensive alliance and are aiming for the Americas. Once they are successful, their greedy eyes will fall on South Asia once again."

Vijay immediately frowned and looked at Monty de Guzman. 'This guy is good. He reduced the travel over the Pacific Ocean to nothing. It is as if the Bharatiya Empire and America are neighbours.' Vijay understood that he was trying to exaggerate in order to get more initiative, but he also knew that it would be very unfavourable if the English, French, and Dutch—his enemies—managed to get an advantage in the Americas.

So, given that he also had something he wanted, Vijay had already made a decision to sell in his heart.

If it was before, he would have definitely rejected the proposal since the reason why so many Delhi-class battleships weren't sold to a single country was in order to avoid the battleships being used against the Bharatiya Empire. But now, with the advent of the Kathmandu-class merchant ship—a 4,500 tons behemoth cruising at speeds of over 19 knots—a battleship of similar calibre is not too far away.

Not to mention, the Spanish and the Portuguese really have no benefit in attacking the Bharatiya Empire in the near future.

Thinking of all this, Vijay replied, "You aren't wrong, Duke Monty and Olivera, so let us do it like this. I will immediately put a word to the Ministry of Defense and have them allow the purchase of ten Delhi-class battleships from your countries."

"But I have some conditions. I don't know if they can be fulfilled."

Duke Olivera and Monty Guzman were overjoyed, not only because the ships were approved but also because the Bharatiya Emperor Vijay had something he wanted. If he didn't want anything, then it would mean the ships would cost several times their normal cost, which is definitely a loss-making business.

Vijay looked at Baron Olivera. "I have a company called Raya Petroleum. It's a company focused on oil extraction and refining."

"El Tigre is a town in the Viceroyalty of New Granada. I wonder if I can buy this town and 50 kilometres in all directions of its surroundings?"

Thinking about something, he quickly added, "Oh, and this property will be privately owned by my company and will have nothing to do with the empire."

Olivera felt his heart drop when Vijay first mentioned that he wanted a lot of land for business purpose because this is exactly how they colonized parts of the subcontinent in the past. He was worried that Vijay wanted to take revenge. But hearing that it would be his private company and would have nothing to do with the empire, he felt a little relieved. Still, he had to make a few things clear.

"Your Majesty, I do not have the right to decide this trade. His Majesty Alphonso IV de Braganza has to be the one who will decide this. But as far as I know, this trade could be concluded without any trouble, given that Your Majesty does not expand the land further. Especially Panama—it is out of the question."

Vijay immediately became a little disappointed, because he did actually think about expanding the influence to Panama so that the Panama Canal in the future would be in the Bharatiya Empire. But it looks like he would have to put away his thoughts for now.

"Alright, it is acceptable. I would need the land for its oil anyway. A few oil seeps have been discovered in the region, and I am very interested in them."

"I am willing to consider the area—which, in my estimation, is around 8,000 square kilometres—as a subsidiary state of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, and I am willing to pay 20% of whatever I make off the land. What do you think?"

"It is acceptable, Your Majesty, but there should be no Bharatiya military in the region."

"Hmm, it is alright if the Bharatiya military is not in the region, but I will definitely station my private security forces in the region. I have to protect my interests, after all," Vijay stared at Olivera with a glint in his eyes. "Portuguese wouldn't disagree with this, would it?"

Olivera felt like he was being stared at by a monster. He took a big gulp and shook his head. "As long as the force is not too excessive, I wouldn't think His Majesty would mind."

"Naturally."

Olivera let out a sigh of relief. In fact, he was not too worried that His Majesty Alphonso wouldn't agree to the purchase request made by the Bharatiya Emperor. On the contrary, he might even be very happy, as the involvement of the Bharatiya Empire, would startle the Dutch, British, and French, which would make them think twice before launching an attack.

"In that case, happy cooperation, Your Majesty. We will pay the deposit for 20 Battleships today, and the next time we meet, let us end the negotiation for the land. I will consult His Majesty Alphonso by then."

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"Good!!"

To Be Continued...