Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The Port of Hambantota was a deep-sea port with a natural harbor. It was a port in the Kandy kingdom. It's ownership was in the hands of the Kingdom but it was leased to the Dutch under a low price for an undefined period of time. This happened as a result of the Dutch debt trap in the Kandy Kingdom.

The island of Lanka, despite it's relatively small size, had many kingdoms. It was home to three major kingdoms that were always at the throat of each other. The unification of the island was rare. Each kingdom had the goal of unified Lanka. They waged war against each other to control the lands.

Kandy Kingdom was one of the kingdoms that held the dreams of a unified Lanka. Under the reign of Jayavira Bandara, the monarch of the Kandy kingdom. They tried their best to unite the island.

The Dutch noticed a chance in this messy political situation to prosper. They lent money to the Kandy kingdom to buy their own weapons at an exorbitant price. They secretly also supported the other kingdoms like Kotte and Jaffna to prolong the war.

Finally, the war ended with the Kandy kingdom seizing control of the whole island under their banner. Jayavira's ambitions incurred a lot of debt for the kingdom. They didn't have resources or the money to pay off the debt even after increased taxation of the populace. There were shortages of foods everywhere under Jayavira's reign.

The Dutch agreed to clear a big portion of the debt under the condition of being the sole controller of Hambantota. It gave them their own jurisdiction in the region and the port city. The Dutch set up a base in the region and also began to exploit the local populaces for their greedy needs.

They destroyed the local ayurvedic clinic and began to spread their own medicine to treat people. The wages of the labourers were lowered and they were also forced to work more time.

The pale scene of the water splashing on to the docks with the salty breeze of the ocean. The once vibrant city seemed out of color. The faces of the local people reflected their troubles. The men were thin and lanky, working hard to feed their children.

"This is quite grim, eh." A tall man commented while managing his food stall. He was wearing worn-down clothes and had long mustaches.

"It truly is, Leader." Another man with him remarked.

It was Mahasura that was managing the food stall. He was under the mission to gather some information before sowing some seeds of discord between the Dutch and the people. By the looks of it, it would be easy to do that. The Dutch were abusing the local people; it would be easy to rile the citizens up to stand up for themselves.

"The nobles are also scum." He remarked.

Just then a customer came by. It was an old man with a hunched back.

"Give me some grains." He asked with a small pouch of coins. "I have a disabled son to feed."

"I see, old man. Do you need some help?" Mahasura asked with a smile.

"No, this old man can manage."

Mahasura put the grains in a small sack and handed it to the old man. The old man, in exchange, gave him the pouch of coins.

"Keep the change,"

The old man began to leave. "Be safe at night, young man." He waved at him.

Mahasura grabbed the pouch with a smile and waved back.

"We got a new mission."

The pouch contained coins and an encrypted note for Mahasura. The old man was a Yamadut in disguise. The last sentence was the code for him. He scratched his face mask and unfurled the note.

His face turned serious for a moment. "This is…"

"What is it, Leader?"

"The new mission is rather peculiar." Mahasura mouthed. He smiled at the coming customers. He maintained the facade of the stall owner.

He handed the note to his assistant and mouthed. "Inform all the others."

'Hmm. What is the mission?'

The assistant looked at the note.

'Spread…Rumors to the...'

'Dutch?'

"This is going to be fun." He remarked as he weaved through the alleyway of the city to inform the others in disguise. The unit of Mahasura was in disguise in all parts of the city. They developed a network of spies in a matter of a few weeks. They were efficient in gathering information.

They disguised themselves as beggars, street vendors, stall owners, mercenaries, and laborers. Their presence went unnoticed, even to the watchful eye of the Dutch soldiers that managed the port city.

The Yamaduts had more access to funding after Harsha took the reins. He granted them a lucrative amount of money to expand their force. Despite their stringent tests, they managed to take in about 50 new members, which was unprecedented for the group. After everyone was informed about the new urgent mission from the Emperor.

The main members of the unit gathered in the inn under their control to discuss their course of action.

"Leaking it directly to the Dutch will raise their suspicions, Leader," said one of the members.

"True, it will be too suspicious considering the timing. It can be traced back to us as well." another chipped in.

"Hmmm, how long will it take to spread the rumors around the city?" asked Mahasura.

"Barely a week."

"Since we already have a network, it will be easy to circulate it among the citizens."

Mahasura's assistant interrupted them. "I think this is a better way." He put down a list of nobles that were heavily reliant on the Dutch and didn't hesitate to lick their boots for influence.

"These nobles are too busy pleasing the Dutch."

"Hmm..So you are saying we spread it through these scum?" asked Mahasura.

"Yes, they are very indulgent ones. They wouldn't even think of confirming the rumors," said his assistant with a confident smile. "I have done a background check on these nobles."

"That works. This mission seems urgent by the looks of it. Make it quick." Mahasura ordered.

"Understood, Leader." Everyone said it in unison and dispersed.

In the coming week, different rumors were spreading among the citizens about the Portuguese defeat in Daman. The Yamaduts spread the rumors through many sources at once; there was no way to pinpoint the source of the rumors.

The rumors reached the ears of one of the Dutch bootlicking nobles in the city. He went by the name of Kumara Galagoda. He was a minor noble that stayed in power by pleasing the Dutch and helping them with labourers.

"Portuguese lost in Daman," exclaimed Kumara with a wide grin. "The General will like this news."

"Yes, Lord. I heard there are some tensions between them." His assistant chipped in with a smile.

The fat Kumara, with his protruding belly, gleefully made his way to the Dutch headquarters in the port. Kumara wasn't particularly influential; he was treated like dirt by the Dutch. Still, the man had no self-respect and sucked up to maintain his little influence.

"What is the purpose of your visit?" asked a Dutch soldier as Kumara neared the gate.

"I want to meet the general. I have some intel."

The Dutch soldiers exchanged glances and chuckled in disgust. They muttered something about Kumara in Dutch. The man stood there with a straight face and clenched fist.

The soldier finally turned to him and cleared his throat.

"You cannot meet him. He is busy."

The guards knew the local language, as many nobles visit the Dutch frequently.

"This is important. It is about the Portuguese."
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The soldier's eyes widen suddenly. They quickly guided him to the general as soon as the Portuguese was mentioned.

Kumara and his assistant stood before the General Mark Hendriks. He had a translator by his side.

"What is this intel about the Portuguese?" asked Mark. "If it's a waste of time. Consider your position gone."

The threat made Kumara shudder. He gulped loudly and wiped the sweat off his brow.

He stuttered under the piercing gaze of the general. "Umm.. It is good information. I managed to find it."

The translator began to speak to the general.

"Speak," ordered the general.

Kumara took a deep breath. "The Portuguese lost their base in Daman."

"They are trying to take it back from the Marathas."

Mark's eyes lit up at the information. "Where did you hear about this?"

"Umm…" Kumara had no answer to that. "It was an Arab merchant." He blurted out.

"Hmmm…"

"Fine, it wasn't a complete waste of time." He sighed. "Reward this man; you may leave."

Kumara left with a proud smile.

General Mark turned to the translator and his subordinate.

"Confirm this information as quickly as possible."

"Will do." His assistant said. "We have received some information about multiple Portuguese cargo ships setting sail from Malacca."

"Hmm.." He had a wry grin plastered across his face. "It must be related to that."

"Send a message to Base in Batavia."

"If it's true, we can inflict some damage on those Zouteters (Salt-eaters - Mocking the heavily salted diet of the Portuguese)."