NOVEL WEB Chapter 871: New country?
Reaching Hamedan, Vijay was slightly taken aback that there weren't many soldiers stationed here, not enough to defend the border at least, but his expression soon returned to normal. If the three Ottoman generals in the Far East are really retreating, then there is no need to defend Hamedan and other eastern cities in the Kingdom of Persia, since the borders have suddenly expanded several hundred thousand kilometres.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!!"
Vijay turned around with a light smile, already knowing who it was. As expected, it was the Queen of Persia, Roxana Atashban. However, looking at her made his eyebrows raise. She looked haggard, her eyes were red as if she was stressed out, and more importantly, Vijay could practically feel the nervousness oozing out of her skin.
With a little thought, Vijay quickly understood why. It took him nearly 20 hours of continuous travel to reach Hamedan. At this time, although the news about the safety of his son would have reached her, the circumstances under which he escaped wouldn't be known. Heck, Vijay did not know either, but his instincts, which he trusted with his life, told him that everything was alright, so he was much calmer.
Still, he had to know everything that happened yesterday. The information he got to know during his travel was intermittent at best. He looked back with a serious gaze and asked, "What happened yesterday, Queen Roxana? Can you tell me?"
Connecting a few dots together, Vijay roughly knew what happened to Agni. If he is not mistaken, when Agni went on his mission of reinforcing the special forces in Qom, he was unlucky to encounter the retreating army of the three generals, making it extremely dangerous. Apart from this, he knew very little.
"Ah— Yes!!" Although she was relieved that Vijay did not look flustered or angry, she was still nervous. Taking a few breaths of cold air to calm her mind, she began to relay what had happened, including the distress signals received yesterday, the actions of Lachit Borphukan, the involvement of the Western Command of the Bharatiya Empire, the preparation of the Alliance Army in Lalishsthan to completely eliminate the retreating Ottomans, and finally the known situation of Agni.
Vijay listened to the details calmly. Now that he knew that his son was safe, he could think rationally.
'This is really a blessing in disguise.' With Agni acting as a fuse, he was able to mobilise the full strength of the Alliance Army, making it difficult for the Ottomans to retreat without losing an arm and a foot. With the Ottoman Empire further weakened in the Middle East, the Alliance Army could further take this opportunity to completely wipe out the Ottoman influence in the Middle East and maybe push the borders once again to Azerbaijan once and for all, ending the battle for the Safavid land.
The only thing that was troubling him was the involvement of the Western Command. Originally, he neither wanted to expand the borders of the Bharatiya Empire nor did he have the intention to prop up another country, but now it looks like he was left with no other choice.
If it were only the Alliance Army that was mobilised and sent to the rescue operation, then the problem would not arise, since it could be considered that the Alliance Army is fighting for their own land. But now that the Western Command of the Bharatiya Empire had become involved, things are completely different.
Even though the Western Command had moved in order to rescue his son, their getting no benefits cannot be justified because, technically speaking, the Western Command was mobilised and nine regiments were moved in order to rescue a sergeant in the Alliance Army. And when they moved, they cleared out all the obstacles that should have been cleared out by the Alliance Army itself, meaning they did the job that the Alliance Army should have done.
Granted, both parties' hands were forced, but at the end of the day, the army of the Bharatiya Empire had still moved—and had been used for something it should not have been used for. He couldn't be angry with Ramayya Senapati either, as he might have given the same order himself, in a moment of palpitations and irritation in his heart.
With everything being said, Vijay had to either prop up a new country on the western side of the Bharatiya Empire or extend its borders some more in order to justify the involvement of the Western Command.
Roxana Atashban stayed silently beside Vijay, not willing to disturb his contemplation. Several minutes passed, and Vijay spoke out— but what he said caught her off guard.
"I will have to apologise beforehand, Queen Roxana..."
"Huh—Wha...?"
She had a bad feeling about this.
"The Kingdom of Persia cannot fully occupy the territory vacated by the Ottomans."
"Since the Western Command has acted, the Bharatiya Empire deserves to get a piece of the benefits."
"But Your Maj..."
"This decision cannot be changed, Queen. The army of the Bharatiya Empire is not my private tool. It is a force of deterrence and violence, there to protect and fight for the interests of the people I rule. I may have the complete right to manage the army as I see fit, but I cannot have them work without getting paid."
In the end, looking at her distraught expression, he shook his head and let out a turbulent breath.
"In the end, Queen, we are all unlucky. I am unlucky to have sent my eldest son to the mouth of a lion. You are unlucky that this happened just when you were about to completely take over the regions left by the Ottomans."
Roxana Atashban already knew something similar might happen the moment the Western Command of the Bharatiya Empire acted. But still, when her suspicions came true, she couldn't help but be extremely saddened and annoyed. Why did the emperor have to send his son now, of all times? Why did the mission have to be in Qom, straight in the path of the retreating army? Why did the Western Command act so suddenly? So many questions, all asked out of unwillingness and helplessness. But in the end, since everything had come to pass, she knew there was no merit in sulking about it.
Regulating her breath for a few seconds, Roxana Atashban spoke out, "There is a saying in the Bharatiya Empire, 'Everything happens for a reason.' Maybe this is true after all, Your Majesty. I cannot lie and say to you that I am not disappointed, but I cannot say that I am hung up over it either."
"Looking on the bright side, the Bharatiya Empire has greatly benefited from this action, as they will gain more territory. The Kingdom of Persia, of which I am the monarch, has benefited the most, since it will gain the most territory. And as for the Kingdom of Lalishstan, they have benefited greatly as well. With the Ottomans caught off guard and weakened to such an extent, the Alliance Army should have no problem completely kicking out the Ottomans from our part of the world without much trouble, and the Yazidis should expand their kingdom's land by two to three times."
"I have no right to complain, Your Majesty, as it would only be a matter of more benefits and fewer benefits."
'She is not lying,' Vijay confirmed in her eyes. A look of admiration appeared on his face. "I guess you are right!"
---
In such a way, time passed slowly. Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Vijay finally saw an army approaching from the horizon, all bloodied and battered, but no one had frowns on their faces. Instead, they were filled with smiles and jovial expressions.
The arrival of the army soon spread across Hamedan, causing the civilians to gather near the barracks to welcome the heroes who had defeated the Ottomans.
As the army got closer, Vijay finally saw the figure of his son riding a horse, exhaustion on his face, his body stained with blood and his clothes cut in many places. He looked like he had just escaped from a life-and-death pursuit, which he had. Vijay was just happy and relieved that Agni still had his limbs intact, and from the looks of it, there was nothing wrong with them.
He finally turned his attention to the others, who were similarly stained with blood, wearing tired expressions and bearing knife wounds. 'These were the people who went out on the mission?' He was a little taken aback. At first, he thought that his son, sensing the danger of the retreating army, had escaped beforehand, but it looked like he had been mistaken.
Agni, looking at his father, finally smiled without holding back. He jumped down from the horse and lurched over like a drunk man.
Vijay went in for the hug, and he was startled when his son just collapsed onto him, unconscious. He frowned, but looking at the even breath, he smiled, "You did good!"
Maybe Agni heard the compliment—an imperceptible smirk appeared at the corner of his lips.
Vijay was eager to learn what had happened, but he knew that he could not interrogate the survivors immediately.
"Your Highness Roxana, if it isn't too much trouble, could you please arrange someone to take care of my son? He needs some rest."
"Ah, most definitely, Your Majesty!!"
Several hours later, Vijay finally got to know how Agni, along with the soldiers who had gone on the mission, escaped. 'Reckless' was putting it lightly for Agni's strategy, but in the end, although there were several hiccups along the way during their retreat through the wilderness, and only around 1,250 soldiers made it out alive, it all worked out.
"By the way, Father, I was successful in killing Salim Al Abdullah Rahman Pasha."
"Oh, alri... What!!"