Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

15th June 1673

Kremlin, Moscow, Tsarist Russian Empire

June is the peak blooming season in Moscow, flowers like the peonies, lacquers, roses, lilies, iris, and delphiniums could be seen showing off their beauty in full bloom, making the city of Moscow look extremely lively and filled with vitality, covering up the less than ideal hygienic condition of the streets, and this beauty was only amplified with the continuous victory of the Russian Empire against the Ottomans. The gardens of the Terem Palace, which were filled to the brim with such flowers, made it look more regal and majestic.

Within the palace, the musky aroma of ambergris could be sensed, creating a pleasant atmosphere. In its majestic courtroom, a group of luxuriously dressed nobles gathered together as they sat in front of a regal-looking middle-aged man who radiated an air of grandeur and nobility.

"Your Majesty, Mr Jaishankar has conveyed that they will be willing to transport the commodities directly to Tsaritsyn (Stalingrad) if you agree."

Timofey Pavlov, the new courtier who replaced Borisovich after the death of the old emperor, finally ended the long report he was making with the message of S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of the Bharatiya Empire.

Dimitri did not immediately respond; instead, he looked at the major nobles in the empire who were in the courtroom.

"What do you guys think?"

Nearly all the nobles had an enthusiastic expression on their faces; the proposal made by the Bharatiya Empire was very beneficial to them. When a few of the old men were about to stand up and relay their thoughts, Mikhail Zaretsky beat them to it as he immediately stood up with excitement, "This is a very good news, Your Majesty," his eyes shone brightly with a greedy light, "In fact, I wanted to bring up this matter before, but with the Bharatiya Empire taking the initiative, it looks like it is no longer necessary."

He paused and continued earnestly,

"Your Majesty, we can no longer deny the importance of the Bharatiya Empire's ordinance on the situation of the war, so it is imperative that we have a steady supply of arms, be it rifles or artillery."

His words caused all the nobles in the courtroom to nod their heads in agreement, but suddenly, he asked a question that was completely unrelated to the ordinance, as he turned towards a particular noble sitting in the front row, wearing a luxurious red coat.

"I heard that we are purchasing the used arms from the Bharatiya Empire at an extremely cheap price? They are even willing to exchange it for grain or minerals. I wonder if it is true?"

Boris Alexandrov, who was responsible for purchasing the arms, looked back at Mikhail with a confused expression. he did not know why this question was suddenly brought up, but he still replied. "It is true, Your Excellency, we have bought used artillery and weaponry from the Bharatiya Empire recently, over 50,000 guns and 256 artillery pieces to be exact. Although the quality of the weapons we are receiving is not top-notch, the advantage is we can purchase three or even four of the guns or two cannons for the price of one Bharatiya weapon, which are already on the cheaper side, not to mention we are only paying with iron, which we have plenty of."

"Thank you for the input, Sir Alexandrov." Mikhail bowed respectfully to the court and spread out his hands in a helpless gesture. "You see, my dear nobles and Your Majesty, this is where the problem lies. Before, we couldn't equip arms to each and every combatant, but now, not to mention the citizens who will be fighting in the war, we can even equip the serfs and slaves with at least some firepower to make use of their pitiful lives. And it is these weapons of such importance that will be, more than half of it, travelling through the territory of Grand Duke Peter alone, placing the logistics of the Empire's military indirectly in the hands of His Excellency Peter."

The nobles all showed a thoughtful look on their faces, but in their hearts, they couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Mikhail suddenly looked at Dmitry and knelt down, catching a few people off guard and raising a few eyebrows, "I apologise if my words came out as offensive, Your Majesty, I never intended to doubt His Highness Peter, but I wholeheartedly believe that no single person should have so much power in their hands." He declared in a loud voice with a 'willing to die for honour' look on his face, but suddenly he felt something was wrong. He saw from the corner of his eye his fellow nobles looking at him weirdly. Mikhail immediately realised, 'Damn, doesn't {no single person can have it} mean His Majesty the Emperor also can't have it?' Cold sweat broke out on his back, he quickly added in a hurry, "Power that should only belong to you, the Supreme Sovereign, Your Majesty, and ultimately I feel like the Bharatiya Empires proposal to directly transport supplies to Tsaritsyn, which can solve the problem I mentioned, is an excellent solution."

Mikhail sat down in his seat since His Majesty looked like he had fallen into deep thought and showed no form of hostility or anger, but his heart was beating like a drum; he was nervous and expectant. Everything he said to His Majesty was the truth, but it was not the whole truth. Currently, all the supplies coming in from Siberia go directly into the hands of the military through the confidants of Grand Duke Peter. Nobles like him cannot obtain any profit from the trade. Ever since the nobles in Russia realised that they could never keep up with the demand of war, they no longer opposed importing large swaths of weapons from the Bharatiya Empire, but they are all looking to get a piece of the pie from the millions of rubles the royal family is spending for the procurement of arms. Now, if His Majesty will really accept his proposal to agree to the Bharatiyas, although it will be the Romanov family that will gain the most benefit, noble families like his could obtain a lot of wealth as well.

In fact, it was not only Mikhail who thought this way; other nobles in the courtroom were secretly hoping that Dmitri would accept the proposal as well, as they had no other choice. The large nobles, when they realised how strategically important the eastern coast of the empire had become, tried to exert their influence over Vladivostok, the largest city built by Peter on the eastern coast, but their hands were immediately cut off by the Grand Duke, and even their spies were not spared, as they lost contact with them almost immediately, not to mention sending spies to such a faraway distance was very expensive and time-consuming.

Dimitri had no clue as to what the nobles before him were thinking, but an unperceptible glint radiated in his eyes, which he covered up quickly. When he suggested to his father that Peter be given Siberia as his territory and his father agreed, he thought that he would get rid of his very capable brother once and for all, but as if he was a chewing gum on his soles, instead of completely disappearing like he had imagined, he found a route to the eastern coast of the empire and built a city which made his power and wealth increase day by day.

What's more, while he was fighting the war, his brother was happily developing his territory by expanding the factories and increasing his own profits. He was long unhappy with Peter, but he did not show it, since even though it had become the underlying truth that he was in dispute with his brother, he still had to act as if he had a cordial relationship with his little brother.

Coming back to his senses, he cleared his throat, "It's a very good observation, Mikhail, and I do agree. Even though Peter is my brother and a family, it is true that the fate of the Russian Empire could not be tied to him alone. What you have said opened my eyes, then we should indeed agree to the Bharatiya Empire's proposal," Dmitri spoke out, trying to cover his excitement. But unknown to him, the nobles were doing the same. It had become the situation of the patient wanting to eat yoghurt rice and the doctor prescribing yoghurt rice.

"However, it looks like the Bharathiyas are proposing that we invest in the um... Bharat-Russia economic corridor development plan, what does everyone think of this?"

Hearing the question of His Majesty, the nobles fell into deep thought.

Ivan Petrovich, who was sitting silent until now, stood up and lowered his head respectfully.

"Your Majesty, the economic corridor plan proposed by the Bharatiya Empire is a very ingenious plan. It has the potential to become one of the major trade routes for Your Majesty's empire, and by investing, the long-term returns can be imagined to be very bountiful."

"However, Your Majesty, now we are in the midst of the biggest war we have ever fought, so all the finances should be used on the tip of the knife and not be wasted on investments that do not have immediate benefits."

"So, Your Majesty, I suggest you allow individuals to invest in their personal capacity and to form a council of investors so that we, as nobles from Russia, will have a say in the matter of the trade route in the future."

Dmitri smiled, "It's a very good suggestion."