Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

29th May 1657

Tsarist Russian Empire, Kremlin, Moscow, Terem Palace

The royal palace of the Russian monarchy is tall and majestic, and it was built in the traditional Moscovite architectural style. Looking brilliant with its multi-layered structures, onion domes, orthodox roofs, colourful ornamentations, arched windows, wooden embellishments, and authentic Slavic patterns, this royal palace emphasizes the heart and soul of Russian architecture.

There is an unusual amount of foot traffic in the Terem Palace. Nobles of all classes have visited the Russian political centre. The luxurious carriages fill up the usually empty driveway; guards frequently patrol the streets, and the security is tight. The nobles walk through the snowflakes, their faces stern and unsmiling.

Inside the Royal Palace, even the creaking of the doors could be heard; that was how silent the environment was. One would think that in such a situation the palace is empty, but this is exactly the opposite. All the nobles, who are usually rowdy, are silently sitting in their respective seats without much fuss while a majestic middle-aged man, aged around 48 years old, sits on his throne.

The man had snow-white skin and ocean-blue eyes dazzling with brilliance; he had silver hair, and his body, although old, looked burly.

The man was none other than Alexis I, the Tsar of the Tsarist Russian Empire. Next to him, there was a young man, around the age of 23 to 24. His facial features were somewhat similar to those of Alexis I. It was the Crown Prince of the Russian Empire, Dmitri Alexeyevich.

On the other side of the throne, a familiar figure was seated with a serious expression on his face; it was Peter, the second prince of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

As soon as Peter came back from the Akhand Bhartiya Empire, the first thing he did was reveal the memorandum of intent to his father, Alexis I.

Peter saw with his own eyes how his father, who is normally reserved and extremely steady, uncharacteristically lost his senses for an instant. "Is this really true?" he asked. Peter, who saw the scene, could understand why his father acted this way. Hell, he wasn’t entirely composed when His Majesty Vijay proposed the idea to him.

At least his father was better; he calmed down after noticing his gaffe within a few seconds.

"It is, Father. His Majesty Vijay personally proposed the deal."

Alexis fell into deep thought. Looking at Peter, he asked, "You have visited their empire, haven’t you? What do you think? Can this deal be done? And most of all, are their weapons really reliable?"

Peter nodded his head without hesitation as he answered, "I believe cooperating with the Bharatiya Empire is beneficial to our empire, Father.

As for the reliability of weapons, I cannot be too sure when it comes to mass-produced products, but from what I have seen at the expo, the equipment should be considered very reliable." There was a hint of expectation in his eyes, which he managed to suppress quickly, but who was Alexis?

He is the emperor of one of the strongest nations in the world and keenly caught on to the changes in his son’s eyes.

Alexis was taken aback by the expression of his son, who is usually the most suspicious of everything. What kind of sorcery did he witness? Alexis stared into the eyes of his son with a stern expression. "Did that empire really impress you that much?" He asked

Surprisingly enough, Peter did not avert his gaze. "It’s not that I’m impressed, Father. You could say that I am wary of the Bharatiya Empire."

"Oh! How so?"

"I wouldn’t be worried if this empire were like our neighbour to the east, with immense potential but no means or people to utilize it. But what concerns me is the Bharatiya Empire, which is not only harder to unify but also has even greater potential.

Against all odds, unification has happened, and from my brief visit, I’ve seen that the vast goldmine of potential is already being tapped." A hint of jealousy flickered in Peter’s eyes as he continued.

"A land area of four and a half million square kilometres, with more than half of that area being habitable and nearly one and a half million square kilometres of it being fertile land. Also, unlike our sparsely populated area, Bharat has a population of one hundred and ninety million, giving the nation the ability to utilize that vast amount of land.

As if that were not enough, its geography is a gift from the Holy Spirit himself: its north is protected by the Himalayas; its south is protected by the ocean, its east is protected by dense and nearly impenetrable forests, and its west is protected by sky-high mountain ranges.

This sort of geography is one of a kind, and there is only one place in the world like it, and that is the subcontinent — a fortress nation."

"Such a place, which had been broken up for most of its existence, has now been unified again. Its potential, I find hard to evaluate. What scares me is that the person who unified the nation, its emperor, Emperor Vijay, is a very smart man. Every move he has made since taking over the throne has been a big step toward what the nation is today.

Even some of the actions he took while I was there—I could not imagine what his intent was. But, Father, what I am sure of is that even after his reign or if something happens to him, the empire will still exist, whether with him at the helm or without him. He seems to put the existence of his empire above everything else." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Alexis’s eyebrows were raised. "What do you mean?"

"Vijay created a system where, if one is talented enough, anyone can become a noble or even a king. If a king’s reputation is high enough among the citizens, they could even become an emperor. Vijay opened the way for a normal man to become an emperor without having to destroy an empire.

Although such a thing happening is highly improbable, this alone is enough to show how much importance Vijay attaches to the existence of his empire."

"And, Father, most importantly, their empire does not actually have hierarchical nobles. Their noble titles are only given to people in power and cannot be passed on to their descendants. It is very similar to the merchant nobles in our own empire."

Alexis, who had calmed down a few minutes ago, couldn’t calm down again. His eyes widened in disbelief. He could not believe that such a man existed who would give up the glory of his ancestors for the sake and survival of his empire. Considering everything he had previously known about this eastern empire, Alexis began to be wary in his heart.

After all, who can destroy an empire or go against it that gave everyone hope? Looking at his son, he asked,

"What do you think our relationship with this empire should be like, dear son?"

Peter thought for a while and answered, "That is not for me to decide, Your Majesty, but my opinion is that even if we don’t want to be allied with this empire, we should never be its enemies."

Then, thinking about it for a while, he said, "Also, Father, both our empires are very unlikely to be enemies. We are too far away, and our empires are separated by the whole of the Asian continent. Unless either we or the Bharatiya Empire expand through Central Asia, it is very unlikely that we will have problems with each other."

Alexis knew this too, so he nodded his head and began to consider the treaty proposal.

"By the way, what do you think the Venetians will choose? If they can really block the Ottoman navy for us, it would ease our finances greatly."

Peter thought about it for a while and replied, "I have no idea what the new Doge will choose. If it were the previous Doge, I would have been sure that he would not accept the proposal and would rather maintain his nation’s stability. But this new Doge, Giovanni, is very unpredictable.

Given how many naval ships he decisively acquired from the subcontinent and the deeper control he now has over the Naval Erizzo family and the Militant Barbarigo family, my hunch is that the Venetians are very likely to accept the treaty conditions."

Alexis fell into deep thought, then he called someone over.

A man suddenly entered from the shadows without making any sound. Seeing this man, Peter was not surprised, as if he was used to it.

"Michael, send someone to investigate. I need to know what is happening in Venice."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Michael said as he disappeared once again.

---

Back to the present day:

"Borisovich read out the letter from Venice," Alexis said.

A silver-haired old man bowed deeply to the crowd as he stood in front of everyone and started to speak.

"We have recently received the intelligence report from Venice.

The discussions about the treaty with the Bharatiya Empire and our empire have been going on for a month, and from what we’ve learned, the trade-focused Gradenigo family, the army-focused Barbarigo family, the naval affairs-focused Erizzo family, and mainly the current Doge’s Morosini family, are all in favour of accepting the proposal from the Bharatiya Empire.

There are some families that oppose the treaty as well, such as the diplomatic Contarini family and the legal affairs-focused Molin family, which is surprisingly against the treaty."

"It is to be noted that, through our channels, we know that even within the opposing families, the younger generation is quite optimistic about the deal. It is only the patriarchs and the older elders of the families who are against it."

"We also found out that the Doge is secretly building up his forces, which indicates that he wants to have the final say in the Venetian Republic. So, in the final analysis, gentlemen, the deal proposed by the Bharatiya Empire is very likely to come to fruition."

People started discussing among themselves. They had deliberated about the treaty for the last month, and their only worry was whether the Venetians would accept it or not. For them, accepting it was not a difficult choice; if someone offered cheaper weapons in greater quantities, who would refuse?

Well, the House of Morozov and the House of Volkov were the only two parties that refused the treaty. The reason was easy to guess. The Markov family is a naval and shipbuilding family, and importing ships from the Bharatiya Empire would be a loss for their family, as the military would no longer purchase their ships.

The Volkov family is an arms manufacturer focused on weapons production, and it was a similar situation to the Markov family; their family interests would be damaged due to the import of firearms.

However, the current situation is not the Russia of the future, where industry means everything. Russia today is still very close to the feudal era, and the real nobles in Russia are still the land aristocrats who have serfs in their homes.

Hence, with the support of the opposing Korsukov family, Zaristry family, and Yaropoulos family, the two military manufacturing families were completely suppressed.

At the end of the day, after a final discussion, Alexis finalized the treaty for the tripartite alliance and sent a copy to the Doge of Venice.

Looking at the signed treaty, Giovanni Morosini finally let go of his anxiety. He had used all his cards to control most of the noble families in the nation, and if his plan did not succeed, his family would be immediately obliterated. However, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to expand the nation. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Giovanni already understood that his nation did not have enough population and land; it was only a temporary alliance between states, no matter how rich they were. There could always be a separation with some push from interested parties. The proposal made by the Bharatiya Empire gave him a way to naturally strengthen his nation’s power.

Additionally, this expansion would not come with the disadvantages that normally accompany expansions. The citizens would speak the same language, share the same culture, and belong to the same civilization.

He even laughed at himself for not thinking of such a solution sooner when he saw the treaty. Fortunately, he woke up quickly enough. "With the weakness of the Holy Roman Empire, the French is the only power I will have to seriously deal with," he thought to himself in worry, though his eyes were soon filled with determination. "No one can stop me," he resolved.

"Lorenzo, start the preparations we discussed for the Florence and the Papal States. At the same time, spread propaganda in the southern Italian peninsula. Rekindle the fire of resistance within the hearts of the Italians and make the Spanish retreat."

Lorenzo Barbarigo, the commander of the Venetian military, had a serious expression on his face as he saluted and left.

While Lorenzo was about to leave the room, Giovanni heard a voice that reverberated throughout the room.

"I pray to the Lord that your decision is correct, Giovanni."

Giovanni was stunned by the voice, but it made his resolve firmer. "It definitely will," he said.

---

Unusual changes took place after the treaties were signed. The Russians started their long mobilizing process, while the Venetians were much more silent. They began to infiltrate the city-states of Florence and the Papal States. Nobles were being silently bought, and the vast connections of the Gradenigo family were put into play.

Weird pamphlets were being spread throughout the southern part of the Italian peninsula. The Italian people who were under Spanish rule began to feel uncomfortable and sensed that they were not being treated properly.

Overall, the direction of Italy began to move towards an unknown era.

P.S. Got Sick, FUK