Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Chapter 148  Europe 1654 Part: 2

THE SWEDISH EMPIRE

The Swedish nation is not the pacifist nation it will be in future generations when it comes to world powers. It remains an influential empire in the European continent and is one of the strongest powers in the current era. Queen Christina was the queen of the Swedish Empire from 1632 to 1654, the current year. The queen pursued cultural and scientific endeavours but ignored financial difficulties in the empire, leading to growing discontent among her subjects with her policies. This discontent ultimately led to her abdication a few weeks ago because she chose not to have any heirs. In her place, her nephew Charles X Gustav took over as the king of the Swedish Empire.

Gustav, like his Viking ancestors, was an out-and-out warmonger. You could see the Viking's shadow in the way he swiftly planned for territory expansion and conquests in Poland and Denmark soon after his Coronation. When he received news about India, he did not even read the further details, as he put it aside, considering India had nothing to do with him. The reason he paid attention was that he did not want his enemies to support Portugal and get assistance from the Portuguese after their victory. As for whether the Portuguese could win, well, everyone could see that the empire where the sun never sets is going downhill faster than people could imagine.

TSARDOM OF RUSSIA

Moscow, The Kremlin, Tsar Alexis I is going through the new reports brought from Western Europe. Most of his attention was held by the results of the Anglo-Dutch war. However, seeing a new South Asian power signing a treaty with a European country interested him a little bit. "Oh, interesting," he muttered after quickly shifting his attention to the news from Siberia and Ukraine.

PRUSSIA

This future province that unified Germany and became the economic engine of the whole of Europe is still a small province in the Holy Roman Empire. After the 30 Years' War, it lost half of its population and suffered widespread devastation. Frederick William, the Great Elector of Prussia, is the king of the small province. He is working towards the centralization of authority, creating a strong bureaucracy, and reforming the military. He introduced the standing army system, which would become one of the most effective and efficient war machines in European history. But all of this is for the future, as he is still dealing with the complex European political landscape, attempting to form alliances with France and Sweden while distancing himself from the Ottomans and the Habsburgs. As for the matter of India, he did not even have the channel to get the details.

SPANISH EMPIRE

Madrid, The Royal Palace of Madrid.

*Crash*

*Bang*

Philip IV is having an outburst after his spies send information about India's involvement in the war. He is very angry, questioning why the country his forefathers conquered wants to meddle in his affairs. "God dammit," he cursed aloud with his disfigured face.

*Knock*

But with a knock on the door, he regains his composure as he orders the person to come in. It is his current minister, Tony Strubell, who enters his office. As soon as he comes in, he informs, "Your Majesty, the French have withdrawn from Catalonia, And have sent an ambassador to discuss peace with us," Tony says, with some relief.

Hearing the news, Philip is also relieved because the empire is facing internal struggles at two different places, both major concerns for the empire's finances and resources, which have already been depleted after the 30-year war.

"What are their conditions?"

"Your Majesty, they need some self-governing institutions and reduced taxation with their own diplomatic team."

"Damn Gaspar, he has a loud tone," he says, gritting his teeth. Gaspar de Bracamonte y Guzman was a minister loyal to him before the revolt. He even participated in the Peace Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the 30-year war. At the beginning of the revolt, Gaspar fought for Philip and acted as a middleman between the Spanish royal family and the Catalonian nobles, but suddenly he became a traitor and joined the Catalonia camp after the negotiation failed.

Philip really does not want to accept this defeat, but considering the situation the empire is in now, he grits his teeth and accepts. "Keep negotiating. Let's see if we can deal with the Portuguese first."

"To deal with the Portuguese, see if we can cut off their trade route with India. That should choke them for a few months. If India's supply and resources are cut off, only the French help could be depended on. And the French help is not so cheap," Philip IV orders in a confident tone.

But if he knew what was happening on the frontline, his confidence would be wiped out straight from his face.

Lisbon, Portuguese Military Camp:

A large knight clad in armour meticulously examined the newly acquired swords from the Vijayanagara Empire. This imposing figure, standing at an impressive height of at least 6 feet 8 inches, was none other than the knight who had accompanied Alphonso. Commander Barren Olivera, leading the charge against Spain, sported the same silver armour as before. The gleaming sword in his hand caught his attention, and although he was initially skeptical, holding it in his grasp filled him with satisfaction. Given its affordable price, he considered it an excellent bargain. Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps disrupted the moment.

"Lord Commander, the guns have completed their testing. We can deploy them now."

"Excellent. Have the boy's arm up. Let's go kill us some Spaniards."

A chuckle escaped his lips as he carefully sheathed the new sword in its holster. Brimming with excitement, he exited the tent, prepared for the impending battle.

Following the pivotal day, the course of the battle underwent a remarkable shift. The Portuguese army now boasted an abundance of firearms and defensive gear, including leather armour. Each soldier was armed with a quality sword. The dynamics of the battle underwent a profound change on the subsequent day, with the Portuguese, already enjoying an advantage, becoming even more formidable. Rows of soldiers stood in disciplined, almost robotic formations, discharging their weapons. This tactical approach, wherein thousands of soldiers formed an impenetrable defensive wall, proved highly effective in Lisbon. The successful strategy was promptly replicated in Porto and other border areas, resulting in a surge in casualties among the Spaniards.

Philip IV felt the difference immediately as his troubles increased. The Catalonia revolt, which had mostly subsided, was brought to the negotiation table with difficulty. But all the previous efforts went in vain as suddenly, taking advantage of Spain's weakness, Catalonian nobles changed their attitude and once again pressed for the idea of an independent Catalonian nation.

"God Fuking damn it."

"Once I cut off the supply lines, I will see how Portugal will act then," he thought, as he soon ordered the navy to blockade the Portuguese ships.

Unfortunately, perhaps Philip was born with a crow's mouth, as what he said was unlikely to happen. Not because they could not hinder the supply lines of Portugal, but because something interesting was happening in Portugal.

In the Beja district of Alentejo, in the town of Aljustrel, a small mining town inland of Portugal. Alexio Fernandes and Andre Sousa set up their new workshops. When they first returned from India, they intended to open their workshops in some of the port towns with better economic conditions and transportation. Unfortunately, none of the local nobles were willing to support them. Even their fellow merchants and the relatives of the nobility denied their request to experiment with this new manufacturing model.

But Alexio was unwilling to let go, as he saw what this production model could achieve. So, along with Andre Sousa and other merchants who shared similar ideas, they decided to settle in Aljustrel for its iron resources and low capital availability. Since they decided on the location of Aljustrel, they had been constructing the workshops non-stop. Fortunately, the construction finished soon with the collective efforts of all the workers and merchants. Today marks the first day to trial produce a musket. The musket they are producing is Portuguese, and for the technology, they acquired it through the channels of their family.

Just as they observed in Vijayanagar, they divided the process into multiple small stages and distributed it among the new workshops that were built. Andre built himself a small barrel workshop, while Alexio constructed the chamber of the gun and the gun handle. The rest of the parts were left to the merchants who followed them. Again, with connections from their family, they secured an order from the military to produce a thousand muskets. The reason for the military's interest, even after the procurement from Vijayanagara, was that the higher-ups felt that Spain could easily cut off their trade routes while they were busy defending their borders.

Because of this, Andre and Alexio successfully received the orders. With the first bell of the day, the experienced workers they employed started their tasks, and the small mining town burst into action. The ore from the mines was smelted into usable iron blocks, distributed to various workshops to make their own small parts, and assembled in the central workshop to create a completed gun. Both Alexio and Andre were excited to see that the model they had learned from India was working wonderfully. Although they paid a lot more for the gun in terms of labour, the speed at which it could be made covered the costs.

Even more surprising was that, with iron ore readily available in such close proximity, the production speed began to improve as the workers got used to the rhythm of this new model. The military leaders of Portugal were very surprised when the order they had placed just a few days ago was said to be completed. Skeptical, they inspected the guns that were sent over. Surprisingly, the quality was better than what Vijayanagar produced, although the cost was also higher than the Indian guns. But, since it was homemade, and the cost was lower than the traditional homemade ones, they readily increased the orders, as it was considered more secure to procure from the homeland itself. When this good news reached Alphonso, he was intrigued and wanted to see these new kinds of workshops for himself. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Thus, the inspection that changed the European landscape would take place. But, That is all for the future, as Vijay is planning his next construction project in Vijayanagara.