Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 824: War situation (XXL)

Kandahar, Akhand Bharatiya Empire

Young men with sturdy physiques and tall statures got out of a large carriage, carrying a couple of bulky bags on their backs. The bags looked very heavy, but the three men carried them as if they only weighed a few kilograms.

As soon as the men appeared at the carriage station, they immediately became the attraction of people all around them. The men were not too good-looking; there was nothing outstanding about them either. Their size and height were a little unusual, but it was not unusual enough to attract the attention of so many people. However, it was their temperament and demeanour that caught the eye of the surrounding people. They had an air of discipline and decisiveness that only soldiers from the army possess. Combined with the all-black bags they carried and their standard-issue military shoes of the Bharatiya Empire, it only heightened the sense of unusualness they brought to the carriage stop. A few smart people quickly figured out that these three people should be military officers from an allied nation.

Gulzar Ram Khan, who had been waiting at the carriage station for the last 15 minutes, immediately recognised the three men as the people he was tasked to pick up.

He immediately walked forward in a standard military posture, with his back straight, chin raised, with a rhythmic movement. "Logistics staff Gulzar Ram Khan reporting, Sir."

The three men had already noticed Gulzar coming toward them, so as soon as they saw him saluting, without missing a beat, they did a light salute as well.

"Thank you for picking us up, Officer Gulzar. Please lead the way."

"Sir!"

Gulzar resolutely nodded and escorted the three imported military officers to a small carriage. Getting into the carriage, Gulzar Ram Khan smiled cheerfully and greeted,

"On behalf of the people of Kandahar, I wholeheartedly welcome the three generals."

The three men, who were brigadier generals of the Bharatiya Empire, accepted the greeting with humility and thanked Gulzar Ram Khan.

---

"Narayan Kot Regiment Brigadier General Vivaan Karnik reporting for duty, sir!"

"Stomp!"

"Larkana Regiment Brigadier General Aditya Varmora reporting for duty, sir!"

"Stomp!"

"Balochi Regiment Brigadier General Neelansh Chaubey reporting for duty, sir!"

"Stomp!"

A dignified old man whose hair had started growing gray looked at the three newly assigned brigadier generals and nodded in satisfaction. "I have seen your resumes. They are very impressive. All three of you have participated in several campaigns within the empire, eradicating the remnants of the Mughal Empire, as well as in Southeast Asian frontiers, eradicating the volatile tribes."

He placed his hands on the table, looking up at the three men right in the eye. "But war in the Middle East is a completely different type of war, as this is the longest war that the Bharatiya Empire has ever fought, even longer than the one against the Mughal Empire."

"This is a war of attrition that has been going on for over eight years. The methods, ideologies, and strategies used on this battlefield are different from what you three are used to back in the mainland."

"So I regret to inform you that you cannot directly take command as Brigadier General according to your ranks, but will serve as a lieutenant colonel for a month as a buffer. After which, depending on how well you have adapted, you will be promoted from a lieutenant colonel in charge of 800 units to a lieutenant colonel who works under a veteran Brigadier General of the current battlefield and helps him command the units under him."

"If you perform well as a lieutenant colonel under a Brigadier General, then you can regain your previous posting in... Let's see." He quickly looked at the calendar and calculated in his mind. "Minimum of three months and maximum of six months."

Vivaan, Aditya, Neelansh—all three frowned imperceptibly, their spirit a little disappointed and unwilling, because who would agree to step down from the position of Brigadier General, which they had earned through hundreds of confrontations and several life-and-death encounters, to a lieutenant colonel position?

But looking at the old man's gaze, which looked as determined as rock, and his expression emotionless as a robot, they soon understood that they had no chance to bargain.

"Understood, Sir!!" Vivaan was the first to respond. Since there was no changing the decision and going back to the Bharatiya Empire was not an option, he decided to take the initiative and agree to the posting.

Aditya and Neelansh were a step slow, but they were also Brigadier Generals. After all, they were also college students. They too soon understood the crux of their situation, so although their reaction was a little delayed, they still made it clear that they obeyed the orders of the Major General, who is responsible for the defence of Kandahar Military Fortress.

"Very well then. Mr. Gulzar Ram Khan will arrange your accommodation and will also brief you on the local situation. Get acquainted with all the important people, and two days later, you can officially join the ranks in the military."

"Sir!"

"Sir!"

"Sir!"

Getting out of the Major General's office, the posture of Vivaan, Neelansh, and Aditya immediately relaxed.

"Normally, before assigning officers to the battlefield, a few months' training course is held in the Vajra Gharba Fortress. Why do you think the empire is suddenly allowing veterans like us to directly report at the frontline?" Vivaan asked in confusion. As soon as they heard the question, Aditya and Neelansh immediately became silent. In fact, they too had these doubts in their hearts because it was not only them who were assigned to the frontline, but many Brigadier Generals, Lieutenant Colonels, and other high-ranking officers.

Usually, all the soldiers assigned to the frontline against the Ottoman Empire had to go through practical training in the heart of Diamond Star Fortress, either in the one located in Barsa, the first ever Star Fortress, or in the newly constructed one in Kirkuk. But starting from a few months ago, everything changed when the rotation of troops to the frontlines suddenly increased. Experienced veterans were pulled back from the frontline to teach new recruits. Officers from the mainland who had no experience in the frontline against the Ottoman Empire were led to take charge of the frontline in order to gain quick combat effectiveness.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

"It's hard to predict what is happening, but there is a very high chance that the war is going to escalate to a new level in the near future," Aditya said with a sombre expression. "On paper, the number of soldiers does not seem to be increasing, but from the looks of it, the empire and the alliance are covertly preparing for an all-out war."

"On one side, they are using already battle-tested officers like us to gain combat effectiveness as soon as possible by getting us used to the local conditions and environment. On the other hand, the officers who have already fought on the frontline are being sent back to train new recruits as quickly as possible."

"I can't see why these decisions were taken by the higher-ups other than preparing for an all-out attack."

Vivaan and Neelansh were left thinking about the speculation of Aditya.

"If that is the case, isn't the empire worried that the enemy will discover our actions?" Neelansh muttered in a low voice.

Aditya nodded and came to a conclusion. "Maybe the empire does not have to hide it anymore."

The three generals immediately became silent. They no longer continued the topic, lest they get into trouble.

---

What the three generals didn't know was that their speculation was actually very true. At this very moment, Vijay was holding an Alliance army meeting with Minister of War Kiran Poojari, Marshal Gangadhar, Commander Lachit Borphukan, Commander Ramayya Senapati, Commander Sarvesh Ranavikrama, General Ezidi Serwan, General Kaveh Atashban, Imam Al Mutawakkil Isma'il, and Sultan Khalid ibn Umar Al Mahri, along with the intelligence chief of Bharatiya External Pragya Roshan; Bharatiya Sainik Pragya Aditya; Alliance Intelligence Bureau Fariba Atashban; and finally, Yemen Intelligence Bureau Bashir Abdullah.

"Are all the preparations completed?" Vijay looked at the large map spread on the mahogany table and asked.

Kiran Poojari stood up, "Everything has been arranged, Your Majesty. Nearly 40% of all the veterans on the front line have been replaced by war-tested officers from the mainland."

"In a few months, given that they have already seen blood, they should be fully combat effective."

He took out a long ruler and pointed at the star-shaped markings on the map.

"At the same time, these Hearts of Diamonds act as machines producing capable soldiers for the frontline as quickly as possible."

"Right now, 500,000 units are on the frontline, but there are 400,000 battle-ready units placed in reserve, and 200,000 more units are undergoing localisation training and battle readiness training."

Vijay was very pleased, "Very good." He looked at Roshan, "What is the status of the Ottomans? They should already know our actions, shouldn't they? How are they more likely to react?"

Roshan recalled the intelligence in his mind and replied, "Even if they could not figure it out earlier, they should have understood our strategy by now, Your Majesty. I am certain that Ottoman Emperor Mehmed IV has already seen our hidden strength."

"As for how the Ottoman Empire would react, it is hard to tell, since everything rests on the decision taken by Mehmed IV. He might increase the investment of troops in the war, he might take back the forces and abandon the Safavid Empire, or he might even try to continue the war like it has been going on for the last seven years."

"Hmm," Vijay stroked his chin and shook his head, "Either way, it's beneficial for us. The moment the Ottomans got stuck in a war of attrition with us, their fate had already been sealed."

Vijay's eyes immediately became sharp, "Kiran, Lachit Borphukan, Ramayya Senapati, Kaveh Atashban, Al Mutawakkil, in case the Ottoman Empire retreats from the Safavid— which, in my opinion, is unlikely to happen, but still, if it does happen, I need you all to be prepared with a sound battle plan that is ready to go at a moment's notice. We have fought the war of attrition with the Ottoman Empire for the last 7 to 8 years; we already have a certain understanding of how their generals operate and what their styles are. All of you, share your experiences and come up with strategies in order to quickly take over the vacuum left in the Safavid Empire."

"On the other hand, in case the Ottoman Emperor increases the military investment in the Safavid, which I think is most likely to happen, we can immediately play the hidden card directly and have the Russians launch a surprise attack and have the Balkans rebel."

"In this situation, Mehmed IV should either divert the troops to fight with the Russians, which is most likely to happen since the European part of the Ottoman Empire is more economically developed, or he can also give up fighting with the Russians, form a defensive line at Constantinople, and focus his complete attention on the Safavid. Now, if he takes this decision, it might be a little troublesome, since even though he chose to abandon the Balkans, it is not too easy to breach Constantinople in a shorter time, which will put more pressure on us, requiring us to invest more resources."

"But it is not completely unsolvable. In case the second situation occurs, then we can once again switch back to the War of Attrition. It doesn't matter if the Ottomans deploy a million troops; we can deploy a million troops as well, not to mention we have the advantage of the terrain and better military equipment. Defending the line of control should not be too hard."

"Once the choice of Mehmed IV becomes clear, we can play another card of using the Bharatiya navy to directly attack Egypt and have the combined army of the Qasimid state and Sultanate of Mahra, directly attack the Ottoman territory from the south with full force."

Vijay's gaze was ruthless. If everything goes according to plan, the Ottoman Empire will be attacked from four different fronts, leaving it no chance to breathe. Vijay folded his arms and leaned back.

"Gentlemen, there are numerous ways this scenario can play out, but as we have prepared this game of chess for almost a decade, we have a lot of advantages against the enemy."

"So I will not allow for any mistakes. Victory is the only option. With that being said, changes should occur on the battlefield in a minimum of two months and in a maximum of one year. I want everyone to be prepared to act immediately as soon as Mehmed IV makes the decision. Our offence must be fierce, relentless, and the target should be aimed directly at the head in a single shot, not giving the Ottoman Empire a chance to react."

After the briefing, everyone left hurriedly as they were given very important tasks to handle, but Roshan stayed behind. "Your Majesty, there is a high probability that the English, French, Dutch, and even the Romans might hinder our plans."

Vijay immediately frowned, "Aren't the Westerners and Ottomans enemies? Why would they interfere when the Ottoman Empire is having bad luck? Don't they want to see this hegemon that threatened them for several centuries collapse?"

Roshan nodded, but then he helplessly shrugged, "That is indeed the case, your majesty. They would indeed be very happy if the Ottoman Empire had bad luck and even happier if it were completely destroyed. But since it is we who have taken action, they are very wary. In fact, the latest intelligence report I have received mentions that a few nobles in England even proposed aiding the Ottoman Empire in its current war against our empire."

"So there is a high probability that, with the current situation where Western European countries are wary of the Bharatiya Empire, they might actually provide military support to the Ottomans once the situation becomes too dangerous for them."

Vijay fell into deep thought. He had originally thought that it was safe to attack the Ottoman Empire since most European nations had a blood feud with the Ottoman Empire, but he did not expect that the Europeans were more likely to support the enemy in order to maintain the status quo and not allow a bigger power to be born in the world.

He knew that the Europeans could give up anything for their interests; it's just that he didn't expect they were most likely to give up even the centuries-old blood feud.

Well, he should have already thought of it. Despite most of its area being located in Central Asia, Turkey was eventually accepted as a part of Europe, after all. It looked like his assumption that nobles in this era paid more attention to honour, faith, and feud than to interests was only partially true. It seemed that if the interests were large enough, the nobles in this era were willing to put aside everything. They might even cooperate with the butcher who slaughtered their families if their interests were affected.

"This is indeed a big dilemma," Vijay muttered.

"Alright, I will think about the countermeasures. For now, let's proceed with the plan unchanged."