Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Maybe he was not so insidious and cunning when he first took the throne, but after being in power for almost a decade, he clearly saw that some things were unavoidable. He wanted the market of Southeast Asia very badly so that the industrial products of the Bharatiya Empire could find more markets. What's more, he wanted to get involved in building up these countries so that the Bharatiya Empire could greatly benefit from their growth.

Vijay further explained, "Most of you have not realized it yet, but all of you have just the right amount of land area and population in your kingdoms. Any more or any less would not make a difference since no one among you is bound to occupy the whole Southeast Asian region."

This was naturally Vijay bluffing. Everyone knew it, but no one stood up to point it out. From what they had seen in the short term, they soon understood that this emperor of the Bharatiya Empire was not really as kind as he appeared to be—he was a smiling tiger.

"So you might as well follow my suggestions—open diplomatic channels between each other, start trade between each other, officially join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and become close components of this large economy headed by the Bharatiya Empire in the Eastern world."

The room was pin-drop silent as no king wanted to take the first step. However, suddenly—

"Your Majesty, representing the United States of the Philippines, I, President Tamblot, completely agree to the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and am more than happy to be one of its founding members."

Stares were immediately cast on Tamblot, but he paid no attention to them and looked straight at Vijay with determination. The prospects His Majesty Vijay mentioned were very much in line with what he wanted because he wished to follow the model of the Bharatiya Empire—develop the economy as the primary goal and strengthen the military as a form of deterrent and defence. For such an ideal, a region with fewer wars and a huge market was the best option.

What's more, the geographical location of the United States of Philippines was very advantageous for developing trade, as it was currently the main transit point between Asia and America. Even though the amount of trade had not yet reached large numbers, the small profits brought by taxing only 5% of all goods transported between the Bharatiya Empire and the New Spain colony alone allowed him to see a very bright future.

He had been considering an idea for a few months—establishing industries in his country and selling their products to the Bharatiya Empire, the largest market in southern Asia. He had hesitated about whether to request an appointment with Vijay to seek approval for such a venture. However, with the Bharatiya Empire taking the initiative and forming this committee, he now had enough information about the empire's stance.

"Representing the Kingdom of Mindanao I agree "

Queen Lyla was soon to follow. Lyla did not care much about the integrated economy of Southeast Asia, but what she cared about was the continued support of the Bharatiya Empire to remain as the queen and monarch of the Kingdom of Mindanao. It might look like her position was very stable in the kingdom, but that was only because she had in her hands the most elite unit of the military, which the Bharatiya Empire had helped train, keeping all the traditional, Jihadist, and Islamic forces in her kingdom at bay. If the Bharatiya Empire even reduced its support by a little, she could not imagine what her condition would be.

She was already trying her best to encourage people in her empire to convert into New Testament Islamists, and she had already started education in her country without any theological teachings. But still, her country was very young, and it would take time to see real change. Until then, she required the support of a great empire like the Bharatiya Empire.

With the two Southeast Asian countries agreeing, other countries soon followed. The first to move was King Narathi Hapate of the Toungoo dynasty, arguably one of the strongest dynasties in the region, with 630,000 square kilometres of land and over four million in population. Following that were King Soriya Reachea II of the Chenla Kingdom and King Sourigna Vongsa of the Lan Xang Kingdom. Although unwilling at first, King Nguyen Phuc Tan of the Dang Trong Kingdom eventually agreed, as he quickly realized that with this new order established, his chances of conquering the Dai Viet Kingdom were very small. He could already guess that the old fox ministers of his enemy would be more at ease exchanging interests and forming alliances with other neighbours than he was.

With the suggestion of some ministers, King Le Hy Tong of Dai Viet also agreed without much expression on his face. Interestingly, however, Minister Trinh Van Thanh's face looked a little regretful, as he had hoped King Nguyen Phuc Tan would not join the association. Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed.

Eventually, only King Narai was left out. He was currently the most warlike of all the neighbouring kings, which explained why he had bad relationships with nearly all the kingdoms surrounding him.

Narai had great ambitions to conquer the whole Malai Peninsula and regions to the northwest and northeast, but the association started by the Bharatiya Empire put a wrench in his plans.

He was a little unwilling. "What if the Kingdom of Ayutthaya refuses to join ASEAN?"

Narai was looking at Vijay, so he did not notice, but all the other kings neighbouring him looked at him with a hint of ruthlessness visible in their eyes.

Most of his neighbouring kings were old men—relatively reliable and stable rulers, excellent at maintaining the prosperity and stability of their kingdoms. But as far as wars were concerned, the only ones they had waged were for realistic reasons, not because they were overly ambitious. They had thought the same of Narai before, but now, looking at his unwilling and unstable expression, they soon understood that he was a greedy wolf.

Vijay naturally saw the expressions of the others and smiled. "King Narai, you seem to have misunderstood something. I am not forcing any of you to join ASEAN."

The kings who heard this immediately rolled their eyes.

"I am simply stating the fact that any country that engages in constant wars without being economically and diplomatically connected with others is bound to be left in the dust by history."

"If you want to follow this route, no one is stopping you, but you will have to bear the consequences of your actions."

'There he goes threatening us once again,' Sourigna Vongsa grumbled inwardly.

"However, let me tell you a story. There existed a nation that was among the strongest in the second tear. Around this nation were seven other first-tier nations that possessed world-destroying divine weapons capable of annihilating the world."

"Now, this country, which was the strongest in the second tear, finally possessed the ability to forge the same world-destroying divine weapons. But before it was forged, it was completely obliterated from the face of the Earth."

He looked at Narai with a smile. "Who do you think destroyed this up-and-coming kingdom?"

King Narai thought about it for a while and answered, "The first-tier nations?"
Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Vijay laughed and shook his head. "Wrong! This is a common misconception. The strong countries don't necessarily have the ability to destroy the weaker second-tier country because once a strong country goes to destroy a weaker country, its enemies in the same tier will start to support the weaker country, thereby making things messy, which will give the small countries an opportunity to really rise."

"However, what actually happened was that the strong countries did nothing and left the weak country alone. But the countries in the same tier as the weak country felt threatened by the rising second-tier country, and they ganged up together to destroy it."

"So what I am trying to say is, if a small country does not have the ability to completely suppress all the other small countries, then it might as well not try to rise above its rank."

"Ambition is good, King Narai, but ambition beyond one's ability is foolishness. No one can judge your ability, King Narai, and the only judge can be yourself. "

"So please, be your own judge. Judge your own strength and your ability. Ask yourself: are you capable of completely defeating your neighbouring countries by yourself in the current situation? Make the decision carefully. Whether it is prosperity or decline, it is left to you."

Vijay's tone was soft as if he was actually hoping that King Narai would make the right decision, which he was. He liked this kingdom, which was deeply connected with his own, both in its name and culture.

King Narai was startled. It took a while for him to understand, but when he did, he was shocked. As he looked around, he saw the old men who would occasionally greet him with smiles on their faces now staring at him as if he were some sort of prey in their mouths.

King Narai immediately understood his predicament. He may be a lion, but unfortunately, surrounding him was a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, no longer the lone wolves he used to deal with .

"Thank you for your teachings, Your Majesty. I understand. The Kingdom of Ayutthaya is also willing to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations."

Vijay clapped with a smile.

"Excellent choice. Everyone, please enjoy your lunch, prepared by one of the best chefs of the Bharatiya Empire. After that, we will start the actual first session of the ASEAN meeting and begin discussing trade deals between all of the Southeast Asian countries. Let us see how we can improve ourselves by covering each other's weaknesses and sharing each other's strengths."

P.S. This arc was a bitch to write, either it was too complex or im getting shittier