Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

24th April 1662 In a secret location A unique contraption, looking very similar to the platform of the rocket launcher, was attached to the top of an Arkha Dristhi Communication tower. Several researchers had gathered together, their expressions tense and their attention focused solely on the rocket that was snugly fit into the contraption. "5...4...3...2...1...Launch!!!" The dense gunpowder immediately ignited, pushing out dense flames from the rear. The miniature rocket, weighing at least 17 kilograms, slowly lifted into the air. The researchers clenched their fists as they nervously watched what they had designed slowly rise up. "Swoosh!!!!" The rocket surged skyward, rapidly gaining velocity. Despite the bright afternoon sun, its exhaust plume blazed brilliantly, casting an intense glow over the spectators. Mere seconds later, a sharp "crack" echoed as the first stage separated, its spent lower section tumbling earthward at high speed. The onlookers tracked the darkened booster plummeting nearby, while the rocket's upper stage continued its ascent, accelerating further along its trajectory. Moments later, the second stage ignited and detached, propelling the payload higher. At precisely T+35 seconds, the rocket reached paramount. A final detonation sent a brilliant red explosion rippling across the sky, marking the mission's dramatic conclusion. The next moment, cheers erupted loudly from the group of researchers and designers watching the whole test a few hundred meters away. "Hahaha" "It worked! Finally, it worked!" "After so many failures, it really worked!" "Aha! Mr. Raj, congratulations, congratulations!" "Thanks! And congratulations to you as well, sir." "Your Excellency, Hay Ram, once again you continue to outdo yourself." "Haha, where, where? If it wasn't for you, Mr. Manoj and Mr. Balgangadhar, this project wouldn't even be feasible." Akhil, looking at the celebrating crowd, couldn't help but let out a deep and turbulent breath, feeling like the weight he was carrying on his shoulders was suddenly lifted. The idea he came up with during his mission of exterminating the Dutch kingdoms in the southeast, he implemented as soon as he came back to the kingdom. He also took the investment from Sarvesh, but who would have thought the fireworks would become a limiting factor? The fireworks produced in the Bharatiya Empire until now only went up a few hundred meters and nothing more than that. For the range he was looking for, Akhil needed the thing to reach at least a kilometre. In order to make this possible, several tests were conducted, and ultimately, everything failed. At one point, they even constructed a rocket that was 10 feet in height to see if it was even feasible for a man-made object to reach a kilometre vertically in the air. But unfortunately, the bloody thing exploded. Fortunately, no one was hurt since safety precautions were taken. In the end, a researcher called Raj Gopal Varma, the Chief Researcher of his Manjunatha Research Firm, realized that the reason for the rocket not being able to reach a kilometer was because, during ignition, as the fuel—that is, gunpowder—burned away, the deadweight, which was the container of the gunpowder used to get it that high, became a limiting factor by adding weight without contributing in any way to the height of the rocket. This left the remaining fuel to work harder to carry the whole structure. In the end, Raj Gopal Varma proposed a staged rocket, where a rocket would be launched and ignite in three stages, making the most efficient use of the fuel it carried. Unfortunately, although Raj Gopal Varma proposed it, he didn't have the expertise to design or build such a rocket, so Akhil had to invite a ballistics expert and an aerodynamics expert to complete the team. He invited Mr. Manoj Reddy from the Trishul Arms Consortium and Mr. Balagangadhar from Vayu Technologies. Akhil further expanded the investment and restarted the research. After several months and dozens of failures, it finally succeeded today. With the ingenious minds of Heyram, who was responsible for the mechanical aspects of the launcher platform, primary ignition, and stage ignition in the rocket; Manoj Reddy, who calculated the best gunpowder formula for the most optimal burn rate and ensured that the rocket did not turn into an explosive; and Balagangadhar, who was responsible for the aerodynamic aspects of the rocket, designing six different fins for stabilization and trajectory as well as optimizing the spin stabilization mechanism; and finally, Mr. Raj Gopal Varma, who brought up the idea and culminated all three technologies together, the research was finally a success. Akhil happily went forward and congratulated everyone in his group and immediately wrote multiple confidential letters, sending them to both Sarvesh and the emperor's office. --- Simhasana Bhavana, Imperial Capital, Bengaluru "Bring him in!!!" Vijay was surprised, as he was not expecting Kiran to ask for an audience. It had barely been a few weeks since he took his post as the Minister of Defence. It was time for him to get used to his new working environment and responsibilities, but now Kiran had come to see him. What could have happened? Vijay thought. "Your Majesty!!!" Kiran entered the room and greeted him, which led Vijay to motion for him to sit down. "What can I do for you, Kiran?" He looked forward with interest. Kiran quickly took out something he had drawn and presented it as if it was a treasure. Vijay took the document and was taken aback to see that it was a sketch of a star. "This is...?" He was confused. He didn't know what this was supposed to be. Kiran was not surprised, as he knew how horrible his drawing skills were. "Your Majesty, this is my idea for a standardized military outpost of the Bharatiya Empire on foreign soil." "Umm, I noticed that we currently have several outposts in the Middle East, several under construction in Central Africa, a single one in Malacca, and several under construction in the Seven Frontiers in the southeast." "And there are only bound to be more after we make contact with the Australian continent." "So I had the idea for a standardized military outpost for the Bharatiya Empire in order to make management easier and to make it more convenient for the soldiers being deployed to adapt. This way, we can train them with certain standards in mind, unlike now, where there is a lot of uncertainty, and the soldiers being deployed are not immediately combat effective." "Their level of effectiveness suddenly drops to that of a person who is only slightly better than a novice, making it more dangerous and expensive to let them directly participate in operations." Vijay leaned back and thought about it for a while before finally nodding his head. "Alright, it looks interesting, but bring me the complete design. I will make my decision after looking at it." Kiran took back the drawing he had made with excitement. "As you wish, Your Majesty. I'll bring it to you as soon as possible." Kiran was very efficient; he did what he said without any delay. He immediately invited the people he was familiar with in the Bharatiya Army Engineering Corps, which belonged to the Military logistics, as well as four different construction consultants from the largest construction firms of the Bharatiya Empire. Having all of them together in one room, Kiran made his request very clear. "I need a star fortress, code-named Vajra Garba—Heart of the Diamond—to be designed in order to act as our foothold on foreign soil. Its key objectives are a strategic military presence to conduct defensive and offensive actions. It should have rapid deployment as its core function, it should be adaptable, and it should be able to implement future technologies. Finally, escape and evacuation must be considered." Various weapons and technologies that were being researched were still top secret, and Kiran didn't want to let the consultants he had invited from the four construction firms know of their existence. So he asked them to only do the macro design of the fortress while he discussed the micro design with the military engineers. The four consultants immediately got together and started to sketch the building, one by one putting down the specifications. "Six points in the star would be ideal for maximum defensive angles." "Agreed. As for the size, since the fortress is required to be future-proof, I suggest it be at least seven kilometres in area." "I think the walls could be multilayered with bastions, each reinforced with earthwork and stone." "How about moats, ravelins, and counterscarps surrounding the main fortress for additional defence?" "Brilliant. I just don't know if it will be over the budget." "Probably not, since we were not given a budget to work on, but it's still a good idea to mark them as optional in case there are budget constraints." "Moving on, let's use the main gate for formal access and hidden postern gates for secret movements." "Stables, barracks, depots for munitions, and a large open area for future modifications." "Finally, we can design intricate underground tunnels leading outside city limits to a hidden harbour/dock or a safe area." "Are all these guidance specifications agreeable to everyone?" "Agreed." "Agreed." "Agreed." --- The engineers of the engineering corps were designing the interior facilities. "We need a barracks to be able to hold at least 5,000 soldiers." "And let's add granaries, hidden granaries, wells, and hidden water storage locations." "How about prisons, temples, and mess halls." "Good!!" "And finally, the observation towers. The angle of observation should cover each and every corner of the fortress with no hidden locations." "We need to consult with opticians to make sure." "..." "...." Kiran motioned for them to design the weapon placements. "Cannon batteries—let them be placed on the bastions and curtain walls every few dozen metres." "As for the mortars, they can be placed in casemates, which can be fired over the walls, and their placement could be every 100 mtrs. As for the new howitzers that are under research, they are mobile, so we can design mechanisms built within the fortress for their movement. We can use pulleys and levers as a lift system to transport these giant guns from one part of the wall to another within a minute." "How about using the rail system used in the mines? Could a separate section, like a folding rail system, be constructed on top of the walls so that the howitzer could be pulled around the entire defensive facility with minimal personnel?" "And when it is not in use, the whole rail system could be folded flush vertically with the wall, not hindering the movements of the military officers? On another note, could this rail system be used for multiple purposes? Like, can it be used to transport heavy ammunition to artillery supplies in the midst of battle at the fastest speed, or even messages from one part of the wall to another?" "Could we also power the rail cart, which will obviously be the platform to do all the previously mentioned things, by using a rope driven by a set of animals or even people on the corner?" "Eh, I don't think it is feasible. There are too many moving parts, and passing commands could become a hassle. I think someone manually pushing the cart should be better." "What do you think, sir?" "Hmm." "It should be feasible, but we need to run miniature tests and simulations on this. Also, their combat effectiveness can only be measured after the whole thing is built, so I suggest adding this feature for the first star fortress constructed as a beta test. Since howitzers are probably not researched by the time the fortress is built, let's replace them with the strongest cannon and test to see the results." "Good!!!" "Speaking of which, we can also design mechanisms and positions for the riflemen protecting the fortress." Further polishing was required, and it took a whole week to complete with trial and error in a sculpted sand model until the final design document was submitted in front of Vijay. Vijay was shocked by the design. He had never seen anything like it, even in his past life. That being said, he could already see the use of this infrastructure for the Bharatiya Empire. Not to mention, with slight modifications, he could even add an airstrip in the center of the base, making it an all-in-one military fortress for the Bharatiya Empire for a long, long time. With this in mind, even though the construction cost was sky-high—costing as much as several million Varaha for a single fortress and several hundred thousand Varaha for maintenance alone—Vijay resolutely approved the Vajragarbha fortress plan and allocated funds for one of these fortresses to be constructed in the Middle East for the purpose of practical testing. "Once they prove effective, consider building a few in other places as well." Vijay finally gave his judgement "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will not disappoint you," Kiran happily took the approval document and swiftly went to the parliament. Even on his way back, he didn't waste any time and directly wrote a letter to the new Marshal of the Empire, Gangadhar, asking him to meet in order to share his vision for the fortress and its implementation.