Chapter 1262: Treaty of Atlantic (1)
June 14th, 1710
North Atlantic Ocean, a few hundred kilometres off the coast of Iberia
The tides were strong, the wind was heavy, and the sea roared without restraint. The giant 30,000-tonne Bharatiya Dreadnought, like a king of the ocean, stood alone, surrounded by hundreds of small Bharatiya warships, making even the Ramachandra Class and Delhi Class battleships look puny in comparison next to the Maharaja Ramachandra Class Dreadnought.
To such a gathering, making up the most elite naval force in the world, a warship, by the looks of it, Portuguese in build, suddenly approached the vicinity of the dreadnought.
The sailors on lookout aboard the dreadnought and the scouting vessels were immediately alerted, but upon seeing the two flags hanging on the ship, with the Bharatiya flag hung higher, and the Braganza dynasty flag hung lower, everyone relaxed after understanding what was happening.
Soon, a tall blond man disembarked from the ship, looking worse for wear, escorted by several soldiers wearing the Bharatiya military uniform.
"So this is the hostage of the Braganzas?" the lookout on the dreadnought murmured, while his companion looked at the current heir of the Braganza dynasty through the binoculars and nodded. "It is indeed the lucky guy from Portugal."
"Lucky?"
"Heh," the man chuckled and shrugged, "he is alive, isn’t he? How many royal families do you think survived the purge?"
"Ugh! That’s right, come to think of it, apart from the Hohenzollern family of Prussia, not many other families survived."
Coincidentally, the ship that appeared next was of Prussian origin, and the man who got down was none other than the direct chosen heir of Ferdinand, William I Hohenzollern, but different from Miguel, he wasn’t escorted by the soldiers of the Bharatiya Empire; instead, he was alone.
As time passed, ships continued to appear until all the representatives of various forces had gathered together in the large dining hall of the dreadnought.
Miguel’s expression was emotionless, like a robot, as he sat listlessly on a hard metal chair that sent a chill up his spine. After the defeat, he hated the Bharatiyas almost to the point of being unable to eat and sleep properly, with his heart heavy as a rock. Defeat might be a common outcome of war, but his father’s committing suicide out of helplessness and losing his kingdom out of powerlessness drove him mad.
He was furious; he wanted to butcher every Bharatiya and drink their blood, and he wanted to roar to his heart’s content, but sadly, the first part of what he wanted was impossible, so he placed his attention on the second part and roared. He did so until his voice grew hoarse and until his throat could support him no more.
Then he cried, cried like a baby in a luxurious room that was provided to him out of pity, cried because the pity of the enemy infuriated him, angered him, but still he could do nothing about it. He thought death more noble than what he was put through. In such misery, he spent the last month under the care of the Bharatiya military, eating whatever they gave and listening to whatever they said like a puppet.
Maybe in the depths of his heart, the prince of the Portuguese kingdom, Miguel de Braganza, was still alive, but there is also a chance that he had died of helplessness, powerlessness, shame, and humiliation, leaving only his husk, a dull personification no brighter than an animal behind.
William I, on the other hand, had a completely different expression. He looked at everything curiously. Although there was still a sense of resistance and humiliation in his expression, it was curiosity and the eagerness to learn that were at the forefront.
He did not have to experience what Miguel had experienced. His father, the previous monarch, had not died by slitting his own throat like Alfonso but had simply died in an aerial bombing. Even after his father’s death, he wasn’t captured by the Bharatiyas; instead, he went into hiding along with his followers.
Then one day, a Bharatiya man came to his base, promising that they would not be harmed, as they invited him to discuss the demands of the Bharatiya Empire to accept their surrender.
Originally, he did not want to come, but when a letter was presented to him containing every single location of the major military settlements hidden across Prussia, he had no choice but to come out, or rather, was forced out of hiding by the military officers who were sweating bullets.
In a way, William was an exception because no other person sitting in the cafeteria had his easygoing expression; they were all panicking and nervously sitting on the edge of their seats.
At the bridge...
"Has everyone arrived?" Vijay asked.
Agni looked through the ledger and nodded, "They have, Father."
"Good."
As soon as Vijay stepped foot into the canteen, everyone, as if their buttocks were pricked with a needle, shot up and stood on their feet. They were unable to hide their anxiousness and cautiousness on their faces, and that included William of Prussia. The only person with a different expression was Miguel; he maintained his emotionless expression even as he stood up, not because he did not fear the Bharatiya Empire’s Emperor, but simply because he had lost everything, including himself.
Vijay smiled kindly, like a normal grandfather next door, and gestured everyone to sit down.
He looked around the room and saw many unfamiliar faces, but he was not surprised. The defeat of the European Union did not simply mean that the leaders had given up; rather, it meant that most of them had been killed in battle, leaving behind only the remnants of the leadership. What remained was a fragmented Europe, now occupied by at least a hundred different noble groups.
It was these very people whom he had invited, so it was only natural that he would see many unfamiliar faces. Besides, this was good for the empire’s future, wasn’t it? Although he did not want to conquer Europe and bring it under the Bharatiya Empire’s control, since that would lead to the disintegration of the empire from within in less than a century, he also did not want future Europeans to grow up with hatred toward the Bharatiya Empire.
Instead, he would rather see a hundred or even two hundred different European principalities fighting among themselves for dominance. Such constant conflict would inevitably lead to more bloodshed, perhaps even more than what the First World War had caused. When that time came, it would naturally become the moment for the Bharatiya Empire to step in, acting as both a peacemaker and a helper. By then, the Europeans might have forgotten much of their hatred toward the Bharatiya Empire, while at the same time developing deep prejudice among themselves.
Of course, Vijay was also aware that there was a danger in this method. A hundred or two hundred years down the line, the Europeans might eventually figure out what had happened and come together once again, forming another European Union, or perhaps even a United European Empire under a single monarch. In such a case, a Second World War would become unavoidable. However, this possibility was also something he had already taken into consideration. By allowing Europe to fragment now, he would be buying the Bharatiya Empire, and the eastern hemisphere as a whole, at least two centuries of time, with even the worst-case scenario still giving them around a hundred years.
By that time, the Empire itself might have grown complacent, much like how Europe in his past life had become complacent when dealing with China. When that happened, the existence of a capable enemy would not necessarily be a bad thing; instead, it would act as a whetstone, sharpening the empire and bringing it back on track.
It would be even better if the Bharatiya Empire were to encounter a small setback along the way, such as one of its allies betraying it, or even non-aligned nations choosing to join the European camp. Because if the empire were to emerge victorious from such a great disaster, one that was almost inevitable, it would become far stronger and more resilient, while also gaining itself a few more centuries of development time.
Vijay suddenly realised that his thoughts had gone off on a tangent. He blinked and came back to his senses.
"Thanks to the blessing of Lord Ram, this bloody war has finally come to an end. No more blood has to be shed."
He started off, his expression showing a hint of regret. It looked so sincere that some of the inexperienced guests actually believed his words.
"However, this was a battle that should not have begun in the first place, so as the victor and as the party standing on the side of justice, we have some demands that all of you have to fulfil."
He noticed that some of the people were actually holding back their anger, but he didn’t care and simply continued, "Once fulfilled, we are willing to uphold the following promises."
"Number one, we will withdraw our troops."
"Number two, our navy will also be withdrawn, with only bases on isolated islands remaining."
"Number three, we will not interfere in your internal matters. You are free to manage the territory of Europe as you see fit, as long as you do not covet the land of the allies."
