November 5th, 1655
Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Vijayanagara State, Mangalore.
Due to the exponential growth of heavy industries in the empire, the supporting industries also rose to a newfound level. This, in turn, bolstered iron production once more. At the beginning of the year, the empire’s iron production relied on twenty blast furnaces spread across the empire near places where iron ore was available.
These furnaces were capable of producing 10,400 tonnes of iron, and ever since, the number of blast furnaces has not stopped increasing. Currently, there are 30 functioning blast furnaces, Completely replacing the older 400-ton output Models with newer ones capable of producing 520 tonnes per year.
This brings the total production of all blast furnaces in the empire to 15,600 tonnes per year, approximately 1300 tonnes per month.
Although this figure pales in comparison to the 23.5 million tonnes per month in the future 21st century, the current number already ranks among the top 10 in the world. The Empire has officially surpassed the iron production of the Holy Roman Empire, the Venetian Republic, Russia, Polish Lithuania, the Dutch Netherlands, Denmark Norway, and the Mughal Empire, albeit by a small margin.
At the beginning of the year, the Mughal Empire’s iron production was only 10,000 tonnes, but due to war, it increased to 14,000 tonnes.
All these iron resources are internally consumed, as the demand for iron has been increasing rapidly. Currently, military industries, including naval shipbuilding, artillery forging, and arms manufacturing, account for nearly 5,000 tonnes of demand, which is continuously rising. This constitutes about 32.05% of the total iron production in the empire.
The majority of the iron resources in the empire are allocated to the infrastructure sector, serving both civilian and military purposes. The construction of fortifications and border infrastructure consumes upwards of 58% of these resources, while the remainder of the iron production is allocated to the civilian industry for the construction of agricultural tools and common everyday tools.
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Driven by this massive growth, the naval shipbuilding industry has almost doubled its rate of production in the empire. Seven months ago, an order for 200 Hampi Class Sloops and eighty Vinayak Class Frigates was placed, and after the span of seven months, all these orders were finally completed, and these ships were quickly put into service.
Most of these ships were stationed in the Bay of Bengal and in the islands surrounding the Indian Ocean, where there is still some Mughal naval presence. As for the Arabian Sea, since the entire Navy has been compromised, the need for such a heavy naval presence was no longer required.
Currently, the empire has 360 Sloops and 104 Frigates, along with a single Man-of-War battleship and 10 Laksham class clippers, with 20 more under construction. This brings the total tonnage of the empire’s Navy to 90,000 tonnes, ranking the Navy among the top eight in the world, only bested by the Qing Dynasty, the Ottoman Empire, the Spanish Empire, the French, the English, and the Dutch.
To achieve this rapid progress, the empire employed the parallel processing construction method, where multiple ships were constructed simultaneously in multiple dry docks across the empire. The construction of all the warships in the empire was directly controlled and micro-managed by a committee to ensure all logistics were sorted out.
Parts processed in different parts of the empire were shipped and reached the shipyard to complete the total production of the ship. The Raya Shipyard alone possesses 10 dry docks capable of producing 30 Hampi class sloops in two months, contributing to more than half of the empire’s BNV Sloops.
Currently, at the Raya Shipyard, the prototype of the Drishti Class catamaran has been constructed and is undergoing testing. Unlike all the other testing methods, these tests do not focus on the battle readiness of the ship but rather on its survivability. Factors such as food storage, stability, resistance to harsh sea conditions, and heliograph testing were done simultaneously.
The heliograph platform has also been installed as the pillai mirror factory has finally achieved mass production and is now producing a lot of these mirrors waiting to be used in the heliograph platforms.
The scientists from the Bhartiya Academy of Sciences joined for this test, and after careful observation and recording of the data, the ship finally passed the test. However, there were some modifications after the prototype was built. It was found that upon installing the 30KG calibre cannon, the ship became unstable and unable to bear the force of the cannon.
Hence, it was replaced by the new Culverin, which became a better choice, as the Culverins are excellent in armour-piercing ability.
Since all the ships in this era are still made of wood, the increased accuracy and piercing effect of the projectiles fired by the Culverin should match quite well with the Drishti Class. Along with the Culverin, the Puckle gun was also installed after removing the swivel gun, as the Puckle gun fulfils the purpose of close-quarter firepower better with its continuous firepower.
After recording all these data it was sent to Vijay for approval.
At the same time, in the nearby Boswell Design Bureau, Vishesh Neeladri, who is the only senior designer in the design bureau, was holding a class for the interns of the design bureau. After completing the prototype and design of the Drishti Class catamaran, he didn’t have much work to do. Hence, he decided to teach the juniors when his master was away.
*Knock knock*
Suddenly, his class was disturbed by the handyman who helps around in the design bureau.
Vishesh Niladri was a little unhappy because of being interrupted but still asked with a calm voice, "What is it, uncle?"
The old man who knocked on the door had a serious expression on his face as he replied, "A person who claims to be from the logistics department of the military wants to see you."
Vishesh was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the military, especially so soon after designing the Drishti Class catamaran. Nonetheless, his curiosity piqued. Before departing to meet with the military representative, he instructed his students, who were mostly his peers, "Alright, experiment with the concepts I’ve taught you.
Your task is to construct model ships with a displacement of one hundred tonnes, specifically designed for river water patrols."
Entering the guest hall, Vishesh saw a man who looked to be in his early thirties sitting on the sofa with a tired expression on his face, wearing his military uniform, along with a few soldiers standing beside him.
Bhargav, the deputy director of the military logistics department, stood up with a resolute attitude and offered a namaskar.
Vishesh Neelathri returned the greeting with a namaskar of his own, after which the young man and the military leader sat down with a cup of beverage to start their discussion.
"Mr Vishesh, I would love to chat with you, but as the matter is urgent, I’ll get straight to the point."
Vishesh Neelathri, who saw the droopy eyes of the major in front of him and listened to his words, had a doubt in his mind. So, he couldn’t help but ask, "But Your Excellency, Major, isn’t the war in the region of Gujarat over? And isn’t the Navy of the Empire already replenished, along with the Navy of the Mughal Empire massively damaged? So, what could cause you to be in such a hurry?
Could you please explain to me, if you don’t mind?"
Bhargav felt helpless after hearing these words, but still, without any other way, he had to explain. "Mr. Vishesh, it is actually very simple. As we are from the logistics department, our task is constant throughout the battle, and we have no break.
And currently, now that the region of Gujarat is in the process of integration, our tasks have increased many folds, and this is one of the reasons for our department to reach out to you."
Vishesh was enlightened, so he nodded his head, waiting for the major to speak out his request.
Bhargav, who saw that the young man in front of him quieted down and placed his full concentration on him, finally let out a sigh of relief and proceeded to make his request. "The Empire is in dire need of larger capacity merchant ships.
Both the Dhana class armed merchant ship designed by the Boswell Design Bureau and the Samudra Bandhu Class Merchant ship designed by the Berunda Shipyard is no longer sufficient for the needs of the empire. So, I have brought a request with me for the Boswell Design Bureau to design a merchant ship that is armed and can carry 600 tonnes of load as a standard."
Vishesh Neelathri was taken aback as the requirement put forward was too high. Their design bureau had only designed a 500-tonne military frigate up until now, and they had never crossed this line, On top of that the largest ship they have designed was done by his master and not by him.
Vishesh Neelathri wanted to suggest that his master should come back for this design to be done, but the major directly pushed the orders onto his lap.
Looking at the document, which held the requirement for the new merchant ship and his name in the section of preferred designer, along with the name of his master Danior Boswell and Ganaprabu Berunda, the chief designer and the current director of the Berunda Shipyard, Vishesh Neelathri had nothing much to say.
Although he was nervous and hesitant to take this order due to the sheer magnitude of it, somewhere within his heart grew a fighting spirit that wanted to challenge his own master and even surpass him in the future. But before challenging Mount Everest, he had to conquer smaller peaks.
Hence, he had to surpass Ganaprabu Berunda, who had outperformed him in designing a 450-tonne merchant ship before him.
"I will do it," he said, which sealed the deal.