November 26th, 1655
City of Indore, Mughal Empire
10:00 AM
Two kilometres from the fortress of Indore, Vijay’s troops from the region of Gujarat had arrived a few hours earlier. Communication had also been established with the southern and southwestern troops, who were set to join the battle.
In the barracks, Vijay, alongside Birbal Singh and two other lieutenant generals, was meticulously refining his plan to eliminate all impractical and redundant strategies.
*Knock Knock*
"Come in."
A man entered the barracks, saluted Vijay with his hands thumping on his chest, and reported, "Your Excellency, General, all the data of the surrounding terrain has been collected."
"Good," Vijay commented as he gestured for the young man from the Bharatiya Sainik Pragya to give him the data and leave.
After ensuring everything in the strategic plan could be utilized on the terrain after comparing the data, the army of 40,000 troops soon moved again, while the two armies from the south, each consisting of 10,000 troops, synchronized with the main army commanded by Vijay. Kiran Poojari did not directly participate in this battle, as his job remained to guard the northern frontier of the empire.
Hence, it was Vijay who took charge of these armies marching from the southern direction of the Mughal Empire.
A few minutes later...
"Enemy alert!"
The loud bell of the fortress of Indore had been Immediately rung after seeing Vijay’s troops approaching on the horizon.
Vijay, looking at the tall and magnificent city fortress, knew that the task would not be easy. Hence, he was prepared for a long haul.
Thinking of the strategy that they had discussed for long hours, Vijay called for Birbal Singh and ordered, "Step one, Let the southern force focus on cutting off the supply lines and temporarily blocking any small reinforcements."
Birbal nodded his head, As the order was nothing out of the ordinary, and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Vijay’s eyes narrowed as he stated, "You can call me Lieutenant General. Don’t slip up."
Hearing the tone of warning in Vijay’s voice, Birbal immediately became fearful of his mistake. He looked around and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead as he let out a sigh of relief since no troops were paying attention to their discussion. Quickly, he apologized, "I am sorry, Your M- ah, Lieutenant General."
Vijay nodded his head in acceptance and then continued, "Step two: Using the southwestern force, take control of all the surrounding cities and towns of the city of Indore.
After taking control, constantly procure the raw materials and supplies needed for this war." Vijay stated with a light of wisdom in his eyes as he continued to explain, "Also, have the southwestern force spread the propaganda of the Bharathiya Empire and promote the atrocities committed by the Mughal Empire in all of the surrounding areas of Indore.
This way, even if in the future we have to evacuate the region, it will remain unstable due to the dissatisfaction of the people."
"Yes, sir," Birbal replied with a hint of amazement in his eyes. Although he, or any other capable general for that matter of fact, could come up with the initial plans his majesty had come up with, It was only Vijay’s strategy of destabilizing the region with the help of propaganda that was a new experience and strategy for him.
He was wholeheartedly looking forward to seeing the impact this strategy would have on the battle.
With Vijay’s orders being passed, commands spread throughout the army, and immediate steps were taken to fulfil the command.
The southwestern force quickly acted and neatly split itself into multiple companies. These companies cooperated together to establish their presence and dominance in the surrounding towns and villages of Indore.
At the same time, just as Vijay wanted, pamphlets were spread in each and every one of these villages to make the people understand the atrocities of the Mughal Empire.
To ensure a positive impression of The Bharatiya Empire, Vijay ordered for the avoidance of the raiding of civilian homes, focusing solely on the destruction of nobles’ and prominent landlords’ residences in the region. Thankfully, Vijay’s strategy proved effective, given that these two classes held the majority of resources in the village or town.
After the raid on these houses, which harboured 90% of the local wealth, a substantial amount of gold, silver, and grain, formerly concentrated among the affluent minority was revealed. Of this wealth, 75% of the grain, gold, and silver were allocated for war efforts, while the remaining portion was distributed among the common people of the village or town.
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This initiative was so successful that the towns of Dhar and Ujjain, both on the outskirts of Indore, actually celebrated the day when they were liberated by the Bharatiya Empire.
These operations went on for a few days until the real battle eventually started after the preparations were completed.
November 27th, 1655
City of Awaran, Region of Baluchistan, Mughal Empire
Commander Ramayya Senapati and his troops of 27,500 soldiers are nearing their desired target.
They are currently marching in a three-column formation on the dry riverbed of the Hingol River, the main seasonal river of Baluchistan which only flows during rare rain in the region.
Ramayya Senapati couldn’t help but be thankful for whoever discovered this path. Although the dried riverbed is still not an ideal terrain for troop movement, it is far better than the hilly terrain that fills the whole region. Moreover, this path of the dried riverbed actually passes through the city of Awaran, making it easier for them to reach their destination.
It was actually one of the Bharatiya commandos who discovered the route after accidentally losing his way and falling into the drying riverbed, which still held some leftover water from the rain that occurred a few months ago. After discovering this excellent troop movement area, Brigadier General Dinesh Reddy pushed for this route to be mapped out.
So although this gruelling work was quite hard for the Bharatiya commandos to do, they completed it nonetheless, easing the process of troop movement to the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire.
Ramayya Senapati, currently observing the city of Awaran controlled by the Rind tribe from a distance of a few hundred meters, ordered, "Let’s start the plan," after staring at the city for a few more minutes.
Upon hearing this, the intelligence agent from the Bharatiya Sainik Pragya, who was beside Ramayya Senapati, quickly opened the documents he was carrying. He swiftly scanned the related data and details about how to contact the internal intelligence asset and gave multiple orders to his subordinates, following the instructions written on his document.
It’s worth mentioning that with the start of the conquest of Baluchistan, all the intelligence networks and channels established by the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire in the region of Balochistan, with the help of Bharatiya commandos equipped with agents from both the Bharatiya External Pragya and Sainik Pragya, are now fully deployed and inherited by the marching army unit directly commanded by the commanders, making full use of the resources of the empire.
In the city of Awaran, a man with a thin and lean appearance was quickly approached by a little boy no more than 10 years old. The boy handed a small slip to the man and then ran away. After opening the slip, which turned out to be a secret code, the man’s emotionless face transformed from stoicism to delight. "They are here? Good, good," said the man, who was dressed in the attire of the Rind tribe.
Well, in actuality, he is originally from the Lashari Tribe, as he spent most of his growing up there. However, he was dispatched as a spy to the Rind tribe, as his father was a member of the Rind tribe, Making him a perfect candidate due to his natural Rind bloodline.
He was performing his job regularly, diligently sending information back home to the Lashari tribe. Unfortunately, this stable life, although potentially dangerous, did not last long. An incident occurred that changed his life forever: his mother’s heritage was accidentally revealed as a daughter of the Lashari tribe.
After the Rind tribals learned about this information, they killed both his mother and father for committing blasphemy by marrying a person from an enemy tribe.
He was fortunate enough to escape due to his good disguise techniques. Although he was searched with great intensity at the beginning, he slipped through the net and has survived until now. In the process, he also changed his original name, Muhammad bin Rind, to Raftar.
Raftar, later in life, after gaining the ability to protect himself, remembered the injustice done to his family. In order to find out the truth, he apprehended the person who leaked the information of his mother’s heritage, and after careful and long interrogation, came to know about the cruel fact that it was actually the Lashari tribe, which he considered as home, that leaked the information.
The reason behind it was the same reason for which his father and mother were killed: the sin of marrying an enemy tribe member. Surprisingly unknown to him, his mother was also serving as an intelligence agent in the city, but she refused to cooperate with the Lashari tribe when they asked her to kill her husband and marry a more influential Rind tribe member after changing her identity.
Hence, determining that she was no longer useful, and her son being only a little spy at most, they were deemed as unnecessary hindrances and had to be eliminated.
Upon learning all this, Raftar was fueled with rage and wanted to burn down both tribes. However, he was helpless, Since he had no such power to fulfil his desires. That was until, by some miracle, he met a Bharatiya commando in the city while this group of people were inquiring information about the local area in his region.
Confirming that these people were not from Baluchistan, he decided to contact them.
It was then he met up with the leader of these commandos, Brigadier General Dinesh Reddy and had a long and drawn-out talk with him. With this talk, although not directly expressed, both parties knew that they wanted the same thing, hence the cooperation started.
Currently, Raftar, with the security code received from the troops outside the city, acted quickly. With the help of his connections, he inadvertently arranged for the troops guarding the gate to go on shift at this exact time.
Simultaneously, Raftar had one of his loyal associates reveal the secret pathway leading into the city. This hidden route was recently discovered on the outskirts of the city, originating from the dried riverbed located a few hundred meters away.
Ramayya Senapati, after receiving the response, moved to the location shown by the intelligence asset inside the city. What he saw made him quite suspicious, as it appeared to be nothing more than water erosion causing the land to collapse, leaving crater-like formations. This crater-like formation actually moved under the city wall and went inside the city.
Although risky, Ramayya Senapati decided to take a bet and trust his instincts. He first allowed a few people to go inside and check whether it was safe. After it was confirmed to be safe, the troops, one by one, sneaked into the city.
By the time All the troops were inside, it was already night, so the battle was postponed until tomorrow since the city was actually not well lit which made it easier for the troops to stay hidden.
November 28th, 1655
City of Panjgur, Region of Baluchistan, Mughal Empire
Unlike the assistance granted to Ramayya Senapati by the intelligence asset, Narasimha Nayak had no shortcuts at his disposal. He embarked on the arduous task of traversing multiple hills to reach his destination.
Commander Narasimha Nayak, accompanied by Thousands of troops, formed Multiple companies and was currently navigating the Last Hill, a significant obstacle impeding their mission to reach the city of Panjgur. Sweat dripped down the faces of every soldier, including Narasimha, who appeared darker and somewhat thinner due to the loss of salts and fat from his body.
Despite the challenging conditions, Narasimha Nayak had become acclimated to the environment, his body adjusting to the harsh arid desert surroundings, Making the task somewhat bearable.
November 28th, 1655
City of Indore, Mughal Empire
While all this was happening in the region of Baluchistan, Vijay was also busy in his own battles. For the past two days, at altered intervals, the troops have been digging trenches and building saps and artillery positions in order to bring the artillery closer to the city walls.
With preparations completed, the artillery of 15, 20 and 25-kilogram calibre large cannons were brought in with the help of elephants and quickly installed on the battlefield. The culverins were also installed at a farther distance in a crossfire-like pattern in order to deal with any Mughal threat.
Overall, in the three battlefields, two were already set to attack at a moment’s notice while the other one was making preparations for the attack.
"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, the artillery is in position," Birbal Singh said to Vijay, With the sounds of guns being fired continuously heard in the background.
"Your Excellency, the morning shift has been initiated," Raftar reported to Ramayya Senapati with a hint of anticipation on his face.
And the response from both of them was unanimous, their eyes firm with a determination to emerge victorious: "Start the bombardment."
P.S. I had more details to write, but that would make the chapter longer or would need an additional chapter, so I would appreciate it if the readers comment about the change in pace.