November 29th, 1655
The region of Baluchistan, the Mughal Empire
With the successful occupation of the cities of Panjgur and Awaran, Commanders Ramayya Senapati and Narasimha Nayak are getting ready to set off for the city of Kuzdar, their next common destination, currently occupied by the Lashari tribe.
The city of Kuzdar is 256 kilometres away from Panjgur and 204 kilometres away from Awaran.
Although Narasimha Nayak wanted to set off early to reach his target in order to arrive at Kuzdar at the same time as Ramayya Senapati, unfortunately, he could not do so. He had to cooperate with the logistics staff to blast a hill to open up a smoother transportation road from Panjgur to Gwadar.
The hill they had targeted was a small one located beside the dried-up seasonal lake of Panjgur. By blasting this small hill, which was only a few meters high, a road could theoretically be formed for a small carriage to pass through.
Even though this bumpy road could only partially alleviate the transportation troubles, as the path from the city of Gwadar was also obstructed by many hills, Narasimha was fortunate not to have to clear this path himself.
He was relieved to be informed that the Department of Transportation had decided to invest manpower to blast open the route from the city of Gwadar, tackling the other half of the journey.
With this new road formed, although the ride would be extremely bumpy, it could still be travelled nonetheless.
Hence, Narasimha Nayak agreed to the blasting of the hill and arranged for multiple holes to be dug on both sides of the rock wall and for gunpowder to be packed inside.
Since synchronous blasting was not possible, Narasimha Nayak suggested using longer wicks for each of the gunpowder packages within the hill.
With this, even if synchronized blasting was not possible, it would at least give enough time for the person who lights the wick to run away before the Gunpowder is ignited.
Following his suggestion, longer wicks of equal length were placed in each of the holes where gunpowder was poured. Next, they needed something to pack the gunpowder tightly inside in order to seal off the mouth of the packing. While everyone was deep in thought about what to use, a soldier came up with the idea to use the clay from the dried-up lake nearby.
The person who suggested the idea quickly ran to the dried-up lake, picked up a clump of soil, and took out his water canteen. He poured water on it and started kneading it like dough, which actually turned the soil into clay. Hence, the same clay was used as a sealing agent for the gunpowder, effectively making a prehistoric version of dynamite.
Seeing this, all the soldiers mirrored his actions and one by one fully packed the gunpowder with clay. After packing the clay, leaving a little space for the wicks to burn, all 200 of the wicks were lit by 200 soldiers, more than a company of troops, who then immediately ran away.
"Boom boom boom boom"
Multiple blasts superimposed onto one another. As Narasimha had guessed, synchronous blasting was not possible, but most of the gunpowder still ignited and sent shockwaves down the mountain, blasting it apart into thousands of pieces.
At the end of this destruction, a mountain that was 8-9 meters tall was reduced to a small bump on the ground with debris scattered all over the place.
Narasimha Nayak, after inspecting and confirming that the terrain had become suitable for carriage movement ( barely ), nodded his head and immediately left for the city of Kuzdar.
While both Ramayya Senapati and Narasimha Nayak had left for their targets, two battalions of troops were left behind in each of these villages. They took control of the villages’ security and food distribution, thereby fully controlling the main lifelines of the villages.
Food and security are the main requirements for any settlement to exist, and by the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire taking control of both these aspects of society, the Empire essentially turned these people into puppets in the village, obedient to every command of the military.
Although it might sound cruel, it was not actually so bad in this era, since only by doing this could the empire ensure that these people would not cause trouble after the main force left. In the middle of this long war, it could be disastrous if riots suddenly erupt in one’s own backyard.
With the successful capture of the two cities, Chief Medical Officers Vishwa Swaroop and Madhava Velan, who were stationed in Gwadar and Ormara, immediately moved to these captured cities to be closer to the marching army, as they could provide better medical support when needed.
They were in quite a hurry as there were injured troops that still needed their help. Unfortunately, due to the rough terrain, these injured soldiers could not be brought back to the port cities where the field hospital was established.
Hence, The soldiers were made to rest in the captured cities with some first aid and lots of prayers, hoping that these warriors could survive until the medical team arrived.
The travel for Madhava Velan was not too difficult as he travelled through the dried-up riverbed the same way the troops had marched, which made him reach his destination on time.
But unfortunately, it was another matter for Vishwa Swaroop.
Since his part of the route was very close to the central Makran range and the Raskoh range, the road the medical team needed to travel was very unfavourable. It contained large hills opposing their carriage, and as the medical soldiers were not as trained as the regular soldiers, it was highly improbable for these medical professionals to trek up the hill with medical supplies.
Hence, after receiving the news from Narasimha Nayak about his successful demolition of a hill, the military immediately dispatched thousands of soldiers who were in training for blasting operations. Workers from Gujarat who had run out of jobs because there were more people looking for jobs than there were available positions were immediately recruited for the construction of roads in Baluchistan.
Such people were paid a heavy premium on their salaries due to the harsh conditions of their work.
As it had come to this point, the Minister of Transportation immediately decided to put out recruitment for 200,000 able-bodied men to work as road construction workers in the region of Baluchistan.
The construction of roads from Gwadar to Panjgur and Ormara to Awaran suddenly started with the idea provided by Narasimha Nayak, and by the time the war ended, although the road construction would not have been completed, it is reasonable to assume that initial road clearance by the demolition of the hills could have been done, allowing for at least some communication between the various cities of the region.
This will all be realized in the coming few weeks; currently, the Chief Medical Officer Group is on the move with the blasting team in tow.
November 29th, 1655
The city of Indore, Mughal Empire
Thousands of troops were standing in front of the southern end of the wall, which had been quite badly damaged, and a long breach had occurred.
The troops, all of them, were just standing there, their eyes wide open, their faces lit with a red glow in the dark night, illuminated by the raging flames, not able to process what was happening in front of them.
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
Hundreds of Mughal cannons positioned atop the city wall in the north relentlessly bombarded the southern end of the city, their designated target. The onslaught unfolded mere meters away from the disbelieving troops stationed outside the city wall.
These iron projectiles fell on the homes and livelihoods of the people living in the slums like a flaming meteor shower, completely obliterating their lives.
These projectiles were also doused with oil, which made them light up as soon as the gunpowder ignited, causing fire damage whenever they hit these houses in the slums. These houses were made up of old wood, as the people living here could not afford to employ a mason or even buy enough materials for a stone or mud house.
"Ah!"
Vijay witnessed people desperately fleeing their homes, seeking refuge from the flames that engulfed the entire southern side of Indore city. However, the crimson inferno, akin to a flame from Hell itself, mercilessly devoured all life in its path.
The air soon became saturated with the acrid scent of burnt flesh and vaporized blood, assaulting Vijay’s senses as he witnessed the catastrophic loss of tens of thousands of lives unfolding before him.
"Why?" Vijay questioned silently within his mind, though he already knew the answer. It was merely a gamble, a gamble taken by the Mughal general on the opposing end, a gamble to fully eradicate them, the enemy of the Mughal Empire, by burning them to ashes. The same gamble also required a huge price to be paid if lost.
Unfortunately, it seemed like the opposing general did not think that the price was too large.
Vijay was standing there, still reeling from all the suffering witnessed inside the southern end of the city. His mind was clouded with chaotic emotions as he did not know what to feel. The continuous sensation from all his five senses, which only proved what he saw as authentic, further pushed Vijay into pits of insanity.
When things were looking very bad for Vijay, as he was only a single step away from losing control, a familiar sensation woke him up. It was the same sensation that woke him up the previous time he was about to snap. He felt the instinct of danger again, but this time it was not too intense.
He quickly moved out of the way of the breach and directed his soldiers to do the same, ensuring they were not in the direct line of the breach.
As soon as he did that, within a few minutes after the move, a flame of fire shot out from the breach, igniting everything in its path.
This incident shocked everyone, as even the Lieutenant Generals and Major Generals eyed vijay with unbelievable expressions.
With the last gust of flames escaping from the city, it was like a bell that woke up everyone. They all had sombre expressions on their faces.
At an unknown time, The little girls who had been screaming on top of the walls had stopped their screams as they could feel the heat wave emanating from the other side of the wall. They were tightly closing their eyes as they smelled the foul stench of human flesh burning.
Vijay gestured his hand, and with the help of ladders, these little girls were rescued immediately. Unfortunately, some of them were already dead.
Vijay could not tell if it was fortunate or unfortunate for these girls to survive. All their families were burnt into ash, after all, right next to them, as they couldn’t do anything but feel the heat emanating from the wall and hear the blood-curdling screams coming from inside the wall.
*Inhale*
*Exhale*
*Inhale*
*Exhale*
*Inhale*
*Exhale*
With a few deep breaths, it took a few minutes for Vijay to compose himself as he knew this could not go on any longer. He stood up on top of a destroyed Mughal cannon and started to speak, which got the attention of all the soldiers.
"Now we have seen what the limit of those so-called enemies of ours is. They can no longer even be classified as enemies; they are inhuman beasts," Vijay said, with his fist clenched and nerves popping out.
The soldiers who witnessed their lieutenant general, who saved their lives, speaking out decided to move closer and listen to his words, forming a large circle around Vijay.
"Right in front of our eyes, those cowards did not hesitate to burn down and kill at least tens of thousands of people, just for a good chance to kill us all. So apparently, our lives are worth more than those poor mothers, daughters, sons, and fathers who unfortunately lost their lives right on the other side of this wall," he said, with his hands pointing behind him.
Then Vijay’s face, behind the helmet, took on a grim look as he spit out each word slowly. He wanted his soldiers to hear each and every word of his speech clearly, to feel what he had in store for these Mughal scum. "Let us pay them back with blood. Now, I am saying, let us butcher and make those Mughal scum feel lucky to not be dead.
Make them feel afraid to be alive and wish for death," Vijay roared, his voice thundering.
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēwebnovel.com.
"I will make their bodies, little by little, be scavenged by hungry crows and rodents, biting off the flesh bit by bit. And finally, when their death is near, I will bury them in the same place where my brothers and sisters inside the wall had been buried."
"I will burn down the nobles of the Mughal Empire inside the city, the same way my brothers and sisters have burned and suffered right in front of my own eyes. Even though there are not enough of these Mughal scum, their death and misery should be enough to atone for a portion of their sin," Vijay’s hand erratically clutching the air as if holding the neck of a chicken.
"So, who is with me?" Vijay roared, his voice now hoarse. With a mighty cry, he raised his talwar to the sky, his momentum becoming defiant and brave.
The soldiers, their emotions riled up, screamed at the top of their lungs.
"Me, I’ll fight with you, General!" a soldier cried, tears still lingering in his eyes.
"Me, my family will be taken care of by the empire. Let me lose my life on this battlefield after I take a few Mughal bastards’ heads!" another soldier said, his fist clenched.
"Me..."
"..."
Within a few moments, all the soldiers raised their hands and started screaming "me," further adding to the roar, their thirst for blood reaching its peak.
Vijay, who saw his warriors radiating an aura of slaughter, was satisfied and got down from the destroyed cannon as he ordered, "Birbal, rearrange the troops. We are going to bury these Mughal scum very shortly," Vijay stated with a chilling voice, his eyes cold, to which Birbal did not question the plan but simply stated, "Yes, sir," and left.
left alone, Vijay immediatly decided to secretly flank the city and attack from the north, as the cannons were now pointed towards the south. But when he made this decision, he felt it was somewhat dangerous. After having multiple experiences with his instincts, he immediately halted this idea. with a little thought, he concluded that reinforcements might be very near.
"This makes things more tricky," he thought.
If it were before, Vijay would have immediately given up the attack and withdrawn, since they had done enough damage, and his original mission was only to cause distraction to the Mughal Empire, and not to actually conquer Indore. But not now. Vijay had gone past the point of retreating. He had witnessed something he should not have, and he no longer wished to play it safe.
He wanted to uproot the 50,000 troops coming as reinforcements and the approximately 10,000 troops inside the city of Indore immediately.
"What to do," Vijay muttered to himself in deep thought as hundreds of possibilities ran through his mind, contemplating any possibility that would let his goal be achieved.
P.S. Sorry had to rush the edit, (busy) as it was getting close to the deadline (Daily upload) and I did not want to miss an upload.