December 13th, 1655
Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Cheranadu State, Economic capital - Kochi
While the final stages of the battle for Balochistan are underway, the construction of signal towers for Arka Drishti communication is also progressing at optimal speed.
Due to the raw materials required for these towers not being too expensive or rare, the responsibility of constructing these towers was handed over to the local administrative units wherever the communication route passed.
For this reason, the construction of these towers has started in thousands of places simultaneously, and wood shortages have been reported immediately. Consequently, a few more milling factories had to be constructed to process more wood and meet the demand.
Within a month, the construction of the Arka Drishti communication line should be completed and ready for operation, with the only exception being Gujarat, which is not yet integrated into the empire and the route has not yet been planned as the three main capitals of the state have yet to be selected.
Currently, Vijay has travelled to the city of Kochi, as he had been informed that the Venetians are finally willing to build a battleship locally within the empire as well as sell its technology. He is currently very excited about this, as the empire, even with such a strong naval presence, is still only a green-water navy that cannot leave the seas surrounding the subcontinent or the Indian Ocean.
With the construction of battleships, that problem could soon be solved, officially entering the wider naval world and joining the established sea powers formally.
Vijay also received a message that Vishesh Nilathri at the Boswell Design Bureau is halfway complete with the design for an armed merchant ship. The same goes for Ghana Prabu Bherunda, who had received the same task.
*creak*
The wheels of the carriage he was on slowly came to a halt.
He had now entered the premises of the Shivaji shipyard, which has the majority shareholding of the Molin family.
As soon as Vijay got out, he was taken aback to find that there was a red carpet stretched along the entrance and people who looked to be in Western aristocratic attire welcoming him.
Among these people was Francis Molin, the representative of the Molin family in the empire.
Francis , who saw His Majesty the Emperor arriving, quickly did a Bharatiya-style namaskara by joining both his hands in an awkward manner.
Vijay, who saw this, laughed inwardly as he, too, reciprocated the greeting. After which, they both shook hands in a Western fashion and went inside the shipyard.
Looking around the dock, Vijay was really taken aback because the dock he was seeing now was drastically different from what he had imagined. The current dock is many times larger than when the shipyard was established.
He could see many European dock workers diligently working on various ships. He could also currently see multiple Dhristi-class catamarans being constructed simultaneously in all the dry docks.
"Mr. Molin, did the shipyard expand? It looks more lively and bigger than before," Vijay said.
Francis, who was walking beside Vijay, suddenly became happy after hearing this question. "Of course, Your Majesty. With the support of the state, the shipyard has been expanded three times, and four more dry docks have been excavated for the construction of the Empire’s own battleships," he said with a smile.
If Francis a few months ago had seen the current Francis , he would have been greatly surprised. because, Initially, when he learned about the military-economic system, he felt regretful since the shipyard that had been newly invested in suddenly became a government-run property.
Although he was promised that it would be returned after the war and he verified this claim himself by looking at the constitution and various law bills, he still felt doubtful and uneasy because, in this case, the return on investment would take many years to show results.
However, his disappointment immediately changed into one of great delight and happiness. Although he had considered the drawbacks of the military-economic system, which made his company not entirely his anymore, he did not consider the good parts. For example, after the Shivaji Shipyard was nationalized and became state-run, the support the shipyard received from the state increased immensely.
This support was more comprehensive and exclusive than when he was independently running the shipyard as the largest shareholder.
Right before his eyes, different parts needed for the construction of ships were delivered to the door at the lowest cost. These were the same parts on which he previously paid up to a 90% premium, and now they were so cheap that it was unbelievable.
This was the first time he had ever seen such a situation, and the shipyard, which typically required a lot of resources to expand, had been rapidly expanded multiple times over.
Looking at his fixed asset increasing in value at a noticeable speed day by day, Francis immediately forgot about his complaints. Although he could not see any immediate return, just by holding 35% of the shipyard, the value of this 35% had already increased many times over.
And now, with the current plans to manufacture battleships, Francis’s excitement was through the roof. Unknowingly, his family might have dug up a gold mine. Hence, he did not hesitate to invest a lot more skilled labour into the shipyard in order to quickly train the labourers here to meet European standards for the upcoming construction of the battleships.
Eventually, both of them, while conversing, reached the designer’s studio in the shipyard.
Vijay entered the room and saw a middle-aged man, around 45 years old.
He looked like he was studying some design drawings. Vijay, curious about what it was, silently stood behind the man and observed the design drawings carefully. He was taken aback as he concluded that these were the design drawings of the Vinayak-class frigate.
"So, what do you think about the design of this warship?" Vijay asked, curious about the thoughts of the European designer.
The middle-aged man, who was intently concentrating on inspecting the design drawings, was immediately startled awake by this abrupt question. Looking at the unfamiliar face of Vijay, he did not know what to say as he was still confused about who this man was.
Fortunately, he did not do anything drastic; the man with the light brown and flexion in front of him was obviously someone important since he was wearing some sort of luxurious attire.
Looking next to him, he was surprised to find that it was His Excellency Francis Molin. So he immediately confirmed that the brown man in front of him was indeed someone important.
"This..." He did not know what to say. Fortunately, Francis saved him from the embarrassment and introduced him.
"Leonardo, let me introduce. This is the Emperor of Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, Vijay Deva Raya, the ruler of this land," Francis declared with a serious expression.
Leonardo, hearing this, was shocked and immediately knelt down. "I am sorry, Your Majesty. Please forgive me for my offence. I was a little impudent in your presence." Leonardo couldn’t believe that he stood up in front of the emperor of such a big and strong nation.
Vijay was taken aback by this sudden action of the man, but remembering the aristocratic and noble structure and culture in Europe, he understood the cause of such a big reaction. hence, with a calm tone, he replied.
"Stand up, Mr. Leonardo. You don’t have to kneel in front of me, and I have not taken any offence since you had no knowledge about me."
Leonardo felt that he was pardoned and slowly stood up, but this time he kept his posture low.
Vijay then looked at Francis.
Francis , after being stared at, quickly understood the question of his majesty and proceeded to introduce the designer to Vijay.
"Your Majesty, this is the chief designer of the shipyard whom I have hired from back home. His name is Leonardo da Marcola. He comes from a shipbuilding family and has a lot of merit back in the Republic. So, he is very suitable for the empire’s needs in constructing the battleship," Francis introduced.
Vijay had already known about the man’s profession, but this was the first time he had learned the designer’s name. However, even after finding out the name, he remained curious about his initial question about the Vinayak-class frigate. "Mr. Leonardo, you haven’t answered me yet. What do you think about the Vinayak-class frigate?"
Leonardo became nervous again as he glanced at Molin for help.
Moylan, who understood his difficulties, quickly replied, "You can answer truthfully. His Majesty will not punish you."
Leonardo, although still skeptical, believed the words of the young master and thought, "Your Majesty, the Vinayak-class frigate is an excellent warship that fulfils its designed purpose."
Vijay nodded as Leonardo continued, but this time with a frown on his face. "However, Your Majesty, this battleship has a lot of redundancies. A lot of materials were used for its construction, but not used optimally. The design is not fully streamlined; obviously, the ship could be more streamlined and theoretically go faster and be more manoeuvrable.
But with some of the minor design flaws adding up, I am sure the ship could not reach its full potential."
Seeing that there was no reaction from Vijay, Leonardo felt he had said too much. Hoping to buffer the criticism, he quickly added, "Overall, Your Majesty, the Vinayak-class frigate is an excellent warship for the empire, which only started naval construction a few years ago. If what the empire has achieved had been done by any country in Europe, it would have already been considered a miracle."
Vijay nodded his head as this was indeed a good point made by the Venetian designer. He was not surprised by the criticism of the frigate because, as the Venetian noted, the Empire’s Navy had only started a few years ago. Vijay did not expect the naval technology to reach the world’s top-level immediately; he was currently satisfied with being at the general level in naval technology.
As the empire gained more experience, the process of streamlining and perfecting the designs would naturally follow.
"What you said does indeed exist, Mr. Leonardo, so you don’t have to worry. You have said nothing wrong," Vijay comforted, looking at the hint of panic in Leonardo’s eyes.
Leonardo, hearing these reassuring words, was immediately relieved, putting his heart at ease.
"This is a department in which the empire should improve, so there is no shame in accepting it," Vijay concluded.
Then he finally got to the main topic.
"Alright, Mr. Leonardo, I heard that you have a design drawing for me."
*Phew*
Leonardo felt like he had gained another life now that he confirmed he wasn’t being punished. He was confident that even His Excellency Francis Molin wouldn’t take his side if he offended the monarch of a powerful nation.
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Quickly listening to the request of His Majesty, he immediately took out the design drawings he had in the drawer and explained as he handed them over to Vijay. "Your Majesty, initially according to Mr. Molin, we wanted to introduce the Galley to the Empire’s Navy, but after consulting with Danior Bosswell, we had to change the design immediately."
Hearing a familiar name, Vijay’s curiosity piqued. "Danior? Is he doing well? Oh, and by the way, what did he say?"
Leonardo immediately replied, thinking back, "Well, when Danior came here to learn the process of construction according to European standards, I suspected he was looking for a breakthrough in his designing skills. I must say it is a very clever idea, and it might even work.
Even I was only capable of designing a battleship after fully understanding the construction process and everything that goes into making a warship."
"Danior suggested that the battleship to be introduced should be a full-sail warship and not semi-sail and semi-ore, so we were in a dilemma about which warship to introduce," Leonardo explained.
Vijay was confused as he asked, "Don’t you Venetians have the Galleon? Can’t you introduce those? They are full-sail warships, aren’t they?"
Before Leonardo could reply, Molin was immediately embarrassed to hear this question. So he quickly answered, cutting off Leonardo, "Your Majesty, it is mainly because these warships are still in current service in the Venetian Navy. Although His Excellency the Doge said that these ships could be sold, their technology cannot be sold since this is the top shipbuilding technology in the world."
Vijay, although regretful, understood the decision as he himself would not sell the cement-making formula or even the paper-making formula to anyone, even if he sold the finished product.
With a sigh, Vijay asked, "Then what was the solution you came up with?"
Leonardo immediately got excited and replied, "Talking with Danior, I got a lot of inspiration. So, according to one of his suggestions, I came up with this design. Please have a look."
Saying that he handed over a design drawing to Vijay.
Vijay, seeing the design drawing, was immediately satisfied. This was everything that he wanted; it was the battleship the empire needed. Hence, he happily said, "I am very satisfied with this design. Please construct its prototype immediately. The Empire’s Navy will place orders after its testing."
Hearing this promise, both Leonardo and Francis were very happy.
Leonardo, in his happiness, asked, "Your Majesty, do you have a name for this one-of-a-kind purpose-built first-rate warship of the empire?"
Vijay, feeling that this was one of the most crucial warships of the Empire, similar to the 1st warship Hampi-class, took on a similar naming convention. After considering the significance of Ashtavinayak Pilgrimage sites in Pune, he replied, "Let’s call it BNV Pune-class battleship."