January 12th, 1656
Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, Region of Gujarat, Karnavati (Ahmedabad)
Vijay, after making his preparations and reluctantly saying goodbye to Kavya, immediately travelled to the new eastern frontier in the region of Gujarat. In the meantime, the defensive capabilities of the empire at the northern border have increased immensely.
The 100,000 police officers Vijay had ordered Arjun to recruit are now fully trained in the basic tasks of police officers and have joined the workforce under the leadership of a few veteran officers.
As for their weapons, they were equipped with the retired muskets and flintlocks of the Empire’s military, as these are currently being replaced by the Brown Bess musket and the bayonet.
Hence, with these 100,000 new police officers joining the force, the veteran officers who had been undergoing rigorous training according to military standards for the last two months have now joined the military. Each of these officers is ranked as an individual soldier under the command of a sergeant, which is the lowest position in the military organization system.
However, climbing up the ranks is easier for them because, generally, police officers need to have knowledge about various laws in the empire.
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Most of them, being veterans in the police department for a few years, already know how to read and write, which makes it easier for them to advance as they can quickly adapt to the increasing mechanization of the army.
Not to mention the already rich battle experience they might have had with the urban environment during their line of duty, Which makes them mentally better than the normal soldiers at the bottom of the military organisation.
Excluding the defensive capabilities that have been ramped up due to the police force joining the army, even the life-saving ability of the Empire’s military has improved significantly. A few days ago, a graduation ceremony took place for nurses in various medical academies.
Among the 12,821 applicants, 4,020 managed to graduate and were deemed fit to serve in various field hospitals in each division. After earning their spots as nurses in various field hospitals, these women are now receiving basic training in the military logistics department regarding the rules and regulations to follow in the military organizational system.
Although these nurses were taught all the medical knowledge needed for the job, the time was still too short. They were only given a few months to learn all the medical knowledge necessary for the battlefield, and in the meantime, there was not enough time to receive training in military organization as well.
Hence, despite not being perfect due to time constraints, these medical professionals have greatly boosted the battle readiness of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire for the upcoming war.
Vijay, in the palace room in his office, saw all these reports in front of him and was satisfied that things were going according to schedule. He leaned back in his chair with ease, while the man in front of him, wearing a yellow turban, looked at Vijay with nervousness and awe.
However, Vijay’s satisfaction did not last long as he was disturbed by an urgent communication he received from the Arka Dristi communication channel. As for how he received the signal?
Well, The communication station at Narayan is finally connected to Bhuj, and through Bhuj, a communication channel has been formed with Karnavati, aided by temporary travelling messengers and heliograms along the path. Hence, Vijay can now monitor both the battle ongoing in Baluchistan and the Eastern Defense Line against the Mughal Empire simultaneously.
As for the Sikh man in front of Vijay, after looking at the intelligence agent who arrived inside the room, he quickly got up in a respectful manner, attempting to leave the room, As he felt that he should not know about the SSS-level intelligence meant only for his majesty. However, Vijay, seeing the man getting up and planning to leave, shook his hand and motioned for him to sit back down.
The man who was halfway up his seat promptly sat down after he was denied to leave.
Vijay, With a hint of doubt, took the letter from the messenger, thinking to himself, "Did something happen at the frontline?" There was a hint of curiosity on his face.
Reading the letter, his eyes widened in disbelief upon learning that there were indeed artillery pieces in the city of Quetta. Previously, it had been mere speculation, but now faced with reality, he couldn’t help but be taken aback. However, Vijay immediately calmed down; he was not worried. All these days, he had been diligently reviewing his knowledge to find a solution for any potential problem.
and, as a result, he really came up with a solution that could be implemented with minimal effort given the existing conditions at the Baluchistan battlefront.
Additionally, after reviewing the intelligence about how the commanders used tunnelling tactics to try to get closer to the enemy, Vijay was even more satisfied. , The tactic he was about to suggest would be easier with tunnels already constructed, especially since, from what was written on the letter, the soil was quite coarse and easier to dig.
With this small detail in the quality of the sand, Vijay felt like the tactic he suggested would work even more brilliantly than the original.
Coming to this realization, he immediately wrote down his strategy and was about to send it back through the Arka Dristi communication channel. However, before he could end the letter with his name, he remembered something—it was the advancements that had been recently made in the Academy of military sciences, which had been successful in developing finer cement, 30% stronger than the original one.
Realizing this, Vijay’s eyes brightened even more, and he ordered the Sikh man in front of him.
"Jaipal Singh, arrange a tonne of our new Devi 553 version of cement and send it to the frontline in Balochistan,"
Jaipal Singh, appearing to be in his 30s with a calm demeanour, upon hearing his Majesty’s order, though unaware of its purpose, immediately utilized his own communication channel to the war zone.
He passed along the orders and arranged for the new cement produced by the Academy of Military Sciences to be transported immediately with the help of the Clippers, the fastest naval vessel in the Empire’s service.
Jaipal Singh is the new logistics director whom Vijay appointed after the previous logistics director passed away due to sustaining an injury during a fight.
Vijay felt a little sad about him when it happened because the old man was responsible for all the logistics during the One Year War with the Mughal Empire, and he was also responsible for half of the Logistics tasks during regaining the region of Gujarat.
It was not until he passed away that Vijay decided to appoint three to four rotating directors to the logistics department since the logistics department had become too big and powerful.
Vijay was not worried that this department could turn against him; he never had that idea. His only trouble was that the logistics department had become too big with its affairs, controlling infrastructure constructions in the nation, along with the logistics of war, people’s livelihood, industry, raw materials, and everything related to logistics.
What Vijay worried about was how a single person could control such a huge organization. Hence, he decided on this four-chair rotating director system where each director is responsible for a separate division in the logistics department, while this position rotates among themselves.
Jaipal Singh in front of him is the current logistics director of the active war military logistics division; i.e. he now currently controls everything going to and coming from Baluchistan.
Since Jaipal Singh was only recently promoted, he came to visit Vijay in order to gain his approval and to hear if his majesty had any suggestions for him. But now that he got a task as soon as he took the post he immediately acted not wasting a moment as he left the room.
Vijay, who saw the man working so quickly, nodded his head in approval and fell into deep thought.
"Even though this problem could be solved, it is true that the empire still lacks light artillery that could be easily carried," he murmured, tapping his hands on the chair as he continued, "And this weapon should not weigh over 200 kilograms, but unlike the grenade launcher, it should cause some damage to strong fortifications."
His eyes were continuously darting around as if he was possessed by a ghost, but in actuality, Vijay was going through all the options he could find in his brain right now.
*Clap!*
With a loud exclamation, he yelled, "I got it!" His face filled with a big smile.
He immediately took out a paper and started to write down the prerequisites and the brief specifications of the cannon he required so that the Academy of Military Sciences could research it as soon as possible.
Imagining the purpose of the gun, Vijay first started by naming it the Bharatiya Hastha Dhwani Light Armour-Piercing Cannon, or HDLC for short.
Vijay used this name, after considering that this cannon could potentially be used as a hand cannon if two strong men are able to hold it in place, hence its name inspired by the Sanskrit words "sound of the hand," where "Hasta" means hand and "Dhwani" means music or sound.
Overall the cannon was positioned in the lighter category where it could be carried by a few men or an animal.
As for its brief specifications:
For the barrel, Vijay used wrought iron for the outer layer and high carbon alloy steel for the inner layer to provide more strength while simultaneously reducing as much weight as possible. Its length was estimated at 0.9-1.2 meters, which balanced the weight restrictions Vijay put on the cannon.
He even added rifling to the cannon, as the hydraulic rifling machine could barely handle rifling this barrel.
As for its weight, Vijay kept it around 100 to 150 kilograms.
He designed the flintlock ignition system since it is more reliable than the matchlock and, more importantly, since the flintlock system is now the standard firing mechanism used in the military, which in turn also helps in logistics and does not have to overhaul the production lines.
For mounting, Vijay improved a swivel mount designed for camelback, horseback, and elephantback transportation with increased stability, and he also added a spring mechanism for recoil absorption.
As for the range, it is only around 150 to 250 meters, which is quite low, but considering these weapons are used for mobile or closer-range targets, it should be enough.
The firing angle, although not too important, Vijay made it adjustable to -10 to +15 degrees.
As for the rate of fire, it is a breech-loading mechanism, hence it could allow for a faster reload, resulting in two to three rounds per minute.
By the way, this is the first breech-loaded weapon that has been successfully designed by Vijay. It would also be the first breech-loaded cannon of the empire if the weapon turned out to be a success on the battlefield.
Vijay was confident in his design and the working of the cannon because the pressure the cannon has to deal with is quite low due to its small size and limited capacity of gunpowder, and at the same time, it is built with strong materials like high carbon alloy steel which resists even the pressure of the giant 30-kilogramme calibre cannon. Hence, the breech-loader should work just fine.
Finally, for the build time, Vijay felt that it would only need a few weeks to complete it since the principle of this weapon is not too complex.
Taking his pen off the paper, Vijay let out a sigh of relief. He was finally done with the design of the cannon, which looked a lot similar to the Japanese hand cannons called Ōdzutsu that were used quite a bit in this era. Then, he took another piece of paper and seriously designed the projectiles used in the cannon he just completed outlining.
To Be Continued...