April 29th, 1656
The Mughal Empire, Region of Bengal
Sarvesh Ranavikrama, along with his expanded crew of 8,000 marines making up two Brigades, wore green camouflage uniforms and resolutely marched towards Dhaka.
Sarvesh’s objective this time? It is the same as always: to open up a path for the military to land.
"pitter-patter"
"pitter-patter"
"pitter-patter"
The rain started to fall heavily, making it more convenient for Sarvesh and his unit as the defences would be lax in this situation.
Sarvesh had heard that in this region of the subcontinent, the rain falls nonstop for multiple weeks or even months. So, even though this condition would make the ammunition of the firearms not suitable for use, it worked in his favour since the empire had figured out a way to produce waterproof bags that could hold the ammunition.
4 hours later...
*Step* *Step* *Step* *Step*
Sarvesh and his imposing unit finally reached the township of Madhabdi, only 24 km from their destination, which is Tongi, a town on the northernmost side of Dhaka. The reason this place was chosen was because, although it is only a town on the outskirts of Dhaka, it is actually inside the defensive perimeter of Dhaka due to the ease of entering Dhaka from Tongi.
Additionally, Tongi has a relatively weak defensive perimeter since there are no wealthy people living there to pay for a stronger one. Thus the situation, where the target is both inside the defensive perimeter and has weaker internal defenses, is a huge opportunity for the Bharatiya Empire to not take advantage of.
Sarvesh and the marines who had arrived at Madhabdi did not enter the township but stayed on the outskirts of the jungle for the night. The only thing he sent was a few men who were familiar with the local geography to procure enough grain for 8,000 marines to last for two days.
As for whether he would be discovered, Sarvesh was not worried since he was briefed about the situation in the area. He knew about the corrupt warehouse administrator, so Sarvesh sent a hefty sum of gold coins to bribe the administrator to allow his men to buy the grain in the needed quantity.
Initially, the warehouse manager hesitated due to the high quantity of grain requested, but looking at the additional gold coins provided, he immediately agreed and transported the grain within a few hours.
Truthfully, the grain wasn’t even a large amount since it was only for two days, which made the grain load only around 32,000 kilograms, which is what some large families use annually.
Sarvesh, with the grain procured, immediately set off to his destination, Dhaka.
---
In a busy alleyway in the region of Tongi
"Plan ’Bring in the Snake’ is a go," muttered a man who looked like a beggar sitting in the corner of a street in a loud voice with a hysterical expression.
"Haaaa HAAHAHHHAHAH," he burst into intermittent laughter that scared away a few people.
The pedestrians who saw the crazy eyes of the man immediately kept a six-foot distance from him, considering him retarded. However, one person in the crowd had a bright smile on his face as he quickly hastened his steps and disappeared into an alleyway.
The beggar, who stared at the man who ran away out of the corner of his eye, couldn’t help but mutter, "These freaking newbies don’t even know how to hide properly. Oh well."
Saying that he stood up with great difficulty and, using a stick he found on the roadside as a cane, slowly walked towards the north.
At the same time, the man who had run away entered a house that looked weather-beaten and very delicate to the touch.
"Plan ’Bring in the Snake’ is a go," he said excitedly.
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The four to five men who heard the words were immediately excited. Without any delay, they left the dark room, and each of them went to different places.
Within a few hours, the network formed between the Shudra class of society received some sort of information which made them all excited.
---
In the river of Shitalakshya, surprisingly enough, if one looked carefully, hundreds of figures could be seen crossing the river with the help of small boats.
Unfortunately, the guards who were supposed to tightly oversee anyone crossing the river through the bridge or otherwise were silently put into a deep sleep by the marines as they quietly made the crossing.
The guards, who later woke up, shook their heads and moved on with their duty since they did not feel or notice any damage to their bodies or any other places they saw. As for why they suddenly fell asleep, it was attributed to the sleepless nights in recent times.
Naturally, this was really not the case. The actual situation was that they were drugged with morphine, turned into a gas, which was used to put the guards to sleep before sunrise when there was still darkness. Taking this opportunity, Sarvesh and his unit quickly crossed the river, and they were now one step closer to their destination, Tongi.
Two kilometres before the defensive walls of Dhaka, Sarvesh quickly took out the waterproof cover he was provided and covered his bag.
His crew did the same as they quickly jumped into the Turag River, a river passing through Tongi as a tributary. To be fully submerged, the empire developed a new underwater breathing tool, essentially the bladder they used in the last operation, but this time the bladder was enlarged, and their clothes were more suitable for underwater swimming.
*Splash*
Sarvesh and his unit of 8,000 men quickly jumped into the water and swam towards the city wall. Fortunately, unlike the Sabarmati River, where Sarvesh and his team had to go against the current, the river they were swimming in now flowed with the current, allowing them to preserve energy and hold their breath for a longer time.
500 meters from the city wall:
"Ah!"
A boy, happily fishing with his father was scared shitless when thousands of people suddenly emerged from the water, gasping like their lives depended on it.
Sarvesh saw the man and his kid but didn’t say anything and waved them off.
Simultaneously, the bladders that were depleted of oxygen were refilled with air. To make it convenient, they were attached to a pump-like mechanism that allowed the marines to easily pump air from the atmosphere into the bladders. Also, to keep the bladders submerged in the water and not rise up due to the air inside, weights of sufficient calculation were attached to the bladders.
This calculation was naturally done by Sanjeev Bansari, a scientist in fluid mechanics.
"Final push," Sarvesh gestured as he took a deep breath and submerged into the water once again.
3 minutes later...
Sarvesh and his unit arrived in the vicinity of the city wall. Looking up, they saw artillery and soldiers positioned on top of the wall. However, surprisingly, these people were not paying attention to anything outside the wall; they were focused on something happening inside the city. Sarvesh could hear their loud laughter from the top.
Although he did not know why they were laughing, he knew this must be the distraction that Yogendra had talked about. Hence, despite not knowing what was distracting them, Sarvesh kept his mind focused and moved forward.
Unknown to the Mughal soldiers on top of the city wall, 8000 Bharatiya Marine elites, each a force in their own right, silently sneaked into the city.
"We want better opportunities!"
"We want the right to education!"
"We want more freedom in religion!"
"...."
Crossing the wall, an intense chant reached Sarvesh’s ears, though muffled in clarity due to travelling through the water, It couldn’t be mistaken—this was the shout of hundreds of thousands of people screaming at the top of their lungs.
"So this was the distraction Yogendra mentioned," Sarvesh realised, his heart heavy.
---
Only a few meters away from the riverbank, a crowd of 525,000 people, all of the Shudra class, collectively went on strike, demanding better rights for themselves, after learning about the rights of people of the same class in the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire.
Naturally, this was orchestrated by Roshan, who worked behind the scenes. Although the return on the heavy investment he made, paying each member of the Shudra class to attend the strike, was only allowing Sarvesh and his unit to sneak past the defences, it was ultimately worth it. This seemingly monstrous investment could very well be the reason for the fall of Dhaka.
Sarvesh, who had reached Tongi through the tributary Tongi Kalai, was relieved that he and his unit had arrived in Dhaka safe and sound.
However, for the time being, he did not act. According to the schedule, he has to wait 24 hours until Yogendra and Lachit Borphukan are ready on their ends. When both of these generals launch their attacks from the north and east respectively, Sarvesh would immediately seize this opportunity to cripple the defences from within and open up a path for the army to enter.
Now, the only problem is the lodging situation. Fortunately, Tongi is an area where most of the lower-class or lower-income people live, which means these residents are generally not very educated, resulting in an abnormally high population density. Consequently, due to the high population density in a small space, the area is not highly monitored by city administrators.
Additionally, to ensure the mission proceeds as smoothly as possible, Roshan has made arrangements for them to stay anonymous throughout the next 24 hours.