June 25th, 1656
Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, the region of Madhya Pradesh
It had been nearly a month since Agni was born, and Vijay had spent the whole month playing with him. It was truly one of the happiest days he had ever lived. But sadly, this couldn’t go on, since being an emperor, duty called for him and he had to return to the battlefield.
However, despite being at the frontline, he was still immersed in the joy of his son’s birth and could still remember that only a few weeks ago, the Namakkaranam ceremony took place, and in the presence of family and relatives, his son was officially named Agni Devaraya, the Prince of the Devaraya Dynasty.
As for why he is not the Prince of the Empire, it is because the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire does not have princes and princesses. All it has are emperors and kings.
Vijay wanted to title his son a king, as it was his birthright, but he was convinced by Kavya to wait until he was at least 15 years of age. According to her, Agni should work hard to deserve the title. So, Vijay withheld the coronation ceremony for his son.
Maybe what his wife said also has some truth in it. If the title is readily given by birth, then it will not have value in the eyes of the holder, but if it is earned by the holder himself, the value will be immense. Thinking of this, Vijay thought about whether to add this clause to the royal family’s inheritance book that he had started writing.
Also, considering how both the previous title holders of the king rank were people who immensely contributed to the empire, people like King Logananda Senapati, who was the previous marshal of the empire and was responsible for the foundational military brilliance of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, and King Aditya Bhonsle, who secured the empire’s legal rights to the throne of the Maratha Kingdom.
Although this was not as notable as King Logananda Senapati’s contributions, it was undeniable nonetheless. So in Vijay’s thoughts, maybe if Agni could see these people and their contributions, he would be motivated to work towards the goal of becoming a king of the empire.
However, is this practically possible? Truthfully, there is no way to verify it, and only the future can tell.
On another note, his injuries have completely healed from the battle against the Swiss mercenaries, and he is currently back on the battlefield.
In his own words, "This is the final push for the end of the Mughal Empire. How can I be left out?"
Additionally, Vijay has accumulated more anger towards Muhammad V of the Mughal Empire due to him belligerently destroying nearly all the sacred sites in the regions of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The regions of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have immense historical, cultural, and religious significance to the Bharatiya and Dharmic civilizations due to it being the region where both Lord Rama and Sri Gautam Buddha walked and preached. It could be considered a sacred place in the hearts of Sanatanis. Now, what Muhammad has done has completely angered not only Vijay but also the people of the empire.
This anger grew to such a degree that even the farmers working in the fields picked up their hoes and were ready to march towards the north. Fortunately, this crowd was controlled, and the emotion of the people was suppressed at the start as Vijay promised them to get revenge.
This brings us to the current situation. After the fall of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bengal, the Mughal empire was officially split. The regions of Nepal, Bhutan, and Lahore have already declared independence on their own.
Vijay, who already noticed the signs of this, was only waiting for the Mughal Empire to send troops to these split areas so that he could take the opportunity to launch an attack.
That time has come. The Mughal Empire officially sent 200,000 troops to take back Nepal, Bhutan, and Lahore—150,000 to Nepal and Bhutan, and 50,000 to Lahore.
Vijay knows that this is not the only split that has occurred in the Mughal Empire. Punjab could be included in that list too, but unfortunately, He also knew that even though the region of Punjab wanted to split up, the deterrence of the Mughal Empire was still high. In Vijay’s prediction, the Nawab of Malerkotla is waiting to see the reactions of all parties.
With this, Vijay understood that he could operate more flexibly now. The first thing he did was send a diplomatic mission to the region of Rajasthan to talk with the Rajput dynasties of Rathore and Kachwaha stationed in Jodhpur and Jaipur in order to not attack their southern border with Madhya Pradesh when the time came.
In exchange, the Rajput families of Rathore and Kachwaha will not be prosecuted and will be allowed to exist as rich families in the Bharatiya Empire in the future. Of course, Vijay also sent a warning with the request, stating that if they did not listen, the Bharatiya Empire would not mind slaughtering the traitors.
As for who the traitors were, the Rajputs knew very well. Although in the beginning they were made to come under Mughal rule unwillingly, as time went on and they integrated more and more into the social system of the Mughal Empire, their deeds became inseparable from what the Mughals did. So they had no doubt about who His Majesty Vijay was talking about.
After witnessing the absolute dominance of the Bharatiya Empire in the war, they had even less confidence in defeating this behemoth of the south.
So, fortunately, they gave in.
So now, in the current situation, Rajasthan is acting as a buffer between Sindh, Punjab, and Haryana, providing a temporary stable west battlefront that allows the Bharatiya Empire to fully concentrate on its northern regions of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
So far, Seven targets have been identified. By capturing these Seven targets, the whole region of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar could come under the control of the Bharatiya Empire, putting an end to the Mughal Empire once and for all.
These six locations are Delhi, Agra, Bareilly, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, and Patna.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
These are the places where most of the Mughal troops are stationed. Given that the troops that retreated with Feroze Jung and Shehzad Khan have entered Uttar Pradesh, it is safe to say that the backbone of the Mughal Empire is in the strongest state it has ever been in its history, with nearly 1.2 million troops in the regions of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alone.
Additionally, Muhammad has been working on infrastructure within the region controlled by the Timurid Dynasty for the past two months, enhancing the battle capabilities of the Mughal Empire within the regions of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. So Vijay knew that the war was going to be tough.
Hence, he was prepared for a long struggle.
Given that some of the Mughal troops have gone to wage wars against Nepal, Bhutan, and Lahore, the pressure on the Bharatiya Empire is reduced a little, but not by much.
Hence without delaying any longer and with the arrival of Vijay, the war officially started.
"Is Gwalior taken back?" Vijay asked.
Yogendra Singh, standing opposite Vijay, answered with pride, "Yes, Your Majesty. We were able to avoid Shivpuri where Feroze Jung was located and captured Gwalior after using Jhansi as a foothold. Due to our capture of Gwalior, General Feroze Jung evacuated Shivpuri and retreated to Agra."
With a reluctant expression, he added, "We did try to ambush him in Shivpuri the night we conquered Gwalior, but sadly, as Marshal Kiran Poojari said, he is very slippery and hard to deal with."
Vijay nodded in understanding. "It’s really a pity, but there was nothing anyone could have done about it without prior information. Sadly, it seemed that Feroze Jung controls his army very tightly and does not let out information casually."
Saying that Vijay’s eyes fell on the map. Along with him were not only Yogendra Singh but also Ramayya Senapathi, Narasimha Nayak, Kiran Poojari and Birbal Singh.
Finalizing the general attack pattern in his mind vijay started to divide the tasks.
"Your Excellency Marshal, you will cover our rear. The defence of Jharkhand, Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh is left to you," Vijay stated, his eyes locked on Kiran Poojari.
Kiran Poojari did not hesitate and stated, "Leave it to me, Your Majesty. I will make sure the Mughals do not gain any advantage."
Vijay was satisfied and nodded. "As for Commander Yogendra Singh, you will do your best to take down Chitrakoot and Prayagraj. Can you do it?"
"Leave it to me, Your Majesty. I have been waiting for this day for half my life."
"Good."
"Ramayya Senapathi, you will do your best to capture Kanpur. Can you do it?"
"I am confident, Your Majesty. The task will be completed."
"Yes, very good."
"Narasimha Nayak, you will act with me. We are going to attack Agra and Delhi. Strategizing for this war is left to you. Can you do it?"
"It’s an honour to serve beside you, Your Majesty, and please don’t worry. I will not let you down."
"That’s reassuring."
"Birbal Singh, you will be tasked with the capture of Patna. Can you do it?"
"I am confident, Your Majesty. I will make sure that your flank is clear."
"Very good."
"The fate of our war that has lasted for nearly two years will be decided in this final battle. Hence, in order to leave no doubts, a million troops of our own will participate in this battle."
Vijay eyed Kiran Poojari for a moment and stated, his voice a little apologetic, "Marshal Kiran Poojari will have to make do with the 600,000 new recruits for the defensive tasks."
Kiran Poojari was not burdened by this news. "Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I will transform the newbies into a fighting force within a month."
Vijay nodded and continued, "Of the million troops participating in the war, 400,000 will be commanded by myself and Narasimha Nayak due to our targets being the most important in this war. The remaining generals will be allocated 200,000 troops each."
"All weapons will be declassified for this war. All commanders are authorized to use any weapons they deem necessary to fulfil their mission, be it the secret rocket launchers or even the latest Shikari C50 and C70 sniper rifles. Do whatever it takes; don’t let the Mughal Empire catch a breath."
"So, this is it, gentlemen. Our last push to remove the obstacle for unification."
"Jai Hind!" Vijay shouted.
"Jai Hind!"
"Jai Hind!"
"Jai Hind!"
The crowd responded. They stood up, unsheathed their talvars, and raised them high in a show of bravery and courage.
P.S. Thank you I_am_truck_kun for an ice cola