19th November 1656
Luzon, Philippines
Near the capital city of Spanish-controlled Philippines, Manila, in a dense evergreen forest, five to six men were carefully travelling through flora and fauna, being cautious not to make too much noise so as not to attract wild animals, and, God forbid, something even more dangerous: humans.
The people were even more careful considering that these men, who wore uniforms, were also carrying three to four boxes of goods, which appeared heavy from how much the carriers’ feet sank into the ground.
Naturally, these people were the Secret Service agents of the Bharatiya Empire, specially trained for the mission in Southeast Asia, and what they were carrying was, unsurprisingly, some firearms intended to act as an advertisement for their future business.
Niranjan, decked out in fully acquired Ranger gear, was carefully moving forward along with his team, following the guide they had found.
Initially, Niranjan had already expected that the resistance camp would be in some hard-to-detect and remote area, but he had never anticipated it to be so far inside the forest.
Also, from what his team had gathered so far, the resistance was led by a person named Tamblot, who was the leader of the resistance camp in the region of Luzon, which also happens to be the centrepiece and flagship of Spanish colonization in Southeast Asian nations.
Hence, Niranjan attached great importance to this meeting.
What’s more, putting aside the strategic significance of Tamblot, Niranjan quite admired this man who had done many heroic feats for his people and was almost at the status of a demigod.
Due to his work as a Secret Service intelligence agent, he had already collected as much information as possible about Tamblot, who is a Babaylan from the region of Bohol, an island in the Visayas Archipelago. Niranjan was greatly taken aback when he learned that Tamblot was just a priest preaching about the native animistic beliefs of the Boholanos.
However, his identity changed quickly when the Spanish expanded their influence and tyranny within the Visayas Archipelago.
In resistance, Tamblot stood up as a freedom fighter and led multiple uprisings against the Spanish. This revolt lasted for a whole year until it ended in 1622. Unfortunately, the revolt failed due to Tamblot overestimating the unity of his allies and underestimating the cowardice of the tribes who allied with the Spanish.
It was a life-and-death struggle for Tamblot during that period, but fortunately, he survived and later shifted his focus to directly targeting the heart of the Spanish presence, Luzon, instead of slowly taking over the entire Philippines.
"The guy was 19 years old when the revolt started in 1621; now he should be 44. I wonder if he still has the determination to fight," Niranjan thought, his eyes reflecting a mix of doubt and expectation.
Unknown to Niranjan, there was a freedom fighter in the Philippines by the name of Tamblot in the history of Vijay’s timeline too. But unlike in this timeline, the Tamblot in Vijay’s timeline, unfortunately, could not survive the revolt and subsequently died, later only being remembered as one of the freedom fighters who fought for the independence of the Philippines.
Obviously, the situation is much better now since Tamblot is still alive and his influence is still strong. It is much easier to start a revolutionary movement.
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Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
After a journey that took three hours on foot, Niranjan and his team finally reached a waterfall that was at least 100 meters tall. The guide they had followed also stopped, filled up his leather water pouch, drank some water from the stream, and sat down for a moment to rest.
Niranjan, looking at the scene, was baffled about what the guide was doing. However, since he and his crew were quite thirsty and a little tired, they replenished their water bottles and sat down for a quick break on a rock.
"Hey, brother, is the resistance camp still far away?" Niranjan asked the guide. He was more cordial and less formal than before, which was natural given the time they had spent familiarizing themselves during the long trek.
The guide had a smug grin on his face as he proudly stated, "You will know if you follow me."
Niranjan was confused by this statement, but after they had rested enough, they got up and continued to follow the guide.
They then passed through a cave-like structure, which was quite hidden on the side of the waterfall. Surprisingly, inside this cave was not darkness but structures that had been converted into a staircase, meticulously carved by humans.
Niranjan’s eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace as he followed the guide, who was leading ahead.
"WOW!"
Niranjan, reaching the top of the staircase, was greatly surprised by what he saw in front of him. It was a large settlement built of wood, stones, and leaves. This settlement was almost the size of a large town back home.
As far as Niranjan could tell, it was the largest human-made place he had seen within the Philippines, except Manila, of course.
Rows and rows of houses were bustling with activity as smoke rose from them. The kids, dressed in tribal-style clothing, ran around with smiles on their faces. The women wore intricate feather ornaments, looking tribal and beautiful, while the men were equipped with cold weapons like spears and bows.
From the look of it alone, Niranjan could conclude that there were at least 17,000 to 18,000 residents in this settlement. That was crazy, considering that there were only around 300,000 to 400,000 people residing on the whole main island of Luzon and only around 90,000 to 150,000 people living in Manila.
"Oi oi oi, this force is enough to pose a huge threat to the Spanish governance in Luzon," Niranjan muttered, his heart greatly shaken. But then the shock turned into excitement, as he realized that the stronger the resistance forces were, the easier it would be to accomplish the task. "Looks like I was worried for nothing. The old man did not hide himself like a turtle due to his loss.
On the contrary, he seemed to have become more cautious, calculating, and determined."
---
"Chief, Baluka has brought someone over to meet with you," a maid ran into the largest building in the settlement and informed.
The owner of the building, a grey-haired man around the age of 40, was taken aback. This old man was naturally Tamblot, the leader of the resistance forces against the Spanish in Luzon.
Although he is 44 years old, his body is strong, and his spirit is determined and resolute. His face, despite being disfigured due to a scar from a previous battle, sets an air of majesty and wildness at the same time. From his eyes alone, one could never mistake him for a normal old man spending his days in retirement.
Tamblot was curious as to whom and why Baluka brought with him, especially at the current time which is of great importance, since he was getting ready to start his second war of resistance against the Spanish now that he had seen the signs of Spanish dominance weakening.
Also, he was getting older. Despite being in very good spirits and health, he knew that this would not last long, as he had seen many examples of people being healthy until they reached 30 or 35 and then suddenly getting sick and dying afterwards. Hence, he was already considered long-lived among his people, and for this reason, he was also a little impatient to get the job done.
---
Niranjan and his men were the centre of attraction as they moved through the crowd. Although there was no surprise in the sense that Niranjan and his colleagues, originally from the Himalayan region of the empire, shared some features with Northeast Asians, the locals who had spent their entire lives here could almost immediately identify them as foreigners.
Additionally, Niranjan and his crew were dressed in standard Ranger uniforms of the Bharatiya Empire, which were completely different from the clothes worn by the people here.
After entering a large courtyard, the meeting finally happened.
Niranjan, after meeting with the man he had read a lot about and had a lot of expectations for, was not disappointed. He felt that the person in front of him not only met his imagination but also exceeded it due to his imposing aura alone.
Tamblot, looking at these unusual people, was greatly surprised as he noticed that these were foreigners. His brows furrowed. "Are they spies?" he thought, and he eyed Baluka.
Baluka, noticing the gaze, immediately knew what it meant. Hence, in a panic, he came forward and whispered in the ear of the leader, "Leader, it seems like they have a lot of guns. Haven’t you said to keep an eye on it? For this reason, I brought them here."
Tamblot’s eyes widened as his emotions became suddenly restless. With the presence of guns, his plans could proceed more smoothly, and the chances of success would increase by 20 to 30%.
He quickly put away his doubts about whether these people were spies sent by the Spanish. Since if this was a bait, then the bait was too tempting not to bite. Now, carefully looking at the attire these people wore, his eyebrows went up once again as he was greatly surprised. He figured out that this dress had the effect of camouflaging itself in the forest.
Not only that, with all the pockets he could see, Tamblot concluded that this attire was made for combat.
His interest intensified, and a thought arose in his mind: if his people could manufacture this kind of dress.
Then, looking at the vague symbol of an Ashoka Chakra embroidered in dark green, followed by a symbol of a bow and arrow, he further concluded that these people were not sent by the Spanish. At least their attire did not suggest so.
Hence, after all these thoughts and doubts in his mind were momentarily set aside, he asked the question:
"Guests from afar, Baluka has told me that you have some business to discuss. Is that true?"
Niranjan, who was in a daze, was suddenly awakened by the question. Coming back to his senses, he said, "Yes, of course, Your Excellency. We have very important business to discuss."
At the same time, his colleagues collectively brought forward the boxes and opened them in front of the silver-haired man.
Seeing the guns within the boxes, Tamblot could not hide his smile this time. He happily took out a musket and inspected it thoroughly. His face looked like a child who had just received a new toy.
Niranjan, taking this chance to advertise its effects, quickly took out a paper cartridge, inserted it into the musket, and handed it over to the old man.
The old man, although he liked to use a bow and arrow since that was the weapon he was most proficient with, naturally knew how to operate guns because his profession as a resistance leader demanded it.
Tamblot took aim at a tree and fired without hesitation.
"Bang!"
A loud gunshot rang out, sending a few people witnessing the conversation backwards. Tamblot, who felt the recoil, was greatly stimulated by the rush of adrenaline pouring into his brain. ’If there are enough of such weapons, maybe I could not only free the Philippines but also expand its land,’ He thought to himself, with an emotion called ambition growing in his heart.
Then he quickly put on a serious expression and stated, "Respected guest, truthfully, you came at a critical time. The weapons you have brought will be of great help to us and our cause, but I have to say we do not have much gold to trade for these weapons."
Tamblot knew that most of the big merchants and countries traded with gold and silver, and sadly he did not have much of it. So he was unsure whether he could purchase a large enough amount of such weapons.
Hearing the words of Tamblot and looking at his troubled look, Niranjan smiled and replied, "You don’t have to worry, respected sir. We accept barter trade as well."
In this way, the diplomatic connection between the Bharatiya Empire and the future first president of the Filipino Republic was concluded.
P.S. Thanks for the IceCola, roshan89