Chapter 105: Changes In Sri Lanka
Nearly a month has passed since Vijayanagara conquered Sri Lanka and incorporated it into its empire, leading to the implementation of various policies on the island, mirroring those on the mainland.
With the removal of foreign interference, the intelligence capabilities of Vijayanagara in Sri Lanka greatly improved. As a result, criminal groups and bandits deeply entrenched in Lanka were swiftly purged out of existence.
Moreover, all lands, manors, buildings of past royal families, Dutch merchants, and churches forcefully constructed after the destruction of Buddhist and Hindu temples were taken under the control of the local Vijayanagar government.
Various policies were initiated for the construction of schools, courts, and police stations, and the recruitment of a new army.
With the assistance of the Secret Service in Lanka, rebel groups that had previously fought against the invaders were identified, newly trained, and appointed as police officers in Sri Lanka. Each police officer was equipped with a baton and shield, and they were taught basic formation and martial arts skills for efficient police functioning.
With the cleansing of all the dark and messy forces in Sri Lanka and the establishment of the police force, the social security of Sri Lanka greatly improved.
Next came the policies regarding schools and courts. The vacancy left by the Dutch resulted in numerous high-quality empty buildings, which were repurposed as schools and courts. Where proper facilities were lacking, new constructions were initiated.
Sri Lanka became more vibrant as children donned their government-provided school uniforms and walked to school with joyous faces, eagerly anticipating their playtime with friends.
The adults were not exempt from the bustling activities either, as they found themselves equally occupied with various construction projects taking shape across the entire island.
Due to the benevolence shown by the Vijayanagara Empire, many young adults stepped up to join the army. Surprisingly, there was even a substantial number of black people, around 2000, who signed up to enlist in the army.
The reason behind this is connected to events that unfolded just after Vijayanagara conquered the land. A few days after Lanka came under Vijayanagara's control, a scouting party was sent to various parts of the island for detailed mapping. Surprisingly, unusual activities were discovered in a small village, including peculiar food consumption patterns. Further inspection of the island's terrain revealed a remote mine at the southernmost tip. This medium-scale copper mine had been operated by a Spanish businessman under the watchful eyes of the Dutch mainland.
When the mine was first discovered, the stationed soldiers in Lanka were called upon, only to be horrified to find that this was a slave camp, the size of a medium-scale town. Nearly 5000 black slaves were used to mine the copper ore. With further interrogation, it was revealed that the Spanish businessman had bribed the senior administration of the Dutch officials in Sri Lanka and kept exploiting this resource. To maintain secrecy, none of the black slaves were allowed to leave the mining area, where they were treated worse than animals. They worked for up to 16 hours every day with only a brief break for meals, resulting in bodies reduced to skin and bones.
What horrified the soldier who went to inspect the mine was the presence of a small graveyard next to the mining area, filled with human bones. This indicated that the mining activity had been ongoing for a few years. Observing the numerous bodies in the cemetery, along with the freshly thrown corpses from recent days, it was evident that the Spanish businessman did not value human life at all. He treated the black people like consumable resources and worse than animals.
Upon discovering this illegal mine, the Army, who was later called to inspect the mine more thoroughly, found 210 tons of copper ore neatly stacked in the warehouse, which was then confiscated. The management team running the mine, along with the black men who sided with the Spanish businessman to oppress his own people in the mine, were put to death in front of the townspeople to highlight the difference in values between them and the white men under the Empire. This information quickly spread throughout the island, causing waves of surprise and indignation. With the first experience prompting further searches, a few more black mines were discovered, with various resources being excavated.
The black people who were rescued were very grateful to the people of Vijayanagara, and they were offered ample food, shelter, and clothing until they could recover. Out of gratitude, those who were in better health signed up to join the army and serve the great empire that had freed them from the shackles.
With a significant number of people signing up for the army, the recruitment process was closed, and training quickly began. Basic military drills, standing in attention for extended periods, formations, marches, and various commands were drilled into their minds day and night. Waking up became a dreaded experience, as it usually involved the warden screaming at them at the top of his lungs.
With this strict military training, the Sri Lankan army of Vijayanagara slowly began to take shape. Some of the blacks among them started to stand out for their more robust and athletic physique. Although they were malnourished just a few weeks ago, their inherent physical advantages, coupled with the continuous provision of an improved diet, led to a visible recovery in their muscle mass.
The instructors, who were wounded veterans of the Dutch war, were impressed with these black recruits. Unfortunately, very few of them seemed to have any affinity for literature and sciences. The smarter ones among them were selected and promoted to squad leaders.
The work in infrastructure was also not ignored, Following the principle that if you want to get rich, build roads first, the road construction of Sri Lanka began in full scale according to Vijayanagara's road transportation specifications. All towns and cities were planned to be connected within the year. For town roads, the stone and mud combination road was used, similar to Vijayanagara. As for the cities, due to the requirement for materials, small-scale cement and iron production factories were opened up to facilitate better logistics. With the opening of the cement and ironwork factory, the main raw materials of concrete were readily available.
The road construction boom finally began, opening hundreds of thousands of jobs. Unfortunately, Vijay did not have the money to pay them, considering the upcoming war with the Mughal Empire. Facing this financial challenge, Vijay thought of an idea and recalled the work-for-relief system of the Soviet Union.
A new policy was promulgated: in exchange for their work, the labourers would be paid with food and land. This policy did not exclude the black people who were the new residents of Sri Lanka. With the confiscation of various Dutch properties, the Sri Lankan government had a large amount of land available. When this policy was announced, it shocked the common Sri Lankan people, who rushed to sign up for the jobs, crowding the various recruiting points.
The black people who lived in their own small community received the news in disbelief, as they were also included in this endeavour. They still had some doubts about the Vijayanagara Empire because all the people they had met, except for their own, had looked down on them and scorned them, treating them as objects to be bought and sold. So, when treated differently all of a sudden, it looked too good to be true for them. They were promised that when they got better, they would be allowed to leave Sri Lanka and return to their homeland, but none of them tried because they knew that they would have to travel through the sea again, and if anything meant life-threatening danger for the black people, it was the sea. When they arrived on this island in the boats, half of their people died due to poor conditions or sickness.
Hence they decided to stay on this land and do what the brown masters wanted. But now that they were allowed to own their own land, it felt unreal. They previously did not have a concept of ownership; in their tribes, everything belonged to nature, and they just lived in this world temporarily. But soon, their worldview changed living under the white men, and they understood what the true world meant. They saw the white man's civilization, and their worldview had opened. So, they knew that ownership of land meant they were a part of this Empire no less than the brown people. They felt more indebted to the king of this Empire, with the intent of showing their gratitude and with the intent of earning a piece of land. Everyone among the black people who could move enrolled for the road construction work.
As nutritious and abundant food was provided on a regular basis to these black folks, they became stronger and more muscular. The efficiency of road construction improved with the joining of these black people. The scene could be seen in various cities of the Lanka Island—a batch of strong black men pulling the stones and gravel needed for the road construction single-handedly, usually, the work that could be done by four people was done by two black people.
This significant increase in the efficiency of road paving happened in just a few months of the construction's start. among them, A pair of twin brothers, strong as oxen and tall as bulls, were the first to claim 5 acres of farmland with a small house on it.
Since they didn't know to farm, their neighbours introduced them to a few contract workers. With their assistance, they managed to harvest their first crop. Witnessing that the promise of Vijayanagara was true, all the workers on the construction project got excited and worked even harder, especially the black people who worked 10 hours a day without anyone ordering them around.
If Vijay had seen this, he would have been shocked because the propaganda portrayed the future black people as lazy and violent individuals disloyal to their families. However, considering the circumstances, it's only natural. Previously, there was no motivation for black people to work hard, as, regardless of their efforts, they would be paid the same, receive the same food, and face the same mistreatment. They weren't allowed to have anything of their own.
Now that they had a chance to own their own land and house, they unleashed all their productivity and worked 10 hours straight. If anyone tried to stop them from even taking a rest, they would become so angry that they might beat up the person who intervened.
Under this atmosphere, the road construction, scheduled to end in a year, was completed in just 10 months, two months ahead of schedule. But all of this is in the future. Currently, as the construction just started, preparations in Vijayanagara for the impending battle against the Mughal Empire were intensifying.
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