129 The Cleansing of Separatist Forces.(Vol 3: New Age)
Vijay, in the fort of Cuttack, was overseeing the new reports. After the war, he did not immediately leave the newly occupied territories because he wanted to oversee the smooth integration of this land with the Vijayanagara Empire. According to his orders, the fortifications like walls and blocked-off main roads are being disassembled, except for the main military Forts, which he left untouched as it could become an important military base in the future or transform into tourist attractions, similar to scenes in European countries.
Although he is very certain that the Mughal Empire would not attack them in such a sensitive time after their losses, he could never be too careful. So, he decided to quickly construct the line of defence along the northern borders of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
The more pressing issue lies in the inadequate social security prevalent in certain areas, where sporadic conflicts erupt between locals and Islamic forces. During the Mughal Empire's rule in this region, Hindus, Sikhs, and others faced severe suppression. Now, in the absence of imperial authority, there is no one to curb the people's actions. The previously oppressed people, finding no restraint, have spontaneously initiated attacks on their local nobles, primarily affecting the Muslim population. Vijay knew all this was happening, but he chose to remain silent, at least for a short while, as he did not want to deal with these local landlords himself. That would also help him in implementing the policies of Vijayanagara, which are quite harmful to the landlord class to say the least.
But as time went on, some leaders among these riots became a little greedy. They made a lot of money by raiding the local landlords, so greed took over them, and they started to steal and rob. Some of them even started to publicize the establishment of their own kingdom.
"Alright, that should be enough," considering the pig has been fattened enough by eating all the nutrients, Vijay decided to chop its head off before it grows nails and teeth. Vijay ordered the previous Rebel leader, who had been operating in the southern Mughal Empire, to assist the army in exterminating all the separatist forces. Aditya, who was quite low-key after the Mughal Empire cracked down on the organization they were running, quickly became active after Vijayanagara launched a war on the Mughal Empire. As the war was launched in the area of his own jurisdiction, he contacted his colleagues and helped Vijayanagara quite a bit.
In Pune,
"Down, down Mughal, down, down Vijayanagara."
"Long live Maharashtra Kingdom."
"Establishment of a Maharashtra Kingdom."
There was a rally going on in the streets of Pune, incited by the goons who emerged after the Mughal Empire's influence left the state of Maharashtra. As soon as the Mughal Empire departed, these goons sprung into action, eliminating most of the Islamic forces in their area, which made them richer than they could ever imagine. Out of greed, they decided to form a council and fight against the Vijayanagar Empire, establishing their own kingdom with the help of the people. Surprisingly, a lot of common people also agreed with the ideology.
This was because these people had been ruled for decades, and they had no voice, no matter which force or kingdom took over the power. They couldn't imagine their lives being different if the Vijayanagar Empire took over. Unfortunately, the common people did not know the policies and various laws in Vijayanagara. If they had known, they would have never been deceived by the separatist forces. Unfortunately, the separatist forces, who actually knew the situation, didn't want the people to know. So, they ignored these details and continued to incite the masses.
"Hey, what are you doing? Stop!"
"Ahh!"
Suddenly, their march was abruptly stopped with the arrival of soldiers from the Vijayanagar Empire. As soon as the soldiers in a neat formation arrived, they carried a riot shield in one hand and a baton in the other, starting to bring things under control.
A person who was two blocks away, watching this scene, got annoyed as he roared into a dark room with a group of people sitting in it. "How the hell did they know about our actions? Who told them the location of our activities?" He said with bloodshot eyes. The people present were accomplices of this man who believed in the same ideology of an Independent Maharashtra Kingdom. Even though they did not know who leaked the news; they turned their heads left and right, suspecting the person beside them to be the culprit.
"Tell me who the fuc... Bang."
The leader, still infuriated, uttered a few foul words before the door burst open with great force. There was a hole in the door where the lock was usually placed. They did not know what was going on as it all happened very quickly.
But soon, two black objects rolled inside the room the size of potatoes. Everyone in the room was confused about these round objects that rolled inside the room, but one of the people inside the room seemed to have remembered this object being used by the Vijayanagar Empire when he got a glimpse of it during their attack on Pune.
He could still remember the event like it happened yesterday. It was early in the morning when the sounds started in Pune. The Vijayanagara army covered every street and corner, searching for the Mughal soldiers, killing them one by one mercilessly. He was out that day, selling the milk he had just milked from his cow, but on the way, a few Mughal soldiers, with a horrified expressions, ran in front of him into an alleyway as if they were escaping from someone. He was startled at first by the sudden movement, but then the Vijayanagara soldiers soon came after, surrounded the alleyway, and threw the same round objects into the alley. A deafening sound soon rang out.
"All clear."
That's the sound he heard from the Vijayanagara soldier who went into the alleyway to inspect after the blasting.
Originally, he did not want to join the separatist movement, but something happened that made him join. After the incident in the morning, he was questioned for a bit and set free. So, he went on his way to return home. When he got back home, he saw a Vijayanagara soldier running away from inside his house. He got scared, and when he went inside the house, his world collapsed as he stumbled to the ground because he could see his 14-year-old daughter had been ruined. The bed was bloody, and there were choke marks on her delicate neck.
"Ahhhhhh," he cried his heart out that day, planting the hatred of Vijayanagara deep inside his heart.
He came back to his senses as he quickly sprinted towards the window trying to escape. But he took too long as both the frags exploded.
"Boom, boom."
Although he was the first to act, he was unlucky as a fragment still managed to pierce his neck, leaving him unable to draw his breath. He could feel that his life force was getting weaker and weaker. At that moment, all he felt was guilt that he could not save his daughter. Soon, he passed away as his eyes closed with a tear drop running down his cheek.
Right after the blast, a person stepped into the room. It was a soldier dressed in black attire with a Vijayanagara badge on his chest. As he came in, he inspected the dead bodies to make sure they were dead and yelled, "All clear." As he left the room, he met up with another soldier who was keeping watch.
The soldiers were none other than Dinesh Reddy and his friend Darshan. Dinesh Reddy was the orphan refugee boy from Ande pally village who was conscripted in the first army recruitment campaign, and Darshan was the friend who got recruited with him. Due to both their excellent performance on the field and an excellent understanding among themselves, they were promoted to the special operations department dedicated to handling tasks such as the one they are now performing, which is to eliminate all the separatist leaders in the new territory. As for the father they killed, who wanted revenge, they did not know anything about his story or details. So, with a clear conscience, they went on to fulfil their duties.
Similar to them, multiple such squads operated in the area. With the help of Aditya, new information about the location of the riots was obtained in a very short time. The people who were instigated were not injured but were brought under control and tied up until the matter was settled. As for the numerous instigators from the separatist organizations, special squads like that of Dinesh Reddy were dispatched to deal with them. In a matter of two days, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh fully came under the military control of Vijayanagara.
Vijay, who was looking over the details, was not happy because every moment the army stayed hear, it was burning money as the economy in all the new territories came to a standstill. Soon, he ordered for the policies of Vijayanagara to be implemented in the new territories.
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