Chapter 41: Prelude to the Storm Part :1
After listening to Vimal's speech, the nobles and the zamindars in the room were very motivated, they were even pumped enough to take on the king of the empire. Just as everyone was getting carried away with their fantasies, an old man dressed like a priest and adorned with gold ornaments spoke up, extinguishing the fire in everyone's hearts.
"If you don't mind me asking, Your Highness Vimal, how are you planning to take on the King of the Vijayanagara Empire? You must know that all the nobles have been thoroughly weakened by the might of your uncle, the old king. And most important of them all, The military strength remaining among the nobles is only comprised of some trained farmers who train martial arts whenever free," he asked.
At this note, every one filled with bravado heard those words, they came back to their senses and looked for the voice that pointed out the loophole in Vimal's plan with scrutiny.
They saw an old man with silver hair tied in a bun and with ash markings all over his body. Some nobles in the meeting recognized the old man as the chief priest of the Tirumala Tirupati temple. His name is Bhupathi Rao, a fourth-generation priest serving the Tirupati temple.
Vimal, who received the question directly to his face, didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled as he replied, "Before I answer that specific question, please allow me to introduce you to a special guest." Vimal pointed in a particular direction.
As everyone's attention turned toward the direction Vimal was pointing, they also noticed a Muslim fakir entering the hall. "As-salaam Alaykum," he greeted everyone with a hand gesture.
Confusion swept through the room as they tried to understand the connection between their discussions and the presence of the fakir.
The priests in the hall were clearly unhappy with his presence, Some priests even grew angry and started scolding Vimal that he had allowed the fakir to enter the hall. They wouldn't welcome a Muslim person into the hall, as they had witnessed their temples being demolished and looted by Muslim armies in the past.
Vimal ignored the discontent in the crowd and explained, "This guest hear, is here to help us, he was sent by the Mughal Emperor Muhammad."
Hearing these words, the crowd became even more unruly and started to question Vinod's ideals. Although they were now united in fighting against the king, they were still fighting amongst themselves. Introducing an outsider, especially one with power-seeking intentions, was something no one wanted to witness.
Seeing that the scene was getting chaotic, the fakir, who had been observing silently until now, spoke up for the first time.
"Please, gentlemen, listen to me. My great king, Muhammad of the Mughal Empire, has sent me to sign a peace treaty with you. He desires a friendly and coexisting relationship with the Vijayanagara Empire."
He continued with a smiling expression, "While we may have had our differences in the past, my king has decided that forming an alliance with the Vijayanagara Empire is the best choice for both of our countries."
Someone in the crowd asked, "Then why did you contact us and not the king of our country?"
Hearing the question, the fakir made a sad expression and explained, "We did try to contact His Majesty Vijay Devaraya, but he seems to have a prejudice against us. He wouldn't even let us contact him, and he is extremely against our principles. He has openly closed down many of our mosques in the Vijayanagara Empire."
Listening to his reasoning, most of the people nodded their heads, but a small group of priests were extremely pleased with Vijay's actions in this case. Their stance wasn't against Vijay for any other reason, but because they believed that, as Brahmins, they held a prominent position in society. Vijay's attempts to break down the social order they had followed for thousands of years were blasphemy to them. They had come to the meeting to figure out how to make Vijay take back his orders, not Rebel.
The Old man Bhupathi Rao, who is among the priests, frowned as he observed the nobles and zamindars nodding their heads in agreement with the fakir's words. "Idiots, idiots," he scolded them all in his mind. "Don't they remember the reason why the Vijayanagara Empire became so significant in the first place? It was due to the sacrifices the ancestors of the people in this room made for the empire while fighting against the oppression of Islamic states when the Mughal Empire wasn't even established. And now that the Mughal Empire is stronger and larger than before, will they not target the dark horse Vijayanagara Empire?"
Bhupathi Rao complained inwardly, lamenting that the nobility of the empire had fallen so low.
Vimal, unaware of Boopathy Rao's thoughts, continued to explain, "Our friend here is ready to help us financially to win this battle."
As Vimal said, a few servants brought in trunks and trunks of goods. The fakir opened the boxes, revealing them to be filled with golden coins. Witnessing this scene, all the nobles and zamindars in the meeting were stunned by the sight of so much gold. You could almost see them drooling.
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