Chapter 30: Alliance Discussions: Part 1
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The Vijayanagar Empire, Hampi Palace.
Vijay, who had no idea what happened in the Maratha Empire, went to meet the envoy. As soon as he entered the hall, he saw two men sitting in chairs.
One man was dressed well and looked like a noble. Considering he was wearing a Dastar, Vijay thought he was from the Sikh community. Another man was dressed like a soldier. Vijay presumed him to be a guard of some sort, but he couldn't help but notice that they were carrying a heavy load with them.
Vijay had no clue why the Maratha Empire had sent the envoy; they had cooperated well when his father was alive. However, due to the Mughal threat, they couldn't trade often anymore.
He didn't have any enmity with the kingdom. If anything, he was on good terms with the Maratha Kingdom, and he wished he could foster an even better relationship, possibly leading to an alliance.
Seeing a young man dressed in luxurious attire exuding a noble aura, the envoy and his follower stood and bowed according to etiquette.
"Long live your majesty, long live Vijayanagar," the man who appeared high ranking said, still bowing.
"My name is Bhupathi, your highness, an envoy from the Maratha Kingdom. I am here with goodwill and best wishes for you and your people," he continued.
"What else?" Vijay asked.
Bhupathi replied, "Your Highness, we would also like to trade for the food available in your country."
Vijay nodded and expressed his doubts, "It is all well and good as you've said, but how do you expect us to transport the goods you want without being seized by the Mughals?"
As if he knew that Vijay would ask this question, Bhupathi immediately responded, "Regarding this, His Majesty the King, has written a letter directly addressing the issues he wants to convey."
After he said that, a servant carefully handed over a letter to Vijay with both hands, treating it as if it were a treasure. Vijay, now in possession of the letter, began to read it.
First, it stated how the friendship between Vijayanagar and the Maratha Empire had persisted from generation to generation. It also outlined how they would like to utilize the rebels within the Mughal Empire as transportation nodes. Reading up to this point, Vijay was dumbfounded. "Clever and shrewd," he thought, realizing that while he had only managed to establish a market through the arms Trade, the elder in the Maratha Empire had directly turned the rebels into something similar to a smuggling cartel in the future generations.
"I guess I am still too short-sighted," Vijay thought to himself. As he read on, he was even more shocked than before. "Is this old man willing to sacrifice his daughter for the sake of resources?"
While Vijay from the 21st century was no stranger to arranged marriages, he did not dislike them. Arranged marriages spared him from the process of vetting potential partners, and he got to be on good terms with his parents, yet he himself had never married due to his busy lifestyle and advanced age by the time he was ready to marry, due to this, his parents used to remind about that fact every time he got to meet them.
Therefore One of his regrets from his past life was not experiencing family life. In this current life, his options for potential spouses were limited due to his status. In the present era, At 21 years old, ordinary men were already married and had children. However, he remained unmarried due to his inability to find a suitable candidate.
He didn't "t mind the idea of marrying a Maratha princess, as it could yield both political advantages and continue his family line, where he was the sole remaining member. "If she isn't particularly unattractive, I wouldn't mind marrying the princess," he thought to himself internally with some hope.