Chapter 63: Gunpowder...!
After learning about the imminent disaster, Vijay began making plans. The first thing he did was to send a messenger to inform his father-in-law about the upcoming disaster. Along with a personal letter, he requested his father-in-law to take refuge in the Vijayanagara Empire and evacuate as many people as possible.
"I hope the old man will listen," he said to himself. In this era, being a king still meant that the kingdom and its people were his responsibility, and he had to live or die with the kingdom. Vijay knew his father-in-law well. Although not very talented in managing the kingdom, he was a strong-hearted and righteous man who wouldn't bend for anyone when his ideals were questioned.
Sighing, Vijay moved on to the next matter at hand. His first plan was to make gunpowder. With enough gunpowder, even if he didn't have time to manufacture guns and powerful cannons, at least some explosive barrels could be made, which might still be effective against the Dutch if used properly.
With a proper plan in mind, he called for Vinod.
"Vinod, I need a substance called saltpeter, which is commonly found in organic compost. Have someone collect it from each and every village in the empire. This is a matter of great importance to the empire, so make sure the job is done as fast as possible."
Vijay intended to collect saltpeter through organic methods instead of chemical methods, as he knew that South India had no saltpeter mines and using the chemical method for production was more complex and lacked enough raw materials. There was another way to make saltpeter: the organic method. In compost piles or manure heaps, various microorganisms break down organic matter. During this decomposition, nitrogen-containing compounds from the organic material are converted into nitrates. Potassium, often naturally present in soil or added through organic materials, combines with the nitrates formed in the decomposition process to create saltpeter. Unfortunately, saltpeter produced in this way took a long time to produce, and the quality was not reliable for industrial use. However, Vijay had to make do with what he had and produce gunpowder as soon as possible. Fortunately for him, Bharat had a culture of forming compost piles in every village for its manure, which could be used as fertilizer. This meant that saltpeter could be collected from these compost piles, allowing Vijay to expedite the process and produce gunpowder as soon as possible.
Vinod, who had heard Vijay's words, was stunned. He didn't understand what his highness wanted to do with those heaps of trash, but his strong professional ethics stopped him from questioning the king. He replied to Vijay with a concerning question.
"But, your Highness, where can we find such manpower to do this sort of dirty work? There are not a lot of people willing to do work like this." New novel chapters are published on
Listening to Vinod's concern, Vijay replied non-commitally, "This is not a big problem. Make it known that the salary will be high for people doing this job. There have to be a lot of individuals who would be interested in earning some money for doing an easy, but dirty labour."
Upon hearing this information, everyone was stunned. They thought to themselves, "No wonder the king is in such a hurry," as they recalled the rapid procurement of saltpeter and the increased arms exports to the Maratha Empire. Some even pondered, "Maybe the Mughal Empire is attacking again," but these doubts remained unspoken as they all remained silent. Vijay wasn't surprised by their somewhat composed expressions, as in this era, war was a common occurrence. Every year, there was at least one major war happening somewhere in the subcontinent.
Vijay continued, "The country that will be invading us is not the Mughal Empire, as some of you may have guessed, but a foreign country called the Netherlands, located to the northwest of our country. They originate from halfway across the world."
A researcher in the room raised his hand and asked, "Your Highness if they are indeed from so far away, how are they able to attack us?"
Vijay noticed the doubt in the researcher's question as he explained, "Your doubt is correct; they may not be able to launch an all-out attack on us if they are so far away on another continent. However, they are a significant seafaring nation and one of the few major naval powers in the world. With this advantage, they have the ability to travel all over the world and conquer territories for profit. Unfortunately, we are their next target and they already have a stronghold in Lanka. Let me also inform you that they have managed to produce a long-range attack weapon called a cannon, which shoots iron balls weighing several kilograms. These cannons are capable of being effective hundreds of meters ahead of the firing point to destroy their enemies' fortifications and artillery. That's not all; I have recently received another piece of bad news that they can also produce a weapon that shoots small iron projectiles called bullets at incredible speeds to kill an enemy almost instantly."
"What? How is this possible..."
"..."
Panic and discussion broke out among everyone.
"Quiet," Vijay silenced them all with a word. "What I have called you here to do is to find out how to manufacture a substance I call gunpowder. What I have found out is that all the weapons our enemy uses are powered by gunpowder. Your task is to determine the optimal ratio for the most effective gunpowder."
After saying this, Vijay's assistant passed out documents that he had prepared earlier.
"This document contains the method for manufacturing gunpowder. All the required materials will be provided by the empire. Your task is to determine the optimal ratio of these materials for the highest effectiveness of the gunpowder."
Seeing them engrossed in studying the document and discussing it among themselves, Vijay nodded in approval and left the room. In all honesty, Vijay had access to the ratios required for gunpowder, but he wouldn't disclose them just yet. He needed to observe and choose a leader among these researchers for the Bharatiya Military Academy. With a capable leader, the research capabilities of the institute would improve, ensuring that the technology of the empire could continue to develop even after he passed away. He hurried to the government building because he still had a few more critical pieces to prepare for his defence against the Dutch. If, by the time he completed his other plans, the gunpowder wasn't finished, he would then disclose the ratios himself.
"On to the next task," he thought.