Chapter 123: New Cannon Of The Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire, Agra
An unusual man, rarely seen in Agra, walked into the imperial palace this morning. This man had a pale complexion similar to that of the Europeans, but he still had some features that could be seen in Arabs, like black eyes and black hair.
"Your Highness, the task that you have asked has been completed."
"Good, good, very good. Let's go see this new Cannon," Mohammed said, overjoyed and unable to wait. The moment Vijayanagar took control of four important regions in the empire with the help of more advanced artillery, he knew this couldn't go on. So he sent his servant on an expedition to find a capable craftsman talented enough to match or even surpass the canons of Vijayanagar.
For this reason, he even came to an agreement with the Safavid dynasty to settle their territorial dispute and accepted the new border conditions proposed by King Abbas II. Despite facing disagreement from many of his courtiers, he decisively cut them off without even a second thought, recognizing that Vijayanagar posed a more formidable threat than the Safavids. From his perspective, he considered India as part of his empire, and Vijayanagara's occupation of his land made it an internal conflict, a more pressing concern according to him. The Safavid Kingdom is situated in the Northwestern part of the Mughal Empire, and a small stretch of land has been a point of contention between both parties. Pashtuns inhabit this disputed land, but due to the tensions between the two empires, no decisive move has been made to fully conquer the region, which corresponds to modern-day Afghanistan.
Pashtuns, who used to be ancient Hindu tribes, over the course of 250 years, were slowly converted into Muslims by various means. This is one of the problems with Islam; it is very dominating in that wherever the Islamic faith gains power, all the other belief systems tend to go extinct. You can see this phenomenon even with the greatest empires in the ancient world like the Persian Kingdom, which used to have their own faith systems, completely forgotten after the fall of the kingdom. Even the Egyptians, who were one of the four greatest ancient civilizations, completely forgot about their culture in the wake of Islam. nove(l)bi(n.)com
It is like the whole religion of Islam is designed to expand while destroying anything in its wake.
"Welcome, your majesty. It is my greatest wish that my creation will satisfy your desire," he said as he bowed in order to show respect.
Muhammad gave a nod and swiftly shifted his focus to the big cannon sitting right in front of him. At first sight, he could see that this cannon had many differences from that of Vijayanagar. Although he did not know the principles of how this cannon was made, he could see that it was more refined than the one made in Vijayanagara. He quickly got excited and ordered his men to test it.
"Boom!"
The cannon roared to life, sending out a thick black smoke ring from its barrel as the wall 500 meters away crumbled into pieces. Mohammed's face lit up with joy at the sight, and without wasting a moment, he commanded the production of 50 more of these powerful cannons. It took a solid four months to fulfil his majesty's hefty order.
In addition to the colossal cannon's success, Adam also managed to enhance the smaller cannons, bringing them up to par with the calibre of Vijayanagar cannons.
As for the muskets and flintlocks, he had no experience with such weapons, but he could grasp that the cannon and the musket had the same principle. When he built a musket, which seemed to be easier to replicate by hand, he was successful. However, he couldn't get the ratio of gunpowder right at times, and the more challenging thing was he couldn't figure out how the Vijayanagar Empire managed to build these guns so uniformly.
By the end of the production of the newly upgraded cannons, Mohammed received news about the fall of the Maharashtra region.
"Ah," he growled, his frustration becoming clear. This was the region his father had conquered, and now, it slipped away under his watch. He was already on edge when he learned about Odisha falling four months ago, but back then, he managed to keep his anger in check by telling himself that Odisha didn't bring significant economic benefits to the Mughal Empire. Now, it was a different story; Maharashtra was one of the most lucrative parts of the Empire, and losing it was something he couldn't just let happen.
Thinking about the new cannons in the arsenal, he gradually gained a cruel smile on his face as he ordered his new minister of war, Iqbal.
"Come, let's take it back."