Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

221  Dakshin Bharatiya Empire Year End Report Part :3

Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Vijayanagara State, Capital City - Hampi.

The year-end summit is ongoing.

Vijay, feeling Kiran Pujari's gaze, knew what to do. It is true that it is unconstitutional to ask for a budget higher than what is provided, but Vijay thought about a turnaround."What Minister of Finance Jagannath Mohan said is indeed the truth. It is unconstitutional to demand more budget from the government when a sizable portion of the budget is already reserved."

*Clap clap clap*

The ministers in support of Jagannath Mohan clapped, feeling that the emperor was on their side, while the ministers who opposed it felt disappointed by the emperor's choice.

"But..."

The claps stopped at the "but," as it was unexpected. The ministers in support of Kiran Pujari got their hopes up.

"What Marshal Kiran Pujari said is also not wrong. It is imperative that we increase our strength for a decisive victory against the Mughals. An ample military strength is required for that to happen. Both sides of your argument are true and reasonable, but the constitution should be adhered to, and the strength of the army should also increase."

Everyone in the parliament was confused. Was there a way for both of them to occur simultaneously? But how is that possible? Both these options are inherently contradictory. If the military strength should be improved, more money is required, but if more money is provided to the military, the rest of the ministries will take a hit, and it is unconstitutional. How do we solve this problem? The ministers looked forward to what His Majesty, the Emperor, had as a solution.

Seeing the curious faces, Vijay explained about the reserve system he was planning.

"The 66,000 new recruits will not officially enrol in the army. Instead, after their graduation from the military academy, these 66,000 new recruits will function in society as ordinary citizens. However, they are required to attend a month-long full-time course similar to the active duty soldiers and will need to attend training sessions every weekend thereafter in order to keep their skills sharp. This way, although not as skilled as the active duty soldiers, well-trained personnel could be recruited at the fastest speed in times of war. And as the reserve soldiers have their own livelihood six days a week, they are only required to be paid a fraction of what the active soldiers are paid."

Upon hearing this suggestion, Jagannath Mohan, Kiran Pujari, Rajesh, Vinod, and all the cabinet ministers were enlightened. They were reintroduced to the wisdom of His Majesty, the Emperor. They couldn't help but marvel at how His Majesty's solution perfectly balanced between the two opposing opinions.

"I think this is acceptable."

"Yes, it increases the strength of the empire and saves money at the same time."

"Yeah, it's a brilliant idea from His Majesty."

There was a buzz of discussion among the crowd regarding His Majesty's opinion as the speaker initiated the voting call for the ministers to cast their votes. "Respected ministers, please vote on the military reform bill. Please deposit your votes in the ballot box to my right if you agree with the reform bill. Ministers who oppose the reform bill proposed by His Excellency Kiran Pujari, please deposit your votes in the ballot box to my left. And for those ministers who prefer to abstain from voting, please remain in your seats as the votes are tallied."

14:59

Soon, most of the ministers stood up to cast their votes, the majority of them supporting the bill after His Majesty's idea of a reserve force. This included even those who were extremely opposed to it, like Jagannath Mohan and Rajesh. But now, even they were casting their votes in favour of the bill. It's not that they didn't want their military to be powerful; it's just that their duty demanded that they question any unconstitutional violation of funds. Now that the funds wouldn't be overrun, they were very supportive of His Excellency Kiran Pujari's reform bill.

The votes were swiftly tallied, revealing that out of the 40 votes cast, 35 were in favour of the bill, 3 were opposed, and two abstained. Upon examining who rejected the bill, Vijay's doubts were dispelled as it was found to be the Jain monks who represented the Jain community in the parliament. Known for their staunch commitment to non-violence and peace, it's unsurprising that they would oppose any measures that could lead to conflict. However, this outcome doesn't alter the current situation. Vijay remained unfazed and even welcomed such discussions in parliament, believing that through dialogue, like today's between Kiran Pujari and Jagannath Mohan, the best possible outcomes could be achieved.

Finally, after this reform bill was passed in a year-end summit, Gangadhar took the stage as he started reporting on the Navy. "The Dakshin Bhartiya Empire Coast Guard is the only naval arm of the Empire. The Coast Guard was established only a year ago, and I am very proud that we have reached this far in such a short period of time. Currently, the Empire consists of 220 Hampi-class sloops and 48 Vinayak-class frigates, along with two Man-of-War battleships, bringing our navy's gross tonnage to 48,000 tons. I am pleased to announce that our navy is more advanced than the Mughal Navy, which has a gross tonnage of 55,000 tons As the Mughal Navy consists of old frigates and warships propelled by oars."

"The Navy has 21,400 active-duty personnel working hard to safeguard the coast of the Empire from any foreign aggression."

"As the traffic in our coastal waters increases, the Navy is poised to upgrade the defensive capabilities in blue water. So, starting from this year, the Empire will make new strides in expanding its influence in our seas and oceans."

"That will be it, thank you for your patience."

*Clap clap clap clap*

Claps rang out throughout the parliament as there was no reform to be discussed this time, and it was only a report.

Vijay had a different thought, though, as he contemplated whether he should upgrade the Coast Guard to an official naval division in the military committee equal to that of the army. "Let me consider this after the Coast Guard faces the Ottoman warships," he thought to himself.

After Gangadhar's Report presentation, there was a brief lunch break. As it was the inaugural year-end summit, a historic occasion, food from Bhukha Yoddha Street was ordered and served buffet-style to the ministers and attendees. They could select from a wide array of cuisines representing the rich culinary history of Bharat.

"The food was delightful, don't you think, Mr. Minister?"

"Most definitely, sir. I've already sampled the Kashmiri cuisine from Bhukha Yoddha Street. It was my first time trying Eastern cuisine, and it was brilliant, I must say."

"Yes, I should visit Bhukha Yoddha Street more often. It's been a long time since I last went." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Conversations like these unfolded among the ministers as they returned to their seats in the parliament.

Back in the dining room, a lot of food was left by the time everyone had their afternoon lunch. The remaining food was packaged and parcelled to the local schools as a small reward for the kids.

As everyone returned to their seats, the report session began again, this time with Bhuvan, the Minister of Justice, taking the stage.

"The Ministry of Justice has been working very hard to legalize the society in which we live. From the year 1654 to 1655, the Ministry of Justice diligently brought forth hundreds of new laws and regulations for the Empire's constitution. Recently, the Ministry of Justice was also crucial in bringing out The Patent Act of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire 1655. More laws and regulations are being drafted whenever a flaw is detected within society, as we speak."

*Clap clap clap clap*

Claps rang out, as what Bhuvan said was indeed the truth. The Ministry of Justice has performed exceptionally well in the last year, especially in terms of the laws and regulations that are constantly being updated, modernizing and legalizing the empire with each passing moment. Changes can be seen with the naked eye, as the justice system is getting better and better, with judgments becoming more fair as more avenues are provided for citizens to present their side of the story.

"In terms of infrastructure, courts are present in all the cities of the empire, and I am even more pleased to inform this parliament that we have established courts in almost every major town in the empire, bringing the total number of courts to 3000. The justice system's working professionals, including lawyers and judges, amount to 8000 individuals. Thus, on average, a small-town court would employ a single judge and two lawyers, though this number can vary based on the caseload. To ensure a fair justice system, both lawyers and judges are transferred between courts, minimizing corruption."

Vijay expressed great satisfaction with this development as he repeatedly emphasized the guideline that there must be sufficient lawyers available to handle cases. He thought about the contrast with modern India, where cases can span multiple generations and lawyers often hold a higher standing than the client, whereas equality between the client and lawyer should be upheld.

Bhuvan, unaware of what His Majesty was thinking, continued, "For the next fiscal year, the Ministry of Justice is looking forward to implementing more laws and regulations for the Empire. Additionally, we aim to increase the number of courts to 5000, with the goal of having a court in each and every town and a small circuit court in some larger villages. Furthermore, the employment of lawyers will increase from 8000 to 12000, in order to address the constant rise in the need to settle disputes among the citizens of the Empire."

"Esteemed ministers and His Majesty, thank you for your valuable time. That concludes my report for this year-end summit. Thank you."

*Clap clap clap clap*

The applause filled the parliament hall, acknowledging Bhuvan's exemplary achievements. Even Vijay, in an unusual gesture, offered a small clap to Bhuvan, for which Bhuvan was extremely thankful, bowing down as he returned to his seat.

Vijay was delighted with the Ministry of Justice's efficiency, as it swiftly passed dozens of laws throughout the month. Partially responsible for this success was Vijay himself. Among all the ministries, the Ministry of Justice was the easiest for him to influence through his transfer of knowledge. Bhuvan's role involved not so much creating new laws and regulations but rather taking the ideas he suddenly acquired and editing those laws to ensure their suitability for the current era.

P.S. Coming up with numbers was fun.

P.S Do the readers like numbers: https://shorturl.at/bsE68