Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

201  Improving the Arsenal of Cannon Shots

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Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Vijayanagar state, capital city Hampi, the royal palace.

"Mhhhhh."

"Ahhhhh."

Sounds of pleasure emanated from the royal quarters in the royal palace, undoubtedly signalling Kavya's voice. After Vijay's birthday, just as he suspected, he could sense that his mind had stopped increasing in power, and he had received a final boost of improvement on the day of his birthday when he slept. As the days after his birthday passed, Vijay could now feel that he was capable of being a father. With this new sense of purpose, he had been spending intimate time with Kavya.

It is also the year 1655 according to the Vedic calendar, marking the fifth year since His Majesty Vijay Devaraya took the throne.

The Empire has undergone numerous changes, with many small, medium, and large businesses undergoing significant transformations. These businesses have replaced terms like "workshop," "cloth shop," "woodworker," and others with the names of their companies, which are now registered with the Ministry of Trade and Commerce.

Due to the sudden increase in various types of companies in the Empire, the Ministry of Trade and Commerce has become the busiest ministry. Business owners and new entrepreneurs alike are coming in to register their companies or handle affairs related to their registered companies.

It's not just the Ministry of Trade and Commerce; even the tax department has become busy with the influx of companies registering their names and tax returns. As an incentive to register with the income tax department, Vijay has granted these old businesses a tax-free privilege for the current year, on the condition that they register their company details with the tax department of the Empire. The business owners did not resist this covert push to reveal their earnings to the tax department, mainly because the tax burden was not too significant.

Also, the tax was decided to be 10% of the total turnover of the company. In the case of a trading company, the tax is determined after considering the type of product being traded. The trading company also has a tax of 10% for its turnover, but it also has a different tax for the items it chooses to import. For exports, most of the products are tax-free, excluding some luxury commodities. Vijay utilized the right of taxation of the imperial committee as a way to regulate prices in the Empire.

Suddenly, in the Empire, within a week, 1.5 million companies of different kinds had been registered. Although a minority, thousands of business owners decided to form partnership companies. This decision came after Raya and Shetty Paper Mill and its management were introduced as a template. Some of the prominent companies registered were the Bakshi Textile Company, which sold affordable clothes for the low and middle-range markets, the Bhupathi Medical Company, which sold high-end medical concoctions, and Lata Bhai Luxurious Apparel Company, which sold high-end women's clothing to the upper class. The Kalyan Group of Industries incorporated various businesses of the surviving Kalyan noble family. The Shetty Group of Companies incorporated all the Shetty family's assets in a group company, which also included the Raya and Shetty Paper Mill. Thousands of such companies were started by smart and resourceful merchants.

The changes were not only among civilian merchants but also within the royal industries. Raya Group of Industries underwent restructuring and became a holding company called Raya Group Holding, incorporating all the Raya Group companies. This was also emulated by some of the rich merchant families like the Shetty family and the leftover noble families like the Kalyan family, who managed to withstand all the purges. Although they were without titles, their heritage remained. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Presently, Raya Group Holding Company comprises three group companies:

1. Raya Heavy Industries: This includes Raya Machinery, Raya Armory, Raya Iron Works, Raya Shipyard, Chola Shipyard, Ashoka Shipyard, and Shivaji Shipyard. The shares of Raya and Shetty Paper Mill are directly controlled by Raya Heavy Industries.

2. Raya Light Industry: While there are not many companies under it at the moment, there is Raya Chemicals, responsible for producing the colours used in the textile industry. Vijay plans to establish a separate industry for chemicals that could be used in broader markets in the future.

3. Real Estate, Palaces, Mines, and Miscellaneous Assets: This group company holds various properties in the Empire and miscellaneous assets scattered throughout the Empire.

With the businesses of the Empire standardized, Vijay can now focus on bringing in financial institutions to nurture the budding financial industry of the Empire.

In the royal palace, Vijay finally finished his exercise, freshened up, managed some of the affairs of the Empire along with his own family's affairs, and then made his way to the study room.

The first thing Vijay did was make plans for the establishment of a unified banking code in the empire. Banks were not a new concept for the people of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire or even the people of the Mughal Empire. However, this knowledge might have been lost or forgotten over time, and only scholars and the truly knowledgeable would be aware of this historical information.

Indian temples had a rich history of functioning as banks, dating back centuries to ancient times. They served as secure vaults for community wealth, with devotees donating valuables, gold, and wealth to temples as offerings. The priests acted as custodians, ensuring safety. Temples also provided loans to traders and farmers, fostering economic activities. This practice existed even during Vedic times.

This historical function of temples was one of the reasons why temples in Bharat were heavily invaded. The wealth of even a small village would be fairly concentrated in the temple. If invaders destroyed the temple, not only could they crush the morale of the people, but they could also acquire a significant amount of Gold. Another intent behind destroying the temples was to eradicate Hinduism, as invaders believed that by destroying religious institutions, the religion would die down. Unfortunately for them, they were wrong in that assumption. With the destruction of temples, the religion became more resilient and deeply embedded into the lives of the devotees, as each and every home became a temple.

After the banks, Vijay outlined the patent system for the Ministry of Justice, providing instructions for the legislation of a corresponding bill. While it was criticized for impeding innovation due to legal complexities in the 21st century of Vijay's last life, the patent system paradoxically fueled early-stage innovation. By granting inventors exclusive rights, patents provided incentives for creativity, attracting investment in research and development. This protection encouraged inventors to disclose their ideas, fostering a culture of knowledge-sharing and collaboration. Early-stage innovators often relied on patent protection to secure funding, attracting investors confident in safeguarding intellectual property. However, challenges arose when patents became overly restrictive or misused, hindering subsequent innovation. Balancing the patent system was crucial to preserving its initial purpose of incentivizing and promoting early-stage inventive endeavours.

In order to avoid the issues that come with patents, Vijay made a few changes in the duration for which a certain type of patent would be valid. For medical patents, he emulated a practice from future India, which had become a pharmaceutical superpower and the pharmacy of the world. This practice involved granting patent rights for the process by which certain medicines were made, not for the end product itself. This approach allowed India to replicate foreign medicines by using different manufacturing processes, significantly reducing the cost of medicines compared to overseas competition.

He finally finished writing down his thoughts pertaining to these two institutions. However, it would take a considerable amount of time for these changes to be made public, as many things needed to be localized and adapted for this era. Vijay also acknowledged that there was much work to be done. So, he made a note to conduct practical and trial runs in the Empire, collect data, refine the system and mechanism, and then submit a report to him. After sending these instructions to Jagannath Mohan, Rajesh, and Bhuvan, he began picking up his pen and designing various ammunitions to be used against the Ottoman-built 10 Man of War battleships.

Up until now, only a normal iron roundshot was used as ammunition by the cannons against structures and various things for three reasons. First, the need did not arise, and second, manufacturing different types of ammunition would require much more labour, which Vijay was not willing to invest in just yet. The third reason was that Vijay did not want to use a more lethal weapon than necessary. While he was fighting against the Mughal Empire in name, the casualties would only be the people of India stuck with the Mughal Empire. So, Vijay did not want to use more lethal ammunition.

However, now that the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire was going up against a stronger navy, he had to pull out all the stops. This ammunition would be used both for fortification and in naval cannons.

Vijay, in his pursuit of enhancing naval capabilities, designed a variety of innovative ammunition for the artillery. The first among them is the grapeshot, which, upon firing, spreads widely, causing area-of-effect damage. Following this is the canister shot, releasing small projectiles upon firing. The shell shot, filled with gunpowder and shrapnel, explodes upon impact. An incendiary shot, when used with gunpowder, includes flammable material to induce fires. Designed specifically for naval warfare, the chain shot features two halves of a shot attached to a chain, intended to bring down the masts or sails of enemy ships. The hot shot, a red-hot round, is fired to set the surroundings ablaze. Additionally, for naval engagement, there's the barshot, strategically employed to dismantle the rigging and masts of enemy warships. Vijay's innovation in naval weaponry aimed to provide comprehensive options for effective combat scenarios.

He sent all these designs to the Bharatiya Academy of Military Sciences and the Raya Armory.

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