Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Chapter 291: Kavya’s Intention

October 29th, 1655

The city of Surendra Nagar, Gujarat region, Dakshin Bharatiya Empire.

It has been nearly a week since the region of Gujarat fell into the hands of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire. Currently, Commanders Narasimha Nayak and Ramayya Senapati have divided into two units and gone around southern Gujarat, threatening various cities that are still standing.

The city of Morbi, which is only eighty-three kilometres from Surendranagar and 131 km from Bhuj, was the first to surrender under the pressure brought by the Bharatiya commanders. Additionally, as Morbi was situated between the two fortresses of Surendranagar and the under-construction Bhuj, which is now controlled by the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, they had no choice but to give up.

They saw no hope in still existing as a city under the control of the Mughal Empire.

With the event started by the city of Morbi, a chain reaction was caused, and the majority of cities in the southern region of Gujarat surrendered one by one like dominos, including major ones like Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, and others. However, there was one problematic place that refused to give up: Rajkot.

Due to the military initially being concentrated here during the initiation of the war, even after the attack on Rajkot was confirmed as a feint, there were quite a few Mughal officers stationed in Rajkot. So, even though there is little to no chance of winning, these stubborn Mughal officers are refusing to budge.

The thin line of infiltrating the city with propaganda had to be used again, but this time it was easier to infiltrate the city as the number of people trying to flee their city was in the tens of thousands. Some of them managed to escape, and the intelligence department quickly contacted them to find out about various paths to enter the city.

Like this, multiple entry points into the city of Rajkot were found, and suddenly overnight, there were more than 20 spies doing the bidding of the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire.

The Holy City of Dwarka, one of the seven holiest cities of Bharat, had finally fallen into the hands of its rightful servants. The city did not put up resistance when the soldiers arrived; on the contrary, the administration happily opened the doors to the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire to take control.

Also, during the war, a lot of refugees who did not have a place to call home travelled to Dwarka in search of solace. Due to this steady stream of refugees, the city quickly became crowded and the resources of the city were quickly drying up. The people of Dwarka wanted to refuse entry to these individuals, but unfortunately, they could not do so.

They could not deny entry to anyone who came in devotion to the god. And when the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire promised to provide a livelihood for all these people, both the city administration and the refugees were happy.

Back in the state of Vijayanagar, Dakshin Bharatiya Empire,

In the Royal Palace of the Devaraya family, Kavya could be seen exercising her body with routine walks around the palace. There was quite a bulge in her belly as it had already been one month since she became pregnant. Beside her was a woman with a beautiful appearance and an intellectual-like aura which is rare in this era.

This woman was also wearing a white coat, which could mean that she is one of the rare female medical doctors in the empire.

Vijay had arranged for this woman to be with Kavya all day long due to his worry about her health. Pregnancy in this era is very dangerous, so he clearly took a lot of precautions.

"Your Majesty, the Empress, Mr. Vinay from the Bharatiya Academy of Sciences has arrived and is waiting in the guest room," informed Ravichandra Rao, the old man, to Kavya, as Vijay was currently not in the palace.

Kavya was taken aback as to why this scientist from the Bharatiya Academy of Sciences would arrive here.

She looked at the doctor who stood beside her, whose name she got to know as Nithya Verma. "Do you know anything about it?"

Nithya, who undoubtedly heard the conversation, shook her head and replied, "No, Your Majesty. Mr. Vinay has apparently been assigned a huge task by His Majesty the Emperor. So, my father said he had not gone to chat with his fellow colleagues for a long time."

Nithya’s father is also a professional in the medical field and currently works in the Bharatiya Academy of Sciences.

Kavya decided to meet Vinay and made her way to the guest room, accompanied by Nithya. There, they found a man sitting on the sofa with a restless expression on his face. Kavya was curious about what could have happened to make the man so restless.

As soon as Vinay saw Her Majesty, the Empress arriving, he quickly got up from his chair and bowed a little in respect. Kavya nodded her head and waved her hand for him to sit down.

Vinay, who sat down, looked hesitant for some reason, He looked like someone who wanted to ask a question but was held back by something. Kavya caught this hesitation and did not miss the chance to ask, "For what reason did Mr. Vinay come to the palace?"

Vinay, who had finally gotten the chance to speak, said, "Your Majesty, is His Majesty the Emperor not coming?" He asked with anticipation.

Kavya was intrigued as to why Mr. Vinay was asking this question. "Mr. Vinay, haven’t you made an appointment already? His Majesty had already left the palace this morning and will likely not be back until a few days later."

Upon hearing Her Majesty’s words, Vinay suddenly regretted his decision not to consider making an appointment. Unfortunately, he was too excited to care for these small details after the achievement he made.

"It looks like I have made a mistake. I am truly sorry for disturbing you, Your Majesty, the Empress," he said, feeling genuinely disappointed. Then, noticing Kavya’s bulging belly, which he had failed to notice at first sight, he couldn’t help but add, "Also, I wish you a healthy and safe childbirth, Your Majesty."

As he rose to depart, he said, "Then I will take my leave, Your Majesty."

But suddenly, "Wait a minute, Mr. Vinay," Kavya called out.

It took a while for Kavya to grasp that this man had impulsively come to the Royal Palace to meet Vijay regarding some tasks assigned by him. Though unaware of the specifics, she found herself quite bored in the palace and decided to hear him out.

"Mr. Vinay, could you tell me what news you wanted to convey to His Majesty? I will convey it to him on your behalf."

Vinay, who was on the verge of leaving, suddenly questioned his decision to come to the palace in the first place. His task was a secret one that should only be known to a select few, and while he didn’t think it was a big deal if Her Majesty, the Empress, knew about it, he still hesitated to reveal it.

However, seeing the expectant gaze of Her Majesty, he began to waver, contemplating the potential problems that could arise from disclosing it.

"Why, does Mr. Vinay not want to tell me?" Kavya said, quickly discerning the scientist’s thoughts from the expression on his face.

"It’s a pity then, Mr. Vinay, but how do you think the people of the empire would react if they knew of your actions today?" she said with a sly smile, her expression playful.

Unfortunately, both Vijay and Ravichandra Rao were absent to witness this scene of the empress blackmailing someone. Instead of being saddened, they would definitely be proud that she was finally using her authority.

Vinay, now wearing a bitter expression on his face, reluctantly gave in to Her Majesty’s request. He realized he couldn’t reject her, so he succumbed and explained his project to her. As he did, he couldn’t help but think, "Maybe this is what they call going to a foreign country and searching for trouble."

But before he explained, he eyed Nithya Verma. Nithya understood the meaning and quickly left the hall with the permission of Her Majesty.

Vinay’s gloomy expression soon disappeared and was replaced by an expression of excitement and eagerness to show off.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty the Emperor assigned me to conduct multiple researches and compile a few books. One of these researches is a study about a mould that had been discovered during the battle in Gujarat. When I delved further into it, I was shocked to find out that the liquid extracted from this mould could actually stop infections from occurring and aid in the recovery process of a person.

Remarkably, this liquid works for all forms of injuries. After various tests, I have successfully developed a process so that this laboratory-used extraction process could be mass-produced, and the production of penicillin could be industrialized."

Kavya did not understand half of it, but still nodded along as she grasped the injury-healing property of some peni’cil...?, liquid.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty also assigned a task of extracting the liquid from opium poppy, and I am proud to say that I have been successful in coming up with a method to mass-produce that too."

The words brought a frown to Kavya’s face because this was research on opium, which was an addictive drug according to her impression. So why should one have to research this harmful plant? But she did not voice out these doubts as she felt like Vinay was talking about the medical uses of this plant and not about getting people addicted to it.

"Your Majesty, apart from that, I have succeeded in developing a standardized treatment for various battle traumas that can occur to the army during the war," Vinay added.

Hearing this, Kavya suddenly became very interested and asked, "Oh, can you show me?"

Vinay, who had already come this far, felt like he had nothing much to lose and did not hesitate to reveal the techniques. He nodded his head and requested, "I can, Your Majesty, but I need some assistance."

Kavya quickly called a few maids, and Nithya also came back.

"First, let me explain how to treat a gunshot wound," Vinay said as he made a makeshift patient on the ground for demonstration.

Vinay moved the leg of the makeshift patient and inspected both sides of the leg. Kavya was intrigued as to what was happening, but Vinay soon explained, "The first step is to check whether the bullet has cleanly passed through the body or is still stuck inside."

Next, Vinay took a clean cloth and firmly pressed it hard on the patient’s leg. The pressure was enough to cause the patient to wince in pain. "Next is to apply pressure to the wound until the bleeding stops."

"After that is to check if the heart rate is normal," he added as he held the patient’s hand and checked their pulse.

Then he suddenly lifted the leg of the patient. "The wound should be elevated to a position which is higher than the heart to slow the bleeding," he explained.

"If the bullet is still in the body, it is unfortunate, but we can try our best. The bandage should be tied very tightly on the gunshot wound area and immediately sent to experienced doctors to see if the patient could be saved after the bullet, which has gone very deep into the body, is removed," he continued.

He went on to explain three more types of treatments that should be done on the battlefield. Seeing all this, Kavya got an idea. She didn’t know if it was feasible, but from what she saw today, there shouldn’t be any problem in practicality. If there was a problem, then it was the challenge that arose when her proposal went against the traditional norms of the empire.

"Nithya, can what I said be done?" Kavya asked as she explained her intention.

Nithya looked very happy that her Majesty had thought of this plan. She readily agreed and nodded her head repeatedly. "It will definitely work, Your Majesty. You can even assign me the task of training these women into capable first-aid professionals. I can do it," she said confidently.

Kavya nodded her head, relieved. Her only concern was whether Vijay would accept the proposal. Although she felt like he would likely accept it, she was still skeptical about what the people would think.