Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

October 1662

"Your Highness, the foreign visitor has come once again. He is seeking your audience." A black African man wearing ornamental clothes decorated with various feathery embellishments bent respectfully in front of a grey-haired old man.

The old man, although his face was wrinkled and his body a little thin, had eyes that were still very energetic. No one could tell that those were the eyes of an old man of 52 years of age.

Kimbugwe Kamegere is the king of the Kingdom of Buganda, one of the kingdoms that cooperated with the Bharatiya Empire in order to crack down on the slave catchers coming from the northern part of the continent.

Kimbugwe, hearing the message from his subordinate, immediately straightened his back and leaned forward. His whole demeanour changed. "Is it the same person who came last time?" he asked with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes, Your Highness, it's the same person," he answered. It could be seen that he was very nervous.

Kimbugwe immediately became unsettled and restless. This was the first time that person from the Bharatiya Empire contacted him aside from the first time he was approached. But at that time, he did not know anything about the Bharatiya Empire. Right now, he knew a bit too much, and knowing how monstrous the Bharatiya Empire was, his heart couldn't help but beat a little faster involuntarily.

The last time he had met the person from the Bharatiya Empire, it was for the discussion of resisting the slave traders. At first, he was unwilling to obey the request, even if the so-called Bharatiya Empire would provide a lot of military support in the form of equipment. But maybe it was his good luck, or maybe it was his cautious attitude, he did not reject the proposal outright. Instead, he was given a chance to showcase his ability. In the end, he was very thankful for this decision because the fire-breathing weapons and the roars they could produce were something only gods could create.

When he further heard that the Bharatiya Empire had cities with more people in them than the population of his kingdom, he quickly understood that he didn't stand a chance to resist such an opponent.

The thought did cross his mind that they might be lying, but unfortunately, he did not have the luxury to get to know the truth.

In the end, taking the future of his kingdom into consideration, he reluctantly agreed, especially since the cost of the equipment sold by the Bharatiya Empire was not too outrageous. They could be exchanged for leather, wool, timber, forrest produce, grain, metals, and other things. The exchange rate was also very reasonable.

After getting the weapons in their hands, he finally understood how fortunate he was. And when he witnessed how his tribal soldiers were trained by the people from the Bharatiya Empire, who looked very similar to them, albeit a little lighter, he understood that he might have been kissed by the god of wisdom on that day he met the person from the Bharatiya Empire.

The surprise of Kimbugwe did not end there. Only a few days after instructors from the Bharatiya Empire had come to his kingdom to train his soldiers, unusual and unexpected things continued to happen in the neighbouring kingdoms of Bunyoro and Bugesera. Rebellions broke out, and the countries quickly became embroiled in civil war.

When he first got this information, Kimbugwe Kamegere was overwhelmed with dread and fear. He undoubtedly knew that the civil war definitely had something to do with the people from the Bharatiya Empire because he knew for a fact that the day he first received the guests from the Bharatiya Empire, his neighbouring kingdoms did as well. But unlike him, who was cautious throughout the day, the new King Masamba of Bunyoro and the senile King Nsoro Nyabarega of Bugesera both rejected the suggestion of the Bharatiyans to end the slave trade and stand with them to fight against it.

Kimbukwe knew that they wouldn't have a good end after seeing only the tip of the iceberg which was the Bharatiya Empire, but he did not expect their punishments would come so soon.

After further inquiry over the last few months, he got to know that the neighboring Wanga Kingdom, as well as the bigger Ajuran Sultanate, also immediately agreed to the suggestion of the Bharatiya Empire.

He inquired why they acted so quickly, and he got the answer. Wanga King Wabala agreed after heeding the suggestion of the Ajuran Sultanate. As for the Sultan of the Ajuran Sultanate, he seemed to have firsthand information about the Bharatiya Empire and appeared to be scared and worried.

He suddenly remembered that the Ajuran Sultanate is a coastal country on the eastern coast of Africa, and the Bharatiya Empire is set to be on the other side of the waters. Maybe he really did know more about the Bharatiya Empire. Thinking about it, Kimbugwe immediately had a meeting with the 72-year-old Sultan Nur Ibn Mujahid and directly asked him if he knew something about the Bharatiya Empire that he could share.

Mujahid, after understanding that the little king sitting in front of him had actually agreed to the suggestion of the Bharatiya Empire, could not help but look at him with a little admiration. "You did the right thing. The Bharatiya Empire is a power that no one in the world would want to provoke."

"You might see my sultanate as powerful, but even if I combine my state with the Ethiopian Empire up north and the Luba Empire down south, I wouldn't even make the Bharatiya Empire use one percent of its strength."

"All of us will be shot down on our journey to the Bharatiya Empire alone."

Kimbugwe was shocked. "So powerful!!!!"

"Then!!" "Haha!"

"Don't see that the white people in the coastal regions are so high and mighty. Even they do not dare to provoke the Bharatiya Empire. Also, let me tell you this—"

"The Portuguese, the Dutch, and the Spanish are the three most active white men in our region."

"They are so domineering on weekdays, treating themselves like gods and treating us like animals, but in front of the Bharatiya Empire, they will have to hide their tails and stand far behind like obedient servants."

"The Portuguese and the Spanish are currently the allies of the Bharatiya Empire, and the Dutch are the enemy. And this enemy does not dare to provoke the Bharatiya Empire as their complete influence has been wiped out from our part of the world."

"So you can understand how powerful Bharatiya is. And listen, just be happy that they don't want to enslave us. Follow whatever orders they give."

The meeting with Mujahid for Kimbugwe changed his whole worldview. He was a person who had thought his surroundings, along with four countries, two sultanates, and two empires, were the whole world. But after talking with Sultan Mujahid, he knew that he was just a frog in the well—completely ignorant.

Following the suggestion of the Sultan, he wholeheartedly cooperated with the direction of the Bharatiya people, providing more conveniences for the Bharatiya people living in his kingdom.

Even last week, he completely closed down his slave trade business, which he was previously hesitant to fully close and had only kept on hiatus, and directly passed a rule banning the slave trade. The chieftains under his command strongly objected to his decision since the slave trade was one of the most lucrative businesses that could be done in this era. But fortunately for Kimbugwe, the Bharatiya people only gave weaponry to the person in power, and in this case, that was him. Using the weapons and people trained by the Bharatiya people for the last few weeks, he wiped out several opposing chieftains and completely took control of their lands. Thereby completely shutting down the mouths of all the chieftains.

Fortunately, he was not drunk with power. When his subordinate said that the main person from the Bharatiya Empire wanted to meet him, he immediately asked his subordinate to invite him in.

Nganga Makoko, sitting in a carriage stationed outside the manor of King Kimbugwe, did not have to wait long as he was shortly invited into the manor by a servant.

"Mr. Nganga, have you been well? Would you like some beverages or something to warm your stomach?"

Despite being the older person, Kimbugwe looked so humble.

Hearing the flattering words, Nganga's face immediately turned a little complicated. He was born in the kingdom of Buganda, and when he was still a toddler, he had to kneel on the street along with his mother every time the king passed by. But now, the situation had completely turned around. He could not help but lament the humour of Krishna.

He soon came back to his senses and shook his head. "Due to Krishna's blessing, I am doing very well, Your Highness. Thank you for your hospitality, but I have come on official matters," he paused for a while and mentioned. "It is about a trade deal. I wonder if you are interested in it?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

P.S. I have been lazy in giving my thanks to the lovely gift-givers. Readers, feel free to cuss at me.

But—

Thanks to Rishabh_Mandal for the IceCola.

Thanks to Godfather_75 for the IceCola.

Thanks to veteran legend its_a_joke for 2 freaking Inspiration Capsules!