<h4>Chapter 73: Progress</h4>


    It has been 3 months since the start of the construction of roads across the Vijayanagara Empire.


    With the help provided by the local influential families, the construction had been going on at breakneck speeds. The highways connecting various cities have already been constructed, and various branch roads are just getting started to be constructed.


    The roads in all the main cities of Vijayanagara have been directly paved with cement roads. The result of this showed immediately as the travel time between various cities was cut down by a few days. The whole Empire''s business boomed as merchants started doing well and took over some interests that used to belong to the nobles. In just a few months, a few big cities made as much money in taxes as they did in the whole year before.


    In Ker, Kochi, there were lots of hidden traps set in the Uppum forest. Various sentry towers were beginning to be constructed simultaneously, and the towers were all made of cement reinforced with iron bars inside them. Although this way of building can cause the iron in the structure to rust quickly, for the situation Vijayanagara is facing, it is the most efficient way to increase the strength of the Empire in the shortest time.


    At the Bhartiya Academy of Military Sciences:


    "Pour...!" Hey Ram ordered as the prototype of the 24-pound cannonpleted its casting, and now it is undergoing its final stage of the stress relief process. Hot and boiling fluids are poured into the cannon. This process helps relieve the stress built up from casting the cannon, and the boiling liquid naturally cools down, relieving any stress that is left over in the construction process.


    "Congrattions, brother Hey Ram, it looks like we havepleted the task assigned by the Emperor," his assistant said with excitement. However, Hey Ram paid no heed to him. He didn''t hear the congrattions as he was engrossed in looking at the masterpiece he had created. He felt very happy as he caressed the cold metal body of the cannon, Just like caressing a beautiful woman.


    HeyRam soon responded aftering back to his senses, "We are not done yet. Quickly design the chassis and manufacture the wheels for this beast," he stated without taking his eyes off the cannon.


    The progress was not only in the artillery department; there was also progress in the gunpowder department. Inspired by his previous tests, Manoj decided to make a bigger explosion. With a little inspiration that he got yesterday, Manoj designed a grenade capable of tearing apart 10 mm cast iron armour like it is paper.


    "Bhoom!"


    A loud explosion rang out in the testing site of Bhartiya Academy for Military Sciences'' gunpowder department. It was a sessful test.


    "Congrattions, brother Manoj, we have sessfully found the optimal mixture of gunpowder and soil for the optimal st," his fellow researchers congratted him. The earlier st managed to tear apart the 10mm cast iron defence with still some damage urring in the back of the armour. Manoj was very happy with the result as he received everyone''s congrattions.


    But in the corner of his eye, he saw his assistant, Sai, staring at the st point with some contemtion. Intrigued, he decided to ask, "Sai, what are you thinking?"


    Awakened from his thoughts, Sai looked at Manoj for a while as he revealed his thoughts without any reservations. "Brother Manoj, I was thinking, isn''t the principle of the cannon is to create an explosion in an enclosed tube for the purpose of ejecting a projectile at very high speeds? So why can''t we use this same principle in this grenade? How about we use arge number of small projectiles packed inside the grenade? By the same principle used for the cannon, it should be able to propel these small iron pellets at great speeds, maybe causing more damage than the regr grenade."


    "p!"


    "Great idea!" Manoj pped his legs and yelled in excitement. Listening to his exmation, everyone also gathered around to see what themotion was about.


    Manoj''s eyes lit up as he was sure that this n was feasible, so he asked, "So how do you think we can make these small iron pellets? It is very hard to do by hand."


    Sai answered, "Brother, have you ever noticed that when water drops, it will always form a somewhat spherical shape? I think if we can control the amount of water dropped at a time, we will be able to control the size of these drops."


    Everyone around them was confused about what they were talking about, but Manoj, as the inventor of gunpowder, immediately understood Sai''s n.


    "Great n, great! Dropping molten iron in a controlled manner and allowing it to harden in a fluid can indeed produce the required iron pellets of standard size that we can use."


    "p"


    "why didn''t I think of that "


    "Let''s go, let''s try it out, let''s go!" Manoj yelled as he pushed everyone aside and dragged Sai with him to do the experiment.


    ______________________________________________________________________


    But it was not all good news for Vijayanagara as the general from the Dutch arrived in Lanka today.


    "Sir General Carel Reyniersz, wee to Lanka. Your arrival here has brought us great joy," greeted the governor of Lanka, Shwartz, with a warm wee as he extended his hospitality to the army general. General Carel Reyniersz had been dispatched by the Dutch to handle matters concerning the Vijayanagara Empire. The general embodied the typical Germanic appearance, dressed in Dutch military attire, boasting blond hair, blue eyes, and a robust physique. What stood out prominently was the scar above his right eyebrow, which added to his veteran military aura.


    Carel waved his hand to dispense with the formalities. "Let''s talk about workter. I have been travelling for a month continuously, and I need to rest," he said as he eyed the sexy maid present at the wee party with lust.


    Shwartz was stunned by the response, but he still smiled and replied, "Oh, look at me, where are my manners? Of course, please enjoy the local delicacies wholeheartedly, we can talk about the boring work matterster." he said, As he quietly gestured with his eyes, to his guard to send the beautiful maid beside him to apany the general.


    "Lord, no, no, no... please, nooo," the maid cried, noticing something wrong with the lord''s expression, but her fate was already sealed. However, the General didn''t mind the scene, as he seemed to enjoy his prey resisting. He patted the governor on the back in approval as he left the ce.


    The next day, General Carel came in a nightgown looking well-rested as he askedzily, "How are the preparations going? Are the soldiers and the ammunition ready?"


    "It''s almost done, Sir. The soldiers are ready, and there are five battalions of troops awaiting your order to march on to Vijayanagara. Moreover, the homnd has sent in two gship man-of-war battleships, each with two cannons on either side of the deck. But, sir, due to the recent overturning of our cargo vessel, we are a little short on firearms and ammunition, and the next supply ship is already en route. We should be fully equipped and prepared for war in 2 months," Shwartz said in a respectful tone.


    General Carel nodded, recognizing that he could bide his time for the shipment. Furthermore, he relished Governor Shwartz''s warm hospitality and looked forward to savouring the local delights with great enthusiasm, exuding an air of unabashed enjoyment.