Reborn

Vikram opened his eyes, he was in bed. ''Am I still alive? I thought I would be dead for sure from that grenade. But why do I feel different? Where am I? This is not a hospital. Did I become a hostage of terrorists?'' Suddenly there was an immense pain in Vikram's head, and Vikram opened his eyes. A cold look could be seen in his eyes. ''No, this is not me, and this world is different from where I came from, and this is not my body. His name is also Vikram. But his full name is Vikram Veer Dev. He is only seventeen years old, and his father died on the battlefield. He was not fighting his own war but was fighting for the Mughals. He was not willing to fight but was forced. His father is a small noble in the bank of the Narmada River in today's Madhya Pradesh.''

Vikash will now inherit territory and a noble title and will govern his territory. Vikash's territory is part of modern-day Madhya Pradesh, in the districts of Anuppur, Shahdol, and Umariya. Most of the population of the territory is tribal. Fortunately for me, there is no dispute over inheritance in my family, as my only uncle holds a lower position than my father and loves me as his own son. Thanks to the lack of knowledge about this area, there are currently no territory disputes with other nobles, and the Mughals, after the war, are not interested in this forest area because, compared to the fertile lands of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, this area is less prosperous.

Europeans are not fully aware of the prosperity of this country and the Indian subcontinent. In my opinion, Portugal has already taken control over coastal areas of Sri Lanka and has established their factories in various parts of India, especially in the coastal region of the Arabian Sea, such as Gujarat, and taken control over Goa. In the Bay of Bengal, I only know about Bengal.

"What should I do? I think the best chance for me is to prepare for war to slowly expand my territory. Since major powers are not interested in this area for now, I can slowly expand my territory. I can create an army for Guerilla warfare tactics in these dense forests. With the help of local tribes, there will be no problem to train them, as they already come from the forest and will be excellent for Guerilla warfare tactics. The only problem will be convincing them to join the army because they have no motivation to fight a war. Due to no influence from outside powers, they are living peacefully, but I know peace will not last if we don't prepare."

Suddenly a knock can be heard from outside the door; it was none other than Vikram Uncle, Virendra. Virendra said, ''Are you ready, Your Highness? The advisers are waiting for you.''

''Uncle, don't call me that. You can call me by name. Also, my status now is no more than Zameen daar or small noble for Mughals,'' said the young ruler.

''Your Highness, please don't say that ever again. This land is our motherland, and you are the King of this land. As for status in the Mughal state, it doesn't matter to our people. You are the King and you have full authority to govern this land,'' Virendra said with a proud expression on his face.

"Thanks, uncle, for motivating me. I am now confident to govern our motherland. Uncle, please arrange a meeting with the state officer. I want to review my father's policies. Thanks again, uncle, for believing in me. After father's death, I was so depressed that I didn't know anything about the state. I didn't want to face reality. But please, believe in me now, uncle. I will make sure our people never suffer again."

"Ok, your highness, please take your time. Officials will be there in a few hours. This is your first meeting, your highness. You can give them orders according to your own will. After all, you are now our young lord, Virendra said.

When I possessed this body, he was very depressed and wanted to escape from reality. He was always thinking about his father. I think it's not wrong. After all, he is only 17 and never thought he would become the ruler of this state. But now, it is going to be different. I will make sure to turn this state into a big Empire. After that, Virendra took his leave and was going to prepare for the meeting of Vikram and the officers of the state. On his way, he was thinking about how his nephew got out of his depression and is now becoming more and more like a true ruler.

Vikram entered the meeting hall. The aura of a confident ruler can be felt from Vikram. Seeing their new king's confidence, the officers of the state feel relieved. They didn't expect their young king to be this confident. They were very worried about their state because of their young king's attitude, but now they also feel confident after seeing the young king recover from his depression. Vikram sits down.

All the officers were present, including the military head, finance minister, religious guru, and many others, including advisors. All the officers greeted their king with ''long live the king.''

After that, there was silence for a moment, and then Vikram spoke: ''As you all know, from my coronation until now, this is our first meeting. Due to my incompetence, I was not able to see my people's circumstances. So, please forgive me for not being able to do anything for my people and state.''

Everyone in court said simultaneously, ''Please don't say that, your highness. We all believe in you. Your highness, you are the son of God and you rule over this land as a god.''

Seeing this reaction, Vikram was very satisfied because this was all his plan. With their sympathy and support, he can use them for his benefit. Vikram is not thinking about personal benefits; it is all for the people of the state. His upcoming policies can be directly rejected without the support of advisors. Advisors obviously don't know what their young lord is thinking. If they know how their young lord is now playing with emotions, they will definitely be happier because playing with emotions is one of the essential parts of politics.

After that, Vikram now moved on to the main topic. ''All advisors, I truly appreciate your support. Please believe in me, I will never let you down your expectations. Now moving on to the main topic for today's gathering. I want to know everything about the state's current affairs, its revenue, and military capabilities. I was not really interested in politics until now, so please give me detailed information about our relationship with neighboring states. I also want to know about welfare schemes that are running in the state until now and other major policies that were introduced by my father or before my father, which are still ongoing. I want to know how much revenue we are collecting, where we are spending this revenue, and how much. I also want to know how many soldiers are there in our army and what their age group is. After that, I want to know about the peace agreement between Mughals and us, how much tax we have to pay them, how many soldiers are required to maintain it, and other major points of the non-aggression agreement. I want to know what minerals are in our state's land and how much we are able to mine them in a year."

All advisors were shocked for the movements; they were speechless because until yesterday their king didn't want to know anything about the state and governance, but today he was asking for all types of details. Some advisors feel like this was not their young lord but someone else who possesses his body.

Virendra, who was also there, spoke, ''Your Highness, some of the details can be provided now, but for the detailed demands you have, we need time to collect every detail collectively and present them to you.''

Virendra was the military head and one of the advisors of the Vikram Court. Vikram asked, ''How much time will be needed for collecting all the details that I require?''

Virendra replied, ''Your Highness, it would not be appropriate for me to answer on behalf of other members. They come from different departments and may take more or less time than others. As for my military department, I will provide each and every detail in seven days.''

''Ok, I got it. What about other departments? How much time will be needed for each and every detail that I need?''

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