MTLNOVEL Chapter 889: Helpless/Difficult Choice
The Holy Roman Empire's sudden attack on the Ottomans, rather than focusing on halting Russian expansion in the Balkans, took everyone by surprise. Unable to understand what Emperor Leopold I, the Patriarch of the Habsburg Dynasty, was doing, even Baltasar Charles, the Patriarch of the Spanish Habsburgs, contacted Leopold not as the Emperor of the Spanish Empire but as a cousin to understand what he was thinking.
The sudden action of the Holy Roman Empire was like dropping a wrench in everyone's plans. Unable to understand the Empire's objective or how to adjust their own strategies, constant probes, both covert and open, came from Poland-Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, and other nearby nations. However, the ones most affected and concerned by Leopold I's decisions were none other than Charles II Stuart of England, William III of Orange of the Netherlands, and Louis XIV of France.
When they received the intelligence about the fortress of Budapest being breached by the Romans and not the Russians, a bunch of question marks appeared in their minds. They supported the Holy Roman Empire by selling artillery at a very cheap price in order to take on the Russians, but now what was happening? Instead of taking on the Russians, the Romans directly joined forces with their enemies and carved up the Balkans for themselves. Although it was hard to believe that the Romans and Russians were cooperating, it sure looked that way.
The Holy Roman Empire and the Tsarist Russian Empire joining hands to occupy the Balkans pushed them over the edge, making them unable to sit still as a popcorn-eating audience anymore. Furthermore, the events that transpired a few weeks later were the last straw that broke the camel's back.
The Roman army that was stationed on the northern border of the Italian Federation started to retreat, leaving behind only the French to deal with the unifying Italians. The Western Europeans were horrified to realise that they had been played by the Bharatiya empire everywhere in the world. In the continent of the Americas, they have supported the Spanish and the Portuguese to counter them, while in Europe, which was supposed to be their home ground, they were up against Russians, Italians, Spanish, Portuguese, and now the Romans.
Almost immediately, the three monarchs held talks with each other and mobilised their troops, sending a message clear and loud that they would be aiding the Ottomans in their battle against the Russians and the Romans.
Not only that, they sent diplomatic missions to various countries that had relationships with the Bharatiya Empire to stay neutral or draw a wedge between the Bharatiya Empire and these countries by giving or providing some interest. The main target was naturally the Spanish, who suffered the most losses, since everyone already knows that the unification of Italy is indirectly supported by the Bharatiya Empire. But unfortunately, before they could take action, the news of several riots in the Ottoman Empire reached the ears of the general public all over Europe. Listening to the atrocities, the blood boiled over, putting the English, French, and Dutch plans to reinforce the Ottomans to a temporary halt.
The three kings couldn't help but curse Mehmed as a donkey for making the wrong decision and tying his hands and feet himself.
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Even though communication has improved a lot since a few years ago, with the emergency fireworks communication channel active, it still took nearly a month for Vijay to receive the intelligence from the Balkans.
Vijay felt like the news was very serious since Roshan himself stood before him to report the intelligence.
"Your Majesty, out of nowhere, the Holy Roman Empire attacked the fortress of Budapest with an army of 100,000 equipped with several hundred artillery pieces manufactured by the English, French, and Dutch. They were successful in breaching the city and eliminating all Ottoman presence in it within two days, and in the surrounding areas within a week."
Vijay's eyebrows were raised as soon as he heard the news. He wasn't expecting the Romans to attack the Ottomans. For a while, he could not understand why they did such a thing, but soon an idea appeared in his mind which made him smile.
'Very smart, but unfortunately, it looks like the Romans opted to directly control the newly occupied territory instead of making it a puppet state they could control. Even in this life, it looks like the disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire cannot be stopped. In a sense, it might even happen faster.'
"Looks like the saying 'the star burns the brightest before its explosion' is true after all."
"Um, can you say that once again, Your Majesty?"
"It's nothing, you continue."
"Yes, Sire!"
"After further investigations, we found out that before the attack on Bucharest, an anomaly happened where all the nobles attended a banquet hosted by a newly promoted Viscount. At first, we found it suspicious because even Dukes, Grand Dukes, and even the Habsburg royalty were attending the banquet, but we thought that it was only because the Viscount's family had an unusual background in the Holy Roman Empire. But it looks like the banquet was used as a cover to discuss the military strategies."
Vijay stroked his chin and leaned back, his mind running with several possibilities.
"Is there any other news?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Apart from the actions of the Holy Roman Empire, the situation in the Ottoman Empire is getting quite concerning. All of a sudden, the presence of the military in civilian areas in the Balkans is increasing, and the Islamic population is being radicalised at a fast pace, with words of holy war appearing frequently in their mouths. All of these point towards the Ottomans going on a genocidal rampage. It might have already started, or it might not have, but I think it is best that we prepare, Your Majesty."
Vijay's brows immediately wrinkled. He took the intelligence report for himself and read all the final details with a serious expression. Instinct told him that Mehmed IV might really be going on a killing spree.
He took a deep breath as his heart rate began to rise because the genocides caused by the Ottomans, which were supposed to happen several hundred years from now, might happen right away.
In his last life, the Ottomans massacred nearly 1.2 million Armenians in the 19th century and wiped out the entire Assyrian population in three separate conflicts—not to mention the half a million Greeks genocided on three occasions in the 20th century. This excludes the Yazidis, Kurds, and Christians, whose numbers were never properly counted. Yet now, in this life, indirectly because of him, these massacres which happened in the span of several decades for centuries, are set to happen all at once, causing far more damage than the Ottomans ever did in his previous life.
Vijay always had a boulder on his shoulders, knowing that he was responsible for millions of deaths, deaths more than the world had ever seen in his last life. He knew that it was because of him that the weapons had gotten more dangerous. He also knew that it was because of him that the Napoleonic artillery tactics like Grand Batteries, horse artillery, canister fire, integrated fire, and forward artillery had been introduced hundreds of years prior. He also knew that it was because of him that guns had become so prevalent all over the world, putting the knight culture on a downturn. And now, because of him, the Armenians, Greeks, Yazidis, Kurds, and Christians are going to get massacred.
The most unfortunate thing for Vijay is that all of this is actually very advantageous to him. It was as if God had given him the gift of being able to be reborn, but the price for the gift was his actions causing millions of people to be killed in some other part of the world and him able to witness it firsthand, knowing very well that he was responsible for it.
Even though no one knew what was happening in Europe was because of him, unfortunately, he knew, and that knowledge was like a mountain weighing on his conscience.
Trying hard to get rid of the negative thoughts, Vijay considered his next move. If previously he had to worry about the English, Dutch, and the French reinforcing the Ottomans, now he no longer had to worry about it, because if the West European countries supported the Ottomans in the current situation, where the Ottomans are very likely massacring whole races, not to mention their own people, soldiers wouldent support them, and dissatisfaction would grow towards the monarch.
Vijay could take this opportunity to spread propaganda and deeds of the Ottomans, denouncing them as demons deserving of Hell, cutting off the last hope for the Ottomans and Western Europeans to cooperate.
Vijay rubbed his temples, getting a headache thinking of all these things. He did not know how much more he could take.
Fortunately, doing some yoga, spending time with his family, reading scriptures, and participating in sparring were helping him relieve some of his mental stress.
Composing himself, Vijay finally gave orders to Roshan, no matter how much guilt was hidden in his heart. "Mobilise our intelligence channels and spread the propaganda about denouncing the Ottomans for their actions of suppressing the minorities and Christians."
"More focus will be given to France, the Netherlands, and England. Even if, by Shiva's grace, the massacres do not happen, I want the hatred and dislike towards the Ottoman Empire among the people of these three countries to be rekindled, making the nobles hesitate to reinforce the Ottoman Empire and dissuade their monarchs."
Vijay didn't say what would happen if the massacre did indeed happen because he didn't know what to do either; there was no way he could interfere so far away with the massacres taking place in the Balkans and Turkey.
On another thought, Turkey may be possible, but definitely not the Balkans—the Europeans will have to deal with themselves.
Thinking about it, an idea slowly took shape in his mind.
"You can leave now, Roshan, and pay attention to the Holy Roman Empire. See if we can know what they are up to."
"As you wish, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now."
After Roshan left, Vijay sent a letter to the commander of the Alliance Army, Lachit Borphukan.
"Lachit, mobilise the Alliance Army immediately. The Ottomans won't be able to take care of their rear. This is the perfect opportunity to completely kick them out of the Middle East."
"Inform the Yazidis that it is finally their turn to expand their territory, and also inform them that their goal this time is to not only kick the Ottomans out but also to rescue the Yezdis, Kurds, Assyrians, and other minority groups from Turkey who are very likely to be prosecuted and genocided by the Ottomans very soon."
He added a few more details and sent the letter through the fastest communication channel. Subsequently, he met with Minister of Defence Kiran Poojari and had him allocate the latest cannons to the Alliance Army.
"But Your Majesty, these cannons have the ability to cause damage to us in case the Alliance Army turns its back on us."
"True, but don't worry about it for now. This is a special situation where higher firepower is required. Also, you don't need to worry about the Alliance Army growing too strong. Our latest flagship artillery is nearing the end of its development. Once this comes out, all current defensive systems will be rendered ineffective and outdated."
"Your Majesty, you mean?"
"Yes, the research of Girivajra (Howitzer) is about to reach its end. By the second quarter of next year, mass production should start."
Kiran Poojari became excited. "I will contact the Minister of External Affairs and negotiate the deal immediately, Your Majesty. Please leave it to me."
"Good!"