Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The Portuguese were also looking to support the Mughals for a lucrative deal to use the Surat Port. The Marathas had denied benefits to the Surat port. The Portuguese want to expand into the markets of Surat.

The major reason to get Surat was the establishment of a warehouse. The Surat port was the closest en route to the Subcontinent directly since the winds deterred them from going to the Cochin Port. The merchants had to hug the African coast to reach the Subcontinent.

It was a hub of commerce and held immense wealth, which was eyed by many European merchants. Surat was famous for its gold and diamonds. The jewelry from Surat was some of the most valuable commodities.

The other famous goods in Surat were indigo, a dye that was widely used in textiles in Europe. Textiles were the other luxury good, especially the cotton fabrics and silk of the subcontinent, which were very sought after in Europe due to their high quality.

A man barged into the royal court as Zafar Shah was adjourning the meeting. He was breathing heavily. Finally, after calming himself down.

The man looked up at the Sultan Zafar Shah. His son Aziz was as usual standing beside him since he was learning the ropes of responsibility that came with the title of Crown Prince.

"Sultan, we have some important information to share." He looked nervously at the seated nobles curiously looking at him.

Noticing the reluctance of the man. He looked over at the nobles and commanded.

"The meeting is adjourned. You may all leave."

It was pretty clear that the Sultan had ordered them to leave at once, before he took the matters into his own hands.

The nobles quickly left the royal court, leaving the Sultan and the Crown Prince along with the man.

"What is the important news you have to share?" The sultan looked at the man with a curious expression

"The civil war in Vijayanagara Empire ended."

"This quickly?"

"Yes, our agents stationed in the Empire have given us information."

"Who won? The first prince or the second prince?"

It was common knowledge amidst the many kingdoms that the most favorable candidates for the throne of Vijayanagara were the first prince Chandra Deva Raya and the second prince Bhairava Deva Raya.

The man gulped down hesitantly before responding.

"The youngest prince, Harsha Deva Raya, defeated both the first and second princes."

Aziz, who was silently listening to the man, gasped in surprise.

"What the hell happened?" His voice raised high.

Sultan's jaw dropped as he heard the news.

"We don't have all the information. According to our agents, the Nayakas were supporting the youngest prince. We also noted some suspicious activities from the Gajapathis."

"Damn it!!" Zafar struck his armrest in frustration.

Aziz looked over at his father, and he knew the reason for his anger very well. The Empire had mobilized the royal army during the civil war. The sultan had hope for the civil war to drag on so he could take advantage later once he finished the agreements with the Mughals.

But now their plans went to waste as the Civil War ended quickly and the victory was also decided with an overwhelmingly margin. The defeat of two major factions did imply that the youngest prince would have a strong position and influence in the Empire.

'The Empire had another monster like the other two princes.' Aziz thought.

Chandrapur, Yadava Kingdom.

Some time had passed since the coronation of Gauri Seuna as the Queen of the Yadava Kingdom. She was now busy with handling matters of the kingdom along with her mentor, uncle, and close supporter, Yogendra Ahir.

She was skeptical of her influence in the kingdom at first. But her worries quickly faded as none of the Nobles dared to question her based on her gender. It was clear that they feared her. The bloody visage of Gauri was imprinted in the minds of the Nobles.

It had a very wild effect on the Nobles, as they knew that a mistake would result in their death at the hands of the Queen.

Bhishma was still kept as the Royal Army commander under the reign of Gauri since she knew the importance of the man. He was also a strong person and was very useful for the kingdom.

Despite all the new things to explore, she was bored. Gauri fiddled with a dagger in her study room.

'I want to meet Harsha!! Ughhh!! ' she thought.

Gauri wanted to meet Harsha as soon as possible. She knew he was in the middle of a predicament with the civil war. She was having her own issues during that time. Gauri couldn't send him some help during the civil war.

She wanted to impress him. She wanted to meet Harsha to confirm her feelings.

The maiden heart of Gauri was going through a rough phase as she began to figure out her feelings.

Naiki and Gauri had a discussion where she blurted out that she felt in love with Prince Harsha.

But Naiki's response did put a doubt in her mind.

"Do you really like him? How are you so sure about it?"

Naiki continued with a solemn expression.

"Next time you meet him. If you still feel the same, it may be love. You need to figure it out. It might be just because of your situation at that time. Take the time and confirm; don't jump to conclusions."

Gauri kept that advice in her mind.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden entrance of Yogendra Ahir.

"Your Majesty. We have some news." He said, huffing heavily.

"What is it, Uncle?" Gauri inquired.

"The civil war in Vijayanagara Empire just ended."

Gauri stood up with a bright expression at the news. "Did Harsha win??"

"The youngest Prince Harsha had ended the Civil War by defeating both the first and second princes."

"Uncle, Prepare a delegation to the Empire quickly."

Gauri wanted to be the first one to send congratulations to Harsha for his victory.

"Understood, Your Majesty." Yogendra replied with a curt bow.