23rd September 1655
Delhi Administration, Kashmir Valley, Mughal Empire.
Feroze Jung, after receiving orders from His Excellency Iqbal, quickly returned to Kashmir, which was the location of his military camp.
"Soldiers, get ready; we are going on an expedition," he said with a resolute face.
The soldiers, who were nothing but recruits four months ago, were looking like seasoned Army Corps who had been stationed for many months on an expedition. Hearing themander’s orders, they suddenly scrambled to get prepared within a few minutes. Everyone was dressed, armed, and ready for battle. This method of training was implemented after the Bharatiya Spy divulged this information.
The soldiers had endured immense hardships over the past three months, with many of theirrades lost along the way. In the initial weeks alone, nearly 2,000 troops out of the 72,000 recruits had perished.
"If that’s the case, why did so many recruits sign up, you ask?" Well, it was because of their dire situation where many found themselves indebted to the government or local nobles, due to the recent heavy taxation.
Hence, they had no other way but to convert, risk their lives by crossing to the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire where the survival rate of the journey was less than 1%, or sell themselves as ves to the nobles of the empire. Considering the options, most of them decided to take a chance and join the army.
Despite knowing that the casualty rate in the army was very high, they still joined as it would relieve some of the burdens on their families. Additionally, when they joined the army, they were offered handsome rewards for joining a campaign against Tibet, which further incentivized them to enlist, even though they were skeptical about the promises made.
However, their reality was far from what they expected as their reason for being skeptical turned out to be valid. Instead of a battle, they were subjected to gruelling training in the unforgiving terrain of Kashmir.
Some couldn’t bear the ordeal and attempted to flee, only to meet a grim fate—shot dead on the spot, Even more cruel is that their families back home were also judged as deserters and put in prison. After a few such incidents, desertion ceased, and soldiers persevered as best they could. Yet, despite their efforts, some couldn’t withstand the harshness of their environment and sumbed.
Presently, the troop count stands at around 63,000 soldiers.
Feroze looked at the soldiers, who were neatly lined up and ready for battle. He was very satisfied. Although these soldiers are cannon fodder when used in a normal war, they are a very important resource in the current expedition, as these recruits are specially trained to operate in extremely cold and extremely mountainous conditions.
"Alright, here is your mission: split into different units and use the trade routes to prate the Nepalese border. Send in scouts first and eliminate all the informants of the kingdom. It is alright if one or two slip through the, just make sure that the soldiers are sessfully infiltrated ind. By doing this, the Nepalese people should be unaware of our sudden attack.
I’m sure they will be caught off guard."
"Yes, sir."
The army began to march. There are 17 to 18 trade routes between the Uttarakhand region and Nepal. After splitting apart ording to n, they quickly infiltrated the border, and the soldiers who came to stop them were swiftly dealt with.
The current Nepal bears little resemnce to Vijay’s past timeline. In his previous reality, Nepal boasted significant power with eight kingdoms, six city-states, and a tribal alliance. However, in this altered timeline, Nepal’s influence has dwindled to three major powers. The Kingdom of Mustang now dominates the western part of Nepal, with a poption of approximately 70,679.
In the central region, the Kingdom of Lalitpur reigns supreme, boasting thergest poption at around 107,692. Additionally, a new entity, the Rajghat Kingdom, has emerged, a phenomenon unseen in Vijay’s previous timeline.
These transformations were not random, as they stemmed from shifts in the Mughal Empire’s different circumstances in this timeline. Due to this, a ripple effect was caused, leading to the Nepali powers beginning an all-out war between themselves 50 years ago.
The war started in 1602 and ended in 1635, so Nepal experienced a war of 32 long years, which led to the rise and fall of many kingdoms and powers. The war was so gruesome and violent that it was also called the Little Kurukshetra War by the people of Nepal.
The most notable changes after the war are that the Kathmandu Kingdom was upied by Lalitpur; the Gorkha Kingdom, which was supposed to unify Nepal, was defeated by the Mustang Kingdom; and the small city-state Dharan came out of nowhere and managed to form an alliance with the Kirak tribe Confederation by a form of marriage and decided to establish the Rajghat Kingdom.
In the original timeline, the poption of Nepal should have been anywhere from 700,000 to one million people. Sadly, the 32-year war, destroyed almost two generations of males, leading to a massive poption copse in thest few decades. Currently, the whole poption of Nepal is estimated to be only 230,000.
Another dark wound left after the war was that no diplomacy could be established between the three surviving kingdoms, as no matter who tries to establish this rtion, they get attacked by the other two parties, making the situation alwaysplicated. Moreover, they do not trust each other very much, which has led to Nepal being highly divided between three different forces.
As for why the Mughal Empire did not take this chance to invade Nepal, well, it was because, during the war, the Mughal Empire was actually hesitant to enter this war. A lot of ridiculous things happened during the war, like a city-state of 2000 people defeating a kingdom of 10,000 people, or even a group of not more than 20 people managing to defend a fortress for 6 hours straight.
Even more ridiculously, a tribe of Kirak people managed to kidnap a crown prince and sessfully ransomed 3000 sq km ofnd in the east of Nepal. Thebat effectiveness of all the Nepali powers was at its peak, so the Mughal Empire hesitated. Considering that with their involvement in this war, what if it would cause the Nepali forces to unify? That would be more troublesome.
So, the Mughal Empire acted as a bystander and did not get involved in this war. After this war ended, Nepal was at its weakest. Most of the veterans were dead, and the remaining males of the society were too highly valued to be put into dangerous positions. However, whether fortunate or unfortunate, the Mughal Empire didn’t see the Himyan region as a priority.
Instead, it focused on consolidating power in central India. Even when pulled into a conflict with the Dakshin Bharathiya Empire, the Mughal Empire didn’t view investing troops in capturing the Himyan region as necessary. It wasn’t until the Mughal Emperor faced repeated setbacks that the North entered the empire’s strategic vision.
After Feroze and his army breached the border of Nepal, they regrouped near the Mustang Kingdom. From their vantage point, Feroze could see the city walls of the Mustang Kingdom’s capital looming before them. Intelligence indicated that the Mustang Kingdom boasted a standing army of 15,000 troops.
Feroze could have taken advantage of the superior number and firepower of the Mughal Empire, but he did not want to do that. He wanted to achieve the most with the least cost, so he decided to employ the tactic of using the child of Ah.
"In the name of Ah, Nazrat Shah ul Sharif, the time has arrived for you to dedicate yourself to His cause," Feroze Jung spoke with a tinge of envy as if he longed to be in Nazrat’s ce. "You are a soldier of Ah, a vessel of His will. Though I may not have been bestowed with this honour, you, the chosen one, the child of Ah, have," he dered solemnly.
"So, do you ept this sacred opportunity that Ah has bestowed upon you?" he inquired.
Upon hearing the general’s words, Nazrat felt a surge of excitement. This was the moment he had been born and trained for all his life, and he couldn’t contain his joy at the opportunity finally presenting itself. With fervour shining in his eyes, he eagerly nodded his head and responded, "Bismih Al Rahman Al Rahim, I, Nazrat Shah Ul Sharif, vow to uphold justice and honour in this corrupt world.
I shall be the instrument of the Almighty to mete out punishment to the wrongdoers and wage jihad against them," he dered as if he had been awaiting this precise moment his entire life.
Feroze, observing the young man trained by a special unit under his majesty, couldn’t help but feel satisfied. "Excellent. Ah requires soldiers like you," he remarked approvingly. "Now, follow my instructions. Disguise yourself as a Persian merchant and approach the city wall with your goods. Once you’re cleared of any suspicion," Feroze’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
He retrieved a round object and ced it in Nazrat’s hand, indicating its use. "Light this fuse here, then swiftly hurl it at the chains holding the door. With your courageous deed, this kingdom shall fall under the divine will of Ah."
"Yes, yes, yes! I must do it, yes, yes!" Nazrat eximed, his excitement bubbling over as he repeated the words fervently. Without dy, he hastily dressed himself as a Persian merchant and made his way to the city wall as instructed.
The soldiers witnessed the strange guy finally leave his group of freaks and approach the city wall. They did not know what His Excellency themander and the strange guy talked about, but they did not care as the strange guy was not familiar to them and was very weird at times, chanting some Arabic quotes and all.
The soldiers couldn’t help but look in the direction where 4 to 5 young men whose aura matched Nazrat were standing. "Won’t these guys go?" they thought to themselves. But what was even more bizarre was seeing Nazrat going further and further away; these guys had a hint of jealousy in their eyes.
On another note, why is Feroze very sure that Nazrat would be allowed to enter? Well, because he knew some information about this kingdom. Due to the Mughal Empire not attempting to annex Nepal or any part of it, all three powers have somewhat good trade rtions with the indigenous people of the Mughal Empire.
Moreover, concerning the Mustang Kingdom, when a persones from outside of the subcontinent, they are very weed in this kingdom specifically. As for the reason, apparently, the nobles in this small kingdom love the Ottoman goods brought by the Persian merchants, so there is usually leniency towards them.
Upon reaching the city wall, Nazrat was halted by a security guard who scrutinized him closely.
"Name and reason for entry?" the guard inquired sternly.
"Hello sir, my name is Nazrat Usain. I am a merchant from the Safavid Empire. I have with me some exquisite Ottoman jewellery I would like to trade with the nobles of this kingdom," Nazrat said as he put on a polite face and slipped in a golden coin to the guard.
The guard quickly snatched the golden coin and pocketed it in his breastte; consequently, he did not even search the man as he directly let him inside.
Ten meters within the wall, Nazrat’s eyes gleamed with fervour. His gaze fixed upon his objective, he swiftly retrieved the round object bestowed upon him by His Excellency the Commander. With practised precision, he ignited it using the flint in his possession. A radiant smile graced his face, a visage of unparalleled joy. To any observer, this smile would appear as the epitome of pure happiness.
Yet, unbeknownst to them, the true nature behind this smile was far more sinister.
"Ahu Akbar! Die, kafirs!" he eximed with manicughter, his voice echoing against the stone walls. In one swift motion, he hurled the makeshift grenade, a creation of the Mughal Empire inspired by the tactics of the Dakshin Bharathiya Empire, towards therge chains securing the city wall’s door. The grenade traced a graceful arc through the air beforending near its intended target.
"BOOM!"
A deafening sound was heard as suddenly one of the two chains supporting the doorwork was sted apart. Consequently, Nazrat, who was only a few feet away, was not spared as he was blown to bits and turned into mist. However, he did fulfil his distorted goal. The door was unable to be closed again.
Feroz took this chance and ordered his army to charge forward. An earthquake urred as the 60,000 soldiers quickly ran towards the city wall of the Mustang Kingdom. Its King, Prithvi Narayan Shah, was quickly alerted, but it was futile; a proper resistance could not be put up, and the Kingdom of Mustang soon fell under the might of 60,000 Mughal soldiers.
Feroze harboured a deep-seated disdain for the indigenous civilization of the continent, viewing their customs of praying to rocks and trees as absurd and futile. In his eyes, they were nothing more than barbarians, uncivilized brutes devoid of sophistication. He longed to linger and obliterate all traces of their civilization, but time was of the essence.
Before word reached another kingdom, he had to act swiftly. Leaving 5,000 troops behind to oversee the prisoners, he hastily set off towards the Lalitpur Kingdom.
The same strategy was employed, albeit with a different guise. This time, three Hindu pilgrims embarked on a journey to the Lalitpur Kingdom through three different gates, with the intention of reaching Mount Kash, one of the most sacred sites of the Hindu and Buddhist god Shiva. Typically, pilgrims would pass through the Lalitpur Kingdom to reach Mount Kash.
This pretext was chosen because the Lalitpur Kingdom was known to be amodating towards religious visits. Additionally, there appeared to be an unspoken agreement between the Mustang Kingdom, Rajghat Kingdom, and Lalitpur Kingdom not to exploit religious pilgrims as a cover for their attacks.
The three young men dressed in saffron robes quickly arrived at the city wall. Although they were disgusted to wear the saffron-coloured clothes, they managed to do it, thinking about the higher cause and the glory achieved by Nazrat.
"BOOOM, BOOOM, BOOOM "The same situation was observed here but at three different locations.
The Lalitpur Kingdom was quite tricky because there were more people to put up a fight. However, taken off guard, their resistance was not too troublesome. Still, the 8000 defensive personnel Lalitpur managed to gather were able to take out 15,000 of his troops. Along with the 3000 troops he had lost in the Kingdom of Mustang, the total losses amounted to 18,000 troops.
26th September 1655
n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Dealing with the Rajghat Kingdom proved to be challenging. Since the news of the Mughal invasion of Mustang and Lalitpur had already reached Rajghat, the same strategy of using the sons of Ah did not work. It was time for a good old frontal war. Fortunately, the artillery of the Nepalese was not as advanced as that of the Mughal Empire.
Additionally, as the soldiers were trained in hilly terrain, they quickly adapted to the battle style. Sometimes the tactics involved guerri warfare, while at other times, there were asional skirmishes between small squads of troops. Eventually, Feroze managed to breach the walls of Rajghat.
The task he was assigned was finallypleted on the 27th of September 1655. Currently, 5000 troops are stationed in the ruins of Mustang, and 5000 are stationed in Rajghat. Feroze sent a letter to the emperor through Uttar Pradesh, requesting additional security to be stationed in Lalitpur. Having themand of 30,000 troops, he left for Bhutan.
P.S. I am very sorry for any Nepali brother or sister reading this if it offended you, but I would like to let you know that if there is a Nepali Kingdom that goes on to conquer the whole of India, at least for me personally, I would not be offended or angry, as both are basically the same civilization.
P.S. Again I made the Gurkha Kingdom disappear because I do not want it to lose to the Mughal Empire. However, I do have a future n for it, so I hope everything works out well.
P.S. I just realized I should have written the 5 chapters for Nepal and one chapter for Bhutan. Oh well.