14th September 1657
Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Imperial Capital-Bengaluru, Simhasana Bhavana
Vijay’s eting with the Intelligence director of Southeast Asia, Jalandhar Keshav was held two days ago, and as he had expected, the Spanish ambassador Pedro Santiago, knowing the Bharatiya Empire’s actions, imdiately stord towards the Simhasana Bhavana in anger.
Vijay had a small arc on his lips when Ganesh inford him of Pedro’s arrival. He knew that since the Spanish ambassador did not directly leave the empire, there was so room for negotiation, and relations with Spain wouldn’t have to be fully destroyed like with the Dutch and the English.
"Invite him in." Vijay was hoping the Spanish ambassador would be as irrational as possible, which would give him an advantage in the upcoming conversation.
---
Pedro Santiago was furiously walking back and forth in the waiting room. His expression was cold, and his face was red like a ripe tomato; he looked like a rage-induced beast. However, the actual situation was completely different. Although he looked very angry on the outside, internally he was not as angry as he appeared.
Initially, he was furious after receiving the news of the Bharatiya Empire attacking the Spanish Philippines and wanted to imdiately leave this country of heathens. However, after calming down a little, he rembered that His Majesty Charles Balthazar had now fully shifted his attention to the Aricas, and the attention he paid to the Southeast Asian colony had beco less and less.
"Did His Majesty anticipate this day?" The thought was like a lightning bolt, so Pedro decided to stay back and listen to what the Bharatiya Empire had to say.
Before he left, he had to find out whether the Bharatiya Empire wanted to be enemies with the Spanish Empire or not. In this way, even though he failed as a diplomat to the Bharatiya Empire by not being able to stop their actions, he would at least have a reason to explain to His Majesty Charles Balthazar and His Excellency Don Álvaro de ndoza.
Maybe in such a way, his punishnt would not be too harsh.
Suddenly, the door was opened, and Pedro’s attention was diverted to the man who appeared.
"Your Excellency Pedro Santiago, His Majesty will see you now." Ganesh’s tone was confident and kind as always; his attitude was neither too arrogant nor too humble, just the right posture to show respect and dignity.
"Humph!"
Pedro, however, did not reciprocate the respect at all, he did not even utter a single word. All Ganesh received was a snort. Ganesh did not change his deanor, as being the head of the Emperor’s office for so long had already made him accustod to controlling each part of his face as he intended.
---
Vijay sat in the chair with a nonchalant expression, casually going through the docunts. anwhile, Pedro Santiago stord into the room, his face flushed with anger and veins bulging on his neck.
"Your Majesty, what do you have to say for your—"
*Unsheathe*
*Swish!*
Pedro Santiago felt a chill run down his spine as he felt four blades touching his neck. His eyes were erratic, and his heart was beating fast. He was a politician and a diplomat, used to life in courtrooms, banquet halls, and noble mansions. When had he ever co so close to death?
Even though he had so sword practice, it was nothing compared to the skills of the royal guards who had been on the biggest battlefields in the world.
*Gulp!*
Pedro could barely move his head, as any excessive movent might result in him being cut by the sharp blades. With the little movent he had, he looked towards His Majesty, trying to ask if this was how the Bharatiya Empire treated its diplomats.
However, what he saw left him speechless. Vijay had actually raised his hand as if to signal the guards to stop.
"!"
’Does that an if His Majesty hadn’t raised his hand, my neck would have been removed from my body?’
*GOD!*
What little bravery he had imdiately disappeared, and his eyes instantaneously lost all their vigor.
Vijay, seeing the diplomat’s montum drop by a few levels, nodded his head in satisfaction.
"Kattappa, take back your sword. I bet Mr. Diplomat has learned his lesson."
Pedro saw the man in front of him, Kattappa, sheathed his sword and walk away with an annoyed expression on his face, as if he were very unhappy to have let Pedro live. Pedro felt as if he had gained a new lease on life. His knees nearly buckled, but he caught himself just in ti, saving himself from embarrassing both himself and his nation.
Vijay bent down and looked up into Pedro’s eyes as Pedro stood with his head lowered. "Mr. Pedro, I understand you are angry, but rember, you are a diplomat, and I am the head of state. Don’t you Europeans pay utmost attention to etiquette? What happened to that etiquette now?
I’m sure if you had acted similarly in the Roman Empire court, you would have already been beheaded for disrespecting the emperor. So, Mr. Diplomat, be thankful for my rcy. If there is a next ti, even I won’t be able to stop my guards from fulfilling their duty to uphold the reputation and dignity of their emperor."
Pedro felt like he was in an ice cellar looking into those eyes. Even though he was standing and Vijay was sitting, those eyes, which looked directly through him, seed capable of snatching his soul in an instant. Cold sweat ran down his face. "Yes, Your Majesty, I seem to have overreacted and acted out of line.
I deeply apologize for my misconduct and thank you for Your Majesty’s magnanimity and rcy."
He seed to realize sothing. ’So many days of people treating with respect have made accustod to it, huh?’ He felt bitter. He seed to have unconsciously considered himself a powerful man in this empire simply because everyone treated him like a king. Due to this arrogance, even though he knew he was in a different country, he had acted rashly.
He ca to realize that he had overdone it and might have even lost his advantage in the conversation. Unfortunately, it was too late to regret.
Vijay understood that the man in front of him had realized his mistake. "Now please take a seat, Mr. Pedro."
Seeing that kind smile on Vijay’s face, which Pedro had seen many tis before, caught him off guard. But unlike before, the smile did not make him feel good this ti; he knew it was just a front. Nevertheless, he was thankful for being allowed to sit. He closed his eyes and cald his mind a little in order to talk with His Majesty properly.
"What would you like? fruit juice, or a beverage maybe?"
Pedro, with his throat parched from the scare he had experienced, replied, "Water will suffice, Thank you, Your Majesty."
He drank the glass of water quickly and let out a sigh of relief.
Vijay leaned forward in his chair, his hands joined on the table. "So tell , Mr. Pedro, what can I do for you?"
Pedro Santiago regained his composure. "Your Majesty, abruptly attacking our Philippine colony is cruel, evil, and undiplomatic. I am presenting my empire’s demand that you evacuate the Philippines imdiately and compensate for our losses. In this way, our relations could still be maintained."
"Hahahaha."
Vijay did not get angry but laughed out loud. Pedro was confused.
"Haha, I’m sorry, Mr. Pedro. I was amused by how shaless you Europeans are."
Pedro was surprised because he did not understand what His Majesty ant. Had he said sothing wrong? "Wha—"
Vijay waved his hand before Pedro could speak, cutting him off.
"Mr. Pedro Santiago, in 1565, Miguel López de Legazpi established the first permanent Spanish settlent in Philippines in the island of Cebu. Since then, you Spanish have committed countless atrocities, ranging from unlawful military conquests to the blatant expansion of settlents to forcefully converting hundreds of thousands of people, for which I reckon you don’t even think is wrong at all."
Pedro was stunned silent .
"Not to ntion the exploitation of resources, leaving the locals poor and impoverished, and you killing off all the leaders of the Philippine people, completely breaking apart their society and leaving them divided, making it easier for you to rule."
"So, Mr. Pedro, how thick-skinned can you be to claim that my actions have been cruel and evil? Undiplomatic, maybe, but definitely not unlawful. I am simply being a good neighbor by getting rid of the thieves in the neighborhood."
Pedro was speechless. What more could he say? Although what the Bharatiya Empire did was not too different from what they had done, he could not voice these thoughts now. All the claims His Majesty made were facts and irrefutable. No matter what reason he provided, His Majesty would always have a counter.
The matters of colonization had always been about who had the bigger fists, and it was simply the Spanish Empire’s bad luck that their colony happened to be coveted by this behemoth in the East.
*Sigh!*
Pedro felt as if he had lost his backbone and slumped down. "Does the Bharatiya Empire want to be the enemy of the Spanish Empire?" His tone was not threatening but sounded more helpless.
Vijay was internally very happy as the main topic of discussion had finally been reached.
In the hopeless gaze of Pedro, Vijay shook his head. "Not really; it’s quite the opposite. The Bharatiya Empire wants to be on good terms with the Spanish Empire."
"(⊙o⊙)!"
Pedro was going insane. ’Then why the Fuck did you attack the Philippines?’
Vijay did not keep the matter in suspense. "Mr. Pedro, the Bharatiya Empire could legally purchase the colony of the Philippines from the Spanish Empire."
"With this deal reached, technically the Spanish Empire would not have lost its colony but sold it."
Pedro realized the cleverness in this idea and thought it was quite feasible. However, he knew that this was still not enough, as the compensation was definitely not substantial. Bharat had already won the colony by force, and all the Spanish empire would get from Bharat is so face-saving money.
"Even so, Your Majesty, I don’t think the relations between our nations would improve with just this deal."
Vijay nodded. "I know, but consider this: Isn’t your nation experiencing a severe decline in precious tal inflow? What if, from now on, the Bharatiya Empire makes all its paynts to the Philippines in precious tals? Gold cannot be used since it is backing our currency, but we have a lot of silver."
"Also, isn’t your financial situation in disarray due to excessive military spending? While we can’t overly help in this matter, we can offer you a further discount on military supplies from our nation if this deal is reached."
"Isn’t your nation experiencing a loss of skilled workforce? I will allow your companyes to recruit from my empire."
"Isn’t your empire facing a trade deficit with other European countries due to over-reliance on their goods? Then why don’t you temporarily buy goods from my empire? With the buffer ti, you can eventually build up your economy. Additionally, with the silver we provide, your currency devaluation could be brought under control."
"Isn’t your industry inefficient? How about the Bharatiya Empire selling you the technology for so of our industrial products?"
"Also, I know the Spanish Empire is constantly facing difficulties due to the Dutch and English trade routes. How about the Bharatiya Empire and the Spanish Empire develop the highly untouched Pacific ocean trade route?
I know your emperor is paying utmost attention to the Aricas, and now that the Bharatiya Empire has control over the Philippines, that trade route between Manila and Acapulco can not only continue but take a step forward."
"Bharat can right away promise to develop and build at least 10 ships capable of sailing the Pacific Ocean in order to facilitate our further trade."
"Think about it: the distance from the Spanish Empire to the Bharatiya Empire is around 20,000 kiloters. But if Bharatiya goods managed to arrive directly in New Spain, which is only around 7,000 kiloters from the Spanish Empire and is also the main interest of your emperor, then Spain can save nearly 13,000 kiloters of transportation expenses.
Additionally, thousands of Ducats of losses will be avoided, as you will not need to bear the risk of intercontinental trade, since Bharat will bear these risks and transport the goods directly to New Spain."
By the ti Pedro Santiago had left the eting room, he was extrely confused. He did not understand how he went in fuming with rage but ca out feeling that the Spanish Empire losing the Philippines was the best thing that could have ever happened.
"Strange," he scratched his head, he had no clue.
"Ah, forget it. At the end of the day, with what His Majesty Vijay promised, when I return to Spain, there is a high probability that I will not only avoid punishnt but might also be able to keep my job and possibly increase my status due to today’s discussion."
P.S. Don Álvaro de ndoza is replaced for Gaspar de Bracamonte, Gaspar was the rebel sorry, I forgot.
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