February 1659
"Excuse , Sir Ezekiel Oppenheir. You have received a summons from the Emperor's office," Rajko Durril said with an incredulous expression on his face.
Ezekiel Oppenheir stood there in stunned silence when he heard the summons from His Majesty. The sa went for Moshe Goldstein, but unlike Ezekiel, he recovered faintly quickly—not only because he was older in age and more experienced, but also because he was not the main person who was invited.
Being invited by na was the reason why Ezekiel Oppenheir was feeling a lot of pressure. When he first ca to the Bharatiya Empire, he was very confident that he could talk to the emperor without any pressure because he had negotiated for and against many nobles when he was back ho. He even had a few friends who were nobles.
Although he knew that all these noble friends were only close to him due to the power of his father, he unconsciously considered himself an elite. But coming to the Bharatiya Empire, everything changed. Not to ntion the emperor—even when he t Minister Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs of the Bharatiya Empire, he felt a lot of pressure. One look at Jaishankar's actions, and he could tell this was a man with great ability. Experience new tales on empire
He realized that people in high positions in the Bharatiya Empire got there not because they were noble by birth or inheritance but because they got there with hard work and their own abilities. These people, although in terms of experience they were not as good as seasoned nobles or politicians back in Europe, they were far ahead in terms of ability.
He also noticed that most elites in Bharatiya society, due to their experience of going up from nothing to sothing, had developed a brave and decisive character which gave them an aura of superiority he had only seen in his father and his uncle—the two people who had grown their business from small little shops to multinational organizations. He imdiately knew that the elites of Europe and Bharat were a completely different breed.
And after spending almost three to four months in the Bharatiya Empire, he had already learned about all the deeds and ruthless nature of His Majesty the Emperor. He knew that His Majesty Vijay ruthlessly slaughtered all the nobles as soon as he took the throne just because they wouldn't follow his orders. That included his own kin—his cousin, who led the resistance. He was also rcilessly killed. Furthermore, he got to know about many deeds of His Majesty, such as going into battle himself and butchering countless Mughal n, beheading the Mughal Emperor Mohammad V himself, and most recently, a rumour going around in the Bharatiya Empire that it was His Majesty who ran the cleanup campaign in the governnt to clear out all the corrupt civil servants.
For such a man who is brave, decisive, and intelligent, Ezekiel Oppenheir felt a lot of pressure even before eting him. His body was slightly shaking with fear. But fortunately, he knew what he ca for and what was at stake—it was the future of the entire Jewish race. This thought gave him so semblance of strength and determination, enough to face His Majesty.
"Uncle Moshe, you will be accompanying , won't you?" he asked with great anticipation, since if his uncle accompanied him, he would have an easier ti talking with His Majesty the Emperor.
Moshe Goldstein sowhat understood the troubles of the young master. Even he, an experienced businessman who had been dealing with all sorts of nobles half his life, felt sowhat pressured at the thought of going in to talk with His Majesty alone, much less his nephew, who didn't even have that much experience in life.
"Of course, I will accompany you. It's just that you'll have to do all the talking since my Bharati is still a bit shaky at best and nonsensical at worst."
Ezekiel Oppenheir imdiately let out a sigh of relief. Even if his uncle did not speak, him being there alone took a lot of the load off his shoulders, so he was still satisfied.
Not willing to waste anymore ti, both Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein got ready, adorning their best jewellery and dresses. They got back into the carriage within an hour of returning from the Ministry of Trade, Comrce, and Industry office.
Initially, Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein were about to take so rest since they were tired from their activities in the morning, but once they heard that they had received the summons from His Majesty, all the tiredness on their faces and bodies imdiately disappeared. It was like they had been overdosed with caffeine—even if they wanted to sleep, they couldn't.
The carriage travelled quickly through the streets of Mangaluru and soon took a diversion to Madikeri. When they got there, it was already night, so they had to stay in for the night.
Early in the morning at 5:30, before daybreak, they set off once again. After a few hours of travel, they arrived in Mysore. They rested in Mysore for 30 minutes, after which they hit the road once again. From Mysore, they crossed the large towns of Mandya, Channapatna, and Ramanagara to finally arrive in the Imperial Capital, Bengaluru, on 18th February 1659 at 6:53 PM.
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19 February 1659
Simhasana Bhavana
Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein stood in front of the large Gate of the Imperial Royal Palace of His Majesty the Emperor Rajyapathi Vijay Devaraya. Both of them were very nervous, but fortunately, on their way to the palace, they had done a lot of self-hypnosis and self-actualization, so it wasn't too difficult for them to get inside after they showed their summons to the royal guards guarding the gate.
Once inside, they were taken to the reception area of the Royal Palace by a few people from the Emperor's office. While they travelled within the compounds of the Royal Palace, both Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein were srized by the intricate architecture of the Royal Palace. Although all the designs were minimal since it was no secret that His Majesty liked minimal designs, the exquisite details in the minimal design greatly shocked them, especially the stone carvings, which in their opinion were no less brilliant than the stone carvings they had seen in ancient Ro or Greece.
"His Majesty will et with you. Please co with !" a tall young man who wore a sherwani along with a white pagdi invited them in.
Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein imdiately looked at each other with solemnity. They knew who the man was—it was Ganesh, the Chief Secretary of the Emperor's office and the person who was the representative for His Majesty the Emperor.
They hesitated only for a split second as they stood up with smiles on their faces.
"Thank you for your help, Sir Ganesh," said Ezekiel.
Ganesh did not reply but just smiled as a show of goodwill and proceeded to escort the two Jews to the conference room.
Getting into the conference room, they saw the man sitting there, the man whose face was printed every day in the newspaper—His Majesty Rajya Pati Vijay Devaraya.
"Long live your majesty! Long live! Long live!"
"Long live your majesty! Long live! Long live!"
"May you be blessed with peace and prosperity,"
Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein greeted imdiately with their backs bent a little.
Vijay was going through the list of athletes he had asked for the emperor's office to collect. He imdiately put down the list once the Jewish pair entered the conference room.
"Welco, please sit down," he said with a smile on his face.
Moshe Goldstein and Ezekiel Oppenheir sat down on the chairs with a stiff expression on their faces. Vijay knew that they were nervous, but he did not think anything of it since this was the norm for him. Being emperor for almost a decade and participating in many battles had already given him the aura of a leader. Even if he intentionally put down his airs and acted as cordially as possible, he still emanated the aura of an emperor unconsciously. This was sothing he could not hide.
So he did not find it too surprising that the Jewish pair were feeling nervous.
He smiled. "To what pleasure do I owe the visit from the son of the greatest Jewish business magnate, Joseph Süß Oppenheir, Mr. Ezekiel Süß Oppenheir?"
Ezekiel was thrilled when His Majesty praised the level of his father to be equal to himself. This imdiately made him realize once again that, at least in words, the Bharatiya Empire—or at least the Emperor—had the idea of letting the Jews have their own nation. But still, Ezekiel had to confirm it for himself, and he had to have so sort of proof.
"Pl-please, Your Majesty, th-there is no n-need for such k-kind words, It is our Oppenheir family that should be grateful to receive the attention from yourself."
He stuttered a bit in the beginning, but thankfully, his words beca fluent by the ti he ended the sentence.
"As for the reason for my request to et you, it is actually very simple, Your Majesty," Ezekiel's eyes beca firm. "I'm very sorry if I co off as rude, but Your Majesty, please let ask this: "
"The Bharatiya Empire has promised us Jewish people in Europe that you will be willing to support us to build our own nation for the price of working for the Bharatiya Empire for at least five years. So, is this promise really valid? And if it is not too much, can I know where the Bharatiya Empire would be willing to support us in building the nation?"
Hearing the question, not to ntion Vijay, Moshe Goldstein imdiately frowned because the question was too straightforward. There was not even a little tact in the way it was asked.
Moshe Goldstein imdiately got worried and looked at His Majesty with a pleading expression. He was ready to take the bla for the young master, although unwilling, he still had a big favor he had to repay to the Oppenheir family.
Fortunately, instead of getting angry, Vijay actually laughed.
"Haha."
This caught both Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein off guard.
"Your questions are very straightforward, Mr. Ezekiel, but honestly, I do like your straightforwardness, so let answer your questions."
Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein were imdiately relieved, but upon hearing the willingness of His Majesty to answer, they reached the edges of their seats with anticipation.
"For the first part, whether the promise of the Bharatiya Empire is really true, then yes, it is. I can personally write the imperial edict and publish it in the newspaper so that you will know how serious I am."
"As for the second part of the question, about where the nation should be, then I am sorry, I cannot answer this question since this information is confidential."
Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein were imdiately disappointed by the reply, but at least they got to know that the promise was true. The mont His Majesty ntioned that he would be willing to publicize the edict. They already knew how legitimate His Majesty's claim was since everyone knew that His Majesty held a very high reputation among his people for his honesty. So if he fails to fulfil his claim and destroys his reputation only because of the Jews, the damage to his reputation is honestly not worth it.
Ezekiel Oppenheir and Moshe Goldstein were about to thank His Majesty and leave, but surprisingly, Vijay's next words surprised them.
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