Herat, New Territory
Daniyal was sweating profusely as he unloaded large sacks of wheat flour from the carriage brought by the people of the Bharatiya Empire.
'Thud!'
Dropping the heavy 50-kilogram sack on top of the pile that was already waist-high in the godown, he went back after wiping his shoulders that were filled with jute dust.
Daniyal was panting heavily. This was already the 12th round, but he was not angry for being worked like cattle, or as a matter of fact, he was not even disappointed that he did not get a chance to spend a few hours with his wife and kids, instead, he felt hope, hope to survive, hope to live on, and more importantly, hope that no one else in his family would have to die of starvation.
Looking all over the city, Daniyal was not the only one with such emotions. There were several thousand people who, just like him, were working around the clock, 12 hours a day, constantly doing whatever the military n from the Bharatiya Empire, who wore peaked caps, ordered. Despite their bodies looking tired, their eyes radiated a firm resolve to move on.
A few feet away from the godown on top of a building,
A man in a military uniform looked at the workers with disbelief. Lieutenant colonel Vaibhav Agnihotri was shocked, and words wouldn't co out of his mouth. These n, with their lean and bony bodies, worked as if their lives depended on it. It was as if an evil spirit had possessed their bodies, forcing them to work until they dropped dead. He beca very angry
"It's surprising, isn't it?"
Suddenly, a voice was heard from behind. Turning around, it was a man with a straight, spear-like posture who ca forward in disciplined steps, looking at him with a smile in his eyes.
Vaibhav did not show any extra reactions. He simply nodded. "It is really quite surprising, sir brigadier." Although he agreed, his tone contained a hint of sarcasm. "Even those noble slave owners in the West don't dare to push their slaves to such an extent. But seeing people driven to the point of death, this is really the first ti I am seeing with my own eyes. What's more, seeing as how the people who are driving the poor people of this land to such an extent are the soldiers from my own army, I am more enlightened."
Brigadier General Adikishor montarily paused in his steps. Receiving several accusations right to his face, out of nowhere no less, he felt a little awkward. Not to ntion, the person who was accusing him was only a lieutenant colonel, a whole level lower than him in military ranking. But unfortunately, he couldn't be too harsh on the opponent, since they belonged to completely different departnts. He belonged to the combat departnt directly under a regint, while the opponent belonged to the logistics departnt responsible for the logistics of the whole military.
The combat departnt, logistics departnt, and Bharatiya Sainik Pragya are the three departnts that are individually controlled by His Majesty the Emperor himself. So most of the ti, the three departnts check and balance each other. When conflicts break out, more often than not, when the issue goes to the military court, the victor is usually the person who is in the right, irrespective of any unreasonable, disrespectful, nonviolent, or accusatory offence committed by a lower-ranking officer.
With that in mind, Adikishor didn't really want to antagonise a middle-level officer in the logistics departnt, especially since he understood that this was a misunderstanding. Thinking of this, his brows relaxed, and he continued to move forward.
"Is it the habit of the people from the logistics departnt to accuse superior officers without having any prior evidence? If so, then I am really disappointed. Maybe I should file a complaint with the military court."
Vaibhav furrowed his brow. "What do you an, sir? Could there be any other explanation for the heinous deeds I am seeing before ? It is visibly clear as day that these people have been starved for a long ti, and looking at the rashes on their bodies, what other proof do I need to reach a conclusion about them being slaved away under your command?" He was angry, never expecting soone in his own military, whom he proudly considered his comrade, a brother in arms, would do such a thing.
'Sigh!'
Looking into Vaibhav's eyes, which contained anger and disappointnt intertwined, Adikishor could no longer continue to "stand his ground" for a misunderstanding that had gone on far too long.
"Colonel, it's like this: when the Ottoman Army retreated roughly two months ago, they knew that it would be occupied by their enemies. So before they left, they carried all the grain and food supplies they could with them while burning anything else they couldn't."
"Small towns and villages were not affected since the people in the countryside have the habit of storing grains in their own hos, but major cities like Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, and others were not so lucky. The Ottomans completely crippled their food sources, which was no different from a death sentence to hundreds of thousands of people. Now you know why the people are so eager to work; each of them will be paid 1 sack of wheat for every 20 sacks they unload and stock up."
"Monsters!" Vaibhav was in disbelief at the level of cruelty shown by a fellow human. He had not known such heinous deeds had happened as he was deployed in an ergency. Looking at the faces of the conscripted labourers that did not show hatred, it did make sense, but still, he did not believe everything; he was not completely convinced. "Even if the granaries are burnt and grains destroyed, there should still be surplus in stores and other places, shouldn't there?"
It would be alright if he didn't ask, but when he did, the emotions of Adikishor imdiately got out of hand, catching Vaibhav off guard as he suddenly felt the wild and unrestrained killing intent emanating from the man beside him. But still, being in the military, he was used to it. After a few seconds of adapting, he returned to normal. "I only wish it had gone like that, Colonel. But unfortunately, the cowardly Ottomans, worried about us causing riots among the civilians due to the city's close proximity to the Bharatiya Empire, banned all forms of grain trade across the cities where there was military presence. The only legal way to obtain the grain was to buy it from the military granaries."
"Even stocking up grain in hos was made illegal, and all the rchants who protested for taking away their sales licenses were secretly eliminated."
Vaibhav's eyes widened. He could understand the Ottomans taking so unusual steps to make sure that no riots would occur since, if he was being honest, riots were one of the main reasons why the Bharatiya Empire was unified. But still, raising all the people in the city like cattle was sothing that was beyond his understanding. Not caring about his disbelieving expression, Adikishore continued.
"They retreated after burning everything down. The city fell into famine and starvation. The people could hold on in the first few days, but as ti went on, old people in the cities began to die, unable to withstand hunger and sickness."
"People began to look for animals to hunt: dogs, sheep, cattle, snakes, heck, even rats—they ate everything. But unfortunately, this is a very barren region with no forests or large green vegetation in sight for dozens of kilotres in all directions."
"They are cooperating with us so eagerly precisely because we have provided them hope to live and make their living environnt better."
In the end Vaibhav was numb; words were at the back of his throat, but they wouldn't reach his tongue; He had just drank a cup of water, but his throat ran dry; He was under the dazzling morning sun, but he felt like he was placed shirtless in the North Tundra. He never knew this level of cruelty was possible. "Starving thousands of people in a whole city just so that the enemy cannot have a good ti—these Ottomans, really, apart from demons, I cannot find any word to describe them."
"Indeed," Adikishore nodded noncommittally.
Vaibhav turned his head and looked at the man next to him. "It looks like it is really my mistake, sir Brigadier. I was out of line. I formally apologise to you for stepping out of line and for putting baseless accusations on you. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive for my ignorance, but if you deem legal action is necessary, then I can understand it as well, since if you had not made the matter clear, I would have definitely lodged a serious complaint against you in the military court."
There was silence for several minutes until Adikishore finally spoke out with a sigh.
"Forget it. Just be careful next ti."
What was happening in Herat was only a microcosm of what was happening in all dozen or so major cities that were under the control of the Ottoman Army before they retreated.
The process of rebuilding and reconstruction had already started under the investnt of the Bharatiya Empire.
To Be continued...
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