In the beautiful city of Agra, during the time when Vijayanagara waged war:
In the royal palace of Agra, His Highness Muhammad the Fifth drew an arrow and aimed at the marked target 80 meters away.
"Swish."
He let the arrow fly, and it pierced into the target. Although it was a few inches off from the centre, it was evident that His Highness Muhammad the Fifth had a good grasp of the art of archery.
A smile appeared on his face as he was very satisfied with his progress, and he couldn't help but feel excited about waging war on Vijayanagara in just a few days. He couldn't help but remember the dialogue he had with Fakir. "Your Excellency, our strategy to besiege multiple defensive points of Vijayanagara simultaneously is well underway," Minister of War, Fakir Ali Pasha informed him. "The army is in various places along the southern border, ready to campaign in just a week." Excitement filled him as he envisioned the obliteration of the Vijayanagara Empire. His smile widened at the thought.
"Bang."
"Not good, Your Highness."
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted. "Who is it?" he yelled angrily, swiftly turning his head to see a young man in his mid-30s with a light brown complexion, black hair, and a scar that started at his cheekbone and moved down to his chin. Emperor Muhammad the Fifth halted his words, which were about to turn into curses, as the person who arrived was none other than his intelligence officer, Moin Ali. Moin Ali, originally a Hindu child named Ramesh Dev, hailed from a local nobility in Gujarat. Unfortunately, his parents were killed by 'assassins from Vijayanagara.'
But in reality, during the earlier times of the Mughal Empire, the same assassins were working for none other than the royal family. Riots were breaking out regularly in the empire, and upon investigation, it was revealed that local rulers of various towns and cities, with significant influence in the region, continued to incite the population against the Mughal Empire. The plan was formulated to assassinate these local rulers. However, a problem arose – if it was revealed that the Mughals were behind the assassinations, it would only intensify the local's hatred towards the empire. Hence, it was decided to send the assassins in the name of Vijayanagara.
The royal family made it appear as if Vijayanagara had sent assassins to weaken the Mughal emperor's power by eliminating local rulers. The plan worked surprisingly well, as the riots soon subsided. Even Moin Ali was not aware of these secrets. This success led to the consideration of similar plans for the future.
But as far as Ramesh Dev, now known as Moin Ali knows, when he was just six years old, his family was killed by assassins from Vijayanagara. That's when he got a scar on his face from a knife wound. Since then, the royal family took him in and trained him as an intelligence officer. After the shahada, he was granted a new name, Mohin Ali. Mohammed was really impressed by this kid; he was really good at gathering information about the Empire. Thanks to him, Mohammed was able to integrate the Empire much faster.
After he had taken care of Vijayanagar, he even planned to dispatch him to collect intelligence for him in the eastern Hindu countries.
"What is it?" Mohammed asked calmly.
"Your Highness, the Panhala fort has been breached, and now it is under the control of Vijayanagara."
"Vijayanagara launched a surprise attack on our Panhala fort," Moin Ali began, his voice tinged with hatred. "According to intelligence, they have managed to master the cannon-making technology similar to ours. The most surprising part is that they are able to produce a better cannon than us. One more horrifying detail is the existence of a larger cannon, the largest we had ever seen. It stands at about 6 feet in height and shoots a cannonball the size of a human head. It has a ludicrous range, which was used to breach the Panhala fort."
Mohammed's eyes widened with disbelief."What? How can it be? No, how can it be? I was the one who was supposed to attack." His emotions became disoriented as he spoke, struggling to accept the fact that Vijayanagara, a seemingly backward country, dared to launch a war on the mightiest Empire in the continent. Suddenly, as if just remembering the second half of the information, he, who was walking around restlessly, suddenly stopped and asked another question in disbelief.
"What did you say? Panhala Fort was captured? How is this possible? Didn't we have 30,000 troops stationed in the region? How could it be possible? What is Amir doing there? Is he eating shit?"
"Your Highness, Commander Amir Ali Khan was killed in battle," Moin Ali said with his head lowered.
"What? How is it possible? How could Amir be killed in battle?" This revelation came as an even bigger shock. Despite the political obstacles Amir faced, Mohammed knew that Aamir Ali Khan was a very good strategist and a first-class swordsman. Soon, his emotion turned into rage as he yelled to his servants, "Call Fakir Ali Pasha for me. I want him in front of me in an hour. What the hell was that buffoon doing when all this happened?"
In an hour, a bulky, stout man who resembled a dwarf but stood at a human height appeared in front of His Highness. Fakir had been enjoying his time with his woman when he was urgently called. His servant, who disturbed him, angered him to the point that he ordered his men to give him 20 lashes. However, when he learned that the Emperor, his cousin, was the one calling him, he put away his dissatisfaction and got ready as soon as possible, leading to his haggard appearance.
As soon as he entered the archery grounds, he saw Moeen Ali with His Majesty. Seeing the furious expression on his majestic face, he knew something big might have happened. He got very nervous, seeing the look on his cousin's face. "Your Highness, what can I do for you?" he asked with a humble tone.
To be continued...