Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

"The next agenda of the meeting is somewhat a different thing. It involves the military."

Bhima looked surprised at the statement and asked. "We just had reforms in our ranks last month. What is the new reform to be introduced to the military now, Your Majesty?"

"The physical assessment must have given you the gist of the problem in the army." Harsha said with a nonchalant look.

"Yes, the Royal Army has too many veterans and old men serving. We need more youngsters in the army."

"Exactly, we can't outright purge all the veterans and old people just yet. We need to replace them sooner or later for the sake of the army."

"What exactly does His Majesty want to do with the military?" asked Asokan Nair.

He was also a military-capable leader and had the leadership of a senior commander under his belt with extensive battle experience.

"I have entrusted the training methods to the Royal Army Commander. He will implement it on the current youngsters that serve the army." Harsha began. "So we need an invincible army that can take on anyone without a hint of fear."

"How does one exactly achieve that. Although there is no restriction of lower castes on paper. In reality, there will be prejudice of lower caste soldiers." Bhaskara said.

"That is certainly a problem, but do any of you council members have any problem with the lower caste in the army?" Harsha asked, scanning the room.

He wanted to see if anyone of his council members held any prejudice for lower-caste individuals. Surprisingly enough, no one had a hint of displeasure in their eyes.

It was because of Viswa. His impact on each council member had been eye-opening. Not only was Viswa talented but also very hardworking. They could see his hard work; he guided them whenever they had any issues in their work.

Although most of the time he was a cold and calculating person. They had no question that his ability to manage had greatly improved the work efficiency.

Harsha began to elaborate his plan.

"We are going to establish a military academy for training new recruits and officers."

"Academy? Like a school," asked Mithun.

"Yes, for young men who want to join the military."

"What would incentivize young men to join the military? Not everyone would be joining unless we introduced a compulsory conscription," admitted Bhima with a thoughtful gaze.

"For that, we will have to give them a good salary. The ones that are selected will receive a stipend for learning in the academy." Harsha said. "The stipend will be increased to a full-time salary as he graduates and joins the army."

"That would cost a lot of money, right?" Raj Patwardhan interrupted.

"Not in the long run; think of it as an investment for the future. We are already overpaying the veterans a lot of salary they don't really deserve."

Harsha explained further.

Since the soldiers can climb up the ranks due to the new reform he had introduced, it would allow the lower caste soldiers to even lead a battalion or a division in the future.

As the Empire grows, he will need a lot of properly trained young men to defend the Empire or even conquer the lands of others. The Empire had a lot of money despite the civil war. The Royal family owned a lot of property and gold.

"This project will be funded by the Royal Family for now." Harsha declared. "We shall establish four academy in the next few months."

Viswa put down a document listing the necessary things needed in the military academy along with the locations.

"The training documents are entrusted to the Royal Army commander. It details various methods and practices to train soldiers." Harsha mentioned rubbing his chin.

"What training is done in the academy?" asked Asokan, intrigued by the idea.

Viswa answered for Harsha.

"Lord Asokan, The training in the academy includes various activities such as siege training, theory and strategical training, and on-field exercise like ambush training."

Viswa took a deep breath. "We also expect to introduce competitions regularly between the academies to ensure that they strive to be better than their rival academies.

"Finally, the officer training will be mainly on military theory, leadership, and strategy, and those are also listed in the documents."

"I see," exclaimed Asokan.

Bhima was looking through the documents of the construction of the military academy. He was pretty taken aback by the care taken for each and every part of the academy. There were amenities listed for basically everything necessary to train good soldiers.

"For the caste problem. We will ensure that the higher-caste candidate shares and lives with a lower-caste individual. The instructors will be my people for now to ensure there is no discrimination on both sides." Harsha said.

This move would ensure that higher-caste individuals would have to communicate and learn about the lower-caste individuals, and the curriculum of the academy was designed to ensure there were many group activities so that they had to work together.

This would eventually create a brotherhood bond between the people as time passes since human emotions are subject to change.

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"We will also introduce cultural training so that the soldiers stay loyal to the throne. The syllabus for that shall be made by Bhaskara." Harsha added with a light smile.

"Understood, Your Majesty." said Bhaskara confidently.

"Bhima, Raj Patwardhan, and Bhaskara will be in charge of this project. I expect good results."

"Yes, Your Majesty." They declared in unison.

The meeting was coming to an end as the draft for the edict of reformation in the Nayakara system was completed.

Decree of His Imperial Majesty, Harsha Deva Raya, Emperor of Vijayanagara

Let it be known, from this day forth, by the divine right of the throne and the wisdom bestowed upon the Emperor, that the following decrees shall be enacted across the breadth of the Vijayanagara Empire, for the prosperity and welfare of the realm:

1. Abolishment of Birth into Slavery: Any child born to slaves would be part of the state's responsibility.

2. Limitation of Crop Proceeds for Feudal Lords: The crop proceeds will be capped at 50%; the rest is to be given to the farmer working on the field.

3. Tax Subsidies for Small Landowners

4. Tax Reductions on Handicrafts and Artwork: We encourage small landowners and peasants to sell handicrafts to the merchants.

Establishment of the Military Academies in four locations as per the order of His Majesty, Harsha Deva Raya.

1. Warangal

2. Chennai

3. Cochin

4. Bidar