Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The edict of the reforms in the feudal lord system spread like wildfire. The landowners who exploited the peasants that worked for their field began to protest the decision to cap the crop proceed limit.

It would hurt their revenue and profit a lot since they would still have to pay the same tax on the land. In reality, the land tax was a tiny amount for these feudal lords, who took more than 90% of the crop proceeds from the lands.

The protest fell short quickly, as none of the big nobles were even willing to go against the decision of the Emperor. The big nobles didn't try to get on the bad side of the Emperor, especially knowing that Harsha could wipe them out with a single wave of his hand.

Feudal lords that were plotting something unnecessary were quickly silenced by the internal affairs team of Karna. The rumors quickly spread that some feudal lords committed suicide in the comfort of their homes.

It was clear that they were silenced on the Emperor's command. So many of the feudal lords just bit their tongue and stopped protesting, holding on for their dear lives.

The news had reached a small village in the Mahishapura region.

Raman, a small peasant working on the feudal lord's land, was walking through the village when he saw a large crowd gathered around a middle-aged man dressed very nicely. He knew the man, as he was the one responsible for delivering messages from the Empire.

Raman had seen him in the village a couple of times before announcing the reign of the new Emperor and other stuff. He never really cared about the reforms, as they didn't care about the poor people like him.

Most reforms were for rich nobles who exploited people like him.

The feudal lords in the area had exploited the smaller peasants by taking 90% of the crop proceeds and leaving them with less than 10%, which they used to survive.

During the bad harvest season, it was particularly worse. Raman had to work for some merchants to even feed his family during a bad harvest.

But he had no choice but to obey the feudal lord or else he would be left with nothing for his family.

He was curious why an unusually large crowd was gathered close to the man. He curiously approached the crowd to see.

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The man was reading out a scroll made of parchment.

"By the Decree of the Emperor. There have been changes to the feudal lord system after a long time." He declared loudly to the gathered crowd.

The crowd was curious as it was mostly composed of the poor peasants that worked in the feudal lord's fields.

The man scanned the crowd and continued.

"Hear ye, all loyal subjects of the Vijayanagara Empire, His Imperial Majesty, Harsha Deva Raya,

By the grace of the gods and in accordance with the sacred duties bestowed upon him, His Majesty has decreed the following for the peace and prosperity of the empire:

1. Abolition of born slavery

2. Limitation of crop proceeds taken by the feudal Lords to 50%

3. Tax relief for small landowners

4. Subsidies for art and craft goods

Thus, in the name of His Majesty, these edicts shall be enforced with immediate effect. Let all people, noble and common alike, know that this is the will of the Emperor, and disobedience will not be tolerated.

By the blessings of the gods and under the gaze of the empire, may peace and prosperity reign across the land.

Declared in the royal court, under the seal of the Emperor."

The crowd looked frozen as the man finished his declaration of the edict and began to leave. They didn't anticipate such a radical change under the new emperor's rule.

Peasants and small landowners alike erupted in cheers as they were given a huge lifeline by the Empire.

A peasant shouted as the middle-aged man who read the edict began to leave. "What if the feudal lord threatens us?" He asked.

The man glanced back at the peasant. "You can report any threats directly to supervisors that would be assigned to these regions. Any feudal lord who threatens peasants to force them to give their produce will be punished severely for treason as they would be disobeying royal orders." He explained.

The crowd went silent as they felt reassured by the fact that the Emperor had finally done something for the suffering populace.

Raman, who had doubts, was also amazed by the edict. He didn't have to work two jobs to just feed his family. He was getting 50% of the crop produce. He could survive easily through a bad harvest season.

"May Lord Shiva bless the Emperor." He muttered with great relief and gratitude to the Emperor.

He quickly walked towards his home to tell his wife and children about this great news. They wouldn't have to starve anymore due to the lack of food.

Meanwhile, at Warangal. Hundreds of men were lined up to work in the construction of the first military academy in the Empire.

Due to the construction being a royal project. It was highly certain that they would be paid a lot more than normal wages for the construction. So hundreds and thousands of people showed up to enlist to work as labourers.

"STAND IN LINE." Yelled a supervisor overseeing the recruitment of the labourers.

The workers were paid almost three times the normal wage in the Empire for working on the military academy.

The construction had started so fast due to the efficiency of the council. They managed to spot land, procure the materials and architects for the project and put it all together in a mere 2 weeks.

"The enlistment is done," yelled a middle-aged man to the small crowd of workers that were still in line as the sun set.

"Wait! We need this job to feed our families. Please make an exception!" Voiced some workers from the crowd.

The middle-aged man looked concerned at the aggressive nature of the workers.

There were close to 50 workers or more in line left.

The supervisor intervened.

"The recruitment is done." He said as he waved off the middle-aged man to leave.

He looked at the disappointed workers with a smile and whispered, "

"There will be a new project soon in Chennai. You can make it if you leave by tomorrow. Keep this between us."