Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The port city of Visakhapatnam was vibrant as usual. The stalls were welcoming to the trades from different places. The European merchants and the merchants from Java flocked the streets in search of spices and wares. There was a new demand for paper and the ceramics in the port as well. The port was lined up with a lot of the cargo ships; the laborers worked around the block to unload all the goods in the ship. Find more to read at empire

Unlike the other places, the Empire didn't allow the exploitation of laborers by the merchants, so the port city had some rules on wages for the laborers. The merchants were required to pay it as wages for the laborers, or else the Empire would restrict any future trades from the said merchant.

The shipyard was brimming with activity. It was finally the day of the testing of the ship they made after an excruciatingly long wait. Ashwin and his father Shankar, who managed the shipyard, looked bright and excited at the ship's final checks being done by the workers.

They managed to recreate the Dutch galleon with their own materials from scratch. It was a rather monumental milestone achieved by the shipyard.

The third-rate ship from the Dutch was finally complete. The three folded square masts stood tall. There was a flag of the Empire on the ship as well. If the test would succeed, it would mean the start of a new naval era for the Empire.

Beside the galleon stood the design of Ashwin, the design he painstakingly mastered and managed to manifest in working. It was a ship that was much smaller than the galleon and had two masts. One foremast and one main mast.

The rigging used in the ship would be a square rig along with a gaff sail that ran parallel to the ship's length.

It also had two decks for crew quarters and supplies during extended patrols. The hull was streamlined and sleek for a moderate draft.

Ashwin was yet to test the ship. If the maiden voyage was successful, he would experiment with the rigging for the ships. He would change the foremast rigging to the square mast and the fore-and-aft rigs for the main mast.

He was quite nervous about the maiden voyage. He nervously bit his nails, looking at the carpenters doing the final checks of his ship. He didn't want to disappoint the Emperor with poor results.

An old carpenter patted his back. "Young boy! Are you nervous? He asked with a smug look.

"Yes." Ashwin muttered. "What if I fail?"

"AHAHAH, you are one nervous chap."

"But…" His voice trailed off.

"Failure is a part of learning, Son." Said Shankar, also consoling him with a warm smile.

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"Just like your father said, lad. You can always learn from your failures."

"What if the Emperor kicks me out?" He asked.

"AHHAHA, you are worried for nothing. He won't do that; I am sure the Emperor understands the value of innovative ability."

"Really?"

"Of course." Shankar reassured him. "Come, let's go do the final checks."

They both began to do a final check. They called in some soldiers to do a test of the cannons as well. They used the cannons in the disassembled Dutch ship and put it in their galleon to test. Shankar and Ashwin check every nook and cranny of their creation. It was a work they were both proud of.

Before the tests they called a priest to do some pooja before they begin the maiden voyage.

The priest lit up the sacred fire and did aarti on the ship. While the others looked excited for the maiden voyage. The soldiers also stood silently till the pooja was done. A tilak was etched on the ship for good luck for its voyage.

After the pooja was done and the priest left. The soldiers boarded the ships quickly, while the other soldiers and the workers began to push the galleon into the water. The shipyard had a sideways launch with the ship being constructed on a slipway leading into the sea.

They mainly used the manpower and animals to launch the ships into the water. It was a small shipyard so this type of launch was accepted.

The ship fell from the slipway into the sea, splashing water all over the place. It displaced the water equivalent of its weight. Despite the initial instability from the launch. The ship stood tall and grand in front of the workers. They still stayed silent. The real test was yet to come.

The ship's ability to sail and its ability to shoot out projectiles without impacting the stability of the ship.

"Sail," ordered the senior soldier in charge of the maiden voyage after exchanging glances with Shankar.

The ship began to sail.

The workers watched the ship steer and sail, biting their nails.

"So far so good," muttered Shankar nervously.

The ship sailed for a distance and stopped. It was time for the ultimate test for the ship. It's stability during the use of the cannons. So far the ship had been stable in the waves of the Bay of Bengal.

So sailing shouldn't be an issue for the ship.

"Please, Lord Shiva," muttered a carpenter. He silently prayed to Lord Shiva to succeed.

"Let the cannons loose," yelled the senior soldier.

The soldiers quickly pointed the cannons into an empty sea.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

The cannons roared to life as they shot out iron shells high in the sky. It crashed into the water with a thunderous splash of water stirring up the wave of the sea. Multiple shells followed and crashed into the silent sea with a loud, thunderous roar.

The hull of the ship shook a bit from the cannon shots, but it stood stable as the fire continued into the vast open sea. The shipbuilders looked from afar as the ship spat out flaming iron shells into the silent expanse of blue.

They watched in silence till the last shell crashed into the sea. The ship stood majestically in front of their very eyes. It steered back to the port and began to sail very smoothly.

The people who worked on the ship erupted into cheers. They jumped up in joy as the maiden voyage of the first-ever third-rate ship was completed in the Empire.

"WE DID IT!" Shankar yelled and shook his son.

His son also was jumping happily. "YES."

After the maiden voyage of the galleon was completed, it was time for Ashwin's ship. The ship he designed for the coastal patrols. The senior soldier got it into the ship as well as they pushed it easily with the help of ropes into the water.

The ship steered and sailed perfectly under the command of the senior soldier.

Shankar patted his son's back. "I told you it would be fine." He whispered.

"The main test is not just sailing." Ashwin muttered, his eyes on the ship. He didn't want to miss even a single second of it.

The cannons were raised by the command of the senior soldier and fired. The cannon shot out iron shells into the vast empty sea.

Despite the heavy artillery, the ship still stayed stable. It shook like a galleon but not to a huge extent, as it was natural for the ship to sway under the recoil of the cannons.

It didn't just have a test of stability. It also had a test of maneuverability since it was used for the purpose of coastal patrols. High maneuverability would help a lot.

"Manuever test commence," yelled the senior soldier.

The ships began to sail and steer quickly to test their evasion and maneuverability.

Ashwin kept his eyes on the ship till he saw it coming back to the shipyard. He and the others erupted in loud cheers as his father watched from afar. His son had finally grown and accomplished one of his many dreams. He was happy as a father and very proud of his son.

"Father, we did it." He exclaimed and hugged his father.

He turned to everyone else and bowed. "I thank everyone that made it a success."

"Young lad. It is an elder's job to guide you." The old carpenter said. "There is no need to thank us; you also worked very hard for this."

"Yes, we saw it," another carpenter chipped in.

After the celebrations were finally over. The senior soldier that manned the ship and was responsible for the test. He came over to the father-and-son duo.

"It is a good ship." He smiled a lot. "I am sure you will be rewarded nicely for this."

Ashwin looked happy. "Yeah." He happily jumped.

The senior soldier finally turned to leave. He wanted them to celebrate more freely and they couldn't do it under the watchful gaze of the soldiers.

He waved as he left.

Shankar opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the senior soldiers.

"Don't worry. I will inform the Palace about this big achievement."