Installment the Seventh
The Timurid Scientists: The Gathering and the Masterplan
A momentous day at last. From near and far the scientists have arrived in Delhi to participate in
the gathering, the time when a single word in the right ear can change the fortunes of the unfortunate or destroy the reputations of the proud. It is the time to appropriate ones fair share of the research grants, to wine and to dine, to bedazzle and to be bedazzled, to ride hobby horses and present pet theories, and, of course, to decide upon the course of the empire. Presiding is, of course, Chief Scientist:
"...Welcome to the gathering, my fellow scientists. I am proud to preside over such a bothering of boffins, a gaggle of gadflys, a school of scholars. Before we begin our deliberations, let me present Second Scientist's abject apologies for not participating. Apparently the multiple lacerations, amputations, and first degree burns he suffered at the hands of unknown bandits in Afghanistan recently prevents him from attending. I hear that he still screams out at night at the thought of the monstrous torture and the indignities forced upon him. How I wish he had stayed at the front as I urged him to, but no, he was so dedicated that nothing would stop him,
despite my urgent warnings to stay clear of Afghanistan. Let us all pray for Second Scientist and let this be a warning,
that we would do well to heed the advice of our elders!"
10 seconds later. "...And everybody has read the last ALU report, I trust."
ALU report 1701
Society:
Values computed on a scale of 0-10
Balance of Power: Aristocratic (10)
Centralization: Decentralized (0)
Wierdness Factor: Narrowminded (0)
Trading: Merchantilism (5)
Offensive: Shocking (10)
Balance of forces: Land (10)
Quality of troops: Pretty high (8)
Freedom of peasants: Wot do you mean by freedom? (10)
Stability: Very stable (+3)
Stability Cost: 2027/point
Provinces:
Provinces: 280
Core Provinces: Northern India (15 provinces) and Samarkand
Capital: Delhi
Colonies: 12
Trading posts: 12
State Cultures: Afghan, Hindi, Mongol
Province Cultures: Afghan, Arabic, Armenian, Baluchi, Bengali, Burmanese, Cantonese, Dravidian, Ethiopian, Georgian, Greek, Gujarati, Han, Indonesian, Japanese, Javan, Khmer, Kurdish, Laotian, Malay, Manchu, Marathi, Mongol, Nubian, Persian, Sikh, Swahili, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Uzbekh, Vietnamese
State Religion: Sunni
Province Religions:
Comprehensible religions
Shia: 7
Orthodox: 15
Incomprehensible religions
Buddhist: 3
Konfucian: 27
Hindu: 1
Economy:
Centres of trade (total value, sorted by):
- 1198, Delhi
- 997, Malacca
- 587, Guangzhou
- 527, Isfahan,
- 449, Zanzibar
- 399, Shanghai
- 353, Kansai
- 327, Samarkand
- 186, Mascate
- 186, Alexandria
- 22, Kanto
Annual income: 17,000 of which 1,733 cencus
Monthly income: 1267
Monthly expenses: 146
Stability raising time: 2 months.
Inflation: 0%
Military:
Army (condensed): 1,053,000 men
Manpower: 72,000 fresh bodies/year
Support: 390,000
Losses to date:
-infantry: 4,076,000
-cavalry: 4,990,000
Army listing:
- Central Asia: 20,000
- Central Europe: 53,000
- China: 138,000
- East Africa: 95,000
- Eastern Europe: 83,000
- India: 67,000
- Indochina: 63,000
- Indonesia: 160,000
- Japan: 106,000
- Middle East: 52,000
- North Africa: 61,000
- Siberia: 107,000
- Southern Europe: 3,000
Navy (condensed): 105 warships
Losses to date:
-warships: 128
-transports: 39
Imperial Shipyards:
- Kutch
- Smyrna
Navy listing, warships:
- Bali 12
- Hanoi 23
- Smyrna 32 + 26 under construction
- Zanzibar 12
Technology:
Land: 26
Naval: 18
Trade: 7
Infrastructure: 8
Relations:
Rep: We are hated throughout the entire world
Friends: Algiers, Mali
Enemies:
- Everybody else. Those vicious brutes truly hate us .
"...I have, for the initial discussions, targeted Europe as the theatre of operations, and had the ALU compose a world map excluding the New World."
Mughal World Map 1701
"Any inital suggestions, gentlemen?"
"I say we drop this Europe idea and invade the mighty Aztec empire in the New World!", went Fourth Scientist.
"Let us focus on internal development, prosperity, and lamplighting", went the Bursar.
"Focus all our resources on the arms race. I have plans for an armed combat balloon capable of carrying a company on my desk right now. Given sufficient funds, this will be a winner!", went Third Scientist.
"Continue colonising Siberia, the home of the brave and the cold!", went some nameless joker.
"I say we set about liberating the serfs! Let all the conquered nations go wither they wilst! Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your lives! Down with the greedy bourgeoisie and the insidious intellectual elite as well.
Why are you all looking at me that way. No, no, no. Please don't do it, Chief Scientist. I'll behave. Pleeassseee..... ARRRGHGHHH!", went Sixteenth Scientist.
And "AAARGGGHHHH" he continued to go, all the way down the chute. His screams were terminated abruptly as he slammed into the snake pit, but those are the breaks.
"..Ridiculous suggestions will not be tolerated, gentlemen. Please focus on the matter on hand, keeping in mind that the rest of the world is full of warmongers!", retorted Chief Scientist.
"We are filthy rich. Can't we buy the agressors' nations, and let them fight each other in competitions instead?", went Eigth Scientist.
"ARRGHHH", went the bursar, doing a credible Sixteenth Scientist imitation, without the chute or the snakes.
"Let us invade and take over the rest of the world, it isn't all that difficult! We do it all the time in Mughal Universalis!", went one of the
jeune ecole, but since he didn't even have a number, he was universally ignored.
And so on and so forth. Finally Chief Scientist had to lay down the law.
"...Very interesting indeed, very interesting. But there is something you ought to know. I have had the ALU polling the possible futures, and a couple of things have come up. Now, remember that these are
not clear indications, of what
will happen, but rather, what
will likely happen. And the results are pretty fragmentory, but, I believe, conclusive.", said the Chief Scientist, purposefully neglecting any reference to the attack of the killer tomatoes he had picked up. No reason to rock the camel, as the saying went.
ALU threat report
Three major threats to the Mughal Empire have been identified:
Threat the first:
1. Sometime in future will likely exist
Gauss Rifles. Capable of hitting and targetting enemies at many kilometres distance our armies will be defenseless against them.
2. Gauss, Carl Friedrich, will likely be born 1777 in Brunswick, a German city. Given human childhood behaviour, it is unlikely he will invent the Gauss Rifle before maturity, and it takes a few years to get new weapons into mass production. Nevertheless, the first Gauss Rifle equipped armies could be seen as early as 1800-1805. A passing reference to studies in Göttingen 1795-1798 has been located.
3. Suggest occupation of Brunswick and Göttingen earliest possible, and, at latest, 1777, to see to either the non-development of this new weapon, or the development for Mughal use.
Threat the second:
1. Sometime in future will likely exist
Aircraft Carrier. Capable of sinking warships at distances outside normal gun ranges, these will change the rules of naval warfare. Postulated: aircraft are upgraded balloons.
2. France and England will likely use these. No likely development date has been recovered, so it could be anytime.
3. Suggest conquest of France and England earliest possible. Occupation of all ports in France and England a secondary solution.
Threat the third:
1. Sometime in future will likely exist
Cola or
Kola, which will be drinkable. This product will likely have a radical effect on trade and infrastructure.
2. ALU has located province of Kola in North-Western Russia. It seems likely that the product is named for the region, like wine is.
3. Suggest occupation of Kola earliest possible. Necessity of complete Russian occupation forseen.
"...What the ALU is basically saying is, that unless we get cracking militarily, we might end up in a situation within the near future, where our enemies will have a crushing superiority in military and naval equipment, and also in economy. I hardly need to tell you what that will do the size of the research grants, do I? The future-polling also had the beneficient side-effect of turning up some interesting snippets of yet-to-be-written advice.
- Suggest introducing homogenenaity to all adjoining land masses, earliest possible, reserving overseas operations until transport can be conducted with impunity.
- Due to trend towards maximum religious entropy, suggest counteracting by ensuring provincial religious tastes are converted to most closely resemble state practices.
- Sod the prol's
- Artistically, attempt brash new painting whereby all of Europe, Asia, Asia Minor, etc are a single, startling shade of purple.
- Kola? Never mind how you got it; surely the current 10% loss of income due to noncontiguity makes conquering the rest of Russia the only rational course.
- New World involvement a tedious distraction.
- France is just begging to be slapped around.
- Give the poor locals a chance
- Counter Russian Strength by limiting its growth.
Please note, that according to one snippet, it seems we will, in one future, manage to conquer Kola, which I see as a very positive sign. Anyhow, based on the available knowledge, I suggest the only rational course is as follows:
1) Conquer all of Europe at the earliest possible time while retaining internal stability.
2) Strike hard through Europe for Germany. Göttingen and Brunswick
must be occupied by 1777. A weaker navy we can survive for a time, but a completely inferior army, we can not!
3) Expand in Africa to secure the Southern Flank.
4) Ignore the New World, except as needed to facilitate steps 1-3.
5) Continue Siberian colonization, to increase available Mongol manpower.
To secure these strategic objectives, we must start by striking Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and the remnants of the Mamelukes, followed by the invasion of Poland and Austria. Venice also retains substantial holdings and a fleet, and should be suppressed. The raising of a mighty Mediterranean navy and a sizable increase in our European Army strength is also a necessity, given the power of the, admittedly divided, European nations. We may also have to lower the army quality to secure the needed amount of bodies achieving these objectives is going to take."
ALU report on the European and African Nations (colonial possessions excluded)
Algiers (9) Tech: 14/9 Att. Medium, poor, backwards
Austria (12) Tech: 26/12 Att. Rich, strong, well fortified, good leaders
Auvergne (5) Tech: 26/5 Att. Small
Bavaria (2) Tech: 28/12 Att. Weak
Bohemia (7) Tech: 27/15 Att. Medium
Brandenburg (4) Tech: 27/16 Att. Small
Crimea (3) Tech: 14/9 Att. Weak
Denmark (2) Tech: 28/22 Att. Small
Eire (5) Tech: 25/18 Att. Small, pooor
England (4) Tech: 25/19 Att. Weak
Flanders (3) Tech: 30/22 Att. Small but rich and advanced, Centre of Trade
French Catholics (2) Tech: 27/21 Att. Weak
France (37) Tech: 25/17 Att. Very large, strong, rich, good leaders, Centre of Trade, colonial empire
Granada (1) Tech: 18/13 Att. Weak but independence guaranteed by mighty Aztec Empire
Hellas (1) Tech: 17/11 Att. Weak
Helvetia (2) Tech 28/13 Att. Small, well defended
Hungary (1) Tech: 20/12 Att. Weak
Mali (?) Tech: 13/4 Att. Size unknown but at least 3 provinces
Mamelukes (5) Tech: 15/6 Att. Getting slaughtered
Mantua (2) Tech: 26/10 Att. Weak
Mecklenburg (3) Tech: 29/21 Att. Small but rich, Centre of Trade
Netherlands (2) Tech: 31/26 Att. Small but rich and advanced, Centre of Trade
Norway (2) Tech: 28/22 Att. Weak
Ottomans (11) Tech: 17/11 Att. Getting slaughtered
Papal States (2) Tech: 27/20 Att. Weak
Poland (23) Tech: 16/6 Att. Large, weak but rich
Portugal (5) Tech: 26/20 Att. Small, Strong, 2 Centres of Trade
Puritans (7) Tech: 27/20 Att. Small
Russia (31) Tech: 23/9 Att. Large army, Centre of Trade, snow
Sardinia (1) Tech: 28/23 Att. Weak
Saxony (3) Tech: 27/6 Att. Small
Scotland (5) Tech 27/20 Att. Small
Sicily (5) Tech: 27/20 Att. Small
Spain (10) Tech: 16/11 Att. Medium, bankrupt, weak compared to size, sizable trading post empire in New World but no Centre of Trade
Sweden (23) Tech: 26/18 Att. Large and strong
Venice (8) Tech: 26/19 Att. Medium but strong, 2 Centres of Trade
Zimbabwe (5) Tech: 4/2 Att. Weak, pagans
I will be attaching Scientists to the various fronts, to oversee the rational application of the instrument of war to the situation on hand. In the meanwhile, I believe Seventh Scientist has a suggestion?"
"Thank you, Chief Scientist. To be brief, I believe that a great deal of warfare actually takes place in your enemies minds, and that, therefore, a great deal of good can be gained by putting him under psychological pressure. (I have plenty of evidence for this, but alas, it wouldn't fit it my briefcase so I can't present it here) We are the Mughal Empire, right? But Mughal doesn't sound aweinspiring, now does it? Imagine your average foreign dummy, told that he is at war with the Mughal Empire, do you think he goes: "Oh, no! Not the MUGHALS!". No, he doesn't! I think we should put a new label on our war efforts: Gentlemen, let us proclaim ourselves the
Purple Menace for invasion purposes!"
"You make my head spin, Seventh Scientist, but I believe your idea has merit. Heh! And I am going to appoint
you honorary doctor of spinning in acknowledgement of your good idea", responded the Chief Scientist.
"I am honured", replied the spin-doctor.
"Yes, you are", replied the Chief Scientist, and added under his breath, "...and if this backfires, you will envy Second Scientist. Purple Menace indeed."
"This, Gentlemen, concludes my
masterplan. Let us get to work.
To be continued.
As to how the masterplan worked out, stay tuned. The opening moves will be transmitted within the next day or two.