Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The Royal Council meeting was underway in the court. Harsha and the others were present for the meeting. The kingdom's affairs and the tasks at hand were being discussed before moving to the main agenda of the meeting.

The reports of the new deal with the merchant guild of Arnav and the production pushing of the cannons and third-rate ships from the Dutch. The funding amount was decided with no opposition.

"Your Majesty, we hit a roadblock." Aradhana informed.

"What is it?"

"The implementation of the reform will take a bit more time; the training of people is taking time." She admitted. "There is also a bit of delay in the establishment of courts and police stations in the remote areas."

"Hm... I see." Harsha replied.

"What is the timeframe of completion?"

"2 months at least." She said nervously. "The trainings are underway and the recruitment of the personnel is done."

"That's fine; did you encounter any funding issues?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Asokan replied in her stead. "Not yet; there might be some fund issues in the final phase, Your Majesty."

"So the estimate wasn't enough, just as predicted." Viswa said. "We will release funds for the project halfway into the second month."

Asokan and Aradhana nodded in agreement.

Bhaskar said. "Your Majesty, I have traveled during the past few months to various places to assess the caste situation."

"What are your findings?" Harsha asked.

"First we have to understand the reason. There is a significant population that has no idea about the scriptures and is peddling false narratives to keep the system alive."

"I know that." Harsha said.

"Surprisingly, the silent majority is actually willing to change."

"That's surprising." Viswa remarked.

"Lord Viswa, the ones that want the change are not people in power. It's the people who understand struggle, like merchants and everyday workers. There is reluctance, though."

"What do you suggest, Bhaskar?"

Your journey continues on empire

"This is the fundamental problem of not understanding the scriptures."

"So we educate people on them?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Their faith towards God is absolute. With the right approach, I am sure at least 70% of problems could be eliminated."

"Hm... So we should reform the Gurukul system." Harsha considered. "I will take your findings into account." He smiled.

"Independent research is good," Harsha said. "Keep your work up."

Bhaskar's face lit up. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"So let's move on to the main agenda of the meeting." Harsha said. "There seems to be some dissatisfaction with the current reform among the nobles."

Bhima Nayaka silently sighed. "Yes, Your Majesty. The nobles are worried about the centralization of the power in the hands of the crown."

"So, Bhima, what's your personal opinion on this as a noble?"

"It's bad; Nobles are the backbone of your influence, Your Majesty." He said with a serious expression. "There will be backlash eventually."

"Bhima, you do my approach to everything right?"

"Yes, the meritocratic approach." He said.

"Precisely, I have found a solution for all the troubles."

The royal council's eyes widened in curiosity for the solution.

"It is a simple approach." He smiled. "Make the noble title meritocratic by removing the birthright noble right."

"Huh…." everyone gasped.

Bhima was the first one to react. "Your Majesty, isn't that going too far?"

"There will be a lot of dissatisfaction from the nobles."

"I know. We need competition in the noble field." He smiled. "No competition breeds incompetence."

Raj Patwardhan cleared his throat. "I understand the importance of merit, but there is an influence factor here."

"If all the local nobles unite under a banner, we will have to deal with a civil war situation."

Asokan also nodded.

"Of course, I know about that." Harsha said. "Listen to the whole reform."

Harsha began to explain his approach to the noble merit system.

The crown would establish benchmark rewards and the scores for the nobles. These marks would be used to check their contributions to the empire.

The nobles would be divided into two categories. One would be sword nobles earned by exceptional achievements on the battlefield. They would be allowed some fiefs as a reward or a lifetime pension from the Empire.

This position shall be non-hereditary and only goes through one generation.

The Robe nobles were totally different; these would be passed through 3 generations. These are awarded to inventors, innovators, reformers, and civil services to the Empire.

In case the heir of the Robe nobles also does exceptional service to the Empire. They can extend the position for one more generation.

For example, a child of a Robe Noble could extend their family's privileges by continuing exemplary service.

"We will also diversify the role of nobles in the field of governance and technology." He reiterated.

Honorary titles without any fiefs shall be granted with pure financial benefits.

"An audit body shall be established under the crown to oversee the achievements to prevent any misinformation."

"What about the existing nobles?" Bhima asked.

"The existing nobles shall have a 5-10 year period to gain achievements and keep their position intact." He said with a smile. "If they fail, the crown's confiscation body shall cease their land holdings and title."

The room went silent. The common royal council ministers looked nervously at the noble ones. They were the ones affected by the decision. If the decision went through, there was a chance for the royal council members to also attain the noble status.

"Seems like a plan that Your Majesty would make." Bhima sighed and chuckled. "I need to talk to the patriarch about this."

"Sure... I wouldn't expect any opposition from the old man at least." Harsha laughed. "He would be the first one to jump aboard after listening to this plan."

"But there is a chance of backlash; you haven't addressed it." Raj asked.

"Asokan, is your plan going well?" Harsha asked, eliciting some weird glances from the others.

"Yes, Your Majesty, if we go by the letter. A month," he smiled.

"Raj, we act once. Asokan's plan is done." Harsha said. "You can ask him for more details about it."

"I wouldn't plan for such a reckless reform without a contingency plan in place."

The whole royal council let out a collective sigh at Harsha casual attitude.

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