Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 832

Chapter 832: Rapid Adoption (3/3)
The change in the Bharatiya Empire was happening at a very fast pace. The diplomats stationed in the Bharatiya Empire, like Simeon Brezhnev, Pedro Santiago, Sourigna Vongsa II, Oscar Anderson, Jan Kowalski, Heinrich Muller, Pedro Santos, Leonardo Bellini, Chen Rui ( Southern Ming ), and others, all felt a sense of awe and shock at the absolutely terrifying mobilization capabilities of the Bharatiya Empire.

They already knew that the Bharatiya Empire was decades ahead of them in war mobilization capabilities as well as in industry, but looking at how a major innovation like the bicycle was adopted throughout the empire at such a fast pace, a tremor unconsciously appeared on the foreign delegates’ faces, whether they were allies or countries with which the Bharatiya Empire had diplomatic relations.

“Gulp!”

“Terrible, terrible.”

Simeon Brezhnev constantly muttered to himself, “Thankfully, His Highness Peter maintained a very good friendship with His Majesty the Emperor, and the Russian Empire is also on good terms with the Bharatiya Empire.” Just thinking about having a bad relationship with the Bharatiya Empire sent a shiver down his spine, as if he were locked in an ice cellar. Fortunately, when he thought about the Bharatiya Empire’s current conflict with the Ottoman Empire, he couldn’t help but gloat at the misfortune of the Ottoman Empire.

“That idiot Mehmed IV doesn’t even know what is coming for him. Hahaha.”

Four months after the patent was sold, the first batch of bicycles was exported to the frontiers, catching many people by surprise. The bicycles that were sold did not directly change the economic situation of the frontiers, since there were too few of them, and the frontiers themselves did not have the capabilities to manufacture the bicycles, as the fifth generation of machine tools, which are used to manufacture the core components of the bicycle, namely bearings and axles, were not exported to the frontier. However, the enthusiasm for industrial development increased, leading to further acceleration of development in the frontier.

Things did not end there. It was as if the driving mechanism of the bicycle was a thin layer of window paper covering an amazing view. As soon as it was torn apart, many amazing ideas—both practical and impractical—began to appear in the minds of innovators across the empire.

—

“What if, instead of two wheels, we install three wheels?” A junior engineer working at Akarsh Carriages and Co. suddenly suggested. “Think about it. If we add two wheels to the back, one meter apart and parallel to each other, and one wheel at the front, and add the driving mechanism of the bicycle to the front part, can we add a wooden platform in the back and turn it into a cargo bay, making it possible to carry larger weight on the back and move forward by pedaling without the need for expensive horses or oxen?”

“It will be like a half carriage.”

Hearing this suggestion, another junior engineer’s eyes lit up. He suddenly became enthusiastic. “Hey Bhai, what if we make the back part of this three-wheeled carriage modular? Instead of a cargo bed, what if we design a steel frame upon which other things can be modularly built? Can it be used as a passenger transport vehicle? Can it be used to carry water? Can it be used to carry fuel? Can it be used to carry minerals?”

The more they thought, the more ideas were generated. They began to shake with excitement. They immediately wrote down their ideas and met with Akarsh. As soon as Akarsh heard their proposal, he was immediately overjoyed.

“Good, very good!”

“It’s an amazing idea. Research it immediately. I will give you all the funds you need and assign you a secret laboratory. Get the research done as soon as possible.”

Thinking about it, he added, “My conditions are very simple. The front part of the carriage should resemble the Ashoka bicycle very closely. As for the back part of the carriage, it should resemble and use the same specifications and parts we use in the back half of the normal S-size carriage we sell to the market.”

The reason he gave this order was to save some money. If the new three-wheeled carriage had a completely different specification, he would have to install a whole new production line. He had already invested most of the working capital into the expansion of production lines for Ashoka Bicycles. Where would he get the money to order research for a new production line, debug it, and install it? He felt relieved as well. He was thankful that someone in his company came up with the idea and decided to contact him first.

If it came out in the market or the idea got leaked, instead of being a gift, it could be the key to the company’s bankruptcy. But if the three-wheeled carriage could indeed be manufactured using the modular construction method—by joining the front half of the bicycle and the back half of the small carriage—then not only would he save the trouble of installing a new production line, but he could also solidify his dominance over other manufacturers and also find a way to repay the debt quicker. Now that the stock price of the company had moved very close to a billion varaha, nearly 70% more in valuation than when he mortgaged 50% of his stocks, there was no way in hell would he miss the deadline to pay back the debt and interest.

In another carriage manufacturing company called Surya Carriages, which was the large carriage manufacturing company formed by merging seven different carriage manufacturers, the chief engineer, who was a top graduate from the Bharatiya Institute of Technology in mechanics and engineering, suddenly came up with an idea.

“What if, instead of two wheels vertically, we use two sets of wheels, both in parallel, with two separate driving systems arranged for two different drivers? And the steering control could be given to a separate driver.”

“Can this be used to replace carriages?”

“Taking a step back, can it be used to reduce the load on the elephants while pulling the carriages on the railway track on steep hills?”

“If it doesn’t work, taking another step back, instead of two different people providing power to the carriage, can four people be enough? And using gears, can their power be multiplied and uniformly distributed to power the front set of wheels to lessen the load on the elephants? Or can they be used to increase the amount of load the railway carriages can carry?”

With ideas gushing through his mind as if the floodgates were open, he immediately scrambled to pick up the scrap paper, scribbling down all his designs.

In such a way, innovators saw a way to innovate in different industries, ranging from fitness equipment manufacturers, who saw that cycling could be one more form of exercise for the leg muscles, to construction tools manufacturers, who felt cycling could be used to pull concrete from the bottom floor to the top floor. Surprisingly, Swastik Enterprises Private Limited, a tools company focused on manufacturing tools and parts like pliers, screwdrivers, swaner sets, nails, nuts, bolts, and other things, suddenly came up with an invention where a cycling mechanism was used to help people who were unable to climb tall mountainous public places get up there without any problem.

This mechanism was simple: instead of using tires, the cycling mechanism was connected to a gear above the heads of the passengers, which was then connected to a threaded iron railing hanging on top of people’s heads, held by strong poles installed every 10 meters on the mountain. As a relatively strong man operated the cycling mechanism, the whole machine, which had a passenger seat for two people, slowly moved upward, one step at a time.

This mechanism was immediately installed in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, one of the most popular temples in the empire, located on top of a large hill. Following the example of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, other popular temples like those in Dharmasthala, Kashi, Vaishno Devi, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Amarnath Cave Temple, and others started to install the new innovation.

In the end, due to a sincere, mute father wanting to provide better convenience for his lovely daughter and taking matters into his own hands, the whole empire, and even the world, saw an unimaginable change. He might have been an insignificant figure in the empire a few months ago, but now he had become the spearhead of change, and he had become the main reason for the Bharatiya Empire to become the prototype of an empire on wheels.

—

Dharma society Nomination review meeting

” Gentlemen, the contribution of Sir Suhail Karan is in front of everyone. So, how many of you agree that he should be in the discussion for becoming a Dharma Laureate in Mechanics and Engineering?”

Almost immediately, the sight of the speaker was drowned out by hundreds of people lifting their hands.

“120 people agree, 8 people disagree, 12 people abstain from voting.”

“It is decided then, Sir Suhail Karan will be shortlisted to receive the Dharma Award this year for his invention of the Bi pedal power transfer mechanism, which has already proved to be a groundbreaking invention and one of the most economic and efficient pieces of equipment that human beings have ever produced.”

“The eighth Nomination review meeting of the Dharma Society is adjourned. Thank you, my dear fellow intellectuals and colleagues, for giving me this opportunity to host the meeting this year.”

“And I wish all the best to His Excellency Divya Jyothi Paramahamsa on his speaker post for the 9th Dharma Nomination review meeting.”