Samrat Vedistri was an inexperienced monarch, but he would soon learn the art of statecraft. Aiding him would be the ministers of Magadh. Under the behest of Empress Naganika the position of a Royal Cartographer was established, who would also act as the minister directing explorations. For long the people of Bharata had lived in ignorance of the rest of the world. Even when traders from all across the world came to our shores attracted by our immense wealth, our people could not travel to their lands for lack of knowledge. All that would change now, as the Royal cartographer, Chitragupt took hold of the ministry for explorations.
The Chola fleet was converted to an exploratory fleet and sent East to discover new trading routes to China, and to discover the fabled lands beyond the Vanga.
Whilst a warrior was assigned to guard emissaries to Persia and scout the borders of the Parthian empire.
Whilst all ministers had appointed their successors, the ministry for domestic affairs had gone vacant. Its previous applicant had disappeared, and since then, the ministry was managed by the dowager empress and her son, the reigning Samrat of the empire. Thus, that ministry would pass on to the reigning samrat Vedistri, effectively abolishing it as a separate position.
Samrat Vedistri had learnt from his father on the policy towards forced production. The new social order introduced with the coming of Samrat Satakarni, had seen the rights of the lower castes and Buddhists erode to the levels it was at in the distant past. On the one hand, it made it easier for guilds to recruit workers at lower cost, whilst on the other, it relegated a substantial section of the population to perennial misery. Their lives would be forfeit by virtue of their birth. Samrat vedistri would display this with ample clarity as he moved to rush projects in every city of the empire.
Before he could do this, he would first reorganize production in three cities of the empire. At the behest of Senapati Krishnadev, the emperor issued that a division of spearmen be trained as soon as possible at Takshashila overriding any infrastructural project there may be. At Indraprasth, he issued that resources be preserved for the training of an additional elephant division, soon after the granaries have been built. At Avanti, answering to the constant harassment of pirates, the emperor decreed that a fleet of fighting triremes be commissioned to battle these pirates, that gained precedence over any other project the city undertook.
Once these projects were set, he directed the workers' guilds to build extensive farmlands for the people of Avanti. Samrat Vedistri decreed "Avanti is the ancestral seat of the Satavahan dynasty. For long had our people been forgotten by the rulers of the North. No more. I hereby order that the plains of the Narmada, endowed with rich fertile black soil be graced by farmland. This shall feed our people in time of need". The time of need had indeed come, for the coasts were plagued once again by the pirates of the Sindh. Only this time, they raided right into the borders of the city of Avanti.
The walls of the city prevented the pirates from entering, but dozens of fishing villages were destroyed, families were ruined as their daughters were taken as loot of these pirates. It was now necessary to leave the seas and look to the plains for a secure sustenance.
The next priority was the reorganization of the army. For the first time, the army of the Magadhan empire fielded armored elephants, a legacy of Queen Naganika. Senapati Krishnadev prepared plans for the management of the new forces which involved the expansion of the garrison of Herat. An archer division would be placed at Herat in addition to the new elephant division. The defensive infrastructure was nearly completed, and with the additional troops, Herat would become one of the best defended cities of the empire.
At Takshashila, armor and funds for training a spearmen were made available which prevented the growth of the city. It was not a popular move, but the samrat ensured whatever difficulty would be endured would be in passing and to the minimum. That was the code of Empress Naganika, and that was his rule as well. The provinces generated a regular surplus of grain and resources which replenished them ensuring the cities would go back to their former state after every instance of emergency production. The spearman would be assigned to the garrison of Herat, strengthening it further.
The riders from the North came as they always did, but this time, they were not faced with the timid pleas of the governor. Instead, they saw before them, a fortified city with a massive army defending it. The horsemen turned back as soon as they had come. The people of Kambojadesa celebrated the peace that this strength had brought. "Samrat Vedistri ki Jay!" (Victory to Samrat Vedistri) was heard day and night at the city. Soon after, reports had come which gratified the emperor further.
"The Kushans are embroiled in wars with other fierce tribes farther to the North and East. These tribes raid the lands of the Chin and are now raiding the Kushan cities. The strength of the Kushanas have thus depleted greatly. They would not venture South for long", said the report given by the governor of Herat.
The empire's North Western frontier was thus secured.
Witnessing our power, the Persians requested that we join in their war against the Romans. The Parthian emperor sent an emissary with this message "Persia cannot fight this war alone o great and noble emperor of mighty India. As your ancestors have helped us, to you we implore, that you help us as well" . Samrat Vedistri said only this "I will look into it", so committing nothing nor declining the request, the samrat brushed aside the message and the messenger. The Samrat had decided in his own mind, that we would not participate in any war in the far West. Already, a diplomatic war was on with the last remaining Alexandrian diadochi in Egypt, another would not make sense.
The minister of foreign affairs Amatya Chiranjeevi had laid out the future plans for diplomatic approaches towards Persia, Roma, Chin, and Egypt. Bharata shall be a friend to all, and shall trade with all.
As with the request from Persia, the request of war from Roma too was turned down.
Around this time, the villagers of Chola Nadu, had completed setting up extensive pastures for herding cattle. Kanchipuram, which was the best of the Tamil cities, would now grow stronger and larger. Raja Karikaalan proved an able administrator, for his people. However, the sun of the Cholas was setting as it has been doing for the last eight score years.
As the years passed, explorers continued to uncover new lands. It was known only through the rumors of passing merchants and travellers from the West, just how expansive the Parthian empire was. Now, the full extent of the empire was known for certain.
This was the result of nearly twenty years of explorations. Whilst the faith of Zoroaster was known, a second faith introduced by a foreigner from the East was not as well known outside of Persia. This was the faith of the prophet Laosho, as the Persians called him. The holy city of this faith was at Susa.
Pleased with these findings, the royal cartographer and minister for explorations, Amatya Chitragupt granted further rights of exploration. Farther West, was thought to exist the fabled city of Babylon, where the great rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates flowed, and within whose walls was the most beautiful structure known to man, the hanging gardens of Babylon. When our explorer found the city, it was a near ruin.
It would seem the Persians and Romans launched a proxy war over Babylon pitting factions of the ruling houses against one another. After the fall of the Alexandrian empire, a descendant of Antiochus III declared the Mesopotamian plains as his own and usurped the seat of Babylon. His reign would not last long, as native Babylonians weary of Greek rule, revolted and overthrew this king. Soon after, Greek mercenaries and soldiers situated in Babylon rushed to the aid of the heir of the Seleucid line and fought a vicious battle with the ruling council of Babylon which had overthrown the king. The Parthians had resorted to support the native Babylonians who related to the Persians as one of their own against the foreign usurper, while the Roman senate paid the seleucid supporters. The ensuing chaos destroyed much of the city leaving a mound of death and destruction. The beautiful gardens of Babylon had withered to a haunted dead ruin.
However, finding Babylon re-introduced us to the Phoenician people. We now found them as vassals of the Romans. When meeting us once again, they invoked the open border agreements with previous rulers of Magadh. Trade started to flow in and a corridor was now open between Bharata and the far west. The Parthian emperor's road linking projects had brought the Magadhan empire in contact with the rest of the Western world. The wealth of our realm would quadruple over the next five years.
While, our warrior was exploring the West, the Chola fleet sailed into the dark lands of the East. A route to China was only theorized from across the Eastern sea, that theory would be put to test as the galley sailed around a previously undiscovered peninsula. Several islands of an archipelago were seen along this journey with splendid fruits and tropical abundance. The sailors named these islands 'suvarnadweep'.
Further explorations were granted over the next ten years which would see the sailors sail North. There they found a peninsula and a fishing village. As the villager approached the large Chola galleys, he greeted in Chinese, when the sailors asked where to China, he pointed to his village. Thus, had the Eastern boundary of China been discovered.
Soon the entirety of China would become known to us.
Thirty five years had passed under the reign of Samrat Vedistri, and the realm had become more prosperous than ever before. The cities were larger, and the army was stronger, and it will only increase in strength. A new world was awakening from the fogs of ignorance, which would bring new found wealth, power and prosperity to Bharata. With it, would come new challenges.