"Decimated !" he exclaimed, "My whole army decimated!" the king of Avanti was in disbelief when the reports came. He directed much of his anger at his military advisors and espionage officials. "You told me it could be taken, you told me the garrison was weak, that Takshashila would revolt when they saw our armies. You said the new regime was feeble, they wouldn't do anything. What is this?!" "My lord, the spies reported as much, our troops did get them by surprise" the general tried to explain "then where is my victory ? Why does the banner of Magadh still wave over Takshashila ?". The debacle had destroyed the king from within. Later on that day he stood over the balcony of his palace overlooking the setting sun over the Western sea. Before him was the vast narmada clearing into the western sea. "Our time has faded, we have no place in this new era" he thought to himself. The palace of Avanti was a modest building, but the memoribilia of past Pradyota kings and nobility adorned the walls of the palace added a faded elegance.
"Sire! A messenger has arrived from Pataliputra" the news surprised the king, "send him in". His advisors were too shamefaced to face their sire now, but he knew what was on their mind. A peace, a truce, if the terms are good, otherwise, surrender. The king and his courtiers sat before the messenger from Magadh. "Samrat Nand, the first of his name, undisputed ruler of all of Bharata, and lord protector of Magadh, send you greetings" the messenger began. "It is his majesty's wish to see peace between our people's. So it is that he has offered an unconditional peace and respecting the independence of Avanti". The message shocked everyone, but brought some relief to the king. He would have time yet. "Tell the samrat Nand, that the king of Avanti shall forever remain in debt to him for such a kind and generous act of forgiveness, let it be known of his wisdom and compassion".
While the king of Avanti may have been at peace, the same couldn't be said of Shishunag II. In the republic of Kalinga, he addressed the tribal elders imploring them to push farther into war "Brethren ! The time is now more ripe than ever. Our warriors have deprived the enemy of iron. They cannot make their best trained soldiers, no more axemen no more spears. We have reduced the army of magadh to building itself with sticks and stones. Throwing them back to the age of club wielding warriors. Our Santhal warriors are better armed with our spears and flints. We can smite them !" to this an elder arose "It has been many years now that we have been led by you O mighty and wise Shishunag, the second of his name, son of wise Amatya Shishunag. But our people no longer desire war." Another elder arose "The returning warriors speak of a new weapon that the army of Magadh has mastered, a weapon that is being built in Kashi, which can hurl giant rocks as big as a bull's head. Our spears would be useless against it" The third elder arose "There is more news, the axemen of Magadh's army have won a brilliant victory against the army of Avanti. It is said that the Death Batallion alone destroyed three divisions of archers. After vanquishing their foes they tore their hearts out and ate it ! And you would have us fight against such demons ?"
The tribal elders made their decision then, that they would not send their braves against the army of Magadh. For the rest of the council meeting, Shishunag II implored them to join him for the final strike now that the enemy was at their weakest, but this was a republic. The elders word was not law, but it was strong enough to convince the superstitious tribals against war with Magadh. Almost four fifth's of Kalinga went against Shishunag's decision to fight. It was thought this would be the end of his campaign, but he swore a blood oath. Shishunag II, son of amatya Shishunag, would not go down so quietly.
Meanwhile in Magadh, the situation remained as tense as ever. Samrat Nand sat contemplating on the throne. There were many questions on his mind, questions on the legacy of Dhrittiman and the duties of a samrat. "Have I succeeded in my duties ? Acharya Dhrittiman said, that the realm is akin to a family, and the samrat its patriarch. As a family must obey the patriarch, so should the people of the realm obey the samrat. In return, the Samrat must protect them. Under my watch, hundreds of defenseless citizens were butchered by reaving tribes from the South. Under my rule, my people were starving and pauperized. Magadh weeps under my authority. I did what must be done to defend it, even against her own people. On that I have no regrets. But have I done enough ?" he went deeper into contemplation and meditated on these questions.
Several hours later he re-emerged wiser and stronger. He called his ministers to discuss matters of the state. Chief on his mind was how to strengthen the position of Bharata on the world. A report was tabled before the king detailing the standing of Bharat, this was drawn out on the basis of a report by a little known Greek traveller.
The report pleased the samrat. Bharata had the largest standing army in the world, its territory was the second most expansive only narrowly smaller than China, and in wealth it was the second most prosperous nation in the world. Even after a rebellion and a revolution and war, it seemed that Bharata was growing stronger. It was on the basis of this report that Samrat Nand decreed that the realm was ready to grow. To this, the finance minsitry said, "But sire, our treasury continues to bleed, we are wasting funds in keeping such a large standing army and an already unwieldy empire. It is my recommendation, that any and all expansion be halted indefinitely!" The emperor expressed his frustration by banging his fist loudly on the arm rest of the throne. "You dare to speak against me !" roared the emperor. The ministers were astounded. Till now, the samrat spoke timidly and let the ministers administer the realm as if being true rulers, but no more. Samrat Nand had come into his own.
"Do not think me so timid mantri Bhojraj! I have been silent for too long, but no more. I am the Samrat and I deem that we are prepared for expansion. Send for the envoy of the Kambojas ! Tell him we accept their offer of submission. We shall accept their people into our illustrious empire!" With this final order signed and sealed by the emperor of Bharat, the land of the Kambojas and the city of Herat became part of the realm of Bharata.
The day Herat joined the empire of Magadh, was a day of cheer and celebration in Herat. The people of the land were overjoyed that they would at long last be welcome into the land of Bharata as brothers. The horsemen who had so ably fought during the first Shishunag's rebellion, now joined their strength with the strength of Magadh. This was only one of the diplomatic successes that Samrat Nand would author. He sent out over two dozen emissaries to distant lands, with them he sought to improve relations and build alliances, alliances which would come in use against enemies of Bharata. The emperor's first concern were the Greeks, whom the people of Bharata knew as the Yavanas ( named for the Ionian isles in which the travellers of Bharata visited ).
With them, the emperor had proposed an exchange of ideas, but the Yavanas were not easy to deal with. Their scholars believed in holding to themselves the secrets they had learnt over the ages. They would not readily share their knowledge of alphabets for our knowledge of metal casting. It was only after sending a delegation of gurus to teach them the science of meditation that they shared knowledge of alphabet. Whilst the people of Bharata already had developed a tradition of writing and literature and our own system of alphabet and grammar, with the Yavana's knowledge we enhanced our understanding of alphabets, along with learning another more unsavory science. The science of espionage.
Access to this knowledge helped in dealing with other nations, and learning of their technologies and sciences. The Chinese to the North had reportedly mastered the construction of large siege weapons with a system of numerals and calculations that served as the basis of mathematics. Our scholars were still somewhat distant in acquiring this knowledge, so the wise Samrat Nand sent delegations to China, to treat with the Qin emperor. The most powerful man in the world.
In what was being touted the most successful diplomatic engagement of all time, the exchange of technological knowledge with China yielded not only greater knowledge of mathematics but also knowledge of construction works ! Military strategists were in particular thrilled by this development. It had long been theorized that elephants could be used for war clad in iron with a seat above it. Ridden like a horse but with ten times the strength and advantage in range. With knowledge of construction, that seemed closer at hand. Not only that, but also architects could now build huge aqueducts to bring fresh water to cities and sewage systems to keep cities clean. More successes however, were awaiting.
The third diplomatic engagement set out by the samrat was with Persia, the weaker Western neighbour of Bharata, but before a delegation could be sent out there, a mysterious traveller came from a land which was known only in fables and legends. This was the land elders called "Misr" and the Yavanas called "Egypt".
It was thought that the world was entirely explored and divided among the greatest nations of the world. The existence of nations beyond the realms travelled by old pioneers of the ancient past was not thought possible. Today that notion stood shattered.
With greater knowledge and confidence, the emissary to Persia set out to strike a deal with the scion of emperor Cyrus the Great. The emissary of Bharata approached the Persians in the grand palace of Persepolis, with greetings of the best and most advanced nation in the world. The Persian emperor simply scoffed at this greeting "Persia knows more than you have forgotten, puny Indian." It was not an assertion without a hint of truth, the Persians had mastered organized religion, a precise calendar which could predict and measure seasons with incredible accuracy, and the ways of riding horses. They knew also of monarchy, which was not something that the people of Bharata were strangers to, yet their knowledge of a monarchic way of life and theory was more advanced than that of our scholars. The emissary felt humbled and angered at the same time, true Persia was more advanced than India on many fields, but we were more powerful and prosperous and larger. Persia stood in the shadow of Bharata, and one day it would be consumed by it, but today was not that day. A very one sided deal was signed with the Persian emperor. They were willing to share knowledge of monarchy in exchange for our knowledge of agriculture, metal casting and pottery.
"These people are doomed" wrote the emissary in his report "they are doomed to collapse not under the weight of a superior civilization, for they already live under the shadow of the Yavanas to the West and of Bharata to the East. They will collapse under the weight of their own arrogance". Emperor Nand contemplated on this.
One night he sat in his private office, and went over maps of the Bharata and the world. He strategized on how to deal with the enemies of Magadh. It was the finance minister and the military advisor who made peace with Avanti, even when he would have willingly surrendered after the decimation of his army. The samrat did not oppose their advise. It was also the military advisor's plan to retain the best troops for the defense of the cities, when what Shishunag II was really doing was only to fool the troops and pave the way for a stronger assault. Destroying the iron mines was only a prelude to a bigger assault, or so the emperor thought.
He was engrossed on studying the documents before him and planning a strategy, when the shadow of a man appeared in front of him. The emperor was distracted from his work and his sights fell on a familiar figure. "Ah Santosh, you are here at last". Before the emperor, stood his most favorite spy. A mute shudra who worked in the palace as a gardener. "Here is a list of people" said the emperor as he handed a parchment to Santosh. "You will notice that they are men of great standing who are officials of the state. I assure you that your life shall remain secure. No harm will come to you or to your family for this task that I give you." the spy nodded. "Before the sun shines on the next day, I want these men dead".
. Persia will be the first one. 
....
This is in the mid 19th century. 
