Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Chapter 170: Dispute of Gajapathis

Gajapathis, a once strong kingdom, has deteriorated massively in political and economic influence under the rule of it's senile King Pratapendra Deva. The king was greedy for power.

The means didn't matter to him. In the thirst of power, he wanted to control the Vijayanagara Empire from the shadows. He wanted to make Krishna Deva Raya his puppet.

He offered his daughter's hand in marriage to the Emperor. He thought it would help him gain a foothold against his foes and give him more influence.

Pratapendra misjudged Krishna Deva Raya.

The influence he wanted never materialized and he was left hungry like a sheep in a desert. He looked down on Krishna Deva Raya due to his young age and thought he wasn't well-versed in these mind games.

He was furious as the Emperor saw through his schemes and quickly shut them up and coupled with this was the fact that his daughter had passed away from an illness.

She became ill frequently after the birth of the fourth prince, Harsha Deva Raya. This further pushed Pratapendra into hatred.

He blamed Krishna Deva Raya for his daughter's death and cut all ties with his grandson from that moment onwards.

Regardless of his behavior, the then emperor didn't do anything against the Gajapathis out of respect for the king's daughter. He could have cut the trade routes of the merchants and tanked their revenue streams to the ground.

The king held his hatred for a long time since the death of his daughter. He was receiving blow after blow to his ego as his grandson took the throne and did the same thing that Krishna Deva Raya did to him.

He still couldn't do anything to the Empire, as he was internally scared of going against the Empire as he knew their strength.

A guest house stood in the corner of the capital. The atmosphere inside the house was electrifying as a heated discussion was happening.

Lokendra Deva sat on the host side of the old wooden table. Big nobles from his faction sat around the table.

The discussion was about the recent change in the King's behaviour. The prime minister had crossed his boundaries and began to manipulate the king. This wasn't a good sign for Lokendra, as the prime minister controlled the political landscape in the kingdom.

He needed to topple it in order to take the throne.

The prime minister, Harichandan, was a shrewd man in his early 40s with huge ambitions. He built his career by being a diplomat. He gained experience solving diplomatic problems for the Gajapathis.

He was awarded the prime minister position for his merits. His ambitions should have stopped there but they didn't as the greed for power and influence consumed Harichandan.

Harichandan devised a notorious plan to take the kingdom under his rule. He wanted to eliminate both the king and his son. This way they would have no choice but to appoint a regent for the throne. Experience new tales on m v|l e'-NovelBin.net

He figured as long as he had adequate noble support he could stay as a regent for a long time and enjoy the influence and power the title holds.

"So, what's the situation with the prime minister?" asked Lokendra Deva, scanning the room.

Vimal Bhanja, an old man in his 50s and an influential noble in the kingdom, spoke up with a dejected expression.

"He is steadily expanding his influence and has been taking many local nobles under his wing."

"I think we should take the throne by force. We have no time since Harichandan has the king influenced as well. It would be bad if we let him gain even more influence at this point," suggested Naman Chhatri, a young noble and the patriarch of the Chhatri family that manages a small region close to the border with the Kasim Sultanate.

"I know but what should we do?." asked Lokendra. "We can't just take over. Father would object, as he still wants to retain his power as king."

"Your Highness, should we commence that plan? Although we will have to sacrifice more. We can win since our spies have already infiltrated the prime minister's faction. We just have to sabotage from now on," said Umesh Jena.

He was an administrator and a minister in the council. He was well versed in financial departments and joined the crown prince's faction a long time ago to help him secure the throne.

He was loyalist.

"It is risky," mumbled Lokendra.

He knew this couldn't be solved through dialog, as he attempted many times in the past to reason with his father to give him the throne for the sake of the kingdom.

In the end, his father chose to listen to Harichandan, who was using Pratapendra as a puppet to push his agenda.

"I need a cause to start something. If we don't have a cause, it is futile to start a rebellion or a coup. The local nobles in our faction will not buy it," mutters Lokendra.

The room fell silent at Lokendra's words. The nobles need a cause to rally up.

He needed a just cause like "assassination attempt."

The tension in the room was palpable.

A man suddenly entered the room with soft steps, dressed in all black. He was Lokendra's spy. He was used to collect dirt on the prime minister to use against him.

Harichandan was quite a meticulous man, as he always took caution and wiped out every trace that backtracked to him.

Lokendra looked at the man.

"What did you find?"

"We found a shocking truth about the death of the princess."

Everyone's jaw dropped at the revelation.

Lokendra stuttered for a second. "Wh- What did you find?"

"The princess was poisoned for a long time by the prime minister. He used a maid to poison her. The poison would be rather hard to detect as it was given in small portions over a period of time."

"WHAT THE HELL!!!!" said Lokendra as he raised his voice.

All others in the room froze as they could feel the bloodlust seeping through Lokendra. He was furious, as he wanted to rip apart that bastard Harichandan at this very moment.

Lokendra opened his mouth to say something but the doors flung open as another man rushed into the room.

"Your Highness. There is urgent news." He said, catching his breath.

"What is it?" He asked in a furious tone.

"The King has collapsed."