Just after a few days of my return, the news of new alliances reached the British columns.
They couldn’t believe their eyes and ears.
“Fighting Jhansi, Awadh and Kanpur was enough trouble.
Now the Kingdoms of Kanpur, Bihar, Faizabad and Delhi have joined hands.
The quest of establishing colonies India as a British colony is proving to be far more brutal and expensive than we ever imagined.” British General Said.
The British were slowly losing a lot of wealth behind Indian Campaigns but will very less success rate and outcome.
Being out of tactical methods and completely powerless before the military might, they decided to use underhanded methods and cheap tricks.
They secretly decided to bribe some of the local leaders secretly, trying to stir up trouble.
Some local workers and rebels were given monetary support and ammunition to disrupt supply lines and logistics in Punjab and Faizabad.
At night time logistics and supply lines were attacked and looted.
There was continuous harassment of travellers on the Road of Fire.
The British aimed for sowing distrust in the alliance to break them apart.
They brainwashed the Punjabi people into thinking that the guardian of Jhansi would sacrifice them all once his aim was to annex or control Punjab.
Moreover the Awadh forces and Kanpur forces suspected Punjab recruits of leaking crucial vital information to the British.
The British hired some of the soldiers for just giving vent to riots and public killings trying to scare off people.
They tried to create a wedge between me and people.
I got all the information from spies which were located all over the allied kingdom.
I decided to assemble my own elite spy network.
Once they were all assembled I spoke firmly and dead serious, “The British are trying to send spies into our Kingdom to instigate a rebellion against us.
I want you all to go & investigate the credibility of the matter.
All my men spread out all over the alliance, keeping a close eye on everyone who looked suspicious.
A few days passed with no progress, as I was starting to suspect my own efficiency, certain reports flooded in.
They showed the British officers bribing the landlords of Bihar and Awadh into instigating a revolt against the alliance.
The British had grown desperate, their grand empire of loot and subjugation cracking down under the weight of united resistance.
I dispatched many search parties under my trusted lieutenants, summoning every trusted general & lieutenant from the cover of darkness, men from every corner of alliance battle hardened sikh horseman, a fierce Awadh Noble and a clever Bihari scout to infiltrate the British lines.
My blood boiled as the reports flooded in continuously.
“The British officers laugh in their tents”, one agent wrote, “saying ‘native dogs’ will devour each other before we fire another shot.”
As I was operating from the shadows, this time, I decided to send a secret message to all the allied commanders and their elite unit to gather in the meeting hall at once. Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.
There I declared, “Enough of this suspicion of this baseless mockery.
The British thrive on division, as they fear our unity.
We must root out their spies immediately before they choke on our cause.”
The scouting and search operations were carried out in secret.
With every British official’s position, motive and modus operandi known, I officially asked permission of the alliance to capture some of them.
I also suggested giving false info that the alliance was fracturing just to bait the British.
While Rani made official reports, my mind drifted away into deep thought, “With so much support and advancements, we are on the winning side, yet the corruption was already in our ranks?”
After many weeks, when I rode through the allied camps enjoying the scene of soldiers of Jhansi and Awadh sharing meals with other soldiers my heart felt at ease.
But suddenly a pamphlet came flying on my face, dictating that the true saviors of this land were the Punjabis who were loyal to the British and not those so called ‘Awadh’ or ‘Jhansi’ troops.
It also added that allying with the rebel storm of Jhansi & and Awadh will only bring destruction.
The Rani and the Begum were farse of this harsh reality.
It described both Rani and Begum as “Promiscuous”.
As my eyes fell on the word, “promiscuous”, my heart eyes widened, my hands clutched my pistol, my breathing heavy and deep.
This time, the Britishers had really gone and done it.
I vowed to myself I would show them kill them in such a way, they would be begging to be granted even the gates of hell.
I assembled small but elite regiments and decided of all allied regimes, which were modernised and well trained by now.
I devised a plan, unknown to the Rani and the Begum, to capture these Englishmen.
The next day during night time few merchants were passing by the road of Fire, unfortunately they were in the least secure area of that route.
All things were normal when suddenly a few gunshots sounded, the few guards who were stationed at that point of road fell to the ground dead and cold.
The air became cold and thick reeking of gunpowder, then from afar a group of local bandits accompanied by a small British regiment came into sight.
They killed a few skilled fighters the merchants had in a few gunshots.
They almost looted everything from the merchants.
But as they were riding away, joyful on their another success, suddenly the last horsemen of the hoard fell on from his horse, his body turned into cold lifeless corpses.
The British and bandits looked at the body and then at each other, sweat dripping from their faces.
Soon, to their surprise dark figures arose from the shadows of the forest.
Guns were aimed directly at their heads, and my special troops, who were secretly stationed at the roadside jungles after continuous reports of theft & robbery, moved forward.
They clutched the British officials by collar and thrashed them down to the ground, roped their hands together, and shoved them into a waiting truck.
They were blindfolded and gagged before being thrown into dozens of military trucks.
I was waiting for them in a secret underground chamber beneath the palace.
They were trembling.
I sat in the Shadows, my face calm, almost indifferent.
My voice was cold, flat, without any emotion.
“Remove the Blindfolds.”
The moment they saw me, their eyes widened in terror.
I leaned forward slightly, my tone ice cold.
“You dared to bribe my people.
You had the audacity to try and break the alliance I built with my own hands.
Now you will tell me everything about your bases, your supply routes, your plans.
Every single thing in detail.”
One of the officers spat defiantly, “We will tell you nothing, you devil!”
I didn’t raise my voice.
I simply nodded to my men.
“Start with him.
Break his fingers one by one until he talks.
If he refuses, move to his knees.”
The screams began soon after.
I sat there motionless, watching without a flicker of emotion.
When the first officer broke and finally started spilling secrets; locations of hidden bases near Kanpur, supply routes from Agra, names of British agents inside Bihar I listened calmly, noting every minute detail.
Another officer tried to resist longer.
I leaned closer, looked at him dead in the eye.
“You have two choices, talk now and die quickly or keep mum and I’ll make sure suffering lasts for days.
Your choice.”
He broke within minutes.
By the end of night I had every confidential detail about the British strongholds, their troop movement and even the names of the officials who were plotting against the league.
I stood up, my voice as cold as ice, “Take them away.
Make it quick and clean.
No need for more noise.”
As my men dragged the broken officers out, I felt nothing.
No pity, No regret, only cold satisfaction.
The British tried to play dirty, and I had answered in kind.