"Gentlemen, the Empire's army has fought bitterly in India for months and has finally defeated the British, as well as the Anglo-Indian Army loyal to them. However, the Imperial Army has also paid an enormous price, with casualties exceeding one hundred thousand men. The amount of military supplies consumed is beyond counting. The Empire has only just emerged from the World War, and its wounds have yet to heal. Thus, the war in India has nearly pushed the Empire beyond its limits. By distributing India's land among the princely states, the Empire also hopes that each state will do what it can to help the Empire through this difficult time!" Bülow said.
Of course, his words contained plenty of exaggeration. Although the Imperial Army had faced enemies dozens of times its own number in India, the fighting had not been especially difficult. Naturally, there had been no catastrophic casualties either. He said all this merely to give himself a perfectly justifiable reason to make these Princely Rulers pay up.
"Prime Minister, the Empire has suffered grievously fighting the evil British for India's future. We are deeply grateful. To that end, Hyderabad State is willing to provide assistance to the Empire!" Mir Osman Ali Khan was the first to speak.
The other Princely Rulers were no fools, and they all hurried to state their positions. They had already learned that the allocation of land was tied to donations for military expenditures. In other words, if they wanted better land, they had to hand over the wealth their families had accumulated over countless years. Though it pained them terribly, no one refused. They all understood that compared with wealth, land was undoubtedly the foundation. So long as they had land and people, they could quickly amass even greater wealth.
"Very good. I