Lakshmi Bai fell silent for a moment, then said with absolute certainty.
"Yes."
A blissful smile appeared on the half of the soldier's face that remained.
"That's wonderful."
It seemed the soldier had finally set down the boulder in his heart. He slowly closed his eyes, and his breathing ceased with them.
Night.
"How long will our food last?"
"One year."
Lakshmi Bai nodded and continued asking.
"What about gunpowder?"
"Three hundred barrels remain."
This referred to the small Indian barrels, with one barrel = 45.36 kilograms.
"Far too little! We need at least a thousand barrels more!"
"But—"
Her confidant seemed to be in a difficult position. Lakshmi Bai did not grow angry; instead, she tried to reassure him gently.
"Don't worry about the money! If we can't hold the city, we'll have nothing left!"
Most of the Jhansi prince's property had been confiscated by the British. This uprising had only just reclaimed those possessions, before Lakshmi Bai sold them off again for weapons and supplies. Naturally, her subordinates could not be happy about it.
At least, that was what she had thought.
"We're out of money."
Her confidant finally lowered his head helplessly. Most of Lakshmi Bai's confidants had been childhood companions who had grown up with her. Though these people loved money, they understood what mattered and what could wait.
Lakshmi Bai drew a deep breath as well.
"You may leave for now. I'll think of something."
Something? What could she possibly do? Jhansi had never been particularly wealthy, and with Britain's exploitation on top of that, being able to maintain an army of more than ten thousand men was already a miracle.
Jhansi's land and palaces should have been worth something, but with the British about to attack and the situation spiraling downhill, who would take