The sun never sets in America

Chapter 230 Voyage: Persia

West Asia, Persia, Qajar Dynasty-——

The ancient city of Tehran is filled with the splendor of ancient Persia. Since the first king of the Qajar Dynasty moved the capital here, this ancient city has been the capital of this ancient West Asian country for decades.

In this city, you can see the most exquisite Persian carpets, as well as women wearing black veils. Although the veil is somewhat mysterious, it is this mystery that creates the legend of Persian beauties.

Especially in the East, Persian beauties wrote extremely romantic stories and poems in a certain period of history.

And how should we evaluate Persia now? Quoting the words of Tang Enhe, the Han minister to Persia, he said: "This is a decadent country, and the whole country is surrounded by powerful enemies. Fortunately, this country has enough The mountains and rivers, but this can only prove the decadence of this country, but it cannot explain everything. After all, his shameful land-ceding treaty in 1828 has actually exposed the weakness of this country - "

According to Tang Enhe, the humiliating treaty signed in 1828 was the Treaty of Turkmenchay signed between Persia and its neighboring Russian Empire.

This treaty clearly stipulated that Persia ceded a large area of ​​Caucasus territory including eastern Georgia, eastern Armenia, and even northern Azerbaijan to the Russian Empire. In fact, Persia lost its road to the Caucasus, laying the foundation for Persia's subsequent gradual colonization. A foreshadowing was made.

The signing of this treaty also greatly increased the appetite of Tsarist Russia, which repeatedly provoked conflicts with neighboring countries in an attempt to open up the Indian Ocean and the outlet of the Persian Gulf and become a veritable maritime power.

At the craziest time, the radical nobles of Tsarist Russia even shouted that they would let the Tsar's boots step on the Indian Ocean. This was extremely irritating to the British. Although it was later ignored, it also laid the foundation for the British to fight against Tsarist Russia.

As for Persia, their upper half is the ambitious Tsarist Russia, in front is the Ottoman Empire, which is still huge although it has declined, and in the rear are Afghanistan and British India.

Among them, the British are famous for their protection of India and even the Indian Ocean. The Persian Gulf, which is close to the Indian Ocean, has become a thorn in the side of the British. It must be in their own hands to feel at ease.

And this has brought huge hidden dangers to Persia at sea. After all, the British Empire's navy is not like the army of Tsarist Russia. It can really hit the most valuable coastal commercial cities in Persia. It can even be said that Britain has already defeated Persia. On the neck, it's just that you can't see it.

And when the time comes, Persia's two biggest enemies, Tsarist Russia and the British Empire, will definitely march towards Persia without hesitation. This has already happened in the history of later generations.

The final outcome of Persia was that it was controlled by Tsarist Russia and Britain at the same time, and became a puppet and colony of these two countries! !

Today's Persia looks much better than that of later generations, but it is not much better. The increasingly powerful Tsarist Russia and the equally ambitious Britain have been staring at Persia, ready to bite a piece of flesh from Persia at any time.

Coupled with Persia's internal problems and internal and external troubles, Persia also has the urge to seek foreign aid.

Originally, the Ottoman Turkish Empire, which was also suppressed by the West and had territorial conflicts with Tsarist Russia, was the best candidate for alliance. However, historical grievances and religious sectarian conflicts also created a gap between the two countries.

Coupled with the hatred of the Arabs between the Ottomans and Persia towards the Persians, the only thing Persia could unite with was Afghanistan. This was unacceptable to the Persians. This led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Han and Persia. story. [Arab proverb: If you encounter a poisonous snake and a Persian in the desert, kill the Persian first]

When talking about the relationship between Han and Persia, we have to mention the naval voyage in the fourth year of Longwu and the subsequent Sino-American War.

When the ocean-going fleet arrived at the port of Persia, the Persians knew for the first time that there was a country like Han. You must know that in Persia and even in the entire West Asia, the name of Han was Qin. This name is actually a reference to the ancient Chinese state. title.

Later, it was changed after interpretation and revision by the Han Dynasty, and it was changed into the transliterated Han.

Although even the Han people themselves did not understand why these West Asians used a single tone to describe them, they finally compromised and agreed to use only one tone to call Han.

During a later visit, the then Persian king wanted to watch a routine training of the Han army. It was also during that training that the efficiency and professionalism of the Han navy deeply moved King Mirza, who was inspired to regain the Caucasus territory. .

At that time, he proposed military cooperation with Han and hoped that Han would help Persia train its navy.

After the Sino-American War ended, the content of cooperation was expanded to include the army and even the military industry.

Persia ordered more than 14,000 Lightning Type-1 rifles from Han in one fell swoop. The price was at least twice that of the mainland, not counting the cost of ammunition, which made the Raytheon Group make a huge profit.

The reason why Persia abandoned the near and far away and approached Han for military cooperation and purchased weapons was because it also had its own ideas, the most important of which was safety.

Other countries, including the United Kingdom, Tsarist Russia, and the Ottomans, are too close to Persia. Once they are involved in the key military departments of Persia, it will be difficult to drive them out. And the Han Kingdom, thousands of miles away in America, happens to be the closest country. A good partner.

The weapons are excellent and have been tested in large-scale wars. Since the war, its international status has been relatively good. It can even be said that it is at least a second-rate power. In terms of overall strength, it is still above Tsarist Russia.

With such a country that can cooperate, has strength, and even certain international influence, and is far away from itself, no matter how stupid Persia is, it still knows what choice to make.

These factors also contributed to the cooperation between Han and Persia.

However, the cooperation between Han and Poland has not been smooth sailing, and the biggest impact is on the diplomatic level.

After Han sold lightning rifles and corresponding storm artillery to Persia, the first to put pressure on Han was Britain and Tsarist Russia.

Among them, the British warning was relatively mild in comparison. It was basically about restraint and not crossing the line. But it happened to be such an old trick, and Han was willing to accept it. It repeatedly promised not to send troops to West Asia, and to deal with After Persia strictly controlled the number of weapons sold, the British stopped.

It’s not that the British are easy to talk to, but the British need a Persia that seems to have some strength to check the increasingly ambitious Tsarist Russia, but they don’t want an overly strong Persia to compete with them for control of the Persian Gulf and even South Asia. This is also the reason why the Han Dynasty added warships to its guarantee to the British, because it targeted the British weakness.

Compared with Britain, which is relatively easy to talk to, Tsarist Russia is not so polite. From the beginning, he directly hoped that Han would end its military cooperation with Persia.

Even after being rejected by Han, he turned around and launched a war threat against Persia. Although it ultimately failed due to the poor finances within Tsarist Russia, it also illustrated the ambition and barbarism of Tsarist Russia from the side.

So much so that the prime minister of Han Dynasty severely privately commented that Tsarist Russia was a polar bear that could never be fed enough, and that the bear's paws were always directed at other countries' territories.

Liu Peng’s evaluation of Tsarist Russia was: “Tatars with white skin!!”

It was also after that diplomatic turmoil that the relationship between Han and Persia gradually became closer, so much so that now more than a hundred Persian officers study as army non-commissioned officers every year, and there are also Persian students in Han universities.

If we include the increasingly prosperous trade between Han and Persia, then it is inevitable that Han will pay more attention to Persia.

In the severe foreign visit plan, countries that have had contact with Han, including West Asia, are on the severe visit list. And today, May 14th, the severe diplomatic visit ship has already arrived at Longjiang Port Off we go, the first stop is the British Empire! !
-

Eastern Persia, Bandar Abbas -——

Woohoo——

A steam sailing ship flying the dragon flag of Han Dynasty slowly sailed towards the port. On the shore, a large group of Persian workers were preparing for the port.

boom---

After many days of sailing, this merchant ship named Happiness finally arrived at the first port it docked in West Asia.

Bai Erwen stood on the bow of the boat and looked at the onion-style buildings outside. He couldn't understand why such strange buildings were so popular. ?

And he doesn't understand why these people wear veils like Indian women, and even more tightly. Bai Erwen Lion can't figure it out.

He was thinking about this problem until the moment he got off the boat.

Luo Daniu, who was next to him, had no such idea. At this moment, he was peeking around at the Persian women wearing black veils but with very graceful figures.

In Luo Daniu's view, these Persian women are stronger than Indian women, at least not as dark! !

Bai Erwen, on the other hand, did not have such free time as him and was looking for a hotel where they could rest on the street. Although they could live in public accommodation according to the contract, after staying there once, Bai Erwen said: "Who wants to do that?" Come on, who can live here? I can’t live here!!” ˜˜˜˜Finally, after walking around, comparing pictures, and speaking some English, the two of them found a small courtyard, where there was a family who helped cook, and the price was high. It's expensive, only 40 copper dollars a week. The price is just because the two of them are foreigners, so it's a big deal, otherwise it would be cheaper.

The family who cooked for them was actually a tenant. After hearing this, the landlord waived half of their rent before allowing this family, who had no contact with foreigners, to cook for Bai Erwen and the two of them. Their half-month rent was less than five copper yuan, which immediately made Bai Erwen and Luo Daniu feel like they had been cheated.

After getting acquainted with that family, Bai Erwen also took the transliterated Farsi book he bought from a local Chinese businessman and tried to understand the current situation in Persia with the family.

After talking and gesticulating, I reluctantly learned some seemingly ordinary news.

For example, the current king of Persia is Mirza, the third monarch of the Qajar dynasty. He has been in power for fourteen years, almost fifteen years.

In addition, there are some customs and customs in Persia, as well as sectarian conflicts within the True God Religion. This is also the strangest thing about Bai Erwen. They are all the same religion and believe in the same god. How come they are so clearly divided internally and even incompatible with each other? ? ?

In Bai Erwen's opinion, these two sects are very similar to Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. The Buddhists don't fight each other, so why are these guys fighting each other so badly? ?

Is it true, as the saying goes, that heretics are more hateful than heretics? ?

Apart from these, Bai Erwen didn't actually ask much. After all, this family was just a Persian civilian family. It was actually very rare to know who the king was.

As for more things about Persia, I actually learned them in hookah restaurants. [People in West Asia like to smoke hookah, a kind of cigarette with a long hose and a kettle. It was the most popular way of smoking before tobacco existed]

Because locals generally like to relax on hookah pipes, this provided Bai Erwen with a lot of information.

.............................................

"Hello, ma'am."

"Hello, dear oriental gentleman..."

In a private hookah restaurant, Bai Erwen was sitting at a hookah table opposite a Persian woman wearing a thin veil.

The woman is about 27 or 28 years old. She wears a necklace made of topaz around her neck. She looks like the wife of a wealthy family.

But what is strange is that such a married Persian woman actually smoked almost a pot of shisha with a young man with an oriental face in a hookah restaurant. If this was spread, it would probably cause a sensation throughout Persia.

After all, in a country with such strict ethics and ethics, the occurrence of such a thing is a huge breaking news in itself.

But this is also the case, which further illustrates the unusual relationship between the two.

"This is what you need." Bai Erwen took out the plum blossom cigarettes made in China from his pocket. There was a red plum blossom logo on the cigarette box, which looked extremely delicate.

"Why is there only so much??" After seeing that there was only one pack of cigarettes, the Persian woman named Lydia had an expression of dissatisfaction on her face.

"This is just part of it. If you really want it, I can bring you a lot." Bai Erwen explained quickly.

After hearing this, Lidya calmed down her emotions, and then said in a kind tone and English dialogue with a Persian accent: "Dear Bai, you know that the entire Persian cigarette market has How big, in fact, we even secretly drank your Han Dynasty’s fortress wine!!” (Because the Persian sect advocates Puritanism, things that degenerate people like tobacco and alcohol are not allowed to circulate in the country. But human nature That’s it, the more you don’t let them do something, the more they insist on doing it, and that’s how we got to this situation today)

When Bai Erwen heard this, his face was full of smiles, but in fact he only said one thing in his heart:

"These Persian guys are just sanctimonious and don't eat meat when they practice Buddhism. They are really good. They really drink and eat meat. The Buddha kept that in mind!!"

"Madam, please rest assured. I will definitely do what I promised you. In fact, we have a lot of these things on the ship. They were originally intended to be sold to those unscrupulous Turks, but as long as you can afford it, Price, what about this product..." Bai Erwen first hinted that he had a large batch of goods, but this batch of goods was owned by someone, in order to increase his worth.

Sure enough, after hearing what Bai Erwen said, the Persian woman named Lidia immediately replied anxiously: "Dear Bai, we are friends. As you said last time, I was the first person you made friends with in Persia. Friend, as a friend, you should understand what I mean..." Lidya did not hesitate to have a friendship with Bai Erwen for those goods, which shows how much these goods mean to him and even the people behind him.

After hearing this, Bai Erwen hesitated for a while, but it was these few moments that stirred up the Persian woman's heart.

"Okay, madam, I can give you a batch of goods each, but I want this number!!" Bai Erwen held out three fingers.

When Lydia saw it, she was surprised at first, and then breathed a sigh of relief. The money was nothing to the people behind her.

"Okay, when can the delivery be delivered?" Lidia agreed happily, and then anxiously asked about the delivery time again.

After all, on the surface, the trade between Han and Persia was not allowed to include these depraved things.

Someone did it last time and was later stoned to death.

This also made it difficult for Han cigarettes and alcohol to circulate in Persia for a long time.

For a time, those who had stocks early made a huge profit.

But it also aroused the curiosity and impulse of many Persians who did not smoke or drink before about the degenerate products of Han Dynasty.

At least Lydia, who is smoking plum blossom cigarettes now, is a typical example.

"The day after tomorrow, the delivery will be at the dock the day after tomorrow, no, in the city!!" Bai Erwen just said he would deliver the goods at the dock, then he realized something was wrong, and then changed the location to the city.

"In the city..." Lidya was obviously a little stunned. He did not expect that the oriental man in front of him was so bold and dared to deliver goods like this.

"Is there any danger?" Lidya couldn't help but remind Bai Erwen.

Bai Erwen waved his hand and said very nonchalantly: "I am a Han Chinese. No Persian dares to publicly search the identity of a foreigner from a friendly country. Moreover, we are friendly countries, aren't we?"

For some reason, Lidya always felt that Bai Erwen's words were not an answer, but a mockery.

After Lidia finished smoking the Hongmei cigarette, she left. Before leaving, she did not forget to settle the bill.

Bai Erwen, while smoking a hookah, murmured mockingly to himself:

"What the hell, it's true that a man can't be rich without windfall, and a horse can't fatten without night grass. This amount is worth my salary for several years, not ten years!!"

When Bai Erwen stood on the roof of this hookah restaurant and looked down, he seemed to feel that the whole of Persia was at his feet.

　Please give me a reward, please give me a monthly ticket

　　

　

(End of this chapter)