The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 344 The Persian Situation

In the second half of the seventeenth year of Tiangong, the monarch of the Ming vassal state, who was already sixty years old, began to send his offspring to Shuntian Prefecture.

The Ministry of Honors and Conferring Titles, composed of princes, dukes, and dukes in Beijing, has also been established and has begun to cooperate with the emperor in selecting successors for the monarchs and nobles of the vassal states.

Zhu Jianxuan's criteria for selecting an heir was to find a young man who was truly capable and not too arrogant, and who would naturally be recognized by the monarch and the nobles.

All the officially selected heirs to the vassal monarchs would return to their own countries and begin to go to war with their own armies.

According to the court's orders, they were stationed in southern India, western Myanmar, southern Persia, Egypt and the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

The local troops received unified training from the imperial generals, so that the armies of various vassal states could fight together under the command of the imperial court.

Zhu Jianxuan successively appointed Liu Biao as the Governor-General of the Indian Theater, Yang Yuchun as the Governor-General of the Western Regions and Central Asia Theater, and Tian Yiming as the Governor-General of the Arabian Theater.

Polish King Napoleon was appointed Governor-General of the Eastern Theater of War in Europe, and Archduke Karl, nephew of Austrian King Joseph II, was appointed Governor-General of the Balkan and Ottoman Theaters.

Zheng Ruian served as the admiral of the Mediterranean theater for Nelson, Nelson served as the admiral of the Indian Ocean theater, and Qiu Lianggong served as the admiral of the Baltic theater.

Several veteran generals, led by the retired Cao Zhendong, were arranged to serve as staff officers in the governor's offices of various war zones.

Zhu Jianxuan handled this matter with great fanfare, and the court issued a large number of appointment edicts one after another. A group of generals who were originally retired and enjoying their retirement were inexplicably surprised.

Because some people were too old to move and were bedridden, they were all appointed as staff officers.

But they quickly realized what the emperor was going to do.

The next war might be a war to unify the world. The emperor wants his former ministers to make achievements again so that their names can go down in history.

At the same time, engineering teams arranged by the imperial court also arrived in Poland with a large amount of engineering materials.

Construction of railways began from the coastal ports of Poland inland.

Military facilities such as barracks, warehouses, and airports were built in the border areas between Poland and Russia.

Russia, Shunde, and the Ottoman Empire can all learn what the Ming Dynasty is doing through their own information channels.

The Three Kingdoms had already been secretly preparing for war, and now they had made their preparations public and were no longer trying to conceal them.

The relevant personnel on both sides already know that future war is inevitable.

The United States no longer concealed its ambition to completely dominate the world, while Russia, Shun, and the Ottoman Empire wanted to remain free and independent countries.

The conflict between the two sides is no longer reconcilable.

At the end of the seventeenth year of Tiangong, Russia, Shunde and the Ottoman Empire formally signed the "Alliance Agreement of Free and Independent States" at Tsaritsyn in the lower reaches of the Volga River in Russia.

After the signing ceremony, the Russians suggested that the three countries work together to put pressure on Persia to join the alliance established by the three countries.

However, the Shunguo ambassador and the promoter of the alliance, Wubashi, did not recommend doing so:
“It will do us no good to force Persia.

"After the Ming Dynasty seized the coastal lands of Persia from Oman, it did not actively attack the inland areas of Persia.

"The current Qajar dynasty in Persia was a new dynasty that was reestablished during the civil strife in Persia when the Ming Dynasty attacked Oman.

"The current Qajar dynasty of Persia has not been attacked by the Ming Dynasty, nor has it been forced by the Ming Dynasty to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. The two sides still have some trade exchanges.

"The Ming people are mining for oil in the Persian Gulf, and the southern coast of the Persian Gulf is short of resources. The Persians can provide some grain in exchange for Ming goods.

“This is also the main reason why Persia is unwilling to join us now. They still don’t understand the current situation in the world and don’t know that their current state cannot be maintained for long.

“Once the Ming Dynasty completely conquered the so-called independent countries such as Shun, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Persia and Spain, there would be no possibility of maintaining their independence.

"But if we force the Qajar Dynasty to join us, it might lead to the Qajar Dynasty actively throwing itself into the arms of the Ming Dynasty, which would be more trouble than gain."

Osman's representative Alamdar Mustafa asked impatiently:

"Then what should we do? Persia is sandwiched between our two countries. If Persia does not obey us, our two armies will not be able to cooperate in the battle.

"In this case, even though our three countries have formed an alliance, we can only continue to fight on our own."

But Wubashi said:
“We need some means, some gentler means that can make Persia cooperate without explicitly joining the alliance... at least not hinder our actions.

"For example, we ask Persia to allow our troops to pass through their borders and go to their country, and we can allow Persia to arrange troops to supervise our actions."

After listening to this, Mustafa said uncertainly:
"Will the Persians agree?"

Wubaxi reminded:

“We can let the Sultan make demands to the Qajar dynasty of Persia in the name of the Caliph and in the name of protecting the Muslim world.

“Persuade the monarchs of the Qajar Dynasty that even if they are unwilling to directly become enemies of the Ming Dynasty, they should not obstruct us.

“We can also offer some benefits, or even directly spend money to bribe the officials in the Persian palace.

"With this combination of soft and hard tactics, coupled with the support of the Muslim religion, Persia should have no reason to refuse..."

Mustafa nodded slowly after hearing this:
"I can try, but even if the Persians accept it, our actions in this form will still be greatly restricted."

At this time, Wubashi smiled and said:
"Guess what, once Persia allows our troops to pass through its borders, when Ming declares war on us, will it also declare war on Persia as well?

“Even so, when our fully armed army passes through Persia, how difficult would it be to suddenly attack and control the main cities of Persia?
"In any case, it's much easier than me attacking with force from outside and forcing Persia to submit, right?"

Mustafa and the Russian envoy suddenly realized:
"Given the arrogance of the Ming people, they would not send envoys specifically to persuade the Persians. They would probably just declare war together.

"At that time, Persia will have no choice but to completely turn to our alliance."

After the representatives of the Ottoman Empire, Russia and Shun State had discussed and reached an agreement, they each returned to their homeland with the agreement documents.

While getting the monarchs of various countries to approve the agreement, he began to expand the military and prepare for war.

The Ottoman Sultan also followed the advice and wrote a letter to the Qajar monarch of Persia in the name of the Caliph, persuading him to cooperate with the actions of the Ottoman Empire for the future of Muslims.

In the original history, the Ottoman Empire was the strongest Muslim country.

However, for a long time, the Ottoman Sultan did not take the initiative to formally use the title of Caliph.

Most of the time, in some informal occasions, some people complimented the Sultan as the Caliph of Islam.

Until the 18th century, the influence of European countries continued to expand in the Mecca region, threatening the interests of the Ottoman Empire and the Mecca countries.

The Ottoman Sultan began to formally use the title of Caliph to unite the Muslim countries.

The monarch of Persia at this time, Fateh Ali Shah, was the second monarch of the Qajar dynasty and the nephew of the founding monarch.

After receiving the letter from the Ottoman envoy, Fatah was also very conflicted.

Fatah was no fool. He knew that if he allowed the Ottoman Empire and Shun State to transit through Persia to cooperate in the war, it would most likely anger the Ming Dynasty.

But the Ottoman Empire and the Shun Kingdom did sandwich Persia in the center, and the power of the two countries was also not something Persia could resist.

The Ottoman Sultan also invoked the name of the Caliph and the name of Islam.

Fatah felt that he had no reason to refuse forcefully.

Fatah was in a dilemma and did not dare to make a decision easily. He asked Osman's envoy to rest first and summoned the main ministers to discuss the matter.

Several of Fatah's ministers received gold, silver and other valuables from Osman and Shun, so they naturally spoke up for Osman.

Several people took turns to comfort Fatah, claiming that Persia had an obligation to assist the Caliph, and even if it did not fight against the Ming Dynasty, it should not be an enemy of the Caliph.

But there are Ming people in the Persian court. They will certainly consider the interests of the Ming Dynasty and know what the Ming Dynasty court is preparing to do now.

After the Ming Dynasty began to fully expand into the world, shrewd and clever Ming merchants also traveled all over the world.

It is very difficult for Ming Dynasty merchants to become officials in the Ming Dynasty, but it is not difficult to become officials in small countries overseas by making use of their familiarity with the Ming Dynasty and their experience in the history of China.

Their identity as Ming people also provided a special protective effect, and ordinary political struggles did not dare to directly target Ming people.

The more powerful ones among them have already sneaked into the Persian palace.

In fact, there were some people from the Western Factory mixed in with the Ming officials who were hanging out in foreign courts. Several Ming officials at the scene saw that Fateh was almost convinced, so they considered whether to persuade Fateh for the benefit of the Ming Dynasty.

While ordinary Ming merchants were still considering, Ma Weiguo, who came from the Western Factory, had already taken the initiative to stand up:

“Your Majesty, what Osman and Shun are doing now has been played out many times in the history of Shenzhou.

"It's a typical strategy of attacking Guo by pretending to be the enemy.

“Your Majesty, please think about this: the fully armed Ottoman and Shun armies, ready for battle, are deep into Persian territory, passing through the main cities of Persia.

"If they suddenly launch an attack at this time, can the Persian army, which is not prepared in advance, resist?
"They are using the excuse of passing through Persia as an excuse to invade it.

"If a country wants to remain neutral between two hostile countries, it must not allow the army of either side to pass through its territory.

“Once it is allowed, either the country will be destroyed or the relationship with the other party will be completely broken.

“This is the historical experience of Shenzhou over the past two thousand years.

“Both Shun State and the Ottoman Empire know that there is no direct conflict between Ming Dynasty and Persia, and the two sides even have a lot of trade exchanges.

“If they force Persia to side with them, then Persia might directly side with the Ming Dynasty and become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty.

"So they adopted a more moderate plan, first to provoke relations between Ming and Persia.

"If the Ottoman and Shun armies did not actively attack and occupy Persian territory and cities when they passed through Persia.

“The entire march went completely smoothly, and Persia might consider this a very good result.

“But in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, this result can only mean that Persia has sided with the Ottoman Empire and Shun State, and Persia has signed a secret agreement with them.

“Otherwise how could they allow troops from other countries to cross the border without any direct conflict?
"Even if Persia repeatedly assured the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty would not dare to believe that Persia was really so honest. The Ming Dynasty could not rely on the country's reputation for the success or failure of the war.

“When the Ming Dynasty officially goes to war with the Kingdom of Shun in the future, it must also resolve the potential threat from Persia.

“At least we must prevent Persia from facilitating the military operations of the Ottomans and Shun.

“Allowing troops to cross the border is inherently a form of military support.

“So allowing the Ottoman and Shun armies to pass through meant that Persia actually sided with the Ottomans and Shun and joined their alliance against the Ming Dynasty.

"This is another attempt to sow discord."

These principles are not complicated, and Ma Weiguo also raised the banner of Shenzhou's historical experience, which made Fatah believe it.

Even other Persian officials who had accepted bribes from the Ottomans claimed that things would not turn out that way.

Fatah has also adopted the mentality of preferring to believe it is true.

Fatah waved his hand to shut everyone up, and asked Ma Weiguo directly:

"Mr. Ma, what do you think I should do to maintain my relationship with Ming Dynasty under the current situation?"

Ma Weiguo immediately said:

"I have three options for you to choose from, which one would you like to hear first?"

When Fatah heard that there were three plans, and they were plans of different levels, he asked with great interest:
"Of course, listen to the best policy first."

Ma Weiguo said directly:

“The best strategy is to contact the Honglu Temple of the Ming Dynasty directly, apply to pledge loyalty and pay tribute to the Ming Emperor, and become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

"The general trend of the world today is very clear, the Ming Dynasty already controls four-fifths of the world.

"No matter how hard Russia, Shun, and the Ottoman Empire struggle, they will be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot when facing the Ming army, and will be easily crushed to pieces.

"Once the Ming Dynasty destroys these three countries, who will be left in the world? Only Persia and Spain will be left, right?
"Will Persia still be able to maintain a relatively independent status and be isolated from the Ming Dynasty by then?

“It’s impossible…

“Before the Ming Dynasty officially goes to war with Shun State, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire, if Persia can take the initiative to abandon the dark and join the light, it will cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to eliminate these three countries.

“You don’t need to do too much. As long as you prevent the three kingdoms’ armies from passing through the Persian border, you will have made a contribution to the Ming Dynasty.

“In the future, Your Majesty will at least be able to obtain the status of a prince of the Ming Dynasty, and your descendants will be able to continue to inherit the existing country and status safely under the protection of the Ming Dynasty.

“You no longer need to worry about rebellions in the country, nor do you need to worry about powerful officials rebelling, because the Ming Dynasty will make the decision for you.

"This is a great opportunity to join the Ming Dynasty world..."

Fatah could somewhat understand this principle, but now as a completely independent king, it would be difficult for him to voluntarily surrender and become someone else's subject without direct pressure.

Fatah hesitated for a long time after hearing this:

"What about the middle strategy?"

Ma Weiguo knew that Fatah did not have that much courage and it would be difficult for it to directly accept the most proactive strategy, but Ma Weiguo still wanted to express this direction.

Just like many ancient counselors, the main purpose of putting forward the best strategy is to pass the buck. The best strategy is actually equivalent to a "disclaimer clause."

I have told you the best plan. If you, as a monarch, cannot make up your mind and nothing good happens in the end, then you can't blame me.

Ma Weiguo continued to talk about his own middle strategy:
“The middle policy is to continue to maintain absolute neutrality.

“No direct dealings with the Ottoman Empire, Shun State, and Russia, especially prohibiting the troops of the three countries from entering Persia.

“No matter what they say, we won’t cooperate with them in anything.

“If they take the initiative to attack Persia, they can directly ask for help from Ming Dynasty, which will most likely support Persia.

“At the same time, it is highly unlikely that Persia will be forced to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

“The Ming Dynasty also does not want Persia, which does not cooperate with the Ottoman Empire, Shun State, and Russia, to completely side with these three countries.

"In fact, as long as Persia does not take the initiative to side with the Ming Dynasty, the Ottomans will not dare to really declare war on Persia, because that would just make enemies for themselves."

"Only absolute neutrality like this can maintain Persia's current status."

After listening to this, Fatah nodded slowly, but still said with some hesitation:
"But refusing Osman is a bit troublesome. Sir, can you tell me what your next move is?"

Ma Weiguo cupped his hands and said:

"The worst option is to contact both Ming and Ottoman Empire at the same time.

“On the one hand, we will directly join the alliance of the Ottoman Empire, Shun State, and Russia, while at the same time fully preparing for war.

"Allow the three Ottoman armies to pass through, but arrange for troops to monitor the entire process to prevent them from attacking Persian cities.

“On the other hand, he explained the situation of Persia to the Ming Dynasty. In order to avoid being attacked by the Ottoman Empire and Shun State, he had to obey them.

“I hope that Ming can understand your situation and at the same time assure Ming that Persia will never take the initiative to attack Ming.

"Once the Ming Dynasty takes the initiative to attack Persia, we will surrender directly to the Ming Dynasty and assist the Ming Dynasty in attacking Shun State and the Ottoman Empire as an internal response."

Fatah said uncertainly:

"This...why should we surrender directly?"

Ma Weiguo said very bluntly:
"According to my understanding, the Persian army is definitely no match for the Ming army.

"The gap between the two sides is as big as that between a three-year-old child with bare hands and a fully armed strongman.

"Persia will surely collapse on the battlefield.

"It would be more respectable to surrender directly, but stubborn resistance may lead to complete destruction."

(End of this chapter)