Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 106 How to Use Treasure

"Don't make wild guesses. We're discussing the issue of slavery right now. You should also think about border cities like Mashhad—what about the people there?"

"It's very simple. As long as the railway is built to Mashhad, the transportation of goods will be much easier. This will be the starting point for revitalizing the economy."

The government is currently allocating relatively little funding to the eastern region, as the western region is a key investment target. If they could acquire more land, they would naturally pay more attention to it.

"I think all you can do is say, 'Go and see if that place is suitable.'"

"No matter what, this must be prohibited."

Nasserdin sat on the throne, watching the members of parliament below argue amongst themselves. This parliament served no purpose other than providing a platform for them to vent their frustrations, and ideally, it was completely useless.

"Shah, this is the plan to ban the import of slaves. Please take a look."

This is nothing new; it simply stipulates a time limit for banning the import of slaves, while maintaining the status quo for domestic slaves, but encouraging slave owners to return the freedom of their slaves.

"Let's do it this way. It's funny to watch them argue. If we really hand the country over to them, they'll never become strong, even if it takes 1000 years."

Giving parliament real power is impossible, at least not during Nasser al-Din's rule. What can they do besides sabotage it? The government is focused on long-term interests, while members of parliament, preoccupied with winning elections, tend to prioritize short-term gains—a clear conflict.

So as long as they don't obstruct government policies, let them argue as much as they want.

“Okay, Shah, the government will talk to them after this is over.”

This is standard practice: after everyone has discussed the matter, the government will meet with the leaders of both sides to discuss the issue and reach a compromise. This also helps to avoid extremism.

"That's it."

Naserdin then left the meeting; these were matters for the Grand Vizier, not for him anymore.

As soon as he stepped out of the venue, Saeed came up to him. Naserdin was puzzled, as Saeed was supposed to be waiting for him in the palace.

“Shah, I have something important to report.”

"Huh?" Naserdin was puzzled. He hadn't been sent on a diplomatic mission to any other country. Could it be that Russia had made some move?

"Please invite Shah back to the palace."

He then had Naser al-Din get into the carriage and returned to Gulestan Palace as quickly as possible.

As soon as they arrived at the palace gates, Naserdin sensed something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He could only follow Said inside to see what this urgent matter he had mentioned was.

Entering a large room next door, Nasserdin was dazzled by the chests and boxes of gold and silver inside. He had never seen so much wealth in his life.

“Where did all this come from?”

As Naserdin spoke, he stroked the objects, and when he saw a small golden elephant, he guessed what it was: this must be the temple in India that they dug up. "The Shah is asking you, speak now."

Naserdin looked at the two people beside him, and Shah's gaze also made Muhammad and Adil feel the pressure.

“I have met Shah. My name is Muhammad, and he is Adil. These things are what we brought back from India.”

"Just as I suspected," Nasserdin nodded. "I understand. But I'm curious, how did you dare to go directly to India? Could you tell me the details of the process?"

At his command, Muhammad recounted in detail how they had investigated and moved the treasure. He also said that the British had laid a massive trap throughout the country, and that they had only managed to escape thanks to their cleverness.

Although some wavered in the face of astonishing wealth during this period, they ultimately chose rationality. Of course, the queuing also played a role; basically, everyone was scattered, and each person knew no more than three people in the queue. This ensured that each queue formed a check and balance, allowing them to think things through properly during their impulsive moments.

Upon arriving in Calicut, they quickly loaded onto a ship and left India, reaching Chabahar as fast as possible, where people were already waiting for them.

Fortunately, the journey between India and Iran is only two or three days; otherwise, having such a large treasure trove would have been quite nerve-wracking.

“Good, very good. Said, it seems your son has the same adventurous spirit as you.”

“Shah is right.”

Said was pleased that his son had gained the Shah's approval, which would allow him to obtain a government position in the future.

Naser al-Din first expressed his gratitude to the warriors who had returned from India. Of course, he knew that mere words of thanks would not satisfy them, so he continued, "Since you have made such a great contribution to the country, a feast will be prepared for you today, with plenty of delicious food."

Of course, I know this is not enough to reflect your achievements. Furthermore, I will provide each of you with a position and compensation, which I believe will be sufficient to make your trip worthwhile.

Upon hearing this, the two quickly expressed their gratitude to Shah, and at Said's urging, they went to report the good news to the others.

“Sigh, these people are worth training. He’s been a great help to me.” He then turned to Said and asked, “How much stuff is in here?”

"Shah, according to current statistics, there are a total of 40 tons of gold, 25 tons of silver, and 341 kilograms of various gemstones. In addition, we have also unearthed a lot of agate and Buddha statues..."

Naser al-Din listened as Saeed tallied the specific figures for this fortune; the long list was quite impressive. In current currency, the treasure was worth approximately £700 million, or roughly 7000 million riyals.

Of course, acquiring all of this wealth would take at least several years, especially the gold artifacts bearing Hindu symbols. He estimated that with the Padmanabhaswami Temple massacre in full swing, the British would be doing everything in their power to appease the public, and the emergence of a large quantity of gold and silver artifacts bearing Hindu symbols would surely point to the perpetrators.

In that case, a portion of it should be melted down and cast into gold bullion and stored in bank vaults; these will form the stable foundation of the riyal currency.

He also selected some jewelry to have remade for his new wife. His wife needed to look beautiful.

The rest should be sold off immediately, since none of the items in the secret room have been seen before and may have been obtained from some collector or craftsman.

Iran is currently short of money, and this sudden influx of funds allows it to implement more plans to acquire a continuous stream of wealth. While it's hard to admit, the law of the jungle is very prevalent at this time. The strong prey on the weak; those who are not strong will only be swallowed up.

(End of this chapter)