Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 114 Accelerating Colonial Expansion
"What? You've been attacked?"

Naserdin looked at the person in front of him and asked incredulously.

“That’s right, Shah. Those people are attacking us directly. My uncle and the others are holding the city. We need your support.”

Naseh explained their current predicament to the Shah and then pleaded for help. Given the current situation, it would be a miracle if they had survived this long.

"Bring Muhammad here, immediately!"

The war came so suddenly that it was not appropriate to use a regular army, so the legion he entrusted to Muhammad to form came in handy.

"It seems we have no choice but to fight this time. Even so, we must achieve something."

“Shah is wise. That’s how Britain gradually took India over. We can do the same.”

Nasserh told the Shah about the benefits of conquering the area, but Nasser al-Din was thinking about the expedition.

Soon Muhammad arrived, and Shah suddenly asked him if he had a mission. He dared not think about it and could only go to the office, where he met people about his age, but he didn't know what they did.

"Muhammad" Shah spoke. "How is the legion's training going?"

"Shah, recruitment is complete. We have recruited 3500 people from Herat, Kabul and Mashhad, and they are now training."

"No need for training, let's jump straight into combat. Our caravan has been attacked, you need to go and provide support as soon as possible."

That's incredibly fast, but Muhammad will soon be able to realize his value.

"Shah, where are we headed for our mission?"

"East!"

Well, his first task was to go to a place he knew nothing about. He had to find out everything.

"You can ask Naseh for details. Without further ado, you should set off immediately."

Since the Shah had issued an emergency order, they naturally had to set off quickly; the government had already given them the green light. Mohammed also summoned everyone to Bandar Abbas, where ships were already waiting.

"East, east, it seems this is the place."

Naserdin looked at the place Nasserh had mentioned, and considering that there was a large river in the area, it must be near the Mekong Delta.

"How did they get here?" Shah wondered, but in any case, since a fight had broken out, they needed to get something.

“Go and summon the Grand Vizier, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, and the Minister of War.”

Nasser al-Din sent for the Grand Vizier, and of course, colonization wouldn't be complete without the military, so the Minister of War was also invited. The military is always the most enthusiastic about expanding colonies, and sure enough, General Rouhani arrived before the Prime Minister. So when Amir finally arrived, he found Rouhani already waiting for him.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Rouhani expressed his understanding, saying that he had just arrived himself.

Seeing that the military and political leaders had arrived, Naserdin began to explain the purpose of his gathering. "Gentlemen, our country's expansion in Somalia is now under government control, but there are still many possibilities in the vast interior. Therefore, I hope to increase investment and control as much territory as possible."

The previous colonization by the chartered company had generated considerable profits, which the government coveted, so it allocated some funds in an attempt to increase revenue.

"Lawrence gave a detailed report before leaving. Our country now controls a large area of ​​land in Somalia, and it can be used to grow crops such as grain and cotton. I was thinking, why not divide these lands into several plots and sell them to people back home, raise funds from them, and then explore the land further?"

The Shah's words were met with unanimous agreement. While the government currently had ample funds, they seemed insufficient since the Shah ordered an increase in military spending to 600 million riyals annually. Furthermore, local infrastructure development needed to be expedited, otherwise, it would be vulnerable to being taken over by others.

“Shah, we need not only government institutions in Somalia, but also an army to prepare for any eventuality. In addition, we need to form exploration teams, have local farms cultivated, and, most importantly, we need a navy.”

Amir spoke of the things needed to build the colony, saying, "In total, it will require 100 million rials. This money can be allocated from the government, but our current policy is to focus on the domestic market, so we can only allocate a maximum of 70 rials per year. The rest will probably have to wait until we defeat Russia before we can continue to increase it."

The Shah acknowledged this figure, noting that Iran is currently using massive financial investment to acquire various factories and new equipment. They've also brought in Prussian officers to reform the army, and much more. Regarding colonialism, they seem to lack the resources now, but the royal family can undertake some of the tasks.

Iranian trading companies were experiencing rapid growth in Africa, and their management was also seizing land locally. This made the local Sultan feel that these Persians were not good people, so he wanted to drive them away. Unexpectedly, Lawrence simply fired two shots at the Sultan's palace with artillery, and the Sultan submitted, ceding the area south of Mogadishu as compensation. At the same time, all the Sultan's personal guards were replaced with people hired by the company, and Somalia became peaceful.

Moreover, while Naserdin claims to be interested in investing in industry, he is actually quite obsessed with land. In the Juba River basin, he had his company "purchase" over 10 acres of land for him, where he planted sugarcane and cotton and then sold them.

Although he wasn't as deranged as Leopold II, colonies aren't charities; what's the point of a colony if it doesn't make money? His colonial businesses were managed by trading companies, and the profits were simply deposited into their bank accounts.

"Currently, no country has realized how abundant the resources are here. We need to speed up our progress while Europe's attention is not yet focused on this area."

Oh, by the way, our businessmen have encountered attacks from local people in the East. I'm thinking, should the government establish another agency to handle affairs in the East?

Amir had no idea about this. Were Iranian businessmen really this active now? They'd even gone all the way to the East.

"Shah, how are our merchants doing? Are they alright?"

"It's alright for now, but Britain, France and other countries are all eager to go to the East, and we can't fall behind. Of course, we'll just do some ordinary trade."

Naserdin emphasized the word "ordinary," and Amir, seeing that there was nothing wrong, was relieved. Since their country's merchants had been attacked, an explanation was naturally demanded.

“Nowadays, European countries rely on trade for their livelihood, especially Britain. They produce goods that need to be sold, but other countries don’t need them, so they have to force them to buy them. Our country can also follow Britain’s example and develop markets to absorb the goods we produce. This will also increase the income of our people and make their lives less difficult.”

(End of this chapter)