Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 167 Everything is going well

Undeterred by the hail of bullets, the soldiers charged toward the nearby Iranian positions.

Upon learning of this scene, Soleimani, who was observing the battlefield situation from the rear, exclaimed excitedly, "This is exactly the tactic I wanted! He did a great job!"

He then ordered his staff officer, "Immediately tell the front lines to use whatever means necessary—artillery, machine guns, muskets—to kill the Russian troops."

And that's exactly what the Iranian soldiers did; the Nadir-type machine guns once again proved their worth. The Russian troops were driven back again, but enduring heavy casualties, they finally reached the Iranian positions.

Grushenko roared and leaped into the trench with his bayonet fixed, followed closely by other Russian soldiers. The Iranian soldiers defending the position, aside from a few who had initially lost their men in the surprise attack, quickly picked up their bayonets and engaged the Russian soldiers in fierce hand-to-hand combat.

Such close-quarters combat scenes were commonplace on the battlefield. However, unlike the individualistic fighting of Russian soldiers, Iranian soldiers displayed excellent teamwork. They fought in small groups, relying on their teammates, and engaged the enemy.

In close combat, the vast majority of the fallen soldiers were Russians. Seeing their comrades lying in pools of blood, the Russian soldiers could no longer suppress their fear and were driven off the battlefield.

Grushenko, who had escaped in a sorry state, was furious, especially after seeing the casualty figures, which nearly made him faint. The Russian army had lost over 20,000 men, while Iran appeared to have suffered only 3,000 to 4,000 – a ratio he had never expected.

The Iranian side is also analyzing the battle, concluding that the main problem was insufficient frontline suppression weaponry. This doesn't mean there were too few machine guns on the front lines, but rather that too many were lost. Under the relentless attacks of the Russian troops, many machine guns failed to perform their intended function.

In response to this situation, Soleimani's approach was simple and brutal: he directly redeployed numerous machine guns from second- and third-line positions to reinforce the front lines. Sure enough, in the following days, under even more intense gunfire, the Russians were completely pushed back and unable to approach the Iranian positions.

Several days after the Russian army launched its offensive, the Iranians also began their own. Encouraged by their officers, the soldiers, with equally high morale, charged towards the enemy.

After 10 days of fighting, Grushenko could no longer hold out and retreated. The enemy's firepower was too intense; their casualties had exceeded 50,000 in the past few days, and if they didn't retreat, they would all likely be wiped out.

Iran has fortified its position at Yekaterin Nodar, but has also suffered over 4500 casualties. Now they just need to wait for other troops to join them.

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After Nasser al-Din returned to Tehran, Grand Vizier Amir reported the events of the past few days to the Shah. First, the peace talks with Russia, unsurprisingly, failed; the Russians showed no sincerity in negotiations and simply returned home.

Iran has already raised enough funds to sustain the war for a year and a half. As long as there is no large-scale collapse at the front, it will surely wear down Russia.

“Shah, there is another message from Qing, or more precisely, from their adversary.”

Upon hearing that it was the Qing Dynasty, Naserdin immediately became interested and asked, "What do they want?"

"They want to order more weapons from our country and have already paid the deposit." The last batch of weapons, produced at the Tehran arms factory and shipped to them through trading companies, received five-star reviews after use. They used these weapons to advance rapidly westward, with one commander even attempting to jump into the water to save himself.

The huge success with weapons further spurred the other side to order more weapons, and the trading companies also began to raise prices, after all, long-distance transportation was indeed costly.

Ultimately, they finalized a second military procurement contract, with the other party ordering weapons worth 400 million taels of silver. However, due to transportation issues, the price was increased to 450 million taels.

Such a contract naturally needs to be treated well. The Tehran and Isfahan military factories underwent a wave of expansion, which also led to the expansion of railways, ports, and steel.

Beyond military purchases, Iranian merchants have engaged in numerous trade activities in areas under their control. They buy raw silk and tea and then resell them to other countries, profiting from the price difference. This trade has alleviated Iran's financial difficulties.

"This kind of business can't last. Is the Qing government still unwilling to buy it?"

"Yes, Shah, the Qing government seems to have an innate aversion to weapons. They would rather use a broadsword than a gun."

The Iranian government negotiated with the Qing government. The Qing government sent a member of the royal family to negotiate with Abdullah. The member was quite interested in Iran, but His Majesty the Emperor was still somewhat resistant. Therefore, he only decided to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries, and other terms could be negotiated slowly.

However, East Asia has been quite lively lately. I heard that Japan, not far from the Qing Dynasty, also had its doors forced open by cannon fire. The Iranian Chamber of Commerce is also preparing to expand trade in Japanese ports; they have become the largest Crescent Moon Christian merchant group in East Asia and are continuously exerting their influence.

“Doing more business is beneficial. Iran must regain its influence in the world. Ideally, it should get the Qing Dynasty to relinquish its suzerainty over the South. We need to expand our territory and sphere of influence in Jiaozhi.”

Having a suzerain state is indeed quite troublesome. If Iran were to wage more wars against Vietnam, it would need to take into account the situation in Qing China, which would have to remain neutral.

The Jiaozhi region also began to develop, and Saigon gradually became an important port city. The number of ships docking increased, and countries such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands established trading posts in Saigon.

This situation has the greatest impact on Vietnam and Cambodia. A large portion of Vietnamese goods are exported to the world through Iranian merchants, while Iranian products are also sold extensively in Vietnam and Cambodia. However, because Iran's industrial capacity is relatively weak, the local natural economy has only suffered minor damage.

However, another change was the emergence of local Shia and Zoroastrian believers. In Saigon, the first mosque and temple were built, and missionary work began. Because Vietnam and Siam were sandwiched between them, many people saw Iran as their savior and converted to other religions.

Bahram also attempted to transform the region into a treasure trove for Iran. He abolished slavery in Cambodia, promoted local rice cultivation, and attracted Chinese merchants from the Philippines and Batavia to participate in construction. The Chinese merchants who contributed 400 million taels of silver to the construction received generous rewards. They were incorporated into the Iranian Chamber of Commerce and used their advantages to penetrate the Mekong River region, weaving a trade network for Iran.

So far, his policies have been successful. The local economy has developed, and with the growth of trade between East and West, Saigon's status will rise, and Iran's income will also increase.

(End of this chapter)