Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 168 Moving forward
Cambodian King Anton was relieved that he had made the right bet. With Iran's protection, Cambodia could breathe a sigh of relief, free from the harassment of South Vietnam and Siam. Although the other side had taken away much power, they respected Cambodia's right to exist on this land. As long as there were no major changes, what was wrong with letting them rule?
Iran recruited 20000 Khmer soldiers to form an army in the region, which, together with those recruited in Jiaozhi (Vietnam), formed a colonial army to maintain local security. Besides South Vietnam, Iran also had to contend with another country—Siam.

Since the establishment of the Chakri Dynasty, Siam has been active on all fronts. It fought with Burma and the Nguyen Dynasty, forced Cambodia to cede territory, and before that, it conquered Vientiane and made Luang Prabang and Champasak vassals.

Currently, Siam, the Nguyen Dynasty, and Burma are the three major powers in the south. Burma to the west was severely weakened in its war with Britain, and the Nguyen Dynasty to the east has just suffered a major defeat. Only Siam has not been affected by any foreign powers. Iran wants to expand into Jiaozhi, so war with Siam will break out sooner or later.

Another ship departed Saigon; this was the 40th ship this month. Bahram silently kept track.

The Governor's Palace sits atop the highest point in Saigon, offering panoramic views of the city. Since its opening to the public, numerous ships have docked here, contributing to the local economic boom.

Rice is the main agricultural product in the area, and a few years ago it accounted for 80% of local exports. However, such a single export is clearly unhealthy, so the governor began to promote cash crops such as coffee and cotton to increase income.

"My lord, our men have been blocked three times in the northward journey, each time in the Kong'en Falls area. That place is too steep; the only way to get through is by taking a detour."

As the surveyors explored, the map gradually expanded. According to the introduction, going up the Mekong River leads to a country called the Kingdom of Champasak, and further north lies the important city of Vientiane.

"Since we can't get up here, let's try other places. How are our negotiations with Siam going?"

"The King of Siam was not too keen for us to go to Vientiane and Luang Prabang, but they were willing to allocate a piece of land in Bangkok for our merchants to use as a trading post."

It seems this king can't grasp the situation either. We need to show him a little shock.

Driven by colonial needs, the Iranian government began developing its navy and repeatedly assured Britain that it would not threaten India, even stating that it would not hold Britain accountable if it sank Iranian warships.

Seeing that no amount of pressure would work, Britain tacitly accepted the presence and expansion of the Iranian navy. However, Iran readily agreed to Britain's demand that Iranian warships not loiter near India.

With Britain's tacit approval, Iran officially launched a major naval construction program. Coincidentally, the emergence of propeller-driven steam-powered frigates provided them with an opportunity to develop their navy. In 1850, France built the world's first battleship with a steam engine as auxiliary power—the Napoleon. Seeing this, Iran directly imported technology from French shipyards and recruited skilled personnel at high salaries; at least for now, they couldn't afford to fall behind.

Last year, in October 1853, the 1250-ton displacement INS Taymeesp was launched in Bandar Abbas. This was Iran's first steam-powered warship, tasked with patrolling the Somali coast. Naturally, Britain and France began a new naval race. To avoid excessively provoking Britain, Iran did not plan to build too many, aiming only for a middle-ranking position.

Iran lacked a large naval force in the Far East, prompting its shipyards to begin building warships to supplement its fleet. Meanwhile, Vietnam (Kochi) ordered three warships, intending to demonstrate its strength to Siam and South Vietnam. In fact, Iran's growing influence not only attracted British attention but also heightened tensions between the Netherlands and Spain. The Netherlands controlled islands like Java, while Spain controlled the Philippines. Initially, they were not concerned, but Iran's lenient attitude towards the Chinese made them suspect the other side of wanting to annex their colonies, thus prompting them to exercise caution.

In reality, Iran has no real interest in their colonies. Especially the Philippines—a place so eager for independence is better off without. (The Philippines is constantly rebelling in Victoria 3; I can't stand it anymore.)
Now, not only does Vietnam not cost Iran too much money, but it also pays 90 rials in taxes every year. And for greater benefits, they are already preparing for a second war against South Vietnam.

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News of the failed attack reached Grand Duke Constantine, whose morale was shattered by the loss of tens of thousands of men. Iran's sudden surge of power raises questions about whether they possess some advanced technology. Regardless, if the Russian army continues its advance now, it's unlikely to achieve better results.

But what could he do? He'd already spoken. He couldn't very well contradict himself! Now he faced two problems. First, the news of the heavy losses couldn't be hidden; it would only further demoralize the troops, and he had to boost their morale. Second, he needed to win. The situation was already extremely unfavorable for the Russian army. If they failed in the Caucasus, Russia might as well just surrender.

He had a preliminary idea for boosting the soldiers' morale: to use their worship of the Tsar and the religion to inspire them. As for defeating the enemy, that required first scouting their deployment.

Moreover, he harbored a belief that a direct assault wouldn't stop the enemy's advance. Had he not provoked a large-scale battle between the Russians and Persians at Monor, resulting in so many troop losses, he was confident he could halt the enemy's advance at Yekaterinodar. Now, however, he could only lead his soldiers to find a way to hold off the enemy's attack at Rostov.

While Constantine was searching for a way out for the Russian soldiers, Salami was also making preparations to counter the Russian forces.

He looked at the generals sitting in front of him and said, "Next, it's time to expand our encirclement and annihilate this army before their main force arrives. But before that, to prevent the enemy from making a desperate move, we need to coordinate an attack."

As Iran prepared to ensure the Russian army's escape, Grushenko, as a target for annihilation, had already thoroughly investigated the current situation.

As the staff officer recounted the plan, the Persian deployment was already forming in his mind: to attack key transportation routes while sending cavalry to monitor other vast areas.

This tactic was specifically designed to counter large-scale Russian troop buildups, as they knew the Russians wouldn't be able to travel elsewhere and would only be able to use major transportation routes. Indeed, this was the case; the remaining 60,000 Russian troops had no other way to pass through, and returning to Rostov in batches would make them more vulnerable to attack. Therefore, a rapid return was the best option, making major transportation routes the only choice.

(End of this chapter)