Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 173 Subsequent Impact
Besides territorial gains, the war brought Iran many other benefits. Various countries began to recognize the existence of a nation in the Near East capable of standing one-to-one with Russia, and sent ambassadors to establish diplomatic relations.

Portugal, Spain, and in the Americas, the United States, Brazil, and Chile all discussed establishing diplomatic relations with Iran. Iran's diplomacy has been greatly enhanced.

Of course, Iran's current tasks remain economic development and expansion. As a peace-loving monarch, finding more land to cultivate is Nasser al-Din's mission.

“Shah, according to our estimates, we need to invest 800 million riyals in the new territory, plus the cost of severing soldiers, sending troops overseas, and exploring Somalia. All of this money will have to come from the treasury.”

Nasserdin, observing the anxious Chancellor of the Exchequer, figured things weren't too bad. After all, Russia, with a debt of 9 million pounds, could still wage war; Iran's 1000 million pounds was insignificant. Moreover, Iran's finances were currently quite healthy; they simply needed to actively seek new sources of funding.

This source of revenue naturally came from the Far East. According to Shah's instructions, after this deal, the Chamber of Commerce refused to do any more business, citing a lack of goods. However, the other party provided a lot of money. The Eastern King directly took out 500 million taels of silver to purchase 50 cannons, 40000 cannonballs, 15 guns, and countless bullets.

There was no other way but to make this last deal and then run. And because it was urgent, the other party added an extra 50 taels for the expedited process. As for why it was in such a hurry, it was because the Qing government in the north was beginning to realize that the enemy's weapons were better than theirs, but both Britain and France claimed that they had not sold any weapons.

You say there's no such thing as no such thing? Humph, I believe you!

With no other options, the Qing emperor had to resort to a desperate measure: ordering local officials to train local militia to suppress the rebellion.

In fact, some local warlords had already begun training armies to defend their homes. Zeng Guofan trained 6500 men, plus artisans and others, totaling 17,000, known as the Xiang Army. Then, they were all wiped out by the enemy, and Zeng Guofan himself attempted suicide by jumping into the water, but was rescued by his subordinates.

After the dive, a question suddenly occurred to him. The weapons in the hands of those long-haired rebels didn't seem to be homemade; they must have been purchased from other countries.

Soon, according to reports from his colleagues operating in the Jianghuai region, large merchant ships had recently been traveling between Jiangning and Shanghai, and upon investigation, it was found that they were trading with a foreign trading company called Saipa. This was an Iranian-owned trading company that owned a large amount of land in Shanghai.

That confirms it; it must be weapons sold by Iran to the Taiping Rebellion. Speaking of Iran, he'd heard from a colleague in Beijing that it was a western country, and that they'd recently discussed establishing diplomatic relations with Prince Gong.

His understanding of Iran was limited to this, but he knew that without cutting off the Taiping Rebellion's aid, eradicating them was a pipe dream.

Of course, given the current situation in China, it would be impractical to directly tell Iran that it could not sell weapons. And if you don’t have any evidence to prove that the other side is secretly providing weapons, it might trigger another war.

Therefore, the most direct solution is for them to buy as well, preventing the Taiping rebels from doing so. It's just money; the Qing Dynasty has plenty. Increased trade with the Far East is a significant source of revenue for Iran, and naturally, Nasser al-Din wouldn't mind promoting development in the East to gain even more income. Unlike Britain and France, Iran only wants to make money.

"Our trade routes in the East need to be guaranteed, and normal trade with Qing China will be an important source of income for our country. This requires the guarantee of the navy."

Nasser al-Din is preparing to visit Europe to see if he can secure some cooperation for Iran. After all, it's essential to fully absorb advanced knowledge.

Taking advantage of this victory, Nasser al-Din announced to the people that he would expand his harem, adding the daughter of the chief of the Shahmari tribe across the Persian Gulf and another daughter from a prominent family in Mashhad, in order to maintain the Shah's prestige in various regions.

The public is happy about this; whatever the victor does is right, and getting married and having children is normal and nothing to be ashamed of. Now they are more concerned about their own lives.

The populace embraced Western knowledge and ideas extensively. The introduction of potatoes enabled many farmers to have enough to eat, reducing the likelihood of famine. The emergence of new schools and modern factories also fostered the first generation of intellectuals and a bourgeoisie in Iranian society. These individuals were concerned with social issues and had a strong desire to participate in politics.

After the war, Russia's shackles were broken, and they gained more freedom to act, continuously increasing their influence.

The spillover effects of the Iranian and Ottoman victories were also evident, with the majority of the population in northwestern India being Crescent Moon Christians. Western missionaries vigorously expanded the influence of Christianity, while the colonial authorities used legislation to encourage local people to convert. These practices alienated and angered the Crescent Moon Christians, and made religious leaders in various regions feel that their positions were threatened and their rights were insecure, so they all fought back fiercely.

The long-standing conflicts between many in India's upper echelons and the British colonial authorities had reached an irreconcilable point. The current governor had planned to abolish the title of emperor and move the royal family from the palace to Qutb after the death of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II.

Furthermore, the colonial authorities not only annexed the Crescent Moon-ruled dependent states of Nagpur and Gase, but also stopped the annuities of Hindu princes and revoked their titles, among other things. These measures dealt a heavy blow to the nobility politically, and as a result, political leaders of both religions secretly promoted anti-British resistance movements.

After the victory in the war against Russia, the local Crescent Moon Christians felt that Christians were not invincible.

Another reason for the popular uprising was that people simply couldn't survive. The East India Company used privileges and discriminatory taxes to squeeze out and suppress various industries in Indian towns and cities. Besides monopolizing the trade of important commodities such as salt and tobacco, the company also used different taxes to cripple Indian merchants. For example, Indian merchants in Bengal couldn't get cotton from the Mumbai region because it was monopolized by the East India Company; when they imported it from North India, they had to pay an additional 30% import tax. Many marginalized Indian merchants, in order to survive, had no choice but to act as wholesalers, distributors, and retailers for the East India Company, and their original business networks naturally became resources for the East India Company without any compensation.

Handicrafts, commerce, and finance once formed the foundation of medieval Indian towns. Their decline led to the desolation of many cities, and some small and medium-sized towns vanished along with their traditional systems and former prosperity, remaining only in the dust of history. Large numbers of unemployed people roamed the streets, harboring widespread resentment. The seeds of rebellion took root, sprouted, and soon bore fruit.

(End of this chapter)