Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 177 The New Conquest
"The country needs us now. No matter what it is, as long as we unite, there is no difficulty that we cannot overcome."

Everyone believes they are the driving force behind the country's progress, and now more people need to awaken so that Iran can become prosperous and strong. And they are working towards that goal.

Sadiq was chatting happily with them, almost to the point of releasing government documents. He dared not, though; a leak would at least mean execution.

Inside the Gulestan Palace, Nasser al-Din stared at the audacious proposal, chain-smoking. He never imagined that the war he envisioned for years to come would be so accurately predicted.

“Sadig, what an interesting person.”

The pipe tapped on the table, making a sound. Pezeshkian didn't know what the Shah was thinking; the mind of a monarch was not something most people could fathom.

"There are still conflicts between our country and the Ottomans. He wrote this well; he's a talented person."

Pezeshkian was relieved; it seemed the Shah was pleased with this. He quickly said...

“What the Shah said is true. The Ottomans have long coveted our land, and they will certainly take action once they see our achievements.”

The Ottoman Empire possessed some of the most fertile land in the Middle East, yet it failed to cherish it. The combined population of Mesopotamia and Syria didn't even exceed 150 million—wasn't that a complete waste?

Therefore, the strategy for dealing with the Ottomans had been in place since he ascended to the throne. Europe, Asia, and Africa were connected by the Middle East. If a country could be unified, it would be an invincible force.

Don't assume that only Britain is willing to destabilize other countries; Iran also wants to disrupt other countries. Otherwise, they would always extend their influence deeper into the Middle East.

At the latest cabinet meeting, the government received a document from Qing China requesting a higher price for weapons. Nasser al-Din approved it, and at the same time learned that Qing China and Iran were about to establish diplomatic relations. Their emperor appeared somewhat incompetent, and his health was extremely poor, despite being born in the same year as Nasser al-Din. However, he still made the final decisions on matters large and small.

According to Abdullah, many Qing officials were knowledgeable about foreign things and wanted to learn them for defense or to expand their own power. Perhaps Iran could cultivate good relations with a few of them to expand their trade.

"It is now clear that our country must further gain rights in the Far East. I suggest that we launch an attack on Siam immediately."

Rouhani, representing the military, suggested that their sphere of influence is currently too small and must be expanded, with Siam, which has a vast territory, being one of their targets.

"According to the report, there are many people in northeastern Siam who are not in line with their rule. If we can win their support, it will be very important for our continued rule."

Snap~ Snap~ Snap

The Finance Minister applauded. "Excellent, that's really good. If you didn't look at the national finances, I believe this is a very good plan." He then began to report on Iran's financial situation. After several years of reforms, Iran's fiscal revenue had increased to 3026 million rials, with industry, commerce, and trade contributing significantly. Expenditure had also risen accordingly to 2860 million rials, with the surplus used to repay debt, given their foreign debt of over 1 million rials.

“We can no longer increase military spending. If we do, the country will have to declare bankruptcy like Spain did. Do you know what the consequences will be?”

At best, we would be forced to sell our other rights and industries; at worst, national subjugation wouldn't be out of the question!

Rouhani slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Are you looking down on our army?"

"I'm just stating the facts. The Treasury will not give the expedition a single penny until there are new sources of funding."

No one expected the Chancellor of the Exchequer to be so assertive, daring to contradict the military. But given the situation, stabilizing public finances and foreign debt is indeed necessary.

"If Russia could pay compensation, even just 1000 million riyals, I would approve it."

Amir wanted to roll his eyes at these words. Didn't they realize that with Russia's stinginess, the probability of them making him lose money was less than the probability of France unifying Europe? Besides, they didn't have the money; their own foreign debt was like a mountain weighing them down, so where would they find the funds?

"Ahem! Right now, the priority is to reorganize the finances. I think Jiaozhi should have some surplus, and with the surplus from other places, we should be able to raise enough funds to cover four months of military expenses."

Amir tried to smooth things over, and in reality, his statement wasn't entirely unfounded. In recent years, the increased reliance on the Chinese in Jiaozhi (Vietnam) had significantly boosted the local economy; the silver they had donated had yielded substantial trade profits. If they were to donate again, it would likely sustain the economy for some time.

"That's wonderful," the Finance Minister said, and the meeting fell silent. Amir had no choice but to announce a recess. This expeditionary force was actually approved by the Shah, who had to search the world for money to keep it afloat.

Nasser al-Din was aware of Iran's financial situation, so this expeditionary force aimed to utilize Far Eastern resources as much as possible to resolve the war in the shortest possible time. He also intended to use spoils of war to offset some of the expenses.

Banque de l'Indochine agreed to pay 600 million riyals, and Shah agreed that the bank would issue its own currency in Cochinchina—the Cochin riyal—with the exchange rate tentatively set at one to five.

With these resources, Jiaozhi (Vietnam) began its operation. A pretext arose quickly: on August 6th, a merchant ship flying the Iranian flag anchored in Bangkok. At this time, Iran and Siam had no diplomatic relations. The king sent men to inspect the ship, but they refused to cooperate and the ship and its goods were immediately seized.

Bahram sent envoys to Bangkok demanding the release of the sailors and an apology. The king at the time was Rama IV, who was still somewhat fearful of foreign powers and thus agreed to Iran's demands. However, the day before the treaty was to be signed, a riot broke out in Bangkok, with attacks on the Iranians resulting in one death and three injuries. This was a serious problem.

Meanwhile, the two countries were at odds over the Cambodian issue, and Rama IV decided to mobilize troops to attack Cambodia. This frightened King Andong, who quickly reported the news to Saigon.

(End of this chapter)