Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 347

"Europe and America, China, the military, culture, and next should be Africa."

The royal funds were then invested in East Africa, including supporting expeditions, resettling people to build up the local economy, and most importantly, transplanting cinchona trees from South America, a crucial raw material for producing quinine.

“Shah, we recently received news from our shops in Singapore, Malacca, Aceh, and other places that after deducting expenses and bonuses, the total profit over the past four years has reached 209 million riyals. Aceh is the fastest growing region.”

Saeed handed the ledgers to Nasser al-Din, as Iran expanded its influence in Southeast Asia. Local Chinese migrated to Sumatra, Lanfang, and Qinistan, where restrictions were least stringent.

"Didn't the people in Aceh say anything?"

"No, we are their brothers, not the Dutch. A considerable number of locals have converted, and the trend is even spreading throughout the island."

The Aceh kingdom in Sumatra never ceased its resistance against the Dutch, employing guerrilla warfare to inflict heavy losses on the Dutch army. Meanwhile, the war between Iran and the Netherlands showed other peoples that the Dutch were not to be underestimated, which emboldened them to resist. Therefore, from 1859 onwards, attacks against the Dutch in Sumatra increased significantly. Moreover, their weapons became increasingly sophisticated, seemingly aided by some foreign power.

The Dutch suspected it was Iranian, but lacked evidence. They could only continue to increase troop deployments; the Dutch East Indies were to the Netherlands what India was to Britain. Last year, the entire region provided the Netherlands with 4500 million guilders in revenue, a crucial sum for the country's economic development. Amsterdam would not relinquish it.

"The Dutch are on the verge of collapse, but they won't give up. What's coming next is likely to be a bloodbath."

Naserdin's attitude was clear: he wanted Lanfang, and the Netherlands wanted Sumatra to give it back.

"Yes, and Shah, this is Japan's trade situation. The total profit for the first few months of this year was 1100 million."

"Why so many?"

Naserdin was puzzled, but after seeing the situation in Japan, he understood. It was a famine.

Continuous torrential rains, floods, and typhoons in the Kanto and Kansai regions of Japan led to reduced crop yields. Pests and diseases such as rice blast further exacerbated the food problem. Rice prices rose from 1 koku 1 ryo to 1 koku 5 ryo, and even higher in some areas. The shogunate and local governments attempted to alleviate the famine by distributing relief grain and regulating the market, but with limited success.

Seeing an opportunity, Iranian merchants imported nearly 10 tons of rice from Vietnam and flooded the Japanese market. It was quickly sold out. However, grain prices are still rising, and a large quantity of rice is still en route, so the profit is expected to be even greater.

"Continue. Since we can't use that, let's control Japan with food. We need to keep them poor, otherwise, they'll become as disgusting as maggots sooner or later."

Naser al-Din instructed local merchants to find ways to buy as much land as possible from Japan. The Japanese obsession with rice presented an opportunity for dumping; given the current severity of the natural disasters, Japanese grain prices were certain to rise further in the coming years. This was a good time to buy more and drain Japan of its money. After the assassination of Ii Naosuke, the shogunate elected another pro-openness official as regent. The situation in Japan remained largely unchanged, yet not entirely unchanged; for example, the first foreign-owned factories appeared in the concessions in the southwest. More cheap goods flooded Japanese industry and commerce. In the economically underdeveloped northeast, the locals rallied around the shogunate, leading to a continued expansion of Iranian trade there. They even planned to build a large factory.

The Sendai Domain in the Tohoku region was the largest domain in the area, ranking third after Kaga and Satsuma. The region was rich in mineral resources, and the lord actively mined, developed the steel industry, and horse breeding. The funds provided by these industries were subsequently transferred to Iran after the closure of Mitsui.

The economic development of the Tohoku region accelerated, even surpassing that of the Southwest. This alarmed the Satsuma and Choshu domains, who frequently visited the Emperor, attempting to use his name to overthrow the Shogunate. However, Emperor Komei supported the Shogunate, rendering their efforts futile.

"Japan is doomed, whatever it may be, it's too dangerous."

The Shah still wanted Japan to be gone; his elimination would be good for the Far East. With bombs like these, who knows what other consequences might arise?

"Do you think that if we could control Japan's food market, would the locals rebel?"

"That's the natural state of the Shah; nobody wants to pay several times the price for food. Especially not Japan. According to our investigations, the Japanese love to eat rice. They eat very little of other grains. If rice production decreases, it could easily lead to famine, just like what's happening now."

Naserdin nodded, having come up with a new plan for dealing with Japan.

News of the Venice riots spread throughout Iran, and the Iranian people, especially those with investments in Italy, held little affection for the country. They were eager to expel the Italians immediately.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry lodged a protest with the Kingdom of Italy, demanding that they quell the uprising or face further confrontation.

As for the Kingdom of Italy, their mood was, to put it mildly, quite so. The newly appointed Prime Minister, Latazzi, was described as lacking in principles, but that didn't prevent him from becoming the new prime minister. He had previously clashed with Garibaldi when Garibaldi suggested attacking Rome, which was occupied by the French. Latazzi initially agreed to the action but later changed his mind and sent troops to stop it. You can't expect to provide support to a government like that.

Latazi promised to compensate Iran for its losses and ordered Garibaldi to withdraw from Venice, stating that the Kingdom's government would not support the rebels. This plunged Venice into dire straits; the Austrian Empire had already dispatched an army of 10 men, and Venice was in imminent danger.

Austria adopted a moderate approach, winning over local landowners and wealthy merchants while suppressing the lower classes. The nobles, however, felt better off in Austria, while the merchants and landowners feared the rebels' policies would harm their property, and thus they took sides. A month and a half after the uprising, the Austrian army began its attack on Venice, entering the city on the very first day.

Over the next three days, the rebels and Austrian troops engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Ultimately, outnumbered, the uprising failed, and Venice was recaptured by Austria. Garibaldi, along with 13 supporters, went into exile once again.

During this period, Iran suffered losses of 230,000 rials. Three people died and 69 were injured. These were the root causes of the bitter feud with Italy. His Majesty Franz also decided to accelerate economic cooperation with Iran. The vast empire was teetering on the brink of collapse and needed drastic measures.

(End of this chapter)