Persian Empire 1845

After Chapter 403 Agreement
"Shah, I have fulfilled my mission and signed an agreement with Britain."

Nasser al-Din looked at the signed Vienna Agreement and nodded in satisfaction. He had received news that British warships had left the vicinity of Muscat, and ships from the Malayan region had retreated to Singapore. Iran was safe.

"You did a great job, standing firm on Iran's interests and safeguarding Iran's national dignity."

This crisis allowed Iran to acquire territory on the island of Sumatra, further expanding its sphere of influence in Southeast Asia.

Sumatra boasts abundant mineral and agricultural resources, including not only oil, rubber, palm oil, tin, pepper, copra, and sisal, but also coal, gold, diamonds, rice, coffee, tea, and timber. Furthermore, its strategic location at the starting point of the Strait of Malacca makes it a vital gateway to South Asia, West Asia, Europe, and Africa. Iran needs to invest heavily here to transform Sumatra into an unsinkable fortress in Southeast Asia.

"Serving the country is our responsibility."

Having said all that, the next step is to govern Sumatra. The local population needs to be surveyed, the land needs to be developed, and the economy needs to be grown. As for funding, the government and Banque de l'Indochine will jointly contribute 1000 million riyals for initial investment.

“Give some funds to Malaya. I know Muhammad well; he's probably having a headache right now.”

Nasser al-Din knew that Mohammed was somewhat agitated, but what could he do? As a member of the royal family, he had to do something for Iran's interests. To appease him, Murad had already traveled to Malaya to meet with his brother.

"Shah, please rest assured, we will fully support the prince's rule."

Amir's words reassured Nasserdin considerably, but they still needed to discuss the joint troop deployment agreement for the Far East.

These were the official agreements, but there were also a host of other agreements behind the scenes for joint military intervention. These included forcing Korea and Japan to open their ports and seizing their colonies.

By this time, most of Japan had been invaded by British and Iranian forces. In particular, after Iran wiped out the Mitsui family, the richest family in Japan, British banks had already occupied half of Osaka.

Three years after the fall of the Mitsui family, the furnaces of the Osaka Mint continued to burn day and night. Coins bearing the British coat of arms were pouring in via merchant ships, gradually replacing the gold koban of the Tokugawa era. And due to treaties, no nationwide banking network like the Mitsui one had been established throughout Japan. Osaka's economy shrank by 30%.

Not only Britain, but Iran also invested heavily in the northeastern region, especially in debt-ridden daimyo. Iran used the privileges granted to them to build factories there, and the daimyo contributed land as shares to participate in profit sharing. For example, the Morioka Domain invested in a textile factory in Aomori, and the annual dividends accounted for one-third of the fiefdom's income.

The shogunate generally wanted to change this situation, and Britain also wanted to appropriately strengthen its power in the Far East to resist Russia. To this end, Britain sent advisors to assist the shogunate in carrying out reforms, and the current shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi, strongly promoted the unification of the court and the military, gaining considerable support.

However, there were still many people who opposed the shogunate. The Satsuma and Choshu domains, as well as those who advocated respecting the emperor and expelling foreigners, gathered in the southwest region, ready to deliver a fatal blow to the shogunate at any time.

As for Korea, the monarch at this time was young, and his biological father ruled. He vigorously promoted a policy of national isolation, and none of the country's ports were open. This pained Britain, as it was unable to gain a significant share of the profits. As part of the agreement, Britain and Iran, along with France and Austria, would send troops to Japan and Korea to clear obstacles for the Shogunate and force Korea to open its ports, after which the spoils would be divided. As for the largest country, the status quo would be maintained, but Russia would also be barred from gaining any benefits.

This indicates that Britain has decided to abandon its support for Yaqub Beg in Central Asia, and the Far East is already preparing to send troops to eliminate this force. The Russians want to rescue him, but they are also preoccupied with the Polish situation. Perhaps once Poland is resolved, they can immediately turn their attention to supporting him, but what about Iran? Should they still be wary of him?

"The specifics still need to be discussed with the UK, but we only need to protect our business interests there; let them fight over the land."

Nasser al-Din is not keen on expanding further into the Far East; his focus remains on domestic affairs, specifically the development, stability, and independence policy he outlined with his ministers. These are the goals Iran must achieve in the future: economic development, social stability, and national independence.

At this point, Amir began to speak: "Shah, we have started allocating funds to Mecca, and we have also increased our investment in Africa considerably."

Iran has been most attentive to its African colonies, with substantial agricultural investments filling its raw material and food shortages and strongly supporting its industry. The railway construction in Mecca will transform local transportation, and a brand-new holy city will soon be born.

“This is our country’s weakest point,” Nasser al-Din said, pointing to Yemen with his cane. “The personnel selected must be able to solve the local tribal problems, and the local army should not be too large, so as not to provoke a British reaction.”

Britain also had a colony in Aden on the Arabian Peninsula, a strategically important port connecting India and the Cape of Good Hope. Britain tolerated Iran's occupation of a large part of the Arabian Peninsula because it was mostly sand and had no other value. However, this was conditional: Aden must not feel threatened.

"In Aden, the British have begun deploying 4000 troops there, seemingly to guard against us. Their investments in Egypt have also increased."

英国对埃及的经济渗透可以说是最厉害的，穆罕默德·阿里王朝的现代化建设耗资巨大，埃及外债从1850年代的300万英镑飙升至1862年的6800万英镑。外债的 60%由英国银行持有，年利率高达7-12%。

In terms of exports, cotton exports from the American South were disrupted, and the British textile industry turned to Egyptian cotton. British merchants monopolized the purchase of Egyptian cotton at low prices, and exports increased from 50 kantars to 250 million kantars, but at only 15 shillings per kantar, farmers' profits were severely squeezed.

"Egypt has become a British puppet state. For the sake of our country's security, I think it's best not to have too much contact with Egypt and to focus our attention on the Ottoman Empire."

"Yes, this crisis has brought us benefits, but we have also learned lessons. Next, we need to improve our industry. In the competition between nations, industrial strength will be the key."

Nasser al-Din reiterated his order to develop industry, stating that the government must promote the development of heavy and emerging industries. He emphasized that securing fiscal revenue from oil while vigorously developing other industries is the most important policy for the future.

(End of this chapter)