Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 437 Choosing Sides in South America
The former port of Blanca is now Polis. After capturing it, the governor moved the capital here. It is 550 kilometers away from Buenos Aires, and Patagonia finally has a large port capable of accommodating cargo ships.

Governor Mustafa and his officials welcomed Prince Abbas. In the past, special envoys were sent, but the Shah sent his prince instead. Does this mean they are about to take action against Argentina?

Behind Abbas were his mother's family, the Shamari tribe. These were skilled warriors who wanted to earn military merit in the New World.

After aligning themselves with Iran, the Shamari tribe experienced a rapid expansion of power. They not only gained control of a vast area of ​​Najd but also became the most powerful tribe on the peninsula. Their families controlled the wealthiest parts of Najd, and many tribesmen held high-ranking positions in Dhahran, Riyadh, and the military. However, their immense power aroused the Shah's suspicion. He began transferring tribesmen to Tehran to serve as members of the Council of Experts or granting them residences and status as urban nobles, while their troops were incorporated into the government army.

In order to maintain their power, the Sammae tribe began to seek influence overseas through the Abbasid prince. South America became their focus, and many described this movement as a great conquest of the Americas.

The Sammae tribe contributed significantly in manpower and funds to Abbas's trip to the Americas. A total of 4500 tribal warriors arrived, carrying a large quantity of weapons. This was Abbas's source of confidence.

Of course, Abbas wasn't overly arrogant; he was quite respectful to the governor and other officials. It's simple: his father was always watching him. If any bad news about him reached Iran, his father would immediately have him brought back.

His mother's family provided him with a basic foundation at best; he had to fight for what he wanted himself.

"Hello, Governor Mustafa."

Abbas gazed upon this city thousands of miles away; Polis had now incorporated many Persian influences. Cattle and sheep from the Pampas, and wheat from the southern La Plata, were shipped from here to Iran.

Yes, despite the freezing relationship between Iran and Argentina, trade between the two countries has not stopped, with goods from the inland regions often being exported here rather than from Buenos Aires.

"Your Excellency, please describe the current situation."

When His Highness asked this question, Mustafa immediately had someone bring over a map. He then personally explained it to the prince.

"Your Highness, we have acquired Polis and a vast territory in the south. However, the population so far is only 50, which is clearly not commensurate with the current size of our territory."

There is still a large amount of undeveloped land along the border with Argentina. Furthermore, the mountain range separating it from Chile makes transportation difficult, necessitating a large-scale military buildup on the other side for defense.

This is Patagonia's weakness: the southern climate is too harsh, and the population is too small, unlike the La Plata plain, which has a stronger carrying capacity. One to two thousand immigrants per year is too slow; at this rate, when will the population ever reach a million?

For security reasons, Patagonia has a universal military service system. All adult men are required to serve in the military, and women are trained in medical supplies production and first aid. This allows the country to field an army of 3.5 people, representing 7% of the local population.

As for the economy, 70% of Patagonia's exports are livestock and textiles, while its imports consist mainly of various industrial goods. With the development of animal husbandry, wool textiles and food processing industries have also emerged, leading to the development of some small-scale industries in Patagonia. However, compared to parts of Argentina, it still appears too desolate. All these factors forced them to move north and seize the La Plata plain.

"Argentina isn't a monolithic entity either. Essentially, it's Buenos Aires acting as a single force against the rest of the country. Taking Buenos Aires would significantly weaken Argentina's overall strength." Abbas was also catching up on his knowledge of Argentina. This is actually a common problem in South America, where the capital city consumes 50% to 90% of a country's resources and manpower. Besides Argentina, there's Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Santiago in Chile, Lima in Peru, and Sucre in Bolivia. Brazil is somewhat better off, thanks to its long coastline and abundant resources, boasting numerous port cities. Other countries are in a worse situation; they didn't develop properly during the colonial period, and this has only worsened since independence.

"But Argentina also considered this point. They built three lines of defense near Buenos Aires and constructed 15 fortresses, so it won't be easy to take them down."

Argentina originally had approximately 8500 regular troops and a naval squadron consisting of four steam-powered units. Due to concerns about Iran, the military has been increased to 25000 in recent years. A mobilization law was also enacted, requiring all adult males in Argentina to serve in the military when necessary. Based on Argentina's population of one million, they could mobilize nearly 100 men.

"Can we try to gain the support of other countries?" Abbas asked.

Mustafa looked troubled. "It's a bit difficult. Although Brazil and Argentina don't get along, their emperor is a devout Catholic. Chile is temporarily neutral. As for the others, we have signed trade agreements with Bolivia and Peru, and we recognized Uruguay immediately."

However, none of them will form a military alliance with us; the only one that could be is Paraguay.

Even with the current situation at play, Paraguay needs a reliable ally to distract Argentina. Otherwise, it fears it won't be able to defeat the Argentina-Brazil-Uruguay trilateral alliance.

The first contact between the two sides was in May of this year, when Paraguayan President López sent a messenger proposing that the two countries form an alliance to jointly deal with Argentina, with the Beljome River as the boundary, the north belonging to Paraguay and the south to Argentina.

Nasser al-Din was aware of this, but he was primarily focused on the Austro-Prussian War at the time and politely declined the offer. However, López persisted, sending another messenger in June, followed by visits monthly. Eventually, Abbas learned of the situation.

"I think we can agree to his request."

The prince's words surprised the governor. Of course, if it weren't for the Arab warriors behind him, he would have immediately tried to dissuade him.

"He made it very clear that both sides would jointly divide Argentina, which means that an internationally recognized country would recognize our occupation of Argentina."

Even if Britain were to invade, they would have to consider the international situation. Yes, this is a fast pace, but isn't Britain fast too? Their territories are spread all over the world, while we only have this little bit of land. They possess Australasia and Canada; we are merely adding a tiny bit of territory.

This is something that should make everyone ashamed. You mean by "a little bit" that you're talking about annexing a country of over a million square kilometers? That's incredible.

Of course, Prince Abbas said that if there was a failure, the responsibility would be entirely his and no one else would be harmed. This reassured some people, but it was still dangerous, so it was better to discuss it with the Paraguayans first.

(End of this chapter)