Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 488 Planning
Naserdin was reviewing documents in the Peacock Hall, a half-cup of cold black tea on the gilded tea table in front of him. Seeing Musharraf enter, he asked without looking up, "Have you heard about Kerman?" His voice was eerily calm.

"Yes, Shah, the locals seem unwilling to change anything."

However…those who oppose land surveying are not all acting out of self-interest. Some villages are genuinely worried that the new tax system will…”

“Worried?” Shah suddenly burst into laughter, the sound echoing under the dome. “They’re worried they can no longer report three hundred acres as one hundred! They’re worried they can no longer force farmers to pay off debts with seventy percent of their harvest!” He slammed his hand on the gilded table, making the crystal ink bottle clink. “This is Kerman’s report: the local farmers are going to hand over 70% of their harvest to the landowners, and the landowners don’t even have to pay taxes!”

Musharraf had assumed the Shah, secluded in the palace, was not fully aware of the realities on the ground. Now he realized the monarch had never ceased his secret investigations. “Your Majesty,” he straightened, boldly meeting the Shah's gaze, “that is precisely why reforms must continue. But perhaps we can try a different approach.”

Shah nodded. "This is no ordinary matter; we must strike hard. We must send the Third and Fourth Corps to Kerman."

These words startled Musharraf; the Shah was preparing to send the army to force the landowners to surrender. That was truly ruthless.

“Shah, while military intervention could have immediate results, it might leave behind hidden dangers,” he carefully chose his words. “Those landowners have been entrenched in the area for centuries, with marital ties to tribal elders and imams of mosques. A forceful crackdown might only incite wider unrest.”

“Rebellion?” Naser al-Din pulled out a stack of yellowed land deeds and slammed them on the coffee table. “Look at this—Mahmud Khan, the largest landowner in Kerman, nominally owns only two thousand acres, but actually controls the entire valley! Do you know how he did it?” The Shah’s finger jabbed heavily at a spot on the deeds. “He had twenty tenant farmers each register a small plot of land, and then turned them all into slaves through usury!”

Musharraf bent down to pick up the land deed, the dense fingerprints on the parchment sending a shiver down his spine. Most of the owners of these fingerprints were illiterate, only able to acknowledge the contract they couldn't understand by pressing their fingerprints. At the bottom was a fresh, bloody fingerprint, next to which were the words "voluntary mortgage" written in crooked handwriting.

“Last week, an old farmer went to Mashhad to appeal,” the Shah’s voice suddenly grew weary, “his son was beaten to death for not being able to pay his debts, but the local court ruled it was ‘just debt collection.’” He twirled the lion head signet ring on his left hand. “Do you think a place like this deserves to be treated gently?”

"Shah" Musharraf took a deep breath. "But the Third Army Corps just suppressed tribal conflicts in Khorasan last year. If we were to transfer it to Kerman again, I'm afraid..."

He deliberately left his sentence unfinished. Both of them knew that if the suppression continued, the local terrain would surely provoke a strong backlash.

"I know what you're thinking, but this is something we have to do in this situation."

Nasser al-Din decided to use force to suppress the local unrest, but he also realized that the government did not have a formal intelligence agency.

Iran's current intelligence agencies include the Shah's own spy network, the General Staff's intelligence section modeled after Prussia, and the secret police established during Amir's era. Although these are three separate agencies, they each perform their own duties and there are few incidents.

But from last year's Russian spy case to the current Kerman riots, Nasserdin saw that the secret police had failed in their duties. This made him suspect that something was wrong.

“Shah, I believe there are some problems here. Kerman has been at peace for over a decade, so why is he causing trouble when the land tax is being implemented?”

"What, are you saying there's a mole in the government?" Musharraf shook his head. "No, but Shah, as you know, many people within the government own large tracts of land in various places."

Nasserdin realized that the government was beginning to split. Things were fine under Amir's rule, but now that someone else was in charge, people were naturally starting to take sides.

"Speaking of which, didn't Grand Vizier and Farzadi have a fight in the cabinet before?"

Musharraf frankly stated, "There were some disagreements between me and the Minister of the Interior. However, they have been resolved."

The Shah suddenly raised his hand to interrupt, rising to walk towards the niche inlaid with peacock blue tiles. He took a leather ledger from a hidden compartment and slammed it down in front of Musharraf. The open pages were filled with densely packed names, dates, and numbers—year, month, how much bribe a certain official received from a certain landowner. The latest entry was from three days ago: "Minister of the Interior Farzadi received two gold bars from Elder Kerman."

“You think I don’t know about these parasites?” Naserdin’s voice carried a dangerous calm. “But if we purge them now, the government will be paralyzed. The discontent that has been so hard-won cannot be allowed to erupt again.”

For the first time, Musharraf saw the Shah's predicament so clearly—the monarch was walking a tightrope, having to defend against a counterattack from the old guard while maintaining a facade of unity to prevent external enemies from taking advantage of the situation. The previous lack of resistance stemmed from the Shah's forced confiscation and control of their army, which greatly weakened their power, allowing the government to implement sweeping reforms.

Subsequently, during the wars against Russia and the Ottoman Empire, the conservatives were also united. Therefore, they remained inactive, but after Amir's resignation, they began vying for control of the subsequent reform movement.

Since change is necessary, it should be initiated by oneself. This way, one's own interests will not be harmed, and one's position can be secured.

“Shah, we cannot give in to them. Who knows what they are plotting behind the scenes? They control numerous departments. If we cannot remove them from their positions, the government will be doomed.”

This was a really serious statement—death. Musharraf had never said anything so harsh before. Nasser al-Din looked at him, trying to see any other emotion in his eyes, but there was none.

"Whatever it is, separate the police department first. The country needs a ballast to maintain stability, not what it is now."

In addition, intelligence on countries such as Russia and the Ottoman Empire also needs to be professionally analyzed.

The Shah handed a document to the Grand Vizier, a draft of the newly established intelligence agency. He would be in charge of the secret police and all intelligence agencies, both domestic and foreign, including the training and deployment of various spies.

"Professional matters should be handled by professionals, don't you agree?"

Musharraf agreed with the Shah, and of course, the Grand Vizier understood that the Shah wanted to thoroughly eliminate those who were secretly obstructing the government. No matter how deeply hidden they were, they had to be uprooted.

(End of this chapter)