Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 499 Changes in South America
In the eyes of later generations, intelligence work should be like that of a 007 agent, capable of penetrating anywhere, but at this time, espionage was still the same operation of mutual intelligence gathering and bribing personnel. It was just a competition of which country's organization was better.

"Sir, this is a message from our spies in Constantinople. The Ottoman Sultan has secretly borrowed 8000 million francs from a French bank."

Hajizadeh is feeling the pressure. What does Sudan need so much money for? To rebuild the army? To buy warships? Or to launch a war against Iran?
"So many? What does he want to do?"

“We discovered that the Sultan had purchased a large amount of jewelry and paid a French designer to design a new palace.”

. . . . . . .

Hajizadeh was speechless for a moment. He then said, "In the future, try to report fewer of these kinds of cases. We are not the Sultan's eunuchs."

"Yes"

Hajizadeh perceived the Ottomans and Italy as a patient in need of saving and a cripple without legs. Their military, political, and diplomatic actions were incomprehensible; they clamored for restoring their once-great territories while possessing a military force incapable of carrying out their plans. If they couldn't even defeat Russia and Austria, who could they possibly defeat?
The British ambassador has been quite anxious lately, as the situation in South America has finally reached its most dangerous moment. Patagonia, in alliance with Argentine inland forces, has invaded Buenos Aires, and President Mitre has committed suicide.

Britain hasn't seen a country fall in a long time, and now this example is right before its eyes. This has significantly impacted Britain's South American strategy, as they fear Iranian influence could subsequently occupy Chile and Brazil, jeopardizing their interests.

But the first country to react to Argentina's defeat was not Britain, but France. The French Foreign Ministry condemned Iran's occupation of Buenos Aires and demanded that Iran return Argentine territory.

Napoleon III naturally wanted to expand France's alliances in the Americas. If he could force Iran to withdraw, the South American countries would see who the big brother was.

Iran did say something, but it wasn't worth it for them to directly negotiate with Britain and turn against a South American country.

Didn't they say Britain loaned Argentina £500 million, and Iran is willing to assume 80% of that, or £400 million, of the debt? This isn't unacceptable to Britain; as long as there's money, anything is negotiable.

Moreover, compared to South America, cotton from the Confederate States of America is more of an interest to them. While Argentina is also important, Chile and Brazil, which are even more important, are waiting for foreign investment.

Therefore, the British ambassador said this during his meeting with the Grand Vizier.

"Your Excellency Musharraf, Your Excellency Abdullah, our country is well aware of the situation in Argentina. As long as your country guarantees that it will not continue to wage war in South America, then we can sign an agreement immediately."

“No problem! Shah is concerned about the war in South America. It is caused by the aggression of some people against our people. If we can eliminate prejudice, the two countries can have lasting peace.”

Ultimately, this stems from Chile's impatience in launching an attack on Iran. Now, not only have they gained nothing, but they've also lost Argentina. With both sides saying this, an agreement will naturally be signed. While it's unfair to the more than one million Argentinians, compared to other countries, this number still seems rather small.

The cabinet is divided on how to handle the Argentine territory. Some suggest making it a directly administered province, but Iran struggles to govern Sumatra, let alone South America, which is thousands of miles away. Moreover, there are millions of white people there; if they cannot be brought under control, Iran will have to invest a continuous stream of financial and human resources, a bottomless pit for them.

Therefore, many have proposed a second option: the formation of a new nation in South America to exert economic and cultural influence. This plan is based on the experience of British rule in Canada, with Iran drafting its laws, granting it its own domestic and limited foreign policy autonomy, and the ability to establish its own army, but only the Iranian government would have the right to declare war.

The rule in Malaya provided Iran with valuable experience. Iran and Malaya jointly established a tin mining company, and with Iranian assistance, Malaya built an army of 1.5 to defend the region. At the same time, however, Sultan Mohammed also pushed for trade agreements with Siam and Britain, only needing to align himself with Iran on a general level.

In turn, Iran has maintained local loyalty through trade and education, and has sent special envoys to maintain relations.

Furthermore, the war against Argentina created a class of military elites who were familiar with and adapted to life in the Argentine region. They were somewhat worried about direct Iranian rule, and the Argentine inland faction, allied with Iran, also felt that direct Iranian rule might lead to the loss of their current way of life.

Therefore, in order to stabilize the region, the Shah approved the government's proposed South American integration plan, which merged Patagonia and Argentina into the Al-Zan Sultanate, to be ruled by the Shah's second son, Prince Abbas.

Prince Abbas repeatedly encouraged his soldiers and boosted morale during the campaign to capture Buenos Aires. Coupled with his status and the support of the local army, making him the most suitable candidate to become Sultan.

However, local internal affairs still require guidance from Iran. The war has severely impacted Buenos Aires and the surrounding area, destroying vast farms and forcing the food trade to start from scratch. Furthermore, the local white population needs resettlement or relocation, all of which poses a challenge for Abbas.

“Is Abbas alright?” Nasser al-Din asked Abdullah.

“Shah, His Highness has shown great courage on the battlefield. I imagine he will have no difficulty governing.”

Shah shook his head. He knew this boy too well; impatience was his trademark. If no one could help him, he would probably start another war in a few years. That would be difficult.

"He needs a suitable person to help him, not for too long, and also someone he's afraid of."

Why find someone Abbas fears? Because only then can he be made to obey the rules. Abdullah was also perplexed; where in the world would a prince fear someone? Unless it was someone he had been exposed to from a young age, someone who inspired either fear or respect in the Shah…

Abdullah suddenly thought of someone and told Nasser al-Din. The Shah was also surprised, but soon smiled. This man, Abbas, was sure to be obedient and experienced; there was no need to worry about anything else. Once he returned from Prussia, he could be sent off immediately.

(End of this chapter)