Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 510 Birthday Party
The surge in fiscal revenue served as a purge of conservatives, allowing the land tax reform system to be rolled out nationwide; postal savings reduced some direct government investment. Moreover, once the large-scale infrastructure construction was completed, investment would immediately decrease, followed by a continuous stream of profits.

At his estate outside Tehran, Abdullah was celebrating his birthday. His loyalty to the Shah had earned him a promising career and countless riches.

He was also a member of the royal family, the Foreign Minister, and had close ties with the Shah. He was well-informed about important domestic and international economic developments. Coupled with private transactions with other countries and the promotion of domestic policies, Abdullah's wealth swelled considerably.

He owns tens of thousands of acres of land and estates in East Africa, and Abdullah is also the owner of shares in numerous companies. These include not only Iranian companies, but also shares in Austrian shipping company Venice and Sicilian sulfur mines, with a total value of 1508 million rials. In addition, he owns various trading and commercial properties, making him arguably one of the wealthiest members of the royal family.

"Come on, brother, cheers!"

Abdullah's brothers also came; they, too, stayed out of politics and focused on investing in business.

Several princes, including Lofutra, also invested in factories, which later merged to form the Novara Trading Company. Leveraging their privileges, they engaged in trade in East Africa and South America, and the company has now become a large enterprise with capital of 7000 million riyals.

"Brothers, let us raise a toast to Shah. Without him, we would not have the life we ​​have today."

This was met with unanimous agreement, and everyone raised their glasses to congratulate the Shah.

“In the past, I never imagined that such a small stock could make so much money. I made 10 riyals from selling Tehran Textiles shares.”

Prince Ildil boasted of his gains, claiming that with inside information, one could easily acquire large sums of money. This was much faster than collecting rent or becoming a loan shark.

"Alright, that's nothing. You don't know that the Shah stockpiled a batch of cotton and made dozens of times the profit by reselling it. The British were probably dumbfounded; they never knew you could do that."

As Loftra spoke, he pondered how he should invest. He still had 200 million riyals; how could he invest them to maximize his profits?

"Speaking of which, the Shah has recently conquered a large territory in South America."

Everyone looked at Abdullah.

"Ah, indeed. It is said that the local area needs a lot of money to revive its industry."

Okay, then let's go there and submit the proposal. We should at least give their grandnephew some support.

"Sigh, it's still good to be rich. Even Europeans treat us with utmost respect. Especially the Russians, I think they'd love to swallow us whole."

This time it's another prince, Hamze. Anyway, they all have pensions and extra income, so they won't starve. Why not pursue something else?

Consequently, European art was introduced and adapted by these royalty. Various banquets and salons were frequent, and the music of composers such as Beethoven and Weber brought them unique experiences. Prince Hamze was particularly enamored with European music and opera, maintaining a 42-piece orchestra and opera company at his residence. He also generously funded the introduction of many European conductors who impressed him, including Richard Wagner.

The prince helped him pay off nearly 80,000 rials of debt, and he came to Tehran to focus on his art, exhibiting his work frequently. With the prince's help, Wagner's life improved steadily, and even the King of Bavaria admired his work.

"By the way, Abdullah, tell me where's the best place to make money lately? We can't let the government make all the money."

The royal family has always wanted to make more money, but the government forbids financial activities, and heavy industry requires too much investment. Therefore, they can only pin their hopes on overseas investments, preferably in mining or similar fields, where they can recoup their investment quickly.

"The most profitable option is Bolivia, which is said to have many mines. Mexico's silver mines are also good, or Texas in the Southern Confederation is another good choice."

They vaguely remembered the first two, but what about the last one? Texas—it sounded wild!
If you ask Abdullah, he won't know either. He only knows that the Shah keeps mentioning this place, as well as Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and he thought Iran was going to declare war on the Confederate States of America.

"It is said that the local land is very fertile, and if you can buy it to cultivate, your annual income will be stable."

There's no other way to put it. Anyway, slavery is prevalent in the area, so land transactions should be quite active, as long as you have money.

"So, Texas is really a worthwhile investment?"

"I don't know, but Shah has been talking about this place. And Colombia, the quality of the trees there has always been very good."

British Columbia in the north has always been an outlier. While other provinces were preparing to form a Canadian confederation, Columbia remained unmoved. Thanks to Iranian investment and trade, the country gradually emerged from the shadow of the economic crisis and began a period of rapid growth.

The local population surpassed 500,000, 82% of whom were Irish immigrants from places like New York. They quickly transitioned into farming or craftsmen, and the rapid development of the railway connected the area, facilitating the transport of goods. Vancouver also developed into a port city with a population of 20,000.

The Americas have always been a relatively undeveloped region. Initially, the US should have been the dominant force, but as you all know, the US lacked the capacity to do so! Meanwhile, another migration wave was sweeping across North America. Homeless Native Americans were migrating to the Oklahoma region. The Confederate States of America agreed to allow Native Americans to establish a nation there, but they clearly didn't want to own only these areas. Therefore, they needed to absorb a large number of Native Americans to increase the population.

“Brothers!” Abdullah said, “Don’t blame me for not reminding you, making money is important, but don’t forget to pay your taxes. If some employee finds out, you probably won’t be able to make up for it even if you go bankrupt.”

These words sent chills down the spines of his brothers. They knew Shah's situation all too well; if their nephew harbored any hatred, it was probably for the idle upper class and traitors!
Since they are Iranians, they have to pay taxes. And they have to pay taxes every year, even the Shah is no exception; they have to pay a fixed personal income tax every year.

"Haha, why worry about that? We strictly abide by the law. After all, without the Shah, we wouldn't be where we are today."

The princes laughed it off, but Abdullah was still a little uneasy. There are a hundred ways to evade the law, and who knew if they would actually obey? He just hoped he wouldn't be implicated!

(End of this chapter)