Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 523 In the Far East

The attendants and guards inside the Prime Minister's Office have been extra cautious these past two days, even walking on tiptoe, afraid of making a fuss and incurring the wrath of their superiors. As a result, the idlers outside the office have had a hard time; the guards take their anger out on them for no reason, making them truly unlucky.

Prince Gong has been having a headache lately, because every country wants a piece of his flesh. Britain wants trade, Russia wants land, France wants missionary work, and there are also Belgium, the United States, the Netherlands, and a host of other countries. Being the Prime Minister and Minister of the Foreign Affairs Office is truly exhausting for him.

Meanwhile, the problems in the Northwest region further strained the imperial treasury, costing at least five million taels of silver. However, the occupied Xinjiang could not be left unrecovered, as Russia was eyeing it covetously. Fortunately, Iran restrained them; otherwise, it would have been another cession of territory.

"Your Highness, Lord Abdullah has arrived."

"Have someone wait in the main hall. I will be there shortly."

Prince Gong straightened his clothes and strode into the main hall.

The recent arrival of the Iranian delegation has kept the court quite busy, as the delegation includes not only old friends but also the heir to the Iranian state. If anything goes wrong, they fear losing half of their empire.

Therefore, when the delegation arrived in Beijing, they were not only housed in the best places, but the two empress dowagers, for the first time ever, received Abdullah on behalf of the emperor. Regarding economic interests, the court was very generous, directly agreeing to open Ili in Xinjiang as a new trading port, along with Kashgar, exclusively for Iran. This could be considered a gift to Iran.

There are other things as well, but since the Westernization movement has only just begun, everything has to be done slowly.

Upon arriving at the main hall, the prince discovered that in addition to Abdullah, there was also a kind-looking man—wasn't he the general manager of the Saipa Trading Company in Shanghai? Although he was somewhat curious as to why this businessman was accompanying Abdullah to pay his respects, his good manners prevented him from asking.

"Hello, Your Highness Abdullah."

"Hello, Your Highness."

After a brief greeting and the servants bringing tea and refreshments, the prince spoke, "I wonder what brings Your Highness here?"

"I wouldn't say I'm giving you any advice, I'm just explaining to Your Highness that everything you needed has already been shipped to Shanghai."

All the requested goods have been delivered, and the machinery among them has particularly appealed to the local officials. With the modernization of the military, the demand for new weapons among various armies in the Far East has been increasing. In addition to purchasing from abroad, they are gradually focusing on domestic manufacturing, thus spurring the rise of a new military industry.

Among them, the two most enthusiastic about industry were Li Hongzhang, who was acting as the Viceroy of Liangjiang and suppressing the uprising; and Zuo Zongtang, who was in charge of Northwest affairs as an imperial commissioner.

Within a year, from 1863 to 1864, Li Hongzhang successively established three artillery bureaus in Shanghai. He then moved them to Nanjing in 1865 and expanded them into the Jinling Arsenal.

In the same year, Li Hongzhang founded China's first relatively sophisticated and large-scale military industrial enterprise—the Jiangnan Machinery Manufacturing Bureau. This is currently the largest military industrial enterprise in the Far East, and it also employs Iranian craftsmen.

“Ah, thank you for your concern, Your Highness.” Prince Gong picked up his blue and white porcelain teacup. “Speaking of the Jiangnan Arsenal,” he glanced casually at the manager of the Sepa Trading Company, “the blueprints sent last month have amazed Li Hongzhang’s foreign craftsmen.”

"Since your country is willing to spend money to purchase these items, then our country will not deceive you. These are our best products; I wonder how your army finds them?"

Prince Gong immediately said, "Very good, you didn't see it, those weapons are really far superior to the others." This was indeed true, without a trace of flattery. Especially the Iranian thunder cannons, with such a high rate of fire, they were simply life-reaping machines.

"The court now needs a major overhaul and also needs to cooperate sincerely with your country. Your country can develop by borrowing our country's wealth, and our country can also strengthen itself by borrowing your country's strength."

Abdullah nodded. "That's right, and Your Highness forgot to mention one common point."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Resist Russia!"

Ah, right, right, how could he forget that? Russia is eyeing the north with predatory intent. If we can't contain them, what face will they have to face the late emperor and the founding emperor when their ancestral lands are gone?

"If I may be so bold as to speak frankly, Your Highness, your country now needs to expand its army, and at least 20 are needed to counter the threat from Russia."

20? Good heavens, this is going to be the death of the imperial court. Leaving aside whether the court would even agree, the sheer cost of these troops would drive the Ministry of Revenue to suicide. They're spending money way too much.

“Alas, Your Excellency, please be careful with your words. Although the court has established government offices to handle foreign affairs, there are still many officials in the court who oppose it. If I bring this up, hundreds of memorials will be submitted to the Empress Dowager's desk tomorrow.”

Prince Gong was well aware of the fighting capabilities of those upright officials; training even a few thousand was already difficult, let alone 20. How could it be so easy to train a new army all at once?

In early 1862, the Far East adopted the British suggestion and selected 130 officers and soldiers from the Banner Army stationed in Beijing. These were then assigned to a 17-member officer corps led by British General Stevory for training in Tianjin. Later that year, the number of Banner Army officers and soldiers trained in Beijing was increased to approximately 480, and an additional 620 officers and soldiers from the Tianjin garrison and Dagu Green Standard Army were added, forming two battalions and an artillery corps. This was their new army.

Subsequently, spurred on by countries such as Britain and France, the number of new soldiers increased to 2000. The number continued to increase in the following stages, but only by hundreds at a time; the imperial court still hadn't made a final decision.

“I misspoke,” Abdullah began to introduce the person next to him. “This is Mr. Jahangir, the agent of the Sepa Trading Company in Shanghai. He is here today to continue discussions with your country on trade matters.”

Now that trade has begun, things are much easier. As long as it doesn't involve overthrowing the imperial court, anything is fine.

The imperial court was willing to allow Iranian merchants to operate extensively in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Zhili, with taxes levied the same as those of the British and French. Abdullah was also satisfied, and the discussion with him was truly pleasant.

Leaving the Prime Minister's Office, Abdullah looked at the plaque above the entrance and shook his head.

“Stubborn and incorrigible, if we don’t seize the opportunity, we’ll have nowhere to cry when the Russians attack.”

After all, they are allies against Russia. If he fails, Russia could gain a vast territory. Then no one could stop them. That's why Abdullah proposed such a radical military training plan to them. However, it seems there's still internal strife within the court. Forget it, let's not think about that anymore. I'm going to Shanghai later. It's been so long since I've been there; I wonder what it's like now.

(End of this chapter)