Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 562 Postal Department
Although this was an agreement between Al-Jan and the United States, Amir still informed the Shah of the details of the negotiations via telegram. After all, the Shah had said that the Americans were not trustworthy and that they must be wary of all their actions.

Now, whether it's railways or anything else, they are all invested and built by Iran. Of course, trade is also mainly oriented towards Iran because there are trade preferences between the two countries.

Of Algeria's trade share, Iran accounts for 65%, followed by other American countries at 10%, Europe and other countries at 20%, and Southeast Asia at 5%. Exports are mainly food and wool textiles, while imports consist of other industrial goods.

Due to the Franco-Prussian War, France's grain exports were affected. Countries like Spain began importing grain from the Americas, ushering in a period of booming trade in the Americas, including Algeria.

"The United States has recently been actively engaging in diplomacy with countries such as Brazil, Chile, and Canada. Its strong desire to improve diplomacy and establish free trade agreements is undoubtedly a preparation for a return to its former glory. Our country should pay close attention to this and prevent the other side from using our country to achieve its goals. If necessary, we must resort to force."

At that time, there was no direct submarine cable to Iran. The cable had to be sent to the Spanish telegraph office first, and then to Iran. This took nearly twenty days, but it was still much faster than before.

Although submarine cable technology emerged in the 40s, due to inadequate technology, apart from the submarine cable between Britain and France, other transatlantic cables generally did not last more than a month.

It wasn't until 1862, when the British Telegraph Authority began technical improvements to the cables, that their lifespan was extended. Only then could trade and communication begin between the two sides of the Atlantic. As telegraph lines extended across continental Europe, connections between different regions became increasingly close.

Telegraph development in Asia and Africa, except for Iran, was relatively backward. Even the Ottoman Empire, which was the first to be influenced by Europe, lagged behind Iran. Neither the Ottoman nor the Egyptian governments operated telegraph services on more than a few key trunk lines; they were completely absent in other areas.

Iran was initially in a similar situation, with telegraph lines primarily connecting large and medium-sized cities; small towns and villages lacked telegraph offices. After the establishment of the General Post Office, telegraph service began to extend to smaller towns, but only to those surrounding major cities.

"Minister, this is the current situation of our country's telegraph and postal services. Shah has ordered the planning of telegraph routes to Kabul."

The Permanent Deputy Minister briefed Post Minister Mahdi on Iran's postal situation, noting that compared to European postal services, Iran's was still in a semi-developed stage. Post offices were scarce in rural areas, and while profitable, this did not meet the Shah's expectations. Mahdi knew that the Shah wanted telegrams to be available nationwide, but the current situation was insufficient; the government needed to make a full commitment.

He held the hand-drawn telegraph line diagram in his hand, his fingertips tracing back and forth along the dotted line marked "Tehran-Kabul".

The map is covered with dense red dots representing existing telegraph offices, mostly crammed into cities along the Persian Gulf and around the Caspian Sea. Further inland, they become sparse, like withered grass in winter, and almost nonexistent in the Khorasan region. He looked up at the Permanent Under-Secretary: “The Shah’s orders must be obeyed, of course, but look at this map—from Mashhad to Kabul, you have to cross the foothills of the Hindu Kush Mountains. How many people would be needed just for surveying? Last winter, when the heavy snow blocked the mountains, even caravans were stuck halfway up. How are we going to set up telegraph lines?”

Mahdi snorted and tossed the map onto the table. The table was piled high with the General Post Office's monthly reports, the top one recording last month's mail volume: letters from Tehran to Tabriz were 40% more than last year, and parcels to Bushehr had doubled—mostly silk samples sent by Chinese merchants to their Indian agents, or watch parts imported from Europe. But the ink was much lighter on the page about rural postal services: of the twenty villages around Yazd, only seven received mail last month; the rest were stopped by their tribes and had to return home. "The rural affairs can't be neglected either," he said, tapping the report. "Last month, the Shah went to Isfahan for inspection and passed through a village called Qom. The village chief knelt by the roadside, saying his son was serving in the army in Tehran and hadn't received a letter he wrote six months ago. When the Shah returned, he summoned me and berated me for half an hour, saying, 'The telegram reaches every city, but not even the homes of your own people.' Have you forgotten that?"

The deputy official, a slight sweat beading on his forehead, quickly pulled another neatly folded piece of paper from his sleeve: "This is the method reported from below—to have the tribal chiefs act as 'village postmen.' They are familiar with the mountain paths, and there's an agreement between tribes not to rob those carrying mailbags. We give the chiefs a stipend, calculated monthly based on the number of letters delivered, which is half the cost of employing a team of government postmen. Yazd province tried it for three months, and the mail delivery rate increased from 30% to 70%."

Mahdi was thinking about this; the tribe was still a big problem, and he needed to discuss it in detail with the Shah.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside the window, followed by the postman's shout: "Telegram from Europe! Urgent!"

Mahdi and the Vice Minister turned at the same time. A postman in a green uniform rushed into the courtyard carrying a telegram bag, his boots still covered in mud—he looked like he had ridden all the way from Bushehr, at least two days and two nights. The postman handed over the top telegram, sealed with wax seal "British Telegraph Office," and Mahdi's fingers trembled as he opened it: "Bismarck has returned the French prisoners of war; it seems they are about to attack Paris."

Mahdi admired Bismarck's wisdom. If the German army were to take direct action, it would cause great indignation. Germany had already accumulated a lot of hatred in France because of reparations and territorial concessions. If they were to take action, the peasants in the provinces would also join the resistance against Germany.

Therefore, Bismarck chose to let the Thiers government resolve this issue. Not only did he allow French troops to advance on Paris through Prussian territory, but he also released a large number of French prisoners of war to bolster the French army, enabling it to rapidly expand from an initial 20,000 to 130,000. These actions directly supported the Thiers government's suppression of the Paris Commune.

This was primarily driven by a variety of strategic and interest-based considerations. Bismarck was eager to implement the terms of the peace treaty, including acquiring Alsace and Lorraine and a 50 billion franc indemnity, in order to consolidate Germany's hegemonic position in Europe.

"This telegram must be reported to the Shah immediately!"

"But Minister, Shah has been visiting Tabriz and Baku these past few days, and the messages can only be sent by telegraph."

"That's fine then. We just need to focus on the work of the postal service. Shah has his own ideas."

Mahdi plans to request 1500 million riyals from the Ministry of Finance to expand the postal network, and also to establish general post offices in East Africa and Southeast Asia. He also intends to open other businesses, given the extensive logistics network he possesses.

(End of this chapter)