Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 571 Proposal
The situation is slowly improving since the canal opened, but it's impossible to see benefits in the short term. Firstly, the Cape of Good Hope route remains the dominant route, and shipping companies are unlikely to immediately abandon their old routes and switch to the canal. Secondly, they lack suitable vessels for the canal and need time to build them. Therefore, the growth in vessel traffic is very slow.

However, this did not prevent the canal zone from receiving 600 million riyals in investment, including hotels, factories, and shops. It also attracted a significant number of Egyptian workers, and the population of towns in the canal zone, such as Port Said, continued to grow. From the outskirts of these towns, Egyptian rural areas supplied agricultural products to these regions, gradually forming the canal economic zone.

However, on the other side of the Mediterranean, the political struggle within France was far from over. The Paris Commune was destroyed, and the government returned. But the National Assembly was embroiled in a highly divisive struggle over the monarchy versus the republic. The Bonaparte family had stepped down, and the Bourbon and Orléans families were also potential candidates for the new King of France. Their declarations of compliance with the parliamentary decision gave hope to the royalists, as no one wanted their noble titles to become meaningless.

As for the Bonapartists, they hadn't lost their fighting spirit; they had simply shifted their focus. Remember New Louisiana? Dauphin Eugène had gone there first, followed by Empress Eugénie and other key Bonapartist officials. In Britain, he abdicated to Napoleon III, passing the leadership of the family to his only son. This gave Eugène legitimate support, allowing him to begin ruling over a territory several times larger than France.

The royalists held an overwhelming advantage here, not to mention that Napoleon III had also emigrated many people to the area. Some French people who were unwilling to accept the republican system also emigrated, resulting in a bizarre situation: republican France on the mainland and monarchical Louisiana colony. There were essentially two Frances.

Countries around the world felt this was an unprecedented situation in a century and began to pay close attention. The newly formed Germany, in particular, was eager for France to descend into chaos, thus depriving it of the energy to confront them.

Nasser al-Din also saw this news and believed that allowing France to acquire colonies in the Americas was undoubtedly the right thing to do. The longer they fought amongst themselves, the less resistance Iran would face in Europe.

"Shah, Speaker Rafsanjani has arrived."

"Let him in."

The chairman of the expert conference, Rafsanjani, met with the Shah with a thick stack of documents; judging from the thickness, a fight must have broken out in the meeting room.

“Shah, these are the motions proposed by the members of the expert panel. Please take a look.”

The first proposal, put forward by the Progressive and Ba'ath parties, argues that Iran faces enemies on both the east and west, and therefore should continue to increase military spending and weapons development costs. This includes an additional 1500 million rials to the military budget, increasing the current troop strength by 21 to reach 19.

In addition, 10 border defense brigades need to be established: deployed in the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Black Sea and Sistan regions, and modeled after the Cossacks, to establish semi-military and semi-civilian settlement corps to save military expenditure and consolidate border defense; strengthen the reserve system to ensure that 60 reserve troops can be mobilized within 40 days in wartime.

A nationwide military telegraph communication network will be established, connecting all command posts at the brigade level and above. Private enterprises producing military supplies will be granted a five-year tax exemption.

This was opposed by both the Liberal and Whig parties, who argued that the focus should be on improving people's livelihoods. Progressive Party MPs shouted this out at the meeting.

"The Empire's enemies have never slept. Only by wielding a sharp sword can we protect our land; only by being vigilant in times of peace can we enjoy a prosperous and peaceful era. This case is not about militarism, but about using war to stop war, and to buy the Empire fifty years of peaceful development!"

This infuriated the members of parliament, and they couldn't refute it. So they also submitted a proposal for economic development. This proposal had thirty-three articles and was over ten thousand words long. It began by flattering the Shah: "Under His Majesty's wise leadership, the Empire has achieved great military exploits and possesses a vast territory. However, the true foundation of a strong nation lies in the prosperity of its people. Although the national treasury is somewhat full due to the benefits of canals and railways, wealth has not yet reached the common people. In order to consolidate the foundation of the nation and achieve lasting peace, we should prioritize the people's livelihood and the economy, so that the prosperity of the Empire, like the patterns on a Persian carpet, is dense and magnificent, benefiting every citizen."

The proposals cover various aspects, including agriculture, industry, mining, commerce, finance, education, and social security. They represent a bolder proposal developed after summarizing twenty years of experience with reforms in Iran.

"I underestimated the Liberals for coming up with such a proposal."

The first few initiatives went smoothly: agricultural improvements included crop variety enhancement, encouragement of land reclamation, and the construction of modern ports; industrial initiatives included mineral exploration, military-industrial integration, and patent acquisition. However, the subsequent financial initiatives seemed a bit too aggressive.

The Liberal Party cited Britain as an example, arguing that Britain did not hinder the establishment of private banks, thus leading to its thriving commerce and industry. France, on the other hand, hindered private banking, causing its development to lag behind Britain and ultimately resulting in its defeat by Prussia.

Although Iran has banks, there is still a large amount of private capital in the country that remains untapped. Therefore, they believe that it is necessary to completely relax the restrictions on the establishment of banks so that industry can experience explosive growth.

Who proposed this banking regulation?

Rafsanjani replied, "This was proposed by Musawi, a member of parliament from Basra province. He has been to Britain and the United States and must have seen the situation there before making this suggestion."

Nasser al-Din crossed this out with his pen, indicating his disapproval. However, Mousavi not only proposed one, but also the establishment of a development bank specifically to provide low-interest loans to small artisans and plantations, which Shah approved. Furthermore, he proposed setting up "Artisan and Labor Mutual Aid Associations" in major cities, funded by state appropriations and donations from wealthy merchants, to provide members with relief from illness and unemployment.

"Show these to the Grand Vizier. If they are suitable, then proceed accordingly."

Both proposals are fine; one leans towards national defense, and the other towards the economy. The key is whether the government can implement them. After all, even the best proposals are useless if no one takes action.

"The charter is about to be promulgated, what are the expressions on the members of parliament's faces?" Nasserdin asked the speaker.

"Most of the votes were in favor; Whig MPs even wanted to dance on the table. Others didn't say anything, though they were worried about where they would go once parliament was in session."

The Shah had already thought it through. After all, they had contributed significantly to the prohibition of the slave trade, and he wouldn't forget them. Both England and France had their House of Lords, right? That was a good place; as for how good it was, he'd let them experience it for themselves.

(End of this chapter)