Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 104 French Ambassador
To avoid arousing suspicion, such a large convoy traveled along different routes, with their final destination being the port city of Calicut, where ships were already waiting to pick them up.

This expedition made them realize that Hindu temples must hold many more treasures; they only have one now, and they must "excavate" more in the future. Only in this way can they do justice to the Shah, no, to civilization.

Moreover, keeping this gold hidden in the temple is a waste of its value; why not let them help find a suitable place for it?

"I never imagined that a single temple could hold so much treasure. I wonder if other temples have the same wealth?" Muhammad asked Adil beside him.
"Definitely. We'll come back here again when we get back."

As dawn broke, the pilgrims who had gone to the temple were still waiting for the gates to open. Finally, a monk who was on his way elsewhere opened them, only to find a large number of corpses inside. This horrified them. By then, the caravan was already quite far from the temple.

They quickly arrived at the port of Calicut and reported to the local customs officials that they were importing cotton and wool. They also offered some bribes, and after a perfunctory inspection, the officials allowed the goods to be loaded onto the ship.

The whole process was fraught with danger, as they would have met their demise if anything had been revealed. Therefore, each of their boxes was sealed tightly, and some were even lined with cotton to prevent them from shifting.

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Naserdin looked at Bahram, who had returned alive. The man was injured, his hand still bandaged, and his face was covered in bruises; he had clearly suffered a lot.

"Thank you for your hard work. I am deeply saddened by your brother's death. It seems this business is best avoided."

Naserdin didn't know how to comfort the other person, so this was all he could say.

“Shah, don’t say that. Encountering storms and robberies at sea is common. I’ll wait a while…”

Naserdin stopped him from continuing, "Let's not do this. I think we should do something else. Even if we need to enter Qing China in the future, we should find a transit point first."

The plan has changed; instead of directly targeting the East, the goal is to find a stable base.

"Thank you, Shah. I will head to the East as soon as possible."

Bahram has stepped down, and the money lost is secondary. It seems premature to intervene now; it would be better to acquire a foothold in Southeast Asia as a forward base.

At this time, Southeast Asia had not yet been divided up. He had no interest in the Indian archipelago, and Burma was suicidal. He still needed to expand his trading posts there, making profits while exerting influence, ideally getting the local rulers to submit willingly.

Nasserdin needs time now; after all, the exhibition was quite good. It's not that he's short of money, he just needs a catalyst to propel Iran forward, and he has a feeling that this catalyst is coming soon.

“Shah, don’t worry, this is only temporary. Allah must be testing you to cause this to happen.”

Sayyid comforted Naserdin, saying it was too late to say anything now. The only option was to change strategy and establish a foothold in the East.

And it wasn't too late for him to think this way. At this time, only a few countries like Britain, France, and the Netherlands had entered the East, and they hadn't yet made a major push. Iran still had a chance. The exhibition these past few days had been packed with people; people from other cities had also come to visit and see many different things. The merchants participating in the exhibition had also secured a considerable number of orders.

The newly appointed French ambassador, Charles, also visited the exhibition. As Napoleon's newly appointed ambassador, he was there on a mission to discuss matters with Iran.

After winning the presidency with three-quarters of the vote, Louis-Napoleon began preparing public opinion for his coronation as emperor. However, besides this, French diplomacy was also a crucial focus for him. Since the establishment of the Holy Alliance, France's diplomatic environment in Europe had deteriorated significantly. Breaking the diplomatic blockade became a key objective for him.

The Ottoman ambassador to France briefed the president on an important matter: the Ottomans and Persia had signed an alliance treaty to jointly confront the Russian attack. This presented him with an opportunity.

Moreover, I've heard that Britain has begun to deepen its relations with Persia, and France naturally can't fall behind. Besides, the previous king was truly incompetent, actually refusing the Persians' request to enroll in school; this was hardly a sound diplomatic policy.

With a certain foundation in diplomacy with Persia, Louis-Napoleon used past cooperation as a starting point, intending to persuade the Shah and France to cooperate by threatening Russia.

"Hello, Mr. Charles. I heard you just arrived in Persia. How are you finding it?"

Pezeshkian led the ambassador on a tour of Tehran, and looking at the exhibition, Charles felt that it was no worse than the Ottoman Empire.

"Thank you for your hospitality. The atmosphere here is one of civility. I hope that our two countries can have more cooperation."

Pezeshkian smiled and said, "There is great potential for cooperation between our two countries. However, regarding the dispute between our country and the Ottomans, I hope your country will strictly maintain neutrality."

Charles also knew this; the enmity between the Ottomans and Persia had a history of over 300 years. If France wanted Persia to cooperate, it had to remain neutral on the issue of the Ottomans.

However, this would also provoke opposition from some people in France, primarily traders and factory owners who had trade relations with the Haussmanns. They had significant interests in the Haussmanns, and the president could not afford to offend them. Moreover, the special relationship between France and the Haussmanns had brought considerable benefits to Paris.

Furthermore, a trade agreement was signed with France, which granted France significant trade privileges. It could govern foreign Christian merchants trading in the Levant, who were only allowed to fly the French flag on their ships and were subject to the supervision of the French ambassador.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency, our country has always treated every country with friendship. France will not favor any one country."

Furthermore, there are many areas where our two countries can cooperate. I understand that a few years ago, your students wanted to study in our country, but we did not approve, and I apologize for that. If possible, your country could select new students to study in Paris.”

Pezeshkian knew what the French ambassador wanted to do: seek a diplomatic breakthrough. He was also well aware of the situation in Europe and knew that many people had long suffered under Russia's rule, so it was crucial to dismantle Russia's role as the "gendarme of Europe."

"I'm sure the Shah will be pleased with your country's goodwill. To be honest, ten years ago the old Shah was already corresponding with your king, and two French officers came to help train the army."

"Haha, the friendship between our two countries runs very deep. Please rest assured, I believe that this is now the beginning of a new chapter for our two nations."

(End of this chapter)