Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 19 Changes
It's already quite an achievement that Ulima has made such a change, as long as they continue to support the governor's policies.

Naser al-Din also received letters from Mazanderlan and Bakhtaran. He was now the governor of four provinces and could make certain changes to these provinces.

But soon, Naserdin faced his third opposition from the clergy. While the previous railways and banks had only had a minor impact on them, the governor's plan to establish new schools was a direct attack on their very foundation.

Education and the judiciary have been the foundation of these Ulima people for hundreds of years, and they have remained unchanged. How can they suddenly change like this?
Naserdin knew this would be met with opposition, so he played a game. He simply said that the military factories needed a large number of new-type personnel, and that he was only doing this out of necessity. He added that if the religious schools could provide them, he would immediately withdraw the proposal.

Religious schools naturally wouldn't have this function; if they did, they would have been founded by Christians. But Ulima wouldn't agree to allow heretics to establish schools and proselytize here, and besides, the governor has already established a military school, so what difference would one more make?

"Teacher, how about this one?"

In the printing press, Nasser al-Din handed the newspaper to Amir. This was Persia's first newspaper, mainly reporting on local affairs as well as international and commercial matters. Initially, 100 copies were printed daily in a trial run, and they were all snapped up.

"With this, the citizens will understand why we are doing this. They will understand."

Amir also praised the newspaper, calling it a novel form of publicity. It allows more people to understand their reform measures and intentions, and also lets them know the situation they face.

"Now we must also push this forward in Mazandran and Gilan. It just so happens that I'm planning to go to Mazandran with the army."

Naser al-Din decided to go out and teach those who disobeyed a lesson, taking his carefully prepared army with him to see who dared to stop him.

"Your Highness, isn't this too risky?" Amir asked with some concern.

"Don't worry, this is the best opportunity to teach them a lesson. If they dare to resist, they will cut off their own path to survival."

Seeing the governor's insistence, Amir said nothing. He could only do his best to make security arrangements for the governor and continue to push forward with the reforms in Tabriz.

Gilan had completely obeyed the governor's orders, which provided Naser al-Din with hundreds of thousands of people and arable land. Local provincial officials, seeing no way to stop him, could only try to cover up their illegal activities and do their best to serve him, hoping he would forget about the investigation.

The nomadic tribes also realized the situation: whether they fled or resisted, it was a dead end. Only by submitting to the governor could the tribe have a chance to survive; his new army was highly capable.

Moreover, the tribes that submitted to the government lived well; aside from the restriction of their freedom of movement and herding, their other treatment remained unchanged. Some were even incorporated into the governor's army, becoming regular soldiers and earning more than their herders. Meanwhile, the emergence of modern factories provided these tribes with new opportunities to prosper. Wool for textiles and cow and sheep hides for tanneries were their main products, and they also needed textiles, salt, and other goods from the cities. Large bazaars re-emerged, and processed goods became even more popular with foreign merchants.

The tribe began exporting raw materials in large quantities to earn money, and the chiefs transformed into landowners who sold agricultural products. Aside from lacking political power, everything else was quite good.

They're doing well, but foreign merchants, especially Russian merchants, are suffering. Previously, they imported 500 million rubles worth of textiles and 200 million rubles worth of other goods into Tabriz, totaling 700 million rubles. Last year, that dropped to 620 million rubles, and this year it's even worse, with an estimated 400 million rubles.

The Tsaritsyn trading company from Russia was forced to sell itself less than three years after arriving here due to financial difficulties, leaving only the Moscow trading company to continue operating. Meanwhile, six merchants from Tabriz purchased the building, renamed it the Azerbaijani Trading Company, and began trading with Russia and the Ottoman Empire.

Meanwhile, textiles produced in Tabriz began to be sold throughout Persia. Because of their superior quality, they started competing with foreign goods for the domestic market. This situation alarmed Russian merchants, who wrote to consulates and embassies requesting that they pressure Tabriz and Tehran to cede more economic benefits.

Sergeyevich was aware of the situation, but according to the diplomatic treaty, this was already the best they could hope for. Unless another war broke out, but would the Tsar agree?
And as we've seen, the Governor-General of Azerbaijan is working diligently, and the Shah of Tehran is tacitly approving of his actions. This is essentially unstoppable. The conquest of the South Caucasus is over, but there are still countless guerrilla groups waiting to be dealt with, and the Ottomans must be dealt with first before turning back to deal with Persia.

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Mohammed's concessions to Britain were effective. Oman did not insist that Bandar Abbas belong to them. Sovereignty over the land could belong to Persia, but they wanted to lease a small portion of the land for 50 years.

Mohammed, on the other hand, adopted a delaying tactic, having his men negotiate with Oman point by point, while also instructing the governor of Fars to prepare to take over the region. Britain held some tribal privileges in the Persian Gulf, particularly in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, but he didn't know what Britain wanted with those areas. Gold and silver were readily available, as were minerals.

In response to the situation in Persia, Muhammad also made some changes. For example, he punished some officials who had accepted bribes from the Ottomans. The first was Aghasi, whose home was found to contain 100 million thumans' worth of property, as well as letters from him and other officials, all of which expressed their intention to defect to the Ottomans.

Now, even if someone wanted to protect them, they were powerless. Those who treason must be killed; using this person as a springboard, Tehran uncovered 36 more traitors. All their property was confiscated and they were imprisoned.

As for the vacancies in these official positions, the Shah would select some from Zoroastrian and Armenian groups, and some from Sufi groups to fill them. The Grand Ayatollah and other officials tried to stop him, but the Shah directly used his power to push through the appointments. Anyway, his relationship with Ulima had already cooled, so he didn't care about this.

When Malik asked her husband why he did this, he said it was for their son, the future Shah. This excuse silenced his wife. He didn't know how many more years he could hold on, but he would do his best to pave the way for his son to the throne.

(End of this chapter)