Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 44 The Railway Dispute
Along the road from Tabriz to Ardabil, thousands of workers are hammering away at the tracks.

"Well, at this rate, it should be open next year. I originally thought the Ottomans would be the first to open the railway, but it turns out the Persians are ahead."

The British engineer in charge of the railway nodded in satisfaction at the current progress. The railway is 155 kilometers long and has two stations along the way. Once it opens, raw materials from Ardabil can be transported to Tabriz in a steady stream, and transportation between the two places will be improved.

The only thing that dissatisfied the engineer was the slow transportation of raw materials such as rails and sleepers, which seriously hampered the progress.

The railway requires steel, but Dabriz does not yet have the production capacity because they need to assess the quality of local coal and iron. They don't want to end up like some steel mills that, due to a lack of local mineral exploration, produce steel with excessively high phosphorus content, rendering it unusable.

We need to analyze the composition of local coal and iron ore, and carefully select a site that is not too far from the raw material production area to avoid increasing costs. We must also consider the steel market, extend the railway, and find other uses.

Naser al-Din already has other railway construction plans, and he doesn't intend to abide by his agreement with Ulima. After all, once the railway is built, you can't just tear it down, can you?

A second railway is already in the planning stages, running from Ardabil to Gilan and then to Mazandran. He is also planning two other railway lines: Tabriz-Tehran-Mashhad and Mazandran-Tehran-Isfahan-Shiraz-Bushel. If successful, these two railways will become a booster for Iran's economic development.

Meanwhile, the Progressive Association's newspaper began distributing to other provinces, and the printing presses were operating at full capacity, printing leaflets, newspapers, and weekly magazines day and night. They also sent people to various cities, wanting more people to know that the world had changed.

In Tehran, the controversy surrounding the railway construction is far from over. Since the last proposal was rejected by Ulima, astute businessmen have not given up; they continue to petition and offer suggestions to ministers who favor reform.

Merchants who had been to Tabriz would tell others about the local situation, the various kinds of machinery, the different propaganda, and the buildings they had never seen before.

Businessmen are among the most receptive to foreign ideas, prioritizing their profits above all else, and will try anything that can increase their income.

They didn't know the other implications of a railway; all they knew was that the journey from Tehran to Tabriz could be shortened to just a few days. Time was money, and they couldn't wait for the railway to be built.

Ulima and his allies, along with some conservative bureaucrats, opposed the railway construction, despite suggestions that the route could bypass places like mosques. This was no ordinary railway construction; it was a power grab by a secular monarch and other forces. The issuance of the edict marked the official start of this silent war.

The establishment of the industrial and commercial departments was a compromise between secular and religious forces, as Ulima, like Shah, hoped the government could regulate the industrial and commercial sectors so they could generate revenue. However, they absolutely could not allow the railway to pass through; if it did, the Shah would become increasingly demanding, leading to a loss of power in the legal and educational spheres, ultimately forcing them back into a position of dependence on the government.

Religious scholars submitted memorial after memorial to Muhammad, requesting a halt to discussions on building the railway. They cited the same reasons as before, and added another: once the railway was built, the inns and hostels along the route would certainly go out of business, and these unemployed people would be a destabilizing factor.

Muhammad was overwhelmed by these four points. However, he couldn't possibly relinquish this hard-won opportunity, so he ordered the entire nation to participate in the discussion. He refused to believe that the entire country would disagree with building the railway. Both Amir's and Nasser al-Din's memorials proposed building railways to promote trade and facilitate military transport. Even Saeed acknowledged the benefits of railways, but Ulimah was the only one who opposed them.

Within a few days, numerous memorials supporting the construction of the railway were presented to Muhammad. Pezeshkian refuted Ulima's absurd arguments one by one.

First, regarding land acquisition, Pezeshkian stated that railways don't necessarily have to be built on fertile land; some areas can be suitable for construction with proper land management. It will not occupy any arable land.

Secondly, regarding the damage to crops and houses caused by the emitted black smoke, the government should do its utmost to avoid destroying people's dwellings and graves. If this is unavoidable, it should provide substantial funds for relocation. In this way, the government gains land, and the people gain money, creating a win-win situation.

Third, regarding the reasons for unemployment among the people along the route. Pezeshkian said the reason was ridiculous. After the railway was built, people were needed to maintain it, sell goods, and clean the stations. The station staff could then transition into railway workers, thus still finding employment.

Fourth, regarding the disturbance of the people and the imam, he directly stated that if nothing changed, Russia would occupy the entire territory, and we must rise to power in the shortest possible time so that Russia would not harbor any improper intentions towards us. He concluded that the scholars were either selfish or traitors.

Pezeshkian's firing on the Ulima enraged the entire clergy, with some even sending him threatening letters warning him of his life.

But the Armenian was not afraid at all. He submitted two memorials to the Shah requesting the construction of the railway, and even said that if he was undecided, he should ask the Crown Prince to come and listen to his opinion.

Now everyone fell silent. Everyone knew that the Crown Prince was bringing about the biggest changes in Tabriz. He was interested in all things new, and he would definitely support them.

Pezeshkian knew his life was threatened, so he hired a large number of bodyguards to protect him. He also rallied officials and merchants who adhered to Zoroastrianism and Christianity to submit petitions and repeatedly opened fire on religious scholars.

Their arguments were refuted one by one, and the Ulima were naturally furious, as their authority had been challenged. But the Shah seemed to support the other side.

The Grand Ayatollah wrote a memorial to Muhammad, which detailed their reasons for opposing the construction of the railway, and each reason was quite compelling.

That wasn't all. The Grand Ayatollah posted his message for the first time at the entrance of the Qom Seminary, declaring it a matter requiring a nationwide protest, as they could not allow Western technology to pollute this sacred land. He therefore called on everyone to protest in Tehran.

The Ayatollahs of Isfahan have already begun to reorganize their troops, waiting for Qom's order so they can directly take up arms and confront the Shah.

(End of this chapter)