Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 47 Civil War
Muhammad prepared to defend Tehran, but his harem and the entire royal family felt it was a futile effort; who would dare to defy the authority of the Ayatollah?

The Saadabad Palace, another palace of the royal family, was also their meeting place. At this time, Muhammad's other six brothers—Bahram, Jahangir, Bahman, Iskandar, Gahraman, and Feredu—were holding a meeting.

"Friends, I have received a letter from the Great Ayatollah. If we promise to abolish all of the Shah's plans, they will make us the rulers of all places."

The eldest brother, Bahram, would deliver personal letters from the Grand Ayatollah to his other brothers. Bahram would then be the Shah, and his brothers would be the governors of various regions. Apart from paying money and providing troops, they would essentially form a small court.

"Will this work? If they don't support us, we're all doomed?" Bachmann said with some concern.

“Bachman, don’t you know the situation is already in chaos? The eldest brother is no longer suitable to be the Shah. The second brother should take over, and we brothers can then guard the various regions for him. Wouldn’t that be the best approach?”

“I know that, but how many men do we have to attack Tehran right now? I’ve heard that the Shah has already sent the Imperial Guard to guard all the passages.”

Everyone was somewhat troubled, but Bahram calmly said, "Don't worry about that. I've already inquired. I know the military commander stationed on the eastern city wall. He's very greedy, and we can get him to let us through if we give him some money. The Great Ayatollah will also go in and persuade the citizens to give up resistance. Then we can just march straight to the Gulestan Palace and force my elder brother to abdicate."

Jahangir raised another question: "How many troops do we have available to move?"

“I have already bribed several generals of the Imperial Guard. Their army has 2000 men. The army in Isfahan is also heading north. We can merge them together.”

Everyone thought the plan was feasible, mainly because they saw that Koum's side had the advantage in the current situation, so they naturally wanted to vote for the winning side.

However, not all members of the royal family intended to rebel. Several of the youngest brothers supported their eldest brother because their father had too many sons, and they knew they would never become king. They figured it was better to cling to the Shah's coattails so they could also enjoy a good life.

As the second youngest brother, Jafar had always been content with his life, but the recent tense situation made him sense an impending coup within the royal family.

“You haven’t come for a long time. The situation has been a bit tense lately. I’ll go to Mazanderland with you after it’s over.”

Muhammad looked at Jafar and said, and Jafar, knowing that this was not the time for a vacation, gave Shah an important message.

“Shah, the situation is already quite tense. I’ve heard that there are voices within the royal family calling for your abdication.”

"Ha!" Muhammad chuckled. "I already knew that. Those people, seeing the chaos, are planning to grab something to take back. Jafar, you're not in there too, are you?"

Upon hearing this, Jafar became frightened and quickly pledged his loyalty to the Shah: "Shah, I am utterly loyal to you. I know I can never take the Shah's position, so I have always supported you."

However, I have heard some rumors…

Muhammad glared at him quickly, "What do you know? Speak!" "Recently, my second and third brothers led a group of other brothers to gather here, and I don't know what they were talking about?"

It's quite clear that his brothers know he's at a disadvantage and are ready to take his place at any time.

"What a good brother! Even if I die, I want to see what happens to them."

Mohammed was prepared to die, and Qom had already begun to amass troops to attack Tehran. He might as well strike first.

On October 10, Tehran troops attacked a mosque in southern Tehran and seized a large number of weapons. Religious scholars immediately condemned the Shah for violating the sanctity of the mosque and called on the people of the country to overthrow him, thus officially starting the civil war.

The armies of Qom and Tehran faced off in Rey in the south, and Muhammad also summoned 10,000 citizens from Tehran to defend the city. He also openly stated that the scholars of Qom did not respect the Shah and called on tribes and governors to lead troops to defend the Shah.

Urban residents typically possess more autonomy than farmers, and they began constructing barriers in cities like Gazwin and Mazandran, prioritizing money over religious principles.

In Isfahan, more than 30000 people took to the streets. The demonstrators surrounded the city hall, demanding that the government agree to their demands.

The railway plan was abolished, the imperial edict was withdrawn, taxes were reduced, and investment in agriculture was increased...

At this point, the religious class was no longer satisfied with mere conservatism; they wanted to seize power in order to weather the crisis. To achieve this, the people no longer cared about Iran's future; the simple populace was manipulated by conspirators, completely disregarding the consequences of their actions.

Ordinary people are even less discerning, and most just blindly follow the crowd. Many more participated in the march simply because they were offered money.

To bolster their power, religious leaders declared amnesty, and many notorious criminals were transformed into members of their ranks. Gang members and thugs also seized the opportunity to commit crimes, including murder, arson, robbery, and rape, across the country. The first to be impacted were not the Shah, but rather ordinary citizens, small business owners, and the middle class.

After firing the first shot, Muhammad immediately ordered his army to enter the Saadabad Palace and arrest his six brothers, nipping the coup plot in the bud.

“You are all my brothers. Throughout history, there have been many who killed their brothers and their rulers on this land. It is already merciful of me to spare your lives today.”

Mohammad imprisoned them, preparing for a final trial at the end of the war. Meanwhile, the Iranian government was holding secret meetings, considering whether to withdraw the railway plan to quell public anger. With rebels roaming the area, they dared not risk leaving.

They weren't just indulging in debauchery all the time; they knew a thing or two about European affairs, such as the French Revolution, which saw the execution of everyone, including the king. The rebels didn't care about noble status; they just killed the nobility. So, running away was the worst option at that moment.

With the royal harem and other members of the royal family under the guard, Muhammad no longer thought of anything else but hoped that his son and other governors would arrive with their troops in time so that they could annihilate the rebels in Qom.

(End of this chapter)