Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 48 The Rebels' Internal Crisis
News of the Qom rebellion had reached Nasser al-Din, just one day later than the government's order.

"Teacher, something happened in Tehran. Demonstrators clashed with the Imperial Guards, and a rebellion broke out that very night."

Upon hearing this news, Amir's expression changed, and he hurriedly asked, "What's the situation now? Has the rebellion been suppressed?"

Naserdin shook his head and said, "We don't know yet. However, the chances of the rebellion being suppressed are extremely slim; no one in the government has the responsibility to do so!"

The Qajar dynasty, established only a few decades ago, was already old, and no one was willing to bear the consequences of suppressing the rebellion.

In those days, "transportation relied on walking and communication relied on shouting," making information transmission extremely inconvenient. If no order to suppress the rebellion was given at the outset, by the time the rebellion had grown larger, even the order to suppress it could not be passed down.

Amir sighed, glanced in the direction of Tehran, and said helplessly, "Then let's speed things up!"

"It will take another ten days or so to arrive. We will first gather more troops in Qazvin, and then head towards Tehran."

It seems Tehran won't fall anytime soon. The Shah's elite guard can hold out for a while, and the city's food supplies can last a month. Right now, the most important thing we can do is to speed things up during the day and get a good rest at night.

“But right now, the rebels are just a bunch of rabble. If this goes on for too long, they might become a force to be reckoned with, and then it will be much harder to fight them!” Amir said after thinking for a moment.

"Don't worry, teacher, they definitely won't be able to integrate. The complexity is beyond imagination. In any case, getting to Gazvin first is the right thing to do."

----------

On the Rey front in Tehran, the Imperial Guard and the opposing religious army were locked in a fierce battle. The religious army only knew that the enemy had broken into their sacred mosque, so they charged forward relentlessly. Little did they know that the soldiers simply wanted to go in for prayer. They hadn't expected the local scholars to overreact, ordering the worshippers to attack them. Left with no other option, they were forced to retaliate, and unexpectedly, they gained something from the experience.

As Muhammad drifted further away from Shia clerics, he began recruiting strong men from other faiths and tribes into his royal guard. He provided them with money and land to cultivate loyalty, making them understand that their loyalty lay solely with the Shah.

Different factions and ideologies clashed in this small town. While the front lines were in turmoil, supplies continued to pour in from the rear. The Shah's orders still carried weight near Tehran.

Muhammad turned his palace into a temporary command center, and Pezeshkian, Yervand, and others joined the government to take charge of defense and liaison matters.

“Shah, we have already sent word out of the city, and someone will come to rescue us soon.”

Pezeshkian reported to Muhammad that the religious forces of Isfahan were advancing north, and the forces of Mashhad were advancing west. These developments were favorable to the enemy, and they did not know when their own army would arrive.

The Shah listened to their report, leaning on his cane. They were now at a critical juncture, their survival hanging by a thread; whether they could overcome this crisis depended on whether the loyalist army arrived.

"Shah, something's happened!"

A loud shout outside the door made Muhammad nervous. "What's going on? Is someone causing trouble in the city?" Two soldiers brought in a man, who turned out to be Shah's attendant. "Shah, we found this man sneaking around and passing messages to another person. We discovered that he told the other person about our defenses in Tehran."

"what!"

Muhammad stared at the other man with bloodshot eyes, but he was not afraid; instead, he spoke loudly.

"Muhammad, your days are numbered. Allah has sent an army to take your life. Surrender now!"

How could Shah listen to such words? Muhammad took the knife next to him and stabbed the man in the heart, then tore him to pieces piece by piece.

"Throw him out. Also, impose martial law on the entire city. Anyone acting suspiciously, no matter who they are, should be imprisoned."

After saying this, Muhammad fainted. In the past year or so, he had been angry more often than he had in his entire reign, which had taken a toll on his health. It was quite remarkable that he had managed to hold on this long.

The Shah's call for support had spread throughout the country. Despite opposition from religious leaders, the governors of Fars, Bushehr, Yazd, and other provinces amassed troops in support of the Shah. Azerbaijani tribes also supported the Tehran government. In addition, there were forces supporting Ulima's seizure of power.

In fact, Qom also presented Tehran with peace terms: they would still support the Shah as long as he agreed to reorganize the government and withdraw all reform plans.

The Shah, of course, could not agree to this; it would mean all his efforts had been in vain. Moreover, it was unprecedented in the world for a religious leader to force a monarch to concede. Even in the Ottoman Empire, the leader obeyed the Sultan, not the other way around.

The unrest in the capital has spread throughout the country, with cities outside Azerbaijan experiencing varying degrees of decline in security. Numerous conflicts have erupted between farmers and landowners/merchants over their vested interests.

If it weren't for their shared goal and the orders of the religious leader, the two sides would have parted ways by now. Even if they maintained a nominal alliance, they would have gone their separate ways.

There was no other way; even rebels need to eat, so the first to suffer were the grain industry, whose grain stores were confiscated by the farmers.

People at the bottom of society, who are usually exploited, may develop a desire for revenge under the instigation of certain individuals. Many of them may decide to go all out and settle scores with their enemies.

They killed the overseer, eliminated the landlord's henchmen, and turned their attention to the landlords and wealthy merchants in the city. And once the first time, there was a second. Their hands were stained with the blood of the common people; without anyone leading them, it would have been fine, but now that someone was instigating it, it was impossible to suppress.

Human desires are terrifying. After killing the first landlord and dividing his wealth, the people could no longer restrain themselves. This sparked conflict between the two sides. To protect their interests, the city's citizens hastily formed their own army, and several battles broke out between the two sides.

As for the Shia clerics, who pride themselves on being protectors of the farmers, they naturally turned a blind eye to their actions. However, this caused the citizens, bazaar merchants, and other groups that supported them to switch their support to the Tehran government, leading to situations where Shiraz refused to allow religious troops into the city, forcing the opposing forces to open fire.

(End of this chapter)