Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 51 Land Reform
The news of Nasser al-Din's appointment as regent temporarily stabilized Tehran, and British Ambassador Wallace was the first foreign envoy to pay homage to the Crown Prince.

"Ah, it's been a long time, Your Excellency!"

"Yes, it's been a long time."

Wallace sat down across from Nasser al-Din and began recounting his previous meeting with the Crown Prince. The British are always quick to sense shifts in power and then rapidly adjust their strategies.

"Tehran still needs to be under some restrictions for now. Please don't worry, it will be lifted once it is confirmed to be safe."

Nasserdin explained the situation to Wallace, who expressed his understanding.

"The British Empire is willing to support all of your country's counterinsurgency efforts and also hopes to deepen relations between the two countries."

In June of this year, the British government underwent a change of leadership. John Russell of the Whig Party replaced Peel as Prime Minister. While domestic policies may differ somewhat from those of the Conservative Party, foreign policy remains largely the same. As for Persia, they are also happy to see a pro-British government in place.

"Thank you for your country's support. To be honest, I've always wanted to visit your country, but unfortunately I haven't had the time."

"You are welcome to visit our country and enjoy the scenery. I am sure London will welcome you."

In addition to the British ambassador, the Russian ambassador also came to inquire about the situation. Because of Nasser al-Din's arrival, Russia's support plan fell through, and it had no choice but to turn to cooperation.

With Britain and Russia stabilized, Nasser al-Din began to devote more energy to reforming domestic affairs. Ministers met in the council chambers for days, carefully considering each law, and finally, the Land Reform Act was passed.

The bill stipulates that all land owned by the rebel forces will be confiscated after the rebellion is quelled. As for landowners in other areas, a more lenient approach will be taken, stipulating that a landowner can own a maximum of half a village's worth of land, and any excess must be sold to the government.

The government leases land to farmers, allowing them to purchase their leased land in installments over a period of up to thirty years. Upon full payment, farmers acquire ownership of the land. If unforeseen circumstances arise, farmers can apply for a refund, and land abandonment is prohibited during this period.

"Gentlemen, this bill can help us gain the support of farmers."

The ministers nodded; this was a decision they had debated for a long time. After all, over 90% of Iran's population are farmers, which directly provides them with a large support base.

“That way, those farmers will stop supporting them and start supporting us instead,” Hassan said.

"Now, what we need to do is get this news out as soon as possible. Also, the railway from Tabriz to Tehran is going to be built."

The railway project, which had previously been stalled, was suddenly put into action. The railway, running from Tabriz through Hamadan and Qazvin, and finally to Tehran, will become a new economic artery.

Subsequently, Tehran enacted the Land Lease Law, stipulating that farmers have the right to lease land, with the maximum rent not exceeding 40% of the land's revenue. This was to protect farmers' most basic right to survival; without such restrictions, it's estimated that another uprising would break out soon.

The first to cry foul after these bills were passed were the resource-rich Mazandran region. The local Ulimah also wanted to rebel, but when the farmers heard the news, they beat up the Ulimah who wanted to attack Tehran and sent him there. Hilarious! They finally feel their burden is being lightened, and they want to stop it?
Although they were also Shia Muslims, they did not hesitate to resist when their interests were threatened. Landowners near Tehran and in Mazandran had no choice but to obediently hand over their land.

The antagonism between the people and the government has improved, and the rebellion has unknowingly lost its biggest base of support: the peasantry. Of course, the change has only started in the vicinity of the capital, and other areas will need more time to develop.

In addition to the land bill, Nasser al-Din also proposed an amnesty decree, announcing that enemy soldiers who surrendered immediately would be pardoned and given travel expenses to return home.

These soldiers were all farmers, and they didn't know what they were fighting for. After hearing the two orders issued by Tehran, they began to flee. At first, it was one or two, then seven or eight ran away together. In the end, it was only after Ulima killed more than a dozen people that they were able to calm down.

It seemed the front lines were no longer viable, so they decided to move to Qom and make further plans. On November 4, the rebel army retreated to Qom, where the Isfahan army also assembled.

However, the most important thing is to redeem the land. According to the Ministry of Finance's estimate, at least 1200 million Tumans are needed, but the Ministry of Finance can only come up with 200 million Tumans.

In addition, the army's salaries, railway construction costs, and the royal family's daily expenses all required money, so raising funds became the most important thing.

Nasser al-Din called on the nation to donate to help them through the crisis, but few responded. And rightly so, who would give money away? Fortunately, before he left, he had the banks print a large number of patriotic bonds. Anyone who bought them would receive interest over the next ten years, and the principal would be returned in the final year.

Only merchants dared to buy such novel products. In addition, royalty and officials also bought a lot. The rest depended on how hard the salesmen worked.

“Given the current domestic situation, I propose abolishing local tariffs to alleviate the merchants’ discontent!” Amir suggested.

Nasserdin had no intention of stopping them. Iran's tribal population was too large, making up a quarter of the total population, and they were also the main beneficiaries of local tariffs. If they weren't suppressed, given their reckless nature, he estimated that all sorts of problems would continue to plague him in the future.

Without a doubt, by this point Nasser al-Din was no longer concerned with making the rebellion even more intense. The government's reforms had effectively satisfied the demands of the citizens and farmers.

In politics, it's always wise to divide and conquer, unite the majority, and strike at a small minority.

Abolishing local tariffs only harms the interests of large tribes; small tribes are not entitled to profit from them, and their interests are even harmed. Without tariffs, at least all the products they produce will be more competitive.

"The Chancellor of the Exchequer is right. Abolishing tariffs now will allow the economy to recover as quickly as possible, which is very important for us."

Because of the war, our fiscal revenue will likely decrease significantly this year. If it weren't for the confiscation of the rebels' property, the government would probably be bankrupt by now.

The upcoming campaign to quell the rebellion will undoubtedly be extremely expensive, and this money will likely be far from sufficient. We must find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

For Iran, an agricultural country, agricultural taxes are the main source of revenue, but spending money will be a major expense in the coming years, so they still need to find ways to increase income.

(End of this chapter)