Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 6 Central
Hammond was invited to the governor's residence, and as the British consul, he roughly knew the reason for the invitation. Recalling the Ottoman Empire's current efforts at reform, he also wanted to be one of those driving change in Persia. He believed that by supporting Persia and preventing Russian aggression against India, he could certainly be promoted.

Upon arriving at the governor's residence, Hammond met Nasser al-Din, the 14-year-old governor who was also looking at him. Hammond saw an unimaginable calmness and composure in the man's eyes, much like Abbas the Great of Persia. Perhaps Britain could cooperate with him to jointly deal with Russia.

"Your Excellency Governor, is there anything I can do for you?"

As the governor's mouthpiece, Amir relayed the governor's request: "The governor wishes to send some people to your country to study. I wonder if that would be possible?"

Hammond thought for a moment and said, "The United Kingdom would be delighted to have your students come to study; this will be a new chapter in cooperation between our two countries."

The specific details still need to be discussed with the ambassador. He has already received word that Ambassador Wallace is on his way. He needs to summarize the situation and then tell the ambassador that the rest is up to them.

Naserdin also learned about the cost of studying abroad; each student would need to prepare approximately £200 to cover their expenses for the next five years. This money would be paid by the Governor's Office, as long as they could complete their studies and return home.

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Tehran, the capital of Iran.

In 1795, Ujah Muhammad, the first king of the Qajar dynasty, designated Tehran as the capital of Persia. He also carried out a large-scale plan for Tehran, which at that time had a population of approximately 15, making it the most populous city in Persia.

The Gulestan Palace, the residence of the Persian Shah. The current Persian ruler, Muhammad, is holding a new cabinet meeting.

"Your Majesty, everyone has arrived."

The Grand Vizier reported to Muhammad, and the Shah announced the start of the meeting.

The Finance Minister was the first to report on the fiscal situation. Currently, the national budget deficit is 150 million Tumans annually, and this cannot continue. The country will face problems.

Officials in the Ministry of Finance were called financial officers. As members of the backward bureaucratic system of Qajar, they also handled official business in an informal manner. However, the position of financial officer was one of the few positions in the Qajar dynasty that required professional skills training. Under the educational conditions at the time, professional knowledge was usually taught by the father to the son, so the position of financial officer was mostly hereditary.

Because of their deep-rooted local connections, even if their methods of fulfilling fiscal responsibilities are crude and illegal, they are still part of the fiscal system in terms of function, and without them, the fiscal system simply cannot function.

"Regarding this matter, I wonder if my dear Grand Vizier has any solutions?"

Hussein wiped his sweat and said to the Shah, “Shah, we need to expand our tax base now. We can increase taxes on grain.”

“No, the current taxes are already extremely oppressive to the farmers. If we continue like this, they will have no way to survive,” Ayatollah objected. However, Muhammad agreed, arguing that the farmers couldn't be squeezed dry and that action should be taken against them. During the reign of the previous Shah Fatah, the Qajar dynasty maintained good relations with the Shia ulama, and royal grants constituted a significant source of revenue for the Shia ulama. An Isfahan ulama owned 400 inns and 2000 shops in Isfahan, and received substantial land grants from Fatah Ali Shah. It could be said that the clergy owned the most land property.

However, the clergy were no longer under the Shah's control. Religion, the judiciary, and education were their main areas of influence, and the extensive alliance between monasteries and bazaars (markets) formed the social basis for the independence of religious power from secular power. The ulama consolidated their alliance with the people, and their ties with bazaar society, including merchants and artisans, were further strengthened. At the same time, the balance of power between the religious and secular factions gradually shifted. The Shia ulama were no longer merely tools for the king to rule his subjects, but began to emerge as an important group that rivaled the secular regime. Consequently, the political center of the state oscillated between the religious and secular factions.

Muhammad, feeling a headache coming on, didn't want to continue and adjourned the meeting. The meeting had yielded no results, which greatly angered him. Like his father, Muhammad was committed to reforms to put the country on a path of development. Through his efforts, photography, a technology still novel in Europe, was introduced to Persia.

When Muhammad got angry, he coughed uncontrollably. He had been frail and sickly since childhood, and his gout had recently flared up again. The infighting within his family had worsened his condition, and the aggressive actions of Britain and Russia made his plans extremely difficult, forcing him to focus on minor adjustments.

“Damn it, they don’t want to live. I am the Shah, the master of Iran, and I have been humiliated by them.”

The more Muhammad spoke, the angrier he became, and the more pain he felt.

“Shah, we still need to be patient. They are no longer the people who obey orders as before.”

Having served two kings in succession, the elder Said knew Muhammad's thoughts best. Now, the tribes, ulima, and landowners were beginning to disobey him, exhibiting a strong sense of independent rule. This was intolerable to the king.

"Are we just going to watch them divide Iran into pieces?"

Muhammad walked with difficulty, leaning on his cane. "Which of them hasn't received favors? They want to change things, but they just say no. Look at the situation now. If it weren't for the help of other countries, they would probably have been annexed by Russia long ago. Those are the most ardent people when it comes to land."

Shah became increasingly angry as he spoke, and even tried to throw his cane, but he didn't.

“Shah, don’t be angry. I heard that Tabriz is still doing well. Not only has it formed an army, but it also pays the most taxes.”

“Tabriz…” Muhammad calmed down. He knew this was a gift from his son Nasser al-Din, who had handed over 200 million tomans to these corrupt officials.

“Starting with my father, the crown prince has always served as governor of Tabriz. Naserdin was too soft-hearted, so I made Amir his tutor, and now it seems that my decision was correct.”

"His Majesty is always right."

Mohammed chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "Haven't we made any progress in our negotiations with Oman regarding the port of Bandar Abbas?"

Said shook his head. "They refuse to concede because they have British support. They say they'll concede, but only if we exchange Bushehr for it."

Muhammad would not allow it. Although times had changed and Bandar Abbas had gradually lost its economic viability due to siltation, Bushehr had become a new port city for Persia. In 1823, Persia had prepared to expel Oman, but the Sultan successfully maintained control of the city through bribery and tribute from the governor of Shiraz.

"O Allah, bless your people," Muhammad said weakly.

(End of this chapter)