Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 83 The Collapse of the Vienna System

"Your Highness, we have obtained 600 million rials worth of machinery from Britain and Prussia. They have been loaded onto ships and will be back soon."

The newly appointed Minister of Industry and Commerce, Hussein, briefed Nasser al-Din on the situation, stating that due to the economic crisis, they could obtain more machinery, which was a good thing for their businesses.

"That's good. We can set up factories for these products in various cities to show businessmen what they're made of, so they can increase their investment."

Establishing model factories to show businessmen the potential for investment in industry is a wise move.

"We plan to set up a shipyard in Bushehr and improve port facilities so that we can build the first ship in the shortest possible time."

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce's industrial plan is a ten-year process. The government takes the lead in heavy industries such as military, steel, and mining, while guiding and encouraging private development of light industries such as textiles and food, enhancing agricultural productivity, increasing farmers' income, and enriching social capital. It also makes good use of idle resources, especially focusing on increasing exports to improve the trade balance.

With this plan, Iran can continue to drive economic development. At this stage, the country needs to export heavily to generate funds; domestically, it's too poor to extract much from the country.

Following the railway, Nasser al-Din also promoted the widespread adoption of the telegraph, and welcomed the introduction of other new technologies. He believed this would accelerate national development.

After its establishment, the National Bank became the sole issuer of the riyal. This stabilized the financial system and firmly maintained the exchange rate at 1 pound to 10 riyals. With the unification of currency and markets, commodity exchange and economic interaction became closer; the wider circulation of the riyal increased public reliance on its credit, and the government's credibility also improved.

Chabahar, Iran's southernmost city, is located at the entrance to the Gulf of Oman. It is Iran's closest and best passage to the Indian Ocean.

This area is also of importance to the central government, because Iran's major port cities are all located in the Persian Gulf, while Chabahar is located outside the Strait of Hormuz, making it a vital port town. The local municipal staff are mostly composed of officers from the new army and enlightened bureaucrats.

The area has great commercial potential, so the local government has submitted a proposal to build a railway from Chabahar to Isfahan, but it requires a lot of funding.

Like Chabahar, many other cities also hoped to improve their transportation infrastructure and petitioned the railway authority to expedite the construction of a railway. However, the state was short of funds; the only means to sustain the Tabriz railway construction were already deducting money from the surplus. To move the construction forward, even more funding was needed.

This is where the banks' advantages become apparent. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was willing to lend 200 million rials to the Isfahan Railway, and the Industrial Bank of Israel contributed 100 million, raising a total of 300 million rials for the construction of the Tehran-Isfahan railway. However, other railways still had to wait in line.

1848年3月25日，伊朗沙阿正式发布命令，从4月1日开始，一切海上奴隶贸易勒令停止。陆地上的奴隶贸易延长到9月1日停止。

After numerous wrangling and disputes, Iran has finally taken a major step in abolishing the slave trade. Although some remnants remain, it has been a significant achievement for Iran.

The Shah did not grant the slaves in the country corresponding freedom, but they could obtain it by paying a sum of money. In other words, freedom came at a price.

In reality, declaring it illegal now is largely meaningless. Most slaves were freed during the civil war in the past few months, and they became tenant farmers, artisans, small merchants, and so on. Moreover, the slave trade has declined, and very few people are sold into Iran anymore; only those sold into slavery are legally permitted. Declaring it illegal now serves as a demonstration to Europe of how Iran is striving to move forward.

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Protests within the Austrian Empire grew louder and louder. Under public pressure, Metternich, the architect of the Vienna System and Austrian Chancellor, resigned and went into exile, leading to the collapse of the Vienna System.

At this time, at 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister John Russell was contemplating the current world situation, primarily the French question. The newly established provisional government had already expressed goodwill to the British Empire diplomatically, and he was still hesitant about whether to accept it.

The Vienna system has collapsed, so how should the future political landscape of Europe be established?

Despite the British's impressive diplomatic skills, the Prime Minister didn't think much of it before the Vienna System collapsed, but now that it's truly crumbling, he's starting to have a headache.

Under the Vienna system, European countries maintained a balance of power, allowing the British to confidently expand their territories overseas.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, given the current situation, we can continue with our previous strategic plan: to establish a unified Italian dynasty, weaken Austria's power, and simultaneously block the French expansion into Italy!" Foreign Secretary Palmerston proposed.
The Prime Minister frowned and said, "Mr. Palmerston, this is the ideal situation. In reality, for the sake of the balance of power among European countries, we still need Austria's existence."

Austria is currently plagued by internal conflicts and may disintegrate. Without checks and balances, the Habsburg family will return to the German peninsula.

In Europe, where bloodline is a strong factor, the prime minister's concerns were not unfounded. Once Austria disintegrated, the return of the remaining Austrian states to Germany became almost inevitable.

Even if it wasn't the Habsburgs who unified Germany, the Prussians would have been in charge, right? The emergence of a unified Greater German Empire would not have been a good thing for the British.

"The situation in Austria may not be as dire as we imagine. The riots in Vienna were quickly suppressed, and while other places were unstable, no major unrest broke out."

In order to prevent the revolution in Europe from affecting Russia, the Russian government must support Austria. With our support, even if a rebellion breaks out in Hungary, it will be quickly suppressed!
"Besides, we don't need the Kingdom of Sardinia to completely defeat Austria. If necessary, we can mediate. As long as the French are prevented from sending troops to support the Kingdom of Sardinia, the situation is under our control," Palmerston said after thinking for a moment.

Austria is the greatest force in the Near East to counterbalance Russian expansion. If Austria were to aid Russia now, it would be inevitable that it would have to relinquish some of its interests in the Balkans.

The Kingdom of Sardinia had to work hard to unify Italy; London only provided limited support. Success would be ideal, but failure would not implicate Britain.

(End of this chapter)