Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 84 Hiring Foreigners

On March 19, Frederick William IV was forced to abolish censorship and send diplomatic notes to the German states, requesting a joint conference to discuss German unification.

The King walked through the streets of Berlin and attended the mass funeral for the civilian insurgents who had tragically perished at the Friedrichshain Cemetery within the city. The King himself, ministers, and generals wore the black, red, and gold tricolor uniforms symbolizing the revolution. Meanwhile, Polish prisoners who had planned uprisings in the former Kingdom of Poland's territories under Prussian rule were released and paraded throughout the city, receiving a warm welcome from the people. The 254 people who died during the demonstrations were laid out on a platform in Gendarmenmarkt.

Metternich's hopes for a trilateral alliance between Prussia, Austria, and Russia were dashed, and diplomatic relations between Prussia and Austria and Russia deteriorated sharply.

The Rhineland, Hesse-Rhineland, Luxembourg, and the Palatinate all share a history of Napoleon's rule after 1795. Napoleon's army destroyed the army of the Holy Roman Empire, and the social, administrative, and legislative measures established under his rule further crushed the feudal rule previously held by clergy and nobles in the region. Although the Rhineland's land is not the best for cultivation, forestry has been a traditional and powerful industry.

Benefiting from the coal resources near Count Mark's estate and the Rhine River's waterway leading to the North Sea, the land on the left bank of the Rhine became Germany's most important industrial region in the 19th century. By 1848, Aachen, Cologne, and Düsseldorf were highly industrialized, boasting several different types of industries.

Then came the economic crisis. Local factory bankruptcies increased by 40%, and prices plummeted. Industrial goods couldn't be sold, although some countries still bought them, albeit in very small numbers.

Soleimani watched everything that happened in Berlin every day and thought they were being incredibly rebellious, daring to defy their king. But when he saw the fate of Louis XVI, he thought it made perfect sense. Perhaps it was the fierce nature of the European people.

"What exactly are they after?" Soleimani wondered.

At that moment, a tall man was arguing with another person.

"What do you mean? I'm ready to sacrifice myself for the king at any time, and you're making me do logistics?"

"This is already the best-case scenario. The king is ready to promulgate a constitution and convene parliament. There is no way a war will break out."

"Damn it, how could the king compromise with those people? He should send troops to kill them."

The tall man had barely finished speaking when the old man opposite him stared at him in horror. "You, you've gone mad! Are you trying to send the kingdom to hell?"

“It’s not me who’s sending the kingdom to hell, it’s you bunch of good-for-nothings. When the king is threatened by a mob, your first instinct isn’t to come to his aid, but to whine and argue here. Where is the semblance of a loyal subject?”

Soleimani knew this man; he was a member of the Berlin state parliament. He had heard that Soleimani was originally a candidate, but after four days of the formal meeting, a member withdrew due to health reasons, and he was promoted.

Judging from his angry expression, he seems to be a supporter of the king.

In Berlin, liberals, conservatives, republicans, and monarchists gathered together. This was unprecedented in Iran, but Soleimani's childhood education and training at the military academy taught him that loyalty to the monarch was essential, and that a republic was merely a fantasy of a group of people who wanted to seize power.

"Ibrahim, we agreed to go to the Brandenburg Gate today, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing much, just browsing." Iran can only be a bystander in this European revolution, or perhaps take the opportunity to buy up assets in the Rhineland at bargain prices. Iran's economy hasn't yet reached the high standards of Europe, so there's no need to worry about such movements within the country for the time being.

However, at this time, imports and exports between various countries and Iran saw varying degrees of increase. This was largely due to the import of machinery and the export of carpets and agricultural products, as the domestic population still needed a large amount of food.

The first person was the Iranian ambassador to Prussia, who was at the time acquiring machinery from bankrupt factories in the Rhineland and recruiting workers, whose wages were very cheap due to the economic crisis.

“We have already recruited more than 100 people in Hamburg and more than 300 in the Ruhr region. They are mainly concentrated in large industries such as steel, machinery manufacturing, chemicals, and coal mining. There are also some light industries such as food and textiles.”

Because of Hamburg's convenient transportation, the ambassador placed the command center for Prussian talent recruitment here, and he was responsible for guiding the recruitment work in various regions from here.

"We haven't been able to attract enough education and research talent; we need to increase our efforts, especially in recruiting senior professionals such as professors and engineers. I heard that Manchester has already recruited more than 500 people; let's finish our task soon too."

This large-scale recruitment of talent is also a policy promoted by the Iranian government. Teachers may not be interested, but unemployed skilled workers will be. They will do anything to make a living.

They could have emigrated overseas, but the economic crisis hit too quickly, and they lost their jobs before they could even react. They didn't even have the money to buy a boat ticket to maintain their daily lives. This gave Iran an advantage. As for whether these people can adapt to life in Iran, that depends on their ability to adjust.

The local government, seeing this, didn't stop them; this would reduce the potential for riots, so why not? They'd already given them the path, and if they didn't want to, there was nothing they could do.

Of course, it wasn't just Manchester; Iran also set its sights on Scotland. Casting a wide net is a good strategy, and with the UK's recruitment quota of 750 people almost full, the ambassador had a sudden inspiration: what if they allocated 50 places to Ireland? Let's see what they can get.
Dublin, Ireland, is one of the most densely populated areas in the country, and its economy is relatively developed. However, due to the economic crisis of 1847, many factories went out of business. Hearing about job opportunities abroad, many workers planned to give it a try, after all, survival was the most important thing.

The spots here filled up quickly. Although the country they were going to scared off many people, they still chose to integrate into the local society rather than into paradise.

"Patrick, you're going to Persia too? I heard there are no churches there. Can you, a devout son of God, handle it?"

"I know that, but compared to that, I think surviving is more important."

Patrick was actually more afraid of being exposed, because he had managed to deceive them by presenting himself as an agricultural expert. But he didn't know what to do in Iran, a place he knew nothing about. If he died, how would his family survive?

But the other person didn't seem to expose him, perhaps out of pity for him, since his family had all died in the famine, leaving only him and his wife. That's alright, as long as they can get through this, everything will be alright.

History took a turn here. This immigrant family was originally going to immigrate to the United States, and their descendants would grow up and eventually reach the White House. But correspondingly, a death curse accompanied every member of the family. It remains to be seen whether this curse will still be in effect in Iran.

(End of this chapter)