Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 231 Profit
The entire Emirates of Bukhara had an army of only 20,000 men, mostly cavalry. Iran took over all of these troops and began to transform them into modern forces.

"Governor, when are we going to attack Kokand? The soldiers can't wait any longer."

The adjutant asked Yahya, and upon hearing that they were going to attack Kokand, the soldiers below could no longer contain themselves.

"No rush, we'll go after things are settled in Bukhara."

Bukhara has a much larger population than Khiva, so it will take much longer to stabilize the area.

"The situation within Kokand has been quite lively these past few years. It's like having an apple tree in your own backyard. When the apples are ripe, they will naturally fall into your hands."

That's what they said, but it was clear that the soldiers couldn't wait for the apples to fall naturally; they wanted to pick them themselves.

Not only the soldiers, but also the Iranian merchants in Samarkand were impatient. They wanted to eliminate Kokand and participate in the Silk Road trade independently, thus avoiding tolls.

According to the trade treaty signed between the Qing Dynasty and Kokand, Kokand monopolized trade with the Qing Dynasty in the northwest. Russia also joined the trade with the northwest under the same trade agreement, a move that continued after they monopolized the Kyakhta trading port in Mongolia. If Iran wanted to participate, it could only negotiate with the Qing Dynasty, but this would take a long time, so it first destroyed Kokand and seized its trade share.

The benefits of Kokand extend beyond this. Located in the Fergana Valley, one of Central Asia's two most water-rich regions, it is one of the few places in Central Asia where large-scale agriculture can be developed, thanks to the numerous rivers flowing through it.

Kokand was once invincible in Central Asia, but gradually declined due to internal strife. After the fall of Kerzlorda, it never recovered and is now a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered by other countries.

In early September, once the weather had improved slightly, Yahya led 2500 men, along with four machine guns and ten artillery pieces, on their march. Their target was Tashkent, a key town in Kokand.

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Why not send a telegram about this?

Upon his return, the Shah learned of Russia's acquisition of land in the Far East. This was not unusual, but what angered him was that Iran had known about this for some time, yet the Grand Vizier had not reported it immediately.

"It's because we're worried about the Shah's schedule being delayed, and we've already had a meeting to discuss the situation. We also think that sending troops to the Far East isn't a good idea."

Naserdin was somewhat incredulous. "When are we going to send troops? Will you cover the round-trip military expenses?"

Naser al-Din knew that the Grand Vizier was acting in the interest of the country, but he couldn't keep it from the Shah. A monarch's greatest taboo is for his ministers to conceal things from him; in the past, such a thing would have meant death.

“I’ve seen the results of your discussion, and there are no problems. They want the port, and that’s not something we can stop them from doing. Let them have it; it’s not our land anyway.”

And the Chief of Staff's talk of an expedition to Korea? We'll talk about that after we defeat Japan. We're going to the Far East to make money, not to fight and kill.

Nasserdin currently wants nothing to do with the Far East except trade; he wants to sort things out in the Middle East first. As for the Far East, he sees it as a money-making venture. Speaking of the Far East, Nasserdin recalled an earlier incident where he asked Amir, "I heard we're making good money in Japan?"

"According to sources, we can make a three-fold profit by reselling the gold we buy from Japan. Now, most of our business partners in Japan are doing this business."

After Japan opened its doors to the world, a large amount of trade goods came from overseas, while raw materials produced in Japan were exported in large quantities. But the most profitable commodity was Japanese gold.

The domestic gold-silver exchange rate in Japan is 1:5, lower than the international market rate of 1:15. This means that silver is three times more expensive in the Japanese market than in the international market.

也就是说，日本的5两白银可以兑换1两黄金，而国际市场是15两白银兑换1两黄金。这意味在日本15两白银可以兑换3两黄金，不需要任何商品交易便可获得3倍利润！
Iranian merchants also discovered this loophole. With the help of the Banque de l'Indochine, they imported large quantities of gold into Japanese ports and then resold it for a profit of three times the initial investment. Now, most Iranian merchant ships traveling from Japan to Shanghai are carrying gold.

"Let them do it, but be careful. The Japanese are narrow-minded. Don't let them lose their lives while trying to make money."

At this time, some powerful domains in Japan, particularly the Satsuma and Choshu domains in the southwest, dissatisfied with the shogunate's rule, saw the emergence of many anti-shogunate samurai who raised the banner of "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians." Many of these powerful domains had been stripped of their territory and suppressed by the shogunate after the Battle of Sekigahara, compounded by the shogunate's incompetence in the face of foreign invasion. These samurai's intention to overthrow the shogunate and restore power to the emperor to resist foreign aggression was understandable. However, as Japan's connections with the West deepened, the irreconcilable contradictions between the reality and this cultural structure gradually surfaced, leading to several xenophobic incidents.

Because of their opposition to the shogunate, it seemed that killing foreigners could weaken the shogunate. Subsequently, a large number of foreigners were assassinated in Japan, and even Iranian merchants were not spared.

This was also to quickly resolve the Ottoman issue and shift his attention to the East; he couldn't let Japan hinder his plans.

“Shah, the troops from Tabriz and Yerevan have been moved to the border. Now all we need is a reason to start the war, and then we can launch it legitimately.”

Nasserdin laughed when he heard the reason, “Do you need to look for one? In Baghdad, Najaf, and Damascus, there will always be a thousand reasons waiting.”

The escalating sectarian conflict is the perfect pretext for war. The Ottoman Empire’s disastrous religious reform policies have offended all religious groups, and the deteriorating economic situation has forced the Sultan to play his last two trump cards: war and constitutional reform.

Whichever card they play, it will divert public attention and buy time for the government. It all depends on Sudan's choice. As for Iran, only war is their trump card.

"Tell the soldiers to calm down. Everyone knows there will be war between us and the Ottomans, but the Europeans either pretend not to see it or think that peace has arrived. But who knows that our two countries are already irreconcilable enemies?"

On the Ottoman side, intelligence work must be done well; don't be stingy with money.

"Yes"

Amir slowly retreated, noticing Sayyid nod as he left. Fortunately, he had inquired with Sayyid before meeting the Shah, and the Shah was in a good mood at the moment, so talking to him now would ease his anger.

The Shah is now focused on Mesopotamia; he needs to hurry up and make preparations, as it's probably about to begin.

(End of this chapter)