Persian Empire 1845

Is Chapter 264 really the end?

On December 8, the four-nation coalition landed in Osaka. The Emperor was alarmed, as Osaka was too close to Kyoto and he himself would be in danger if things continued this way. So, a week later, he withdrew his decree.

Now, peace talks were no longer an option. Faced with superior naval power and cannons, the Satsuma and Choshu domains finally yielded. This battle, the largest since the arrival of the Black Ships, ended a month and a half later.

In terms of damage, nearly 30 percent of the buildings along the Samoan coast were destroyed, including not only residential houses, but also mints, arsenals, and numerous shops. Despite the extensive damage, the number of casualties was relatively low, totaling only 658 people including those executed by Iran.

The Iranian side suffered 13 dead and 50 wounded. They also captured 1980 prisoners, who will be returned after the war, as they still need to consume food and manpower.

However, this round of negotiations was even more volatile, as Iran raised its demands. These included, but were not limited to: opening the ports of Kagoshima, Osaka, and Nagoya; paying the coalition forces $650 million in reparations, equivalent to 3100 million rials; and ceding a piece of land in Yokohama and Nagasaki as public concessions, with Iran, Britain, the United States, the Netherlands, and France each receiving a concession in Kagoshima and Osaka.

These conditions were intolerable to the daimyo. Paying reparations was understandable; ceding territory was absolutely out of the question. Their samurai clamored for a final battle, but the allied forces extinguished their enthusiasm with cannon fire. The foreign powers were no match for them.

As for reparations, the daimyo were unwilling to pay a single penny. But they had no choice but to pay.

As a result, they came up with a rather unethical idea—to ask the shogunate for a loan under the pretext of financial difficulties, and to tell the shogunate that if they did not lend the money, then they would have no choice but to continue fighting, and the war might eventually spread to the whole of Japan.

The shogunate wasn't stupid and certainly didn't want to be the sucker, but the matter had escalated to a serious level, with actual warfare already underway. If the central government continued to stand idly by, it risked creating major chaos. Therefore, despite its considerable financial constraints, it was prepared to provide compensation.

When the peace treaty was delivered to Abdullah in Ryukyu, he was completely stunned. The war ended too quickly; he was all prepared, and then he was told it was over? It seems Japan wasn't so great after all.

However, this military intervention also appropriately expanded Iran's sphere of influence. The newly acquired ally, Ryukyu, was overjoyed to see Amami Oshima return, and the nobles vied to meet Abdullah. This made Iran even busier in East Asia.

"I never imagined that foreigners were so powerful. I'm afraid the adults have lost confidence and are about to give up."

Watching the Iranians demarcate the boundaries of Kagoshima, Katsuhiro, who was assigned to do the work, felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow. How had their country become like this?

"It's hard to believe, but that's the reality. Our military is actually very strong, but our internal strength is too weak. After the war ends, we should focus on building up our national power."

Okubo Toshimichi also came to terms with this. Foreigners were indeed powerful, but they could learn from their strengths. Just as over a thousand years ago, they sent envoys to Tang China to learn; and hundreds of years ago, they traded with the Portuguese and acquired firearms. Now, they could also learn advanced foreign technologies and then arm their own country.

"This war has given many people pause for thought."

A sigh drifted away on the wind.

Sukhumi, located on the Black Sea coast, is a popular health resort with numerous hot springs and subtropical botanical gardens. It's perfect for a winter vacation.

Naserdin and his wife strolled through the botanical garden, marveling at the wonders of nature as they looked at these plants they never saw before.

"These are things you can't see in Tehran. I wish I could see them every day."

"That's easy. Just have someone build a botanical garden in Tehran and move these plants there."

Naserdin felt he had neglected his family and should enrich their lives. A botanical garden wouldn't be a bad thing.

The vacation went quite well; at least it calmed Shah's restless heart. The following days were spent wandering around and enjoying the scenery, and life was quite pleasant.

Of course, he wasn't completely unaware of outside news; he was informed of major events happening in various places via telegram. For example, the Declaration of Freedom being issued in Russia.

The Tsar personally announced this news, declaring that from the time the declaration was issued, peasants would gain all the rights of free rural residents. Peasants who agreed to fulfill the relevant obligations and retain land ownership could reside on landowners' estates. To ensure the peasants' normal livelihood, landowners were required to provide them with a certain amount of land to cultivate. Peasants could use their allotted land after fulfilling their obligations; these peasants were temporary obligor peasants. Simultaneously, peasants had the right to redeem their adjacent land; with the landowner's consent, peasants could redeem their long-term allotted land and make it their private property, and so on.

The General Decree Concerning the Liberation of Serfs from Subservience was another important decree in the serfdom reform. This decree detailed the conditions for the emancipation of serfs, and its contents were numerous, with each article striving to protect the interests of the landlords.

The major reforms resulted in a double deprivation of peasants: first, they deprived peasants of their patriarchal dependence on landlords and their minimum means of survival; second, they completely stripped peasants of their resources, which were either monetized or converted into labor, through redemption.

The landlord economy freed itself from the patriarchal dependency of serfs, transforming land management from a supra-economic feudal social function to a purely economic profit-making function. It accumulated capital through redemption and integrated resources by dismantling dependency relationships. The landlord economy embarked on a conservative path, the "Prussian path."

While such reforms have their flaws, they have also adapted to economic development to some extent. And this reform is just the beginning; a series of further reforms await Russia.

In contrast, Iranian agriculture abolished serfdom from the outset through violent means. Farmers who gained land became more motivated to produce, leading to increased yields of grain and various cash crops.

The farmers' enthusiasm encouraged industrial and commercial growth. Some farmers became wealthy and rich, while poor farmers were unwilling to remain poor. They spontaneously banded together, formed cooperatives, and increased grain yield per mu by 20-30%, while income from sideline businesses multiplied.

This agricultural model was affirmed by the Shah, particularly in remote areas where community cohesion is especially important. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry ordered the nationwide promotion of agricultural cooperatives and encouraged farmers to adopt industrialized farming methods by appropriately increasing agricultural product prices.

Of course, there are also those who are stuck in the past, but these people who can't keep up with the times are destined to be eliminated. Iran and Nasser al-Din won't stop to wait for them.

(End of this chapter)