The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 23
July 1722, 7, Bandar Abbas.

The carriage stopped steadily at the door of the Qi Consulate in Bandar Abbas Port. A hired Persian waiter diligently stepped forward to open the door, and saw the gloomy Qi Consul Luo Zhihao. He stepped out of the carriage and walked straight in. consulate.

"Where are the warships belonging to the naval fleet now?" After Luo Zhihao summoned Wu Hongyan, the military counselor of the consulate and the navy's military commander (captain), he asked in a deep voice: "Also, can the army stationed in Oman stabilize the local situation? Transferred to Persia?"

"General Kuang, commander of the Persian Fleet, returned to Jinmen Fort (now Karachi, Pakistan) with four warships a month ago to perform routine maintenance on the ships." Wu Hongyan responded: "The other nine warships under the fleet are in Bushehr. and Jianmen Port (today's Aden, Yemen). The two companies of the army and three Mozhou servant battalions stationed in Muscat have basically stabilized the situation in Oman and helped the Assistant Minister of the Kingdom of Oman, Mohsin Gassani has defeated several major opponents and controlled most of the territory in the territory. If it needs to be mobilized, it should be possible. Consul Luo, is the Governor of Hormozgan Province still unwilling to lead troops to Isfahan? "

"Humph, in the face of the Afghan invasion, the Persians were not only cowardly and afraid of fighting, but also each and every one of them was ambitious, thinking that they could take advantage of the collapse of the Safavid Empire to separate themselves and achieve princely hegemony." Luo Zhihao said angrily: "Don't they know that once the Afghans are allowed to conquer Isfahan, the Safavid dynasty may be destroyed and a new dynasty will be established with Afghans as the ruling class. They, the local governors, will inevitably be attacked by this new dynasty. liquidation and replacing with a new governor who is loyal to the Afghans."

"I heard that at the beginning of last month, Prince Tahmasp, the third son of the Shah, successfully led more than a thousand cavalry to break through Isfahan and arrived at Qazvin, the old capital of the empire, where he was recruiting troops and building strength. ." Wu Hongyan said: "Would the regional governors of Persia want to engage in political speculation and place bets on several parties in order to obtain greater profits? Therefore, they will adopt a wait-and-see attitude and delay leading troops to Isfahan. The King of Qin’s actions. Moreover, I heard that under the city of Isfahan, the Afghans defeated several Persian reinforcements in succession, showing strong combat power. This also greatly frightened the local governor’s attempt to Qin the King.”

"Since the Battle of Gulnabad, the Afghans have been besieging Isfahan for four months." Luo Zhihao sighed and said: "I am very worried about whether the defenders in the city can continue to support it. In case, If things go wrong, we will usher in the biggest political change in Persia in decades, which will have a great impact on our country of Qi. In addition, I, the Minister of Qi, hundreds of businessmen and their families stationed in Isfahan, and If all of the more than two hundred army troops we dispatched were to fall in and encounter an unexpected incident, they would definitely alarm the mainland."

"Consul Luo, do you want to mobilize and organize a rescue force to go to Isfahan?" Wu Hongyan looked at the anxious Luo Zhihao and asked carefully.

"Well, there is this idea, but the Persians can't count on it at the moment. Do you have any good suggestions?"

"Consul Luo, there is an armed escort of 800 people in Bushehr Port, which is controlled by Persian trading companies. Under this situation, it can be used reluctantly."

"800 people?" Luo Zhihao frowned and shook his head and said: "800 people are too few, and most of the escorts are hired local Persian armed forces. Facing the powerful Afghan tribal army of more than [-], I'm afraid It only takes one confrontation to defeat them."

"800 people is a bit less." Wu Hongyan nodded and said: "But the Persian trading company is very wealthy and has tens of millions of funds. It can squeeze out some expenses and hire thousands of tribal armed forces temporarily in the local area. Together they can form an army worthy of a battle."

"Mercenaries?"

"Yes, they are mercenaries." Wu Hongyan smiled slightly, "Not only in Persia, but also in the Mughal Empire, there are countless examples of paying to hire troops to fight. More than 100 years ago, the second emperor of the Mughal Empire Humayun recruited tens of thousands of Persian mercenaries before he fought back to India and re-established the empire's rule in India. The reason why the governors of various parts of Persia did not actively dispatch troops to Isfahan to rescue King Qin was because they had their own In addition to being careful, the most important reason is that we don’t have much money. But this situation is not a big problem in front of Persian trading companies. "

"Persian Trading Company..." Luo Zhihao was immediately persuaded, pondered for a while, and asked softly: "Are they willing to spend money to do this?"

Persian Trading Company, as one of the largest trading monopoly trading companies in the country, not only has great financial strength, but also has an extremely deep background. The royal family, cabinet, princes, nobles, and commercial monopoly capital all have a large number of shares in it. Not to mention Luo Zhihao is a consul. The Persian envoy may not be able to easily persuade them.

"The Afghans traveled thousands of miles across Persia and conquered for several months. They must have captured countless properties. If they can seize one or two from them, it is also a huge fortune." Wu Hongyan said in a low voice: "Furthermore, , if the Afghans conquer the Safavid dynasty, our government and military's strategic layout in the Indian Ocean will certainly be affected. As a Persian trading company that has been deeply involved in Persia for decades, are they willing to see their trade interests suffer heavy losses? "

Hearing this, Luo Zhihao nodded gently.
-
November 7, Bushehr Port.

What Qi Yanming, the boss of the Persian Trading Company in Bushehr Port, likes to do most is to ride a horse with a team of guards to patrol the entire Bushehr city, and then watch countless local residents bend down to salute him respectfully, and they also throw a smile at him. Dao's humble and envious eyes seemed to be like a king inspecting his own territory.

In this port city, Persian trading companies provide food and clothing for tens of thousands of local residents, and are the masters of all their destiny.Although there are many official agencies and ulema stationed by the Safavid Empire in the city (such as the True God Imam, religious judges, etc.), the people of Qi still have the final say.Relying on the busy docks, thousands of Persian dock coolies can easily earn wages that far exceed those in other parts of the empire; many craftsmen in the city produce and process various handicraft products that are purchased by Qi merchants; restaurants, hotels, Carriage shops, taverns, and brothels are crowded with guests and business is booming due to the constant arrival of merchant ships; the grain, vegetables and fruits grown by hard-working Persian farmers on the outskirts of the city are also able to sell at a good price thanks to the prosperity of the port. .

"The population of our Bushehr City seems to have increased a lot." Qi Yanming stopped in the square, looking at the bustling flow of people on the street and the hawking sounds one after another, with a bit of relief on his face.

"Big shopkeeper, ever since the Afghans besieged Isfahan, the entire territory of Persia has been in chaos, so much so that refugees have been coming to Bushehr City. In addition to escaping the war, they just want to have a peaceful life." Bushehr City Guard captain Qin Maofa replied: "After all, a stable and orderly living environment like ours in Bushehr City is rare in other places in Persia."

"Since there are more refugees, are there any security problems in the city?"

"Petit theft, fights and other incidents have indeed increased more than before. In addition, local residents, out of concern for their own livelihood, have also experienced several violent incidents that exclude foreign refugees. However, under the sticks and whips of my escort, After being taught a lesson, he was temporarily suppressed.”

"Very good." Qi Yanming nodded and said: "In response to those violent incidents that may endanger the normal order in the city, you guards might as well be ruthless and kill as a warning to others. Don't let the Persians think that we are all kind-hearted bodhisattvas. Sometimes, Showing an angry-looking King Kong from time to time is more conducive to stabilizing the foundation of our rule in Bushehr City."

"Yes, big shopkeeper!"

"In addition, our escort team will recruit more personnel to increase the number to 200 people in case of emergencies."

"Is the big shopkeeper worried that Bushehr City will be attacked by nearby local armed forces?"

"That's right. The local situation in Persia is getting more and more chaotic. Who knows if those poor local tribes and armed forces will suddenly get hot and want to fight the autumn wind here and grab some money and food."

"The big shopkeeper has thought very carefully... My subordinates will start to handle this matter in the next few days."

"Well, I don't know if Isfahan is under siege. If our trading company's extremely important supplies are still safe. If the Afghans break our trading station outside Isfahan, we will suffer a lot! This will be a huge loss! The Safavid dynasty is so useless that they actually lost to a group of nomadic tribes in the Afghan mountains. ...Tsk, tsk, when the situation stabilizes, we have to take advantage of the situation to talk to Persia. The lease period of this Bushehr port is the best It can be extended for 80 to [-] years, or a permanent lease can be established."

"It's better to rent it permanently than to buy it out and turn it into the private property of our trading company." Qin Maofa said cleverly: "I think the Persians don't dare to refuse our request easily."

"Haha..." Qi Yanming couldn't help laughing after hearing this, "Old Qin, you guys who are soldiers, are you all ambitious for other people's territories?"

"Hehe..." Qin Maofa said with a smile: "Big shopkeeper, maybe the Safavid dynasty was destroyed by the Afghans, and then we might be able to get this port for free."

"The Afghans are not easy people to deal with. They are too barbaric and backward, and they don't follow the rules at all." Qi Yanming shook his head and said: "If possible, we still have to protect the rule of the Safavid dynasty. After all, we are all together. The country, as well as our trading company, have spent a lot of time and energy on it. We cannot let it... fail so easily!"

(End of this chapter)