Chapter 1375: East-Poland Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance
Persia, which is the semi-colonial country mentioned by Russian leader Vladimir, also has a blood feud with Russia in history. Like the Far Eastern Empire, Tsarist Russia is the country that has encroached the most on Persian territory in modern times.
What is even more unfortunate than the Far Eastern Empire is that the Persian territory seized by Tsarist Russia can be said to be the most fertile land in Persia.
These lands include large tracts of territory along the Caspian Sea, such as Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, etc. At the same time, Persia also became a puppet regime in the hands of Russia.
The Qajar dynasty itself originated in the north of Persia. It is no exaggeration to say that the territory seized by Russia was the birthplace of the Qajar royal family. This is similar to the experience of the former Qing royal family in the Far Eastern Empire.
So judging from Persia’s historical experience, the relationship between Persia and Russia could not be good, but Russia was too powerful, so Persia dared not speak out.
On the other hand, although East Africa is also a country with evil ambitions, East Africa and Persia are separated by the Indian Ocean after all, which can make Persia feel somewhat safe. Similarly, if it was not East Africa but Britain or the United States that came to Persia this time, Persia would feel even safer.
Unfortunately, the British are now powerless. As for the United States, if Persia dared to ally with the United States, the East African Fleet would appear at Persia's doorstep the next day. In fact, the Third Fleet in East Africa can now teach Persia how to behave, and the Third Fleet is stationed around Persia.
After the signing of the London Naval Treaty, the most powerful navy in the Indian Ocean is the East African Navy. Although Britain consolidated the Royal Navy's position as the world's number one navy through the London Naval Treaty, the reduction in the size of the navy has resulted in a smaller area controlled than before World War I.
The London Naval Treaty restricts the main warships of various countries, that is, their long-distance combat capabilities, and the Indian Ocean is undoubtedly a long-distance sea compared to the British mainland.
East Africa itself has an advantage in the Indian Ocean. In addition, it acquired a large amount of land in the Persian Gulf during World War I. It can deploy a large number of non-main combat ships and has military bases along the Persian Gulf to provide logistical support, which further enhances East Africa's influence in the Persian Gulf.
In addition, East Africa’s air force base in Qatar is also under construction. Once the base is completed, the entire Persian Gulf coast will be within East Africa’s range.
Given the strong advantages that East Africa has accumulated in the Persian Gulf, it is basically impossible for any other country to become a new player in the Persian Gulf region.
Among the old players in the Persian Gulf region, Britain is aging, the Ottoman Empire is only in appearance, and other countries are even more miserable. This means that at this stage no country can challenge East Africa's military hegemony in the Persian Gulf region.
Of course, the Persians are well aware of this, which is one of the reasons why the Tehran government feels at ease accepting East Africa's "protection".
Subsequently, Kabril began to study and discuss the details of the "cooperation" between the two countries with King Ahmed's government.
Kabril said: "In order to deal with the threat from Russia, Persia should deepen cooperation with the Empire in all aspects. The first thing is to abolish all past cooperation between Persia and Russia. Does His Majesty agree with this?"
King Ahmed thought to himself, "What if I disagree?" Of course, he dared not reveal this, but said with a smile, "Of course, we Persians will never go along with the evil country of Russia. General Kabril, to be honest, Persia has suffered from Russia for a long time. At least 70% of all the sufferings of Persia today are caused by Russia."
As for the remaining 30%, according to King Ahmed, it was naturally the British's fault.
Of course, although Britain is not a good person, compared with the greedy Russians, it is already considered a "good guy".
General Kabril was very satisfied with Ahmed's statement. He said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. With our support from East Africa, we will definitely do our best to help your country resist the invasion of Russia, but this also requires your cooperation."
"First, the Persian government should completely dismantle the railways built to Russian standards in Persia to block Russia's convenient passage to the south. At the same time, East Africa should help Persia build railways from Tehran and other places to the coast of the Persian Gulf. Of course, the funds for building the railways will be borne by the Persian government, and the Empire will be responsible for providing personnel and technical support."
"If your country lacks funds, you can also apply for a loan from East Africa and use Persian minerals as collateral. Your Majesty, don't worry. We will definitely give Persia a suitable price. We will not, like other countries, seize your country's resources in the name of building railways. Of course, this mainly depends on whether your country's economic strength can support railway construction."
Gabriel's words were equivalent to saying nothing. After all, given Persia's current economic environment, the treasury was not only penniless, but it was also heartbreaking and made anyone who saw it cry.
After all, every few years, countries like Russia and Britain would come to blackmail the Persian government. Even if the Persian government was honest, it would not be possible to save much money. What's more, there is no completely honest government in the world, and the bureaucrats in a country like Persia have no bottom line.
Therefore, Persia had only one way out, which was to borrow money from East Africa.
Of course, East Africa’s purpose this time was not to drain the pond for fish, but to implement neo-colonialism in Persia, so the price would certainly not be too high.
Ahmed said with a sad face: "The Persian treasury is so poor that it can't even afford to feed rats. Moreover, demolishing the original railway and building a new one will undoubtedly make Persia's finances even worse."
General Kabril comforted him, "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry so much. After all, we are also concerned about your country's security. If we don't do this, Persia's accumulation will only serve as a wedding dress for the Russians. They have already taken Azerbaijan and will only get more in the future."
"Just look at which country around Russia has not been invaded by Russia? History has proven that countries like Russia are as greedy for other countries' land as a dog... and they have absolutely no sense of shame."
"No matter how much the Russian Labor Party flatters itself, it cannot change the fact that they are Russians. This kind of human weakness cannot be changed by shouting a few political slogans."
"We may want to gain benefits from Persia, but at least East Africa will abide by the rules. The Russian Labor Party only needs to incite the ignorant people, and they can get everything from Persia for nothing, including your life and death."
From this perspective, Kabril was not slandering the Russian Labor Party. In fact, the ideals of the Russian Labor Party were great, but they themselves could not achieve the world peace they pursued.
After Vladimir's death, Russia immediately became a new version of Tsarist Russia, or an enhanced version of Tsarist Russia. After the 1970s, it even dropped the fig leaf and turned directly into imperialism.
Of course, these problems of the Russian Labor Party have not yet been revealed at this stage, but whether Russia will continue the expansion policy of the Tsarist era is no longer important. After the changes in Russia's ideology, the ruling classes of other countries simply do not allow the existence of a monster like Russia in their hearts.
However, given Russia's powerful strength, most people can only think about it in their minds, unless they really have the power to defeat the Russian Labor Party.
Just like the imperialist countries, they dare not confront Russia directly now, but instead support the countries around Russia to confront Russia.
King Ahmed was naturally well aware of what Kabril said. East Africa was a chronic poison, but Russia was directly a guillotine. Moreover, they dared to kill even their own Tsar, let alone himself, the little king of Persia.
Of course, even if Kabril said anything, Ahmed could still say with confidence: "Sir, that's true, but we Persians are poor!"
Kabril said: "Poverty is not a problem. Persia is a vast country with abundant mineral resources. We will help you develop and grow your economy, and then you will be able to repay your debts."
During the Tsarist era, the vast area of land around the Caspian Sea in northern Persia, including Tehran, was Russia's sphere of influence.
Within the sphere of influence of the former Tsarist Russia, Persia's mineral resources are relatively rich, especially oil and natural gas, which rank among the top in the world. In addition, Persia's copper, zinc and chromite are all rich mines with great mining value.
Among the latter three mineral resources, East Africa values zinc more. As for copper and chromite, they are East Africa's advantageous resources. East Africa is the world's largest country in terms of chromite reserves and production.
The zinc resources in East Africa are not rich. The zinc mines in Persia mainly exist in the form of lead-zinc mines, which are widely distributed from the northwest to the southeast of its territory.
In short, even in Persia, which is within the Russian sphere of influence, the mineral resources are considerable, especially the oil and gas resources that are most valued in East Africa.
Of course, there is no longer the concept of the Russian sphere of influence in Persia, but rather the East African sphere of influence in Persia.
Kabril persuaded earnestly: "I will also tell your Majesty the King that our East African government supports the Qajar royal family's rule over Persia. Your Majesty, as the spokesperson of the Qajar royal family, you must be well aware of the difficulties the Qajar royal family is facing in Persia. Only by cooperating with us in East Africa can the Qajar royal family land smoothly. Otherwise, let alone Russia, I am afraid that the people of Persia will send you to your doom under the instigation of those with ulterior motives."
The ancestors of the Qajar royal family were from a Turkic tribe, and they were already somewhat alienated from the Persian mainland. They also encountered the worst period in Persian history, which was the rise of European colonists. Coupled with the backward economic foundation, the rule of the Qajar royal family in Persia can be said to be hated by both the people and the people.
In the previous life, the Qajar royal family was overthrown in 1925, so if East Africa had not intervened, the fate of the Qajar royal family would probably not be much better than in the previous life.
Kabril's words also made Ahmed determined to cooperate with East Africa. After all, the interests of Persia are not equal to the interests of the royal family. What's wrong with sacrificing the interests of Persia for the interests of the royal family?
He gritted his teeth and said: "In this case, our Qajar royal family can support your country's interests in Persia, but your country should also show its sincerity in supporting the royal family."
Kabril patted his chest and said, "Of course. This is why the Empire sent me to Persia this time. And my next proposal is also related to ensuring the safety of the Persian royal family."
"Regarding our cooperation between East Africa and Persia, in addition to railway construction, the more important thing is to help your Persian royal family to form a military force that is completely loyal to the royal family."
"In addition, we in East Africa will also station a certain number of troops in Tehran, Mahshahr and other areas, and lease the northern port of Persia as an economic cooperation zone between the two countries."
The first point mentioned by Gabriel was the right to build roads, which was to lay the foundation for economic cooperation between East Africa and Persia. The second point was the right to station troops, which was mainly to safeguard the interests of East Africa in Persia, infiltrate the Persian army, support pro-East African forces, and replace the original pro-Russian forces.
As for the second point, Ahmed agreed without hesitation. Given the current situation in Persia, outsiders like East Africans are more trustworthy.
Once the military issue is resolved, cooperation in other areas will be seen as minor issues.
Kabril went on to say: "The two countries should carry out in-depth cooperation in the economic field. First of all, the Rhine guilder should become the main currency in circulation in Persia. At the same time, some of Persia's assets should be deposited in East Africa to facilitate trade settlement between the two countries, especially in northern Persia. The Persian government should support the investment behavior of East African companies."
After all, Persia was divided between East Africa and Britain, so the East African government did not expect the policies of the Persian government to affect the entire territory of Persia.
Therefore, even in the economic field, East Africa can only be tacitly controlled within East Africa's sphere of influence, that is, the north of Persia.
"At the same time, the Empire will help Persia build a number of new colleges and universities to help Persia progress towards becoming a civilized country."
This is an infiltration of Persia from the cultural and ideological perspective. In fact, Iran’s performance in the past has demonstrated the success of this cultural and ideological infiltration. East Africa has also accumulated relevant experience over the years, which can be applied to Persia, thereby supporting a group of "spiritual East Africans" in Persia.
"Based on Persia's national conditions, the empire focused on supporting the development of Persia's agriculture, mining and industry, helping Persia get rid of extreme poverty."
Neo-colonialism often uses agriculture and mining as breakthrough points, turning its target areas into vassal states for raw materials. Of course, even so, neo-colonialism at least leaves some soup for the locals.
Listening to Kabril's bragging, Ahmed was very depressed, but he finally felt better. After all, even if East Africa was openly "robbing", it was more polite than Tsarist Russia. If Tsarist Russia still existed, it would probably have brought its army directly here.
Just two months later, East Africa reached a series of agreements with Persia, which were summarized as the "East African Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance".
The signing of the treaty also shows the further decline of Britain's influence in the region. Before World War I, Britain would definitely be involved in Persian affairs, but now it can only turn a blind eye to East Africa's small actions.
Like in the previous life, although the First World War did not end Britain's hegemony, it also made countries around the world realize the decline of British hegemony. The only difference is that in the previous life, Americans reaped most of the benefits of Britain's decline, while in this time and space, there are more countries trying to seize these rights.
In Europe, Russia, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and outside Europe, the United States, East Africa, and Japan, each used their own abilities to expand their sphere of influence and influence as much as possible.
Traditional empires such as Britain and France could only focus their energy on their core areas and had no ability to participate in power vacuum zones.
This also led to the dangerous situation of small countries and backward countries and regions in the world after 1920. Many powers and the upgraded version of Russia were fighting each other, and for a time many countries were confused about which side to stand on.
(End of this chapter)
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