Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 582 Yiprahin Compromises
"Dad, what's going on with this account? Ask Aziz to come see me!"
"My son, don't lose your temper. You are the Grand Vizier now, watch your words and actions."
" No, Dad. According to the various raw materials obtained by the First Plastic Factory last month, even if the amount of loss and defective products is extremely generous, the plastic factory should have shipped at least 1 ton of polyester last month. But what did I see in this account book? 300 kilograms? Does Aziz really think I'm a fool?"
"Ibrahim, you are the leader of the country, you must be calm, please sit down first." After patting the carpet beside him and letting Ibrahim sit down, old Sokoli methodically poured him a glass of water, and then said: "You suspect Aziz of corruption, right? Well, this child has a very good character in our Sokoli family, and corruption is impossible for him. In fact, the plastic factory produced 1.3 tons of polyester last month. I asked him to hand over the change, and the rest was given away."
"What? Dad, even if you want to give it to someone, why would you need to give so much?"
"Of course, my child. Let me calculate for you. The Sultan's royal family has 100 kilograms, and the governors and pashas of various places have a total of 300 kilograms. The dignitaries in Istanbul have 300 kilograms. Our relatives and friends have 200 kilograms, and the main officers under your command have 100 kilograms. There is really no waste at all."
"I..." If it weren't for the fact that this old man in front of him had been supporting him unremittingly for nearly thirty years, Yiprahin really wanted to pull out a knife and chop him to death.
"Oh, I really shouldn't have let Richelieu go."
"My son, what are you talking about? With Richelieu's character, if he were still in charge of all this, how could he give away such good things? In this way, all the money will go to our Sokoli family. What will the other families and your officers think?"
The old man hugged his shoulders and said, "I've calculated that at the current market price, the profit of polyester after it goes on the market will be more than ten times. Even if we give away so much, we will still make a profit. My child, money is something that can only last long if everyone works together to earn it."
"Dad, you can't think like that. I will use the money earned from this plastic factory to continue to expand production and make more profits. Only in this way can we set up more gun factories, so that we can have money to support poor students to study, and let our military academy continue to be free for all students... Moreover, plastic is really useful. Making money from civilian products is only one aspect, and the amount invested in military use will become larger and larger in the future... In addition, we need to win people's hearts and set up a joint-stock company to bring them in for dividends. Just giving money and things directly is inferior. Moreover, my officers already have shares in the Transcaucasian Heavy Plant, and there is a military security fund, which is enough for them to have food and clothing for a lifetime. If I give too much at once, it will easily cause my troops' combat effectiveness to plummet!"
"Ah? I see. Okay, okay, my son, I made a mistake this time. How about we come up with a plan in advance next time?"
Looking at the unrepentant old man in front of him, Yiplash felt bitter: this was a typical old Ottoman bureaucrat, pasting was his instinct. After Richelieu was forced to leave, he had no choice but to let his father, who was once a Grand Vizier, help him manage civil affairs. As a result, after a period of time, he found that he missed Richelieu very much!
"My son." Seeing that Iprahin still looked worried, old Sokoli quickly started a new conversation: "Yesterday, the King of Spain, the one called Philip, wrote me a personal letter."
"Hmm? I wrote it for you, too."
"Haha, yes. In his letter, he not only expressed his desire to form an invisible alliance with us, but also said that you might have a prejudice against him, and asked me to advise you not to act on impulse."
"Humph, I look down on this scum who killed his own brother. Forming an alliance with him? I'm not interested."
"Ah." Scratching his head, Old Sokoli said in confusion, "My son, you are already a Grand Vizier, why do you still think like a teenager? His Highness Rudolf has such a high prestige in the army. No matter which country he is in, the monarch will not let him survive, right? To be honest, His Majesty Philip actually endured for so long before taking action. I am amazed at his forbearance."
Looking at his son who was keeping his head down, the old man said, "This matter is very important. It concerns the survival of our entire Ottoman nation and our family. My son, although Dad is far inferior to you in some new technologies and new ideas, when it comes to maneuvering between various forces, I am much better than you. Please be patient and listen to me."
"...Dad, please go ahead."
"First of all, in the wars between Europe and the Ottoman Empire over the years, what both sides were pursuing were things like land, population, and wealth. As for faith? Ha, that's something that the common people at the bottom believe in. How can we, who are at the top, believe in that? In the past, we were allied with France.
Secondly, we can't beat the EU now, and we need time to accumulate strength. Since we can't beat them, why not form an alliance? At that time, in addition to continuing to develop the black land on the northern shore of the Black Sea, we can also go east and take the Persian land. Well, I heard that His Majesty Abbas is almost dead, right? "
"……Yes."
"Hahaha, this Shazhongsha who had been powerful all his life ended up being so miserable in his old age. He killed his eldest and second sons, and blinded his youngest son. I wonder who he will choose as his successor?"
"Dad, His Majesty Abbas may choose his eldest grandson Safi as his successor."
"What kind of person is that? How capable is he compared to His Majesty Abbas?"
As a time traveler to the Middle East, although Ibrahim is not a history major, he is relatively clear about the major events in this area: after Abbas's death, his eldest grandson Safi (yes, the name of this Shah is the same as the name of the dynasty) inherited the position of Shah of the Safavid dynasty.
As for Safi Shah, he was deeply traumatized because he saw his father being killed by his grandfather. After he ascended the throne, he launched a crazy revenge and killed all the important ministers of Abbas. On the other hand, he lacked a sense of security and killed all his brothers.
Apart from killing people at home, Safavid's daily life was to smoke opium, drink alcohol, and sleep. After he came to power, the entire Safavid Persia immediately went from prosperity to decline: in the west, they were beaten back by the Ottomans, and not only did they vomit out all the food they had taken in, but they also paid a lot more. In the north, they were beaten by the Uzbeks. In the end, they were so weak that even the Mughal Empire could bully them.
"How much? Humph." Yiprahin snorted disdainfully: "Not even halfway."
"Ah?" Hearing this, the old man jumped up quickly: "What else is there to say? Form an alliance with Europe, and then head east to fight him! Hiss, come to think of it, the population of Persia is larger than ours, right? Even if it is not as good as ours, it is not too far behind. "
At first, Ibrahim felt a little embarrassed to bully his grandson after the death of Abbas, who had taken such good care of him. But old Sokoli's words quickly woke him up: Population! Persia has a population of nearly 20 million!
But, they sent two divisions to support us in that war of annihilation and suffered such heavy losses. How could they bear to do this?
As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. Seeing Ibrahim's tangled expression, old Sokoli knew what his son was thinking: "My son, you are very smart and excellent, but your biggest shortcoming is that your sense of justice is too strong. Please remember that there is no friendship or right or wrong between countries, only interests. Do you think that His Majesty Abbas sent two main divisions to help you out of deep friendship? You are wrong. It was because His Majesty saw that if we could not stop the European Union, the next to suffer would be Persia! He was not helping us, he was using us to prevent disaster!"
What my father said does make sense, but I just don’t like that guy Philip!
However, after repeated persuasion from old Sokoly, Ibrahim finally wrote back to Philip in January 1629.
"I agree to an invisible alliance between the two sides, and on the premise of obtaining a full set of European electrical technology, I will provide you with a full set of polyester production technology. To show my sincerity, I will lower the commercial taxes of European merchants in the Ottoman Empire to the same level as those of domestic merchants. But you should do the same."
