Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1084

Ctesiphon.

After three months of anxiety, Kambis finally received a response from the Eastern Empire.

This time, the fleet led by Fang Ziheng once again arrived in Abbas.

“Our Emperor has agreed to Your Majesty the King’s conditions. In the next two years, the Empire will help Persia establish production lines for firearms and cannons. I hope Your Majesty the King can also fulfill your initial promise.” Fang Ziheng was calm and composed in front of Kambis.

Tang Wenjie had let him come alone this time to train his abilities, and at the same time, he was more knowledgeable than Tang Wenjie about industrial matters.

They could have returned a month earlier, but to obtain the location of the oil field as soon as possible, the exploration team from the Ministry of Minerals also joined this voyage. Along with the exploration team came drilling equipment.

Kambis cried out to the gods for their blessing in his heart and said with his mouth, “We Persians keep our word. How about we formally sign the treaty today?”

This was exactly what Fang Ziheng wanted. He took out the already prepared treaty, which was what Kambis had promised.

After a brief look at the terms and confirming there were no problems, Kambis signed his name and stamped his royal seal on the document.

In the treaty, Kambis formally leased Abbas to the Chinese Empire. From now on, for a hundred years, Abbas would be equivalent to the territory of the Chinese Empire, and the Chinese Empire could exercise all state powers in Abbas.

At the same time, merchants of the Chinese Empire were allowed to do business throughout Persia. Petroleum merchants with a Chinese Empire license could extract petroleum in Persia, and Persia was not allowed to impose any fees.

Fang Ziheng put away the document, his mood filled with joy. This diplomatic mission was a complete and perfect success. He said, “Your Majesty the King, the Empire’s exploration team has also come with us this time. Please allow them to enter Persia to explore for oil fields and also ensure their safety.”

“That’s certainly not a problem, but it will cost you money to protect them,” Kambis said cunningly.

Fang Ziheng was stunned. He then said with a wry smile, “I hope Your Majesty the King’s price will be fair.”

Kambis was just joking with Fang Ziheng. After laughing a few times, he said, “Don’t be nervous. Persia is not a rogue nation. The price for the guards will be the same as in Persia.”

Fang Ziheng was relieved. He then signaled to the captain of the exploration team, Zang Qianjun. This time, he was in full charge of the oil extraction.

Zang Qianjun was a young man wearing glasses and looked a little dull. When they were leaving, they were summoned by the Emperor to the Imperial Study to jointly study the specific location of the oil field.

Based on the geographical location of the port of Abbas on the map, they believed that there were rich oil reserves in the Abbas region.

And their Emperor also clearly told them that the oil fields in Persia were in the inland region of Abbas, which was also the reason why they leased the port of Abbas.

Once the oil wells were established, they could directly transport a steady stream of petroleum from Abbas back to the Empire.

Thinking of this, Zang Qianjun impatiently entered the city of Abbas and, under the protection of the Persian guards, headed towards the predicted location.

…

Singapore.

Lei Ming was standing on the coast, observing a military exercise. Six months had passed in the blink of an eye, and the time for them to attack Calcutta was getting closer and closer.

He had not been idle for a single day in these past six months. He had been formulating operational plans with the officers of the Southeast Army and at the same time, turning these operational plans into exercises.

This exercise now was the final operational plan for attacking Calcutta.

“Commander Lei, all five hundred Imperial Guard artillery pieces have arrived.” While Lei Ming was focused on observing the soldiers’ exercise, the quartermaster reported on the equipment situation to Lei Ming.

“Have you checked all of them?” Lei Ming asked. Taking advantage of these six months, he had mobilized a large amount of equipment to Singapore.

At the same time, to alleviate their pressure, the General Staff also transferred two hundred machine guns from other military regions to them, which greatly increased their firepower.

And the ammunition that guaranteed their firepower was also very plentiful, which made him very satisfied and eager to try it out.

“They have all been checked. There are no problems. They are ready for the battlefield at any time.” The quartermaster responded. He dared not act recklessly on this matter.

Hearing this, Lei Ming laughed heartily. He said to Yue Yun, who was watching from the side, “The personnel, equipment, and ammunition of our Southeast Army are all in order. What about your navy?”

Yue Yun curled his lips. “Our navy does not need to prepare. We rule the seas now, and we can depart at any time.”

Excitement flickered in Lei Ming’s eyes. “All that’s left is an order from His Majesty.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a group of people walked towards them. “What are you two generals talking about?”

Yue Yun and Lei Ming turned around and saw that it was Wang Xuan. Their expressions immediately became a little unnatural.

Wang Xuan’s identity was a secret guard, which was no secret in the Empire. Everyone was wary of this “eyes” of the Emperor.

Seeing the two’s expressions, Wang Xuan laughed. “What’s with those expressions? I’m here to provide you with intelligence support this time. Don’t you want to know what Calcutta is like now?”

Lei Ming immediately regained his serious expression. He said, “Of course, we want to know. We were just surprised, just surprised.”

Wang Xuan did not expose them. He naturally knew his power in the Empire. He said, “The time to attack Calcutta has arrived. Our secret guards in Calcutta have sent back news that the allied forces’ morale is low. Yesterday, British soldiers and French soldiers even clashed over food supplies. They have gathered so many troops in Calcutta that their food is being consumed very quickly. Now they are conscripting food supplies from the Indian native states, which has caused dissatisfaction among many of them.”

Yue Yun exclaimed in surprise, “You have secret guards who are also Indians?”

Wang Xuan smiled mysteriously. “We don’t have Indians. Sometime ago, a mysterious person suddenly began recruiting a large number of remnants of the powerful families who opposed the Empire in Calcutta. This caught our attention. We took the opportunity to send secret guards to infiltrate their ranks. Guess who this mysterious person is?”

Yue Yun and Lei Ming both shook their heads.

“The Cao family father and son!” Wang Xuan showed a strange smile. “They are the leaders of this. The purpose of recruiting these traitors is to cause chaos in the Empire. Many of the strange things that have been happening in the Empire are the work of this group of people.”

“So that’s it. Hehe, this time we can wipe them all out.” Lei Ming rubbed his hands together.

Wang Xuan said with a smile, “This is why I came here. According to the secret guards we have in place, after the demise of the Merchant Parliament, they left behind a group of people to serve as undercover agents. These people seem to have submitted to the Empire, but they harbor malicious intentions. So, you must capture the Cao family father and son and obtain the list of these undercover agents. The Emperor has been patient all this time, waiting for this list.”