In the spring of 1598, Abbas I, who ruled the Safavid dynasty, decided to move the capital of the Persian kingdom from Qazvin in the west to Isfahan in the central region in order to escape the threat of the Ottoman army. From this moment on, the local city of Isfahan became the capital of the entire Safavid dynasty.

The city, which is more than 1,500 meters above sea level, is located in an oasis that is blocked by high mountains on both sides of the east and west, and can be attacked and defended. Protected from the threat of a long-term Ottoman invasion of the capital, and well connected to the central and eastern regions, it was convenient to use troops in the northeast (against the Uzbeks and Mughals) and to attack the Western colonizers in the south, making it a geographically central city of the country.

After Abbas I moved his capital, he began to vigorously manage Isfahan in order to make it a beautiful city worthy of his identity. He brought in designers and craftsmen from Italy and India to build the famous King's Square, the King's Mosque, the Trufora Mosque and the Ali Cap Palace, as well as about 300 ceramic craftsmen from China to make porcelain and tiles for the king. For example, the famous King's Mosque cost no less than 500,000 beautiful tiles, which is staggering.

In order to develop Isfahan's commerce, Abbas I also forced the Armenians, known for their ingenuity, to settle in New Zolfa on the outskirts of Isfahan, making it a satellite city of the capital, in order to prosper the capital's industry and commerce. In addition, Abbas I allowed foreigners to freely open trading posts, factories, and dwellings in Isfahan, and allowed them to continue their original religion. Under this policy of tolerance. At this time, Isfahan finally had the appearance of a regional international city. Indians, Khorezmians, Bukharans, Turks, Russians, British, Dutch, French, Venetians, Spaniards, Armenians, Georgians, and Jews. You can see all kinds of people here.

At this time, when Jiwen and the others walked into the wide, straight streets of Isfahan, they saw such a scene. Captain Given, riding on a Persian horse, scrutinized the capital city of the Persian kingdom with a proud look and a slightly critical eye. Well, the streets of the city are very wide, and they are all stone roads, and I don't know how much manpower was spent on construction, what a poor and luxurious monarch of the old continent; The square is magnificent. That's more than all the squares in the eight county towns on the east bank, but when the capital's newest Victory Square (built to celebrate the great victory in the Spanish self-defense counterattack) is completed, it should not be as big as the broken squares of the redheads (named after the red turbans of the Turkmen who ruled Persia).

Although he constantly belittled the achievements of the Persian royal city in his mind, Giwen knew in his heart that it was a great, prosperous, wealthy and civilized city. It may not be as modern as many counties on the East Coast, but in terms of architectural sophistication and historical and cultural heritage, Isfahan surpasses all the cities on the East Coast. The East Coast Republic is still too young and lacks historical heritage.

"The city has more than 100 mosques, dozens of colleges, more than 200 public baths, 10 cemeteries, and no less than 1,500 hotels." Mr. Smith, who was traveling with him, had been to Isfahan a few times. But he was still fascinated by the great city, and he continued: "Please pay attention. Mr. Given, you are now in a great city of 600,000 people. What is the concept of 600,000 people? Have you seen it? Many years ago, perhaps in the last century, when my grandfather passed through Naples, he was already struck by the 300,000-strong city, but Naples, the most populous city in Europe at the time, was only half the population of Isfahan today......"

"Sounds like it's exciting." Givens complimented, and then fell silent. Captain Given, the first graduate of the Navigation School and a second lieutenant of the navy, who was extremely loyal to the East Coast and devoted himself to his own cause, was already in a state of extreme obscenity, and he fantasized that he would be able to see in his lifetime that the East Coast would also have a megacity with a population of hundreds of thousands. It was a beautiful city, with clean streets, decent clothes, and grand squares strolling after work. There is a huge monument in the square engraved with the name of everyone who contributed to the rise of the East Bank.

The two men walked for another ten minutes, and then the Turkmen officers who accompanied them led them to a domed building that looked like a state guesthouse on the east bank, but the interior was lavish: fine furniture, soft carpets, beautiful lighting, and dazzling Persian tapestries. Compared to these decorations, the East Coast State Guesthouse, which only has a layer of lime water pasted on the walls, is really weak.

Mr. Smith also seemed to be staying here for the first time, but he had traveled to Persia many times, and obviously had a lot of experience, so he reassured Govern not to be too anxious, anyway, the credentials had already been submitted, and the Persians would definitely ask the people from the east coast in the future. If he was lucky, the current king, the young and promising Abbas II, might have met with Givan in person - although this is a little less likely, since Givan was not a professional diplomat, and he was only a second lieutenant, and the Persian king was unlikely to deign to meet him. However, it does not matter if the king sees it or not, as long as they promise what the people on the east coast want.

In this way, after arriving in Isfahan at the end of June, Jivin and the others stayed in the state guesthouse. The Persians did not restrict their outings, so Given, under the leadership of the "old driver" Smith, ate, drank and had fun in the city of Isfahan, observing the customs and customs of the place by the way, and then inspecting the market, and the life was so chic and happy.

Finally, on 9 July, the Persians sent a scholar-like official to the State Guesthouse to formally talk in Spanish with Givin himself (Mr. Smith avoided as usual). The scholar, who looked less like a Persian and more like a Westerner in the service of Abbas II, first inquired about the relationship between the Eastern Republic and the Ottoman Empire. Even in Isfahan, far away in the Middle East, news of the people of the East Coast of the New World circulated with the movement of Armenian merchants, most often of whom were their deeds in the Ottoman Empire.

Let's be honest. It's a difficult question to answer. After all. The relationship between the East Coast Republic and the Ottoman Empire is indeed too close. The Safavid dynasty of Persia had a feud with the Ottoman Empire, and the peace treaty between the two sides had only passed for a short time, and it was common for them to still be hostile to each other.

Although Captain Given, although not a professional diplomat, knew that this question was difficult to answer, so he only vaguely stated that the Eastern Republic had several trading posts in the Ottoman Empire and had certain commercial ties, and he also hoped to open the trading post in the territory of the Persian Kingdom to strengthen the ties between the two sides.

Fortunately, the Persians did not pay much attention to Giving's answer. Or do they not care at all, because the Dutch and the British, who are now doing business in Persia, are not doing business in the Ottoman in the same way? Therefore, the Persian scholar quickly changed his mind and asked whether the people of the east coast could supply the Persian kingdom with large quantities of high-quality weapons and even naval ships.

This question was in the heart of Givan Given, and one of the main tasks of his trip was to sell goods from the East Coast. Since the batch of weapons and equipment he brought was in the eyes of the Persians, the next business was easy to do. Now, with the end of the Thirty Years' War in Europe, exports of the East Coast's military industry have begun to decline, and sales in other regions have largely stagnated, except for the Crimeans and Cossacks, and the Ottomans, who continue to buy. Therefore, we can once again find a large customer in the Middle East. It is definitely a boon for the military industry, which has always had overcapacity in the country.

But they also mentioned naval ships? This is a bit difficult, Mr. Gainsmith has been admonishing Giving. If the people of the East Coast wanted to participate in the great market of Persia, they had to abide by the tacit agreement between the English, the Dutch, and even the Portuguese that any country must obtain the consent of all to export ships of two masts and above to Persia. Mr. Smith vividly referred to this as the "principle of unanimity among civilized nations" and urged everyone to adhere to it.

This agreement is actually easy to understand, that is, to limit the sea power of the Persians, so that the merchants of the "civilized nation" who came from afar could reap greater benefits. For example, in order to win over the English navy, which claimed to be the largest in the world (the Persians had also heard of the defeat of the Armada in 1588), in 1615, Abbas I ordered that English ships could dock at any port in Persia at any time; The British and British goods could reach anywhere within Persia; The British were protected in Persia, they could set up factories in Persia, trade freely, and have freedom of belief; Tariffs on UK goods are the lowest, at less than 3%.

These incentives were so attractive to the British East India Company that they chose the port of Jaske as their base base in Persia, and at the same time set up commercial offices in Isfahan, Shiraz, and Abbas to carry out their trade. In November 1616, the English merchant ship "King James" sailed into the port of Jaske laden with cargo, and was warmly welcomed by Persian officials and Abbas I himself. At the same time, Abbas I also announced that British ships were completely tax-free in Jaske, and Persia provided Britain with 1,000-3,000 quintals of raw silk every year, which was another series of preferential policies. Under these circumstances, the British finally made up their minds and provided warships to assist the Persians in capturing the island of Hormuz, which had been occupied by the Portuguese for nearly a hundred years.

The Persians gave so much benefit to the British because they took a fancy to the other side's maritime power. However, no matter how generous the terms offered by the other side, the British still refused to spread shipbuilding technology to them, fearing that they would be kicked away by the Persians in the future and would no longer enjoy any privileged benefits.

Therefore, at this time, in the face of the ardent expectations of the Persians, Jiwen could only vaguely say that he did not have authorization, and he had to consult the country for every qiē. The Persian scholars, having taken note of this, discussed with Captain Gilvin with a blank face all other matters, mainly in business, of course. In the end, the other side obviously did not want to be perfunctory, and hastily concluded the negotiations with the people on the east coast, promising to provide the east bank with a quota of up to 300 quintals of raw silk every year, provided that the people on the east coast normally delivered the required amount of army weapons and equipment to them.

The absence of preferential tax rates, the prohibition of trading at the Abbas docks, the absence of permits to open factories, and the lack of access to Persian territory for easterners and goods (except arms) from those of the British, made it clear to Captain Givens that he was being despised by men.

Grandma a bear!

On July 25, 1649, when Captain Gilvin returned to the docks of Bandar Abbas, took his own raw silk, and prepared to set sail for the Ottoman port of Suez, he couldn't help but secretly ruthless: "Maybe next time I have to let the flagship of the Second Fleet of the Navy stationed in Xinhua Port come over here and let these Persian turtles see what a powerful battleship equipped with 66 guns looks like when it fires a salvo." Maybe by that time, their faces will change a little! (To be continued......)