The Sun and the Lion

Through inspections of the work of the supervisory system, Ibrahim already knew that factional struggles had arisen in the palace, and some civil servants began to form very loose small groups, intentionally or unintentionally, based on several criteria such as region, career path, and nationality.

Faced with the sudden factional struggle, he felt at a loss what to do, even though he knew that bureaucrats and nobles all over the world would form small groups to seek personal gain. Fortunately, the current Iranian Shah is in the rising and expansion period of the emerging regime. As long as he is willing to control it, he can strengthen the monarch's authority, probably.

However, he still has to wait for the investigation to be completed as to how to adjust the bureaucracy. Currently, he has a more important plan in mind, regarding the financial foundation of the Safavid Palace.

After completing a great conquest, how to manage the territory and obtain enough resources from it is a problem. Ibrahim chose to be busy with the war first, rewarded a large amount of real estate to the tribes that provided the army, and ignored the changes in reality and forcibly levied taxes on the farmers based on the records left behind.

This approach ensured that the Safavid court could obtain sufficient financial resources during the chaos, but the burden on farmers and even landowners was obvious. It was not that some people did not want to resist during this period. The combination of objectionable religious and tax policies gave rise to many civil uprisings, but none of them were successful. There was no need for the King of Kings to specially mobilize an army to encircle and suppress the landowners who were the ruling agents in the countryside. and nomadic tribes suppressed these revolts themselves.

After he returned from Merv, he looked at the internal and external environment and found that he was very stable. Internally, large-scale rebellions caused by various misgovernments, maladministrations, and tyranny have almost disappeared, and a new religious pattern dominated by the Twelve Imams has been irreversibly formed. Landowners, tribesmen, and citizens throughout Iran came to accept the rule of the Safavid court.

Externally, his most hostile cousins ​​had all been defeated. Babur, a descendant of Timur, still needs his strength to maintain his existence. The Uzbeks north of the Syr Darya River have no ability to threaten Ibrahim's survival. Turning to the west, although Osman was powerful, Bayezid II chose to handle the relationship with him with an attitude of appeasement. As long as the Padishah was in power, Kostantiniya's majestic Putt would have great influence on the Safavids. Maintain restraint in all actions.

The current situation of the Mamluks was roughly understood through the consul of Aleppo and the envoys sent by him.

In short, there is one sentence - the advantage is mine!

With this mentality, Ibrahim summoned the viziers for the first imperial meeting after his return. This time, because it was not a military meeting, there was no map hung on the wall of the hall.

After everyone sat down, he scanned the ministers, wanting to see if anyone below would take the initiative to speak and suggest some plans that he had thought of or not thought of.

The financial vizier was the first to speak. He stood up and saluted Ibrahim and said: "Your Majesty, you have conquered such a vast land. This is a huge wealth. But I think that the palace's use of this wealth still exists. What a waste."

These words made Ibrahim interested: "Then what suggestions do you have?"

"There is great confusion in the current taxation work. Due to factors such as war, rewards, immigration, and reclamation, the local real estate and population conditions have actually changed greatly. However, tax collectors go to the countryside to collect taxes, or they follow the legacy To apportion taxes based on the records, or to negotiate with the local squires to collect taxes, it is really unfortunate.”

Ibrahim nodded in approval: "I have realized this chaos, and the most important issue in this meeting is to solve it. Fiscal Vizier, do you plan to solve this problem?"

"No matter how we want to rectify it, one thing must be done. Your Majesty, I dare to ask you to allocate special funds and send more officials to conduct statistics on property and population in all provinces across the country. Only by correctly assessing taxes can we correctly collect taxes. Tax."

After speaking, he looked at Ibrahim, trying to guess the attitude of the King of Kings.

Ibrahim once again agreed: "Statistical work is necessary. The work of compiling new tax rolls must be carried out no matter what. I will meet the necessary expenses and personnel."

When William the Conqueror's land survey of the counties after he conquered England was called the Domesday Book, he was a little curious whether anyone would attack him for it.

At the same time, in order to reflect the generosity of the King of Kings, he also ordered a reduction in the poll tax to symbolically reduce the burden on the people. Anyway, it can be covered up by saying "the intention above is good, but the execution below is crooked".

Compared with the chaos of collecting agricultural taxes, the collection of commercial taxes is very orderly. Since ancient times, although handicrafts and commerce are only supplements to the agricultural economy, they are still important means of increasing income for feudal rulers. The Sasanian monarchs were very keen on building cities, and the city's industry and commerce could be said to have an immediate impact on the increase in fiscal revenue.

Peace under the rule of Safavid, find bookstore www.zhaoshuyuan.com The chaotic trade routes since the collapse of Guregani have become safe and smooth again. From Herat to Tabriz, merchants no longer need to worry The threat of bandits only requires a monarch to pay taxes.

The fiscal vizier, who was discussing current business, turned to how to promote business development to obtain more income. In Ibrahim's view, it was only necessary to continue to impose heavy taxes on luxury goods and to do a good job in silk, spices, and horses. Export trade.

"Your Majesty, the minister's suggestions have been elaborated, and their more detailed contents are written in it." After the speech, Ibrahim took over the document from the financial vizier.

The grand vizier then stood up and reported to him the work of each administrative region, the focus of which was Arab Iraq, which Ibrahim was very concerned about. A long time ago, he spent huge sums of money on this place and hired engineers to repair the damaged water conservancy facilities.

These water conservancy facilities are not only used to distribute water to nearby settlements, but also improve the navigation capacity of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, improving transportation between Basra, Baghdad and even further upstream areas.

At the same time, immigration work is also carried out. In recent years, settled settlements have been formed in areas restored by water conservancy projects, and originally abandoned farmland has been reclaimed instead of being used as pasture.

In order to obtain sufficient labor force in the Mesopotamia and Mesopotamia, officials thought of many ways to attract mountain people and nomads. On the one hand, they promised benefits, and all settlers could become small property owners. At the same time, the notoriety of Ibrahim's fondness for building pyramids with human heads spread widely, and officials also made full use of the notoriety and force to scare or even force stubborn people.

In short, the current recovery momentum of the Mesopotamia is good, and the growing tax population and real estate will soon make it one of the most important economic centers in the empire.