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Chapter 971 Good Student Pahlavi (First update, please subscribe)
It is beneficial to Iran’s next development!
Although Li Yian came straight to the point, Pahlavi was excited, because this was exactly the reason why he asked for a meeting. In fact, because the meeting time was only a few hours, Pahlavi told the other party in advance through diplomats the purpose of his request for a meeting - to seek ways to achieve Iran's modernization.

To put it bluntly, for Pahlavi, he just wanted to take this opportunity to learn from Li Yian how to make the country prosperous and strong. After all, the miraculous rise of Nanyang itself is worthy of learning from many countries.

"Your Majesty, do you mean that we should build the railway first?"

Although he was the king of a country, Pahlavi behaved like an elementary school student, sitting upright and even taking out a small notebook.

Holding a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other, what else does he look like but an elementary school student?
However, the reason why Pahlavi did this was because the person in front of him was indeed worthy of learning from and emulating.

When it comes to governing a country...Nanyang is the proof!
Let alone ten years, if Iran could reach the level of the South Seas in twenty years, Pahlavi would be satisfied!
It is not satisfaction, but cheering. Even Pahlavi never imagined that Iran would be as powerful as Nanyang one day. In his opinion, being able to catch up with France was enough.

It can only be said that as a king, Pahlavi was very realistic. Of course, he was also an idealist. He never thought that for Iran, it was always themselves, not others, that restricted Iran's modernization. Of course, he knew nothing about this.

"Yes, the railway."

Looking at the good student Bavilie, Li Yian said.

"Unlike airlines, which can only meet the travel needs of a few wealthy people, railways and railway companies benefit a lot from a geographical point of view. Iran is a country with a vast territory, reaching 164.5 million square kilometers. The development of a country requires convenient transportation. Iran has a vast area, so it naturally needs a fast means of transportation. Judging from Iran's transportation conditions, there is still a lot of room for development, and it is far from being able to conveniently connect the whole country. Therefore, you need to develop railway transportation."

Li Yian then went on to talk about the various advantages of rail transportation, such as low freight rates and a wide range of audiences. In short, compared to other means of transportation, the advantages of rail are extremely obvious. And for Pahlavi, who had studied in Britain and the United States, he naturally knew all of this very well, and also understood the reality of the backwardness of Iran's current railway network.

So Li Yian's suggestions naturally touched his heart.

"Moreover, in terms of employment, tens of thousands of employees are needed for every 2000 kilometers of railway. For Iran, which has a population of less than million, railway companies and their related industrial chains can provide more than jobs. At the same time, with the construction of railways, many inland mines can also be developed. Mines and metallurgical plants can provide a large number of jobs, and these jobs can naturally absorb the surplus labor force in rural areas. This will ease the population pressure in rural areas and pave the way for the next step of rural changes."

Since Pahlavi wanted to learn, Li Yian didn't mind being his good teacher. For him who intended to become a "good friend of the tyrant", Pahlavi was also an option. Although the United States now has a great influence in Iran, Nanyang can also exert a certain influence.

After all, in the next twenty years or so, Iran will be a well-known rich country. Iran not only has oil, but also rich mineral resources, which are very worthy of investment.

The only question was... whether Khomeini's revolution needed to be stopped or Iran's secular revolution could continue.

Even if these goals cannot be achieved, it does not matter. In the next twenty years, maintaining friendly relations with Iran can bring a market worth tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars. Such a market must certainly be seized.

The airport that Pahlavi mentioned was a business, but compared to the small business of the airport, Li Yian valued the railway more. The railway is the real big business. Iran now has less than 2,000 kilometers of railways. This railway was the reason why Iran was divided and occupied by the Soviet Union and the Allies during World War II - the Allies needed to transport supplies to the Soviet Union through this railway.

In terms of territory, Iran needs to build at least 20000 kilometers of railways to meet its travel and freight needs, which is a multi-billion dollar business. After the railway is built, other areas will also bring extremely rich returns.

After receiving the invitation, Li Yian had his eye on Iran. There was no other way, because Iran was rich. Although Iran's "oil nationalization movement" failed, in order to appease Iran, Iran still received 50% of the profits of the oil company. It was this profit that supported Pahlavi to carry out his "white song name" and carry out reforms in all aspects of economy, society, education and politics.

It must be said that this is also the most tragic thing about the Pahlavi regime. If he had used the oil profits to buy things for the king and to buy off conservative forces like the Saudi royal family did, instead of building schools and factories, he might not have fallen.

Of course, this is just a complaint, but Li Yian is well aware of the huge market potential here.

Railway is one of them, and of course, it is also the stepping stone for Southeast Asian capital to enter Iran.

"Your Majesty, you and I are on the same page. If Iran wants to develop, it must solve rural problems. Iran's rural problems are more serious than any other country. You may not know that in rural Iran, the landlords' monopoly on land has reached an outrageous level: there are 2000 feudal landlord families that own 27 villages. Among the 398 million farmers in the country, only 190 million own land, and the remaining 200 million are all tenants. Even among the 190 million farmers who own land, farmers who own less than 1 hectare of land account for 1/4 of all farmers who own land."

As a king who had received modern education, Pahlavi looked very serious and even a little excited when he mentioned the problems in the rural areas.

"To put it bluntly, those people are more like medieval feudal lords. Most of the time, even the officials I appointed to the countryside were often driven out by the landlords, and in serious cases, they were even assassinated. There, the king cannot enter, and the peasants cannot leave. Those who have land can barely make ends meet, and the tenants without land will never be able to make a living, because their personal relationships are all with the landlords..."

Looking at Pahlavi's excited expression, Li Yian felt more grateful in his heart. This guy's so-called "white song reputation" started with the land reform in the countryside. Of course, it also failed there. In fact, it was the peasants who finally overthrew his rule - the peasants who lost their land and moved to the city.

This may be the most absurd thing that Pahlavi has ever had to face.

"Therefore, if Iran wants to develop, it must reform its rural areas... Therefore, the rural problem must be solved. If this problem is not solved, Iran will never have a future!"

Looking at the slightly excited Pahlavi, Li Yian couldn't help but think of another question - whether he regretted carrying out land reform during the more than 20 years when he was forced into exile.

If he had not launched the "White Revolution" centered on land reform, but instead used oil revenues to buy off the feudal landlords and clergy, and bound Iran's tens of millions of farmers like serfs to the landlords' estates, restraining them with the landlords' whips and the clergy's ideas, while pursuing a conservative line, perhaps the Pahlavi dynasty would have really survived into the 21st century like Saudi Arabia. Who knows, by the 21st century, there would be another "tycoon country" on the Internet.

By that time, many people on the Internet may still praise the Pahlavi dynasty. After all, everyone likes the rich, just like Saudi Arabia in another world. Even if they export extremism to the outside world, who will care?

For the whole world, everyone only sees the rich people in the rich country, and that is enough.

(Iran in the 1960s)

Perhaps this is the most helpless thing about the Middle East. Those who are committed to changing this land have been overthrown one after another. Perhaps this is also the saddest thing about this land.

But looking at the appearance of Pahlavi, Li Yian understood that this good student in front of him would not choose another path. He longed to... longed to change Iran.

(End of this chapter)