Holy Roman Empire

The former only needs to invest a small amount of capital to get a large number of shares, while the latter must consider a premium if they want to get the shares.

There is no doubt that obtaining the authorization of the canal is the first appreciation of the company's value.Before that, the short Canal Company was just an empty shell.

……

French Minister Tom: "Mr. Nino, your plan is too fantastic. You don't know Colombia at all, and the political situation in this country is very unstable.

Maybe you make a deal with them today and change the government tomorrow.I've been here for three years, and there have been thirteen coups in Bogota, three successful and ten failed.

Based on Colombian history, I made a count.From 1830 to the present, they have changed the president 31 times, with an average administration time of less than one and a half years. "

Nino shook his head: "Your Excellency Minister, Colombia's change of government has nothing to do with us. Do they dare to deny that the contract signed with us is not successful?"

Nino has no interest in the turmoil in Colombia.This year, the situation in most South American countries is not very stable, but no matter how the government changes, no one dares to move the interests of the foreign powers.

In his opinion, it is nothing more than Tom raising his own weight, proving his importance, and wanting to take a share of the benefits.

French Minister Tom frowned: "Mr. Nino, it's not as simple as you think, maybe they dare not deny their predecessor's contract, but they can make the content of the contract void.

Without the cooperation of the local snakes, are you sure that the Panama Canal can sail smoothly?Don't forget the Suez Canal, how much labor was used.

If you hire from outside, it will cost you more than you should understand.

Moreover, the biggest problem is not the Colombian government, but the Austrians.

In recent years, Austria has continuously penetrated into Colombia, especially Panama, where half of the local people are German.

The French were able to frighten the Colombian government, but not the Austrians.If you can't deal with these problems, when you dig the canal, people will jump out and pick peaches.

All it takes is a coup d'état and the Panama region becomes an Austrian colony.

When your canal is on the Austrian territory, are you sure you can keep your dominance? "

Nino's face changed greatly. If the canal was really opened on the Austrian colony, let alone dominance, it would be a question whether the investment cost could be recovered.

After a short pause, Nino regained his senses and asked, "Austria is so powerful here, why hasn't the Colombian government acted?"

French Minister Tom shook his head: "It's not that the Colombian government didn't act, it's that the governments that acted were overthrown.

Now in the Republic of Colombia, many warlord forces have been subsidized by Austria, and if the government dares to act rashly, it will be ousted immediately. "

Not only Austria is supporting the younger brother, but France also supports the spokesperson, but the Austrian Central American colonies are too close, and they occupy a dominant position with the advantage of distance.

The word "cooperation" flashed in Nino's mind.There is no way, Austria is too powerful in the local area, if they cooperate, they will not be able to dominate the canal.

The financial capital behind the scenes is not just a canal, but more of the benefits brought by the canal.

If you control this golden waterway, you will control the economic lifeline of most of the Americas.At that time, French capital will be able to penetrate into many industries through the canal hub.

Anyone who dares to refuse their investment will just wait to be put on shoes!A random card on the canal can be devastating.

Especially for shipping companies, as long as they operate the Pacific route, there is no room for resistance.

The French financial community is making a big chess game. If the plan is successful, they will control the economic lifeline of many countries in the Americas.

After hesitating for a while, Nino promised: "Your Excellency Minister, is there any way to solve our current problem?

Don't worry, we won't let our friends suffer.When it's done, there's definitely a huge reward.We have always believed that Your Excellency has the potential to become the French Foreign Minister. "

This is a bright temptation, not only to give money, but also to support him to become foreign minister.

Of course, the latter is just a blank slate.The capital power behind Nino is indeed not small, but it has not yet reached the point where it can influence the appointment of the government's foreign minister.

The so-called support is nothing more than helping to build momentum and increase the success rate.

Tom was overjoyed and immediately reacted. Although the rewards were rich, this matter was not easy to handle. He immediately told the truth:

"Mr. Nino, if you want the canal plan to go smoothly, it's best to get the Austrians together. With our own strength, it is difficult to complete this task.

Of course, you can also find other partners.If the British are willing to do their best, it is possible for our two countries to join forces to complete the plan, but the price to be paid will be greater. "

Hearing this answer, Nino frowned, and his face instantly turned ugly.

France had insufficient power in the Americas to compete with these two rivals.

Whether it is to develop the canal jointly with Austria or the British, the dominant power will not be in their hands.

If they can't gain dominance, it's just the canal's dividends. Although the rate of return is good, it's still not worth their troubles.

After being silent for a while, Nino said, "Your Excellency Minister, I have to report to the country because of my personal affairs, and the cooperative development will be put on hold for now.

Now we need your help to get the canal development authorization from the Colombian government in the shortest possible time. "

"There is no problem. It is my duty to cooperate with companies in overseas operations and to maximize the benefits for France." French Minister Tom replied.

……

After leaving the embassy, ​​Nino's mood became more complicated.Judging from the current situation, the original plan cannot be realized, and now we must find partners to share the pressure.

The two countries most suitable for Britain and Austria were excluded first, and there are not many partners left to choose from.

Spain is barely one, they have a lot of power in the Caribbean Sea, but unfortunately the Spaniards have declined.The joint efforts of France and Spain may not be able to deter Austria.

Moreover, there are also political implications to consider.When France and the West stand together, all European countries will feel panic, and the first one who can't help it is the British.

It is impossible for the government to run the Panama Canal plan at the risk of the two countries drawing closer together. Without the support of the Paris government, this plan would have no chance of success.

In addition, the only countries with greater influence in the Americas are the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.

If you can pull these two countries, it seems to be able to complete the plan.However, this is impossible.

Today, the Confederacy and the United States are deeply enmity.If the two governments dare to unite, they will be punished domestically.

Internationally, whatever the United States supports, the Confederate States will oppose it; on the contrary, if the Confederate States support it, the United States will also oppose it.

For the sake of political correctness, both sides are against for the sake of opposition.Pulling one of them means standing on the opposite side of the other.

This is also what the three countries of Britain, France and Austria need. The governments of the North and the South are opposed to each other. In addition to hatred, there are three countries that are secretly promoting it.

Besides, people are not fools, if you let them join, you can join.If there is not enough interest, don't even think about it.

There is no doubt that these benefits all need to be paid out by the Canal Company, and it is inevitable that the shares will be diluted.

This ratio will not be low, and even some dominance needs to be given up.Essentially, the Panama Canal program was designed to shear wool from American countries.

The more he thought about it, the more Nino felt a headache.According to the current situation, it is too difficult for them to get the dominance of the Panama Canal.

Chapter 194

In the era of imperialism, foreign embassies of foreign powers also collected information part-time.After sending Nino away, Minister Tom got busy looking up relevant information.

There is no way, France has limited interests in Colombia, and Colombia ranks very low in diplomatic activities.

Being an envoy here is basically a matter of eating and waiting for death. After a long time, Envoy Tom will degenerate. The intelligence is still being collected.

Now, if you want to get the right to develop the Panama Canal from the Colombian government, how can you do it without understanding the weakness of the other party?

As time passed by, Tom had a general understanding of what had happened recently in Colombia.

As for the detailed information, I am sorry that the embassy has limited funds and is unable to conduct in-depth investigations.The information collected now is actually similar to what is seen in the newspapers.

Putting down the information in his hand, Minister Tom frowned. Obviously, the information on this was not what he wanted.

"Disff, find out the information about Austria's activities in Colombia and the information related to the Panama Canal plan."

Secretary Disff replied calmly: "Your Excellency Minister, the embassy only has information on the activities of the Austrians, and the Panama Canal plan is not within the scope of our intelligence collection.

If necessary, within a week we can find the information published by the Colombian government, and additional funds are required to search for in-depth information. "

Minister Tom's face darkened. The French government was rich, but the French embassy in Colombia was poor.

This can be seen from the staff of the embassy. All the members add up to less than 10 people, including a cleaner, a cook, and two guards.

In this era of inconvenient communication, ministers stationed abroad have great powers, and hiring ordinary staff is one of their powers.

The main reason for so few embassy staff is the lack of office funds.Otherwise, Minister Tom wouldn't mind hiring a few more staff.

Many things cannot be done without money. For example: to collect intelligence, you can only selectively focus on collecting, and you can only discard secondary intelligence.

Under normal circumstances, the canal plan of the Republic of Colombia will not have anything to do with France. They have too little power here, and they can't get the benefits.

The current situation is very obvious and is an abnormal situation.More than once, Minister Tom complained about the capitalists' tossing, completely ignoring the actual situation.

For Franc's sake, since he has promised others, Minister Tom still has to fulfill his promise. This is his professional ethics.

"No problem, I will give you a special grant of 1 francs. You must investigate the details of the Columbia Canal plan as soon as possible."

Secretary Disfu was puzzled, and suddenly became generous. This was not like the minister he knew.

In his impression, in normal times, Minister Tom always saves what he can save, especially the intelligence department. There is not even a professional spy, and the staff of the embassy personally collect information.

1 francs may not be a big number, but it is a record for the intelligence services.

In the past three years, all the activities of the embassy's intelligence services have been spent on less than five thousand francs.

You get what you get for every penny. Since the funds are small, you naturally don’t expect much gain.Generally speaking, excerpting some information from the newspaper, adding hearsay at the banquet, and sorting it out is the completion of the task.

Doubts return to doubts, but Disff has no intention of getting to the bottom of it.In any case, get the event funds first.

"As you wish, Your Excellency. You will be able to see the relevant information in three days at most."

Having money makes it easy to do things. Not only did the activity funds come out, but the efficiency was improved all of a sudden.

Disff has been here for many years, and the network of contacts has long been established.Moreover, the Colombian government is like a sieve. It has no sense of confidentiality at all. It is too simple to get some unimportant information.

As long as you are willing to spend money, you can directly bring out the original data.Undoubtedly, Disff is not ready to throw money at it.

With his identity, to view unimportant materials, go directly to the Colombian government archives.

If anyone dares to refuse, he will engage in matters to create diplomatic conflict.This is a tried-and-true trick, and the Colombian government is most afraid of diplomatic disputes.

……

Nino's background is not high, can only be regarded as the middle class.In order to climb up, he put in a lot of effort.This canal project, for him, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The big guys behind the scenes have promised that as long as he can complete the preliminary work and persuade all parties to restart the canal plan, he will be the first president of the canal company and will fully preside over the excavation and operation of the canal.

The credibility of this commitment is very high. The big man will not default on this small issue, and there are ready-made cases.The first president of the Suez Canal Company is an example.

High returns are naturally accompanied by high difficulties. If anyone can do it, it will not be worth the price.

According to the analysis of the information in hand, Nino soon discovered that the Panama Canal was dispensable for the Confederate countries, and their coastlines were concentrated on the east coast.

On the contrary, it is the United States of America, whose territory spans the east and west coasts. In order to strengthen commercial exchanges, it is still busy building railways.

If the Panama Canal is opened, reducing the distance between the East and West Pacific Oceans, the United States will gain enormous economic benefits and strategic value.

In this era when interests determine state relations, from the point of view of interests, it is obvious that the interests of the United States are consistent with the canal plan, so this time the partner can only be the United States.

Nino has calculated many times in his mind, pulling the United States and Spain, the three countries united to fight against Austria in Colombia, the odds of winning are still very large.

Compared with joining forces with the British Olympics, it is easier to gain dominance by joining forces with the United States and the West. Even if there is a problem, France has the strength to convince them.

After sending a telegram back to the country, explaining the situation, Nino went to the United States by boat without stopping, ready to pull people into the army.

……

Affected by the failure of the Civil War, the United States was hit hard, and the government finances were once bankrupt. The consortium that supported the government during the war was naturally lost.

After the war, the prestige of the central government was greatly damaged, the federal states went their own way, and local protectionism prevailed.Several consortiums in the original time and space dominated, but now it has evolved into a hundred schools of thought contending.

Nino's task this time is very heavy, not only to persuade the federal government, but also to gain the support of these capitalists.

The skinny camel is bigger than Ma. As the king of Wall Street, the Morgan consortium is still the first federal consortium, but its influence is not as perverted as the original time and space.

In order to express his importance, Nino chose Morgan Manor as his first stop.

……

"Mr. Nino, I admit that what you said is very reasonable. The opening of the Panama Canal is indeed beneficial to the economic development of the United States, but what can we gain?" Morgan asked directly.

Morgan was not interested in this uninvited guest.As far as he knows, there is no such person in the French capital world. If it wasn't for the recommendation of the French minister, he would have thought that he had encountered a liar.

Nino smiled slightly, put down the coffee in his hand, and replied calmly: "I heard that local protectionism is prevalent in your country, in recent years, the development of the Morgan consortium has not been smooth!

If the Panama Canal opens, things will be different.Commercial trade on both sides of the strait is bound to prosper. The Morgan consortium has the right to speak in the canal. Are you afraid that these companies will not cooperate? "

It's not hard to do this if you take control of the canal.

But the problem is that the strength of the United States is limited. After the opening of the canal, how can the Morgan consortium gain dominance?

Just because of money?

Sorry, French consortiums are richer than them these days.The Morgan consortium is, at most, a second-rate consortium in continental Europe.

If you can't get the dominance, as a minority shareholder, it is right to wait for the dividends.If you want to be a demon, it is estimated that there will be no dividends.