During the imperialist era, the embassies of the major powers also collected intelligence. After sending Nino off, Minister Tom busied himself with searching for relevant information.
There was no other way. France's interests in Colombia were limited, and Colombia ranked very low in diplomatic activities.
Being a minister here was basically a waste of time. Over time, Minister Tom also fell. The intelligence was still being collected, and it was up to his mood whether he wanted to read it or not.
Now that he wanted to get the rights to develop the Panama Canal from the Colombian government, how could he not understand the other party's weaknesses?
Time passed by, and Tom had a general understanding of the recent events in Colombia.
As for the detailed information, unfortunately, the embassy's funding was limited, and they did not have the ability to investigate in depth. The information collected was similar to what was read in the newspaper.
Putting down the information in his hand, Minister Tom frowned. Obviously, the information on it was not what he wanted.
"Disov, find out the intelligence on Austrian activities in Colombia, as well as information related to the Panama Canal project."
Disov replied calmly, "Minister, the embassy only has intelligence on Austrian activities. The Panama Canal project is not within the scope of our intelligence collection.
If necessary, we can find the information published by the Colombian government within a week. To investigate in-depth information requires additional funds. "
Minister Tom's face became gloomy. The French government was rich, but the French embassy in Colombia was poor.
This could be seen from the staff of the embassy, which added up to less than 10 people, including a cleaner, a chef, and two guards.
In this era, communication was inconvenient. The power of the ambassadors was great, and hiring ordinary staff was one of their powers.
The main reason for the small number of staff in the embassy was the lack of office funds. Otherwise, Minister Tom wouldn't mind hiring a few more staff.
Without money, a lot of things couldn't be done. For example, to collect intelligence, they could only selectively collect key information and abandon secondary information.
Under normal circumstances, the canal project of the Republic of Colombia would not have anything to do with France. Their power here was too small, and they couldn't get any benefits.
The current situation was very obvious, and it was an abnormal situation. More than once, Minister Tom cursed the capitalists in his mind, completely ignoring the actual situation.
For the sake of the francs, Minister Tom still had to fulfill his promise. This was his professional ethics.
"No problem, I'll give you 10,000 francs. You must investigate the details of the Columbia Canal Plan as soon as possible."
Secretary Disraeli was puzzled and suddenly became generous. This was not like the minister he knew.
In his impression, Minister Tom was usually very frugal, especially in the intelligence department. There wasn't even a single professional spy, and the intelligence gathering was done by the embassy staff themselves.
Ten thousand francs may not be a large sum, but for the intelligence services it was a record.
For the last three years the whole of the activities of the intelligence service of the embassy had not amounted to five thousand francs.
You get what you pay for. Since his budget was small, he naturally didn't expect to gain much. Usually, the task was to extract some information from the newspaper, add it to the hearsay at the banquet, and sort it out.
Despite his doubts, Dismal did not intend to get to the bottom of it. No matter what, he had to get the event funds first.
"As you wish, Your Excellency. In three days at most, you'll be able to see the relevant information. "
It was easy to do things with money. As soon as he took out the funds, his efficiency immediately increased.
Disraeli had been here for many years, and his network had long been established. Moreover, the Colombian government was like a sieve and had no sense of confidentiality. It was too easy to get some unimportant information.
As long as he was willing to spend money, he could directly bring out the original information. Without a doubt, Disraeli was not prepared to spend money.
With his identity, if he wanted to see unimportant information, he could directly go to the Colombian government archives.
If someone dared to refuse, he would create a diplomatic conflict. It was a tactic that worked every time. The Colombian government was most afraid of diplomatic disputes.
…
Nino's background was not high and could only be considered middle class. In order to climb up, he put in a lot of effort. The canal plan was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.
The big bosses behind the scenes promised that as long as he could complete the preliminary work and convince all parties to restart the canal plan, he would be the first president of the canal company, fully in charge of the canal excavation and operation.
The credibility of this promise was very high. The big bosses would not break the promise on such a small issue, and there was a ready-made case. The first president of the Suez Canal Company was an example.
High returns naturally came with high difficulty. If anyone could do it, it would not be worth the price.
Based on the analysis of the information in his hand, Nino quickly discovered that the Panama Canal was dispensable to the Allied countries. Their coastline was concentrated on the east coast.
On the other hand, the United States, whose territory spanned the east and west, was busy building railways to increase trade.
If the Panama Canal was opened, it would narrow the distance between the east and west Pacific Oceans, and the United States could gain huge economic benefits and strategic value.
In this era where benefits determined relationships between countries, it was obvious that the United States and the canal plan were the same. Therefore, the only partner this time could be the United States.
Nino calculated many times in his mind. If he pulled in the United States and Spain, the three countries would unite to fight against Austria in Colombia. The chance of winning was still very high.
Compared to working with Austria and England, it was easier to gain dominance with the United States and Spain. Even if something went wrong, France had the power to suppress them.
After sending a telegram back to the United States explaining the situation, Nino immediately sailed to the United States to recruit people.
…
Due to the failure of the Civil War, the United States was hit hard. The government's finances went bankrupt, and the financial groups that supported the government during the war naturally lost everything.
After the war, the prestige of the central government was greatly damaged. The federal states acted on their own, and local protectionism was prevalent. The few financial groups in the original timeline were the most powerful, and now it had evolved into hundreds of businesses competing.
Nino's task this time was very important. Not only did he have to convince the federal government, but he also had to get the support of these capitalists.
As the king of Wall Street, the Morgan Financial Group was still the number one financial group in the Federation, but its influence was not as strong as the original timeline.
To show his respect, Nino chose the Morgan Manor as his first stop.
…
"Mr. Nino, I admit that what you said makes sense. The opening of the Panama Canal is indeed beneficial to the economic development of the United States, but what will we get out of it?" Morgan asked directly.
Morgan wasn't interested in this uninvited guest. As far as he knew, there was no such person in the French capitalist world. If it wasn't for the French Minister's recommendation, he would have thought he was being scammed.
Nino smiled, put down the coffee in his hand, and replied calmly, "I heard that local protectionism is prevalent in your country. In recent years, the Morgan Financial Group has not been developing smoothly!
If the Panama Canal opens, the situation will be different. The trade between the east and the west is bound to prosper, and the Morgan Financial Group will have the right to speak in the canal. Are you afraid that these companies won't cooperate? "
Empty promises. If they controlled the canal, it wouldn't be difficult to achieve this.
But the problem was that the United States' power was limited. After the canal opens, how could the Morgan Financial Group obtain the right to control?
Just because they had money?
Sorry, the French financial groups were much richer than them these days. The Morgan Financial Group was at most a second-rate financial group in Europe.
If they couldn't get the right to control, as a small shareholder, they could only wait for the dividends. If they wanted to cause trouble, they probably wouldn't even get the dividends.
By then, not to mention cutting the wool of other companies, the Morgan Financial Group might have to accept the French capital as a shareholder and lose their autonomy again.
Morgan shook his head, "Mr. Nino, this matter involves too many people. We can't do it alone. We have to find someone else to cooperate with. If there are more people involved, how much right will we have?
How many shares are you willing to give? If it's too little, we don't have to waste time. "
Nino hesitated for a moment and gave an answer that he thought was generous, "The development of the Panama Canal involves too many countries. We need more partners. The United States can get up to 21% of the shares."
The development of the Panama Canal couldn't be done without the cooperation of the local tyrants. In any case, the Colombian government had to have a share, and so did the Spanish.
From the French's point of view, to control the canal, they had to have more than half of the shares. Only a small half was left for the three countries to divide.
In fact, this was only an ideal number. If the capital of other European countries participated, they would have to release some shares.
The 21% was empty promises. In the end, the United States would only get less shares. After the listing, the proportion would be further diluted.
Morgan waved his hand, "Sorry, Mr. Nino. Morgan won't participate in this business.
It's impossible to convince all parties with just 21% of the shares. The risk we need to bear is not proportional to the benefits.
As far as I know, Austria has always been interested in the Panama region. There are also a large number of immigrants there, which could change the Panama region at any time.
Once Panama falls into the hands of the Austrians, our investment will have no guarantee. Don't tell me your country will start a war with Austria for our benefit? "
Nino frowned, "Mr. Morgan, the chances of that happening are very small. The Panama Canal involves the interests of Colombia, Spain, us, and your country.
The power that the four countries can invest in the Panama region is no weaker than the Austrians.
The Government of Vienna isn't reckless. Without certainty, even if they have ambitions for the Panama region, they won't act rashly. "
Nino didn't make any promises. They were all smart people, and it was too difficult to fool the other party.
If he really promised that France would protect everyone's investment, Morgan would probably kick him out.
What right did a capitalist representative have to represent the Government of France? Even if France's capitalists were powerful, they didn't have the ability to decide the direction of the country's politics.
Not to mention now, even when the financial groups were at their peak, they could only influence the government's decisions, not make decisions for the government.
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