Chapter 988

It wasn't easy to take advantage of the situation. It involved national strategic security, and President Aquileo Parra Gomez didn't dare to make a decision easily.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Nino. If we can't guarantee the safety of the Panama region, we won't restart the canal project. "

…

Without reaching an agreement, Nino left with a frown. He was sure that President Aquileo Parra Gomez was tempted when they talked about the loan, but he still refused to negotiate.

That's right, an interest-free loan of 100 million francs wasn't the French's bottom line. It was just a bait. Unfortunately, the Colombian government didn't take the bait.

After leaving the presidential palace, Nino got into a luxurious carriage. He said to the driver, "To the French embassy."

The previous experience told him that without official intervention, the Colombian government wouldn't take the risk with them.

Ever since they tasted the sweetness of the Suez Canal, the French capitalists were interested in the canal. After careful selection, they finally chose the Panama Canal.

Nino was the executor of the Panama Canal project. He thought it would be easy to convince the Colombian government to restart the Panama Canal during the economic crisis, but he didn't expect that he couldn't even get authorization.

Now he had to ask the government for help. Deep down, Nino didn't want the Government of France to get involved, which meant there would be more people sharing the cake.

The outbreak of the economic crisis was a disaster for many people, but for a small number of people, it was also a capital feast.

They ate too much at the banquet, so they naturally needed to digest it. Limited by the lack of resources and the people's occasional protests, France wasn't suitable for investment, or the return on investment was too low.

Without the reparations from the Franco-Prussian War, France's capital was undoubtedly more abundant, and a usury empire had already appeared.

Loans couldn't be issued randomly. For example, if Russia dared to default, the French financial community didn't dare to lend them money.

There were too few quality customers, and excess capital became a common problem for the British and French financial communities. The Panama Canal project was undoubtedly a good project, and the future "money" was bright.

The French capitalists weren't monolithic, and they had long been divided into factions. The relationships inside were complicated, and if the government didn't intervene, they would take the project for themselves.

Now that the Government of France was needed to intervene, it meant that the big aristocrats and even the royal capital would also be involved, and everyone would get less benefits.

Nino knew very well that it was very unlikely for him to monopolize such a big project. In the future, he would definitely need the protection of the Government of France.

This was similar to starting a business. The first to enter the project would be the initial shares, and the capital that came later would be considered as financing.

The former only needed to invest a small amount of capital to obtain a large number of shares, while the latter needed to consider a premium if they wanted to obtain shares.

There was no doubt that obtaining the canal authorization would be the first time the company appreciated. Before this, this empty canal company was just an empty shell.

…

French Minister Tom: "Mr. Nino, your plan is too fantastical. You don't understand Colombia at all. The political situation in this country is very unstable.

Maybe you can 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 have succeeded, and ten have failed.

Based on the history of Colombia, I made the statistics. Since 1830, they have had a total of thirty-one presidents, and the average duration of each government is less than a year and a half. "

Nino shook his head. "Your Excellency, the change of government in Colombia has nothing to do with us. Would they dare to deny the contract with us?"

Nino wasn't interested in the political turmoil in Colombia. Most of the countries in South America weren't stable, but no matter how the governments changed, no one dared to touch the interests of the great powers.

In his opinion, it was nothing more than Tom raising his own status to prove his importance and wanted a share of the benefits.

French Minister Tom frowned. "Mr. Nino, it's not as simple as you think. Maybe they don't dare to deny the previous contract, but they can nullify the contents of the contract.

Without the cooperation of the local tyrants, are you sure the Panama Canal can be smoothly navigated? Don't forget how many laborers are used in the Suez Canal.

If you hire from outside, you should know how much it will increase the cost.

Besides, the biggest problem isn't the Colombian government, but the Austrians.

In recent years, Austria has been infiltrating the Colombian region, especially the Panamanian region, where half of the local population is German.

France can intimidate the Colombian government, but it can't scare the Austrians. If you can't deal with these problems, when you dig through the canal, the Austrians will jump out to pick the peaches.

You only need to plan a coup, and Panama will become an Austrian colony.

When that time comes, are you sure you can maintain the dominance of your canal in Austrian territory? "

Nino's expression changed. If he really opened the canal in an Austrian colony, he wouldn't even be able to recoup the investment costs, let alone maintain the dominance.

After a pause, Nino came back to his senses and asked, "Austria is so powerful here, why didn't the Colombian government take action?"

French Minister Tom shook his head. "It's not that the Colombian government didn't take action, but the governments that took action were all overthrown.

Right now, many of the warlords in the Republic of Colombia are supported by Austria. If the government dares to act, it will be immediately removed from power. "

Not only was Austria supporting its underlings, but France also had a representative. However, the Austrian colony in Central America was too close, and with the advantage of distance, they occupied the dominant position.

The word "cooperation" flashed in Nino's mind. There was no other way. Austria was too powerful in the local area. If they cooperated, the dominance of the canal wouldn't fall into their hands.

The financial capital behind the scenes didn't just want a canal, but also the benefits behind the canal.

Controlling this golden waterway meant controlling the economic lifeline of more than half of the American economy. At that time, French capital could use the canal hub to penetrate into many industries.

If anyone dared to reject their investment, they would have to face the consequences! Any random card on the canal could cause people to collapse, especially for shipping companies.

Especially for shipping companies, as long as they operated the Pacific Ocean route, there was no room for resistance.

The French financial industry was playing a big game of chess. If the plan succeeded, they would control the economic lifeline of many countries in the Americas.

After hesitating for a moment, Nino promised, "Mr. Minister, is there any way to solve our current problem?

Don't worry, we won't let our friend suffer losses. After this is done, there will definitely be a generous return. We have always believed that you have the potential to become the foreign minister of France. "

This was a clear temptation. Not only did they give him money, but they were also willing to support him to become the foreign minister.

Of course, the latter was just an empty promise. The capital behind Nino wasn't small, but it wasn't enough to influence the appointment of the foreign minister.

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

Tom was overjoyed, but he soon realized that although the rewards were plentiful, this matter was not easy to handle. He immediately told the truth.

He immediately told the truth, "Mr. Nino, if you want the canal project to go smoothly, it's best to bring the Austrians with us. It's difficult to complete this task with our own strength.

Of course, we can also find other partners. If the British are willing to do their best, our two countries can also work together to complete the project, but the price we have to pay will be greater. "

Hearing this answer, Nino knitted his brows and his expression instantly turned ugly.

France didn't have enough power in the Americas to compete with these two competitors.

Whether it was the joint development of the canal with Austria or the British, they wouldn't have the leadership.

If they couldn't get the leadership, it would only be the dividends from the canal. Although the return was good, it wasn't worth the trouble.

After a moment of silence, Nino said, "Mr. Minister, this is a big matter. I must report to the country. The cooperation 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 time possible. "

"No problem. It's my duty to cooperate with the company's overseas actions to maximize the benefits for France," Minister Tom replied.

…

After leaving the embassy, Nino's mood became even more complicated. Judging from the current situation, the original plan couldn't be realized. Now he had to find partners to share the pressure.

The United Kingdom and Austria were the first to be eliminated, and there were not many partners left to choose from.

Spain could barely be considered one. They had a lot of power in the Caribbean, but unfortunately, the Spanish had declined. France and Spain together might not be able to deter Austria.

Also, they had to consider the political impact. If France and Spain stood together, the European countries would panic. The first to lose control would probably be the British.

The government couldn't take the risk of Britain and Austria getting close to each other to push the Panama Canal Project. Without the support of the Government of Paris, this project had no chance of success.

Other than that, the only countries with greater influence in the Americas were the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.

If they could pull in these two countries, it seemed like the plan could be completed. However, this was impossible.

Today, the hatred between the Confederate States and the Confederate States was as deep as the ocean. If the two governments dared to work together, the Confederate States would punish them.

Internationally, whatever the Confederate States supported, the Confederate States would oppose. Conversely, if the Confederate States supported, the Confederate States would oppose.

For the sake of political correctness, both sides opposed for the sake of opposition. Pulling in one of them meant standing on the opposite side of the other.

This was also what the British, Fao, and France needed. The Northern and Southern governments opposed each other. Other than hatred, the three countries were secretly pushing for it.

Also, they weren't idiots. If you asked them to join, they would join. Without enough benefits, don't even think about it.

Without a doubt, these benefits had to be paid by the canal company. The dilution of shares was inevitable.

The ratio wouldn't be low. They might even have to give up some of the leading rights. Essentially, the Panama Canal Project was to cut sheep from the American countries.

The more he thought about it, the more Nino felt a headache. Based on the current situation, it was too difficult for them to take control of the Panama Canal.