Chapter 991

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 an ambassador 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 their weaknesses?

As time passed by, Tom had a general understanding of the recent events in Colombia.

As for detailed information, I'm sorry that the embassy has limited funds and is unable to conduct in-depth investigations. 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 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, "Your Excellency, 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 funding. "

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, and the power of the ambassadors abroad was great. 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 project as soon as possible."

The 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.

10,000 francs might not be a large number, but for the intelligence department, it was a record.

In the past three years, the entire activities of the intelligence department of the embassy added up to less than 5,000 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 organize it. Then, the task would be considered completed.

Even though he was confused, Disov didn't want to ask further. No matter what, he had to get the event funds first.

"Minister Tom" The Minister said. You'll be able to see the relevant information within three days. "

It was easy to do things with money. As soon as he took out the funds, his efficiency immediately increased.

Moreover, the Colombian government was like a sieve and had no sense of confidentiality. It was too easy to get some unimportant information. Moreover, the Colombian government was like a sieve. They had no sense of confidentiality at all. It was too easy to get some unimportant information.

As long as they were willing to spend money, they could directly bring out the original information. As long as he was willing to spend money, he could directly bring out the original information.

With his identity, he could go directly to the Colombian government archives to check unimportant information.

With his identity, he could directly go to the Colombian government archives to see unimportant information. This was a trick that worked every time. The Colombian government was most afraid of diplomatic disputes.

It was a tactic that worked every time. The Colombian government was most afraid of diplomatic disputes.

Nino's background wasn't high and could only be considered middle class. In order to climb up, he put in a lot of effort. The canal project was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

The big shots behind the scenes promised that as long as he could complete the preliminary work and convince all parties to restart the canal project, 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 shots wouldn't break the contract on such a small issue. There were also ready-made cases. The first president of the Suez Canal company was an example.

High returns naturally came with high difficulty. If anyone could do it, it wouldn't be worth the price.

Based on the analysis of the information in his hand, Nino quickly discovered that the Panama Canal wasn't essential to the United States as their coastline was concentrated on the east coast.

On the other hand, the United States of America, whose territory spanned across both the East and the West, was busy building railways in order to strengthen trade and commerce.

If the Panama Canal was opened, it would narrow the distance between the Pacific Ocean 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 project 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 very high.

Compared to working with England and Austria, it was easier to gain dominance with the United States and Spain. Even if there was a problem, France had the power to suppress them.

After sending a telegram back to the country and explaining the situation, Nino immediately sailed to the United States and prepared to recruit people into his group.

…

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 wasn't 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 community. 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 hasn't been developing smoothly!

If the Panama Canal is opened, the situation will be different. The trade between the east and the west is bound to prosper. If the Morgan Financial Group has the right to speak in the canal, why would they not 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 was opened, how could the Morgan Financial Group get the right to speak?

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 speak, 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 that time, the Morgan Financial Group might have to accept French capital as a shareholder, and they would lose their autonomy again.

Morgan shook his head. "Mr. Nino, this matter involves too many people. It's impossible for us to handle it alone. We have to find someone else to cooperate with. If there are more people involved, how much power will we have?

How many shares are you willing to give? If it's too little, we don't have to waste time. "

After hesitating for a moment, Nino gave what he thought was a generous answer, "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 get a share, and so did the Spanish.

From the French's point of view, to control the canal, more than half of the shares were not enough. 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 give up 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.

With just 21% of the shares, it's impossible to convince all parties. The risks we need to bear are 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.