Chapter 994

In 1877, the UK, Fao, and FAO launched wars of expansion on the African continent. Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Somali Peninsula fell into the flames of war at the same time.

Compared to Fao's sweeping of the two countries, the British encountered trouble. The famous "warrior emperor" became the nightmare of the British army.

Because they underestimated the enemy, the British army was ambushed shortly after the war broke out and suffered heavy losses.

Looking at the battle report in his hand, the British commander, Ismail, trembled with anger. Less than a month after the war started, more than 5,000 troops were killed or injured. The colonial army's cannon fodder was fine, but the key was that a British infantry regiment was crippled.

"Rice buckets, they're all rice buckets!"

"You can't even beat a group of indigenous people. You've lost the face of Britannia. What's the point of the country supporting you?"

…

A young officer forced himself to explain, "General, the indigenous people of Ethiopia are extraordinary. They also have modern weapons and have received formal military training."

"Bang!"

Ismail slammed the table and cursed, "It must be the Austrians and Frenchmen. Other than them, no one would be so shameless!"

No one followed up on this topic. The first to help Ethiopia train the army was the British. After the last war in Ethiopia, the Fao and FAO infiltrated their forces.

Ethiopia had a well-trained army, and the British themselves also contributed to it. If this layer of window paper was poked, the government would face great public pressure.

Directly pushing the blame to the Fao and FAO was the best choice. It wasn't that they didn't work hard, but the enemy was too "powerful."

After venting his anger, Ismail calmed down.

For this war, they had completely prepared according to the experience of the last war. Obviously, this was no longer the right time.

Today was different from the past. Menelik II was able to unify most of Ethiopia because he fought his way through. How could a battle-hardened army be easy to mess with?

The Paris Conference did not reach a conclusion. In the absence of a treaty, it was normal for the Fao and FAO to stab each other in the back.

Ismail suspected that the current commander of the Ethiopian army was the Fao Commander. Otherwise, how could the British army lose to the indigenous people?

After calculating the forces in his hands, Ismail helplessly concluded that it was difficult to win with the current forces. Even if they could win, it would be a pyrrhic victory.

If there was a war with the European powers, a pyrrhic victory was acceptable. But the enemy was the indigenous people of Africa. If they really won, they would be court-martialed.

Needless to say, in order to win, Ismail decisively chose to ask for help from the country.

…

In Paris, after a few years of political struggle, Napoleon IV gradually took control of the state power by playing the balance.

In this respect, the original project of Napoleon III had succeeded. Taking advantage of the power struggles of all parties, he allowed the imperial power to be transferred smoothly.

Napoleon, the Empire, and the Empire, Empire, of the Empire, and Of the Europe.,

Empire, and, and Iv, and Kingdom, Empire, and Empire, Africa, and, and, Empire, and Empire, were, and were, and were, and were, Empire, and United, and Emperor, and Empire.

Of Empire, and, and, and, and, Empire, and, Napoleon Empire, and Were. There was nothing he could do about the infighting among the bureaucrats.

Perhaps for the imperial power, bureaucratic infighting was a good thing, but there was a prerequisite, and that was that it must be limited to a certain range.

How could the country develop normally when everyone was stabbing each other? How could the country develop normally if everyone stabbed each other in the back?

This could be seen from France's economic development in recent years. Since the death of Napoleon Iii, France's economic development had plummeted, and the Government of Paris had done nothing.

Doing nothing was better than doing things recklessly. Overall, France was stable, but its economic development was slow.

This was unacceptable to the arrogant Napoleon Iv. After he took power, he began to focus on economic development.

France's economic growth had slowed down due to many reasons. It was not something that the government could do even if they wanted to.

The biggest problem was the energy crisis. The domestic coal production was seriously insufficient, and it could not meet the growing economic demand.

Not only was there a shortage of coal in France, but even the French African colonies also lacked coal. Without coal, they could only import it. Without a doubt, this raised the cost of industrial production.

As the cost increased, the market competitiveness naturally decreased. In international trade, France's market share was plummeting.

At its peak, France once accounted for one-fifth of the world's total import and export trade. Now, it had fallen to 15.7%.

This was not the end. France's market share continued to decline, and it might not be long before they lost their position as the third largest trading country.

Napoleon Iv asked, "Are you sure that the opening of the Panama Canal can drive domestic industrial and commercial exports?"

The French capitalists were really powerful. They could do their work in front of the emperor.

Minister of Finance Allen: "Your Majesty, the situation of the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal is very similar. The opening of the Suez Canal led to the last round of economic prosperity.

After the opening of the Suez Canal, domestic import and export trade grew by more than 7% for five years in a row, greatly promoting domestic economic development.

Now the Panama Canal is the same. Once the canal is opened, the distance from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean will be shortened by tens of thousands of nautical miles, which will greatly stimulate domestic export growth. "

He lied without blinking. It had to be said that politicians had low moral integrity. The opening of the Suez Canal did greatly stimulate France's economic development, but the effect of the Panama Canal was not so great.

From the map, it could be seen that the biggest beneficiary of the Panama Canal was the United States of America, followed by Colombia, and other countries could only pick up the leftovers.

It was not completely useless. If the Panama Canal was opened more than a decade ago, the Government of France would not have to give up Mexico.

Time could not be turned back. Developing the Panama Canal now would at most shorten the distance to the West Coast.

In this era, the economic development of the West Coast of the Americas, even if exports were stimulated, the growth would be very limited.

Moreover, there was competition from other European countries. French industrial and commercial products were losing international competitiveness, and there was not much benefit at all.

In this context, investing a huge amount of money to develop the Panama Canal was actually not worth it for the French.

Napoleon Iv shook his head. "No, my Minister of Finance. You only see the benefits to us, but you don't see the consequences. In fact, the ones who benefit the most are not us.

From the map, we can see that the biggest beneficiary is the United States of America. Suppressing the development of the American countries is a common national policy of the United Kingdom, Fao, and Austria. The United States is the focus of the suppression.

There is a clear stipulation in the treaty that the three countries must maintain the balance of the American continent, and it is prohibited to unilaterally strengthen a country.

Regardless of whether we support the United States or not, this kind of strengthening of the United States is a betrayal in the eyes of Austria. We can't ignore long-term development for the sake of short-term benefits. "

It was evident that Napoleon IV was not easy to fool, and that his story, which was full of holes, could not fool him.

Minister of Finance Allen said, "Your Majesty, this is only the benefits on the surface. The potential benefits are actually greater.

The opening of the Panama Canal in the short term is the greatest benefit for the United States. But the Panama Canal is under our control. With the increase in trade, the economic lifeline of the United States has also fallen into our hands.

The benefits behind this are our biggest gains. In the future, we can use the Panama Canal to open the doors of the American countries and seize more benefits for the Empire.

The development of the Panama Canal does not directly strengthen the strength of a country. This can only be regarded as a sideline. England and Austria will not do anything. "

The potential benefits were indeed tempting. Now that the world was almost divided up, the remaining independent countries could not act rashly.

Seizing benefits through economic means had become inevitable in the future world. Controlling the economic lifeline of the American countries would undoubtedly give France an advantageous position in the new round of competition.

Napoleon Iv said, "How can we guarantee the dominance of the Panama Canal? In the Colombian region, whether it is the British or the Austrians, we cannot win! "

This was the crux of the problem. France did not have enough strength in Colombia to guarantee control of the canal.

It was true that the United Kingdom, Fao, and Austria were allies, but this was only a combination of interests. When the interests were large enough, allies could also become enemies.

If England and Austria were allowed to join the canal plan, the dominance would instantly change hands. Napoleon Iv would rather not do this kind of thing that would benefit others.

Minister of Finance Allen said, "Your Majesty, in fact, there is no need for the government to do this. It would be better for the private capitalists to do it.

If we cooperate with either England or Austria alone, we will not be able to get the dominance, but the situation will change if more countries participate.

As the initiating country, we may not be able to get the dominance, but it is not difficult to get the biggest voice.

The government only needs to … "

…

With great difficulty, Allan, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, managed to persuade Napoleon IV. Deep in his heart, he had already made up his mind that whoever wanted to do this kind of thing could do it. Anyway, he was not going to do it again.

Although the benefits promised by the capitalists were large, the risks were not small. If Allen did not know that Napoleon Iv intended to replace him and wanted to make a fortune before leaving to retire, he would not have cooperated with the capitalists.

On the surface, he was the representative of the grassroots class. By restoring the throne together with Napoleon III, he realized his life's counterattack.

The persona of a politician could not collapse. As a civilian representative in the government, if he ran to cooperate with the capitalists, once the news was leaked, Allen would immediately fall into a situation of betrayal.

It was precisely because of this identity that Allen could propose to Napoleon Iv that if it was a minister representing the interests of the capitalists, it would not be so easy to succeed.