In the era of imperialism, the embassies of the great powers abroad also worked part-time to collect intelligence. After sending Nino away, Minister Tom was busy checking the relevant intelligence information.

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

Being a minister here is basically eating and waiting for death, and after a long time, Minister Tom will fall, and the intelligence is still collecting, so it depends on his mood if you want to watch it.

Now that we want to get the right to develop the Panama Canal from the Colombian government, how can we do it without understanding the weaknesses of the other side?

As the minutes ticked by, Tom had a general idea of what was happening in Colombia recently.

As for the details, we are sorry that the embassy has limited funds and does not have the capacity to conduct an in-depth investigation. The information gathered now is actually similar to what you see in the newspapers.

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

"Disf, find out the information about Austria's activities in Colombia, as well as the information related to the Panama Canal project."

Secretary Disf replied unhurriedly: "Your Excellency, the embassy only has information on the activities of the Austrians, and the Panama Canal project is not within the scope of our intelligence collection.

If needed, within a week we would be able to access the information made public by the Colombian Government, and additional funding would be required to obtain the information at the bottom of the page. ”

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

This is evident from the staffing of the embassy, which combined with less than 10 members, including a cleaner, a cook, and two guards.

In this era, communication was inconvenient, and the power of foreign ministers was very great, and the employment of ordinary staff was one of the powers.

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

There are many things that cannot be done without money, for example, if you collect intelligence, you can only selectively focus on it, and you can only discard secondary information.

Under normal circumstances, the canal plan of the Republic of Colombia would not have anything to do with France, where they are too small to get their hands on the benefits.

The situation is very obvious and abnormal. Minister Tom complained in his heart more than once that the capitalists were tossing around, completely ignoring the actual situation.

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

"No problem, I'll give you a special grant of 10,000 francs, and the details of the Colombian Canal plan must be investigated as soon as possible."

The secretary Disf was puzzled, and suddenly became generous, this is not like the minister he knew.

In his impression, in normal times, Minister Tom is a provincial envoy, especially the intelligence department, there is not even a professional spy, and the embassy staff is personally involved in collecting intelligence.

Ten thousand francs may not be a big number, but it is a record-breaking for the intelligence services.

In the past three years, the total cost of the activities of the embassy's intelligence services has been less than 5,000 francs.

You get what you pay for, and since the funds are small, you naturally don't expect to gain much. Generally speaking, a copy of some information from the newspaper and the hearsay from the banquet are sorted out to complete the task.

Doubts are doubts, but Disf has no intention of getting to the bottom of it. Anyway, get the event money in hand first.

"As you wish, Your Excellency. In a maximum of three days, you will be able to see the relevant materials. ”

It's easy to do things with money, but this doesn't just come up with activity funds, and the efficiency has been improved all of a sudden.

Disf has been here for many years, and his network has long been established. Moreover, the Colombian government is like a sieve, with no sense of secrecy at all, and it is too simple to get some unimportant information.

As long as you are willing to spend money, you can just bring out the original materials. There is no doubt that Disf is not ready to throw money at it.

With his status, if you want to view unimportant information, you can go directly to the Colombian government archives.

If someone dares to refuse, he will engage in things and create a 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, and he can only be considered middle class. He put in a lot of effort to climb up. This canal project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

The bigwigs behind the scenes promised that as long as he could complete the preliminary work and persuade all parties to restart the canal plan, he would be the first president of the canal company, and he would be in charge of the excavation and operation of the canal.

The credibility of this promise is very high, the big guys will not break on this small issue, and there are ready-made cases in place. The first president of the Suez Canal Company is an example of this.

High returns naturally come with high difficulty, and if anyone can get things done, it's not worth the price.

Based on the analysis of the information in hand, Nino soon discovered that the Panama Canal was dispensable for the Union Powers, and their coastline was concentrated on the east coast.

On the other hand, the United States of America, whose territory straddles the east and west coasts, is still busy building railroads in order to strengthen trade and trade.

If the Panama Canal were to be opened, the distance between the eastern and western Pacific would be narrowed, and the United States would be able to reap enormous economic benefits and strategic value.

In this era when interests determine relations between countries, it is clear that the interests of the United States and the Canal Plan coincide from the point of view, so this time the partner can only be the United States.

Nino has calculated many times in his heart, pulling the United States and Spain, and the three countries will unite to fight Austria in Colombia, and the chances of victory are still very good.

It is easier to gain dominance than to join forces with Britain and Austria, and even if something goes wrong, France has the strength to subdue them.

After sending a telegram back to China explaining the situation, Nino sailed non-stop to the United States, ready to bring people in.

……

Affected by the defeat of the Civil War, the United States suffered a heavy blow, and the government finances were bankrupt for a time, and the consortium that supported the government in the war naturally lost all their money.

After the war, the prestige of the central government was greatly damaged, the federal states went their own way, and local protectionism prevailed. A few consortia in the original time and space were dominant, and now they have evolved into a hundred schools of thought.

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

The emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and as the king of Wall Street, the Morgan consortium is still the first consortium of the Federation, but its influence is not as perverted as that of the original time and space.

In order to show his attention, Nino chose Morgan Manor as his first stop.

……

"Mr. Nino, I admit that you have a point, 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 knew, there was no such person in the French capital circles, and if it wasn't for the recommendation of the French minister, he would have thought that he had met a liar.

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

If the Panama Canal opens, the situation will be different. Commercial trade on the east and west sides of the strait is bound to prosper, and the Morgan consortium has a say in the canal, are you afraid that these companies will not cooperate? ”

Empty checks, if you take control of the canal, it is not difficult to do this.

But the problem is that the United States has limited strength, so after the canal is opened, how can the Morgan consortium gain the dominant power?

Is it just because you have money?

Sorry, the French consortium has more money than they have these days. The Morgan consortium is at most a second-rate consortium in continental Europe.

If you can't get the dominant power, as a small shareholder, it's right to obediently wait for dividends. If you want to be a demon, it is estimated that you will not even have dividends.

When the time comes, not to mention shearing the wool of other enterprises, the Morgan consortium itself will have to accept the investment of French capital and lose its autonomy again.

Morgan shook his head: "Mr. Nino, this matter is too involved to be promoted by our family alone. We must find others to unite, and if there are more people involved, how much more power can we have to speak?

I would venture to ask how much you are willing to pay, if it is too little, so you don't have to waste your time. ”

After hesitating for a moment, Nino gave what he thought was a generous answer: "There are too many countries involved in the development of the Panama Canal, and we must have more partners, and the United States can get up to 21% of the shares." ”

The development of the Panama Canal is indispensable for the cooperation of the head snakes, and no matter what, the Colombian government will have to share it, and the Spanish will also have to have a share.

From the standpoint of the French, if you want to control the control of the canal, you can't do without a majority of the shares, and only a small half of the remaining shares will be left for the three countries to divide up.

In fact, this is only an ideal figure, if the capital of other European countries participates, it is bound to release some shares.

This 21% is a blank check, and in the end, the United States will only get fewer shares, and the proportion will be further diluted after the IPO financing.

Morgan waved his hand, "I'm sorry, Mr. Nino. Morgan was not involved in this business.

With just 21% of the shares, it is simply impossible to convince the parties that the risks we need to take are not proportional to the benefits.

As far as I know, Austria has always been very interested in the Panama region. There is also a large number of immigrants in the area, which can change the Panamanian region at any time.

Once Panama fell into the hands of the Austrians, there was no guarantee for our investment. Will your country go to war with Austria for the sake of our interests? ”

Nino frowned: "Mr. Morgan, the chances of this happening are very small. The Panama Canal involves the interests of Colombia, Spain, us and you.

Together, the four countries were able to throw into the Panamanian region no weaker than the Austrians.

The Viennese government is not a reckless man, and they will not take the liberty of taking action if they are not sure, even if they have ambitions for the Panama region. ”

Nino didn't make random promises, everyone understands people, and it's too difficult to fool each other.

If it was a promise that France would protect everyone's investment, it is estimated that Morgan would be evicted.

What qualifications does a capitalist representative have to represent the French government? Even the capitalists in France are too powerful to decide the political direction of the country at will.

Not to mention that now, even in the heyday of the power of the consortium, it can only influence the government's decision-making, not make decisions for the government.