Before the Panama Canal began, Panama City in the 19th century had less than 30,000 people, but it was a small city of 30,000 people with 65 city council members.

Ford Benjamin did not want to do the ideological work of the congressmen one by one, and the joint investigation team would not give Ford Benjamin enough time, so Ford Benjamin could only cut through the mess quickly and show his attitude in the clearest way and the most drastic means.

The effect was indeed immediate, Ford Benjamin was definitely a good player with guns, and although he didn't look back, Juan Bagner still fell in response.

The sudden gunfire stunned all the parliamentarians, and although many of them were mentally prepared, most of them fantasized that they would take the opportunity to get some sufficient benefits from the Panamanian company, and even if they did not have benefits, they should at least make their own decisions without threat.

Ford Benjamin's decisiveness sounded the alarm for everyone, the US government is not the Colombian government, Washington is not Bogotá, and the Panamanians are not Americans, so Ford Benjamin does not care about the life or death of Panamanians, whether it is the speaker of the parliament or the cleaner of the Capitol, in the eyes of Ford Benjamin, there is not much difference in their value, if there are still people against Ford Benjamin, then the end will be the same.

The sound of gunfire was accompanied by a group of heavily armed Panamanian company employees, all of whom were armed, especially their rifles, which were equipped with bayonets, which were so dazzling in the morning sun that the parliamentarians did not dare to face them squarely.

"Please go on, Mr. Mayor, no, Mr. Vice President..." Ford Benjamin's pistol was still smoking from the muzzle, and the faint smell of gunpowder smoke slowly spread through the council hall, mixed with the increasingly thick smell of blood, even bathed in the August sun, it made people feel chills in the bottom of their hearts.

According to the idea of the Canal Management Committee, if Martinez Silva agrees to come out to resist the Colombian government, then Martinez Silva will be the new president of the Republic of Panama, and Eddie Haussman will be the vice president.

"Thank you..."Eddie Hausman straightened his waist and bowed very elegantly, first thanking Ford Benjamin, and then turning his head to another face: "Now, you should know how to choose, right?" ”

Choose!

There is no choice at all, well, if you have to find two options, then it is probably life and death, those who follow me prosper, and those who oppose me die.

Not surprisingly, on the same day, the Panamanian City Council unanimously decided to become independent, and with immediate effect, the Republic of Panama was established from the Colombian government, and Martínez Silva was unanimously elected as the first president of the Republic of Panama, and Eddie Hausman was elected president of the National Assembly of Panama.

The next morning, September 1, 1876, a joint investigation team composed of the Colombian government, Britain and France arrived at the port of Panama.

When the Bogotá sailed into the port of Panama, the Colombian flag was still flying on the lighthouse in the outer port of Panama, and as usual, the port of Panama was particularly busy as the starting point of the Panama Canal and the Panama Railway.

While the Port of Panama is important to Colombia, it pales in comparison to a cosmopolitan port like New York.

Although the Panama Canal has not yet been excavated, because of the existence of the Panama Railway, many cities on the Pacific coast want to send goods to the Caribbean, then they will use the Panama Railway through Panama City to send goods to Cologne first, and then from Cologne to the Caribbean coast, which can save about ten days compared with detouring the Strait of Magellan.

With only six berths in the entire port of Panama, only six ships can enter the port at the same time, and given the efficiency of the terminal, each ship needs at least three hours to complete, which makes the port of Panama look extremely busy, with at least a dozen ships queuing outside the port for intake.

Because it has been communicated in advance, the "Bogotá" naturally does not need to wait, and there are guide ships waiting for the "Bogotá" outside the port.

"After the Panama Canal is completed, Panama City will be more prosperous, and it will become a transportation artery comparable to the Suez Canal, no wonder the Americans have been thinking about it." Looking at the busy port scene, the French ambassador to Colombia, Adrien Ferdinand, was simply salivating, and couldn't help but whisper to the British ambassador to Colombia, Robin Ian, next to him.

"If the Panama Canal can be excavated, of course it will be a good thing, and whoever the canal belongs to, it will be a good thing for the civilized world." Robin Ian's answer was particularly detached, on the matter of the Panama Canal, the British had reached an agreement with the Americans a long time ago, so the British are now eager to watch the fire from the other side, watch the Americans and the French fight, and maybe there will be a crane and a clam to fight and the fisherman will benefit.

In fact, in the matter of the Panama Canal, it is necessary for the British to be consistent with the French, after all, they are now all actual losers, and they have all been kicked out by the United States.

"Two gentlemen, Mr. Sánchez is waiting for you...", the head of the joint investigation and a servant of Colombian Foreign Minister Juan Sánchez, interrupted Adrian and Robin's exchange.

Juan Sánchez was on the bridge of the "Bogotá" hoping to observe the scene on the pier, and put down the monoculars in his hand, Juan Sánchez's expression was a little gloomy, and he couldn't help but continue to observe.

No, nothing, no imaginary bands, no imaginary red carpets, no enthusiastic Panamanian girls, the docks are deserted like unattended beacons.

No, in fact, the wharf is now bustling like a carnival, after all, except for the reserved berth in front, there are freighters working on the other five berths, which makes the wharf look extremely busy, but this busyness is not what Juan Sánchez imagined.

In Juan Sánchez's imagination, the docks should now be filled with genuinely fearful Panamanian local government officials, who will cautiously laugh, cry and plead, and then deliver the beautiful "gifts" that Bogotá has prepared to forgive them for their mistakes.

The fact that there was no one of the expected guilty officials, and naturally there were no "local specialties" of all kinds, made Juan Sánchez even more angry, and vowed to make Panamanian local government officials pay the price they deserved.

As the Bogotá got closer to the docks, Juan Sánchez finally saw a familiar figure, Martínez Silva, the sole survivor of the joint investigation team.

There is also a person standing next to Martínez Silva, this person Juan Sánchez does not know, but if there is no accident, this person should be the mayor of Panama City, Eddie Hausman.

I have to say that after joining the joint investigation team, Juan Sánchez still did his homework on the local government of Panama, but Juan Sánchez must have ignored something, so his efforts were deviated.

This is Adrian and Robin coming to the bridge together, Hunan Sanjian Si and the two ambassadors say hello respectively, and then the three of them prepare to board the dock together.

As ambassadors abroad, Adrian and Robin are also well-informed, I have to say that this is the most shabby welcome ceremony Adrian and Robin have ever seen, even if it is to go to any village or town, as long as it is a place where people live, it should not be such hospitality, which makes Adrian and Robin feel a little unusual at the same time.

"Mr. Minister, long time no see, allow me to introduce you to the Mayor of Panama City, Eddie Hausman." Martinez Silva was just in time to introduce him, but that didn't deflect Juan Sánchez's anger.

"Silva, you look good, it seems that your mood has not been affected." Juan Sánchez's words are a bit heart-wrenching, which is clearly the meaning of picking bones in eggs.

Objectively speaking, after more than half a month of "careful care", Martinez Silva's physical condition is really good, compared with half a month ago, Martinez Silva even has obvious fortune, which is not like "surviving".

"Now that everything that should have happened has happened, we must always try to look forward, and blindly reminiscing about the past can only make us immersed in regret and unable to extricate ourselves." Martinez Silva didn't budge an inch and didn't save the slightest face for Juan Sánchez.

Strictly speaking, as the former Colombian ambassador to the United States, Martinez Silva is a subordinate of Juan Sánchez, but now Martínez Silva's attitude is not a subservient attitude, Juan Sánchez immediately felt a surge of enthusiasm.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Minister, and welcome to Panama, and I hope that Panama will leave you with a wonderful memory." Eddie Hausman stepped in just in time to stop Juan Sánchez's outburst.

In terms of administrative level, Juan Sánchez's level is definitely higher than Eddie Hausman, but there is no subordinate relationship between the two, and Juan Sánchez, the county official, really doesn't have much psychological advantage when facing Eddie Hausman, the current manager.

If the Minister of the Interior comes, maybe Eddie Haussman can be more restrained, as for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, if Eddie Haussman does not cooperate, then Juan Sánchez is really helpless.

"Mr. Mayor, have you always been so frugal?" Although there is no affiliation between them, Juan Sánchez still has enough reason to accuse Eddie Hausman.

If it was an investigation team composed entirely of domestic officials, it would have been enough, and now the investigation team has both French and British, and this accidental shame has been thrown internationally, Eddie Hausman can not care, Juan Sánchez can not care.

"Hehe, Mr. Minister, I would also like to spread the carpet from here all the way to the town hall while planting flowers on the roadside, but the problem is that we have no money in the Panamanian city government, and Bogotá is not likely to pay for these costs, so I beg your pardon, and I hope you can understand how much we Panamanians want to start the canal project as soon as possible." Eddie Hausman's words were neither soft nor hard, and at the same time, it sounded like a good reason, so that Juan Sánchez could not find room to attack.

No matter when, diligence and thrift are virtues, and it is even more important to slap a swollen face and become fat, and the way to live with money and money, and the key to living without money is whether you can face yourself.

"Of course we understand what you want from the Panama Canal, because it is an ideal that all Colombians share, so Mr. Mayor, what do you conclude about the fire that day?" Juan Sánchez doesn't dwell too much on it and gets to the point right away.

"Regarding the fire on that day, unfortunately, we have not yet reached a conclusion, it is likely that it was an accident, because of the improper operation of the hotel staff, which caused the fire, of course, this is only our assumption, we are not in a position to confirm this now." Eddie Hausman talked for a long time, but in fact, it boiled down to one sentence: I don't know.

"Since you don't have the ability to confirm it, it can't be considered a conclusion, and what I want to ask about your speculation is, since there is no evidence, why are you so sure?" Although the contact has not been for a long time, how does Juan Sánchez look at Eddie Hausman now?

"We don't know for sure, all the conclusions are just based on speculation, which has something to do with the inadequacy of our police department, but this is not something that can be changed in a day or two." Eddie Hausman Henry greeted Adrian and others, and he didn't forget to present the facts and reason in a self-deprecating way.

"It's okay, now we have time, and Mr. Martinez, I now officially inform you that you must immediately return to Bogotá and cooperate with the Bogotá police in the investigation of certain things." Juan Sánchez made a shocking announcement that amounted to the conclusion that Martínez Silva was involved in certain criminal acts.

Martínez Silva was noncommittal, but looked at Juan Sánchez with a smile, as if he was not the one who was about to face the investigation.

"Go pack your bags, and please don't try to escape, cooperating with the investigation is the only way to prove your innocence." Juan Sánchezpi didn't smile at the meat, so he invited him into the urn.

"I'm sorry Mr. Minister, I'm afraid I can't do it at all." Martinez Silva once again reaffirmed his belief that since there is no way back, let's move forward.