1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 723 Canal

Every second child has a heart that wants to be the boss, and Napoleon III is no exception.

In particular, France once swept across the European continent during his uncle's era and became the undisputed land power.

Napoleon III always wanted to make France great again, even surpass the glory of his uncle's era.

Although France originally formed an alliance with Britain in order to curb the expansion of Tsarist Russia in the Middle East, he was very clear from the beginning to the end that France's biggest enemy was not Tsarist Russia, but Britain across the English Channel.

"Can you still be friends with the British?" Napoleon III sneered and said, "From the moment you extend your hand to Australia, it will be difficult for you and Britain to be friends again.

It would have been fine if gold had not been discovered in Australia, but Australia is now not only a major gold producing area, but you have also changed Australia's population structure, causing them to lose control of their Australian colonies, which is something the London authorities cannot accept in any way.

What’s more, you took Hong Kong from the British during the second trade war.”

Napoleon III also considered the situation and acted accordingly. If it weren't for the fact that the American Republic had some strength and was not on good terms with the British, he would not have been willing to make a personal trip to inspect this potential ally.

The enemy of my enemy, even if you can't reach an agreement in the end and can't become allies, you can at least be a friend.

The reason why London only declared war on Umbrella Corporation in the name of the East India Company was that it did not directly declare war on the American Republic behind Umbrella Corporation in the name of the British government.

This was not because the British authorities were afraid of the strength of the American Republic, but was the result of careful research and careful calculation by the Parliament and Cabinet of the Palace of Westminster.

In short, for the London authorities, the question of whether they want to fight the American Republic is not whether they can fight, but whether it is worth fighting.

"How much of the Suez Canal Company's shares is your Majesty willing to give?"

Liang Yao did not have the idea of ​​getting involved in the Suez Canal.

Even in the 21st century when rail and air transportation are quite developed, the Suez Canal is still a place that makes a lot of money.

Not to mention the mid-19th century when water transport was the mainstay of international transportation.

Although the initial investment in a mega project like the Suez Canal is high, there is no problem in recovering the investment in the future.

The question he and Napoleon III needed to consider was whether they could defend the canal once it was built.

Liang Yao had no idea of ​​attacking the Suez Canal before because he had no chance and his strength did not allow it.

Egypt is the sphere of influence of Britain and France. The United States of America has limited strength and its influence cannot even cover America, let alone Africa.

Now that Napoleon III is willing to open the door for him, as long as the benefits are distributed reasonably and meet his psychological expectations, it is not a bad idea to cooperate with France in building the Suez Canal.

But once he cooperated with France to build the Suez Canal, it no longer mattered whether he had the idea of ​​challenging Britain's maritime hegemony or not, because the British would think he did.

For at least the next 20 years, the destiny of the American Republic will be deeply tied to the destiny of its ally, France.

This is the sadness of the second strongest.

The Republic of America can act with all its might in the Americas and is undoubtedly a regional power. However, at the global level, if it wants to make a breakthrough in geopolitics, it can only rely on more powerful powers.

"25%."

Napoleon III was well prepared. He gave a number without hesitation and put forward additional conditions.

"As long as you can subscribe to 5000 million gold francs of French government bonds, we can reach a cooperation immediately."

After saying that, Napoleon III waved his hand and signaled Le Goff behind him to hand the translated information of the Suez Canal Company to Liang Yao for review.

Liang Yao took the information handed over by Le Goff and looked through it carefully.

The total share capital of the Suez Canal Company initially issued was 2 million gold francs, totaling 400 million shares, with a par value of 500 gold francs per share.

Subscribing to 25% of the initial shares of the Suez Canal Company, plus purchasing 5000 million gold francs of French government bonds, is exactly 1 million gold francs.

At the current exchange rate, 1 million gold francs is equivalent to 1282 million Republican dollars.

In terms of equity structure and subscription rules, there are currently only two major shareholders.

The largest shareholder is French private capital, which was issued by the French government to the French public, accounting for 53% of the shares (224 million shares). However, it was undersubscribed, and only 123 million shares were subscribed so far.

Most of the subscribed shares were purchased by the Lesseps family, the Rothschild family and the Paris banking group.

The second largest shareholder is the Egyptian government, or more precisely, the government of the current Egyptian Governor-General Sayyid Pasha, which subscribed for 44% of the shares (approximately 1.76 million gold francs).

However, the Sayyid Pasha government exchanged the canal concession for equity, and the actual funds were still provided by credit support from the French banking group.

It is no wonder that Napoleon III would seek cooperation with him. Of the 400 million original shares, less than 200 million shares have been actually subscribed.

Napoleon III borrowed 5000 million gold francs from him. If Liang Yao guessed correctly, Napoleon III wanted to subscribe to 25% or even more original shares in the name of the French government and become the largest single shareholder of the Suez Canal Company.

"I want 50% of the original shares of the Suez Canal Company." Liang Yao also began to bargain with Napoleon III.

He knew that Napoleon III would definitely not give 50% of the original shares of the Suez Canal Company, or more precisely, he could not give it. This meant that not only would Egypt be completely squeezed out of the game, but France would also have to give up an additional 3% of the original shares.

If he really did this, even if Napoleon III nodded in agreement, the Governor-General of Egypt, Sayyid Pasha, would definitely not agree.

Sayyid Pasha was the fourth ruler of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, during which Egypt was nominally still a vassal of the Ottoman Turkish Sultan.

In fact, the military, administrative and taxation powers were all in the hands of the Governor of Egypt. It was a highly autonomous political entity, and the Governor of Egypt had considerable autonomy.

France influenced Egypt's political situation through military advisers and arms exports, while Britain exerted influence on Egypt through trade penetration.

Although at this time the Muhammad Ali dynasty was on the verge of collapse due to its long-term militarism and its strength was greatly reduced.

However, due to serious differences between Britain and France on the distribution of interests in Egypt, neither Britain nor France was able to fully control the situation in Egypt.

The Egyptian Governor-General Sayyid Pasha was also able to survive by moving between Britain and France.

"If you are willing to exchange 80% of the Los Angeles Petrochemical shares for 50% of the original shares of the Suez Canal Company, I can consider it," said Napoleon III.

"We still have to leave some shares for Egypt. If we don't, they will not only not cooperate with us in building the Suez Canal, but will even bring in the British to retaliate against us. Once the British are involved, the situation will become complicated. I think neither you nor I want the British to get involved."

The total share capital of Los Angeles Petrochemical is currently about 3500 million Republican dollars, or 2.73 million French francs, and Los Angeles Petrochemical has a stable dividend every year.

Even a fool knows that at this stage it would be a huge loss to exchange 80% of Los Angeles Petrochemical for half of the original shares of the Suez Canal Company. Napoleon III meant that this was impossible.

"Your Majesty, please name a price. How many original shares of the Suez Canal Company are you willing to get for us at most?" Liang Yao asked.

"35% of the shares of Los Angeles Petrochemical will be exchanged for 35% of the original shares of the Suez Canal Company." Napoleon III made the conditions. "In addition, the French Navy can provide security for merchant ships on the Atlantic route of the American Republic."

The conditions offered by Napoleon III were quite generous.

The value of 35% of Los Angeles Petrochemical's shares is definitely higher than 35% of the original shares of Suez Canal Company.

But Napoleon III was willing to provide security for the Atlantic trade routes.

It is equivalent to using the premium to pay protection fees to the French Navy, which is not too disadvantageous.

The navy of the American Republic has to take into account both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and the Atlantic Fleet can only deal with the navy of the Northern Federation at best.

If Britain set its sights on the Atlantic shipping route, his Atlantic Fleet would certainly not be able to withstand it.

It is true that the British Royal Navy is the leader in strength, but Britain has a wide range of colonies and the British Navy has many areas to take into account, so its strength is relatively dispersed.

Specifically in the Atlantic, the British Royal Navy has an advantage over the French Navy, but this advantage is not so great that France cannot even fight.

Although 35% of the original shares of the Suez Canal Company are a bit low, the Egyptian government is currently burdened with debt and bankruptcy is only a matter of time.

By then, it will not be difficult to acquire the Egyptian government’s original shares at a low price and become the largest single shareholder of the Suez Canal.

"Okay, but I also have a canal project to cooperate with Your Majesty." Liang Yao nodded and agreed after thinking for a moment, but he also put forward his requirements.

"I am planning to set up the Panama Canal Company and would like to invite Your Majesty to invest. The original shares will be 53% for us, 40% for France, and the remaining 7% for the local government."

It has been nearly 40 years since the Monroe Doctrine was proposed, but now America is not the America of the Americans, nor is it the America of the United States and the American Republic.

The American Republic could extend its influence into Central America and even Chile through trade.

But it is too early to talk about control. Liang Yao wants to build a canal in Panama in advance, and the only shortcut is to get France involved.

"President Liang, you just said that building the Panama Canal is too difficult, requires too much money, and the geopolitical conditions are too complicated." Napoleon III, who was tricked by Liang Yao, couldn't help laughing.

The young president is quite agile.

"With such a powerful ally like you, it is not impossible to solve the engineering difficulty and funding problems." Liang Yao said with a smile.

"It is not impossible for France to participate in the construction of the Panama Canal, but our focus is still on the Suez Canal." Napoleon III reluctantly agreed.

France was the first country to send an engineering surveying team to Panama to investigate and demonstrate the feasibility of building a canal in the Panama region.

The engineering difficulty of the Panama Canal is significantly higher than that of the Suez Canal.

The water level difference between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea is only one meter, so it can be directly excavated. In addition, the geological conditions in the Suez area are more stable, and the land is flat and soft. As long as there is enough manpower, the canal can be completed within ten years.

There is a significant water level difference between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (about 6 meters), so a complex system of locks is needed to make navigation possible. In addition, the climate and hydrological conditions in Panama are complex and harsh, with mosquitoes rampant and yellow fever rampant. It is estimated that it may not be successful even if manpower is piled up in 20 years.

Napoleon III had heard that when Liang Yao was building the railway on the Isthmus of Panama, 860 workers still died on the Isthmus of Panama despite relatively good logistics support.

It is hard to imagine how much labor would be lost and how much money would be spent if the canal was built.

(End of this chapter)