Wild North America 1846

Chapter 572

Emperor Li Cha issued a secret decree, and arranged for the General Security Bureau to cooperate with relevant departments to implement a profit transfer plan, aiming to strengthen the strength of the main combatant minister Zuo Zongtang, and finally spend it in the right place.

The sale and purchase of kerosene franchise rights, which can easily make money, is better to support the pillars of the country than to share the profits with those corrupt officials.

Take advantage of the trend and push gently, hoping to change the original historical appearance a little bit?

After making such an arrangement, Emperor Li Cha's mood improved a lot.

At this moment

Liang Bojun, the deputy director of the Royal Secretariat, walked into the hall with a solemn expression, and gave a deep respect to report; "Your Majesty, I have this performance."

"What's the matter?" Li Cha asked.

Liang Bojun reported; "

Play Your Majesty;

According to the report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some merchant ships of the empire have been deliberately made things difficult in the Suez Canal, and they have been stuck in the Suez port on the Red Sea side. The longest merchant ship has been more than three months. There are as many as 17 ships, and the problem has not been resolved for a long time.

It is reported that Ismail Pasha of Egypt, according to the order conveyed by the Ottoman Empire, charged extra high transit taxes on our merchant ships, as well as various taxes in various names. The amount of each ship was as high as tens of thousands of Tang yuan. Not only that.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to contact Istanbul, but due to the corrupt and overly efficient government of the Ottoman Empire, it was buck-passing between each other.

So far, we have not been able to get an authoritative and clear answer, so the matter has been delayed.

But if the matter is not resolved for a day, the passage of the Suez Canal will be cut off.

The supply of oil, water and vegetables for the ships stranded in the port of Suez has been cut off, and they can only rely on each other's indirect aid to survive. I am afraid... I am afraid it will not last. "

"Is there no supply at Suez Port?" There was a hint of anger on Richard's face, which was obviously aimed at the Tang Empire.

Under the sudden increase of imperial coercion, Liang Bojun bowed even deeper, and replied respectfully; "The representative stationed in the Suez Canal Commission has been communicating with Ismail Pasha of Egypt and the Port of Suez, but the other side is trying to shirk Obviously, there has been no significant progress, and communication is ongoing."

"Where are the British?"

"The British say they can't help and will try to help communicate, but it's best not to have much hope."

"Hmph, this is already very obvious." Li Cha's face was covered with a layer of frost, and he ordered after only a little thought;

"Isn't it just more than 1 Tang Yuan? If you give it to them... how much money can you get from 17 ships?? At best, it's only 20 yuan. If you want to give it to them, let the boat go through the canal first.

Subsequent ships passing through the Suez Canal will be suspended, waiting for the situation to change.

In addition, summoning my admiral to the palace, the Imperial Royal Navy has been idle for a long time, it is time to move. "

"The minister obeys the order."

Liang Bojun could feel the repressed thunder and wrath of the Holy Majesty. After answering softly, he took a few steps back, turned and left, and immediately went to implement the emperor's will.

Emperor Li Cha sat on the upper throne, tapped his fingers lightly on the red sandalwood throne armrest, and slowly sorted out the situation in Egypt and even the entire Middle East in his mind.

Today's Egypt belongs to an independent province of the Ottoman Empire. The highest official is Pasha Ismail, the governor of Egypt in the Ottoman Empire. This is a very ambitious frontier minister.

Since he became governor of Egypt, he has actively approached Europe, developed national industry and commerce, and hired European military instructors to train the army.It has almost managed Egypt into an independent kingdom that cannot be penetrated by needles or water, and it only obeys the call of the Ottoman Empire in name.

Why did such a local warlord force provoke the Tang Empire?

Could it be that Ismail Pasha lost his mind?

Who is responsible for this?

British or French?
Could it be that the British tried to monopolize the Suez Canal and resorted to tricks to force the Tang Empire to give up its equity in the canal?

Or are the Frenchmen using their traditional influence in the Middle East to stumbling the empire because of the large-scale movement of the Port of Saint-Malo that has harmed its interests?
His slender fingers lightly tapped on the armrest, and a series of doubts formed in Emperor Richard's mind. He didn't need any definite evidence, as long as doubts were enough.

Considering the situation in Europe

Negotiations on the equity of the Suez Canal have gone through many years. The tripartite agreement between Britain, France and Tang was reached in early 1869, and all parties made compromises.

The initiator and builder of the Suez Canal project, the French, holds 52% of the absolute controlling stake. London bought 520% of the Suez Canal from the French at a price of 26 million pounds. Datang Empire also transferred it under the same conditions. 22% of the shares, or 440 million pounds to sell half of the shares.

In this way, the equity of the Suez Canal became 48% for the UK, 26% for France, 22% for the Tang Empire, and the remaining 4% belonged to public shareholders.

After the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War

Taking advantage of the Frenchman being beaten up, the British exerted pressure through various channels, and finally obtained another 14% of the shares from the French government. Its shareholding ratio jumped from 48% to 62%, becoming the absolute controlling shareholder. .

Datang Empire holds 22% and ranks second, France only holds 12% and ranks third, and the remaining 4% belongs to public shareholders.

The biggest loser here is France. After decades of hard work and planning, the Century Project of the Suez Canal was finally completed.

After the opening of the canal, its strategic value has become increasingly evident. The most obvious example is that the British have been setting restrictions on the French to prevent them from investing more colonial power in the Indochina Peninsula, but France has nothing to do.

The convenient passage of the Suez Canal, which was built with countless manpower and painstaking efforts, cannot be used by warships and troop carriers. Should we continue to take the old route around half the world?
This grievance is enough to make a man of insight in France die of depression.

Fortunately, France gritted its teeth and stuck to the bottom line. No matter how much pressure the United Kingdom exerted, it retained a 12% stake in the Suez Canal, leaving a possibility for future legal rights of passage.

With the selfish and domineering nature of the British, is it impossible to start counting Tang again after counting France?
But this is just suspicion, there is no evidence to prove it.

Looking back at the Frenchies, it wasn't a good thing either.

The French have been operating in the Middle East, the Near East, and North Africa for more than 200 years. They have a traditional and profound influence. They were able to persuade Said Pasha to open the Suez Canal, a project of the century, which is enough to show their ability to influence the Egyptian government.

Because of all kinds of grievances, what's so strange about tripping Datang?
The traditional world powers such as Britain and France are masters who have not taken advantage of enough, and suffered a big loss suddenly, and it makes sense to do everything possible to find their way back.

Looking back at the Egyptian ruler Ismail Pasha, from his father Ali Pasha who ruled Egypt to Said Pasha, and then to Ismail Pasha has been passed down for more than 60 years, it is an out-and-out party The local overlord loves to ignore orders from Istanbul.

On the one hand, this shows the extreme decline of the dominance of the Ottoman Empire, and on the other hand, it shows the toughness of Ismail Pasha, who is a standard iron man.

When the Tang Empire took advantage of Egypt's extreme financial difficulties, it bought 400% of its shares at the price of 44 million pounds of cabbage. Is it impossible to guarantee that it will not leave a knot in its heart and find an opportunity to deliberately make things difficult?

In today's world where the news is extremely blocked, there are many old warlords who think that the sky is the boss, and the earth is the second and the third. If someone provokes it, then it is logical to make irrational actions.

In this world

There are always the majority who can't correctly understand their own strength, what else can they do except beat him to the ground?
It is not the style of the Tang Empire to knock down teeth and swallow blood. We must let these tyrants who dare to challenge the majesty of the empire know how powerful they are, otherwise some clowns will jump out from time to time. Although they are harmless, they are irritating!
Thought of here
Li Cha couldn't sit still anymore, he stood up and strode into the side hall, and stood in front of the hand-painted world map as tall as a person and studied it carefully.

The closest imperial territory to the Suez Canal is of course Paradise Island. Today's Paradise Island already has a strong logistical supply capability and can be used as a starting base for expeditionary fleets.

From here, go west through the Strait south of Borneo, and then enter the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Malacca in the British Straits Settlement. After replenishing in Chennai, the expeditionary fleet sails all the way west to the Red Sea. Along the Red Sea to the northwest for more than 2000 kilometers, you can reach Suez City. The total voyage of this route is about 1.1 kilometers.

Along the way, at least four supply ports have to pass through.

They are Singapore or Hong Kong, Chennai, Sanaa, Yemen, and Suez City, which belongs to Egypt. Among them, three and a half supply ports are under the control of the United Kingdom.

This half of the supply port is Suez City in Egypt, the entrance port to the northeast of the canal.

If the British are unwilling to provide fleet supplies, then the situation is clear, and the British are doing bad things behind, but if you think about it carefully, I am afraid that the British will not do so without technical content.

Kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred.

Datang and Britain, as traditional close allies, provide each other with support for port facilities all over the world. This is a matter stipulated in express treaties and should not be violated easily.

Violation of this article will greatly harm the UK's global interests.

If the Tang Empire took retaliation and did not supply British ships, there would be no place for British merchant ships in almost the entire Americas.This includes North America, Central America, and South America. It is impossible for British ships to enter the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean, let alone cross the seven seas?

This is the strength of the Tang Empire, and it has the capital to bargain.

If the supply of the expeditionary fleet goes well, then the suspicion of the British can be greatly reduced, and the shadow of the French will be highlighted.

Of the three suspects, the Egyptian Pasha Ismail was the least suspicious.Because it does not have any direct conflict with the Tang Empire, nor does it have much to do with it, so it cannot offend a world power for no reason.

Even if it is only a second-rate power, it is still a world power.

Standing in front of the world map, Emperor Li Cha felt for the first time that he couldn't reach it. The city of Suez was really too far away.

The immigration route in the central Pacific is nearly 2 kilometers from east to west. The imperial expedition fleet departed from the imperial capital Chang’an and traveled south to Panama for about 5800 kilometers.

Take a look at the colonial layout of the British Empire on the map. It enters the North Atlantic Ocean from Gibraltar, goes south along the African coastline to Johannesburg, South Africa, bypasses the Cape of Good Hope, enters the Indian Ocean, and goes north to the Arabian Sea, passing through the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent, and to the Indochina Peninsula. The Governor's Mansion and Hong Kong in the south of China have a complete colonial port layout along the way.

I have to marvel at the profound accumulation of the empire on which the sun never sets for hundreds of years, which is beyond the reach of latecomers. The Eurasian continent that almost surrounds the world is full of colonies.

Just like the French who are making things difficult everywhere now, it is even more difficult to colonize the Indochina Peninsula without the permission of the United Kingdom. First of all, the delivery of troops and supplies is a big problem.

From this
Guarding the importance of the world's strategic waterways, the Suez Canal is one, the Strait of Gibraltar is one, the Bosporus Strait is one, the Strait of Malacca is one, and the Nicaragua Canal under construction must also be one strategic location.

(Note: Oil has not been discovered in the Persian Gulf in this era, so no one cares about the Strait of Hormuz.)
Could it be... the British are eyeing the Nicaragua Canal under construction?
Thought of here
Li Cha was startled, and seriously considered this possibility...

There is no shortage of money, people, or technology. The Nicaragua Canal, which is under construction, is progressing smoothly. The completion of various project nodes is earlier than expected. It is expected that the entire line will be open to navigation in another 5 to 6 years of construction.

This international waterway established in the southern provinces of the empire will save 1.4 kilometers from North American cities on the Atlantic coast to Australia or East Asia, which is of great strategic significance.

The Datang Empire has 100% control over the Nicaragua Canal Company, of which 32% is held by a fund under the Royal Household Office, 51% by the Imperial Government Development Fund, 12% by the Central Plains Province, and another 5% is released to the imperial society It is owned by the public and cannot be touched by outsiders.

Although this speculation is absurd, it is likely to be close to reality.

But this has already touched the bottom line of the Tang Empire. No matter under any circumstances, the empire will not sell any shares of the Nicaragua Canal Company. This is beyond doubt.

If you can't control the international strategic waterways on your own territory, then just stop playing.

The strength of France is weak, and the fruit trees planted are picked by others, which has greatly reduced the reputation of France, and is no longer regarded as a top power that can be on an equal footing with Britain.

The cruel and cold competition law in today's world cannot tolerate any concession on core interests.

Reminiscent of the Royal Navy of the British Empire wanting to control the world's oceans, the Nicaragua Canal is a hurdle that cannot be overcome, and Richard's expression becomes more dignified.

The canal has not yet been built, and it is already full of wind and rain.

"Qizou Your Majesty, Marshal Pan Hengchen, the first-class prestige of the state, has been summoned to meet His Majesty, and he is already waiting outside the palace, begging for His Majesty's permission."

"Hmm... summoned into the palace."

"The minister obeys the order."

(End of this chapter)