The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 285: European Barbarians Have No Ability to Coordinate and Manage
Spanish Prime Minister Godoy was indeed planning to arrange people to go to Ming Dynasty.

But the Queen of Spain has not forgotten that it was Godoy who encouraged her to build the Panama Canal.

Now that the matter at hand had been decided, the Queen relaxed a little and began to think about other things, and once again began to complain about the trouble of the canal project.

I was reminded again that Godoy was the culprit of this incident.

Although the queen was quite fond of Godoy, she was a little annoyed now, so she made the arrangements directly:

"Don't bother looking for someone else, just go there yourself.

"To meet the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, you have to be a person of some importance. You are the Prime Minister of Spain.

"Besides, you are also the most familiar with the canal and can adapt to circumstances."

Godoy did not refuse. With the Ming Dynasty's steam sailing ship, going to the Ming Dynasty was not a particularly difficult task:

"Your will, Your Majesty."

Godoy agreed to the arrangement and immediately continued to ask the king and queen for their opinions to determine the bottom line and target plan of the transaction.

Although it only takes two months to go to Ming Dynasty now, it is still torturous to travel back and forth to find out the final conditions that the queen can agree to.

After sorting out the matter, Godoy didn't dare to waste any more time.

He prepared the Spanish letter and had the king and queen sign it. He also booked a ticket on a Ming merchant's steamship and set off for the East with his servants.

The steamer Godoy was on sailed all the way to the Isthmus of Suez.

Coming to the entrance of the Suez Canal again, looking at the unusually busy and bustling bay in front of him, Godoy began to doubt whether the route had gone to the wrong place.

However, looking at the ships coming in and out of the bay on both sides, Godoy was sure that he was probably in the right place.

It's just that this place has changed so much compared to a few years ago.

There were originally two lagoon shoals at the exit of the Suez Canal in the Mediterranean Sea. Now an area has been cordoned off by the Ming Dynasty Canal Company and, after repairs and deepening, it has become a small bay.

The bay is surrounded by docks for ships, and I don’t know how many ships are docking in and out.

There was no wasteland around the dock at all, only huge coal or other cargo yards, extremely busy shipbuilding or ship repair docks, and rows of buildings.

What was once a barren coastline with sparse farms has now become the most prosperous coastal city in the Mediterranean.

After the merchant ship that Godoy was on completed the formalities and entered the southbound waterway, Godoy discovered that even behind the port city, there was no wasteland on both sides of the canal waterway.

The Ming people also dug a canal to divert water from the Nile River to the desert area next to the canal, turning the area into irrigated farmland.

These endless farmlands should be able to supply food to the city.

Next to the canals and ditches in the farmland, there are small residential areas at regular intervals. They should be the immigrant farming garrisons of the Ming Dynasty.

The merchant ship continued south along the river and entered the former Great Bitter Lake, only to find that the lake had become an anchorage.

There are also large urban built-up areas on both sides of the confluence where the river enters the lake. There are also docks, shipyards, cargo yards and coal yards on the lake banks on both sides of the river.

The area around the Great Bitter Lake is even more desolate than the Mediterranean coast in the north and was basically pure desert.

Now the people of the Ming Dynasty have also built a water supply canal along the shore of the Great Bitter Lake, and large tracts of farmland have been developed on both sides of the canal.

The area where the canal is located originally had sparse vegetation only in the northern part, but now it is green all along the way.

The Ming people even built a canal hub to allow fresh water from the Nile River to pass under the salt water of the Suez Canal and be diverted to the east bank of the Suez Canal.

The fleet crossed the Great Bitter Lake, and at the southernmost end of the Suez Canal, Godoy saw a large built-up area again.

This port city still has docks, shipyards, cargo yards and coal yards.

Godoy stood on the deck of the merchant ship he was on, full of thoughts and emotions, unable to suppress his greed:

“The canal connecting the two oceans is surrounded by sufficient water sources and farmland, and there are three large-scale cities and shipyards at both ends and in the middle of the canal.

“Add to that the Nile Delta as a hinterland, and now the value of this place has surpassed Constantinople.

“The Strait of Constantinople only connects the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, while the Suez Canal connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, that is, Europe and Asia!
"What flows in this canal is not water at all, but countless gold and silver—"

However, although the greed in his heart is unstoppable, Godoy will not plan any action because of it.

I know the value of this canal and this area, and the people of the Ming Dynasty must know it even better, otherwise they would not have specifically seized this place.

The key point is that the Ming people completely overturned the original order here and then continued to immigrate here.

Now this area is no different from the Ming mainland.

Unless the whole of Europe unites and comes to grab it at all costs, it will be impossible to succeed.

With shock and regret, Godoy continued to sail eastward with the fleet and arrived in Shuntian Prefecture before the summer of the fourth year of Tiangong.

Godoy submitted the letter from the King of Spain through the Honglu Temple and stated his purpose.

When Zhu Jianxuan was dealing with daily affairs, he was quite surprised to receive the report from the Honglu Temple sent by the Tongzhengsi. He did not expect that Spain was still concerned about the canal.

Since the Spaniards are still interested in trading, I don't mind talking to them again.

Zhu Jianxuan has already regarded Panama as his own. The canal he has built for Spain can be used directly by the Ming Dynasty in the future if it occupies the land.

The Spaniards have been struggling for so many years and now they have come back to the Ming Dynasty. They must be ready to accept the conditions.

After reading it, Zhu Jianxuan first called the Western Factory Yamen and asked Xu Qing, the governor of the Western Factory, to look through the intelligence files of the Western Factory to check the situation of the Spanish building the canal.

Then he called Liu Quanzhi, who had visited various European countries, Duan Yucai, who had negotiated with the Spaniards last time, and his disciple Li Baozhu, who was responsible for the exploration of the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the planning of the Three Gorges, to his office.

Zhu Jianxuan had the memories and experiences of his previous life, and could probably guess what the Spanish would do if they built the Panama Canal themselves.

It should be even worse than the first time the French built the Panama Canal in history.

But other people in this world didn't know, so Zhu Jianxuan asked Xu Qing to compile a report and introduce the situation of the canal on the spot.

After listening to Xu Qing's introduction, Zhu Jianxuan felt that it was similar to what he had guessed, and then asked Li Baozhu:
"Given the current situation, if the canal is handed over to the Ming Dynasty to build, is it feasible? Are the costs and manpower consumption controllable?"

Li Baozhu said without any hesitation:
“The students thought it was feasible, and even if a direct canal was not possible, a lock canal would certainly be possible.

"The Spanish barbarians have no ability to make overall plans, and they always act on their own whim.

"They don't have the engineering management capabilities of the Ming Dynasty, let alone the engineering technology, so it's not surprising that they couldn't handle the complex environment of the Panama Canal.

“But if this job was given to Ming officials and craftsmen, it would probably have been mastered by now.

“We first built railways to transport materials and personnel.

"Then we built dams to intercept local rivers and form reservoirs of sufficient size to control excessive rainfall during the local rainy season.

“Cut down trees, clear land for planting, and ensure food supply.

“Clean up the area around the canal construction site, kill mosquitoes, snakes and rats, and bury domestic garbage.

“Supply sufficient coal, ensure that craftsmen and workers have access to boiled water, and sterilize food on the construction site.

"After the construction started, we dug the river channel while solidifying it with cement, pebbles, and vegetation to prevent landslides and soil erosion.

“In this way, even if we rely solely on railways and manpower for construction, the project can be completed in ten years at most.

"If there were enough excavators and motor trucks, it would be even faster."

After listening to this, Zhu Jianxuan smiled and said:
"In that case, Mr. Liu and Mr. Duan, you two should go meet with the Spaniards and discuss the canal construction project again."

Zhu Jianxuan gave the order, then had someone bring a map of North America and drew a line on it with a pencil.

It is roughly the border between the United States and Mexico in the past, just south of the valley where an east-west railroad could be built through the Rocky Mountains.

Zhu Jianxuan then continued to give Liu Quanzhi and Duan Yucai more details and requirements:
“It should have been eight years ago when we proposed the conditions for cooperation with the Spaniards.

"The land west of the Mississippi River, the great river in North America, will be used as compensation for Ming Dynasty's construction of a canal for Spain.

"The land is bounded on the south by the Rio Grande on the east, on the west by the Rio Grande Valley, and on the west by the northern part of the Baja California Peninsula.

"The requirement is that Spain is responsible for organizing slaves or any form of workers, and the Ming Dynasty arranges officials and craftsmen to direct the construction of the project." "The principles of the negotiation are the same as before. We can trade with the Spanish, and we do want the land west of the great rivers in North America.

“But this is not a rigid demand, because the land east of the river has not been fully developed.

"If the Spanish cannot accept such basic conditions, then let them go back and continue to work on the canal themselves.

"But now that they are willing to come to us again, it is likely that they are ready to accept this condition. It should not be difficult this time."

Liu Quanzhi and Duan Yucai carefully noted Zhu Jianxuan's request in their hearts and bowed their heads to receive the order:
"The minister obeys the order."

After determining the ideas and principles, today's simple meeting ended.

Liu Quanzhi and Duan Yucai returned to the cabinet to make some preparations and asked the Honglu Temple to arrange a time to meet with Godoy.

Godoy originally thought that as the Prime Minister of Spain, he should have the opportunity to meet the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty directly, but the result disappointed him.

After waiting for three days in the Libin Palace of the Honglu Temple, Godoy met the Ming Dynasty's cabinet ministers Liu Quanzhi and Duan Yucai in the reception room of the Honglu Temple.

But Godoy did not complain, because the other party was a cabinet minister, and his status was equal to his.

Moreover, the Ming Empire is now more powerful than Spain. Although he did not receive a grand reception from the emperor, it was definitely not an humiliation.

However, Godoy vaguely remembered that the last time he came to Ming Dynasty to discuss cooperation in the construction of the Panama Canal, it was Duan Yucai who was in charge.

At that time, both he and the queen found the conditions proposed by the other party unacceptable, and ultimately did not respond to his request.

If he had to negotiate with the other party again now, he would most likely have to directly accept the conditions he had proposed at the beginning, which made Godoy feel somewhat uncomfortable.

But Godoy also knew that he had no choice now. This was the trouble he had caused in the first place, and now he had to solve it even if he cried.

Accompanied and introduced by officials from the Honglu Temple, Liu Quanzhi and Duan Yucai met with Godoy separately.

After the two parties sat down in the conference room, Duan Yucai took out a prepared map and said directly:
"Ming Dynasty already knows your purpose. Ming Dynasty can help you build the Panama Canal, but the conditions are still the same as we agreed upon at the beginning.

"This is the map and border plan I prepared. If you can accept it, then we can sign the contract and start construction. If not, please go back."

Godoy glanced at the map and saw that it was indeed the plan from the last negotiation, the Grande River and the Grande Valley, as well as the Baja California Peninsula.

In fact, compared with the bottom line conditions proposed by Zhu Jianxuan, the conditions proposed by Duan Yucai added the Baja California Peninsula.

That is the narrow peninsula extending into the sea south of California.

This is the extra room for concessions reserved by Duan Yucai and Liu Quanzhi. Duan Yucai also made this arrangement last time.

After reading it, Godoy did not say anything about this boundary condition, but asked to adjust the other conditions agreed upon last time:
“Due to the construction in the past few years, a lot of money and slaves have been spent, and now it is impossible to continue to supply slaves and funds.

"So the condition of our king and queen is to directly exchange these lands for Ming Dynasty to complete the construction of the canal on its own, and Ming Dynasty will organize workers or slaves to do the construction.

“At the same time, after several years of exploration…testing in the Panama area, we had some doubts about the feasibility of this canal project.

“We cannot be sure now whether the Ming Dynasty is really capable of completing the canal project, so we need some proof.

"The Ming Dynasty should first come up with a construction plan and officially start the construction of the canal. Then we will gradually transfer the land as compensation according to the progress of the project."

Liu Quanzhi seemed to think that Godoy's words were a little absurd:
"Haha...you actually doubt Ming's ability to build a canal?"

Godoy immediately said:

“We have arranged professional engineers and dispatched more than 100,000 slaves to participate in the construction. We know the specific conditions of the local area.

"Panama is not Suez. The climate and environment of the two places are completely different. We know the difficulty of the Panama Canal."

Liu Quanzhi couldn't help but sneered and waved his hand and said:

"It's just a tropical rainforest. We also have tropical rainforests in Nanyang of the Ming Dynasty. It's not like we don't know how to develop in the rainforest.

"Don't use your European barbarian brains to judge the capabilities of the Ming Dynasty..."

Godoy didn't know what to say:
“This… but… this is not what I meant. Our king and queen are worried that Ming’s investment will not produce results, just like ours.

"So please ask the two ministers to convey to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty that our king and queen apologize..."

Liu Quanzhi and Duan Yucai found that Godoy was quite determined, and they knew that today's negotiations could not continue.

When Zhu Jianxuan came, he had no arrangements on how to respond to this unexpected request.

Although according to the principles given by Zhu Jianxuan, we can directly give up negotiations and cooperation and stop arguing with Spain.

If the negotiation is overseas, the two can make their own judgment.

But now that we are in Shuntian Prefecture, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, we should ask the emperor for his opinion.

So today's talks ended temporarily, and Liu Quanzhi and Duan Yucai went to report to Zhu Jianxuan and explained Godoy's requirements.

Zhu Jianxuan was also a little surprised after hearing this:

“The Spaniards probably lost their confidence after trying to remember it themselves, due to the huge losses.

"And you're not willing to organize your own slave labor, or pay for it?"

Liu Quanzhi's uncertain suggestions:

"Your Majesty, should we just drive them away?"

Zhu Jianxuan thought about it for a while:

“If you don’t have money, you can exchange it for other land or other tangible benefits.

“For example, the island of Haiti belongs to the Spanish half or the island of Jamaica.

"Another example is the unlimited use of the Panama Canal itself, as well as the ownership of the railways, reservoirs, farmland and surrounding land that we built locally in Panama.

"After all, those are industries built and developed by our workers, so it is reasonable for us to continue to preserve them."

When he said this, Zhu Jianxuan suddenly thought of something:
“The Spanish asked us to organize our own workers, which in effect gave us an opportunity to colonize the Isthmus of Panama directly.

"We can organize workers in the form of military settlements and hundreds of thousands of immigrants.

“After the canal construction is completed, these garrison workers do not need to evacuate Panama immediately and can continue to live in Panama.

“How many Spanish troops are there in Panama? Our workers or immigrants can actually control the canal and the land on both sides during the construction of the canal.

“According to our idea of ​​building the canal, the construction team must open up new land locally, and we must manage the new land ourselves.

“After settling down in a local area, it is reasonable for farmers not to want to leave the land they have worked so hard to develop again.

"We can use this to demand conditions from Spain again, with the goal of co-managing the canal area with Spain, and we will manage all the facilities we develop and build.

“If a war breaks out between Ming and Spain in the future, these immigrants and militias will be able to directly seize complete control of the canal and Panama.

“The Isthmus of Panama is already a strategic location in the Americas, and it will become even more important after the canal is completed.

“After we take control of Panama, the local army will be able to play a role very conveniently whether it is heading north or south.

“Interfering with or even controlling Panama can affect the strategic situation in the entire Americas.

"So for the other conditions, you can get as much as you can. There's no need to push too hard."

Although Zhu Jianxuan did not directly state his intentions towards South America, he basically did not conceal them.

The officials at the scene knew that their Majesty had already set his sights on Spain's American colonies, and that a war between Ming Dynasty and Spain would come sooner or later.

Spain is no longer qualified to retain its large colonies in South America.

The Ming Dynasty now has millions of immigrants along the major rivers in North America, all of whom are organized into military settlements and garrisons, and can organize at least 200,000 militiamen.

If Spain does not come to Ming Dynasty for trade now, once the war between Ming Dynasty and Spain officially breaks out, the first task of these militias in the future will be to seize the Louisiana region in Hexi.

If this deal is completed normally, the future mission of these militias will be to continue moving south and attack Mexico and South America.

Now there is an opportunity to deploy a semi-armed force in southern Mexico, at the key location of the Isthmus of Panama, through the canal project, and of course we must seize the opportunity.

(End of this chapter)