"Does His Majesty think that Japan's eventual victory will bring instability to the Pacific?" Roosevelt was somewhat unimpressed by Jochen's assertions, Japan was somewhat insignificant in the eyes of the behemoth of the United States, and the United States was not Russia, and its strong industrial capacity and stable social state, as well as the vast Pacific Ocean, were obstacles that Japan could not overcome.

"Of course, Lord Roosevelt, if you look at the development of Japan in the past 10 years, both wars were initiated by the Japanese, and both were challenges to a behemoth that seemed impossible for Japan to win at the time, and they had ambition and the courage to take risks for the sake of ambition.

If the war in the Far East ends in the complete defeat of Russia, then Japan, which has solved its greatest enemy, will get the entire Northwest Pacific, which is not in line with the American policy of opening the door and equalizing interests, right? Jochen asked rhetorically with a smile.

"How could His Majesty think that the Japanese would not agree with our policy?" Roosevelt narrowed his eyes and said as he looked at a confident Jochen.

"Oh, Your Excellency Roosevelt should know that I have a small industry in the United States, and therefore have some sources of my own information on commercial investment in the United States, and the railroad tycoon of your country, Mr. Edward Henry Harriman, seems to be interested in investing in the construction of railways in Manchuria in the Qing Dynasty, and of course has met with some resistance on the part of the Russians.

Of course, Russia had great economic difficulties after this war, so I could try to convince Nicholas II to sell the right to operate the railway. However, if Russia loses control over this place, I think it is very unlikely that the United States will want to get the right to operate it from the Japanese, and I think this will also be contrary to your country's open door policy, right? Jochen said confidently.

It was impossible for the Japanese, who regarded Manchuria as their lifeblood and would not allow others to interfere, to allow the Americans to interfere, and it was Roosevelt's classmate Komura Shoutaro who reacted most violently to this, so Jochen was not afraid that Roosevelt would make demands on Japan.

Roosevelt was a little moved. The reason why the Americans were willing to help Japan was not for their own interests in the Far East, but the benefits they could obtain as mediators were somewhat insignificant compared to the benefits that Jochen had now promised American capital to enter Manchuria.

Of course, there is no basis for what he said, and what Jochen promised was still the territory of the Russians, Roosevelt, after thinking about it, cautiously asked that this matter wait for Jochen to do the work of Nicholas II: "It would be good if His Majesty was willing to help communicate with Nicholas, but it would be more appropriate to wait for Nicholas's approval to discuss this matter." ”

"Of course. I am confident that we will be able to give you a satisfactory answer in the end. Jochen smiled and said that he was betraying the interests of the Russians anyway, and Jochen was very happy to be generous to others.

"So can we put the matter of mediation between Japan and Russia on hold?" Roosevelt, having received Jochen's assurances, decided not to dwell on the question of the reliability of the Japanese.

Jochen also expressed his understanding of this, after all, compared to the invisible and intangible benefits of his own promises, the Japanese are more reliable at the moment, and Roosevelt also needs to measure and evaluate again, this is not something that can make him agree to it now, and what the final result will be. It still depends on the maneuver on your side.

"I understand, Your Excellency Roosevelt, that this is not a matter that can be decided immediately, but I hope that the United States will not give a clear response to the question of Japan and Russia until I give a clear answer, otherwise Germany will have a very awkward position on this matter." Jochen half persuaded and half warned that the Americans had better stop secretly making small moves with the Japanese after returning home on their own.

"Please rest assured, until you get a clear answer. We will not take a direct position. "It's nothing more than waiting an extra minute, and there is nothing to lose for the United States. So Roosevelt agreed, and in contrast to the interests of the Far East, another thing was Roosevelt's concern: "Is it true that Your Majesty said earlier that you have the right to dig the Nicaragua Canal?" ”

"It's true, it's a project I invested in in the early years, when my investment career was just starting, so I didn't have the energy to dig such a Grand Canal on my own. Therefore, after buying the right to excavate, it was put on hold, but now that I have enough funds, I find that your country has invested a lot of energy in the Panama Canal project, so I would like to ask your country for advice on the issue of opening the Nicaragua Canal. Jochen said lightly.

If Nicaragua were to dig a canal, it would be three times as long as the Panama Canal. The amount of work and the cost would be astronomical, so after the U.S. government abandoned the Nicaragua Canal project in 1884, Jochen sent someone to secretly contact the Nicaraguan government.

Losing the attention of the Americans, the Nicaraguan government had lost much hope for the opening of the Nicaragua Canal, and in the face of German businessmen who approached it as private investors, they sold the rights to dig the canal for 1 million pounds. But after Jochen got the right to excavate, he didn't think about actually starting construction.

But Roosevelt didn't think so, it was clear that the man in front of him was not only an emperor of a European power, but also a big capitalist, his oil empire was incomparably huge, and the annual electricity patent fees he collected gave him a huge amount of money to support the cost of digging the canal.

But this was a disaster for the United States, which went to great lengths to obtain the right to dig the Panama Canal, and instigated Panama's independence and separation from Colombia in order to ensure security, a move that has already caused discontent in South American countries.

And now that a lot of money has been invested and a lot of budget has been spent on the Panama Canal, what will happen if a more navigable canal appears next to Panama at this time?

Although the Nicaragua Canal is longer, it can be built with the help of the natural San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua, and it can far exceed the navigable capacity of the Panama Canal.

It didn't even take the canal to officially start construction, as soon as the news of the imminent start of construction was released, Roosevelt could imagine what would happen, the stock market would plummet, the economy would be in turmoil, social chaos, and the government would have to deal with pressure from all sides to clean up the mess.

Roosevelt looked at the German emperor who was smiling at the harmlessness of humans and animals in front of him, and his heart was awe-inspiring, is this the hole card of the Germans? If the United States favors Japan in the Far East, then the Germans are ready to use the Nicaragua Canal to teach the United States a big lesson.

And you can't say anything yet, because the emperor in front of you can be said to be a personal investment behavior, but how do you want to put pressure on the Nicaraguan government or something, not to mention the reaction of the Germans, that is, the reaction of South American countries, the United States has to weigh it carefully.

At this moment, Roosevelt secretly cursed US President Chester Arthur in 1884, when the Americans signed a letter of intent with Nicaragua to dig the canal, but the French lobbied the US government that Nicaragua was in danger of volcanic activity in order to ensure their own interests in the Panama Canal, and the United States completely abandoned this plan.

Looking back now, even if you bought the right to dig the canal, how much money could it cost? A small country like Nicaragua could have done it by throwing him a few million dollars, and now in the face of the Germans, even if they could not dig the canal, the Americans would have to pay a huge price, and the attitude of the United States in dealing with the affairs of the Far East is now the price that the American government is the first to be held by the Germans.

"Given that the Panama Canal is being dug in our country and is progressing very quickly, I think that the Nicaragua Canal will be difficult to complete before the Panama Canal is opened because of the large amount of work and the late start of construction, so the two canals connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans will be a waste." Roosevelt said, of course, he also knew that he didn't believe such words.

"But considering the conditions of the Panama Canal, the navigable capacity is quite limited, we take a longer-term perspective, a better condition, the future by a larger expansion of the canal is more valuable, I once in Germany when the Kiel Canal proposed to consider the next 100 years of shipping pressure growth, I think from this aspect of the Nicaragua Canal conditions are better." Jochen said that although he knew that the Americans would not accept it, it was still necessary to add weight to his future goals.

Roosevelt could hardly argue with Jochen's remarks, because when the Kiel Canal was first built, its navigable capacity far exceeded the needs of Germany at the time, and the scale of construction in pursuit of grandeur was considered wasteful for a long time, but now it is a very forward-looking move.

The Kiel Canal was navigable enough to accommodate the growing volume of German shipping and the increasing number of ships, while the Suez Canal was extremely navigable, so it was difficult to argue with the emperor in front of him on this issue.

However, the United States cannot back down in this matter, and the United States Government cannot bear the possible consequences and this responsibility, but since the Germans are willing to talk about this matter, instead of directly announcing that they will start construction, then there is still a discussion: "Your Majesty, please understand that the construction of a new canal next to the Panama Canal may have a huge impact, which may affect the friendship between you and the American people, and I think this is also what Your Majesty does not want to see, right?"

So on the issue of the Nicaragua Canal, I hope that there will be a more appropriate way to deal with it. ”

"You have a certain truth in what you said, Your Excellency Roosevelt, for me the construction of the Nicaragua Canal is just an investment, in my opinion, the friendship of the United States is more valuable than the investment, so of course we should deal with this issue properly, of course, I believe that the United States government should be able to understand the value of this canal, if I say that I am willing to transfer the right to dig the canal, then what kind of expression is the United States willing to make?" (To be continued......)