In the original history, the Panama Canal was ill-fated, and the weak Colombian government could not afford to build the Panama Canal, so it had to resort to external forces and successively sold the construction rights of the Panama Canal to the United States and France.

When it was sold to the United States, the United States was too busy with the Civil War to take care of anything else, so the French took over the Panama Canal project in 1878.

The French, too, were carried away by the success of the Suez Canal, failing to take into account the realities of the Americas, in an agreement signed between the French and the Colombian government, under which the French had to complete the exploration of the Panama Canal within five years, starting in 1878, and that the Panama Canal would be completed within the next 12 years.

The ideal is beautiful, but the reality is cruel, and the French are also standard eye-eyed and low-handed.

The terrain of the Isthmus of Panama is far more complex than the French imagined, with dense jungles, a hot climate, and rampant diseases, which have led to the deaths of workers and technicians, and the lack of railroads to prevent construction machinery and building materials from being transported into the Isthmus.

In desperation, the French had no choice but to buy the Panama Railroad built by the Americans at a large price, but according to the contract, all American workers working on the railway line must be retained.

As a result, the American workers made a fuss, and they were passive and deliberately disruptive, resulting in the whole railroad being unable to operate normally.

There were also problems with the management of the Interoceanic Canal Company, as Reseb did not carry out sufficient exploration work before the start of construction, and more than four years after the construction began, the French discovered that the sea level on the Pacific side of the Panamanian Isthmus was 20 centimeters lower than that on the Caribbean side, which made it completely impossible to realize the sea-level canal on the design drawings.

In 1889, when the Interoceanic Canal Company was finally exhausted, the senior management of the company headed by Reseb wantonly embezzled the funds of the canal stock issued for the construction of the canal under the premise that the project was unsustainable, and at the same time, in order to cover up the truth, the Interoceanic Canal Company continued to issue bonds and used large sums of money to bribe government officials, and 150 ministers and parliamentarians of the French government accepted bribes from the Interoceanic Canal Company.

At this point, even if Reseb has a golden finger, he is powerless, and the Colombian government has no choice but to turn back and beg the United States to take over the canal project.

Li Mu didn't know that there were so many stories about the Panama Canal, but the sudden appearance of the Interoceanic Canal Company still made Li Mu feel a chill.

"The news from the Colombian government is not very good, since last night I have been asking people to contact the Colombian side, although the Colombian government side has not responded, but this in itself is not normal." J· P. Morgan was worried, once the Colombian government granted the right to dig the canal to the French Interoceanic Canal Company, then Li Mu and their canal management committee would become a joke, and Li Mu's operation would be all in vain.

"It's ridiculous, do the French think that the Caribbean Sea is the Mediterranean? If they really think so, then they are wrong. Rockefeller was still tough, and he looked disdainful when he mentioned the French.

It has to be said that the impact of the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War on France was enormous.

Before the Franco-Prussian War, the French Army was known as the "first army in the world", and the French boasted of being the "European gendarme", and on land, the French hardly paid attention to anyone.

The Franco-Prussian War shattered all the myths of the French Army, and although Prussia had a long tradition, in fact, because the emperor had not yet completed the coronation ceremony, Prussia was not even a unified country, and it was really surprising that France was defeated by such Prussia.

In this case, Rockefeller certainly has reason to look down on the French, not to mention Rockefeller, even Li Mu can't look down on it, in Li Mu's view, the French may still have a breath now, the hundred-legged insect dies but does not stiffen, but when it comes to World War I, France will be completely broken by Germany.

"The only thing we can do now is to wait for a response from the Colombian government, and at the same time we have to push Washington to exert influence on Colombia." J· P. Morgan was not as lawless as Rockefeller and still fantasized about solving problems at the official level.

Li Mu and Rockefeller don't see it that way, J· As soon as P. Morgan's words fell, Li Mu and Rockefeller exchanged tacit glances.

The meeting ended without any consensus.

In the evening, Li Mu and Rockefeller had dinner together.

"Piper is so disappointed in the handling of this matter, we can't wait passively, we should take the initiative, America is the America of the Americans, so how can we hand over the canal of the Americans to the French to build, this is simply ridiculous..."Rockefeller was still angry, chattering and complaining.

"Piper has his own reasons, and it's because of his character..." P. Morgan, however, does not mean that Li Mu can accept it: "I am in favor of taking the initiative, but we have to find the direction, this interoceanic canal company established by the French... It's not an official organization, is it?"

Li Mu's method is more direct, since the Interoceanic Canal Company jumped out to grab business, then it is enough to directly target the Interoceanic Canal Company, which is also a deterrent to the Colombian government.

"Of course they aren't, but I'm afraid other people don't think so..."Rockefeller understands the twists and turns here, so he is a little vague.

The definition of "company" is a bit vague these days, and basically all companies are almost quasi-government organizations in the eyes of ordinary people, and the official does not deny this.

For example, although the Interoceanic Canal Company is nominally a joint-stock company chaired by Fernand Resai, no one will believe it if it does not have the support of the French government.

Although the U.S. government does not own the company's shares, the establishment of the Panama Canal Company is premised on the passage of the canal project by the U.S. Congress, so the shares of the Panama Canal Company will be sought after before.

"Didn't they want the Panama Canal? Then give them well, let's go to Nicaragua. Li Mu retreats and wants to play a one-handed salary.

In fact, the Panama Canal is not the only option, there are four alternative sites when the canal was first dug, and the Isthmus of Panama is only one of them, in addition to the Isthmus of Nicaragua and the Isthmus of Tevantepec.

The Isthmus of Panama was selected because it was the shortest distance, only 61 kilometers, while the Isthmus of Nicualaga had the greatest advantage of Lake Niguaraga and the San Juan River.

Even better, in order to squeeze out the British and completely control the Panama Canal, the U.S. government signed the Treaty of Squial with the Nicaraguan government in 1849, which granted the Nicaragua Canal the right to build it.

Of course, the Nicaragua Canal has not yet started.

"You're going to give up the Panama Canal, are you crazy?" Rockefeller clearly disapproved of Li Mu's proposal.

"Of course we won't give up, all we want is to convince others that we will give up." Li Mu will definitely not give up the Panama Canal, nor will he build any Nicaragua Canal, as long as others believe it.

If there is a second canal connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea in addition to the Panama Canal, then the value of the Panama Canal will be greatly reduced, and the calculation of the Interoceanic Canal Company will be completely disrupted.

"I understand, this is a good idea..."Rockefeller is also a smart person, and he immediately understood Li Mu's plan.

"In addition, we have to put pressure on the Panamanian government, since the French have established the Interoceanic Canal Company, then there must be some kind of tacit understanding with the Colombian government, and we must let the Colombian government understand that the United States only counts about the Americas." Li Mu used a two-pronged approach, not giving the French any chance.

"Then we have a good division of labor, you are responsible for fanning the flames, and I am responsible for the actual implementation." Rockefeller knew what he was best at and didn't rob Li Mu of his job.

When it comes to fanning the flames, it is estimated that there will be no one in this world who is better at it than Li Mu, but is it a bit inappropriate for you to say it so openly and directly...

Li Mu was so angry that Rockefeller rolled his eyes, obviously it was a good thing, but when it came to Rockefeller's mouth, it changed its taste, full of conspiracy.

"Don't go too far, you know, we're going to need the Panamanians in the future." Li Mu remembered Rockefeller's bad deeds, and couldn't help but admonish.

It's really not at ease, this is a guy who can lift a butcher's knife to his own people, if it is spread to Panama, it will only be more unscrupulous.

"Rest assured, I'll keep enough workers...", Rockefeller smiled gentlemanly, but chillingly.

The next day, public opinion immediately changed direction, and the day before Time magazine was still waving the flag for the Panama Canal Company, the next day's front page headline was "Congress is about to launch the Nicaragua Canal Project."

Comparatively speaking, the attitude of the City Morning Post was more intense, with the headline on the front page being "Whose face did the French slap in the face when they set up the Interoceanic Canal Company".

It's really hard to say who hit it now, on the surface it seems that it was the United States, but in fact the Colombian government also has a part, and the dust has not yet settled on this matter, maybe it will be the French who will be hit in the end.

Time Magazine's place in the public opinion industry is irreplaceable, and in just one day, the Isthmus of Nicaragua became the talk of all New Yorkers, and the Panama Canal was immediately a thing of the past.

As a world newspaper, Time Magazine has a European branch, and with the intervention of the European branch, the fire of the Nicaragua Canal finally burned to Europe, and the first one to ignite was the Interoceanic Canal Company.

Like Li Mu, Fernand Reiser reads Time every day.

Unlike Li Mu, Li Mu reads the newspaper by himself, while Fernand Resaibu asks people to read it to him.

When he heard the news that the U.S. government was intent on activating the Nicaragua Canal, Fernand Resai burst into laughter and then frowned.

The reason why Fernand Resai is laughing is because Fernand Resai does not believe that the U.S. government will start the Nicaragua Canal project.

The reason why Fernand Resai couldn't laugh was because Fernand Resai was also surprised to find that it didn't seem to be useful to believe it or not, as long as others believed it, it was enough to deal a fatal blow to the newly established Interoceanic Canal Company.

Like the Panama Canal Company, the Interoceanic Canal Company is also an empty shell, but unlike Li Mu and them, if Li Mu and his group of rich people hold their hands tightly, even if they don't sell stocks, the Panama Canal may be dug out, and Fernand Resai enjoys the honor of digging the Suez Canal, and his personal economic ability cannot be compared with Li Mu and his group of rich people, so if they lose social trust, the Interoceanic Canal Company is worthless.

Knowing the key point, Fernand Resaibu suddenly lost his appetite, hurriedly put down the tableware in his hand, and came to the Interoceanic Canal Company to hold a shareholders' meeting.

"This is simply nonsense, the Americans will never start the Nicaragua Canal, the so-called Nicaragua Canal is just a paper plan and never even existed." One of the company's shareholders, French shipping magnate Richard Nicolmayer, was dismissive of the news from Fernand Resay's ministry.

"It's just a conspiracy of the Orientals, he's very good at it, he's best at spreading false news in the newspapers, we should expose Time and then get it out of France." Manufacturing magnate Saicy Wagner has a deep prejudice against Time magazine, which is the rhythm of an all-out war with Time magazine.

In the two years since Time magazine entered France, it has been hyping up the Horse Group, which has a great impact on Sissi Wagner, who is also in the manufacturing industry, so Sisi Wagner hates Time Magazine to the core, and he can't wait to get rid of it.

"I'm afraid we can't do this, Time Magazine has helped the Elysée Palace a lot before, and now if we want to deal with Time Magazine, I'm afraid the Elysee Palace will not agree." Fernand Resai's ministry is politically sensitive, otherwise it would not have been able to connect with the Colombian government.

Some time ago, when the French government sold treasury bonds, Li Mu did the French government a great favor, so Fernand Resay now has to admit that Li Mu is now as invulnerable as a medieval knight in heavy armor.

In the era of hot weapons, the heavy armored cavalry has been driven out of the stage of history, but in the era of cold weapons, the heavy armored cavalry is basically invincible, and France is indeed a leader in this regard.

"Even if you can't get them out of France, it's easy to get them in trouble." Cécy Wagner is the head snake of Paris, and it is indeed easy to find some trouble for Time magazine.

But now is not the time to make trouble for Time Magazine, and the Interoceanic Canal Company is in trouble enough.