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On November 24, 1845, Lin Zihao, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Empire, and Count Molay, Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, signed the cooperation agreement on behalf of the Chinese Empire and France, respectively, which represented the official entry into force of the contract with a total value of 23.5 million pounds. The Chinese Empire and France will cooperate in a number of areas. Although this contract has been kept secret, the secrecy work of European countries is really not flattering. Soon the other Western powers will know the contents of this contract. In particular, Britain, France's old rival, was panicked by France's purchase of four 'Western Zhou-class' warships from the Chinese Empire and the acquisition of a complete set of design drawings and key technologies for the 'Western Zhou-class' warships.

The next class of warships of the British Navy had not yet been designed, and if the French Navy had a powerful warship first, the British Navy would not have been able to maintain superiority in Europe. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of England has repeatedly asked the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Earl Stanley, and the Secretary of the Admiralty, Charles. Sir Adam asked them to speed up the design and construction of new warships, so that Britain could continue to maintain its superiority at sea. Given Britain's strong financial and technological strength, as long as they make up their minds, there is really no difficulty that can stump them.

After the signing of the contract, the talks between the Chinese Empire and France did not end. And, Spanish Foreign Minister José. Morality. Salamanca also joined in. This time, the matter to be discussed was the construction of a canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea proposed by Long Yufei.

"Ladies and gentlemen. His Majesty the Emperor believed that the construction of a canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea would play a great role in promoting the economic development of the East and Europe. Not to mention, this canal. It is also of great strategic importance. If you can control the Zhì Canal, you will be able to control the strategic routes between the east and the west. Therefore, the empire intends to build this canal with all its might, and it is not known whether the French and Spanish kingdoms are interested in joining in. Lin Zihao, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Empire, said. The canal is a big project, and it is too far away from China. There is no way for China to eat it, and it has to pull other allies to it. In this way, it will be possible to dig the canal.

"The Kingdom of Spain will join this plan. Her Majesty the Queen of our country has already stated. The Kingdom of Spain will fully support the opening of the canal! "Spanish Foreign Minister José. Morality. Salamanca was the first to speak.

The Duke of Dalmatia, the French Prime Minister, frowned, and then said: "Back in 1798, after Napoleon occupied Egypt, he planned to dig a canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. But. The results of the measurement at that time are indicated. The Red Sea is 10 meters above the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, it is not feasible to dig a canal. Napoleon the Great also eventually abandoned this plan. Now, is it really necessary for us to restart this program? ”

In fact, Egypt was the first country to dig an artificial canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. As early as more than 4,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Sostris dug a canal on a tributary of the Nile, which was called the "Pharaonic Canal". The potential economic and strategic benefits of this ancient canal have been coveted by various countries, and as a result, there has been a lot of fighting. This ancient canal was occupied by the Romans and then the Arabs. In the 8th century AD, Egypt was motivated by military considerations. Filled up the canal.

In 1798, after Napoleon's occupation of Egypt. In order to open a direct passage to seize the wealth of India and the Far East, he personally led the engineers to find the remains of the ancient canal and prepare to reopen it. However, due to errors in the measurements, Napoleon believed that the water level in the Red Sea was 10 meters higher than in the Mediterranean Sea, and it was impossible to dig a canal. Soon after, Napoleon, in his eagerness to return home, gave up the construction of the canal.

In the 19th century, both Britain and France focused their expansion on the rich East. France attempted to connect the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, to the east, and to break Britain's control of the Cape of Good Hope's shipping lanes. Britain, in order to defend its interests in the East, especially in India, opposed the construction of canals, and advocated the construction of a railway along Cairo, Suez, Syria, and the Euphrates to the Persian Gulf, in order to strengthen the connection between East and West.

"No, Your Excellency the Duke, there was an error in the original measurements, and the conclusions reached were wrong. It is completely feasible to dig a canal between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. After the opening of the canal, it will connect the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, connecting the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indian Oceans, greatly shortening the distance between the East and the West. Compared with the detour to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, it is shortened by 5000~8000 kilometers from the countries bordering the Atlantic coast of Europe to the Indian Ocean; From the Mediterranean countries to the Indian Ocean, it has been shortened by 8,000~10,000 kilometers; For the countries bordering the Black Sea, it is shortened by 12,000 km. At that time, it will become an important waterway for exchanges between East and West. Not to mention, the annual navigation fee is an astronomical amount, which is almost a guaranteed business. Besides, I don't need to say much about the strategic importance of this canal. Of course, if France is unwilling to participate, it doesn't matter, the Chinese Empire and the Kingdom of Spain cooperate and have enough strength to dig the canal. Lin Zihao said. Pulling in France is just to add an ally. After all, Egypt was nominally part of the territory of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and the Egyptian governor Mohammed. Ali is not an easy person to deal with. Egypt was too far away from China, and if it was to send troops to Egypt, France and the Kingdom of Spain would be closer. The strength of the army of the Kingdom of Spain is too rubbish to be counted on. If France could intervene, they would almost be able to force the Governor of Egypt, Mohammed. Ali agreed to dig the canal.

The Duke of Dalmatia and the Count of Morais discussed in a whisper before saying, "Well, France is willing to join in this plan." However, digging a canal is not a trivial matter. We had to get the support of the local rulers first. In addition, it is a canal that is almost 200 kilometers long, and the investment will definitely not be small! ”

"The Ottoman Turkish Empire was nothing more than the nominal ruler of Egypt. In fact, as long as the governor of Egypt Muhammad was done. Ali, there will be no problem. After all, the canal is on Egyptian soil, and we can give Egypt a part of the shares, let's say, about ten percent. Lin Zihao said.

"Ten percent? Isn't that too little. What if the Egyptians don't agree? The Duke of Dalmatia asked.

"If they don't agree, it will be a provocation to our three countries, and the armies of our three countries will make the governor of Egypt, Muhammad. Ali came to his senses. Lin Zihao said. Obviously, it is absolutely impossible to successfully dig a canal without deterring it by force.

"Do you want to use force? Egypt's combat power cannot be underestimated. Moreover, the Ottoman Turkish Empire had a strong influence in the Middle East. In addition, the relationship between the Egyptians and the British was very close, and they would definitely get help from the British when the time came. The Duke of Dalmatia said with a frown.

Egypt has a population of more than four million people. After Ali took control of Egypt's full strength, he built a modern army and began the construction of industrialization in Egypt, although it is far from being comparable with Europe, but in the Middle East, it is also a strong strength. As for the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the suzerainty of Egypt, although the current Turkish Empire has lost its former glory, it is called the sick man of West Asia. However, the Turkish Empire, with a population of 30 million, still had a strong military force. To go to war with such a great power, France must be cautious. A bad word would have collapsed the rule of the Orleans.

"Your Excellency Duke, if the Egyptians toast and don't eat and drink at that time, our three kingdoms can form an alliance and wage war against Egypt. Neither the Ottoman Turkish Empire nor the British will be able to go to war with our three kingdoms! Lin Zihao said firmly. The current Chinese Empire is fully qualified to say such things.

"That's right, the union of our three countries is enough to cope with the difficulties of one qiē. If the Egyptians dare to refuse our demands, we will occupy Egypt and turn Egypt into our colony. If the Ottoman Turkish Empire dared to oppose it, then even they would fight together! "Spanish Foreign Minister José. Morality. Salamanca said. The Kingdom of Spain has been bullied enough over the years, and now it finally has the opportunity to bully others, and of course it will not let it go. Besides, Jose. Morality. Salamanca believes that when the three countries are united, no one country can compete with each other. If Egypt or even the Turkish Empire could be defeated, it would be possible to obtain a colony, which would be of great benefit to Spain.

The Duke of Dalmatia thought about it for a moment, then nodded, agreeing.

"So, how much does it cost to dig a canal? How should we bear this cost between our three countries? How should the benefits be distributed? The Duke of Dalmatia asked.

"We can form a canal development company with the Chinese Empire, France, the Kingdom of Spain and Egypt as shareholders. Egypt takes land as a shareholder, and it is enough to give them 10 percent of the shares. The cost of excavation will be borne by our three countries. According to the proportion of capital contribution, we have three countries to distribute shares! Lin Zihao said.

For this Tiyì, the Duke of Dalmatia and José. Morality. Salamanca did not object. After all, the opening of a 200-kilometer-long canal must cost tens of millions of pounds. For everyone, this is not a small amount. (To be continued......)