Isthmus of Panama, 1901.

A train waddles through the rainforest.

In the compartment of the carriage, a bearded gentleman in a white shirt kept fanning himself with cardboard.

His collar was soaked with sweat and yellowed, and his beard was wet.

He complained with a grumbling heart:

"Damn, it's only been a few years, and the French have been so bad after they took over the railway, you know, this railway was not so bad when it was in Chen Jianqiu's hands."

He glanced up at the interior of the compartment, which had been eroded by the humid climate.

"Boss Chen really knows how to do business."

The other gentleman sitting across from him snorted.

He didn't care about his image, and most of the buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned, revealing a golden, shaggy chest hair.

"His railroad was worth a maximum of $7.5 million that year, but in the end, he knocked out $25 million from the French, which is really a big injustice."

The bearded man smiled:

"Who told the French to dig this canal with all their might? The transportation of materials and personnel, and even the transportation of earthwork all rely on the parallel railway, and Boss Chen does not cooperate, do these French have any other choice than to buy them at a high price? ”

"The French canal company should be bankrupt, right?" Golden Chest Hair thought for a moment and asked.

"yes, what else are we going to do? Isn't it just a reassessment of the feasibility of building the Panama Canal? ”

The bearded man pulled out the map and spread it on the table in front of him.

His name was, William Walker, and he was the chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Canal; And the brother with the golden chest hair, named Jamie Barrow, is the vice president.

It stands to reason that this kind of thing doesn't require the two of them to be involved in person.

But the new president, Roosevelt, told them that the stakes were high.

The French, who had been digging here for twenty years, finally couldn't hold on, and the Canal Company was on the verge of bankruptcy due to lack of funds and bribery scandals.

The president wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to seek the possibility of a breakthrough in one fell swoop.

However, the prevailing opinion in Congress is to build a canal in Nicaragua, not Panama.

Walker: They just came from Nicaragua.

They needed to make a report on the comparison of the two options.

And this report was put on President Roosevelt's desk a few months later.

Roosevelt sat in his large chair and began to read the report.

On the left-hand side is a report submitted by Secretary of State John Hay on the acquisition of the rights and all the shares of the bankrupt French Panama Canal Company, which was auctioned in Paris.

After a quick look at the report, Roosevelt sorted it out and put it with the one on his left.

He rang the electric bell on the table.

The door to the office was opened, and Kotlyu, the president's secretary, walked in.

"Call me Mr. Hannah." The president said.

In a few moments, Hannah rushed from Capitol Hill to the White House and walked into the president's office.

"I decided to go ahead with my plan to build a canal in Panama." Roosevelt handed the two reports to Hannah.

Hannah was stunned.

As he took the report, he said:

"But the House of Representatives passed a plan to dig a canal in Nicaragua on January 9?"

"The strategic location of the Isthmus of Panama is far more important than Nicaragua."

The president, who came from the navy, understands the significance of the canal to the navy.

"The difficulty of building it aside, the House of Representatives almost passed the proposal to dig a canal in Nicaragua! Isn't it a little late? ”

Hannah still had doubts.

Although he leads the Senate, he is still clear about what is happening in the House of Representatives.

A few days ago, the proposal was adopted by a disparity of "308 votes in favor and 1 against".

Lawmakers are immersed in the idea that "the United States can finally realize its centuries-old dream of building an interoceanic shipping lane controlled by the Americans." In the midst of the excitement.

It's really not a good thing to tell them that they want to change their plans now.

"It's not like the Senate and I haven't passed it yet." Roosevelt crossed his fingers on his stomach and said, "Besides, I didn't say that I wouldn't dig the canal, I just changed places." ”

So, a few days later, on Saturday, January 18th.

The president held a press conference at the White House.

He published the Isthmus Commission's cost calculations for the construction of the Panama and Nicaragua Canals, and provided detailed figures showing that Panama was the most desirable place to dig the canal.

"First of all, if you choose to dig a canal in Panama, you will save 20% of the cost than if you dig a canal in Nicaragua."

"Compared to the two routes, the Panama route is only 50 miles, while the Nicaragua route is 180 miles."

"Panama already has a railway that runs through the whole region, but Nicaragua currently has only road traffic and water transport from the Great Lakes!"

Mr. President's exposition was detailed, logical, and well-founded, which shocked the reporters present.

On Monday, January 20, a story about Panama being the ideal location for a canal made headlines in newspapers across the country.

Before the congressmen could understand what was going on, a supplementary report of the president on the situation with the Panama Canal was sent to Congress.

People were blown away by the prospect of greatness, and the digging of the Panama Canal became the dream of every American.

In the Senate, the leaders of the various powers were persuaded by the report to turn their attention away from the Nicaragua Canal plan and to the Panama Canal plan.

On January 28, Congress passed the Canal Amendment, which gave President Roosevelt the privilege to choose to dig the canal route.

"Hey, we've got it!"

After returning from Congress, Roosevelt looked like a victorious general, just as he had in the Spanish-American War.

Behind him, however, Hanna was not as optimistic as his own president.

He said meaningfully:

"It's not that simple."

Yes, although Congress agreed, the reality is much more skinny than ideal.

First of all, the Isthmus of Panama at that time was still within the borders of Colombia.

In order to dig the canal, the French canal company offered the Colombian government extremely favorable terms, including but not limited to a share of the proceeds and partial control of the operation after the excavation.

This was unacceptable to neither the United States nor Roosevelt.

So, to get the canal right, you have to get the Colombian government right.

Secondly, the Isthmus of Panama is an extremely underdeveloped place, with lush rainforests and disease.

The French dug here for more than 20 years, at great expense, and the canal did not last long, but they ended up bankrupt as a company.

However, President Roosevelt did not seem to be worried at all.

He patted Hannah on the shoulder and winked at him:

"Don't we have Boss Chen?"

Chen Jianqiu, who was far away in Oklahoma, sneezed.

He's busy, not ordinary.

Since President Roosevelt officially fulfilled his promise to repeal the Chinese Act, large numbers of Chinese immigrants have poured into New Mexico and Oklahoma.

This will inevitably cause unease and resentment among some of the other ethnic groups who previously lived in the area.

But the good thing is that these two places, especially Oklahoma, are big enough.

Boss Chen was also prepared, and together with his business partners, he invested in some labor-intensive factories here, such as Ford's automobile assembly plant and some parts production plants.

Roswell Electric Company also laid down three or four assembly lines in Tulsa.

There is a job, there is money to earn, and life is passable, and the contradictions are generally not too big.

"Mr. Chen, the phone call from the president is on Line 2."

Ah Niu walked into the workshop quickly and said to Chen Jianqiu, who was inspecting.

Chen Jianqiu had a sense of foreboding.

It seems that nothing good should come to the president to find him.

He confessed, turned around and returned to the office with Ah Niu.

"Hello?"

Chen Jianqiu picked up the earpiece.

"I've got something to look for you."

On the other end of the phone, came the president's voice.

He didn't even say a word of greeting, and went straight to the point.

"I have just received permission from Congress here to build a canal in Panama, and I think you have enough men, and your people are industrious, brave, and rich."

"Hello? Hello! Hello." Chen Jianqiu's eyes looked at the ceiling and became a repeater, "Damn, what's wrong with this line?" I can't hear a single sound."

After talking to himself for a while, he hung up the phone.

I knew that it was no good thing to find him.

Panama knows best by itself.

The Pacific Railroad previously had a railroad there that served as the only hub connecting the two oceans on the isthmus.

Although the business has been good, it was later sold to the French.

However, when it was built, it did take a lot of effort.

It's really not a place for people.

This is not the case with the construction of railways, let alone the construction of a canal.

Just as Chen Jianqiu was about to turn around and leave, the phone rang again.

It was only after the phone rang for a while that he finally decided to pick up the receiver again.

"I'll give you a small share of the business in the future, so it's okay, right?" Again, the president set conditions.

In Roosevelt's eyes, he valued control of the canal more than revenue.

Chen Jianqiu's eyes lit up.

This is the Panama Canal! In the future, it may become the busiest waterway in the Americas, like the money printing machine!

As a result, Chen Jianqiu's "broken line" suddenly became better.

"I hope that the military will step in to ensure the rationing, transportation and supply of supplies, and at the same time be able to provide experienced doctors to accompany them, to ensure the cleanliness of the residence and the health of my workers."

This time it was Chen Jianqiu's turn to make a request.

The two of them haggled over the phone, and finally reached a preliminary agreement.

Chen Jianqiu was contracted to dig the Panama Canal, and the Federation assisted him in getting the Colombian government and providing all the help it could.

"There is one last thing, the congressional appropriation for the canal digging may be a little later, and you need to advance a little bit in the early stage, but I know that you are the richest man in the world, and you have this strength."

Before Roosevelt's words were finished, Chen Jianqiu's "rereading" came from the other end of the phone:

"Hello? Hello! Hello! Damn, this line was fine just now."

(End of chapter)