(Screened in the previous chapter.) ）

Napoleon III raised a frown and asked; "What do you mean...... Interested in the Sweetwater Canal project? ”

"That's right, this important canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea has been excavated so far, well, there has been a lot of news about the difficulty of advancing the project, sometimes it is difficult to fund, sometimes the environment is extremely bad, there are many casualties among the canal workers, and sometimes it is strongly opposed by the British and it is recommended to replace it with a railway project." Richard smiled and shook his head, clearly disapproving of the British proposal and supporting the French' plan to dig the canal.

With a powerful wave of his hand, he continued;

"How exciting and great is it that the great Emperor Napoleon, at the beginning of this century, planned to build a canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, and that this brilliant vision was about to be realized in the hands of His Majesty?

This new route connecting Europe and Asia will shorten the voyage by nearly 16,000 nautical miles, and in any sense, it will be a project of the century that will go down in history and benefit all mankind.

Among them

The most glorious chapter was supported by the French engineer and the Emperor of France, which I undoubtedly admire.

Out of the consideration of jointly building and maintaining the new Eurasian shipping route, the royal family of the Tang Empire is willing to take a stake in the Suez Canal, only asking to occupy a proper position on the board of directors of the canal and share in the stable income.

It does not seek additional benefits, nor does it seek a controlling stake in the canal, and is willing to see this canal open to all countries without any bias, which is the solemn promise of the Tang Empire.

The Tang Empire argued;

This magnificent project, which has a bearing on the well-being of all mankind, should involve the major powers of the world in their joint construction, share the risks and benefits, and hopefully have the support of His Majesty the Emperor of France. ”

"The Tang Empire is willing to participate in sharing the financial risk, which is a good thing, will London object?" Napoleon III would have taken into account the opinion of the British.

Richard shook his head lightly and said; "This is just a sound financial investment for the royal family, and it is hoped that it will be able to share in the glory brought by the Suez Canal, which will be beneficial to the international influence of the Tang Empire." We will communicate closely with the British side, and we will not rule out bringing the British people to participate in it, because this is, after all, an open international project that will benefit the whole world. ”

"I could not agree more with you, Your Majesty." Napoleon III thought it seriously and nodded in agreement;

"In order to realize the original vision of the great Emperor Napoleon, France and London have been in painstaking communication with London, and have been under great pressure to persevere, in order to continue this great project for the benefit of all mankind until it is finally completed.

Now with the participation of the Tang Empire, it will definitely make the progress of the canal project smoother and solve the huge financial troubles.

Tell the truth

Halfway through the construction of the project, all the budget had been spent and the budget was seriously overrun, and the canal project faced serious consequences that could not be sustained.

As an important collaborator, the debt-ridden Egypt was not in a position to help, and the British were always pulling back, which was a disaster.

France will exert official pressure to induce Mohammed Said Pasha to transfer its 44 percent stake, perhaps in part.

The board of directors of the canal will review the equity and profit distribution plan, and treat the new shareholders fairly to participate in the construction.

I believe that this will be the beginning of close cooperation between France and Denmark, and the French government will provide all kinds of facilitation to facilitate close cooperation between the two sides to jointly complete this grand project. ”

"This is a good thing with benefits and honors, and I look forward to it as well." Richard replied with a smile.

Now that it has been agreed with the French, this matter has become more than half of it.

Why?

Historically, in 1517, the Ottoman Empire invaded Egypt and conquered Egypt with great force, making Egypt a subordinate province of Egypt, and the Ottoman Empire's rule over Egypt for hundreds of years began.

From the beginning of the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire sent governors to the provinces of Egypt to implement pastoral rule.

In the 19th century, Muhammad Ali became the new governor and was ambitious enough to break free from the Ottoman Empire's control of Egypt and try to build a vast empire.

To this end, he relied on iron-fisted means to finally eliminate the opponents at home, monopolize the military and political power in Egypt, and then rely on top-down changes to make Egypt's national power stronger and stronger.

At this point, Ali began to challenge the authority of the suzerain, the Ottoman Empire.

In 1831, Egyptian troops launched a surprise attack on the Ottoman Empire, and the exhausted Ottoman Empire was forced to negotiate peace with Ali, and Egypt had gained de facto independence, although it still nominally ruled the Ottoman Empire.

After this battle, Egypt became a vast empire spanning Asia and Africa.

Therefore, although the nominal supreme ruler of Egypt is the Pasha, it is actually in a state of independence that does not listen to the tune, and the decaying Ottoman Empire can no longer influence Egypt, and the whole country presents a thriving and prosperous scene.

In 1839, Britain instigated the Ottoman Empire to provoke a war with Egypt in an attempt to seize rights and interests in Egypt.

However, the Ottoman army was vulnerable and was defeated by the Egyptian army.

Seeing that the Ottoman Empire was overwhelmed, the British immediately tore through the camouflage of neutrality and personally sent an expedition to Egypt to Alexandria.

Ali Pasha knew that he could not repel the British army, so he had to choose to negotiate peace with the British.

May 11, 1840

Egypt was forced to sign the Anglo-Egyptian Pact with the British. After the treaty was signed, Egypt became a vassal or protectorate of the British.

Britain and France and other countries entered Egypt in a big way, and Egypt gradually became a raw material supply base and commodity dumping market for Britain and other powers, and since then, Egypt has become a semi-colony of Western powers.

After the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement, Egypt's doors were forced to open, and British and French forces began to intervene in its internal affairs, and the two countries engaged in a fierce struggle over whether to build a canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

France, a Mediterranean country, advocated the restoration of old trade routes, so it strongly advocated the construction of canals.

Far from the Mediterranean, Britain wanted to control the new shipping routes by controlling the Cape of Good Hope, so they actively advocated the construction of railways.

Obstructed by the British, French proposals to build canals repeatedly failed.

The outbreak of the Crimean War in 1853 led Britain and France to form a close military alliance in Europe, and united with the Ottoman Empire to launch a counterattack against Russia.

This is a great opportunity

In 1854, the pro-French Said became the new governor of Egypt, and the Frenchman Lessep foresaw that the canal would be possible, so he went to Egypt and described to Said that the opening of the canal would bring great benefits to Egypt.

In the face of great temptation, Said finally agreed to the construction of the canal, and Britain considered that the Crimean War was at a critical moment, and it was inconvenient to oppose it, which caused the Anglo-French relationship to be twisted again.

Therefore, in 1854, Said Pasha signed the "Concession Contract for the Construction and Use of the Suez Canal and its Ancillary Buildings Connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea" with France, officially leasing the Suez Canal.

After intense preparations, on April 25, 1859, the canal officially broke ground in Port Said.

By June 1864, five years after the canal was excavated, more than 70,000 people in Egypt had died on the construction site due to the harsh construction environment and epidemic disease, and the budget for the project was also depleted.

According to the calculations of the French-led Suez Canal Board;

The construction of the entire Suez Canal would require a huge amount of money more than 230% of the original budget, which discouraged many French investors, and the value of the canal's stock fell again and again.

The timing of the emergence of the Tang Empire was very good, just when the Suez Canal was difficult to raise funds and was in a state of flux.

In the original history

In order to realize the long-cherished wish of his former father, Napoleon III forcibly pushed the French parliament to give a large amount of money, persistently promoted the progress of the Suez Canal project, and finally achieved the breakthrough.

His ouster after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 was not unrelated to the forced push of the bill against the will of the majority of the French people, which caused him to attract a lot of infamy and an unprecedented increase in opposition.

Now, now that there is a wealthy investor in the Tang Empire, there is no need to make people angry.

Egypt, another major participant in the project, paid a total of 420 million francs for the construction of the Suez Canal and the purchase of an equity interest in the Suez Canal, acquiring a 44 percent stake in the Suez Canal Company.

However, due to Egypt's financial difficulties, most of the funds used to buy the equity were borrowed from Britain and France, and the Suez Canal became a debt-ridden river for Egypt, which was also the source of its financial collapse.

Today's Egyptian Pasha Muhammad Saeed is in a state of turmoil, with the interest on the 420 million franc loan alone nearly crumbling Egypt's finances, and the completion and profitability of the project are far away.

If someone is willing to take this hot potato, he is really grateful.

In the original history

Mohammed-Saeed transferred 44% of the shares of the canal to the United Kingdom, for which the Royal Interior Office of the Tang Empire had to renegotiate with the board of directors of the French canal to obtain dividends in line with the equity.

Because according to the terms of the concession agreement between Egypt and France;

Even if Egypt owns 44 percent of the Suez Canal Company, Egypt will only enjoy 15 percent of the annual profits, and Egypt will be able to take back the right to operate the canal 99 years after the canal was opened.

The Tang Empire does not need to take back ownership of the Suez Canal after 99 years, and this clause is excluded, of course, it is necessary to share the dividends of the canal shares fairly, which is beyond doubt.

Richard knew

The Suez Canal is a very worthwhile investment, and its strategic significance aside, five years after the canal opened, France will be able to generate a steady income of up to 12 million francs per year. This money is worth 600,000 pounds, which is equivalent to 3 million Tang Yuan, which is not a small amount.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to infiltrate the Near East would be an easy route.

The strategic benefits thus obtained are not something that can be measured by money.

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