Panama Isthmus!

People in the seventeenth century are familiar with the Isthmus of Panama.

After all, Europeans had already "discovered" this place a century and a half ago.

On September 25, 1513, the Spanish Barvoya climbed a steep peak in the Panama wilderness. When he saw the vast sea in the southwest, he couldn't help but be ecstatic because he knew the weight of his glimpse: the discovery of the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, he deliberately asked the expedition team who followed him to stop at the foot of the mountain and go up the mountain alone, so as to enjoy the honor of great geographical discovery.

After Balvoa, the map and globe began to mark the narrow isthmus, connecting North and South America together. People began to know that there was a land between North and South America.

Almost on the day when Yunshan proposed to build the railway on the "Isthmus of Panama", Luo Liang, the clerk of the Governor of the New England Governor's Office of the Ming Dynasty, immediately asked about the books and materials on the "Isthmus of Panama". Although the captains marked Panama on their nautical charts, they were limited to the coast and a place name. They knew nothing about the situation in the Isthmus of Panama.

"Maybe there is it in the Harvard College library."

Harvard College?

Yunshan asked in surprise when he was heading to Harvard College.

"There is a college here?"

Academies are the standard configuration of the Ming colonies. However, in the fierce "Yuzhang County", the academies have not been built until now, and at most they have only built a few county schools.

"It's not a college, it's a college, it was built during the Chongzhen period. However, they built this academy not to cultivate scholars, but because of the lack of pastors. So a college was built in Boston that specializes in cultivating pastors. It was built in imitation of Cambridge. It was first established. It was named New Cambridge College because it was named by the pastor John Harvard, who graduated from Cambridge. Later, John Harvard died and donated half of his legacy and a large amount of books to the school. In order to commemorate his generosity, people changed the name of the school to Harvard College."

When Luo Liang explained this "priest school", he obviously did not know how prominent this academy is in the world in another world, and is recognized as one of the top higher education institutions in the world today. However, in the 17th century, the so-called "Harvard" was just a school for raising priests, but it was not just about priests. After all, the colonies also needed to cultivate other talents, so there were various books in its library.

The Harvard Academy's library is open to the public. In fact, even if it is not open, the officials of the Governor's Office will be open to it when they come.

In the library, they easily found the books they needed. Although there were not many, there were several books introducing the Panama region. In addition to the books that traveled through the Panama Isthmus of Balvoa, they even found several maps. After collecting some reference books, Luo Liang and Yunshan even went to consult some professors in the academy.

Then, they got busy.

While other crew members were enjoying a rare comfort in Boston, Sun Zizhuang, Yunshan, Luo Liang and others have been planning the "Pacific Railway" in their hearts in the office of the Governor's Office.

"What are Captain Sun and the others doing?"

"In Luo Changli's office, they have been there these days."

What are they busy with?

In confusion, Wang Linyue came to Luo Liang's office. As soon as he entered the office, he saw the three of them lying on a large table. There was a large map covered with red bars, blue lines, circles, and dots. They seemed to be studying something there.

"The mountains here are very high. You need to find a canyon and see if you can walk through it..."

"The most important thing is the rainforest. Such a rainforest is difficult to walk on..."

Wang Linyue did not interrupt their conversation. Seeing that they had not noticed him, he walked to the side quietly.

After looking at the map carefully, he was shocked.

“Panama Railway Planning Map!”

After a closer look, it turned out that the marks marked on the map all marked where to build a railway and where to build a port.

“Panama Railway!”

"Governor,"

Raising his head, Luo Liang said in surprise.

"I originally wanted to report to you after the plan is completed. Look, this is the Panama Railway we planned. We think that building a railway in Panama to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean is the most convenient solution at present. If we build a railway, from the Pacific to the Caribbean Sea will be shortened from the past six months to about ten hours!"

Ten hours!

It may even take a few hours. In short, just build a railway in the Isthmus of Panama, the original voyage of several months can be shortened to a few hours. With this railway, everything will change. In this era, this is simply a miracle, and then Luo Liang pointed to the map and said,

"One end of the railway is connected to the Pacific Ocean. Immigration ships coming from the mainland, after sailing at sea for two months, send the immigrants to the port. After resting at the port, they then take trains to the other end by train, and then take a Caribbean transport ship, and can go directly to New England, and even pass through the Mississippi River to enter the vast central part..."

While introducing this concept, Luo Liang unfolded a map, which is a map of the Mississippi River Basin. On the surface, it belongs to France and Spain, but in fact, it is just a land without a border. As for the indigenous people on that land... few people regard them as human rights. In this era, no human rights are included, even if there are, they have never included the indigenous people on this land.

They chatted around the picture, gradually and carefully studied it. Almost an hour later, Wang Linyue, who was thinking, looked at Yunshan and asked.

"Young Master Yun, you should know that the Panama region belongs to Spain and is the jurisdiction of the Governor General of Peru."

"That's right!"

Yunshan nodded and said.

"Not only in Spain, but even in 1534, after the discovery of the Panama Isthmus, Charles V, then the Holy Roman Emperor and Spanish King, ordered the survey of the passages that could pass through the Americas in order to shorten the routes between Spain and Peru. After all, the Spanish were too eager for the gold and silver transported from the Americas, but for the Spanish, this was just an idea. After all, with the current technical level, there was no technology to build the Panama Canal at all. We also did not have the same. In comparison, the construction of railways is undoubtedly the best choice."

Building a canal... It is a very complex project and requires a lot of manpower, so it is convenient to build a railway. Moreover, there was a Grand Canal in China that destroyed the predecessors of the Sui Dynasty. It is better to have a railway, which is easier to do.

"Since the Spanish know that Panama is important, how could they give Panama to us or agree to build a railway there? And, even if the Spanish agree to build a railway there, how could we let the Spanish control that lifeline?"

The governor's rhetoric question made Luo Liang, Sun Zizhuang and Yunshan feel silent. They have indeed not seriously considered these issues.

Suddenly, Sun Zizhuang broke the silence and said.

"If it doesn't work, just fight it!"

"Fight down? Declare war with the Spaniards, right?"

Wang Linyue was startled and said in a lost voice.

"This does not seem to be in line with the court's strategy!"

The imperial court now does not want to provoke disputes in North America when it is insufficient. The ideal is full and the reality is skinny. The reality is that in North America now, the Ming Dynasty has no advantages at all.

"The court's strategy is from the court, but who knows what the situation is here? If they come to the door, we must not fight back! Besides, the situation is unpredictable, and no one knows what the situation will be in the future."

A few days later, while seeing off the "Qi Ming Star" farewell, Wang Linyue looked at Sun Zizhuang, Yunshan and others and said.

"We must not provoke a war, after all, we are still weak in America now, so wait!"

"Don't worry! Our next stop is Europe, not Panama. We are going to complete a global voyage!"
Chapter completed!