Since diplomacy does not work, the Tang Dynasty is ready to use military means. The navy has prepared several combat plans. Once the actual situation is mature, the military will probably implement them.
Compared with the troubles of the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal is much simpler and has already entered the preliminary construction stage.
Because Datang had already reached a deal with Spain before, Datang could build a canal in Panama and had sovereignty over 20 kilometers on both sides of the canal.
Because of the existence of this agreement, the Panama Canal area officially belongs to Datang.
After Datang acquired this area, it prepared for the construction of the canal. However, the construction of such a huge canal did not take a day or two, and a lot of time was spent on the preliminary survey.
The subsequent construction is also very troublesome.
In order to build the Panama Canal, the Tang Empire specially established the Panama Canal Company, with many large domestic companies as shareholders and the Royal Bank providing loans.
At the same time, we also cooperated with the American Labor Service Company, and the specific construction was carried out by the American Labor Service Company.
After all, Panama is located in a relatively remote place, and building the canal is a high-casualty project. The empire will not organize hundreds of thousands of workers from home to dig the canal. It can only hire local labor.
Originally, the Tang Empire also considered building a canal in Nicaragua, but the Spanish did not agree because this place was further north than Panama, which also meant that it was closer to Mexico, the core area of the Spanish colonies in the Americas.
The Spaniards were also afraid that the Tang Dynasty would move north and south, and eventually swallow up the entire Mexico.
At the same time, due to engineering difficulties and other issues, Panama was finally chosen to build the canal.
However, even though construction has started now, the progress is actually very slow, and it is estimated that it will take more than ten years or more to be completed.
Now the Tang Dynasty Panama Canal Company is busy killing local mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes in that poor place were so powerful that the resulting yellow fever and other diseases were quite serious. In the first half of the year, nearly 10,000 workers were killed or injured.
Although the American Labor Service Company also generously stated that this casualty is nothing, as long as the project continues, they will be able to organize more labor from more places every minute.
And it’s free of charge!
When the canal company declined, they visited several times to persuade them.
He said, don't slow down the progress just because of killing mosquitoes. I have plenty of people, so let's continue to engage in the human wave tactic. Anyway, you don't need to provide pensions or anything, or even wages, so what are you worried about?
In the end, the canal company was annoyed. It was none of our business if these indigenous workers were killed or injured. However, dozens of our company's employees died of illness in just six months, and many of them were technicians.
Pensions are nothing but trivial matters. The most important thing is that domestic public opinion is under great pressure, and the reputation is ruined. When people hear that they are going to work in Panama, they immediately shake their heads. The grumpy ones will even yell and tell their recruiters to get out on the spot!
As a result, it is difficult for their company to recruit local staff.
So recently, their focus has been on mosquito control, and they have also consulted several scientific research groups at the Royal Institute of Technology for this purpose.
Some professors at the Royal Institute of Technology have been studying anti-mosquito drugs. Several anti-mosquito drugs have been developed and the results are pretty good. However, the production cost is high and the price is relatively expensive. Currently, only
Can be applied on a small scale.
But for the sake of the canal, they didn't care about this. They spent a lot of money to purchase a large amount of drugs and went to the local area to kill mosquitoes...
According to the estimates of experts and scholars in the empire, the construction of the Panama Canal would take more than ten years even if everything goes well, and it could even take twenty years.
Therefore, for a long period of time in the future, ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans will still have to bypass the Strait of Magellan. However, in order to facilitate cross-strait communication, the American Affairs Office has already built a cinder road in this isthmus in advance, and operations across it
There are long-distance public carriages on the isthmus, and then there are also port ships at both ends of the canal.
This can be regarded as initially easing the exchange of personnel and a small amount of materials between the east and west coasts of North America.
The construction of canals is very troublesome and can take more than ten years. Therefore, whether it is the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal, don't expect it to be completed in a short time.
Currently, Datang's ships traveling around the world still have to go around Africa, and South America is very troublesome.
The voyage is far, and the luxury liner on the global route takes more time to go back and forth. Naturally, the tickets for these luxury liner, which are not many in the first place, are even more scarce.
However, these are nothing to the Palace Affairs Department. They have deep financial resources and directly chartered the New Atlantic.
This is not the first time they have done this. In the past, most members of the royal family used similar methods when traveling.
For example, when several princes came to rule North America a few years ago, the Palace Administration not only chartered ships, but also chartered an entire fleet. As for warship escort, that was a matter for the military and had nothing to do with them.
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Sometimes the vassal kings who were vassal in other places went to and from the mainland, and most of them used direct chartered ships.
Of course, people will not give less money, on the contrary, they will give more money. After all, this will affect the normal operation of the shipping company, so it is necessary to provide some appropriate subsidies.
Anyway, the royal family is not short of money. It's just chartering a boat. How much money can it spend? The royal family's subordinates have a lot of money.
Compared with various costly investments, these daily expenses are nothing to mention.
The New Atlantic quickly arrived in Ceuta. After the ship arrived in Ceuta, the New Atlantic was maintained on site in Ceuta. However, some of the officials from the Palace Affairs Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secretariat who accompanied it were already there as a welcoming mission.
First take the ferry to Cadiz.
According to the plan, the welcoming delegation will go north from Cadiz to Madrid to read the canonization edict, then pick up Elizabeth and return to Cadiz, then arrive in Ceuta, and finally return to Datang on the New Atlantic.
The Spaniards also attached great importance to this wedding and sent hundreds of well-dressed troops to Cadiz to greet and escort them early.
However, the people of the Tang Dynasty have always had little trust in these indigenous troops. The mission will not leave their own safety to them, but will lead their own troops to greet them.
There is a company of Guards among them. In addition, the troops stationed in Europe will temporarily send a battalion to accompany them.
After leaving the embassy area of Cadiz, the mission did not even dare to enter the city of Cadiz.
It's not that I'm afraid of the Spanish, but I'm afraid of contracting infectious diseases if I enter an indigenous city.