Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 476 Banquet and temptation

After deciding on the strategy of frontal attack with the help of warships and heavy artillery, Chen Zongbai quickly fed back the combat plan to Chang'an.

A few days later, Chang'an agreed to the battle plan and made further adjustments. The troops stockpiled in Xianghe City (Posadas), Luoning County (Formosa) and other places assembled and set out in batches to Humeta Villarrica and other places to support the battle.

Unlike the busy mobilization of various troops in the Han country, the atmosphere in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of the Republic of Brazil, was warm and a grand celebration banquet was taking place.

"Gentlemen, I am honored to invite you to attend the banquet tonight to celebrate the great victory of the Republic's army and the fall of Lopez Jr.'s brutal regime. Let us raise a toast together!"

As the host of the banquet, Field Marshal of the Army of the Republic of Brazil Peixoto raised his glass with a smile on his face.

"Here's to victory, here's to civilization."

Williams, the British Minister to the Republic of Brazil, took a sip of wine gracefully, walked up to Marshal Peixoto, and said, "I am sincerely happy for the victory of your army. Please convey my congratulations to your President."

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Minister."

"You are welcome, Marshal. The British Empire and the Republic of Brazil have a lot to cooperate on. I wish our future cooperation will go smoothly."

"Mr. President highly values ​​the friendship with the British Empire. I believe that with the mutual promotion of both sides, the cooperation between the two countries will become closer and closer."

"The reputation of the British Empire has always been trustworthy, especially to enlightened and friendly nations."

The British envoy laughed, then explained: "Your Excellency Marshal, do you mind taking up your seat and saying a few words?"

"Of course, Mr. Minister."

Peixoto moved forward a few steps to make room.

“Gentlemen, once again, I would like to thank the government of the Republic of Brazil for its contribution to the cause of justice. Without the obstruction of the evil Lopez regime, I believe that after the establishment of the new Paraguayan government, the two international waterways of the Paraguay River and the Parana River will usher in a period of comprehensive development and prosperity. The mineral resources and agricultural products of Paraguay, Brazil, China and other countries can be transported to Europe, North America, and even Africa and the Far East through the two water routes without any hindrance.

Industrial products, advanced technology and capital from civilized countries can also flow smoothly into the countries along the river basin, helping the economic development of these countries.

As a responsible major country, the British Empire is willing to consult with the coastal countries and cooperate on issues such as taxation, sovereignty division, and shipping management of the two international waterways.

"In terms of international waterway shipping management, reconstruction and maintenance, the French Republic has advanced technical advantages. The Suez Canal, which was built under the leadership of Mr. Lesseps, is a successful case. The Panama Canal, which connects the two continents, is also under the leadership of Mr. Lesseps, and its excavation is currently progressing smoothly. I suggest that Mr. Lesseps lead the formation of an exploration team to conduct exploration and testing of the main waters of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers, evaluate the navigation performance, and widen and reconstruct the corresponding locations."

Seeing that the British Minister acted like he was in control of South America, the French Minister spoke up to fight for his country's interests.

"Mr. Omenis, allow me to correct a mistake. The right to build and operate the Panama Canal belongs to the United States of America. In January 1869, the Republic signed an agreement with the Colombian government and obtained a 1-year lease on the area belonging to the Panama Canal."

The American minister was sensitive when he heard the word Panama Canal.

"Haha, sir, are you kidding?" The French envoy laughed in anger and mocked, "The treaty you mentioned is not legal. In 1870, the Colombian Congress rejected the agreement. Therefore, your claim that the Panama Canal belongs to the United States has no legitimate basis. If a robber breaks into your house, points a gun at your head, and forces you to sign an unequal treaty, sir, do you think this treaty has legal effect?"

The French ambassador had a reason to be angry. In 1873, the French obtained the right to build the Panama Canal from the Colombian government, and then raised a huge amount of funds, hired 4 workers from various countries, and began to build the canal. During this period, in order to facilitate the transportation of materials, the French designed the canal to run parallel to the Panama Railway operated by the Americans. However, when the French proposed to spend money to rent locomotives to transport the machinery and equipment and various raw materials needed to build the canal, the Americans simply refused to cooperate. The railway department set up all kinds of obstacles to the distribution of canal materials and took a negative attitude. Faced with the deliberate obstruction of the Americans, the French Canal Company was finally forced to buy this railway worth only $2550 million at a sky-high price of $750 million. The retained American employees were instructed by the US government to continue to make trouble, sabotage and slow down, making it impossible for the railway to operate normally at all. For this reason, Lesseps repeatedly sought help from his country to protest against the malicious destruction of the Americans, but unfortunately it did not achieve obvious results.

Lesseps was a very prestigious and capable French diplomat. He served as assistant vice-consul in Lisbon, consul in Alexandria, consul in Cairo, consul general in Barcelona, ​​and minister in Madrid. He had deep connections in the French diplomatic community and also worked with the French minister to the Republic of Brazil for a period of time. The two had a good personal friendship.

After the Franco-Prussian War, Germany and France were hostile to each other, but this time the German minister did not speak out to refute the French ambassador, because what the Americans did in the Panama Canal issue was indeed not fair.

In August 1856, the United States sent two cruisers carrying hundreds of soldiers to Panama on the pretext that its nationals were deliberately injured on the Isthmus of Panama. In September 8, 1856 U.S. Marines landed, occupied the Panama Railway Station, and demanded the cession of the Isthmus of Panama and several islands in the Bay of Panama as compensation.

Faced with the unreasonable demands of the Americans, the Colombian government could not accept them. After several rounds of negotiations, due to the gap in power, the Colombian government agreed to transfer the construction rights of the Panama Canal to the Americans and compensate the United States with US$41.

After the opening of the Suez Canal, European capital turned its attention to the Isthmus of Panama. With the participation of Britain and France, the Colombian government became more confident and rejected the agreement signed with the Americans. It handed over the right to build the Panama Canal to the French, which triggered a competition between the United States and France.

“The management, dredging and reconstruction of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers is a large systematic project. It is necessary to establish an international banking group to reasonably allocate the proportion and use of funds.”

The German minister did not comment on the Panama Canal, but took up the topic of navigation in the waters of the Paraguay and Paraná rivers, adding: "Not only Paraguay, but also the Republic of Brazil, the Brazilian Empire, the Han Kingdom and other countries can be included in the unified consideration and coordinate the construction of shipping routes, railways and other transportation hubs."

"I'm afraid you are a little too optimistic, aren't you?"

The French envoy did not appreciate the German envoy's good intentions and retorted: "There are many conflicts between the Brazilian Republic, the Brazilian Empire, the Han Kingdom, Paraguay and other countries. The issue of railway construction is complicated. It is too difficult and unfeasible to bridge the conflicts and persuade the countries to reach a unified opinion on the railway issue."

"The railway issue can be discussed in detail after the war is over and peace is restored in South America."

Marshal Peixoto, as the host of the banquet, timely ended the topic and then proposed the purpose of holding this banquet: "The Republic eliminated the Lopez regime for justice, and the land that was illegally occupied also returned to the embrace of the Republic. In order to restore peace and reduce casualties among the Paraguayan people, the Republic government decided to end the war. However, the Han country still illegally stayed in Paraguay, not only occupying the southern part of Paraguay, but also full of hostility towards the Republic's troops stationed in Paraguay, and launched attacks on the Republic's troops stationed in Paraguay many times. In the face of the current situation in Paraguay, I would like to ask the ministers for their opinions."

"The United States of America supports your just war and opposes the Han Dynasty's interference in other countries' affairs. If your country is willing, the United States is willing to stand with you and fight against the barbaric regime of the Han Dynasty."

"Marshal, the British Empire recognizes your country's reasonable request to recover its territory and respects Paraguay's sovereignty as an independent country. To resolve the dispute, I propose that all parties send representatives to resolve differences through negotiations and end the war. Of course, the British Empire firmly opposes foreign countries' intervention in South America and any actions that maliciously cause the war to expand."

"France has always been committed to win-win peace and economic openness. The French Republic supports both sides in stopping the war and working together to restore peace and stability in Paraguay."

"An early end to the Paraguayan War will be beneficial to the economic recovery of the American countries. Germany also supports the peace efforts of the Republic of Brazil."

The reactions of the ministers from various countries were different. Peixoto initially sounded out the attitudes of various countries and invited everyone to continue the banquet.

PS: I am quite busy with work now, and I will try to update as much as possible, but I may not be able to guarantee stable updates due to work, health and other reasons. Please forgive me. I have not updated for 4 years, and I am sorry for everyone. I have always been very slow to update due to limited ability. It is still the same now. It takes 4 hours or even more time to conceive the plot and check the information for one chapter. I want to make the plot of the novel smoother and more reasonable. I am also working hard to learn while writing. I hope that I can continue to update steadily in the future, and then the novel's writing style, plot structure and other aspects can also make progress. Thank you for your support, thank you very much.

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(End of this chapter)