Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 455 Mr. Sereb

Until 5 p.m.
The Chu State's Colombian expeditionary force has completely occupied Panama City without encountering any significant resistance. It is currently conducting a comprehensive crackdown on suspicious elements in the city and is keeping a tight control over the entire city.

More than 14000 officers and soldiers have come ashore, and subsequent transportation to the other side is still ongoing. A large number of officers and soldiers, mules, horses, vehicles and other supplies are being unloaded, and this unloading work will last for 2 to 3 days.

Surrounded by a group of senior military officers, the expeditionary force commander, Lieutenant General Huang Shan, entered the city, set up a command center at the City Hall in the central square of Panama City, and began to advance the next military plan in an orderly manner.

Next Step

The Chu expeditionary force will control the American railways and use trains to transport soldiers and equipment to Cologne. The advance troops plan to fully occupy this important port city on the Caribbean coast before noon tomorrow.

After a short rest, a detachment of more than 800 troops will be sent to San Jose to occupy and control the city in one fell swoop.

After resting for several days, the main expeditionary force will board the ship again and continue south to occupy the coastal ports of Colombia. They will then attack along the main roads, smashing all obstacles of the Colombian army along the way until Bogota is captured.

The entire Colombian army has less than 1 troops in total, and they are poorly equipped, severely undertrained, and have low morale.

Colombia only began emergency mobilization after declaring war on the State of Chu. How could it be too late now?

The Chu State was well prepared. It began recruiting soldiers on a large scale in March, carried out high-intensity military training, and actively prepared for war. It also had sufficient war supplies in all aspects.

A comparison between the two sides reveals the difference.

Even if we were given another week or two, it would not change the balance of power between the two sides. This was a one-sided war of slaughter.

"What? We almost had a conflict with the French?" Lieutenant General Huang Shan was obviously stunned when he heard the report below, and then he frowned.

He had been in Central America for more than two months. Before coming, the King of Chu had secretly summoned him to the palace and repeatedly instructed him on various matters, the most important of which was:
We must not have a direct conflict with France, as that would cause the situation to quickly deteriorate out of control.

This expeditionary war against Colombia was a war to establish prestige and a war of deterrence, but not a war of conquest with an expanded scope. There was a big difference between the two.

There are American, French and Colombian troops in Panama City. The situation is complicated and it is a deep vortex that must be handled with caution.

The first two should not engage in conflict, and should proceed with courtesy and restraint. If necessary, the other party can be disarmed to avoid hindering the progress of military operations.

However, we must try our best to avoid conflicts so as to prevent the situation from escalating.

Lieutenant General Huang Shan thought to himself, "That was close." He then ordered, "Go and make arrangements. I need to meet with Mr. Lesseps, the head of the Inter-Ocean Company."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief." The officers immediately obeyed the order and left.

Not long
A group of two horse-drawn carriages arrived at the door of the city hall. Under the watchful eyes of heavily guarded soldiers, five people got off the carriages, including the angry Mr. Sereb, the deputy manager of the canal company Pavard, the French garrison commander Colonel Rabiot and Major Piero, and the American consul Mr. Gates, and walked into the door of the city hall.

At the door, he was stopped by an officer who asked, "Excuse me, who is this, Mr. Lesseps?"

"I am. Your commander invited me to come. How dare you stop me?"

"Of course not, Mr. Lesseps, the Commander-in-Chief has been waiting for you. Please come in."

"Hmph!" Mr. Lesseps snorted coldly with a sullen face and immediately stepped forward.

The officer stepped aside, but stretched out his hand to stop the four people behind him. Mr. Lesseps stopped, turned around, and was about to scold in shock and anger.

The soldier said expressionlessly, "I'm sorry, everyone. The Commander-in-Chief has ordered that only Mr. Lesseps be interviewed, not anyone else. Please wait here for a moment; the meeting won't last long."

"Good, good, very good." Mr. Lesseps, on the verge of exploding, nodded repeatedly. "I will meet with the Commander-in-Chief and ask him if he ordered his men to do this. This is absolutely unacceptable."

After saying this, he walked into the city hall angrily. Led by two officers, he successfully reached the second floor and was stopped by Major General Dong Jiasheng, the commander of the Ninth Division who was walking towards him.

Major General Dong Jiasheng was quite polite and asked, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Sereb?"

"I am Cerebus, and you are?"

"I'm Major General Dong Jiasheng, Commander of the Imperial Ninth Division. I've been ordered to greet you here. However, I see that Mr. Sereb is quite agitated at the moment and should calm down. Please rest here for a while."

Major General Dong Jiasheng said this and pointed to the door on the side.

An officer opened the door, and Major General Dong Jiasheng said, "Give Mr. Sereb something to drink to calm him down."

Then he walked away, leaving Mr. Sereb standing there in a daze.

He couldn't imagine that the Chu soldiers would treat him so rudely. Sereb was a senior diplomat and had a high reputation in the Arab world.

He received many honors for his brilliant achievements in building the Suez Canal. He was a member of the French Academy, the French Academy of Sciences, and received the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor and the Star of India. The British royal family awarded him the title of Honorary Freeman of London. Past successes made Lesseps extremely proud.

Seeing that the other party was actually trying to put him under house arrest, Mr. Sereb was furious. But it was all in vain. No matter how much he protested, he was still forcibly stuffed into the empty room, under the pretext of calming down.

This period of calm lasted for more than three hours.

No matter how resentful Mr. Sereb was, he calmed down at this moment and realized that this was a warning from the expeditionary force, and that they were not afraid of France behind him.

Mr. Sereb, who has more than 20 years of rich diplomatic experience, calmed down completely and began to think about countermeasures.

"Welcome! Dear Mr. Sereb, I have deep respect for your glorious past. It is a pity to meet you on this occasion today. On behalf of the Expeditionary Force, I welcome you." Lieutenant General Huangshan said with a smile.

Although Mr. Sereb has many titles, he cannot be proud in front of a noble of the kingdom.

France is now in the Third Republic. All the French royal family and nobles have become a thing of the past. Everyone is an equal citizen, without distinction of high or low.

His glorious titles, such as French Academy of Sciences, are worthless in front of true aristocrats.

Mr. Sereb, who had been under house arrest for more than three hours, had lost all the anger he had felt when he met Lieutenant General Huangshan. What remained was only calmness or guilt.

It was difficult for him to act with ease when facing a general who commanded tens of thousands of troops.

Mr. Sereb forced a smile and said:

"Your Excellency, General, I am deeply impressed by your army, but I find it difficult to agree with it."

"It's okay. There's always a process of mutual adaptation. You'll get used to it." Lieutenant General Huangshan smiled and gently gestured for him to sit down.

Mr. Sereb had to bow his head under the eaves and sat down with a gloomy face.

Since this concerns France's interests, some things must be discussed with the expeditionary force commander-in-chief in person. It would be better if a consensus could be reached.

Otherwise, we can only seek help from home.

After all, the French have been the second most powerful country in the world for more than a hundred years and the only European power that can compete with the British Empire. They have no false confidence.

Although defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, the pride of the French people of Lancy has never been diminished in the slightest.

More than an hour later

Lieutenant General Huangshan said to Mr. Sereb with a smile:
"Hahaha... talking things out will help both sides understand each other, avoid complicating an originally simple situation, and avoid causing misjudgments.

The State of Chu and France have a long-standing friendly relationship, and I personally have great respect for France. This is a precious treasure for both sides and is worth cherishing!
Please rest assured, Mr. Sereb, the Chu-Colombia Expeditionary Force will not infringe upon French interests. Instead, it will use strong means to ensure the normal construction of the International Canal Company to avoid being affected by the chaotic regional situation.

It will only take two weeks of suspension before the Panama Canal project can fully resume, and I can guarantee that it will receive strong support from the expeditionary force."

"Thank you, General, for your understanding and great help. France's goal is to overcome all difficulties and complete this epic canal project. No one can stop France from creating a miracle in the history of world engineering." After receiving a positive answer, Mr. Sereb felt relieved.

He was the president of the French Interoceanic Canal Company, earning a high salary and was no longer a member of the French government.

The standpoint for looking at the issue is naturally based on the fundamental interests of the Interoceanic Canal Company, which is that the excavation of the canal project cannot be affected.

A short two-week shutdown resulted in the loss of thousands or tens of thousands of workers. These losses are not unbearable.

Moreover, the expeditionary force expressed a very good attitude, saying that the escaped workers would be captured to compensate for the losses of the Inter-Ocean Company to some extent. This was already very satisfactory.

Perhaps by further establishing a relationship, such as promising some shares in an international company or giving some bribes, His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief of the Chu Expeditionary Force might be able to take more care of us.

If that's the case, everything will be fine.

At least from the perspective of the French Interoceanic Canal Company, there is no problem. The company's interests have not been fundamentally damaged, so what does it matter if there are some incidental damages caused by the war?

Lieutenant General Huang Shan smiled and comforted Mr. Sereb, who represented the French Inter-Ocean Company, but the smile disappeared when he turned around.

If His Majesty had not repeatedly reminded him, he would not have wasted his time talking to these French guys and showing a friendly and conciliatory attitude.

As for the Americans, he had no time to deal with them because the occupying forces had already issued strict orders.

Whether in France or the United States, the military must stay in the barracks and will not be allowed to take to the streets until the war tension is resolved.

Otherwise, the US and French troops themselves will be responsible for any resulting misjudgments.

The attitude in this regard is very tough and unquestionable.

(End of this chapter)