North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 222 The Treaty of Panama

The entire war between the United States and the Republic of New Grenada lasted only two months.

After suffering 40,000 to 50,000 casualties and tens of thousands of soldiers being captured, the Republic of New Grenada was ultimately forced to accept defeat and negotiate a peace agreement.

Then, representatives from both countries began peace talks in Panama City.

In February 1852, the Republic of New Grenada and the United States of America finally signed the Treaty of Panama.

According to the treaty, the Republic of New Grenada ceded Panama City and the Port of Colon, as well as the Panama-Cologne railway under construction, including all territory and rights within a 40-kilometer radius on both sides of the railway.

In other words, after the treaty came into effect, the United States gained the entire Isthmus of Panama, a total of 4,000 square kilometers of territory.

California, which made the greatest contribution and achieved the most outstanding military exploits in this war, also obtained exclusive jurisdiction and development rights over the entire Isthmus of Panama for 99 years.

This means that California now has its first exclave thousands of nautical miles away in Central America.

For at least the next 99 years, jurisdiction and development rights over the Isthmus of Panama will belong solely to the California government.

……

As soon as the fighting ended, California dispatched engineers to expedite the repair of the damaged ports of Colon and Panama.

Transportation across the Isthmus of Panama was quickly restored.

Those whose journeys were disrupted were also able to continue their journey to California via the Isthmus of Panama.

This included the Prussian delegation led by Bismarck, as well as the entire family of Duke Maximilian Joseph.
-
The newly completed headquarters building of Huamei Company in San Francisco, California.

In his office, Azu met John Forbes for the first time.

The owner of the Trans-American Railway Company, dressed in a smart and meticulously tailored tuxedo, a tall top hat, and a perfectly trimmed mustache, looked more like a dignified old-fashioned European nobleman than Azu, the real Earl!

But in front of Azu, this Mr. Forbes appeared quite humble.

"Congratulations, Your Excellency Earl of Gold Mountain...!"

John Forbes immediately bowed and flattered Azu, saying, "Your Excellency's valiant army has just defeated the Republic of New Grenada and seized control of the Isthmus of Panama."

Ah Zu waved his hand with a smile: "It's nothing, not worth mentioning..."

John Forbes' expression froze for a moment!
Defeating a country and seizing the Isthmus of Panama is a trivial matter...!
You've really shown off!

Azu smiled and continued, "Mr. Forbes, how did the acquisition go? What were the results of your discussions with Allen and Qingfeng?"

Of course, Azu knew the outcome of the acquisition, but he still let Forbes announce it himself.

Forbes replied, "Your Excellency, first of all, I am very grateful to you for lending a helping hand to my railway company at this critical juncture."

"Faced with a count and governor as powerful as you, with your wealth, power, and military strength, I am quite willing to sell my railway company to you!"

"Based on the results of my discussions with Edgar Allan Poe and Wu Qingfeng, I will sell 90% of the shares of the Trans-American Railway Company to your Huamei Company for four million US dollars."

"As for myself, I will only retain 10% of the shares and continue to serve as the general manager of Trans-American Railway."

"From then on, the Trans-American Railway Company became a subsidiary of the Huamei Company."

"After completing this deal, I will move the headquarters of Trans-American Railroad to San Francisco. From then on, Trans-American Railroad will focus on infrastructure development in California."

Forbes said all of the above in fluent Cantonese.

This guy stayed in Guangzhou for nine years and learned to speak Chinese fluently.

He spoke to Ah Zu in Cantonese, partly to show respect and partly to try and get closer to him.

Azu nodded slightly: "Starting this year, my California will enter a peak period of infrastructure construction."

"In addition to the main north-south railway that needs to start construction as soon as possible, there are port expansion projects in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and other places, as well as inland waterway projects on the Sacramento River, and so on."

"Also, the cable television project in California should start as soon as possible."

"These are just the beginning; there are even bigger projects to come. For example, the transcontinental railroad project that starts in San Francisco, crosses the entire United States, and reaches the ports of Baltimore and New York."

During his time in California, Forbes was already excited by the state's ambitious infrastructure projects and wished he could immediately relocate his railroad company there.

In Forbes' eyes, California is a land of inexhaustible gold mines.

Moreover, once he has the backing of Huamei Company and the towering tree of Earl and Governor, what worries would he have?
Azu paused slightly at this point, then continued, "Mr. Forbes, the most urgent task right now is to start the preliminary exploration, design, and planning work for the Panama Canal as soon as possible, do you understand?"

From Edgar Allan Poe and Wu Qingfeng, Forbes had gained some understanding of California's Panama Canal project. But even after the Earl Governor confirmed it himself, Forbes couldn't contain his shock and elation.

For an engineering boss like Forbes, participating in a mega-project that will go down in history is practically a lifelong dream.

What's more, he might even become the main person in charge of a mega-project like the Panama Canal, which made Forbes very excited!
With a slight tremor in his voice, Forbes pressed on, "Your Excellency, are you really planning to develop the Panama Canal?"

Azu nodded with a smile: "Of course! Otherwise, what would be the point of me going through all that trouble to take over the Isthmus of Panama?"

“But…!” Forbes continued, confirming, “Once the Panama Canal is built, it will not only require hundreds of thousands of workers, but also hundreds of millions of dollars…!”

Azu waved his hand: "You don't need to worry about these things. I'll give you two years to complete the exploration and design planning."

"I hope to complete all the preparations and officially begin construction of the Panama Canal before 1855."

Azu said in a deep voice, "Mr. Forbes, although I only have a preliminary understanding of you through the recommendations of Allen and Qingfeng."

"The Panama Canal is crucial to the future development of California and the entire West. I hope you will not let me down!"

"Currently, California is lacking in engineering talent. Even if the Trans-American Railway were to relocate here, there still wouldn't be enough people in this field."

"Therefore, Mr. Forbes, we also need you to recruit more outstanding engineers from the East and from Europe."

"You can discuss with Allen and the others how much money, manpower, materials and engineering equipment are needed, and then report to me for approval."

Azu added, "While exploring and designing the Panama Canal, we must also explore and design the California railroad project, the California cable telegraph project, and the expansion projects of several ports as soon as possible, and so on."

"So, Mr. Forbes, you have a heavy responsibility on your shoulders. I hope to hear the good news that all these projects will start construction this year...!"

These words made Forbes feel immense pressure.

Other engineering companies are worried about not getting any projects and not getting paid.

Forbes, however, was worried about whether it could start construction on so many large projects at the same time.

It seems that the original Trans-American Railway Company was too small and had too few people. If it wanted to undertake so many large-scale engineering projects, it needed to expand its scale and manpower as soon as possible.

"Rest assured, Your Excellency!" John Forbes straightened his back and promised, "I will do my utmost to get these projects on track as soon as possible!"

……

Following this, the Trans-American Railway Company was acquired by the Huamei Company, which moved its headquarters to San Francisco and renamed it Huamei Engineering Company.

Starting in 1852, large-scale infrastructure construction began throughout California.

Railways, ports, inland waterways, water supply and drainage, and road infrastructure projects in YC City, among others. Outside of California, preliminary exploration and planning work for the Panama Canal has also entered the substantive commencement phase.

A large number of outstanding engineers came from the East and even from distant Europe to this land of California and devoted themselves to the vigorous construction.

Following the Spring Festival of 1852, Wu Qingfeng's fleet officially embarked on its voyage to China.

Along the way, Wu Qingfeng's fleet also shouldered the important task of developing a series of supply ports.

From the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific to Hawaii in the central Pacific, and Guam in the western Pacific, these vital supply ports were indispensable for transporting large numbers of Chinese immigrants via high-speed steamships.

……

After the Spring Festival of 1852, Bismarck's Prussian delegation, along with the family of Duke Maximilian Joseph, also passed through the Isthmus of Panama and finally arrived in California, specifically San Francisco.

They were even on the same fast steam merchant ship that Azu had specially arranged to take them directly from Panama Port to San Francisco.

At the Clarke docks, Azu personally led a large group of core members to welcome the Prussian delegation and the Duke Joseph's family.

"Count, I've finally seen you again...!"

Princess Sissi, who had just disembarked, rushed into Azu's broad and warm embrace like a fledgling returning to its nest, carrying her elaborate multi-layered light green European court dress in her small hands.

"Sisi, I'm so happy to see your family again!"

Ah Zu gently embraced Princess Sissi's slender, tall, and graceful figure, and smiled as he spoke.

"Hahaha...!" Duke Maximilian Joseph laughed heartily and gave Azu a tight hug.

“Earl of Gold Mountain, I have kept my promise and brought my whole family to your California!”

"Then when will you keep your promise and take us to hunt a giant whale the size of a small mountain?"

(End of this chapter)