Wild North America 1846

Chapter 602 A temporary idea?

Author: Portuguese toothless

Chapter 602 A temporary idea?

His Majesty the Emperor arrived in Central Plains Province (formerly Nicaragua) by royal train. It took more than two months for inspections and stops along the way.

The straight-line distance from Chang'an, the imperial capital on the west coast, to Lake Nicaragua in Central America is more than 5,000 kilometers, and the railway mileage is 6,763 kilometers. It was not until the first half of last year that the entire line was completed.

This railway is called the Pacific Intercontinental Railway and is the longest railway line in the world.

After passing through the Central Plains Province, the Pacific Intercontinental Railway continued southward through Costa Rica to its terminal in Panama City, running through most of the Pacific provinces of the Tang Empire from south to north.

The other end goes all the way north from Chang'an, the imperial capital, to Seattle via Portland. The northernmost terminal is in Vancouver, which has now become a medium-sized and prosperous city with a population of more than 300,000.

The entire Pacific Intercontinental Railway is 8,988 kilometers long, which is the longest railway line in human history so far. It reflects the brilliant achievements of the Tang Empire's economic construction from one aspect.

During this trip, Emperor Richard inspected many provinces in the central and southern parts of the empire, and it took more than two months to arrive at the Nicaragua Canal construction site in Central Plains Province.

What seems like a routine emperor's inspection actually contains profound meaning.

Huwan City

Lake Bay City is located on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, only 23.6 kilometers away from the double-line three-level ship lock. It was originally a place filled with many temples and monuments full of Astec style. It prospered with the construction of the canal project and developed into a prosperous city.

Emerging cities.

Lake Bay City is only a few kilometers away from the canal and is located on the shores of the vast Lake Nicaragua. From here, you can overlook Ometepe Island, the largest island in the lake.

Two tall volcanic cones stand majestically on the island, the tall one reaching 1,610 meters, like the mythical Optimus Pillars, and the scenery is magnificent.

The royal palace is located on the gentle hills more than 170 meters high on the shore of the lake. It is a newly built Aztec temple-style building with an ancient vicissitudes of life, solemn and grand.

Under the eaves of the tall temple

Emperor Richard, who had put on a refreshing moon-white robe, strolled over. Two old men with white hair had already been waiting here to greet him. Upon seeing His Majesty's arrival, he immediately stood up and saluted, saying respectfully: "I respectfully welcome Your Majesty, Your Majesty.

install."

"No courtesy, please sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat."

Of these two old men, one is the first and second prime ministers of the empire, First Class An Guo Gong Gu Yan, whose nickname is "Qing'an" and is currently the speaker of the House of Nobles.

Another old man is the 3rd and 4th prime minister of the empire, the first-class Duke Liu Xianjun, whose nickname is "Daogong". He is currently the deputy speaker of the House of Nobles, the chairman of the Tang Empire Government Development Fund, and the leader of the financial group of the House of Nobles.

He was a big shot in imperial politics.

According to the governing rules set by His Majesty the Emperor, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet can serve two consecutive terms, each term of five years, for a total of 10 years.

You can also run for office separately and serve as prime minister for two non-consecutive terms for a total of 10 years. You cannot continue to run for re-election for a third term.

This rule is different from that in the UK, which has no restrictions on the sectors in which the prime minister can be elected. The winning party leader can serve as prime minister for three or four terms, but a short-lived prime minister only governs for dozens of days or months.

On the contrary, it is similar to the United States of America, but the presidential term of the United States of America is four years. This is the biggest difference.

Today's Imperial House of Nobles plays more of a role as a Senate that participates in and discusses political affairs. It also plays a role in checking and balancing the power of the House of Commons, and is the cornerstone of balance in imperial politics.

After Emperor Richard sat down, the two bosses Gu Yan and Liu Xianjun sat down across from the round table. They were both sitting on the bench with their buttocks half bent, their upper bodies straight and respectful, and they did not dare to be sloppy in etiquette.

After the palace attendants served tea, they quietly withdrew.

Zheng Yuan, Director of the Royal Secretariat, and Yao Guangyi, Minister of Colonial Affairs, stood by the side. There was no place for them in such a high-end forum, so they could only stand on the side and wait.

Emperor Richard picked up the jade cup and drank two sips of tea first, looking at the beautiful lakes and mountains in the distance, and then said leisurely: "I feel relieved when I see that the canal project is progressing smoothly today. Implementing this expensive project

This huge century-old project has almost reached the limit of the empire, it’s really not easy!”

"Your Majesty, Qing'an believes that this project will be beneficial for a hundred years, especially to closely connect the cities and major provinces on the west coast of the empire, where the economy is prosperous, with Europe through canals. This is of great significance, and this bet is

By the way, it will definitely greatly enhance the economic development potential of the empire." Gu Yan said first, he looked at Liu Xianjun sitting next to him and said excitedly;

"Master Dao, the preliminary preparations and official start of this project are all matters within your tenure. If you want to go deeper than you understand, you must not show cowardice in front of His Majesty, right?"

"Since Mr. Qing'an has chosen me, it is my duty to do so." Liu Xianjun smiled cheerfully, cupped his hands and said;

"This cabinet has indeed repeatedly discussed this century project, especially the choice of two locations, Nicaragua and Panama. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and Mr. Dao knows this very well.

The advantage of the Isthmus of Panama is that the project volume is small, the narrowest part is only more than 60 kilometers, and the terrain is flat and easy to construct.

The disadvantage is that the river runoff required to maintain the river water level is small, the river channel is shallow and narrow, and almost all of it must be excavated.

Moreover, the geology of the double-line three-level sluice is not good and there are great engineering risks.

The advantage is that the investment is small and the results are quick.

Looking back at the Nicaragua Canal plan, the double-line three-level locks can be built on a solid granite foundation. Although the blasting work is larger, it can be worry-free for hundreds of years.

Once the project is completed, the traffic capacity will be several times that of the Panama plan, and it will be able to carry giant ships of hundreds of thousands of tons, and will not lag behind for 100 years or even longer.

The Nicaragua Canal is closer to the core of the empire and can greatly shorten the voyage between the east and west coasts, which is more beneficial in the long run.

After the completion of the canal, the voyage distance between the east and west sides of the empire will be shortened by at least 12,600 kilometers, and the voyage distance from Asia to Europe will be reduced by 7,800 kilometers.

This will play an irreplaceable and important role in connecting bulk logistics and transportation between the east and west coasts of the empire, opening a smooth channel to Europe for cities on the west coast, and prospering the empire's economy.

Of course, there are also disadvantages, that is, the investment is relatively large, and the burden on the empire's finances is quite heavy!

Without the investment from the Royal Fund, it would be very difficult to promote the implementation of such a huge project."

Emperor Richard nodded in agreement and said;

"As long as it is a project that is beneficial to the empire's century-old plan, we must grit our teeth and implement it to the end, instead of just focusing on immediate interests and being short-sighted.

For this century project, we must continue to strengthen supervision, ensure the supply of project funds and materials, strive for high-quality completion on schedule, and lay a solid foundation for the imperial economic development and the two-ocean military strategy.

This Lake Nicaragua can be built as a base camp for the Royal Navy. It connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and connects the empire's mainland and the Andes Governor's Palace in South America to the north and south.

Just like a person's belly button, the location advantage is extremely superior.

Similarly, I have asked the Imperial Royal Army to move its strategic focus southward and establish large-scale military bases with the Central Plains and Panama Provinces as the core to prepare for the imperial power to radiate southward.

You have also seen what happened this year. The economic situation is not as good as before.

European countries have imposed high tariff barriers one after another, and the empire's exporters have suffered serious setbacks, which has dragged down the overall domestic economic downturn. Many factories have closed down and drastically laid off workers.

This includes France's bucking the trend, as well as hidden dangers buried under the rapid economic growth of the past few years, all of which have suddenly emerged.

Looking forward to the second half of the second quarter, the situation is not optimistic!”

When His Majesty mentioned this rather serious issue, Gu Yan and Liu Xianjun looked at each other and were silent for a while.

Liu Xianjun hurriedly stood up, clasped his fists and saluted, "Your Majesty has a saintly benevolence, and I can only sincerely admire him. I am grateful for the emperor's great kindness and cares about the suffering of all people. It is really difficult for us to do that."

Wei Chen secretly thought

The moon waxes and wanes, the tide rises and falls, and so does the country's economic development. This is normal in the world.

I beg your Majesty not to work too much and hinder the holy bow, otherwise we and other ministers will not be able to atone for their sins even if they die hundreds of times."

"I second my opinion, Your Majesty, please take care of your dragon body." Gu Yan also stood up and clasped his fists.

Richard smiled with relief, waved and said, "Don't stand up and salute all the time, sit down and talk.

It is said that husband and wife are like birds in the same forest, they fly separately when disaster strikes.

Isn’t this the case with the relationship between countries?

During the international economic downturn, European countries that originally had harmonious relations changed their faces one after another, rushing to raise tariffs and build high trade barriers.

this situation

Even though our Tang Dynasty empire has three heads and six arms, it can only do nothing?

Now it seems that it is better to rely on yourself than to rely on others.

The empire is based on the Americas, and turning the Americas into a weatherproof back garden is the main policy goal in the next ten or twenty years.

Only in this way can a stable Tang-Yuan trade circle be built.

Coupled with the empire's sphere of influence in East Asia and the west coast of the Pacific, it will have a strong ability to withstand risks.

The empire is bound to capture the large market of 50 million people in South America and will not allow any South American country to be outside the Andean Customs Union."

The words were sonorous and powerful at the end, and the strong murderous intention was revealed spontaneously. The emperor's eyes flashed coldly, which made the two veterans in front of him immediately understand something.

Your Majesty is going to take action against South American countries?

But...which unlucky guy is it?

hesitated for a moment

Gu Yan still had the courage to ask and said;

“Start your majesty;

Please forgive me for my ignorance and incompetence, and my inability to understand the holy will. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.

The Holy Emperor has always been committed to developing the domestic economy, enhancing the foundation of the empire, exchanging time for space, digesting the early colonial achievements, and transforming them into practical imperial power.

Several submissions from the Army Department were rejected. The most recent one was probably in September last year, which was just over half a year ago.

Could it be...

Your Majesty is not referring to Cuba, but to another country?

This old minister is stupid, please give me a clear explanation from your majesty!"

Liu Xianjun, who was standing next to him, was also a little confused. He didn't say anything beforehand. Could it be that the Holy One had made it at last?

(End of chapter)