American: Native Empire

Chapter 175: The Canal (2)

Vroom!

A state-of-the-art car sped along the well-paved road, gliding smoothly.

On his way to the imperial palace, Ahmad’s head was filled with complicated thoughts.

He was the ambassador of Egypt, residing in the empire.

Just yesterday, he had received a request from the imperial foreign ministry to meet with them. 

And Ahmad had a hunch.

‘They finally have something to ask of me…’

It meant that it was time to repay the favor he had received in the past.

When Iceland gained its independence from Denmark, many other countries also became independent.

One of them was Egypt.

Egypt’s Mamluk dynasty had been conquered by the Ottomans, and Egypt had become a vassal state of the Ottomans until it recently gained its independence.

This was entirely thanks to the Wakan Tanka Empire. 

Ahmad knew that a lot of price had been paid to the Ottomans in this process.

‘There is no such thing as a free favor.’

Especially in the ruthless world of international politics.

‘Just look at Iceland.’

Iceland, which had become independent from Denmark, was undergoing tremendous changes.

Because it was more suitable for geothermal power generation than any other place, the empire had poured in enormous support.

As a result, geothermal power plants were built quickly and aluminum was produced. 

The supply of aluminum was not very large yet, as the construction was still underway, but it was only a matter of time.

Thanks to this, the empire could get aluminum at a cheap price. 

It was a public fact that the king of Denmark was very bitter about this.

In other words, even the independence of the colonized countries, which seemed like a favor, was actually a move for their own benefit.

That’s why Ahmad sensed that it was time for Egypt to pay its price as well, just like Iceland.

“Thank you for accepting our meeting.”

“Haha. How could I refuse the request of the imperial foreign ministry? Don’t worry about it.”

“Is that so?”

The foreign minister smiled faintly. 

In fact, it was just a courtesy. 

He never thought that a mere ambassador would dare to refuse the request of the foreign ministry.

Especially Egypt, which had become independent with the help of the empire.

The two sides exchanged some simple conversation while drinking their beverages.

After a while.

The foreign minister brought up the main topic.

“I invited you here because I have a proposal for you.”

Gulp.

Ahmad swallowed his saliva involuntarily at those words. 

He had a feeling that Egypt’s future would be decided by the proposal that would come out now.

“A proposal… If it’s from the empire, I guess I have to listen to it.”

“Haha. Don’t worry too much. This proposal is not a loss for Egypt, I assure you.”

“That’s reassuring to hear.”

He said that, but Ahmad was not relaxed at all. 

The foreign minister knew this, so he quickly continued.

“Let’s talk while looking at the map.”

The foreign minister nodded his head and gave a signal, and a map was spread out on the desk.

“This is a map of our country and its surroundings.”

“Yes, it is.”

Egypt’s territory was in the northeast of Africa and a very small part of the Sinai Peninsula.

Of course, most of the population lived around the Nile River. 

Nearly 95 percent of the area was desert.

“The reason why the foreign ministry invited you, ambassador, is because of this place.”

“Here…”

Ahmad stared at the area that the foreign minister pointed out and trailed off. 

At the same time, his confusion grew more.

‘Why does the empire want the Suez region?’

The empire did not want land in faraway places. 

That’s why the member countries of the World Union trusted and followed the empire.

The foreign minister looked at Ahmad gently, who was tilting his head, and continued his explanation.

“Isn’t it a pity? If only this area could be connected, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea would be linked.”

“Hmm… It can’t be helped. It may look short on the map, but it’s actually quite a long distance.”

The foreign minister nodded his head. 

According to his research, it was about 200km long, so it was not a short distance as he said.

“Well, I don’t think so. Where else is there such a short distance between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea?”

“Could it be…”

As the conversation went on, Ahmad guessed some of the empire’s intentions. 

As a result, his eyes trembled.

“You’re probably thinking right. Let me formally propose it. How about digging a canal in this area, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea?”

“…Are you serious?”

“Of course. Think about it. How inefficient is the current route? If we can dig a canal in this area, Suez, a huge distance will be shortened.”

It was an obvious statement. 

In fact, there had been several attempts to dig a canal here in the past, so Ahmad agreed with him.

To go from Europe to India and Asia, one had to go around Cape of Good Hope in Africa.

For example, it was estimated that the route from Netherlands to Singapore would be reduced from 19,000km to 13,000km. A whopping 6,000km would be reduced. 

It was a third of the original distance.

“You’re right. But can we really dig such a long and wide canal? I can’t believe it easily.”

“It’s possible.”

The foreign minister asserted. 

He said they could do it.

“You must have seen the empire’s technology with your own eyes. Now there are countless heavy equipment used in the empire’s construction sites. These heavy equipment can do hard work in an instant. And the empire is willing to fully support heavy equipment and related technologies, as well as a huge amount of money.”

“Hmm…”

“Don’t think too hard. The shipping industry is very important for the empire. If Suez Canal is opened, it will be a huge benefit for the empire. And at the same time, your country, Egypt Republic, will also make a lot of money.”

That made Ahmad excited.

“Can you tell me more?”

“Of course.”

The foreign minister continued his words. And as time passed, Ahmad’s face became brighter.

‘This is a big advantage for us.’

If Suez Canal was opened, they could naturally charge tolls for using it.

Ahmad looked back at the current situation. 

Now many member countries of the World Union were trying hard to achieve modernization.

As a result, the volume of water increased day by day.

That meant that many ships would pass through Suez Canal.

‘Even if we have to make a lot of concessions to the empire…’

The foreign minister demanded a lot of shares, but that was only natural. 

No, it was rather too generous.

The empire was responsible for most of the heavy equipment and technology, and even supported almost all of the costs involved in the construction.

“This is not something I can decide on my own.”

“I understand. I will give you plenty of time to decide, so please give me your answer after careful consideration.”

“I will do that.”

After the discussion came to a pause,

Ahmad sent an urgent report to the Egyptian Republic.

“As expected…”

And the decision was made quickly. 

They agreed to accept the empire’s terms.

It was not a loss for the Egyptian Republic at all. 

It was only natural, since they owed a huge favor to the empire.josei

***

Of course, at the same time, Panama. 

That is, the construction of the Canal of Consent was also decided.

The Canal of Consent was less than half the distance of the Suez Canal. 

It was only about 82km long.

However, the actual difficulty was higher than the Suez Canal. It was inevitable due to the terrain.

But currently, the potential of the Canal of Consent was much greater than the Suez Canal.

Even if all the water traffic in the world was added up, the empire’s water traffic was more. 

But it was too far to go from the east sea to the west sea by ship in the empire.

The distance from New York to San Francisco was a whopping 22,500km, because they had to go around the southernmost tip of South America.

In this situation, if the Canal of Consent was opened, the distance would be reduced by more than half to about 9,500km. 

It was a situation where they would definitely benefit from opening the canal.

The empire had the technology to solve this problem, and there was nothing to hesitate since Panama was part of the empire’s territory.

The leaders of various countries around the world showed great interest in this news.

“Huh, do you think they will successfully complete the construction of both canals?”

“…If it’s the empire’s power, wouldn’t it be possible? More than anything, I heard that even the emperor’s will has fallen on this matter. That means there is a very high possibility, right?”

“Hmm. If the emperor can do it, he can do it. It’s amazing. If both canals are opened, the sailing time will be significantly shortened.”

In this way, under much attention, the construction of both canals began.

“Hahaha!”

The leaders of the Egyptian Republic could not contain their laughter that flowed out.

As soon as the construction of the Suez Canal began, Egypt’s economy became incredibly active.

The empire hired most of the laborers from Egypt, except for experts. 

There was no reason for them to come all the way to distant Egypt and do physical labor in the first place.

Of course, compared to the empire, local laborers were very cheap, but thanks to their wages, money began to circulate in Egypt.

Thanks to this, Egypt had started modernization late, but gained momentum in its speed.

In this situation, if they could successfully open up Suez Canal as well, it was obvious that they would grow even more.

On the other hand, construction in Panama was considerably delayed compared to Egypt.

This area was already one of the major cities in the empire. 

Building a canal here meant destroying a large part of it.

“This is where my family has lived for a long time! How can you be so cruel and kick us out!”

“Hey, stop it. Don’t we give you enough compensation? You’re not thinking of going against his majesty’s decree, are you?”

“…Ugh!”

Since opening up Panama Canal was his majesty’s decree, things related to residents were resolved relatively smoothly. 

But it took time to plan and execute how to reorganize this city.

Despite these twists and turns, construction in Panama proceeded normally.

It was a historic event where two major canals in the world were built.