Chapter 254 Transfer Negotiation
Take the Panama Canal for example. Sheffield was not interested in it at first, but he finally made efforts for it. Isn't this a typical example of not being able to restrain his greed? This has nothing to do with what Gail and McHale said, he was just greedy.
However, since we have decided to intervene, we must make 100% effort for it, combine various favorable conditions, and try to make everything go smoothly. The outbreak of the Boer War is a good opportunity, as this war can divert the attention of Wall Street, which has the most economic strength. Similarly, the poor management of the French Canal Company is also a good opportunity.
The only thing that may be a little unfamiliar is that the United States has just entered the imperialist period, and some of the means of supporting freedom fighters may be relatively crude and cannot provide any useful experience for ourselves. We still need to do this ourselves.
To be honest, Sheffield actually has more theoretical knowledge than the politicians of this era. At least he has seen how the complete United States supports freedom fighters.
In the economic field, if a region's economic development is sluggish in the short term and many problems cannot be solved in a short time, this provides economic soil; in the political field, if corruption within the ruling party is serious, it will cause the public to disagree with and not support the ruling party, which provides political incentives for the implementation of democracy and freedom;
Public sentiment is a barometer of society. If social governance fails to keep up, people's livelihood issues are not effectively resolved, and public goods are in short supply, it will cause public dissatisfaction. If public sentiment is serious and it is difficult to form a consensus and cohesion, it will give Western forces an opportunity to exploit public sentiment and use populism to incite public sentiment. This provides a public opinion basis for achieving their goals.
At present, Panama has the economic and political factors to make it no longer on the same page with the Colombian central government. It has the conditions to kill your entire family after democracy.
Originally Sheffield wanted to personally carry out the summer operations. After telling Keane his idea, he was going to return to Texas to command nearby. However, the news from Los Angeles forced Sheffield to postpone his idea. The Panama Canal became a trivial matter in his eyes, and he had to get down to business now.
Five days later, Sheffield was at the door of a private hospital, sitting by the bed with Evelyn, who had just given birth, peeling a fresh mango and handing it to Evelyn's mouth.
“Boss!” Evelin looked at the man with a complicated expression, and there was a hint of apology in her eyes.
"Don't call me boss anymore. Just call me by my name from now on." Sheffield smiled gently and fed the woman in labor himself. Although white people don't have the habit of confinement after childbirth, it always has some influence after giving birth. "It's my fault. I should have stayed in Los Angeles for a while. It's just that I was tied up with other things. After all, China is not Manila. There are more things to do."
“William, I’m sorry for not giving you a boy!” Although Evelin changed her words, she still felt a little guilty. She knew that for a large company, male offspring must be much more important than female offspring.
"This matter is the same to me. If you don't object, you can have another child in the future." Sheffield finally understood why Evelyn was like this. In this era, there is still some preference for boys over girls in the United States. After all, the times are limited. Evelyn feels that giving birth to a girl has disappointed herself?
But not yet. Sheffield was born in a country that values boys over girls. Many people may disagree with this statement. They think that the status of women in the Republic is high enough. Indeed, when entering adulthood, the status of women is not high enough, but begins to surpass that of men. However, this is only one aspect. Gender equality depends on the birth ratio.
The male-female birth ratio in the Republic is absolutely not optimistic, and it can even be said to be regressing. Its world ranking is declining every year, which is in stark contrast to the rapid progress in other indicators. The imbalance between supply and demand has also caused a surge in the issue of bride price.
Therefore, Sheffield would not care too much about the issue of having a girl. If Evelyn cared about this issue, she could continue to have children, as she could afford to raise them.
“In fact, being with me, you’ve already suffered a lot, although you may avoid some troubles in terms of living standards. But you’re definitely not as free as before, and now you’re not married yet, but you already have a child, which may cause some troubles, but it’s okay, I will help you solve some problems.” After Evelin finished eating the mango, Sheffield grabbed the girl’s hand and said, “As long as you don’t have any resentment towards me in your heart, it’ll be fine.”
“How could I hate you? I gave you everything I have.” Evelin said sadly, “I did everything I wanted.”
"No, I forced you to do it. My memory is not that bad. I asked you to cover up my crime. If it were someone else, they would probably be in jail now." Sheffield corrected Evelyn's mistake. Even if he did something bad, he was honest and honest. He admitted all the bad things he did and there was no need to cover up anything. "Thank you for giving birth to a girl for me. This is repaying evil with kindness. I will definitely take care of you as much as possible in the future."
Evelin was moved when she heard these words, and she said weakly, “You are a good person!”
I am a scumbag! Sheffield smiled helplessly. Since there was life in her belly, it seemed that Evelin's IQ had even dropped. How could he be a good person? He even brought a woman with him to Los Angeles this time. This was definitely a scumbag behavior.
"I am the descendant of a slave owner and I have the thinking of a slave owner. Most people don't agree with you being called a good man." Sheffield said self-deprecatingly. He is a typical example of a man whose head is determined by his butt. He will never give up the benefits he has obtained and he can do anything for money. It is really ironic that he is finally evaluated as a good man.
However, Sheffield now has a son and a daughter. Soon, a large number of families will be broken up because of the Panama Canal project, but he is here holding his baby and mistress. This world is so unfair, and the gap between people is greater than that between people and pigs.
"Boss, there's a telegram from Paris. There might be some news." Jesla took the telegram and interrupted the rare warm moment of his boss. He didn't really want to do this, but this was what Sheffield said, so bring it over quickly if there was any news about the canal.
“Are you leaving?” Evelin’s smile, which had just been happy for a while, gradually disappeared. She was of course excited that her man could come to see her, but this happiness came too quickly.
"Where are you going? Am I going to dig the dirt? Who can't do that?" Sheffield asked with a smile, "I contracted the project, so I naturally have a way to find someone to do it myself. I don't have to do it myself. It's okay at other times, but now you just gave birth to a child. If I leave after just one look, am I still a human being? I may not be a good person, but I think I am still a human being."
The old man said in a telegram from Paris that, in principle, the Paris Canal Company was willing to transfer the rights to build the Panama Canal to the United Company. Then the matter would be simple. All we had to do was set a transfer price and find a time to negotiate.
Based on the bargaining chips in the hands of both parties, Sheffield made a judgment that the French Canal Company was not doing well and this matter was in a buyer's market environment. Although his side could be called urgent, the French side was in a bigger predicament than his side, so this matter was decided to be negotiated within the United States.
After hearing Jesla's reply, Sheffield continued to stay in the hospital, and a few days later, he accompanied Evelyn, who was unwilling to stay in the hospital, out of the hospital. He maneuvered between the two women, waiting for the arrival of the French Canal Company's negotiation team.
During this time, the war between Britain and the Boers was in full swing. Two months after the war began, the British Empire had lost its prestige as the world hegemon. The 4,000 British troops in Ladysmith, under the command of Lieutenant General George White, launched a counterattack against the Boer army. They encountered the main force of the Boer army commanded by Joubert in Nicholson Gorge. The British army was defeated with the loss of 1,300 people. The remaining troops retreated to Ladysmith and were immediately surrounded.
In the subsequent battle, due to the Boer army's concealment of the artillery positions in advance and the British commander's command errors, which led to the dispersion of troops and rigid tactics, the British army suffered a heavy defeat in this battle, with another 1,100 killed, 250 missing, and ten cannons lost. The Boer army only had eight killed and thirty wounded.
At the same time, the British army also suffered defeats at Kimberley on the western front and Stromberg on the central front. Thus, in the first stage of the war, the world hegemon, the British Empire, made a great loss amid the eager gloating of the whole world. It was very similar to the style of Spain, the world hegemon earlier, in the Spanish-American War last year.
In the first phase of the war, the British army suffered heavy losses, which forged the Boers' reputation for warlikeness and also attracted the attention of New York financiers across the Atlantic. The British army's humiliating moment was a gratifying thing for other countries with whom they had grudges, but for bankers including Morgan, it was another opportunity to have their cake and eat it too. Morgan and his son used their connections in London to inquire about every detail of the battle between the British and the Boers, looking for opportunities to make a living.
Compared to the Boer War that attracted the world's attention, Sheffield's negotiations with the French Canal Company seemed much quieter. However, in the eyes of all parties involved at this time, this matter was equally important.
Morgan could make his own fortune from the war, while Sheffield was using the Boer War to cover up his own plans. The two parallel lines did not interfere with each other. The negotiations began in New Orleans. The reason for choosing this place was that New Orleans was originally an important city in French New France. Choosing this place could make the French feel more comfortable.
(End of this chapter)
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