Chapter 260: A Conversation Between the Strong and the Weak
As the crowd gathered, Arango and his son continued to give impromptu speeches. "For a long time, Bogota has ignored us and just sucked the blood from us Panama. Without Bogota's control, Panama will live a better life. We have such a great geographical location and a small population. As long as the Panama Canal can be opened, all Panamanians will live a happy life."
The servants of the major plantations and farms hid in the crowd, distributing leaflets and shouting slogans, setting the pace and forming public opinion. The police in Panama City tried to stop them, but the crowd was so large that it was no longer something the police could handle.
Not far away, citizens of the United States in Panama relayed the latest news to their home country via radio. It looked like a regular grassroots movement, at least on the surface. The vast majority of people participating in the march were also at a loss, and followed the crowd in a daze.
It wasn't long before the entire Panama City Council was surrounded. Hearing the noise outside, the council members couldn't help but become furious. They were also confused as to how ordinary people could be instigated so easily and how they could be surrounded so easily.
Should they continue to be loyal to Bogota, or should they be wise and recognize the so-called independence of Panama? At this time, there was also a short and fierce debate, all because some congressmen were still unclear about the attitude of the military.
In the Panama City Council, the councillors expressed their opinions in a chaotic manner, but could not come up with any specific solutions. As time passed, they finally received a message from Arango and his son, saying that the commander of the Colombian garrison in Panama also supported Panama's independence.
The military's statement became an important basis for the Panama City Council to make a judgment. If the armed forces are already on the other side, what else can be said? The Panama City Council can easily make a judgment and recognize the legal rights of patriots.
The news of the incident in Panama reached Washington very quickly, even earlier than it reached Bogota, the capital of Colombia. In fact, Washington was also unprepared and somewhat at a loss about what happened in Panama, but someone immediately realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No matter what the reason for the incident was, it was an excellent opportunity to intervene.
"Recognize Panama's independence immediately!" The federal government quickly reached a consensus on this matter, informing private newspapers of the news of Panama's independence and asking the ambassador to Colombia to inform them of the United States' attitude.
Compared to the chaos on all sides, John Connor, sitting on the battleship, was still very relaxed. He knew everything about the Panama Canal from beginning to end, and did not think there was any danger in his trip this time.
First of all, the world's hegemon, the British Empire, was fighting the Boers in southern Africa and was also condemned by other powerful countries, while the United States of America was neutral in this matter. Now the British Empire urgently needs the support of the United States of America, not the other way around.
The world hegemon is busy, so what about France, which is second only to the British in the eyes of the world? The transfer of the right to build the Panama Canal was bought from the French. It can be said that the Americans and the French did this together. The French will not slap themselves in the face at this time, so Britain and France are very busy now.
No country had time to manage Colombia's affairs, and everyone was concerned about the Boer War that was in full swing, so this was a good opportunity.
"John, we are expected to arrive in Panama in one day!" Berzin walked into the cabin and smiled at John Connor, who was relaxed. "You don't seem nervous at all."
"There's nothing to be nervous about. When the Spanish-American War broke out, the situation was even worse than it is now. We even had to join the war. Colombia is at least much weaker than Spain." John Connor shrugged. "I guess we can just circle the waters of Panama as saviors to build up our momentum, then stay for a few days and wait for the federal fleet to come and return."
John Connor's estimate based on experience was correct. At this time, an armored ship belonging to the US Navy had set out, with the same purpose of preventing the Colombian government from taking any rash actions and practicing gunboat diplomacy. This decision was strongly supported by New York Governor Roosevelt, who believed that Colombia could be deterred.
At this time, the Colombians, who were slow to react, finally realized the threat. Their slowness was comparable to that of the Mexicans after Texas gained independence, who realized that the country not far from them was not a buffalo, but a man-eating tiger that was still very hungry.
A Colombian force led by two officers received an order to rush to Panama. No one knew whether they could make up for their losses, and all parties were waiting for news.
At the same time at sea, a team consisting of two gunboats was also rushing to Panama from the sea. Bogota now only hoped that everything was still in time, but for John Connor who was already approaching the Panamanian waters, everything was too late.
By coincidence, John Connor discovered the two Columbia gunboats, and they also discovered the two huge ships with unknown intentions. But when he ordered to be on guard, another Columbia gunboat came forward. It was not that the other party also had the same good telescope, but that the other party was in a deeper position and closer to the fleet that was rushing over at this time.
After hearing this news, John Connor was basically sure that the other party's intentions were not friendly. The patrol boat followed the flag signal and left. Then the information conveyed by the armed sea exploration with the flag made John Connor laugh uncontrollably, "Is this the waters of Columbia? Unrelated warships, please leave our territorial waters immediately?"
"Just these two small gunboats?" It seems that the boss's judgment is correct. Most countries in this world are really unaware of the changes in the world. They are so stupid that it is unbearable to watch.
In fact, it only takes a few minutes for the two warships to switch from normal sailing to combat. This time, they were on a mission and knew there was a possibility of opening fire. Not only had the personnel already entered the gun positions, but even the shells and small stoves were ready, so they could open fire in one minute.
However, John Connor maintained basic restraint. Given the tonnage difference between the two sides, although the two warships of the United Company were no longer very powerful war machines in the eyes of the naval powers, they were not enough to make him so nervous compared to the two ships in front of him that could not even hit his knees when they jumped.
Knowing that the other fleet came to intimidate and expel him, John Connor was angry and amused. When the danger had been reduced to this level, he was embarrassed to take direct action, for fear that it would be spread and people would think that he was bullying. In a friendly manner, John Connor asked his subordinates to signal with flags, asking the two gunboats to get out quickly and not do anything stupid.
But it had no effect. The two Colombian gunboats did not retreat, which made John Connor feel a little unhappy. It seemed that the descendants of the Spaniards all had a bit of Don Quixote's spirit?
"Then I'll see if you're really not afraid of death!" John Connor ordered loudly, "Turn the turret and give them a head start. If they happen to be hit, it'll be bad luck for them."
He had exercised the utmost restraint, but the two Columbia gunboats refused to back down, so he had to let the big guns do the talking. At this point, John Connor believed that even if his boss was present, he would not blame him for anything.
"Prepare for main gun salvo!" As the decision-maker of this battleship, John Connor could give the main gun firing order at any time, but he knew very well that at this distance, if he could not injure it quickly, it would only scare the opponent away. Once the fish swam back, their goal would be impossible to achieve.
As the order to fire was given, the main guns of the two warships began to turn. If they were facing any decent navy, with the current unprofessionalism of John Connor's men, they would probably be hit head-on at this time, creating a famous example of defeating the larger force with the smaller one. However, Columbia happened to be not within this range.
Several irregularly shaped fireballs appeared on the dark sea, and the previous silence was suddenly broken by the angry thunder. The whistling sound of the whistle came from far away, like a fast-approaching train, or like someone blowing a shrill whistle in the dark. A burst of explosions so dense that it was almost difficult to distinguish the front and the back surrounded the two Columbia gunboats.
Like the huge waves caused by the strong wind, the two gunboats, which were obviously not big enough in tonnage, were swaying wildly. The sailors on them were thrown into the air and then fell heavily, flapping their arms and legs like fish being thrown into the air.
"These people are bastards!" The officer on the Columbia gunboat cursed angrily. Is there such a shameless navy in the world? Unfortunately, he didn't know that he was facing a warship of a private company. Even for a real navy, shameless examples of naval warfare can be found everywhere. Winning is called a surprise attack, and losing is called shamelessness.
Assholes are assholes, but the bombardment finally made the Colombian sailors realize that now is not the time to express patriotic feelings. Strong protests and solemn negotiations are the job of diplomats. I shouldn't steal the show. Congratulations to them. Their intelligence has taken the high ground again.
The two Columbia gunboats, emitting black smoke, quickly positioned themselves amid the bombardment and fled from John Connor's sight at full speed. Before the smoke had cleared, they had disappeared without a trace.
"If you had done this earlier, you wouldn't have wasted the ammunition." John Connor sneered, "I thought you were so brave and fearless. Tell the other staff that we may have to stay near Panama for a few days. Everyone, be prepared."
(End of this chapter)
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