Chapter 1801: Canal Suspicions

Richard's expression changed; he knew of the Panama Isthmus.

Back then, the French drove the Spanish to the continent south of the Panama Isthmus.

It was used as the geographical dividing line of the Panama Isthmus.

The purpose was to weaken the power of Spain at the time; South America was not ownerless land back then, as Portugal had long since built a massive colonial Empire there.

Portugal and Spain are bitter enemies.

Placing these two enemies in the same colonial area was meant to make them check each other and weaken one another's power.

However, the geographical location of the Panama Isthmus is very important.

It is the place where the distance between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean is the shortest; if there were a river that could connect the two oceans, it would greatly shorten the voyage.

For long-distance shipping, it would be of great help.

Could the Longyan have built a Canal there?

Such a thought flashed through Richard's mind, but he immediately abandoned this impractical idea; the number of people who have wanted to build a Canal there to connect the two oceans is countless.

France also had such an idea, but without exception, they all ended in failure.

First of all, the most difficult thing to solve is the geographical problem of the Panama Isthmus.

Even at its lowest point, the Panama Isthmus is nearly twenty meters above sea level.

Not to mention the intricate mountain ranges on the Panama Isthmus.

To introduce seawater into a trench, one must create a drop in elevation so that the seawater can be channeled into a river.

However, digging away twenty meters of soil might not be too difficult.

But if it were replaced by hard mountain rock, this would be an almost impossible task to complete.

Even if one were to use explosives to continuously mine it, it would consume an astronomical amount of money and manpower.

"No, no, no, I admit the Longyan have the ability to do many things, but they absolutely do not have the ability to do this."

"It is impossible for them to mine a Canal through the Panama Isthmus that could connect the two oceans."

"There is no country in the world that could accomplish this."

Luen watched Richard's blunt refusal, smiled, stood up, put on his hat, bowed slightly, and said again: "Lord Richard, this is precious intelligence obtained by our Spain."

"Believe it or not, it is up to you."

Having said this, Luen took his leave and departed.

Only Richard remained in the room, his fingers tapping the tabletop with great rhythm.

Although Richard had just denied what Luen said, now that he thought about it, he felt something was not quite right.

There was no reason for the Spanish to tell him false news.

And in this manner, no less.

If by any chance the Longyan really could build such a Canal on the Panama Isthmus, then their strength would develop rapidly in America.

This is certainly not something their France wishes to see.

Richard's fingers stopped in mid-air, and the sound echoing in the room fell into silence.

"Whether it is true or false, one must be on guard."

"After all, no one knows exactly what level the Longyan's technology has developed to now."

Richard muttered to himself and immediately summoned the Minister of the Information Department, Karl Qi, to come in.

"Karl Qi, I need you to verify a piece of information..."

At this time, in America.

The British Colonial District.

Kelinxi was feeling melancholy about the current economy in America.

The economy of the British Colonial District government had already reached the point of being stretched thin.

They had to restore trade as soon as possible, but the Britain of today was also mired in the quagmire of war.

After these successive battles, their British Colonial District had not gained much benefit; on the contrary, the losses were even more severe.

Although Britain had now confirmed cooperation with the Longyan, this could only solve the urgent needs of the moment.

In the long future ahead, the British Colonial District would bear heavy debts.

"Lord Kelinxi, our British homeland has established a new trade system, the Gold Standard system."

"In the past, we used grain as the basic currency unit, but if we follow the homeland and use the Gold Standard system to carry out economic reform, we will obtain more money."

Kelinxi thought carefully for a moment; the root cause of Britain's economic decline in America was that grain had devalued, and they had not built many textile Factorys or other emerging industries.

Instead, they had established an economic system of large plantations.

During wartime, such an economic system was bound to be severely impacted, with Factorys lacking raw materials while the places of production were piled high with materials that could not be sold.

This would lead to the collapse of an economic system that originally used grain as the basis for currency value.

If it were changed to the Gold Standard.

It would mean how much gold a piece of money contains.

The price of gold is expensive and stable.

The British Colonial District possesses a large amount of gold; switching to the Gold Standard could indeed solve the current economic problems.

"What you say makes sense, but this matter will affect the interests of most people; we need to formulate a detailed plan."

"Rest assured, Lord Kelinxi, I have already thought of a Method; we will reform to the Gold Standard and then build Factorys."

"Realizing an ecological closed loop of upstream and downstream production and innovating the economy will allow us to become wealthy again."

Kelinxi nodded; this plan was very much to his liking.

"Good, you may go ahead and do it..."

……

Meanwhile, in Europe.

Britain.

Because the development of the Dreadnought-class Battleship had consumed too much of Britain's energy and time.

It had even encountered opposition from many British Nobles.

But George III would prove to them that it was all worth it.

"Your Majesty, today even the dark clouds are yielding for you; the sun's radiance is already shining upon the harbor, and our naval soldiers are awaiting their sovereign's arrival."

George III considered himself a humble man and did not like such flattery, but today was different.

A smile appeared on his face.

Today was indeed a good day.

George III had originally pushed aside all dissenting opinions for the sake of researching the Dreadnought-class Battleship and building an unrivaled maritime force.

Today was the time for the successful inspection, which made George III extremely excited.

To him, this all seemed very important.

After the maid finished changing his clothes, George III held the Scepter that symbolized power in his hand and wore a crown crafted from gold on his head.

"How is my appearance today?"

Seeing George III looking so full of vigor, the crowd did not stint on their praise.

"Your Majesty, you are more imposing today than ever before."

"Radiant, just like the midday sun; the only difference is that the sun will set, but you will not."

Hearing these words, George III laughed heartily: "Let's go, let's head to the harbor to see the gift our great scholars have presented to us."

The crowd followed behind George III, walking with him.

Today is the day of the Dreadnought-class Battleship's debut, and it is worth celebrating.