Control

Taking advantage of a crisis was not so easy either. It involved national strategic security, and President Aquileo Parra Gómez did not dare make a rash decision.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Nino. If the security of the Panama region cannot be guaranteed, we will not restart the canal project."

No agreement was reached. Nino left with a frown. He was certain that President Aquileo Parra Gómez had been tempted when they discussed the loan, yet he had still refused to negotiate.

That was right: the interest-free loan of one hundred million francs was not the Frenchmen's bottom line, merely bait they had cast out. Unfortunately, the Colombian Government had refused to take it.

After leaving the presidential palace, Nino boarded a luxurious carriage and instructed the driver, "To the French embassy."

What had just happened told him that, without official intervention, the Colombian Government would not risk everything alongside them.

Ever since tasting the benefits of the Suez Canal, French capital had set its sights on canals. After careful selection, it had ultimately chosen the Panama Canal.

Nino was the executor of the Panama Canal project. He had originally thought that, during an economic crisis, persuading the Colombian Government to restart the Panama Canal would be easy. He had not expected that he could not even obtain authorization.

Now, he had no choice but to seek the Government's aid. Deep down, Nino did not want the French Government involved, because that meant more people would be coming to divide the cake.

The outbreak of the economic crisis was a disaster for many, but for a tiny minority, it was also a feast of capital.

Once one had eaten one's fill at the banquet, one naturally had to digest it. Limited by insufficient resources and the public's protests every other day,