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Text Chapter 853 A hard slap in the face

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    At nine o'clock in the morning on July 18, 1909, in Cologne, Panama City, representatives from the United States and envoys from various countries to the United States had already gathered here at the venue for the navigation ceremony that had been prepared for the Panama Shipyard.  On the sea outside the mouth of the canal, two huge battleships that looked like hills were quietly moored there, escorted by several light cruisers and destroyers!

    "Is that the American's New York-class battleship? It's really big! Those thick barrels can almost squeeze people into it!" An ambassador from a small European country looked at the US Navy's New York  , battleship USS Texas, battleship USS Texas sighed, eyes full of envy.  Battleships are the crystallization of industry in this era and represent the industrial level of this country. Only industrially powerful countries can build battleships. Some small countries simply do not have this ability and do not have that much money to build battleships!

    "The Americans' New York-class battleships are very powerful, but the most powerful battleships in the world are the Chinese's Han-class battleships. The Chinese's Han-class battleships were put into service a few years ago.  Yes." Some people also put forward different opinions!

    "I don't think so! The Chinese' Han-class battleship only has nine 343mm main guns, while the American's New York-class battleship has 10 343mm main guns!" Judging from the number of main guns alone  , the 'Han-class battleship that uses triple-mounted 343mm main guns does have one less gun than the 'New York-class battleship that uses 5 twin-mounted 343mm main guns.  However, the rate of fire of the Han-class battleship is more than 50% higher than that of the New York-class battleship. Therefore, the firepower of the Han-class battleship is almost 1.5 times that of the New York-class battleship!

    "However, this time the Chinese reaction is a bit strange! The Americans are blatantly sending battleships to the west coast. Doesn't this mean they are tearing up the treaty signed between China and the United States? Are the Chinese really ready to compromise?" Some people wondered.  said.  Countries around the world are waiting for China's response, but China has not expressed anything at all. This really makes countries around the world very puzzled!

    "Although the Chinese are powerful, the United States is not bad either! Especially in recent years, the Americans have built more than 20 new battleships. In terms of quantity, they are no less than the Chinese. The Chinese may not have it either.  I am sure of winning, so I don¡¯t care about it!¡± someone analyzed.  Since China has not responded so far, many countries believe that China is unwilling to have a stalemate with the United States at this time, so they have chosen to ignore the Americans' behavior.

    Zhang Yintang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, stood in the crowd with a smile on his face, as if the discussions around him had nothing to do with him.  He had also applied domestically before, hoping to lodge a protest with the United States in the name of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  However, he was told that the country had prepared countermeasures against the Americans, which reassured him a lot.  Although he didn't know how the country would deal with the Americans, he knew that with His Majesty's character, the Americans would definitely pay a heavy price!  Therefore, this time when he participated in the opening ceremony of the Panama Canal, he came with the mentality of watching a good show. The more happily these Americans danced, the harder they fell when the time came!

    At nine-thirty in the morning, U.S. President William Howard Taft, accompanied by a group of cabinet members, appeared on the prepared rostrum.  Today, President Taft's face is red and his expression is particularly exciting.  So far, China has not made any response, which makes the US government take it for granted that China has compromised.

    Therefore, President Taft believes that the United States has won a victory in this confrontation between China and the United States.  Although this is only a small victory, it is a crucial victory for the Americans. After successive losses at the hands of China, this is the first time that the United States can win. This is a great blow to the U.S. government.  The meaning of the encouragement generated is particularly important!

    "Gentlemen and ladies, Cologne, this beautiful city. Today is an extremely important day for us Panamanians. With the help of the United States, the Panama Canal has been officially opened to navigation. This will completely change the poverty and backwardness of Panama.  The current situation. And the world's transportation will also undergo fundamental changes because of the opening of the canal. Here, on behalf of all Panamanians, please let me express my most sincere gratitude to the U.S. government!" As the country where the canal is located, the President of Panama  Jose Domingo de Ovaldia started to speak first.  He came to power with the support of the United States, so he naturally hopes to cling to the thigh of the United States.  Although the ownership of the canal belongs to the United States, and the United States only needs to pay Panama a rent of US$250,000 per year, this is already a huge sum of money for Panama, which has a population of only a few hundred thousand. The Panamanian government  Senior officials, at least they can live a very comfortable life!

    ??Pana President Jose Domingo de Ovaldia¡¯s speech was very short. After all, today is the real one.?Protagonist.

    U.S. President Taft walked up to the podium with a smile on his face. He glanced at the two New York-class battleships anchored on the sea, and then said: "Sir, thank you all for coming to participate in the opening ceremony of the Panama Canal. This  The opening of the canal will completely change the maritime traffic in the Americas. In the past, if you took a boat from the east coast of the United States to the west coast, you would need to go around Cape Horn in South America. But now, that is no longer necessary! Ships can pass directly  The canal enters the Pacific Ocean, reducing the voyage by 15,000 kilometers. This will greatly reduce the cost of transportation, and commerce will prosper as a result. From the east coast of the United States to Asia, the voyage by tens of thousands of kilometers can also be reduced.  , which will make the connection between America and Asia closer. The navigation of the Suez Canal has promoted exchanges and development between the East and the West. I believe that the navigation of the Panama Canal can also play a role in strengthening exchanges and development between the East and the West. In  Here, I want to solemnly state to everyone that the U.S. government¡¯s construction of the Panama Canal is definitely not for military purposes. It is purely for commercial purposes. The United States is a peace-loving country, and the U.S. government will never initiate war without authorization or destroy  of world peace.¡±

    ¡°Bah bang bang!¡± People participating in the navigation ceremony burst into warm applause.  However, there are probably only a few people who truly believe what President Taft said.  The opening of the Panama Canal can certainly promote economic development.  But the real intention of the U.S. government is undoubtedly to use the canal for military purposes.  Otherwise, the first batch of ships arranged to pass through the canal would not be U.S. Navy battleships, and they would still be battleships of more than 10,000 tons that violated the treaty signed by China and the United States!

    "Now, I declare that the Panama Canal is officially open to navigation!" President Taft said loudly.

    The crowd once again burst into warm applause.  The American warships anchored on the sea also sounded their whistles.  Then, the battleships 'New York' and 'Texas' slowly started to move and began to sail towards the canal, with the battleship 'New York' in front,

    ¡®The battleship Texas followed, and the other light cruisers and destroyers followed the rearmost formation and entered the canal.  In 9 hours, they will pass through the canal, appear in the Gulf of Panama, enter the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of Panama, and finally sail north to San Diego, an important naval base on the west coast of the United States!

    After the warship entered the canal, President Taft and the officials of the U.S. Cabinet breathed a sigh of relief.  They were really afraid that something unexpected would happen during the period, such as the Chinese suddenly jumping out to stop them.  At that time, the US government will be embarrassed.  Therefore, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Zhang Yintang is also the subject of their focus.  However, what surprised them was that Zhang Yintang's performance had always been very calm.  This makes the United States a little confused. Have the Chinese really compromised?

    After the navigation ceremony, the U.S. government prepared a grand cocktail party.  According to the previously planned process, everyone will stay in Cologne for one night to experience the customs of Central America, and then return to the United States tomorrow on a passenger ship prepared by the United States!

    At five o¡¯clock in the afternoon, a large number of ships suddenly appeared on the calm Bay of Panama, all of which were flying the Chinese flag and the flag of the Chinese Navy.

    The arrival of Chinese warships made the merchant ships in the bay very nervous.  Many commercial ships are preparing to pass through the Panama Canal to the Atlantic Ocean.  After all, after the canal is opened, they will no longer have to detour to Cape Horn in South America, which can save a lot of time and transportation costs.

    "Are the Chinese ready to go to war with the Americans?" Seeing the arrival of a large number of Chinese warships, the people on these merchant ships secretly thought.  The world already knows that U.S. Navy warships will pass through the Panama Canal heading to the West Coast.  Before, everyone thought that there was no response from China, but now it seems that this is not the case at all!  The Chinese are already planning to use the most severe means to fight back against the Americans!

    "The Chinese Navy will conduct a live-fire exercise here. All ships will leave immediately, otherwise the Chinese Navy will not be responsible for being destroyed during the exercise!" Several Chinese Navy destroyers began to expel merchant ships in the bay.

    "Oh my God! The Chinese are actually preparing to conduct a live-fire exercise here. In more than an hour, the US Navy warship will pass through the canal!" After hearing the statement of the Chinese Navy, people from all over the world on these merchant ships were shocked.  , obviously, the Chinese navy is basically here to deal with the United States!  In order to avoid damaging the pond fish, all the merchant ships in the bay left one after another.
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