Chapter 738 Wishful Thinking
Fuad, who is about to become the king of Egypt, is not a pure Egyptian. He was exiled to Naples, Italy with his father since he was a child, and he cannot even speak Arabic.
This is why the British chose Fouad to be King of Egypt.
Fuad had two marriages. His first wife was his cousin Princess Shivakir Effendi. The two had a son and a daughter. The son died young.
On May 24, 1919, Fouad married Nazli, who was 26 years younger than him. In February of the following year, their son Farouk was born.
Fuad was an idealistic man. He founded Cairo University in 1908 and was the first president of Cairo University.
During the independence negotiations with Britain, Fouad focused on the Suez Canal and actively fought for Egypt's rights.
The UK ignored Fouad’s request and continued to maintain the status quo.
Fouad was helpless and had to accept the reality.
With Egypt's strength alone, it is true that its arms cannot twist its thighs.
On February 28, Fuad officially became the Sultan of Egypt.
On March 15, Fouad changed his name from Sultan to King and officially ascended the throne.
Although Egypt is independent, its military and diplomacy are still under British control. The Canal Zone is still a country within a country in Egypt, and Alexandria is still the base of the British Mediterranean Fleet.
On March 16, Nasser, the Egyptian representative to the League of Nations, formally proposed at the League of Nations plenary session that Britain immediately withdraw its troops from Egypt and hand over the canal zone to Egyptian management.
Edward Gray once again reiterated that according to the contract signed between the Canal Company and the Egyptian government, the management rights enjoyed by the Canal Company should continue until 1957.
Nasser immediately requested that the canal company share the profits generated by the canal with the Egyptian government in accordance with the provisions of the contract.
Edward Gray immediately switched to pretending to be dead and returned to London due to illness the next day.
I quit, you can do whatever you like.
Nicholas Jr. used actions to support the Egyptians and proposed to send League of Nations troops to Egypt to take over the management of the Suez Canal.
The United Kingdom objected, France and Italy abstained, and the proposal failed.
On March 17, the tanker Suez, loaded with 30,000 tons of oil, ran aground while passing through the canal.
I am a shareholder of the Canal Company who is standing firm and unmoved no matter how strong the wind is.
The tonnage of the "Suez" is too large. Once it sits in the canal, not even a fish can swim through it, let alone a ship.
The tolls generated by the canal alone are as high as one million francs every day. Not only the shareholders of the canal company are anxious, but the entire European economy will be affected.
The Canal Company requires the Mediterranean Transport Company, which owns the "Suez", to quickly find a way to remove the ship, and to compensate the Canal Company 1 million francs per day for the losses caused to the Canal Company during the suspension period.
Now the Mediterranean Transport Company is no longer in business.
Before entering the Suez Canal, the Suez was inspected by the canal company and confirmed to be passable before sailing into the canal.
The "Suez" strictly followed the pilot's navigation during the passage without any violations, so the grounding was not even the responsibility of the Mediterranean Transport Company, but the responsibility of the canal company.
The canal company sent people to investigate and found that it was indeed what the Mediterranean Transport Company said.
Continuing the investigation, we found that the staff who inspected the "Suez" at that time had disappeared.
The Canal Company then insisted that the missing staff members had been silenced.
Mediterranean Company counterattacked, claiming that the grounding of the "Suez" was a conspiracy of the canal company.
The Canal Company is not afraid that the Mediterranean Company will not lose money and will just seize the ship.
But then, the complexity of this matter exceeded everyone's expectations.
Mediterranean Shipping Company is registered in France, the owner is American, the ship is chartered from Russia, the oil is from the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and the captain and sailors are Italian.
A small ship actually involved all four permanent members of the League of Nations and the most industrially powerful country in the world.
The canal company is confused. I just want to rely on the canal to collect tolls safely. Who have I offended?
In order to avoid suffering economic losses, Dolgorukov Shipping Company, the owner of the "Suez", warned the canal company and the Mediterranean Company to deal with it how you want to deal with the Dolgorukov ship. Losses caused by the shipping company must be compensated.
It’s easy to handle without losing money. There are still 30,000 tons of oil on the Suez. No one can take it away.
As soon as the Dolgorukov family expressed its stance, Darsis, who had been tortured to the brink of collapse by the horse bandits, immediately came to his rescue: Whoever dares to touch my oil, I will fight with him!
From March 17th to March 25th, for a whole week, the Canal Company and the Mediterranean Company kept arguing, but the "Suez" did not move at all.
On March 26, Nicholas Jr. once again fired at Britain in the League of Nations, saying that if Britain could not solve the problem as soon as possible, Russia could help blow up the ship.
Clemenceau and the Italian representative to the League of Nations also demanded that the United Kingdom solve the problem as soon as possible.
The British deputy ambassador to the League of Nations, Adam Wharton, said that our boss is not here and we will wait until our boss comes back.
The people who suffer the most from the blockage of the canal are not the shareholders of the canal company, but Russia and the countries surrounding the Mediterranean.
This time the UK really sparked outrage.
Adam Walton was also helpless.
The blockage of the canal also had a serious impact on the British economy. Since the "Suez" ran aground, the British government has been actively working to get the "Suez" away.
A British construction company proposed that as long as the oil carried by the "Suez" is removed, the "Suez" can escape by relying on its own buoyancy.
This plan was opposed by Dolgorukov and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
Dolgorukov pinned his hopes of making up for the losses on the oil on the "Suez".
Pump away the oil, who will make up for the losses of Dolgorukov Shipping Company?
Dasis said: I will fight to the death whoever dares to touch my oil!
It won’t work if you don’t work hard.
After the attack on the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, its revenue plummeted and production has not resumed so far. The oil loaded on the "Suez" was Darcy's last hope. If the oil could not be sold, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company would go bankrupt.
In order to protect the oil on the "Suez", Darcys did not even care about the oil wells. He sent Lieutenant Colonel Henry to lead mercenaries to station on the "Suez" and did not allow anyone to board the ship.
In order to protect its own interests, Dolgorukov Shipping Company also sent a team of Cossacks to the "Suez".
In order to protect its own interests, the Mediterranean Company hired a team of French Foreign Legion to also be stationed next to the "Suez".
The Italians are the most cowardly. As soon as the "Suez" ran aground, the captain and sailors dispersed, focusing on being free and loose.
The three armies were all next to the "Suez" and surrounded the "Suez". Even the experts invited by the canal company could not get close to the "Suez".
On April 17, a full month has passed since the Suez ran aground, and there is still no sign of the problem being resolved.
When the "Suez" first ran aground, if all parties had made appropriate concessions and pumped out the oil, the "Suez" would indeed have been able to escape.
Now as time goes by, the losses caused by the blockage of the canal to all parties are becoming more and more serious, and the cost of solving the problem is getting higher and higher. The Times described the "Suez" as a blood vessel blocking the beating heart of the world. tumor.
On April 19, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company declared bankruptcy due to operating difficulties. The value of its stock plummeted and no one cared about it.
Now the Anglo-Persian Oil Company is in a mess, and no one dares to take over. Once they accept it, they will not only face endless horse bandits, but also face the debt left by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
At the same time that the Anglo-Persian Oil Company went bankrupt, the stock price of the Suez Canal Company also began to waver.
When the "Suez" first ran aground, most people just watched the fun and did not realize the seriousness of the matter.
It's just stranded. Can't we just find a way to get the ship away?
As time went by, the canal crisis not only did not resolve, but intensified, and the British and Russian governments, as well as the U.S. government, ended up one after another.
The first to take action was the British government.
On April 20, the British government issued an ultimatum to the Suez Canal Company. If the Suez Canal Company still cannot get the Suez away, the British government will take tough measures.
The stock price of the canal company rose in response.
On the 21st, Constantinople and Washington issued separate statements to resolve the canal crisis without harming the interests of relevant companies.
McMahon, who was assigned to deal with the canal crisis, was at a loss.
To solve the canal crisis, the Suez must be taken away.
If you want to get rid of the Suez, you must first pump out the oil on the ship.
If you want to pump oil, you must first obtain the consent of the Dolgorukov family and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
Wait a minute, didn’t the Anglo-Persian Oil Company go bankrupt?
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company has collapsed, but the company's shareholders are not dead yet. They are still counting on the oil on the "Suez" to make up for their losses.
Coincidentally, the shareholders of the Canal Company and the shareholders of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company were the same group of people.
The shareholders of the Canal Company and the shareholders of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company can fight on their own without the need for McMahon to take action.
This group of people are all members of the British House of Lords.
On the 25th, McMahon proposed a plan to get the "Suez" out first, and then discuss how to make up for the losses of all parties.
Dolgorukov Shipping Company proposed that Dolgorukov be responsible for pumping out the oil on the ship.
The Canal Company and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company strongly objected. If you take away the oil, who will make up for our losses?
Mario spread his hands. Your losses were caused by Mediterranean Company.
McMahon went to find Mediterranean Company, but Mediterranean Company had closed down.
Witt was not very satisfied with the Americans' performance.
George doesn’t care.
As part of the investment letter, Russia and the United States will distribute the proceeds after the fact based on the contributions made by both parties.
Since the Americans have little contribution, they will not be able to intervene in the jurisdiction of the Suez Canal in the future. At most, they will get the same dividends as the French.
Of course, it is pure wishful thinking to think of taking half like the French.
(End of this chapter)