"Then there's no need to worry. Before, we had fewer people, and it was difficult to deal with natives, but now we have one or two thousand residents. As long as we have weapons, we can arm several hundred people at any time.
The natives nearby have been cleared out several times by the British army and American militias. The largest tribe only has about a hundred armed individuals. Not to mention the hatred they have for each other, even if they put aside their hatred and united, we would have no problem resisting them." Charles wasn't concerned about this aspect.
There were many native tribes, and during the American Revolutionary war, most of them sided with the British. Compared to the main battlefields in the east, their attacks in the Midwest were frequent, and they mostly operated independently.
However, the few large-scale engagements they participated in were primarily in the east, assisting the British army. Since there was no British army presence nearby, Charles felt it was unlikely for large-scale attacks to occur.
He already knew that the tribes near Pittsburgh were small, and the strongest native tribal alliance, the Iroquois, was spread across the vast Great Lakes region and basically had no dealings with this area. Patrick's exaggeration of the native threat probably had other motives.
Patrick did indeed have other motives for saying this, and he immediately interjected:
"But we need to be armed, don't we? Hans' ironworks can make guns and cannons, and it seems your workshop is also experimenting with them now. However, the taxes collected in our town aren't even enough to buy two cannons. To equip several hundred people, we need a large sum of money first."
As soon as money was mentioned, everyone's intentions became clear. Compared to Charles Godfrey's concern for the development of Pittsburgh, the others present were more interested in the money in Charles Godfrey's wallet—not the fifty thousand pounds Charles himself earned from selling land, but the money the Pennsylvania State Legislature received from selling land in Pittsburgh.
Because of the Continental Congress' dispute over the division of money last time, many people in Philadelphia knew about it, and quite a few people in Pittsburgh had heard about it from those who came from Philadelphia, they just didn't know exactly how much money they would get. Now that Charles was back, they naturally wanted to understand the situation of this money and then get a share of it.
However, as the planner for selling Pittsburgh's land, and also the sole legitimate representative of the Pittsburgh Council, Charles Godfrey had the right to control this money for Pittsburgh. Since he had firmly grasped the money from the land sales, he had no intention of handing it over to the so-called mayor, Patrick.
Before Charles Godfrey returned from Philadelphia this time, these people in Pittsburgh knew that Charles still had such a large sum of money, and they had sent letters multiple times urging him to return. They desperately wanted a portion of the money, or at least to know how it would be distributed.
"Charles, speaking of which, we still have to thank your planning. If you hadn't thought of selling all the land in Pittsburgh, it would have taken who knows how many years for our small town to develop." Patrick summarized his thanks, but then immediately changed the subject and asked, "By the way, I heard that the State Legislature allocated a portion of the land sale revenue to our town, and it's currently in your hands. Now that you're back, don't you think you should release a portion of it first for the development of Pittsburgh, or at least for strengthening the town's defenses?"
How much Patrick wanted to say, "Just give me the money directly," but unfortunately, too many people were aware of this money, forcing him to find other ways to get his hands on it. Even Antoine's active help in proving the presence of natives was entirely due to Patrick's instigation.
He said that if the threat was exaggerated, he could get a sum of money to buy equipment for the militia. Antoine, thinking that he was the mayor and usually directly controlled the town's finances, never considered Charles' intentions as a major obstacle. To get equipment for his troops, he came forward to corroborate.
Charles Godfrey smiled and looked at the others in the room.
Among these people were old militiamen like Antoine and American, whom he had personally promoted; talented gentry like Tom, the owner of the glass workshop, and Spencer, the tavern owner; and even wealthy merchants like Hans, who seemed very honest and straightforward despite his wealth; and even Greenspan from his own family.
Upon hearing Patrick's question, they all, without exception, stared at Charles Godfrey with wide eyes, anticipating his answer.
This was also what Charles was most satisfied with about Pittsburgh.
Here, there were no powerful aristocrats from Philadelphia; the few respectable people were all of lower status than himself. And most importantly, he actually controlled many important departments in Pittsburgh.
Food, needless to say, without his Scarlet Manor, most of the people here would starve; as the town's only military force, the militia, their leader and families all lived in his family's manor, so they were naturally his staunch supporters; even many ordinary residents came to this place because they trusted him; when the coal syndicate is established in the future, controlling the most important and primary mineral resource here, including the miners, everything in Pittsburgh will be decided by him. Although he was not the mayor, he was the actual controller of the town, hidden behind the scenes.
"Hehe! That's right, the revenue from selling land and mining rights initially exceeded five hundred fifty thousand pounds, but a portion of that was royalties to be drawn after mineral production, so the direct cash income was roughly around five hundred thousand pounds.
According to the agreement I reached with the Philadelphia Assembly, Pittsburgh will receive a one-time payment of one-tenth of the cash income this year, which is fifty thousand pounds. For the next ten years, we will also receive financial allocations from the Pennsylvania Assembly annually.
Including this fifty thousand pounds, the total will be approximately two hundred seventy thousand pounds," Charles Godfrey calmly informed everyone.
"Hiss…" Hearing that it was so much money, everyone gasped in unison.
When the Continental Congress was first established, the total amount of currency issued was only three million US dollars. The three million people in the Thirteen Colonies of America only bought about two hundred thousand pounds worth of goods from Britain annually.
Now, a small town like Pittsburgh, with just over a thousand people, had an annual disposable income of fifty thousand pounds, which naturally made these unsophisticated Pittsburgh farmers gasp.
"Hehe! I already brought this year's fifty thousand pounds with me when I came from the Pennsylvania Assembly," Charles Godfrey was very satisfied with the effect his words had created.
"Ah? Is the money already here? Charles, look, shouldn't this money be managed by me, as the mayor…" Patrick began with a fawning smile.
"No!" Charles Godfrey immediately rejected him before Patrick could finish.
He just wants to manage this money, and that is absolutely impossible. With your greedy nature, if this money goes into your pocket, it would be good if half of it ever came out again.
Charles had already asked Jekill and others on the way, and this Patrick's work in the town was very good, but he was just too greedy. It was said that less than a month after he left, his family had accepted bribes totaling nearly one hundred pounds.
He couldn't even get that much in Philadelphia, but Patrick managed it in Pittsburgh, which had only one three-hundredth of the population, so his skill at embezzling money was self-evident.
Now, those fifty thousand pounds could be said to be money he earned for Pittsburgh. Even if he didn't take a share for himself, he would absolutely not let others embezzle it. At worst, he would just hold onto the money and let it accrue interest.
"This money belongs to Pittsburgh. As the Speaker of the Council, I will manage it. However, you are the mayor, and for any administrative expenses, you can submit proposals to the Council. I will organize an appropriations committee specifically responsible for allocations.
Even if other officials and gentry have any requests for funds or good suggestions, they can also write proposals requesting allocations." Charles Godfrey maintained a serious expression, but inwardly, he was already smiling triumphantly.
He liked the job of managing the purse strings. Normally, he would count money, and when others came to ask for money, he could often be nitpicky and make things difficult for them. Once he had played enough, he could then, with a stern face, hand over a portion as if bestowing charity, and the other party would have to shamelessly express gratitude, building connections for the next allocation.
In addition to controlling most of a city's fixed assets, controlling its liquid capital is also very important. In a few days, he would ask Greenspan to establish an unofficial bank in Pittsburgh to specifically manage this money and also accept financial services.
"Still need to submit proposals? Alright! I'll write it immediately, right now. Charles, you don't know. We have so many new residents in Pittsburgh now, the fort can't accommodate them all anymore. We've wanted to raise money to establish new settlements outside for a long time.
Everyone in town is waiting for money! Also, as mayor, I don't even have a formal office. When there were fewer people, I could barely receive townspeople at home, but now there are so many people in town, it's time to build a town hall. So, the first proposal should be to build a town hall…" Patrick complained as he wrote the proposal.
As he acted, the people next to him couldn't hold back. It wasn't appropriate to interrupt when they were initially arguing over the management rights of the money, but now that the money was being distributed, they couldn't fall behind.
"Councilor Charles, our militia still uses its own weapons, and we don't have unified uniforms, nor do we have formal barracks or stations. Do you think you could allocate some money to us?" Antoine was the first to speak.
"Alright! Submit a report and a proposal first!" Charles replied with a smile.
This was one of his own, so of course he had to satisfy him, but how exactly this money would be used would have to wait and see.