To make the girl happy, Charles waited until Diana Rogers had wiped her mouth after dinner, then he smiled and announced to her:
"Diana Rogers! This morning, Jefferson and I already filed a lawsuit for you at the Pennsylvania Court. Later, we went to the Biddle family, and they have agreed to testify for you and accuse that butler of fraudulently obtaining money using land that didn't belong to him. Everyone is on your side now, so there should be no obstacles to getting back your castle and land."
"Really?" The girl held onto the table, her small mouth opening and closing, her eyes fixed on Charles, asking in a dreamlike whisper.
"It's true, and some other important figures will also help you. You'll be able to move back into the castle very soon!" Charles affirmed with a smile.
Upon hearing Charles's affirmative reply, the girl wasn't as excited as he had imagined. She simply let out a long sigh of relief, smiled at Charles, and softly said "Thank you!" Then she relaxed her grip, settled back in her chair, and said nothing more. This made Charles, who had expected her to burst into tears and hug him again and had already prepared to reach out, feel a little awkward.
His own composure was not as good as that girl's.
Although Philadelphia already had over 200,000 people and the court handled many cases daily, this particular case was expedited by the pressure from several Continental Congress Representatives, coupled with gifts from prominent wealthy families like the Biddle family. The court quickly heard the case and cross-examined the butler that very day.
With forged letters as material evidence and members of the Biddle family as human witnesses, the trial process barely allowed the butler to argue before a verdict was reached: Diana Rogers and the Biddle family won the case.
The butler not only had to return all the count's property he had embezzled and refund all land purchase money to the Biddle family, but he also had to face charges of embezzlement and fraud, leading to several years in prison. Charles's request to become Diana Rogers's guardian was also granted by the judge.
Charles had initially worried that the butler might have connections to other parties, but he hadn't expected the trial to proceed so swiftly, concluding within a single day. This left any other potentially involved parties no time to react. Even the butler himself had no chance to claim injustice before being sent directly to prison.
He understood that the Pennsylvania Court was being so cooperative out of respect for him, Jefferson, Wilson, and others. Besides verbally praising the court's actions, Charles's most important thanks went to Jefferson.
Charles did not have a long period of leisure. He soon had to resume his normal work for the Continental Congress, starting with, and most importantly, his duties on the Ordnance and Military Committee. They were responsible for providing supplies and provisions to the front lines, and even the preparation of the Declaration of Independence had to take a backseat to these operations.
The committee's primary task was to prepare firearms and ammunition for the Continental army, as well as uniforms, tents, military horses, medicine, food, and other supplies. The quantities were vast, the sums enormous, and numerous stakeholders constantly surrounded the committee, promoting their goods. Almost every committee member had a large supplier behind him, making the competition for this procurement very fierce.
This time, Charles uncharacteristically did not accept bribes from those suppliers, because he presented his own prepared items.
"gentlemen! I want to introduce you to a weapon, the latest rifle from Pittsburgh, a double-barreled shotgun!"
Charles placed a wooden box wrapped in calfskin on the table, opened it with a "snap," revealing a beautifully crafted double-barreled rifle inside.
"What a beautiful multi-barreled firearm!" The committee members were all captivated by the new gun's appearance.
The gun itself was already very beautiful, with its rustic, dark cast-iron barrels, a brown engraved walnut stock, and a delicate, gleaming steel trigger; every detail exuded artistic beauty. Coupled with the luxurious packaging Charles had specially prepared for promotion, it naturally immediately attracted these committee members, who were already very fond of guns.
"Councilor Charles! This is a hunting rifle, isn't it? What we are discussing now is the standard infantry musket to be equipped for the Continental army's reserve forces. Why are you bringing out this hunting rifle?" John Adams asked.
He also stared at the double-barreled rifle for a few moments but quickly came back to his senses.
"This is the firearm I wish to recommend to our Continental army."
"Haha! Councilor Charles, you must be mistaken. This kind of hunting rifle is very good for hunting, but it cannot be equipped for regular troops. You might not know, but the most crucial requirements for a regular soldier's musket are fast firing speed and powerful impact. A hunting rifle only needs to be accurate.
For a rifled gun like this, its shooting is very precise, but its speed is extremely slow, making it fundamentally unable to replace the current standard smoothbore muskets. Personally, I really like this gun; if its performance is as beautiful as its appearance, I plan to buy a few." His old acquaintance, Wilson, explained.
Although each committee member represented specific interests and was unlikely to easily compromise on the interests represented by others, Wilson felt indebted to Charles because of the land purchase, which is why he spoke more tactfully.
"Even if its firing speed were fast, a firearm that cannot be fitted with a bayonet would never be accepted by soldiers. The British army is a bit more civilized than beasts; they don't just have teeth, they also have bayonets. We're already at a disadvantage in firing speed; if we lose in bayonet combat as well, then we'll have no chance of winning." John Adams opposed using this gun while also taking a jab at the British army.
"Hahahaha! The British army is indeed only slightly better than beasts." The other committee members laughed in cooperation.
"But this gun is indeed excellent; just its appearance is impressive. I love hunting the most, Councilor Charles, where can I buy this double-barreled shotgun? I'll go buy one when I have time." The other committee members once again refocused their attention with renewed interest on the double-barreled shotgun.
They all agreed with Wilson's assessment of the gun and interjected that they wanted to buy one.
This outcome naturally made Charles want to laugh.
He was planning to sell this gun to the Continental army, not for these five committee members to buy.
"Councilors! This gun is manufactured in my ordnance workshop in Pittsburgh, which has now been upgraded to a factory. Besides such double-barreled shotguns, my ordnance factory can also produce smoothbore muskets, field cannons, and so on.
As for this time, I still want to recommend this double-barreled shotgun to the committee. Previously, rifles were not accepted by soldiers mainly because their reloading speed was too slow. Now, by using a double-barreled structure, in addition to giving it the advantage of firing an extra shot during the first round, normal reloading also saves a lot of time because two rounds can be loaded at once. Such a double-barreled shotgun, controlled by a number of gunners, is already comparable to a smoothbore musket in terms of firing speed and power."
Charles pushed the gun towards the interested committee members, letting them examine it closely.
He then took out another much smaller calfskin box, placed it on the table, and opened it.
Sunlight shone through the window onto the box, immediately emitting a dazzling glow. The committee members all noticed the flash of light coming from the box and immediately moved out of the sun's glare to examine it closely, discovering that it contained a gleaming long dagger.
Of course, "long dagger" was what these committee members called it; according to Charles's nomenclature, it should be a new type of bayonet.
"This is also a new type of bayonet produced by the Pittsburgh Ordnance Factory, made of pure steel, with blood grooves on both sides, which can be attached to smoothbore muskets and other similar firearms using a fixing device."
"What a beautiful knife!" The committee members interested in weapons exclaimed again.
"Is this even considered a bayonet? I think it could already be used as a saber!" Wilson picked up the bayonet, gestured with it, and shouted excitedly.
The bayonets commonly used at this time were of the socket type, meaning the bayonet's tail had a pre-made socket that fit directly onto the gun barrel. Bayonets themselves came in two types: needle and blade.
The bayonets of the Continental army and the British army were both the same, uniformly choosing the needle-spike type. Compared to those bayonets mostly crafted by hand, and the simple bayonets self-made by some soldiers in the Continental army, this bayonet, with its appearance designed by Charles and forged by a water-powered hammer, could certainly be compared to a saber.
At this point, John Adams finally seemed to be somewhat compromising.
"Councilor Charles, this bayonet is very good, even better than what we currently equip. I agree to purchase it. However, even if your bayonet can be mounted on your double-barreled shotgun, and the double-barreled shotgun is indeed as powerful as you say, I don't think our soldiers would carry such a heavy hunting rifle into battle. You wouldn't have prepared a rest staff, would you?"
Adams' words immediately seized upon the biggest flaw of Charles's gun.
The double-barreled shotgun still used old-fashioned cast-iron barrels, making it much heavier than a single-barreled smoothbore musket. Holding it to fire once or twice was certainly no problem, but if one were to fire continuously for a long time, even the strongest Continental army soldier would probably only manage five or six shots before having to rest it on the ground for a while. In that case, how could they engage in bayonet combat afterwards?
earlier firearms had larger calibers and heavier bodies, so many musketeers carried a rest staff, which was a support stand placed under the musket when firing. In the early eighteenth century, Swedes using large-caliber firearms often brought rest staffs to the battlefield.
However, with the advancement of firearm technology, the weight of musket bodies continuously decreased, and the very cumbersome rest staff was completely removed from soldiers' equipment. In fact, after discarding this support, soldiers, much like dropping crutches and being able to walk on their own, happily declared that they could finally officially walk independently.
"Gentlemen, this is a commemorative double-barreled shotgun you see; the military-issue one is relatively simpler.We can test the weapon's performance first. As for what kind of weapon to choose, let's vote after we've tried the guns, shall we?" Charles said indifferently.
He wasn't very confident about whether equipping the Continental army with double-barreled shotguns would be beneficial, so he might as well let democracy decide. This way, if they lost a war in the future, he wouldn't be blamed.
Once he said that, the other Continental Congress Representatives naturally had no further objections. They found a courtyard for testing the weapons, and then a team of Continental Congress guards came in to try out the guns.
This test wasn't just for the rifles and smoothbore muskets Charles provided, but also for several other types of firearms, including smoothbore muskets from other workshops. Almost every Continental Congress Representative brought at least one arms company representative, which showed the prosperity of America's arms production.
Unfortunately, these arms companies were basically small, manual workshops. Previously, they could only manufacture hunting rifles or firearm components, and their technology and manufacturing level were not advanced.
Even if they received an order, several workshops would have to collaborate to complete it in a short period. However, if such procurements happened a few more times, they would quickly develop into large arms companies. This was also why Charles actively sought government orders.
Additionally, there were several French, Netherlands, and Prussia arms companies that had long supplied firearms to America, but for this procurement, whether they could deliver on time was questionable, making their competitiveness low.
The results of the weapon tests, perhaps because the soldiers were accustomed to using smoothbore muskets, showed that the double-barreled shotgun's firing speed was still significantly slower than the smoothbore musket. However, its accuracy and the high-power output of its first shot earned high praise from the testers.
The smoothbore musket's test results, however, showed very good performance, with the Pittsburgh smoothbore musket, jointly produced by Charles' and Hans' arms workshops, winning first place in range.
In fact, as long as Charles' workshop had a smoothbore musket, he could basically secure the order, as other workshops were small and lacked the strength to persuade a Continental Congress Representative to compete with Charles.
The final voting result was within everyone's expectations: the smoothbore musket provided by Charles became the winning firearm for the Continental army's arms procurement, with three thousand units ordered.
The all-steel bayonets, due to their high quality, saw an additional two thousand ordered besides the three thousand to be paired with the smoothbore muskets. At the same time, Charles' armory was requested to experiment with producing sabers for future cavalry units.
Charles naturally did not refuse such a request. Including later additional orders for military ironware and sporadic purchases of medicine and the like, Charles secured contracts worth nearly ten thousand pounds from the Ordnance and Military Committee in one go, with a profit of at least one thousand pounds.
Although the double-barreled rifle did not win the Continental army's procurement budget, its shooting performance caught the attention of Continental Congress Representatives from other states. Many had already privately expressed to Charles that they would propose to their state assemblies to purchase these double-barreled rifles to equip their state militias.
The number of these militias was far greater than the regular Continental army. With such a large order, Charles couldn't stop smiling. He happily announced that he would present each Continental Congress Representative with a commemorative double-barreled shotgun.
However, this procurement naturally also included plans for military rations, warhorses, and the like. Having spent ten thousand pounds on firearms in one go, other various procurements became tight.
"Alright! The most prioritized firearm weapons have been completed. We've spent one-third of the twenty-five thousand pounds the Continental Congress allocated to us. Now, let's continue discussing other procurements," John Adams announced.
"Then we should consider military uniforms and tents. To reinforce the front lines, newly enlisted Continental army soldiers don't yet have matching uniforms, and this affects their image when fighting the British army. Also, many original units don't have tents, so soldiers can't live in the field at all. These must be resolved first," Wilson, backed by Philadelphia's textile industry, stated.
"Cavalry's role on the battlefield is irreplaceable. We should also consider purchasing horses. Forming a cavalry unit isn't something that can be trained into an army in a day or two; the sooner we start buying horses, the better," this Continental Congress Representative was certainly connected to a horse farm owner.
"Gentlemen, we should also discuss the procurement of medicine. Once the war officially begins, casualties are inevitable. Without medicine, it will be a disaster," Charles, remembering Washington's words, proposed that medicine procurement should also be a priority.
At this point, the Continental Congress Representatives had significant disagreements. People like Wilson believed that soldiers' primary equipment was firearms, and given the insufficient funds and the impending war, more money should be spent on arming soldiers with firearms. Only with enough armed soldiers could the war be won, and money should not be spent on medicine that wouldn't have an immediate effect.
These Continental Congress Representatives were actually quite cold-blooded. Wilson's argument was easily accepted by them, and although the others didn't speak, they basically tacitly agreed.
Finally, it was John Adams, perhaps having received instructions from Washington, who stepped forward and stated:
"Basic medicine still needs to be procured. A mature army commander is absolutely not comparable to a few commoners holding firearms. It is very worthwhile to save elite soldiers with a small amount of medicine. Even from a humanitarian standpoint, we cannot watch ordinary wounded soldiers die, so necessary medicine must be available."
Finally, a budget of one thousand pounds was allocated for the procurement of various medicines and other medical supplies. Of course, these one thousand pounds of medicine could at most satisfy the normal needs of one major war; it was impossible to be a year's supply.
Subsequently, the purchase items proposed by other Continental Congress Representatives also received partial orders, more or less, but due to the preceding two projects, they were all significantly reduced from what they had originally proposed.
"Next, there's another large procurement: military rations. Soldiers consume a lot of energy. Besides flour and vegetables, I suggest ordering an additional one thousand barrels of beef as supplementary food for the entire year," Adams said.
Other Continental Congress Representatives had no objection to this important figure's proposal, and Charles also found it reasonable, agreeing that soldiers' diets should indeed be taken care of.
"The Virginia Company has always been our military ration supplier, so let's give them this beef order as well," Adams continued to suggest.
Charles' face showed a knowing smile.
He had just thought this gentleman had no personal connections, but unexpectedly, he brought it up in the end, and it was the largest order. Other items like firearms and warhorses, although high in individual value, were basically one-time deals, and the duration of single transactions wouldn't be very long. Military rations were different; it seemed that flour and beef didn't make much money individually, but soldiers had to eat as long as they were in service, and the supply was continuous.
The demand from a year's orders alone would be enough for the logistics department to spend a good portion of money on this. With such a large order under Adams' control, he naturally didn't need to compete with other Continental Congress Representatives for those small businesses.
"The Virginia Company is already the Continental army's gunpowder supplier. Isn't it too much to give them the beef business as well?" Wilson mildly raised an objection.
"It's precisely because they supply gunpowder that I think they should be given the beef business. America doesn't lack firearms or clothes now; it lacks gunpowder. The British are currently imposing an embargo on us, and if they don't supply it, our Continental army soldiers will face the dilemma of not being able to fire their guns. So, giving them the beef business is also a form of compensation," Adams calmly refuted Wilson's objection.
Hearing his explanation, Charles knew that Adams was absolutely deceiving people. Gunpowder was precious, and the Virginia Company did not sell it cheaply to the Continental army. Instead, they made a lot of money from it.
Even though the orders for firearms and cloth just now went to Northerners, or rather, Philadelphians, the most profitable and important businesses were actually gunpowder and grain. These two items were firmly controlled by the Virginia Company group represented by Adams.
They could even use these two most lucrative businesses to threaten the committee into giving them other equally profitable ventures. The North was dominated by industry and commerce, with lower grain production than the South, and gunpowder was a monopoly business that could not be replaced.
"Does anyone else have any opinions? If not, let's give the order to the Virginia Company," Adams looked at Charles.
Charles quickly nodded, expressing agreement with the arrangement, fearing that this fellow might misunderstand him and jeopardize his business. However, he felt a bit uncomfortable. This guy and the people behind him controlled the army's gunpowder and food supply, which was definitely a huge threat. Although Adams was a shrewd and loyal person to the country, it was impossible for him to betray the Continental Congress.
But the more such a person was, the more threatening he was to Charles, especially since this was a person who insisted on national interests first. Charles, who wanted to be the one controlling the country from behind, would definitely clash with a patriotic person like Adams who also had the ability to control the country. It seemed he needed to find a way to minimize Adams' control over the army.
Grain would be easy; once the canal opened, the future grain-producing areas in the Midwest would definitely overwhelm Virginia's limited grain production. Gunpowder, however, was difficult; he didn't know where there were good sulfur and saltpeter mines.
The other Continental Congress Representatives, who understood Adams better than Charles, knew it was impossible to object and all chose to agree with his suggestion.