Of course, Charles wouldn't roast another grouse for the girl. If she ate any more, even if she burst, she would surely get a stomach ache. So he quickly diverted her attention, saying:
"Let Tom clean the fish, and we'll grill them! But these two fish aren't enough, how about we go catch a few more? Diana, for you to catch fish on your first try, that's a sign of great talent!"
Diana looked at the two fish still flopping around, and sure enough, her interest in fishing was rekindled.
"Okay! Let's go again! This time I'm definitely going to catch a bigger, fatter fish! It'll definitely weigh more than yours!"
"Haha! Alright, let's do it."
The two laughed and walked to the river, standing under a large tree, fishing while enjoying the shade.
Charles actually just wanted the girl to relax and let her stomach settle. He wasn't seriously planning to fish. So after putting down his rod, he looked around, admiring the beautiful mountain and river scenery.
This was his territory.
There were rivers, mountains, forests, prey, and natives.
natives? Charles was suddenly startled.
He actually saw a native upstream, a native paddling a canoe. He was looking around cautiously, but the tree Charles was standing under was downstream. From the shade of the tree, he could see people upstream, but from upstream, only the treetop was visible. However, if he came down the river just a little more, he would be able to see Charles and his group.
Charles didn't have time for other thoughts. He quickly and gently put his fishing rod down behind him, came up behind the girl, Diana, and suddenly clapped his hand over her mouth. Before she could start struggling violently, he whispered to Tom, who was still gutting fish not far away:
"Careful! There are natives coming!"
Tom was very alert. Hearing Charles' voice, he didn't immediately question it. Instead, he crouched down and slowly retreated behind a large tree. Diana, in Charles' arms, also stopped struggling after hearing Charles' words, allowing herself to be held by Charles as they slowly retreated into the forest.
The forest on Charles' territory was very dense, and the original trees were even larger. Basically, just by retreating a little, they could hide themselves.
Phil, Jekill, and the others, who were sitting there picking their teeth, had already noticed the anomaly here. They carefully extinguished the campfire with ash and dry dirt, and came over, guns in hand, to take cover.
Charles had already released Diana from his embrace, but he whispered softly into the girl's ear:
"Later, you cover your own mouth, don't move, and don't make a sound."
The girl's face showed no fear or tension, only curiosity. Hearing Charles' instructions, a hint of excitement even appeared on her face, and she opened her mouth as if to say something. But Charles, quick-eyed and quick-handed, covered it.
"Don't talk."
Diana smartly nodded gently, looking at Charles with a wronged expression, and let Charles grab her hand to cover her mouth.
Charles was still a little worried about the girl, so he squatted beside her, guarding her.
It wasn't until Phil and Jekill had arrived with their muskets that he pointed to the native who was almost at their original fishing spot. The native's canoe was moving very fast, like it was drifting, and made very little sound. In fact, people on the river couldn't see clearly into the forest, and people in the forest couldn't see clearly onto the river.
When Phil and the others saw the native on the river, that native had also noticed the anomaly at the fishing spot. He suddenly crouched down, covered himself with something, and then quickly paddled with his double-bladed paddle. Amidst a splash of water, he shot downstream like an arrow.
"Fire!"
"Bang bang!"
Charles' order and the gunshots rang out simultaneously.
"Thud, thud" The bullets hit the object covering the native, making only a dull sound, but definitely not hitting a person.
Seeing that the native's canoe was about to quickly move out of range, the second round of firing from the double-barreled shotgun began:
"Bang bang!"
Amidst a splash of water, the native's canoe suddenly flipped, covering the native in the water.
Phil and Jekill quickly threw down their shotguns, drew the pistols from their waists, and rushed out.
"Be careful! If you can capture him alive, capture him alive. If not, shoot him dead directly!" Charles, holding Diana, continued to hide behind the tree, shouting like a dandy.
He had seen the gunfight just now very clearly.
The first two shots had hit the native's protective gear, but the sharpshooter Phil's second shot had actually hit the native's only exposed hand, which was paddling, causing the native to lose his balance due to the pain, leading to the canoe overturning.
By the time this brightly painted native emerged from under the overturned canoe, he was facing two dark muzzles.
On a summer evening, the Scarlet Manor's head butler was already waiting at the gate to welcome his young master back from hunting and fishing.
"God! The sir hunted a native!"
Seeing Charles and his group appear in sight, Jonathan smiled wryly and went to greet them.
"Haha! The harvest wasn't great this time, not much game, but we did catch a native scout." Charles turned his head to look at the native, whose hands were bound and who was being pulled by a long rope behind Jekill's horse.
"Jonathan, lock up this native scout and interrogate him thoroughly again."
"Yes, sir!"
Jonathan quickly called for arrangements, while he himself followed Charles, who had already let go and was leading Diana into the manor.
"What's the deal with that scout, sir?"
"Alas! We were fishing, and he blundered in. The moment he saw people, he reacted excessively, clearly not with good intentions, so I naturally ordered them to open fire. I originally thought he was just a native hunter, but who would have thought he had British firearms on him? Phil and the others said he was Iroquois.
So we simply captured him and interrogated him. We only found out that he is indeed Iroquois, but as for why he came, he refused to say anything no matter what. You should have someone interrogate him thoroughly again. We are at war with the Iroquois, he couldn't have come for an outing. He must be a native scout or spy. Get something useful out of him." Charles said helplessly.
Jonathan also knew that the Western Expeditionary Force from Pittsburgh had set off to subjugate the natives some time ago, and this scout might be of great importance, so he naturally immediately arranged for someone to specifically interrogate him.
Unfortunately, this native scout was very stubborn. No matter what methods Jonathan used, he only honestly admitted that he was from the Iroquois; he refused to say anything else. In fact, whether he was part of the Iroquois Alliance could be told just by his attire, which was different from other tribes; there was no need for much interrogation.
Charles and Jonathan had no way to get him to confess anything else, so they had to strengthen the manor's armed defenses, distribute muskets to the steel mill and manor servants, and increase night patrols to prevent native sneak attacks.
Just as Scarlet Manor was busily carrying out its security work, with an air of impending storm, Mayor Patrick of Pittsburgh also encountered a major problem.
The town's Public Security was already poor. Ever since Antoine, the sheriff and army commander, led a large number of militiamen to conquer the natives, crimes that were originally clandestine began to occur openly in broad daylight.
One day, after Charles had arranged matters at the manor, he was fishing with Diana by the river when a fast horse rushed into Scarlet Manor's alert area.
"Councilor Charles! Something big has happened! Yesterday, someone in town raped a militiaman's family member. Mayor Patrick sent people to arrest him, but that person, along with others, resisted with guns. And their firepower isn't weak. Now both sides are in a standoff. Please go and see!" The messenger sent from town anxiously sought help from Charles.
Hearing that someone dared to commit such a crime and then resist with arms, Charles was also startled.
He immediately called Jonathan, told him to distribute weapons to the steel mill workers who could shoot, according to the number of horses in the stable, and then they all rushed back to town on horseback.
Charles reacted very quickly. Before dark, he had already led more than twenty sharpshooters on horseback to Pittsburgh.
"Whoa!" Charles dismounted and, upon seeing Patrick, loudly questioned: "Patrick, how could such a thing happen?"
He hadn't even settled down for a few days, and such a vicious incident had already occurred.
The militiaman's family member who was assaulted this time was not one of those from Charles' manor. At that time, Antoine and Patrick had temporarily recruited a group of militiamen in Pittsburgh for the expedition against the natives.
Although most of them were single canal workers and miners, a few did bring their families. Now, these militiamen were fighting for Pittsburgh on the front lines, but their families in the rear were being raped. If this matter was not handled properly, it could very likely lead to a soldier's riot.
"Charles! Don't worry, we've already surrounded those criminals, but they're all holding muskets and ready to resist, which is why it's been a standoff until now." Patrick explained awkwardly.
"Why aren't you attacking? Are there many of them?"
"There are several people in there, and they're very good shots. We only have ten sharpshooters left in town right now. We've exchanged fire with them a few times, but due to insufficient firepower, we haven't gained any advantage, and a few sharpshooters have been injured. If we weren't trying to capture them alive, I would have been ready to use artillery."
"Then why not use it? Never mind, with the twenty-odd men I brought, we should be able to take them down!" Charles waved his hand, ordering the men he brought to advance.
"Uh..." Patrick originally wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth, saw that the sharpshooters Charles brought were already rushing forward without regard for him, and then gave an awkward smile, simply closing his mouth.
In this musket era, once one side enters a stronghold defense, it is truly difficult to capture without artillery support. However, to use artillery to capture a few criminals in town, not to mention the effect, just the news getting out would definitely be laughable. So, even though he knew there might be casualties, Charles chose a frontal assault for the sake of his reputation.
Among the sharpshooters Charles brought, several were the children of old militiamen. Although relatively young, their marksmanship was much better than that of ordinary adults. Influenced by the old militiamen and their elders, they had always been very loyal to Charles. Although Patrick was the mayor, they lived carefree lives in Scarlet Manor, rarely coming to town, so they naturally only listened to Charles.
With more than twenty additional musketeers, the effect of the attack was naturally self-evident. The houses in town were basically a mix of wood and stone. If it weren't for the concern that a fire might spread to neighboring houses, with Patrick's personality, he would even be willing to directly set fire to the houses to force these people to surrender.
Now, more than thirty musketeers advanced and fired twice from various angles, and several bullets immediately pierced the simple walls of the house, killing and wounding several people inside.
Hearing the screams from inside, Patrick immediately went to stop the sharpshooters from continuing to fire. Instead, he had them shout inside, telling the people to surrender. The people inside were clearly not very brave; after a brief standoff, the remaining few obediently threw down their pistols and ran out to surrender.
As Charles was preparing to leave, Patrick announced loudly.
"Arrest all these people and interrogate them thoroughly! I see their marksmanship is so good, and they're so afraid of sharpshooters, they definitely aren't ordinary people. Ask them about their background, what they're doing in Pittsburgh, and who else they know!"
The gunmen immediately swarmed forward, shackled the criminals, and took them to the barracks for interrogation.
Charles watched, his heart stirred, and he stepped forward to ask in a low voice:
"Patrick, did you notice something? Who exactly are these people?"
"Hehe! Among these people, there's actually only one canal worker who committed the crime. The others are all new faces who recently arrived in town. But from what I can see, those are typical British faces, so I wanted to take this opportunity to arrest and interrogate them all together.
Who would have thought that as soon as our sharpshooters appeared, they immediately resisted with force? We weren't prepared and almost caused a real big problem. But this also exposed that they are definitely not ordinary people. Normal people would absolutely not attack upon seeing sharpshooters. They definitely have a problem." Patrick explained to Charles.
British?"
"Yes. These guys are rigid, stubborn, and polite, but they look at others with wariness and distance. I've seen too many people like that; I can tell at a glance they must be British who just arrived in America," Patrick said with certainty.
"You mean these are people sent by the British to us!" Charles nodded in understanding. "We shouldn't have any connection with the Eastern Front in New York yet, so that means they must have been sent from Ohio or the Iroquois!"
Charles thought of the native scout he had captured.
"Our campaign has dragged on for too long; I guess they're about to make their move against us. Fortunately, the troops sent to attack them already departed a few days ago. Even if they send people over, it will be a skirmish in the wilderness. Otherwise, receiving news of a sudden attack now would truly make it difficult to decide how to handle it." Patrick naturally thought the same.
"Haha! Patrick, capturing these people is a great opportunity! You must interrogate them thoroughly. If the natives and the British already have a battle plan, we'll formulate a trap based on their plan and ambush them.
If they're still waiting for intelligence from here before starting the fight, we'll send them false intelligence to mislead them. Once we get the news, we must quickly inform Antoine and the others; it's time to change the battle plan based on the latest intelligence," Charles said with a smile.
"Understood! I've already told the interrogators to pay attention. Any news will be sent over immediately." Patrick understood completely.
Originally, this campaign against the Iroquois was expected to be a tough fight. Charles had even prepared himself mentally for half his men to be casualties. However, with this group of scouts, he naturally had a new plan.
The interrogation results came out quickly. Among these people, except for the rapist, the rest were indeed scouts jointly dispatched by Ohio and the Iroquois. They used their white identities as a cover, belonging to the 'covert' group, while some natives directly crossed the border to scout, belonging to the 'overt' group.
Now Charles naturally understood why he encountered that Iroquois native; he must have belonged to the 'overt' group of scouts. Unfortunately, though both were scouts, that native gritted his teeth and refused to yield, while these British, after being interrogated separately and subtly led, honestly confessed most things.
The Iroquois and other native tribes had indeed accepted an alliance with the British. Their main elite forces had gathered and were undergoing two months of training with the British army, preparing to sweep through Pittsburgh and other western villages and towns in America.
Historically, during this sweep, the natives once captured a large town of a thousand people, then massacred everyone in it. This eventually led to Sullivan's retaliatory attack with four thousand militiamen, who utterly defeated four Iroquois tribes.
Only two tribes that sided with the United States were spared, but they were forced to move to the barren northeastern region under the surveillance of the American army.
Currently, the main force of the natives was naturally the armies of the four Iroquois tribes. According to the scout's confession, they were training near Lake Superior. Then, they might attack various colonial villages and towns in the central-western America in several routes.
One of these routes was to travel by boat to Lake Erie, and then attack Pittsburgh from the north. This time, it was the colonists who traded with Ohio, who, while discussing in Ohio, mentioned that Pittsburgh seemed to have a large number of soldiers stationed.
That's when they decided to dispatch various types of scouts on a large scale to investigate and see if they could bypass this large army. The scout only knew this much; he was not clear about the specific battle arrangements of the British and natives.
But just knowing this news startled Charles. Attacking Pittsburgh from the north? Wouldn't that mean passing through his Scarlet Manor? That captured native scout must have been looking for a suitable waterway.
The battle plans of the two sides were completely different. Charles' side only wanted a decisive battle to solve the native problem once and for all. The British and natives, on the other hand, only wanted to wreak havoc on the western villages and towns, not to engage in a decisive battle with the main force.
Fortunately, they received the news in advance. If they had not made arrangements and simply allowed Antoine and his men to slowly fight their way through tribe by tribe, several groups would certainly have been missed. By then, if he wasn't prepared, Scarlet Manor and the newly established industrial city would inevitably have to endure the trials of war.
Fortunately, the main Iroquois forces at Lake Superior were still waiting for the scouts to report back on the situation in Pittsburgh and other towns, and had not yet acted. It was still not too late to immediately have Antoine and Sullivan abandon their tribal sweeps and go directly to Lake Superior.
After discussing, Charles and Patrick decided to send a fast horse to inform Antoine and Sullivan, telling them to abandon their stealth and lead their large army at full speed to attack the native camps near Lake Superior.
After the fast horse messenger was sent off, Charles finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
However, he immediately became a little worried about the situation in other surrounding colonial villages and towns. At this time, the colonial villages and towns in America were mainly concentrated east of the Appalachian Mountains.
The few colonial settlements west of the mountains were basically small villages of only a few hundred people, like Pittsburgh was originally. All the militia aid this time also came from those large villages and towns east of the Appalachian Mountains.
Even if these villages and towns drew dozens of young men, their own defensive capabilities were not a problem. Coupled with the obstruction of the Appalachian Mountains, it was difficult for large military forces to cross in a short period, so their own safety was not a big issue.
However, those colonial settlements west of the mountains, even if not a single person was drawn, would basically be unable to withstand a large-scale native attack.
If the main force from Lake Superior missed a route this time, it would certainly cause devastating disaster to the villages and towns west of the Appalachian Mountains. If he notified them now, it was very likely that the British in Ohio would realize that their military secrets had been leaked.
These scouts would certainly not have been sent only to Pittsburgh; other villages and towns should also have them. By then, if they realized that the Pittsburgh scouts had been captured, it would make his notification to Antoine and the others useless. However, if he didn't notify them, these villages and towns might be attacked by natives while unprepared.
Charles struggled repeatedly internally, but found Patrick on the side, looking at his documents as if nothing had happened. A thought stirred within him, and he simply turned to the trading center, no longer bothering with the matters here.
It wasn't until two days after the messenger to Antoine departed that Charles seemed to suddenly react. He hastily discussed with Patrick, stating that he had forgotten to notify the surrounding villages and towns for defense, and that messengers should be immediately dispatched to warn them.
Only then did the surrounding villages and towns begin defensive preparations. However, the news that came later made both Charles and Patrick feel a little guilty, because although these villages and towns did not suffer large-scale attacks, the harassment by native scouts still caused casualties in many villages and towns.
As for the news from later, Charles and the others did not know the situation of those villages and towns at this time.
Instead, the messenger sent to Antoine returned quickly, reporting to Charles and the others that they had already wiped out a small native tribe on the way that couldn't hide, gaining a lot of gold, jewels, and precious animal skins. Unfortunately, because they still had to continue fighting, they couldn't carry slaves, so many prisoners of war were dealt with locally.
Hearing such battle results, Charles fell silent for a moment. He wouldn't care about using slaves, and he certainly wouldn't care about killing enemies on the battlefield, but the so-called 'dealing with' prisoners always felt a bit uncomfortable. In fact, if he had prepared more, these people could very likely have been sent to Pittsburgh as prisoners or 'slaves'.
Due to concerns that more natives might come from Lake Erie, Charles considered Scarlet Manor unsafe. He simply had Jonathan strengthen security there, and also told Diana Rogers to move back and live with him in Pittsburgh.
Although a large army had departed from the town, those soldiers were mainly from other villages and towns. On the contrary, during the days that the troops were stationed in Pittsburgh, they brought many things and stimulated many industries in the town, transforming the originally monotonous colonial settlement into one with a complete range of industries.
Charles spent his days at the trading center and the bank, occasionally, when he was free, he would think of ways to have people create novel items or foods to amuse Diana Rogers and Charlotte. This warm and carefree life made Charles feel that these were truly pleasant days.
However, amidst the pleasantness, there were also some troubles, specifically issues between the girls. Charles was already an adult, and during his time in Pittsburgh, he accidentally ended up in Charlotte's bed. After Diana Rogers moved back from Scarlet Manor, she immediately sensitively noticed the difference in Charles and Charlotte's relationship, and then small quarrels and bickering frequently occurred.
"Sister Charlotte! How about we go horseback riding today? It's so boring always making things to eat here!" A crisp voice rang out on the balcony.
The owner of the voice was naturally Diana Rogers, who liked to cling to Charles. At this moment, she was holding Charles' arm with both hands, her eyes fixed on the dough in Charlotte's hands.
The girl loved delicious food and was very gluttonous. She didn't know if it was because she had been hungry all the way from Boston to Philadelphia, but she had an extraordinary fondness for food.
When she first tasted the pastries made by Charlotte, the girl almost swallowed her own tongue. But ever since Charles also ate happily and praised Charlotte a few times, Diana Rogers started to be sometimes fond and sometimes not. Instead, she often pestered Charlotte to teach her how to make things.
After returning this time, seeing the unusual dynamic between Charles and Charlotte, the girl's behavior became even stranger. She was inseparable from Charles, as if deeply afraid he would run off. Towards Charlotte, although she still salivated at the sight of her creations, she no longer praised them enthusiastically while tasting them as she did at first.
"Diana Rogers! Don't you like Charlotte's milky sweet biscuits and pork floss pies the most? Why are you saying making things is boring today?" Charles smiled, looking at the girl beside him.
More than two months had passed since he 'found' this girl in June. Although her body couldn't develop immediately, her previously thin frame had almost recovered after all this time of nourishment.
Her arms had some flesh, and her face was much rounder. Charles even vaguely felt that the girl's bottom and chest seemed slightly larger than before. Ever since he mentioned that drinking more milk could lead to fuller breasts and hips and promote development, the girl now drank a large glass of milk every morning.
"That's because it's boring always staying at home! Besides, I haven't ridden the pony you gave me very much yet." Diana Rogers shook Charles' arm.
But Charlotte, however, offered a different opinion:
"Horseback riding can be done in the morning. It's already evening, so of course, we should make pastries as soon as possible. Do you want to come and help? I'll make your favorite sweet biscuits and pies."
Although her tone was kind, her gaze wasn't particularly gentle when she looked at Diana Rogers' hands clinging to Charles' arm.
Which maiden doesn't have spring dreams? Ever since Charles kissed her in the trading center, she had been hoping for further development with him. Unfortunately, Charles was busy here and there, rarely having time to stay in Pittsburgh. This time, he finally had some time here, allowing her to just begin a sweet romance.
Who would have thought that Diana Rogers, this little burden, would appear? Not only did she not give her and Charles a chance to be alone, but she also acted very intimately with Charles. Charlotte's inner discomfort was far greater than that of Diana Rogers. Fortunately, Charlotte knew her place, believing that she and Charles were not on the same level.
Seeing that Charles had other girls to deal with, she didn't show her feelings too strongly. However, complaining when alone was still unavoidable.
"No! I don't know how to make pastries; I only know how to ride horses!" Diana Rogers pouted unhappily.
Although she was unhappy internally, she didn't throw a tantrum, which was what Charles liked most about the girl.
"Diana Rogers! Although the pastries you made a few times ago were very strange, these things get better with practice. If you make them well, I'll make fried chicken for you all tonight." Charles smiled, patted the girl's arm, and gently urged, "Go quickly!"
"Really, fried chicken?" Diana Rogers turned excitedly and asked.
"Of course, on the condition that you must learn how to make pastries from Charlotte!" Charles nodded.
Here, Charlotte was undoubtedly the best at making bread and pastries, but when it came to cooking modern dishes, Charles had a clear advantage. When Charles lived in the United States, he'd picked up cooking to satisfy cravings for home-cooked meals he couldn't find in colonial America. He'd learned a few simple recipes in his rented apartment back then, nothing fancy, just practical dishes that reminded him of what he'd left behind.
Last time, he'd caught a few grouse while hunting, and thinking he hadn't eaten decent food in far too long, he couldn't resist cooking them up. It immediately stimulated the appetites of Diana and the others. Charles himself only tasted a few bites; the rest was all snatched up by Diana and the others, earning him a chorus of praise.
Unfortunately, Charles was very lazy, and also worried that his mediocre skills would be completely learned by Charlotte after a few more times, so after that one time, he never cooked again. This time, his mention of cooking immediately piqued the girl's craving.