Since August, the Continental army has suffered continuous defeats.
Among the more significant ones were Long Island, the withdrawal from New York in September, the defeat at White Plains in October, the fall of Fort Washington in November where over two thousand men surrendered, and the capture of Deputy Commander Biddle-Lee by the British army in December.
This series of blows was like adding insult to injury for the struggling Continental army, and it severely disheartened the people of the United States, who felt that the future of the war of Independence was bleak.
The Continental Congress had no choice but to issue a call for volunteers, under the name of the "American Crisis," to support Washington's war effort.
After Antoine finished his report, Charles frowned, waved his hand, and told everyone to leave their documents and exit.
Facing such a complex situation, Charles dared not immediately decide what to do.
He could only let them disperse first, so he could be alone, quietly considering how to arrange the next steps.
A headache, indeed a headache!
Charles patted his head.
On one side was the critical eastern battlefield, and on the other were his own direct troops, making it a difficult choice.
If he considered the national interest, his own small family would surely suffer greatly; if he only considered the interest of his small family, once the nation fell, his small family would certainly not be safe.
Charles now somewhat understood the feelings of the local warlords during China's war of Resistance.
The door opened with a "creak."
countess Diana smiled at the doorway and quietly tiptoed in.
"They've all left, so I can come in now, right!" Diana asked cautiously, holding her hands to her chest.
"Of course, but you'd best sit there quietly and not disturb my thoughts.
I'm quite troubled right now!" Charles said with a wry smile.
Facing such a charming young lady, he simply couldn't bring himself to refuse her.
"What are you troubled about?" Diana sat down gracefully beside Charles, pulling on his sleeve as she spoke.
Charles originally didn't want to answer, feeling it was pointless to tell a young girl.
But the words, once at his lips, changed into the truth.
"Sigh, it's nothing but the situation on the eastern battlefield.
The battlefield situation is not good right now, and I'm hesitating whether to send troops to participate!"
Unconsciously, Charles had already come to regard Diana Rogers as his confidante, finding it very easy to speak his mind to her.
"The eastern battlefield? Didn't you always say that the difficulties on the battlefield of the war of Independence were definitely temporary, and that in a few years, the situation would surely improve, and victory would certainly belong to the people of America?" Diana skillfully repeated Charles' frequent phrases from his past speeches.
"Victory will certainly belong to the people of America? That's for sure.
Hahahaha, yes!
How could I have been infected by the sense of crisis of those around me and no longer trust my own judgment!" Charles said, laughing as he clapped his hands.
At this time, America, although appearing to be in a crisis, should not be fundamentally harmed.
Just like Biddle-Lee's capture this time.
But in reality, the Continental army only lost a senior general, and he was not an indispensable figure.
General Lee's soldiers had already been largely led out by his subordinate, Major Sullivan, so the overall strength of the Continental army had not decreased much.
The biggest blow was psychological.
In fact, such psychological blows can sometimes stimulate people's sense of crisis.
Just like the Continental Congress, which, although it previously felt the situation was dangerous, definitely did not have the momentum for a national mobilization.
Charles' attempts to forcibly conscript people for defensive works were all rejected.
But after the incident of the Deputy Commander's capture, the Continental Congress hastily issued the "American Crisis" document, calling for local organizations to support the volunteer army.
It is clear that they now have a strong sense of crisis, and the efficiency of future actions will be even higher.
Now that America, from top to bottom, has a sense of crisis, the war has shifted from a conflict between two armies to a full-scale resistance by the people of America.
"Then do you still think the Continental army will fail?" Diana continued, tugging on Charles' sleeve to remind him.
"Hehe! Of course not.
Public opinion is on the side of the Continental army, and the ordinary residents of America are also very capable in combat.
Indeed, to use a classic old saying, in a few years, the British army will be drowned in the vast ocean of all American people." Charles leaned back in his rocking chair with relief and chuckled.
Having lived in America for some time, Charles actually had an increasingly clear understanding of the strength of the Thirteen American Colonies.
America's industry was not developed, and its agriculture was severely imbalanced, but being in a wild land, the local customs were absolutely fierce.
Even in the early twentieth century, when Americans went to Europe, they were still mocked as country bumpkins and barbarians.
Indeed, both the etiquette system and folk customs here were much more formidable than on Europe.
And a large number of formidable common people would be absolutely crucial in a national war of resistance.
Charles could confirm that among the three million residents of America, those capable of picking up a musket would certainly not be less than one million.
And very few people have stepped forward now, partly because the British army has not yet reached their doorsteps, and partly because the brutality of the Hessian mercenaries has not yet reached everyone's ears.
Once the war falls into a stalemate and the Hessian mercenaries begin to brutally treat the American residents, everyone will pick up weapons to resist.
Although these passively resisting people, constrained by personal beliefs and real family ties, cannot truly join the army, go to the battlefield, or serve in combat for a long time, their localized attacks on the British army and Hessian mercenaries will greatly alleviate the pressure on the Continental army's frontal resistance.
"Then that's fine.
Anyway, you've always believed the Continental army would win, and now it's just a temporary setback in the war, so there's no need to worry." Diana said with a giggle.
She was quite pleased that her words had turned Charles' worries into a smile.
"Hmm! There's really no need to worry too much about the eastern battlefield, but other matters are still very troublesome.
What should be done with this Western Expeditionary Force?" Charles began to worry again.
Talking about the eastern battlefield situation, Charles was merely trying to find an excuse not to send troops.
But now that he could decide not to send troops, how to deal with the Western Expeditionary Force was still a problem.
"An army, of course, is for fighting!" Diana continued to try her best to act as his confidante.
"No, the Western Expeditionary Force cannot be used for fighting anymore.
Charles shook his head in disagreement this time.
Pittsburgh truly could not do without this thousand-plus Western Expeditionary Force.
Not only because they were his hard-won, battle-hardened troops, but mainly because they were the foundation of Pittsburgh's industrial construction.
Before these men were conscripted into the Western Expeditionary Force, they were basically canal workers or iron and coal miners.
Their removal had even delayed the actual completion date of the Pennsylvania Canal.
For the development of the coal and iron industry, it caused an inestimable lag.
Charles did not want these projects to be delayed again and again, constantly lacking sufficient manpower.
"No fighting? What else can an army be used for, construction? Hehehe..." The young girl let out a crisp laugh.
"I guess it really can only be used for construction, but it's such a shame to disband such a painstakingly trained, highly experienced unit and have them engage in construction.
Sigh..." Charles sighed.
It was still a problem of insufficient manpower.
He had always been puzzled by the disbandment of the Continental army after the victory of the American war of Independence, and now that he thought about it, besides preventing the emergence of powerful military figures, there might also be similar reasons to his own.
In a newly formed nation, with a large number of young and strong laborers killed in war, at a time when adult labor was urgently needed, an army of tens of thousands was indeed a very tempting target for politicians.
But disbanding an army is easy; a single order suffices.
Re-recruiting an army, however, is not just a matter of money and orders; without the test of time and the battlefield, a newly organized force would be hard-pressed to regain its original combat effectiveness.
Diana Rogers was, after all, just a young girl, and she didn't have many solutions for how to specifically resolve the issue.
She could only sit beside Charles, thinking with him, occasionally interjecting one or two ideas that were not brilliant but certainly novel, which helped Charles open his mind, and finally, he did come up with an idea.
The next day, Charles summoned Pittsburgh's civil and military officials to re-discuss matters concerning the Western Expeditionary Force and the eastern war situation.
"Sir, I have decided to reorganize the Western Expeditionary Force into the Pittsburgh Production and Construction Corps," Charles announced to everyone.
He paused, seeing everyone looking at him expectantly for his next words, then began to explain in detail:
"The Production and Construction Corps, usually organized as military units, will continue moderate military training while participating in production and construction.
They will be a reserve army, 'civilians in peacetime, soldiers in wartime,' but they will enjoy the same treatment as regular soldiers.
As for their term of service, according to the Continental Congress' latest requirements for regular soldiers, they may need to serve until the victory of the war of Independence, but to encourage enthusiasm for enlistment, I have decided to change the term of service for the Production and Construction Corps to three years.
After three years, everyone can take their salary and return home to live their own lives."
"Changed to a reserve army, sir, so will we still participate in the fighting in the east?" Antoine asked eagerly.
"Yes, Your Excellency.
How should I respond to the Continental Congress' conscription?" Major Sullivan also felt very troubled.
"Although the war in the east is dangerous now, I believe in General Washington's ability; the current difficulties are temporary, and perhaps soon, news of victory will arrive.
Therefore, I have decided not to send troops to participate in the war in the east for now," Charles said calmly.
Thinking that the situation on the eastern battlefield would improve was one point, and the most crucial point was that Charles knew that on the front lines, the Continental army and other American militias were basically absolutely impossible to defeat the British army.
Such a mature unit as the Western Expeditionary Force, if brought to the battlefield, would definitely serve as a frontline main force, and then after the war, even if the unit was not completely annihilated by the British army, few of these thousand-plus men would remain.
In fact, regardless of these substantive and interest-based issues, purely from a personal emotional standpoint, Charles would not agree to his army being transferred away.
His relationship with the Continental Congress, and Ohio's relationship with the Continental Congress, were clear from the start.
That is, Pittsburgh, like all other states, could only be considered a member of the Continental Congress, not a directly managed subordinate.
His Continental Congress title was listed under Pennsylvania, but in reality, it existed on equal footing with Pennsylvania, as was made very clear during the last division of Pittsburgh's land sale funds.
Now, other states were only providing young men to join the army; there was no reason for his Pittsburgh to deploy regular troops.
Moreover, this order was given by John Adams.
Adams would definitely not consider him a friend, and he had long disliked Adams.
This fellow now appeared to be wholeheartedly serving the nation and its people, so he couldn't find a reason to make things difficult for him.
But then he thought that Adams had become even more arrogant, and today he actually extended his hand to Pittsburgh, even directly wanting to deploy his army.
Charles was not like Major Sullivan, who would believe that Adams merely wanted to deploy troops to support the front.
This fellow had always disliked him, and perhaps he also disliked Major Sullivan, who had achieved outstanding military merits, wanting to send the Western Expeditionary Force to the battlefield and let the British help eliminate this potential threat to "democracy" in advance.
This could both eliminate the threat of Major Sullivan becoming a warlord and strike at his own strength; it was truly a brilliant idea killing two birds with one stone.
Yet, these foolish subordinates of his, Antoine and Sullivan, were both like those fanatical hotheads who would disregard everything for a slogan.
Alas!
If everyone were as cunning as Patrick, he wouldn't have such worries.
"But Your Excellency, you may not know, the eastern war is indeed very dangerous now, and if it develops further, our Pittsburgh..."
"Hmmough!" Charles waved his hand, stopping Sullivan's remonstrance.
"I believe that a soldier's duty is to obey orders.
General Washington transferred you to my command, to my deployment.
You are responsible for matters on the battlefield, and I decide strategic matters.
Now, you only need to obey my orders; the Continental Congress has no right to order you, and I will speak to them about it."