"As for you!" Charles turned to Antoine, who was also looking excited.
"You should meddle less in military affairs; just focus on being a full-time sheriff. If the war in the East becomes truly critical, I will absolutely not stand idly by. You just need to choose to trust me. In a few days, I will go to Philadelphia to attend the marriage alliance between James and the Bonis family. If there were truly danger, do you think I would still go?"
Hearing Charles' stern command, Antoine and Sullivan could only obey.
Of course, the main reason for their obedience was that they felt Charles' words made more sense, and after all, they were just ordinary officers. Even if they wanted to defy Charles' command, they would have to consider their strength. At least from their current self-perception, they did not yet have the ability to defy Charles' command.
"Charles, if the Western Expeditionary Force is reorganized into the Production and Construction Corps you mentioned, then who should command this unit?" Patrick glanced at Antoine and Sullivan next to him.
He was a man of great political insight and cooperated very well with Charles in many aspects, but he was clearly not someone who could truly accomplish great things. That glance just now was entirely due to his narrow-minded worry that Sullivan and Antoine, those two war-hungry fellows, might secretly take troops to support the Eastern battlefield.
"Haha! The soldiers will still be led by Commander Sullivan. Antoine will no longer serve as the militia commander; he will simply be a full-time sheriff. However, firearms, ammunition, and other military logistical supplies will be managed by you, the town mayor.
Furthermore, the matter of reorganizing the Western Expeditionary Force into a construction corps must be communicated to all members of the Western Expeditionary Force, and my command must be conveyed to them!" Charles merely wanted to prevent the troops from participating in the war in the East, not to weaken their combat effectiveness. Therefore, maintaining the original commanders was still very necessary.
"This way…" Patrick was still a little uneasy.
"By the way, have the spoils of war from the last campaign against the Iroquois been distributed to the officers and soldiers? We will not only grant fixed land as a reward for their merits, but we also plan to allocate a percentage of the spoils as an additional reward for them. Have these been distributed yet?"
"Not yet." Patrick shook his head. "This matter is quite troublesome. The militia from other towns have already received their rewards because they were disbanded early. This time, the Western Expeditionary Force is entirely from our town.
We also need to add the merits from when Sullivan led them to pacify the Ohio area, as well as the spoils of war. Although the captured goods from those towns were not particularly substantial, there were many villages and towns, so a considerable amount of gold, silver, military horses, and military supplies were captured.
These all need to be slowly tallied and distributed, which cannot be done well in a short time. Plus, recently, because of the dispute with Major Sullivan regarding troop deployment, I have been focused here and haven't made arrangements. I will start doing it tomorrow."
"En! I'll go with you tomorrow. Let's first distribute the rewards from the campaign against the Iroquois. We cannot let our soldiers be delayed any longer than the militia from other towns. I want to personally hand the rewards to each warrior.
They not only opened up a large amount of land for Pittsburgh, but most importantly, they also eliminated the threat of the Iroquois to Pittsburgh and protected all the people of our town." Charles agreed with a smile.
This was a good opportunity to win people's hearts, and he couldn't miss it.
The militia of the Western Expeditionary Force was indifferent as to whether they should participate in the war in the East. Although they cheered loudly and appeared very happy when Charles announced the independence of the United States last time, that was mainly a cheer for breaking free from the British king's rule.
Their ancestors originally came from various countries and ethnic groups, and they arrived in Pittsburgh early. Their sense of identification with the United States, formed by the thirteen states of America at this time, was not very strong.
Furthermore, after this battle, they had reaped rich rewards, and Charles had distributed another large batch of captured spoils.
Many people were no longer particularly enthusiastic about fighting. Some even felt unwilling when Charles ordered the Western Expeditionary Force to be reorganized into a construction corps to continue participating in production and construction.
They only wanted to quickly return to the Ohio land they had received based on their merits and start their own businesses far from the Eastern battlefield.
However, Charles used the Continental Congress' stipulated service period as a precedent, only requiring them to serve for three years. If they disobeyed, they would be court-martialed. So, they had no choice but to accept continuing to be soldiers and laborers, participating in canal projects and the construction of iron and coal mines.
The few who made unusual moves were all apprehended under the suppression of the military police force temporarily organized by Charles. The troops were quickly reorganized and obediently began production and construction according to Charles' wishes.
So, even if Antoine and Sullivan internally advocated sending troops to support the Eastern battlefield, their soldiers would not cooperate. In the end, they could only obey the command and lead the soldiers to participate in production and construction.
In fact, during these days, Pittsburgh's various constructions under Patrick's leadership were also going very well.
Two batches of steamboats had already been officially launched. Including the ones built at the Pittsburgh pier, there were now a total of ten official steamboats. Although their tonnage was not large, the amount of goods transported was generally not much at present, and inland river navigation could now fully begin.
Seeing that the Pennsylvania Canal had not yet opened, Charles simply had them first operate on the route from Pittsburgh to St. Louis and New Orleans, and at the same time ordered the construction of specialized tugboats, fully enclosed soundproof passenger ships, and other types of vessels.
Patrick also reported to Charles on the Continental Congress' negotiations with the Louisiana envoy. It seemed that the Continental Congress did not have much hope for Louisiana's support either.
After discussing with lord Dupont about free passage through the port of New Orleans, they generously entertained the envoy. A document was sent to Pittsburgh, asking Charles to dispatch ships to facilitate navigation with New Orleans. The Continental Congress would pay according to market rates and would not demand anything further.
Of course, Charles had no reason not to accept such a shipping contract freely given by the Continental Congress. As for the Continental Congress' lack of enthusiasm in seeking greater assistance, he had no other choice but to guess that they already knew Louisiana had no authority and were now waiting for aid from within France.
While dealing with these matters, Charles still found a few opportunities to speak with Antoine and Sullivan individually, to alleviate their displeasure at his refusal to let them participate in the war.
Antoine was a bit better. Since he had cleared out the remaining Iroquois forces and returned to Pittsburgh, most of his militia had dispersed. He could only serve as a full-time sheriff in Pittsburgh, with limited control. Moreover, he had followed Charles for a long time, so his loyalty was basically unquestionable. Just one conversation with Charles, and he already expressed great understanding.
But Sullivan himself was suddenly transferred to Charles by Washington, and he had commanded a troop for a relatively long time.
Now, suddenly being commanded by Charles not to engage in free combat, he naturally felt a bit displeased. So, when Charles talked to him, although he didn't dare to show disrespect to Charles, he kept a straight face, diligently performing the duties expected of a subordinate.
"Your Excellency, please rest assured, I completely obey your command."
No matter how Charles explained, Sullivan always responded with these words.
But looking at that stern face, how could Charles be at ease?
"Alas! Major Sullivan, I know you are a true soldier. You should understand the saying that a soldier's duty is to obey orders. So, I am not surprised that you will obey orders, but I truly hope that you can genuinely understand the reason why I do things that way, and not just out of command."
"Your Excellency…" Sullivan hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he didn't dare to speak out.
—
"Haha! You might not be used to my way of doing things yet. Actually, Antoine and the others all know that I like my subordinates to speak the truth, and I especially like to hear what's truly on people's minds." Charles looked at Sullivan encouragingly.
A faint smile appeared on Sullivan's face.
"Your Excellency, actually, I might not need to understand your intentions, because I feel that the two of us are thinking about completely different problems. I am only thinking about how to defeat the British army as much as possible, while you are thinking about how to defeat Britain!"
"Uh…" Charles looked at the young Major in front of him, stunned.
Sullivan's remark shouldn't be flattery, right? If it were flattery, he wouldn't reuse this sycophant; but if it were sincere, then Sullivan might very well be a talent with outstanding insights in both military and political aspects.
Pittsburgh suffered from a lack of talent. Even if Philadelphia College moved here immediately, it wouldn't solve the problem. Currently, among Charles' subordinates, only Mayor Patrick could cooperate with him in all aspects.
Others, whether Greenspan or Antoine, could only help him in certain areas. If Sullivan truly was a talent with outstanding abilities in both areas, then he would definitely train him well and give him important positions.
"Major, quickly tell me, why do you understand it this way?"
"Yes, Your Excellency, actually, when you said that day, 'You are responsible for matters on the battlefield, and I decide strategic matters,' I already agreed with your idea. I had long heard General Washington say that you are a strategist, and it wasn't until I heard your words that I truly felt that you are not only a strategist but also a military scholar. Perhaps, you should lead our Continental Congress." Sullivan looked at Charles with fervor.
Charles almost rolled his eyes. All his high hopes, did they only result in this much personal admiration?
"Furthermore, I do indeed feel that politics and military affairs should be viewed together now. During this Western Expedition, we encountered many strange things: some towns preferred to fight to the death rather than surrender; some towns surrendered voluntarily without a single shot being fired; others fought for a while before surrendering when they couldn't hold on; the strangest thing was that some towns would only surrender after we opened fire. I learned a lot from interacting with these villages and towns.
Perhaps some things do not necessarily require force to solve, or rather, do not necessarily completely require force to solve. war, in fact, is merely a means resorted to when politics fails to resolve issues." Sullivan continued sincerely.
Charles opened his mouth, and after a long pause, he said:
"Good! Well said! Major Sullivan, keep up the good work. I have high hopes for you. In the future, you might be able to take off your military uniform and pursue a position more suitable for you."
"Yes! Your Excellency!" Sullivan saluted.
He had truly seized this opportunity, and his future prospects would be limitless.
Charles watched Sullivan's performance with a smile, and couldn't help but sigh that there were so few true soldiers in this era.
Only those like George Washington were true soldiers. A lack of talent was one reason, but the most fundamental reason was the overall low cultural level of society due to the absence of numerous advanced universities.
Thinking of universities, Charles suddenly thought of military academies.
At this time, military academies were mainly on Europe, and the United States did not seem to have professional military academies.
As soon as he thought of the first military academy, the cradle of officers, Charles immediately became excited and his blood boiled.
How could he miss building a military academy, something that could accumulate great merit!
Building a military academy, one that met the standards of this era, was not a particularly difficult task. At least Charles had read Charles' diary and knew what was taught in artillery academies at that time.
Artillery schools at this time basically had no tactical courses on how to command artillery in combat. The focus of normal education was on building artillery positions, and how to fire cannons was also taught. Many other courses were mainly about physics and mathematics.
West Point Military Academy, the first formal military academy in American history, at its founding, set civil engineering as its main curriculum. Graduates during this period built most of America's earliest railway lines, bridges, ports, and roads.
After the Civil war, the United States began to establish other engineering schools, and West Point's curriculum began to expand beyond civil engineering. After World war I, MacArthur further increased academic courses. In accordance with the physical requirements of modern warfare, he promoted physical fitness and sports programs.
In a word, if he just wanted to build a military academy that met the standards of this era, with his current abilities, it would be very simple.
Charles did not hesitate. He simply demarcated a piece of land in the university district and had Sullivan direct the militia there to build houses, while also selecting educated people from the militia to receive military instruction. He also lent Charles' artillery teaching notes to Sullivan, for him to use as a teaching plan and begin teaching artillery command.