It was already mid-November when the "William V" returned to the Pittsburgh dock.
As soon as he arrived at the dock, Charles saw someone he had been looking for a long time among the welcoming crowd—Major Sullivan, the Deputy Commander of the Western Expeditionary Force.
The negotiations in Louisiana had gone smoothly, and Charles, naturally beaming, waved to the welcoming crowd. As soon as the ship docked, he loudly proclaimed to the people on the pier:
"Ladies! sirs! Free citizens of the United States! The river route from Pittsburgh to St. Louis has been opened! We have officially broken through Great Britain's layers of blockade and once again stepped out of our country. God bless the United States!"
"God bless the United States!"
The crowd below also cheered loudly in response.
The credit for opening the route to Louisiana should primarily go to Sullivan, but the opening of this transportation channel was now attributed to Charles' achievements.
Continuously doffing his hat to thank the welcoming crowd, Charles, surrounded by his entourage, returned to his Pittsburgh Trading Center.
Slumping into a rocking chair, Charles let out a sigh.
"Ugh, I didn't expect going against the current to lengthen the return journey so much. I'm exhausted. It feels so good to be on solid ground!" He kept patting his legs as he spoke.
"Yes! It still feels good to be on land! My legs are still shaking now." countess Diana, sitting beside him, also kept shaking her feet, trying to get her legs to re-adapt to the feeling of land.
This time, apart from the mississippi River section, the main part of the journey on the Ohio River was against the current, plus they were towing a small cargo ship belonging to the governor of Louisiana. The speed of the William was reduced to less than a third of its original speed. It took a full twelve days to barely reach Pittsburgh.
As a result, as soon as Charles disembarked, he ordered the governor's ship to leave immediately and go as far away as possible. He never wanted to see this hindrance again.
"Uh, Charles, we have some things to discuss. Fortunately, you returned earlier than expected, otherwise, I might not have been able to keep things under control here." Patrick glanced at Diana beside him.
The meaning was very clear: please ask the young lady to leave.
Charles also didn't want to see Diana bustling around him like a little adult. He waved her out. The young lady, understanding, skipped out, not forgetting to close the door, allowing Charles, Greenspan, and other key Pittsburgh officials to discuss.
"What happened?" Charles then asked.
"Hmph, you'd better ask Mr. Sullivan yourself!" Patrick, for once, looked at someone with a mocking expression, and the target of his mockery was none other than Sullivan, the great meritorious official of the Western Expedition.
"Oh, Mr. Sullivan? Haha, Sullivan. I'm also very curious why you suddenly appeared in Pittsburgh!" Charles turned directly to the Deputy Commander of the Western Expeditionary Force, who was sitting upright, and questioned him.
He himself had many questions he wanted to clarify.
"Your Excellency, I received an order from the Continental Congress to bring the Western Expeditionary Force back to Pittsburgh, ready to advance east at any time to support the Continental army.
That's why I led the Western Expeditionary Force back to Pittsburgh. But after arriving in Pittsburgh, Mayor Patrick disagreed with me continuing to lead the Western Expeditionary Force and even demanded that the Western Expeditionary Force be disbanded on the spot, sending the militia back to their jobs. I was just about to report this matter to you!" Sullivan stood up, gave a military salute, and reported loudly to Charles.
However, after reporting, he also cast a dissatisfied glance at Patrick.
"Charles, disbanding too many militia and sending them back to their jobs is something we discussed before. But Mr. Sullivan already has the idea of taking the Western Expeditionary Force for himself.
For the sake of our Pittsburgh, and to prevent the emergence of powerful military figures, we must deal with this Western Expeditionary Force. This is our right, and it is also our responsibility." Patrick's voice was not loud, but he calmly expressed his true feelings.
Hearing Sullivan's answer, an uncontrollable flash of anger crossed Charles' eyes.
"You actually want to go support the Continental army?"
This idiotic fellow, did he really think that after winning a few minor victories, he could defeat the British army, which even Washington couldn't contend with? Hearing that Sullivan was actually preparing to take the Western Expeditionary Force to the eastern battlefield, Charles truly wanted to just grab a weapon and blow his brains out.
How dare he act without his permission!
He didn't care about any power or responsibility; this Western Expeditionary Force was his Pittsburgh's troop, almost entirely his direct subordinates, under his jurisdiction. If anyone reached Pittsburgh, he would deploy them without hesitation, just like this Western Expedition against the Iroquois Tribes. But sending them to support the Continental army, to fight with the regular British army, was something he had never considered.
"Yes, esteemed Your Excellency, according to the Continental Congress' order, I am to support the Continental army at an appropriate time!" Sullivan completely ignored Patrick and directly repeated his answer to Charles.
As an officer who originally came from the Continental army system, he made no secret of his desire to participate in the war.
"Nonsense! Who gave you this order!" Charles could no longer hold back. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up, pointing at Sullivan and yelling:
"The Continental Congress has never interfered with Pittsburgh's affairs! When did it ever issue you an order! I also want to ask you, what exactly are you trying to do, and why did you leave Massac without authorization? Are you planning to go to the eastern front to fight?"
This was a force he had painstakingly built up. How could he let Sullivan lead them to their deaths now? It wasn't that Charles lacked confidence in his troops; the Western Expeditionary Force was invincible during the Western Expedition, but that was against natives who abandoned their strengths. If they faced regular British army, it would certainly be a dead end.
Looking at Sullivan, his eyes lit up whenever he talked about major battles. He must have been planning to participate in the war himself and thought of dragging his thousand troops along to their deaths.
What angered Charles even more was that he had actually allowed this fellow and Antoine to jointly command a force. Now, from Patrick's words, it seemed Sullivan's influence in this force was already very great, almost beyond his control.
"Uh…" Sullivan, who had just relaxed, immediately straightened up in a panic. "Your Excellency, I truly acted upon receiving an order from the Continental Congress. It was a letter delivered by a special envoy from the Continental Congress. I'll find it to show you."
Fumbling through his clothes in a hurry, he actually found a letter. He quickly smoothed it out and handed it to Charles.
Charles didn't believe that the Continental Congress would suddenly issue orders to him, a Continental army officer. He would have been more inclined to believe it if it had been an order from Washington.
He casually took the letter and, glancing at the signature at the bottom, Charles' expression immediately turned very grim. After reading the entire letter, his face showed no major changes, but those familiar with him could see a look of shock and anger in his eyes.
This was an order to deploy the Pittsburgh Militia militia to support the eastern battlefield. The letter truly came from the Continental Congress, specifically from the Military and Ordnance Committee of the Continental Congress, to which Charles himself belonged. It bore the committee's stamp and the signature of the committee's chairman, John Adams.
Charles reread the letter, his face terribly grim. Patrick and Sullivan, among others, wisely remained silent.
"When did you receive this letter?"
"On the evening of November 20th. The day after the Western Expeditionary Force had just cleared the Ohio River basin. A fast horse delivered the letter. The messenger was also one of my former subordinates in the Continental army, so it shouldn't be a fake order." Sullivan said cautiously.
Charles' expression no longer showed any change.
Of course he knew this order was real. It was precisely because it was real that he was so angry.
Calculated by time, this order must have been issued shortly after he left Philadelphia. The messenger bypassed the Pittsburgh authorities, went directly to Ohio without reporting, endured nearly half a month of rough travel and secret searching, and just managed to deliver the order directly to Deputy Commander Sullivan of the Western Expeditionary Force.
This was an utter disregard, an utter infringement. Charles cursed loudly in his heart.
"The Military and Ordnance Committee is not the supreme military command authority. All command over the Continental army has been fully authorized to General Washington, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army.
All command over the state militia militias has also been granted to the respective state Militia Commanders. This means that, from now on, the deployment of Pittsburgh's troops must be handled by Pittsburgh. The order in this letter is an illegitimate order!" Charles directly threw the letter onto the coffee table.
"But sir," Antoine suddenly stood up, "we just received urgent news from Philadelphia that the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army, General Charles Lee, has been captured by the British army. The eastern war is indeed very dangerous now, and the Continental Congress has already asked all Colonies to organize volunteers to support the Delaware River!"
"General Charles Lee captured?" Charles was stunned. "What happened? Never mind, and what about the latest war situation? You all tell me properly. How did so much happen in just over half a month since I left?"
Charles was a little hesitant about his earlier decision. It seemed that the matters of war were indeed not something a small tour guide like him could handle.
Seeing Charles' wavering, Antoine quickly reported all the news he knew to him.
In early November, multiple British army forces gathered near Fort Washington. Fort Washington was a crucial fortress for the Continental army to garrison troops and store provisions, located on the Hudson River, with Fort Lee on the opposite bank.
Washington believed that defending this location was meaningless and immediately ordered General Greene to evacuate Fort Washington to avoid loss of personnel and supplies. General Greene did not immediately comply, delaying until November 16th, when the British army suddenly attacked Fort Washington.
The Continental army bravely counterattacked, but they were outnumbered. After inflicting heavy casualties on the British army and Hessian army, they retreated step by step into the fortress.
The soldiers inside the fort were so crowded they couldn't turn around. After bombarding the fort with artillery, the British army sent an envoy with a surrender letter. The Continental army had no room to maneuver, was unable to resist, and was forced to surrender. Nearly two thousand captured officers and soldiers were escorted to New York at midnight.
This was a major blow to the Continental army, which was already in adversity. They lost over two thousand soldiers, whose weapons and equipment were among the best in the Continental army, as well as a large amount of military supplies and provisions. Then, another even heavier blow fell upon the American forces.
At this time, General Charles Lee's position was Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army. He led four thousand men stationed not far from Washington, forming a pincer movement. After the British army captured Fort Washington, General Howe personally led five thousand British army soldiers to approach General Lee's troops, and another elite force made a direct strike towards Washington's headquarters.
Based on intelligence, Washington immediately adopted a countermeasure: he led his troops to retreat to Newark, breaking out of the encirclement, avoiding a decisive battle with the enemy under unfavorable circumstances, and at the same time ordered General Lee to quickly rendezvous, so that the two main forces could meet as soon as possible. Washington advised him to cross the Hudson River and be careful to choose a safe marching route to avoid the enemy.
However, General Lee refused to obey the order, making various inexplicable excuses to delay and prevaricate. Finally, he said that he had organized a highly confident counterattack and was determined to capture the enemy commander, Diana, alive.
While Washington led his exhausted army in daily bloody battles and continuous retreats, General Lee watched from afar, reluctant to provide aid. On December 1st, the British General Cornwallis pursued them to New Brunswick.
Washington blew up the bridges over the river to impede the pursuers and, on December 7th and 8th, gathered all boats at Trenton and crossed the Delaware River in severe cold. He also ordered all boats within seventy miles along the river to be gathered on the right bank, and personnel to retreat into Pennsylvania territory.
At this time, the temperature dropped sharply, and the river had not yet completely frozen over. The British General Cornwallis pursued them to the Delaware River, searched everywhere but found no ferry, and could not wade across, so he had to stop the pursuit, leaving three regiments of Hessian mercenaries and a part of the British army to confront the Continental army across the river.
Three weeks after Washington issued the rendezvous order, Charles Lee finally led several thousand American soldiers crawling at a speed of three miles a day in the war zone.
He himself was naturally lazy, and whenever possible during marches, he would eat, drink, and lodge comfortably, sometimes even staying outside the military camp, sneaking off with guards to stay in an inn. On December 4th, he belatedly crossed the Hudson River.
On the 13th, he explained the day's marching route, entrusted the troops to his deputy, General Sullivan, and went to an inn alone to sleep, intending to eat well and get enough rest before riding to catch up with the army.
While eating breakfast, a troop of British dragoons, guided by pro-British elements, suddenly surrounded the inn. The guards, as lazy as the deputy commander, had gone outside to sunbathe with their guns, completely unprepared.
The inn proprietress offered to hide General Lee under a bed, but he refused with a scornful attitude, pulled out two pistols, and guarded the door, intending to shoot the charging cavalry and then fight with his saber.
The opponents did not rush in but shouted, "If the general does not surrender within five minutes, we will set the house on fire!" After a slight pause, the man repeated it. Two minutes later, General Lee, still in his pajamas, was captured and became a prisoner of the British army.