It was very troublesome to lead work in Philadelphia. The first problem Charles encountered was dealing with the Loyalists in Philadelphia.
The current situation was not good, and many pro-British elements and Loyalists were causing trouble. As winter approached, the British army could cross the frozen river and attack Philadelphia. Given Philadelphia's current state, everyone knew it couldn't resist the British army. These Loyalists were smug, believing their spring was about to return.
Those who had been bullied before were now preparing to get their revenge. Knowing that no one dared to touch them, they became increasingly arrogant. Many people openly walked the streets with guns, interrogating passersby about their political stances. Most shops didn't dare to open, normal social activities and commercial behaviors were completely suspended, and the entire city of Philadelphia descended into chaos and disorder.
In reality, no one dared to act against them, fearing brutal retaliation if the British army entered the city. The original Adams and the Philadelphia city government were completely incapable of pacifying these Loyalists, only able to rely on General Putnam, who was left behind, to send a few sparsely numbered soldiers to barely suppress them. The entire city of Philadelphia was thrown into disarray by these swaggering Loyalists. In real history, the Loyalists even launched an armed rebellion, which was eventually suppressed by General Putnam.
When Charles arrived at the Philadelphia City Hall, next to Independence Hall, to take up his new post, he saw several Loyalist agitators shouting at the entrance.
"Mr. Beson, what's going on with them?" Charles asked Franklin's son-in-law, Chad Beson, who was currently the Postmaster General of Pennsylvania.
When Charles took office, Beson and other Pennsylvania and Philadelphia city officials all came to welcome the future leader of Philadelphia. As Philadelphia was the capital of Pennsylvania, much of its work was actually handled by the state government. Therefore, the people who came to greet him were mainly from the state administration, such as the Public Security Committee and the Trade Committee.
Hearing Charles' question, before Chad Beson could answer, the Chairman of the Public Security Committee spoke first:
"These are Loyalists. Now that the British army is about to lay siege to the city, they've jumped out again to cause trouble. They demand that we surrender quickly and re-swear allegiance to the British king. Many of them are carrying weapons. We can't restrict their actions too much, lest it provoke a riot."
"Not restrict their actions?" Charles' voice rose, "gentlemen, do you think them walking around with weapons at City Hall is any different from armed rebellion? Do we have to wait for them to open fire before we retaliate?"
"Uh…" The Chairman of the Public Security Committee secretly glanced at the Loyalists.
"Charles! Don't make it difficult for the Chairman, he can't help it. The main force of Philadelphia's army has been transferred to the Delaware River to support General Washington, so we don't dare to act against these protesting Loyalists," Chad Beson said, defending the Chairman of the Public Security Committee. "If we let them be, they're just protesting. But if we disperse them by force, they'll immediately take up arms and rebel, and then we'll be in big trouble!"
Because of Charles' relationship with Franklin, Chad Beson and Charles were relatively familiar, which is why he could speak up for his friend.
"Isn't General Putnam's army still here? Haha, if they rebel, will our soldiers just stand by and watch the Loyalists revolt?" Charles was still polite to Beson.
"The main force of General Putnam's troops has already been sent to support General Washington as ordered. The troops remaining now were specifically halted after reporting to General Washington. Currently, they can only barely garrison some key areas and are insufficient to quell a full-scale rebellion. It's fortunate they are garrisoned, which is why the Loyalists are only protesting and don't dare to cause trouble, otherwise they would have rioted long ago," Beson could only smile helplessly.
If Philadelphia hadn't truly entered a state of crisis, why would the Continental Congress have been so eager for Charles to take charge.
"Protest?" Charles sneered.
He had never seen such a protest: people waving weapons outside City Hall, yelling for Philadelphians to re-swear allegiance to the British king, or else they would face consequences once the British army entered the city.
If such a protest wasn't quickly suppressed, who knew if the people of Philadelphia would actually heed their call. At that point, Philadelphia might declare allegiance to the British king without the British army even needing to attack.
"Immediately summon all members of the Military and Ordnance Committee, the Public Security Committee, and General Putnam. We must discuss this. We need to deal with these Loyalists immediately, otherwise there's no point in making further defensive arrangements; Philadelphia will fall without a British attack," Charles ordered decisively.
Phil, Bidlee, and others, who were always by Charles' side, naturally didn't need to be urged and immediately carried out Charles' orders.
A joint meeting, composed of the Continental Congress' Military and Ordnance Committee, the Pennsylvania Public Security Committee, and General Putnam of the Continental army, discussed Charles' proposal for Philadelphia to enter a state of emergency.
"Gentlemen! In this critical moment, I won't say much more. Philadelphia needs a baptism of iron and blood to restore its calm. I hope you will cooperate with me to use powerful force to directly clean out the Loyalists in one go," Charles said at the joint meeting.
Facing Charles, who had been authorized by the Continental Congress, everyone basically had no objections. Moreover, they had all heard rumors of Charles' conquests and were quite convinced by him, so Charles' proposal was quickly approved. General Putnam canceled his mission to reinforce Washington, deciding to cooperate with Charles and suppress the Loyalists in Philadelphia first.
However, General Putnam's troops alone were not enough. Charles armed his own personal guard, as well as the bodyguards and gatekeepers of other wealthy Philadelphia families he was on good terms with, and even the security guards of the Continental Congress and the guards of several banks, forming an emergency force of five hundred men.
Charles first sent people to monitor the arrogant Loyalists who had taken to the streets. Then, General Putnam's regular army garrisoned key locations, while Charles' emergency force assembled and swept across Philadelphia from south to north. Following the surveillance instructions, they killed all resisting Loyalists and arrested those who surrendered.
After sweeping out all Loyalist elements from Philadelphia, there were only two ways to deal with all confirmed Loyalists after interrogation, besides those armed rebels killed on the spot: either thrown into Philadelphia prison or sent to the gallows.
For a time, Philadelphia became a Loyalist hell, with Loyalist corpses hanging in the streets.
However, Philadelphia did not experience widespread panic as a result. Instead, with the arrogant Loyalists gone from the streets, stability slowly returned. People began to leave their homes, and various normal commercial activities resumed. Yet, after nightfall, everyone still dared not go out.
The previously restless public mood gradually stabilized.
The Continental Congress, which supported Charles from behind, did not express any opinion on Charles' iron-fisted methods. After all, the Continental Congress was not lacking in revolutionary radicals, who shared similar temperaments with many of the deputies during the French Revolution. Moreover, historically, after the capture of Boston, the persecution of Loyalists by the Independent Party was far more brutal than mere execution or hanging.
Therefore, most people had no major objections to Charles' actions. Many representatives even praised Charles' astute methods for quickly restoring peace to Philadelphia, deeming him stronger than the timid Adams.
A few Loyalists who had slipped through the net could only secretly spread rumors of Charles' terror, agreeing that as long as Charles Godfrey, the great demon king, was in Philadelphia, they absolutely could not reveal their Loyalist identities. In the rumors, he had even become someone who had to kill a few Loyalists every day to get his fix, otherwise he wouldn't be able to sleep.
This made Diana Rogers, who heard the rumors, constantly pull Charles and ask him if it was true.
Many Philadelphians also feared Charles, but more so for his decisive ruthlessness than for any worry about him harming them personally. The consequence of this was that any of Charles' orders were quickly executed, without him needing to repeat them a second time.
Regarding various material supplies, and even the construction of defensive fortifications, etc., everything was quickly and effectively arranged due to Charles' strong-arm tactics. Although a bit cumbersome, under Charles' command and the efforts of the Philadelphians, the basic defensive works were almost completed.
However, the most crucial link, the most lacking armed personnel, remained an unresolved problem. Most of Philadelphia's militia, including those from neighboring villages and towns, had almost all been transferred by the original Adams to Washington's command, serving as reinforcements for the Continental army.
Apart from General Putnam's troops and a handful of quick-shooting policemen, there were no regular armed personnel in the entire city. Charles was now truly resentful of Adams' short-sighted approach.
It was one thing to draw off militiamen from other towns, but why take those from Philadelphia too? If General Howe launched a surprise attack on Philadelphia, what would happen to the capital? Would Washington's Continental army arrive in time to rescue it!
No matter how much Charles complained, there was nothing he could do; those transferred soldiers could not be brought back. He had no choice but to issue a new conscription proclamation while also proposing to the Continental Congress to demand the conscription of former retired soldiers and officers to defend Philadelphia. Most of these retired soldiers had also voluntarily joined the Continental army, but a few remained, and it was still possible to forcibly conscript them as temporary officers.
Even so, due to a shortage of manpower, Charles eventually assigned his personal guards, Phil, Bidlee, and others. Fortunately, Charles' decisive authority remained; within a few days of the conscription announcement, over a thousand people were recruited.
Charles had General Putnam select them, ultimately forming a thousand-strong Philadelphia defense force. While they couldn't directly confront the British army, they could at least offer some resistance and hold out until reinforcements from the Continental army arrived.
Under Charles' leadership, the entire city of Philadelphia was united, having made all sorts of preparations for war. Facing the British army, which could attack at any moment, everyone's confidence had increased considerably.
Philadelphia spent the New Year of 1777 in a state of nervous preparedness.
James' wedding at Philadelphia Cathedral was very grand. As Charles' secretary, the city's most important figure, James was extremely honored. However, their wedding date was truly ill-chosen, right at this most dangerous moment. So, basically, as soon as everyone left the church, they went back to their own affairs. Charles was so busy that he barely had time to exchange pleasantries with the Bonis family.
In winter, as soon as a cold snap hit the Delaware River, its surface would freeze, allowing people to walk safely across. Currently, the Continental army was only able to confront the British army across the Delaware River; once the river froze, and the British army crossed on the ice, it would be the Continental army's doom.
Both General Howe, the British commander, and the Continental Congress saw this situation, which led to one side resting assured and the other preparing anxiously for war.
However, both sides overlooked a key figure: the brilliant Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army, General Washington. Although he was left with only five or six thousand battered troops, and the Philadelphia Continental Congress had largely lost confidence, he himself never gave up his belief in victory.
Washington sent scouts to reconnoiter the enemy, learning that General Howe was residing in New York, and General Cornwallis was on leave, awaiting the river to freeze solid before launching an offensive.
Trenton, directly across the river, was garrisoned by Colonel Rahl with a detachment of British light cavalry and three Hessian mercenary regiments. This Rahl was good at charging but not suited for independent command. With the enemy across the river, he was unconcerned and unprepared for battle, believing the great river served as a barrier, preventing both sides from crossing.
A comprehensive surprise attack plan had been meticulously prepared by General Washington. He resolved to exploit the enemy's complacency and launch a surprise attack on the British forces across the river.
The time was set for Christmas Eve, with multiple detachments crossing the river simultaneously, and a coordinated surprise attack at five o'clock the following dawn. The plan of action was: the troops would advance in three columns.
One column, led by Washington himself, the main force, would cross the river at McConkey's Ferry, nine miles north of Trenton, and advance directly on Trenton from the front. The second column, a detached force led by General Ewing, would cross the river from the south to cut off the enemy's retreat. The third column, General Putnam's troops, would cross the river from Burlington to attack enemy strongholds to the south.