Continental Congress Representatives and leaders like Charles, upon learning of the French fleet's arrival, stopped their work and enthusiastically received Comte d'Estaing, the commander with a powerful naval fleet.
Philadelphia, having just recovered from the ravages of war, hosted a grand ball.
Political and business elites, noble ladies from all walks of Philadelphia society, as well as French allies like Lafayette and Count de Steuben, who had come to aid the United States, were all invited to attend this ball, held to welcome the French Navy's supportive fleet.
This was not merely a welcoming ceremony; it was also a thank-you reception for all European friends who had come to support the American cause of independence.
While Comte d'Estaing's military prowess had yet to be demonstrated, his skill with women was absolutely first-rate. Charles noticed that barely fifteen minutes into the ball, the general was already surrounded by a large circle of Philadelphia's noble ladies.
These romantic-seeking ladies clustered around the general, listening to him recount his sea voyages and past battles with the British, often emitting affected squeals.
Charles, Philadelphia's wealthiest bachelor, managed to shake off the various peculiar young ladies clinging to him and, raising his wine glass, approached Comte d'Estaing.
"Ladies, may I borrow your general for a moment?" Charles smiled and saluted the noblewomen.
"Oh! Of course, Councilor Charles!"
Seeing the defender of Philadelphia appear, the noblewomen knew they had serious matters to discuss. These women might not understand much else, but they were very good at reading the room.
After hearing Charles' words, no one spoke further, and they all obediently retreated. However, a few of them, before leaving, did not forget to cast alluring glances at Charles and Comte d'Estaing.
"Lovely ladies, aren't they?" Charles glanced at d'Estaing, who still had a look of longing as he watched the noblewomen's retreating figures, and playfully teased him.
"Indeed! Such beautiful ladies, not at all inferior to the girls in Paris... Uh, hello, Your Excellency, the esteemed defender of Philadelphia." Comte d'Estaing's lecherous expression instantly returned to normal.
He realized that Charles, with whom he was speaking, was far more important than those noblewomen, and quickly refocused on their conversation.
"Haha! Comte d'Estaing, it's truly a pleasure to see a long-awaited European guest in Philadelphia. I don't know whether to first thank Your Excellency for your friendship with the United States or to praise your bravery in challenging the British Navy!" Charles chuckled nonchalantly, not forgetting to flatter the fleet commander.
"Hahaha! Your Excellency Councilor Charles, those British Navy warships are not worth mentioning. They automatically avoided us from a distance on the sea. In fact, I didn't take any risks. So I believe I came to this land entirely for the friendship between France and America." Comte d'Estaing said modestly.
"A fine reason, for friendship! Let us toast to American-French friendship!" Charles proposed to the entire gathering.
"To American-French friendship!"
Comte d'Estaing and the welcoming crowd from the Continental Congress raised their glasses in celebration.
The arrival of the French army this time, in fact, not only relieved the ordinary representatives, but even Charles, who knew that the naval engagements between France and Britain in later history were not intense, felt a great sense of relief.
Unlike other representatives who believed that with the French Navy, the British Navy's blockade could be completely broken, Charles merely felt that with the French Navy protecting Philadelphia off its coast, the possibility of Cornwallis and Clinton's forces attacking Philadelphia from the sea was completely eliminated.
However, Charles was not one to let any assistance go to waste. Since this French Navy fleet had arrived in the United States, he absolutely could not let them, as in history, merely protect these noble gentlemen in Philadelphia and then turn and flee as soon as the British Navy's battleships appeared.
"Your Excellency Comte d'Estaing, do you have any plans for the upcoming engagement with the British Navy? Should we launch a major operation?"
"Operational plans? Oh, no, I received orders from His Majesty king Louis to expel the British fleet off the coast of Philadelphia, but not to immediately engage in combat." Comte d'Estaing quickly clarified.
Although he had boasted to those noblewomen earlier about how formidable he was, d'Estaing had no intention of fighting for the United States.
The French Navy's number of large ships was now not much less than Britain's, but d'Estaing himself knew very well that the gap in good officers between France and Britain was still very significant.
Bullying those small tonnage cruisers was fine, but they were very fast, and his battleships would be half-dead chasing them and might not even catch a few.
If he accidentally encountered British battleships, his fleet could not afford the losses.
"Your Excellency, General, how can expelling the British Navy not involve combat?" Charles asked with a smile.
Could it be that the French king's commitment to the alliance was insincere, sending this fleet merely as a gesture, not intending to actively participate in the fight against Britain? That would be troublesome; an inactive ally can often be a burden.
"Uh, actually, the British warships remaining in America are mostly cruisers. Their firepower simply cannot compare to battleships. We could destroy them if we got a little closer. But their speed is very high, and our battleships, without special preparation, would find it difficult to catch them in a short time.
So, this 'expulsion' usually just means keeping British cruisers out of our sight; that already counts as breaking the blockade anyway." d'Estaing took a sip of wine from his glass, his gaze irresistibly drifting towards the scantily clad noblewomen again.
"Those hateful British are very proud. Would they allow us to break the blockade?" A hint of disdain flashed in Charles' eyes.
No wonder the French Navy had always been inferior to the British Navy; one could tell their standard just by looking at General d'Estaing.
"That's not a problem at all, Your Excellency Councilor. The British blockade fleet currently consists only of very small tonnage cruisers. They simply cannot contend with the battleships I brought.
Last time, when my battleships appeared off the coast of Philadelphia, those British cruisers fled like rabbits. They certainly won't dare to show up again before my fleet departs." Comte d'Estaing said confidently.
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"Britain also seems to have many battleships. Once they transfer those ships here, won't they come back to harass us again?" Charles asked incredulously.
He remembered this very clearly: the only true engagement between British and French warships was off the coast of Charlestown. In previous skirmishes, both sides, due to clear disparities in strength, had not truly opened fire.
"Hmph! Currently, we French have the most battleships. These are battleships, each costing tens of thousands of pounds. Which country can manufacture them in large quantities? Each one built must be sent to where it is most needed.
Basically, every ship will have a mission, and they can't just be moved at will. Our fleet has also been preparing to participate in the American war since last year, which is why we could rush over immediately after the alliance agreement was signed.
Britain has no such preparations. Within a few months, it should be impossible for them to mobilize surplus battleships. At most, they'll just send those small cruisers to harass us a few times." Comte d'Estaing was completely unconcerned by Charles' speculation.
"A few months? Haha. Your Excellency, a few months of harassment can also be very harmful. Moreover, once the British army's battleships are deployed, it will be enough to return us to the era of blockade." Charles complained.
"Hahaha! Your Excellency Godfrey, you can rest assured about this. As long as our French fleet is here, you will absolutely not be harassed, nor will you return to the era of blockade.
Normally, our battleships will provide escort, ensuring at least the safe entry and exit of your ships from Philadelphia. If British cruisers dare to approach, I will definitely let them experience the might of our battleships." Comte d'Estaing said confidently.
Charles forced a bitter smile.
Britain was still the number one naval power, and he truly couldn't trust the French Navy's combat effectiveness.
In Napoleon's era, with an absolute advantage in both the number and quality of warships, they still suffered a great defeat against the British army. Now, with comparable strength, he didn't know how long they could last.
No matter how Charles incited him, this flamboyant French general was unwilling to proactively challenge the British Navy, only willing to undertake the duties of escorting and breaking the blockade.
This clearly did not align with the interests of Charles and the Continental Congress. However, other Continental Congress Representatives, out of respect for their ally, felt it would be impolite to too forcefully demand that Comte d'Estaing engage in battle.
Charles also wasn't so thick-skinned as to insist, but he thought of another use for the French Navy.
"General d'Estaing, our United States Navy has actually begun construction. As soon as Boston was captured, funds were immediately allocated to build several warships.
I wonder if we could send some people to your country's Navy's battleships to learn how to command and operate battleships?"
The Navy had to be built sooner or later; it was better to start as early as possible.
"Sending cadets is not a problem, but what you learn about operating my battleships would be completely useless for operating your Navy's ships.
I know your Navy uses armed merchant ships, which are not true warships. They neither have the capabilities of warships nor can they be commanded like warships." Comte d'Estaing very bluntly exposed the truth about the American Navy.
Indeed, although a formal navy had been established and many ships had been issued, in reality, America's developed shipbuilding industry had only produced armed merchant ships that were closest to warships.
Not to mention battleships, the soul of a navy, they couldn't even build cruisers. And the combat power of armed merchant ships couldn't even defeat most pirate warships, let alone contend with Britain.
Britain's blockade fleet alone consisted entirely of fast cruisers; the two were simply not on the same level. It was indeed useless to have sailors who had learned to operate battleships go operate those armed merchant ships.
"Hehe!" Charles let out a dry laugh. Being told to his face that his country's navy was incompetent, no matter how magnanimous he was, he would still feel a bit awkward.
"Your Excellency, General, you don't need to worry that our cadets will return to those old warships. We have already begun experimenting with building formal warships, such as cruisers, and should soon be able to train a navy with a certain combat capability.
However, while warships are easy to build, sailors and qualified commanders are very difficult to find, so we will have to rely on our French allies in this regard!"
"That's easy to say, I will certainly teach the cadets you send well." Comte d'Estaing readily agreed.
Although training a powerful navy for the United States might not necessarily align with the maritime interests of French sailors, for now, even if the United States developed a navy, it was unlikely to easily venture out of America for several decades.
And France's interests in America were far less than Britain's. The emergence of an American fleet would first challenge Britain and Spain.
Letting the United States contend with these countries in America first would actually be most beneficial to France.
Hearing Comte d'Estaing agree, Charles was overjoyed and immediately expressed his gratitude again, then went to make the relevant preparations the next day.
In the following days, this French Navy fleet commander mainly frequented the balls and parties held by Philadelphia's high society. Even the task of escorting American ships out to sea was entirely left to his subordinates; he never personally appeared.
Seeing this situation, Charles could only sigh helplessly.
He wondered if this incompetent general represented the overall standard of French Navy officers, or if French people simply loved romance more than work.
The matter of selecting a group of cadets to intern on French warships received unanimous support from the other representatives of the Continental Congress.
People at that time still had a very clear concept: for a country to be strong, it was best to have a powerful navy. A country without a navy, or even without a coastline, could absolutely not compare to a naval power.
However, there were also a few people, such as Thomas Jefferson, who returned to the United States with Comte d'Estaing, who believed that the number of naval ships did not need to be too large, only enough to handle coastal defense, and that there was no need for excessive militarization.
This was still his opinion because he generally believed that the navy was unlikely to produce warlord dictators. Conversely, for the safety of maritime trade, a powerful navy was indeed indispensable.
If it were according to his usual character, he would certainly oppose any increase in military forces.