By the next day, the French army fleet had not yet departed, but a fast horse from Richmond brought news of General Greene's decisive victory over the Hessian army to Philadelphia.
Similar to Washington's recapture of Boston last time, this time, even before the news fully arrived, the city was already filled with cheers and gunshots.
"Long live General Greene!"
"Praise God! Long live the United States!"
"Bang, bang..."
A festive mood immediately spread throughout the entire city.
"This is a remarkable victory!" Ambassador Girard immediately rushed to Independence Hall to congratulate the Continental Congress. "After this war, the American army has now stood on par with several powerful armies on Europe."
"Thank you for your congratulations, Ambassador! This is a shared victory for our alliance! The day we completely defeat the British army is finally not far off," said Hancock, Chairman of the Continental Congress, modestly.
The Hessian mercenaries, considered very strong by both the French army and Charles, were defeated by the Continental army just like that. Although they had an overwhelming two-to-one advantage in numbers, and their casualties were equivalent to the enemy's total, they had, after all, won. At the very least, it proved that the participating troops had reached the level of ordinary European regular armies. Girard's praise was not excessive.
After this war, there was another significant impact: within the military system, General Greene, who led this war, was now on the same level as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army. If the war were to end now, the person most clearly remembered would probably be General Greene, who had just achieved a new accomplishment.
However, this meant that the French army's original plan for southward reinforcement had to change. It was finally decided that the 7,500 French army would all sail north to support General Washington and engage in a decisive battle with the British army in Albany.
Charles and all the representatives of the Continental Congress were delighted by this news. With this, the allied forces on the northern front would have an absolute advantage in both quantity and quality. This almost declared that the northern war would also soon be victorious. Many eager representatives had already begun to formulate the content of peace negotiations.
After seeing off the French Expeditionary Force at the dock, the only French representatives remaining in Philadelphia were Ambassador Girard and a small number of attendants and low-ranking officials.
While the army went off to fight, Ambassador Girard did not rest. He visited political and business elites in Philadelphia every day, building connections and gathering intelligence. These "American farmers" who had just become the leading class of a nation were, of course, no match for Girard, a professional diplomat. Gradually, quite a bit of information that should have been confidential was partially leaked.
Fortunately, Ambassador Girard currently had no intentions detrimental to the United States. However, the notion among representatives that the French army had contributed nothing to the war of Independence and therefore should not benefit from negotiations with the British Government caused Ambassador Girard great distress and unease.
France had provided so much money and weapons to the United States; if it gained no benefits from the negotiations, even the generous British king Louis XVI would not agree. But to be fair, his own army had not yet achieved any military successes, and had not even caught up to the southern campaign where the American army suffered heavy casualties. Demanding a share of the benefits from the war against the British Government now did seem a bit unwarranted.
If the American Government insisted on excluding France from the peace talks, the French army, apart from complaining about American ingratitude, actually had no grounds for appeal.
Because of this issue, Ambassador Girard had to seek out Charles, the American Government official who was supposedly most friendly to France, to discuss this thorny problem. He hoped that Charles, a person with absolute influence in the Continental Congress, could play a role.
Unfortunately, Ambassador Girard did not know that this anti-French sentiment among Americans had been stirred up by Charles, this "friendly" person.
After listening to Girard, Charles did not take on any responsibility but instead asked Girard:
"Ambassador, what kind of benefits do you think the French Government hopes to gain from this war of Independence in America? If France is excluded from the negotiations and denied a share of the spoils from the war against the British Government, what would be the French Government's reaction? What position would it take on American-British negotiations? Would it recognize them?"
Charles' frank questions surprised Girard.
He was an Ambassador and had the right to protest and object on behalf of the French Government, but before receiving instructions from his country, he did not have the authority to clearly state France's position. If the American Government dared to exclude French representatives from the negotiations, he would certainly protest, but he had only just sent news of possible negotiations back home and was still waiting for France's specific position, so how could he make a clear statement?
"Charles! You are not an outsider, so I can speak frankly. Before coming to the United States, His Majesty king Louis did not have a favorable view of the war in America, so he only instructed us to help you as much as possible. As for the benefits to be gained, there were no clear instructions," Girard said cautiously.
"So, His Majesty king Louis did not expect to gain any benefits from the war of Independence?" Charles asked with a smile.
Louis XVI was indeed a kind-hearted man. His most important, and only, goal in participating in the American war of Independence was to weaken the British Government. He truly seemed to have never considered gaining any benefits from the British Government or the American Government.
"Uh... that shouldn't be the case," Girard quickly denied. "I just need to wait for clear instructions on benefits from home. The French Government should not give up its right to participate in the negotiations."
Just from common sense, it was clear that this would certainly not be the case now. Previously, there was no expectation of gaining benefits, but that was because victory was not anticipated. But now that victory had been achieved, and so cleanly and decisively, with the enemy soon to be at their mercy, it would be foolish not to seize the opportunity to gain something.
Charles and Girard were both very clear about this situation; France would certainly want to participate in the negotiations with the British Government. In fact, if the American Government made peace with the British Government unilaterally, France might not recognize the American-British treaty.
"Haha! Ambassador, what benefits do you guess your country will ask you to seek?"
"Hehe! That's hard to say. At the very least, after the war is won, the border issues between the United States, France, and Spain will need to be properly resolved. If this is not resolved well, conflicts might arise when seeking benefits from the British Government," Girard said cautiously, without being explicit.
Although he did not explicitly say so, Charles could already guess. France would likely seize a portion of British Colonies in America, or receive compensation from other places. In wars between old colonial powers like France and the British Government, it was common to cede a portion of Colonies as war reparations.
In real history, the war between the British Government and the French army for Canada led to significant colonial changes even after Canada was ceded. Before the war, France used Louisiana as collateral to encourage Spain to participate in the war. As a result, after the defeat, most of Spain's Florida Colony was occupied by the British Government, and France had to temporarily cede Louisiana to Spain. However, in the world Charles arrived in this time, things seemed to have changed. Florida was still in Spanish hands, and Louisiana was still in French hands.
If the war was won, France's most likely colonial demand from the British Government would be the part of the southern bank of the Ohio River that Charles' Pittsburgh army had not occupied. Of course, it could also be Canada or parts of Colonies in other places like India or Southeast Asia.
"So what do you think the American Government can negotiate from the British Government?" Charles asked with a smile.
He naturally felt a little displeased. They hadn't even gained benefits from the British Government yet, and they were already considering border demarcation issues with the American Government. Such an ally was indeed purely a combination of interests.
"Haha! The interests of the United States are nothing but full and complete independence from the British Government, aren't they?" Girard laughed. "The Thirteen American Colonies, including the areas that the British king originally forbade colonists from entering but were actually ruled by colonists, and also the northern Ohio region that you, Charles, have occupied. These interests should all be fully respected."
"But I've heard that quite a few representatives' demands include the British king recognizing Canada's independence and allowing Americans to freely fish, including for whales, off the Newfoundland coast," Charles deliberately said.
Historically, after the Charlestown campaign, the American Government's demands in negotiations with the British Government were: full and complete independence for the United States; the withdrawal of all British army from the United States; the demarcation of independent states and Colonies loyal to the British king; the border with Canada should revert to its pre-1774 Quebec Act status, which had extended the Canadian border south to the Great Lakes down to the Ohio River; and Americans should be free to fish, including for whales, off the Newfoundland coast. Among the four main suggestive demands, the cession of all of Canada was included.
—
And the final result, of course, was that the first two points were mainly satisfied.
"The right to fish off Newfoundland should not be a problem, but recognizing Canada's independence, I think the French Government and the French army people may not support it. This would have a very negative impact on other French Colonies," Girard said seriously.
Although the French Government had not explicitly stated that it wanted to reclaim Canada from the British Government, if this former French Colony were to suddenly become independent, it would definitely have a very negative impact on France's other Colonies around the world. It could be foreseen that independence movements in those Colonies would certainly be able to obtain funding from Canada.
"Then, Ambassador, do you think that if the American Government demanded the land of Canada from the British Government, incorporating Canada into the United States, would the French Government be willing to accept it?" Charles asked cautiously.
He was afraid that this question might inadvertently offend the French army in front of him.
Girard's expression stiffened.
"This is a matter of American-French bilateral relations and has little to do with negotiations with the British Government," he could only choose to avoid the topic.
If Charles, this "friendly" person, had not asked Girard in a private setting, the only thing Girard could have done was to bang the table and turn hostile.
This was an issue that could potentially damage the alliance. Although Charles was friendly to France, as a professional diplomat, Girard was very clear that it would be impossible for someone like Charles to abandon his own interests and fully side with France, and that would also not be in France's interests.
The French Government undoubtedly hoped to regain Canada, but the British Government might not be willing to cede it. And if the American Government now got involved, it would certainly lead to greater controversy.
"Ambassador, I think before we enter into peace negotiations with the British Government, we should first discuss our American-French and American-Spanish bilateral relations issues," Charles said helplessly.
Diplomacy was indeed a complex issue.
"Of course, when I conveyed the news of the peace talks back home this time, it was with this in mind. I think the French Government will also send a high-ranking diplomat here, or authorize me, to conduct formal diplomatic negotiations with the American Government first, to coordinate our positions," Girard said, not at all surprised.
Because of differing negotiating positions, there were countless precedents of allies falling out before negotiations.
"Haha! Ambassador, actually, in that case, you can relax. There are already such complex bilateral relations between the American-French, and now with the British Government involved, it has become a multilateral relationship. I think during negotiations with the British Government, we will absolutely not be able to exclude French representatives," Charles said with a smile.
In fact, when he initially incited other representatives, he didn't truly want to exclude the French army; he merely hoped that during negotiations, they wouldn't overly consider France's position. Now, things were largely in line with his expectations.
"That's true," Girard nodded repeatedly.
"Actually, I've always said that such international negotiations definitely cannot do without the presence of European powers like France, so we should also fully respect France's rights in this regard. Rest assured, I will do my best to persuade the other representatives of the Continental Congress not to obstruct France's participation in the negotiations," Charles finally assured.
Given Charles' influence in the Continental Congress, with this statement, France's right to participate in negotiations with the British Government should be respected. Ambassador Girard immediately felt relieved.