"Alright! I just asked Jefferson and the other Ambassadors today, and he and the Ambassadors from those countries still haven't reached a conclusion. /w W w . Q B 5 . cO m / Hmph! It's clearly just a battle between America and England, but when it comes to dividing the spoils, those countries that didn't participate are even more eager than us belligerents. To put pressure on the other Ambassadors, we can contact the British negotiation representative in advance. I'll send someone to find John later and take him directly to Jefferson!" Charles sneered.
Diana just smiled, feeling amused by John. He had specifically set up a scheme to persuade Charles to help, but little did he know that Charles already had such plans.
Charles immediately sent for John and then took him to see Jefferson.
Although this meeting was not conducted openly, the Ambassadors from the other participating countries immediately learned of the news through their own channels.
When the talks resumed the next day, these Ambassadors immediately lodged a strong protest with Jefferson, arguing that his unilateral contact with England violated the spirit of the alliance and should be stopped immediately. Otherwise, the anti-British allied nations would not rule out taking other retaliatory measures.
Jefferson, however, responded indifferently that America was only allied with France, and its relationship with other countries was merely based on a common anti-British stance, not a formal alliance. Furthermore, the Continental Congress had no intention of unilaterally concluding a peace treaty with England. This meeting was merely out of humanitarian considerations, allowing England's representative to first visit the British army soldiers in the prisoner-of-war camps. As for the overreactions from the allied nations, they were completely unnecessary.
Although that was what he said, how could these Ambassadors believe that America and England hadn't discussed peace? The more Jefferson denied it, the more they suspected that America and England had already colluded. They intended to use the original agreement, which prohibited unilateral treaties, to corner Jefferson, but he firmly insisted that no treaty had been concluded, blocking their move. Fortunately, among these countries, except for Spain, the direct conflicts of interest between the other countries and America were not significant. Although they were angry about America's unilateral contact with England, they would not genuinely fall out over it.
Finally, the French Ambassador, Girard, couldn't stand it anymore and suggested that everyone should first talk with the British negotiation representative to see England's position. Some distribution of interests would be meaningless if negotiated unilaterally without England's agreement.
All countries felt that without clear instructions from their respective governments, they could no longer make concessions in internal negotiations. Thus, they all agreed to first contact England to see her position.
Five days after the British negotiation representative arrived in Philadelphia, the anti-British countries finally united at Independence Hall to engage in dialogue with him.
However, this dialogue was filled with discord from the start. John, the British representative, first mocked the other countries for representing America in the negotiations. The Ambassadors from the other countries, while mocking England's defeat on the battlefield, were even more suspicious of secret collusion between America and England because the British representative only mentioned himself and others, but not the American representative.
"Sirs! My sole diplomatic mission here is to rescue His Majesty the king of England's brave soldiers from the cruel prisoner-of-war camps. As for the demands of the various Ambassadors, I have no right to answer, nor do I wish to answer!" John said with a sneer.
Regarding the Ambassadors' demands for England to immediately cease all hostilities and compensate all countries for war losses, Representative John firmly denied them.
"If there's no ceasefire, how can prisoners of war be released immediately? sir John, you wouldn't be planning to re-arm these prisoners after releasing them and have them continue to attack a free America, would you?" Ambassador Girard said sarcastically.
"Precisely, sir John! If you want to release prisoners of war, then the issue of a ceasefire must be discussed first, or perhaps, the issue of Peace!" Jefferson also stood with Girard.
However, his stance was noticeably softer than that of the French Ambassador, which was also a decision of the Continental Congress: not necessarily to cooperate with other countries, but to strive to conclude a treaty with England as soon as possible.
"Sirs! I must reiterate that I have not received formal authorization to sign a ceasefire agreement, so there is no need for in-depth discussion on this matter. sir Jefferson also need not worry that we will redeploy prisoners of war to the battlefield; I can guarantee it on my honor!" John declared solemnly.
"Hmph! Guarantee? sir John is not the British king; your guarantee is not enough!" the Spanish Ambassador interjected.
He wore a smile of ill intent, clearly attempting to sow discord between America and England.
"Sir! Please respect the guarantee made by an english gentleman on his honor," John retorted unhappily.
Although the several Ambassadors united and clearly sided with America, this actually proved that when facing England alone, no country held an advantage. Therefore, even when these countries collectively pressured Representative John, this experienced diplomat showed no fear.
Diplomatic negotiations are often like that; the first day ended with an argument over honor, yielding no concrete results. When negotiations resumed on the second day, Ambassador Girard of France immediately issued a threat regarding the current situation.
"Regardless, sir John, the last organized British army in America is now besieged in Albany and is about to be defeated by the American-French Allied army. Even if you are not authorized to negotiate a ceasefire, it would be best to immediately advise the garrison commander to surrender, otherwise you will have to personally witness the annihilation of that force. Moreover, by then, not only northern America, but also the sparsely defended Canada, will be included in the Allied army's attack range. In such a situation, even if you cannot sign a treaty, you must accept the consequences of defeat!"
However, as soon as these words were spoken, John, the British representative, laughed.
"Sirs! His Majesty the king of England's soldiers will not surrender, and I will not advise General Benedict to surrender. Furthermore, Ambassador Girard, I believe that even if the American-French Allied army attacks Albany together, it may not necessarily defeat General Benedict!"
"Sir John, this should not be debated. Our American-French Allied army has now assembled nearly 20,000 men and over 200 cannons in Albany, while the British army has less than 10,000 troops. If such a significant disparity in forces cannot lead to victory, then the British army would not have suffered defeat in the southern battlefield and had its commander-in-chief captured!" Jefferson said firmly.
Regarding the British Ambassador's unwarranted confidence, he interpreted it as stubbornness. Therefore, even though Jefferson usually respected diplomatic etiquette, he spoke with obvious sarcasm at this moment.
Upon hearing Jefferson directly mention Cornwallis' capture, sir John reacted strongly:
"Sir! Please do not insult a general who fought bravely and was captured! His combat capability was proven when he inflicted immense casualties upon you!"
"He inflicted immense casualties upon us, and that includes our civilians! For a general who allowed his soldiers to massacre civilians, I have shown him great respect by not directly calling him an executioner!" Jefferson retorted just as forcefully.
"The perpetrators against civilians were the Hessian mercenaries; the legitimate British army had absolutely no involvement!"
"Those Hessian army were also troops acting under your command!"
"..."
The second day of negotiations concluded with an argument over the conduct of the troops.
—
Then, on the third day, they argued whether the British king's war against the Colonies was evil or legitimate. On the fourth day, they debated whether France's participation in the war was just. It was only on the fifth day that the negotiations returned to the issue of prisoners of war.
"Regardless, sirs, the soldiers held in the prisoner-of-war camps are being missed by their relatives and friends. Even out of humanitarian considerations, everyone should agree to release the prisoners of war. If you still insist on not believing my assurances, then we can put aside the ordinary soldiers and first discuss the release of our commanding generals. This aligns with the spirit of chivalry and established rules of combat; surely, no one would object, would they?" John finally began to relent.
Jefferson and the others indeed could not find any particularly strong reasons to object on this point. Moreover, releasing a defeated general would not significantly alter the battlefield situation. Besides, by the time this general returned, the fighting in the north might already be over.
"Alright! We can first discuss General Cornwallis and the other captured British army generals."
Before the replies from the European countries arrived in America, the only progress in negotiations between England and the anti-British countries was an agreement regarding the redemption of a few generals, such as Cornwallis. There was no progress whatsoever on the release of other prisoners of war or American-British peace talks.
The confirmed authorizations for negotiations from the various countries' governments, as well as their bottom-line demands, finally arrived in Philadelphia fifteen days after the British representative's arrival, by which time it was already September. This also indirectly reflected that England still held the strongest naval power in the Atlantic Ocean.
Once these replies arrived, the countries again lost interest in talking with England and instead resumed coordinating their respective positions, as well as bilateral and multilateral agreements with America.
Through his good personal relationships with the various Ambassadors, Charles quickly learned, through various channels, the general situation of the interests that the various governments wished to gain from both America and England.
France's interests were clear: to acquire as many of the Colonies south of the Ohio River that were still under British control as possible, and to explore the possibility of retaking Canada. Spain's demands were more convoluted: not only did it demand several colonial towns in North Florida, but it also required America to promise not to incite independence in its Colonies. From England, it demanded control over several islands in the West Indies. The conditions of the other countries were more fragmented, basically only requiring America to recognize bilateral agreements, as well as navigation and trade conventions. Many specific interests were also requested to be negotiated directly in areas of conflict with England, and they were not authorized to be pursued in America.
Although these countries all had conflicts with England, and the vast majority of them were fighting British army in certain parts of the world, in America, only France and Spain had direct conflicts. The final negotiations would therefore revolve around these countries.
Upon learning of the basic demands of the various countries, Charles immediately informed Jefferson of the situation and expressed that they could agree to France's demands and then unite with France to jointly resist Spain's demands for American interests.
However, before these countries could coordinate their positions, very unexpected news arrived from the northern battlefield.
Perhaps to create a favorable atmosphere for the negotiations in Philadelphia, the American-French Allied army and the British army launched simultaneous attacks on each other. However, the American-French Allied army's attacks were mainly probing, while the British army's attacks were a direct and resolute breakout towards Canada.
Among them, England's most elite force in America, a 300-man cuirassier cavalry unit, displayed extraordinary combat effectiveness. The Allied army was caught off guard and was actually broken through by them.
Cavalry was still a very powerful fighting force in the age of firearms, especially cuirassiers who wore only breastplates. They had both the speed of light cavalry and breastplates that could block firearms, essentially making them the tanks of the musket era. England's army was not strong, and its cavalry numbers were not very large; all cuirassiers were nominally directly under the command of the British king.
Although this cuirassier unit was sent to America, Benedict had always been hesitant to use it. The main reason was that the unit was too small, and cavalry and infantry could not coordinate effectively. Once deployed, they would have to fight alone and could easily be surrounded by the superior Continental army. If the Continental army besieged them regardless of casualties, it was estimated that even if a thousand or two thousand men died, they could still overwhelm them. In that case, even if Benedict won the battle, he would likely not escape punishment from the British king. Therefore, even though there were several opportunities suitable for their deployment, Benedict did not use them.
This time, during the breakout, they truly proved their worth.
Led by these 300 elite cuirassiers, no defensive unit could withstand them. These 300 cavalrymen moved as if through an uninhabited land, traversing the American-French Allied army's defensive lines several times, creating a large gap in the encirclement, allowing Benedict's unit to successfully break out.
Washington and Rochambeau were both startled by this unexpected turn of events, but fortunately, the main force of the British army was still infantry, and their breakout was not fast. They were soon caught up by the vigorously pursuing Allied army.
The two generals were not ordinary men and quickly came up with a way to deal with the cuirassiers: using fortifications to block them, combined with close-range sniping from rifles. As the British army continuously sent cuirassiers to raid, although they got closer and closer to Canada, the number of cuirassiers in that unit also dwindled.