As John, the chief negotiator of the United States, left Philadelphia, his ears were filled with the sound of gunshots and cheers from the people.
He was like a governor being driven away, leaving the former Colonies with the released General Cornwallis, in a state of gloom.
When he set foot on this land again, whether in a practical or legal sense, he would no longer belong to Great Britain.
Subsequently, all Americans began to celebrate the victory to varying degrees.
They believed that they were now truly independent, and even if there were still wars, they would not happen within the Thirteen Colonies of America, which was the legendary decisive battle fought abroad, and that had nothing to do with them.
The next matters could be left to the adults who understood politics, and ordinary people could live their lives with peace of mind.
The American economy began to recover rapidly amidst this mindset of the people.
This was very much in Charles' interest, so the day after the British Ambassador left, he also proposed to the Continental Congress, in the name of the Military and Ordnance Committee, to offer condolences and rewards to the meritorious armies of the war of Independence.
Such a practice was in line with convention, and the Continental Congress approved it without much discussion, and authorized Charles to reward the Continental army in the North and South.
Charles first began his tour of the South.
In fact, on the surface, he was rewarding the meritorious troops, but in reality, he was trying to win over these military representatives.
At the same time, he also took the opportunity to win over local gentry and political figures to build momentum for his faction.
He also took the opportunity to find some products and commodities that were not yet widely used, and to acquire some bankrupt estates and industries to expand his future endeavors.
In short, this was a long-planned, multi-purpose, and highly anticipated tour.
People all over the world love politics.
Perhaps because the traditional superiors were all political figures, everyone had the idea of participating in and discussing politics.
In the past, officials and lords on Europe basically selected qualified people to participate in politics based on bloodline and financial resources.
Even if a few talented people rose to power, they were generally rewarded by the superiors.
Now that the free and independent United States of America was established, because it was stipulated that any propertied American could participate in elections, although it was still very far for ordinary people to participate in politics, it was already enough for most people who had time and leisure to participate in politics.
Therefore, even before the peace treaty with Great Britain was signed, political movements had already begun within the United States, forming factions.
The theme of this movement, as Charles expected, was naturally the great challenge of federalism versus confederation.
The concepts of States and confederation were more a manifestation of the will of powerful figures.
That is, these people debated whether power should belong to the central government or to the local governments, a regional distinction.
Ordinary people would not be too affected.
The major forces that most strongly promoted the States, by person, were of course the financial interest groups and the Federalist Party factions, and by region, the South was represented by Virginia, and the North by Pennsylvania.
The only opposition came from the democrats and a few very small states, who feared that once federalized, their state's economy and politics would be swallowed up or marginalized.
However, Jefferson and Washington, the most outstanding figures in Virginia, also had great disputes on this matter.
Charles naturally strongly hoped that the idea of establishing a federal nation could be passed this time, so he handled all aspects very cautiously.
Even though he knew that Jefferson would not strongly oppose the States, Jefferson only strongly opposed centralization, but as an influential presence in Virginia, Charles was still worried about the views of some Virginians, so the focus of his southern trip was on Richmond.
Affected by the plantation economy of the South, although Richmond was no less prosperous and lively than Philadelphia, its scale was significantly smaller than Philadelphia.
This was also due to the influence of the Age of Discovery at that time, where coastal cities developed faster and were particularly large compared to inland cities.
Charles came to Richmond to condolences the troops in the name of the Military and Ordnance Committee.
As soon as he arrived, he was warmly welcomed by General Arnold, the commander of Richmond, and even General Greene, the commander of the Southern Continental army, who was still pursuing the remaining Hessian army, specially returned from the front line to welcome Charles and his entourage.
The two generals personally led a group of formally dressed Continental army soldiers to welcome the Continental Congress' condolences representatives outside Richmond.
"Brave soldiers! Defenders of the United States! It was you who defeated the invincible British! It was you who defeated the cruel and cunning Hessian army! It was you who brought the hope of peace to the United States! On behalf of the Continental Congress and the people of the United States, I thank you, you are truly worthy warriors…"
Charles delivered a lengthy speech to the troops.
Since these soldiers were idle, they felt very comfortable listening to the important figure flattering them, and they did not boo Charles.
The Richmond gentry who came to welcome them, however, listened with great satisfaction, feeling that the Continental Congress indeed valued Virginia, sending the highest military official to come, and the speech was also well-delivered, full of praise for Virginia, making them feel very comfortable.
That evening, the Virginia state government specially hosted a banquet for Charles and his entourage, and General Greene and General Arnold and others also attended the banquet.
"This was truly an outstanding battle, General Greene! Although it has been several months since the victory, I still feel as if I just heard the news of that victory, a bit disbelieving that such an exciting thing really happened." Charles conversed softly with General Greene next to him during the banquet, building a good relationship with the commander-in-chief of the Southern Continental army.
"Mr. Godfrey! In fact, compared to the Defense of Philadelphia you commanded, the significance of this Battle of Richmond is still quite inferior!" General Greene said modestly.
The two flattered each other for a while, talked for a while, and became much more familiar.
One was eager to win over, the other was very fond, so talking naturally became easier.
However, every time Charles brought up politics, the general very courteously stated that he was a pure soldier and was unwilling to participate in politics, subtly...
Charles' words, which he had not yet had a chance to say.
Charles' visit to the South this time was originally intended to win over these southerners.
So, taking advantage of this banquet, he established good relationships with many prominent figures and large landowners in Virginia.
During the ball after the banquet, he enthusiastically spoke with everyone who came to connect, promoting his financial interest group's ideas and trying to guide them to actively request to join his faction.
He originally thought he could take the opportunity to absorb some representatives of Virginia's financial groups into his financial interest group, but in the end, he found that these southern plantation owners, although equally enthusiastic about politics, were clearly unwilling to associate with the financial interest group, which was dominated by industry and commerce.
Many large landowners had great respect for Charles himself and subtly hinted that they were willing to support Charles in further gaining leadership in the Continental Congress, but they clearly had no interest in joining the financial interest group.
These people misunderstood that Charles was trying to win them over to campaign in advance for the possible confederation or federal leadership political elections after the peace treaty was signed.
This enthusiasm was indeed misdirected.
Their statements naturally made Charles laugh and cry at the same time.
He wasn't trying to get votes for himself, but to recruit people for the party he might form in the future.
Once the victory of the war was clear, Charles had already decided to form a political party as soon as possible, so after this tour of the South, he might also go back to the North to New York, Boston, Albany and other places to condolences the troops, to lay a nationwide party foundation for the future party formation.
Unfortunately, the performance of these plantation owners now was truly unacceptable to him.
In his opinion, although these plantation owners were not direct leaders of industrial and commercial financial groups, at least their economy still needed to be linked to the next industrial and commercial supply chain, so how could they reject his proposal?
Moreover, from the current factional situation, it seemed that no faction had yet gained the ability to lead these plantation owners, so why would his suggestion be rejected by them?
Although Charles was very puzzled, their refusal was something that could not be forced.
—
With a belly full of regrets, Charles took a glass of wine from a servant.
"Your Excellency Godfrey!" A deep voice suddenly sounded from behind.
As Charles turned his head, he saw General Benedict Arnold, the commander of Richmond, smiling as he walked over, with a beautiful woman of extraordinary grace on his arm.
"General Arnold, thank you very much for hosting this ball!" Charles bowed slightly.
"Your Excellency Godfrey! How was tonight's party? Richmond hasn't seen such a lively scene since the war began.
I've long wanted to hold a large-scale ball, but unfortunately, those civilian officials in the council always refused to allocate funds.
This time, it's thanks to your visit to condolences the troops that we have an opportunity to enjoy ourselves greatly!" Arnold said with a hearty laugh.
As the commander of Richmond's city defense, he was in charge of Richmond's security affairs during Adams' stay in Philadelphia, and this welcome banquet was proposed by him to the Virginia State Assembly.
"Haha!condolences the troops, of course, the soldiers should enjoy themselves." Charles nodded awkwardly.
This general spoke very frankly, and he himself was also a civilian official of the council.
His gaze involuntarily fell on the woman next to General Arnold.
Although he was talking to General Arnold just now, Charles had already noticed that this woman had not stopped throwing flirtatious glances at him after seeing him.
Now, looking at her directly, he found that this woman was still a very beautiful and charming mature woman, with alluring eyes and a flushed face, absolutely a very seductive temptress.
This General Arnold was truly blessed to have such a beauty accompanying him.
"Respected General Arnold, won't you introduce this beautiful lady beside you?" Charles deliberately reminded him.
"Oh! This is Peggy! My wife.
Your Excellency Godfrey, my wife is also a Philadelphian.
She followed her family to Richmond before the Siege of Philadelphia, and then just married me after the Siege of Richmond ended.
These two siege battles were not only crucial battles for our United States, but also crucial battles for me, Arnold, hahahaha..." The straightforward general did not hide his love for his newlywed wife.
"Hello! Respected Your Excellency Godfrey, I have long heard that you are a very great person and a great rich man, but I never expected to see you in person now and find that you are also a handsome man! Giggles…" This Mrs. Peggy let out a string of sweet laughter.
As she spoke with a smile, she pressed her hand to her chest, creating a deep cleavage, and a glimmer of light flashed in her sparkling eyes.
Charles highly suspected the meaning in this lady's eyes.
If General Arnold next to her wasn't watching steadily, she might just directly seduce him.
Alas! Being away from home, and Diana not being by his side, it was really hard to refuse such a blatant temptation.
Charles smiled and nodded.
"Then I should really congratulate the General and his wife!"
"Your Excellency Godfrey! You don't seem to like such lively banquets very much?" Mrs. Peggy stared intently into Charles' eyes, not relaxing her flirtatious gestures for a moment.
"Uh, I really don't like banquets with too many people." Charles nodded.
This lady isn't up to some lewd tricks, is she?
"Yes! There are really too many people at this banquet, and I even feel a bit annoyed.
Respected Your Excellency Godfrey, I have already arranged for a private dinner at our home tomorrow.
I wonder if you would be willing to honor us with your presence at our home?" Mrs. Peggy indeed extended the invitation Charles had anticipated.
"Uh, well, let me think..." Charles pondered, glancing at General Arnold, wanting to ask the host's opinion.
This general, who was very brave on the battlefield, appeared clearly naive in front of his wife.
Such an invitation to a male guest was actually issued by his wife, making Charles very suspicious of Mrs. Peggy's ability to cuckold him.