Mr. Godfrey! My wife has always admired you greatly. Even before she was married, she always paid close attention to news about you. If I hadn't already married my wife, I wouldn't dare feel at ease letting you interact with her too much. Hahahaha, it's rare for you to personally visit Richmond this time, so you must come to our home for a visit!" General Arnold, without any surprise, supported Mrs. Peggy's invitation, also looking at Charles with anticipation.
"Alright! My schedule happens to be free, so I will definitely come tomorrow." Charles smiled and agreed.
At the same time, he thought to himself: After marriage, one should even less invite someone their wife admires into their home. Before, it was about competing with others for women, and there was always some gain. Now, it would be about being cuckolded. Although he really didn't want to cuckold the General, this General seemed very eager for someone else to put that hat on him.
Hearing Charles agree, Mrs. Peggy finally breathed a sigh of relief, then almost imperceptibly pulled General Arnold, and with a charming smile, bid farewell to Charles:
"Then Your Excellency must come tomorrow! I will definitely give Your Excellency an unexpected surprise."
At the same time, she didn't forget to give a very obvious flirtatious wink. Looking at her disappearing skirt, Charles' heart trembled. Tomorrow should be a wonderful day!
"Definitely! Definitely!" Charles smiled and nodded repeatedly.
But in his heart, he was muttering, this wink was particularly captivating, it seemed different from the look she gave him earlier.
With such a captivating beauty dating him, Charles was in a great mood and continued his lobbying efforts at the ball. This time, he simply sought out only the true industrial and commercial figures, no longer looking for the plantation owners, the main political force in Virginia.
Although the main political force in Virginia and other Southern States was almost entirely plantation owners, and even the economic situation was dominated by the plantation economy, with little room for industry and commerce to survive, there were still some industrial and commercial figures. These people, surviving in the cracks between the plantation owners, particularly needed the backing of a major power. As soon as Charles began lobbying, they didn't even wait to be actively courted; they proactively and eagerly requested to join Charles' financial interest group and any future political party, hoping Charles would agree.
How could Charles refuse such a request? He immediately agreed and had members of his accompanying financial interest group discuss forming a Virginia branch of the faction with these individuals.
With such results, Charles was already very satisfied.
Due to the fatigue of the journey, he was about to take one last look and then depart. However, several corpulent great plantation owners, oblivious to his mood, approached him and, despite his displeasure, tried to lobby him to support a proposal initiated by the Southern plantation owners.
During the actual war of Independence in history, due to the worsening situation in the middle and later stages, coupled with the British constantly inciting slaves to support them, the United States voluntarily abolished feudal remnants such as primogeniture and indentured servitude. Seven northern states once abolished black slavery, but slavery remained in six Southern States. However, after the war ended, the ideal of black Americans who actively participated in the war to escape slavery became a pipe dream, and the war of Independence did not resolve the issue of black slavery.
Now, due to Charles' involvement, the situation of the war of Independence was vastly different. Not only did the Southern States not liberate slaves, but several northern states had no intention of abolishing slavery at all.
However, the content of the lobbying by these few great plantation owners who approached Charles made him feel very amused.
"You mean, you want me to support your proposal for a more reasonable and legalized use of slaves?" Charles stared blankly at the great plantation owners in front of him.
These guys couldn't be so ill-informed, could they? He had already freed all the slaves under his name in Pittsburgh, which was a clear stance against the use of slaves. Did they not even bother to inquire whether he supported or opposed slavery before approaching him?
"Yes! Your Excellency, we believe there should be new regulations for slaves. Slaves are not allowed to own property, are not allowed to read or write, are not allowed to marry without the owner's permission, are not allowed to leave the plantation without authorization, are not allowed to gather in groups without a white person accompanying them, and slaves can be bought and sold at will like livestock. You are a figure with strong influence in the Continental Congress and in various states, please be sure to support us!" a great plantation owner replied.
Although the use of slaves was already widespread before the war of Independence, there was no law stipulating how slaves could be used. To be honest, the British colonial authorities were relatively more lenient than the Americans in their treatment of natives and black slaves. At least if a slave died, they would inquire about it. After the war of Independence, the government generally did not inquire about the life and death of these slaves; instead, the law guaranteed that everyone was responsible for apprehending runaway slaves. Historically, the institutionalized large-scale use of slaves also occurred after the victory of the war of Independence, and unlike the pre-war situation where indentured servants and black slaves were used simultaneously, after the war, basically only black slaves were used. The measures proposed by this plantation owner, according to actual historical development, would become formal legal regulations after the war.
"Hehe! sirs, why do you think this way? Why such... such high-intensity use of slaves?" Charles smiled.
Charles really couldn't find the most appropriate words to describe the measures mentioned by this plantation owner.
"Of course, it is for better recovery of production, Your Excellency. This war has caused us very heavy population losses. Now, we must use black slaves more extensively and more reasonably to ensure that our production can recover as quickly as possible!" A relatively refined plantation owner spoke with a more dignified air.
Another plump man in luxurious clothes spoke more bluntly.
"Hehe! The profit from using black slaves is the highest, and I won't hide it from Your Excellency, I am a slave trader. After the victory of the Richmond battle, I immediately sent people to Africa, and in a few days, several large ships laden with black slaves will arrive on the American coast! Only large-scale use of black slaves can bring us more profit."
Charles looked at these plantation owners in front of him, smiling bitterly and shaking his head. They were either plantation owners or slave traders; these people really didn't care about human rights at all.
Seeing Charles shake his head, those plantation owners and slave traders misunderstood his meaning.
"Your Excellency is unwilling to help us for free, right?" A self-proclaimed clever slave trader said with a smile: "Please rest assured. We have already prepared gifts for you. Besides a two-thousand-pound withdrawal voucher deposited in your Pittsburgh Bank, there are also ten beautiful black slave girls. Furthermore, if you plan to form a political party, we can also make political donations to your party."
Charles still shook his head.
"If you want us to join your financial interest group, I'm afraid it will be a bit difficult. Our business philosophies are too different from yours," another person interjected.
"Hehe! Don't worry, everyone, I won't extort you, but regarding this issue of legislation to strengthen the use of slaves, I still need to consider it carefully. I will reply to you once I have made a formal decision," Charles smiled.
Since these slave owners could come and bribe him, they could also bribe others. From the current situation, it seemed very likely that this proposal would pass. Of course, he was unwilling to go against the trend directly in front of them, and indeed needed to carefully explore the opinions of others. If the abolitionists were strong enough to shake the institution of slavery, he would definitely vote against it. But if the abolitionists were completely useless, then he didn't need to joke with his own future.
—
Seeing that Charles was unwilling to state his position on the spot, these plantation owners and slave traders did not make things difficult and immediately dispersed with smiles. They did not believe that Charles had any possibility of opposing them. So many people coming to lobby him together was actually mainly because they were optimistic about Charles' future in American politics.
Charles sighed softly. The capabilities of these people were limited, and he wasn't afraid of them at all. However, he couldn't just destroy them with a word today. So, although he looked down on them in his heart, he didn't directly embarrass them. If these minor figures held a grudge against him and constantly caused trouble for him in the future, it would indeed be very annoying.
"Hehe! Mr. Godfrey! Those plantation owners, were they again lobbying you to loosen the use of slaves and support their bill?" A soft chuckle sounded behind Charles.
Charles was truly annoyed. Hearing someone speak behind him, he immediately felt displeasure. Why did everyone in Richmond like to suddenly speak from behind people?
However, turning around and seeing that it was General Greene, whom he greatly admired, Charles immediately broke into a smile:
"Hehe! Yes, General, you know them too. Have you also been lobbied by them?"
General Greene's eyes lit up. To be able to infer from his few words that he had also been lobbied, this Councilor Charles was truly not simple.
"Indeed! These people, when I defeated Cornwallis, had already hinted that they were willing to offer money and men to help me defeat the Hessian mercenaries more easily. I didn't think much of it at the time and accepted their good intentions. But after the victory, they came to lobby me to support their proposal."
"Oh? Did the General agree?" Charles was greatly surprised.
It was not unexpected for Charles that these slave traders and plantation owners would value General Greene's influence and lobby him to support their proposal. But to win the General's favor with war donations even before the war ended, that truly showed their ability to assess the situation and understand investment.
"Alas! I fell for their trick; how could I let them have their way? But having accepted their favors, it's not good not to reciprocate. I could only refuse to state my position by saying that soldiers do not interfere in politics, but many of my officers, having received benefits from them during the war, all expressed support for strengthening slavery," General Greene sighed helplessly.
Charles' expression was displeased.
There were many senior generals in the Southern army, and the soldiers of the Continental army mainly came from the South. If these people expressed support for slavery, then no matter how hard the abolitionists tried, they would not be able to achieve an influence strong enough to shake slavery. Since slavery could not be shaken anyway, he might as well have simply agreed to them earlier.
Alas! The inertia of history, indeed, cannot be easily changed.
"Mr. Godfrey! What do you think about slavery?" General Greene, seeing Charles in thought, asked him his stance with a smile.
"Me?" Charles was startled.
Could it be that the news here in Virginia was really that ill-informed? This General, like those plantation owners, hadn't heard the news that he had already freed his slaves.
"Hehe! I sympathize with slaves, but as for slavery, I believe that as long as it benefits the development of the country, I will support it. When it no longer benefits the country, I will advocate for its abolition."
Charles was unclear about General Greene's position, so he did not speak frankly.
"That is an insightful view! It is very consistent with the customary behavior of politicians," General Greene said with a meaningful smile.
He raised his glass to Charles, indicating that he did not want to discuss the matter further.
Charles also raised his wine glass in return, taking a sip of the fine wine in his glass. The two talked a few more sentences, agreeing to find a suitable time to chat again, then bid each other farewell.
However, Charles immediately turned and quickly went to find those plantation owners and slave traders to claim the benefits he was due.
Although this trip to Richmond did not open up a grassroots route for the financial interest group in the South as originally expected, it at least gained some inroads. With these few beginnings, in the future, by economically suppressing and wooing them, he would certainly be able to gradually draw more outstanding individuals into his financial interest group.
As for those slave owners, Charles didn't take them to heart. He didn't have the aspiration to feel that the use of slaves was inhumane and that he absolutely had to use all means to prevent others from using slaves. Some things he would interfere with if he had the ability, and let them develop if he didn't, or even take advantage of the opportunity to gain certain benefits. Anyway, historical development has its inevitability, and things that weren't too closely related to his own interests could be completely ignored.
In fact, for a transmigrator like himself, foreknowledge of the future was even more important.
Overall, Charles was quite satisfied with this trip.