Charles had already thought about how to retaliate against Adams and the Federalist Party.
From now on, any region controlled by the Federalist Party that encounters financial problems will not be able to borrow a single cent from his bank or other allied banks, nor should they expect him to temporarily give up a portion of tax rights or tax revenue to help local governments in emergencies.
Other representatives of the Continental Congress have not yet officially come forward, so he won't bother with them. If they vote in the form of a full assembly, then they shouldn't blame him for retaliating against them. The new United States will often face various talent difficulties. With his precedent, he'll see who is still willing to lend them money at the most critical moment.
"Only returning land?" Franklin showed a wry smile.
"That's right. The matter of repayment should be handled by our Mr. Morris. I have already told him that I will accept such a 'final repayment' action. However, according to custom, which parts of the debt are repaid should be decided by mutual negotiation. I have decided to accept the return of the land with the greatest appreciation potential," Charles said directly.
If there were no tariffs, Adams and his group would certainly still be drawing water with a bamboo basket.
Charles wanted to see what kind of expressions these self-proclaimed patriots would have after learning his reaction to this matter.
Adams and his group had already felt a chill in their hearts when they first received Morris' reply that only interest-free loans were possible.
Although a few staunch supporters who wanted to maintain tariffs tried to lobby, many still chose to withdraw. After all, most people were willing to pay for "patriotic" loans with profit, but loans with no profit and no idea when they would be repaid were something most people were unwilling to lend.
A greater blow to Adams was the subsequent reply from Franklin stating that Charles would not resolve the tax authority issue first. Adams' painstakingly arranged plan to recover tariffs was completely scrapped.
In fact, after Charles' first interest-free action began, with a large number of private members unwilling to lend again, his plan to redeem tariffs was already impossible to achieve. Now Charles went a step further, simply allowing others to find legitimate reasons and decide to refuse further loans to the Continental Congress, using the excuse that it was impossible to maintain tariffs anyway.
Finally, when January 1st arrived, the loans Adams provided to the Continental Congress only returned land worth tens of thousands of dollars. And five tax types, including customs tariffs, as well as a large amount of land in key areas, successfully fell into Charles' hands.
Charles also made a big splash for this, spreading rumors that Adams did this because he saw the huge appreciation potential of America land after the war, and did not want it to fall into private hands. That's why he specifically arranged this "interest-free" repayment action, making the impression of Adams and his Federalist Party extremely poor among the business and industrial circles, who particularly valued credibility. The plan to donate to the Federalist Party to allow them to participate in the election of representatives to the Constitutional Convention was also immediately canceled.
For nearly a decade after this, the customs tariffs of the United States were always collected and managed by Charles.
This matter of repayment was resolved silently, but Charles' anger towards Adams had already ignited, just waiting for an opportunity to vent it again.
On New Year's Day of 1779, Philadelphia Harbor was bustling with people.
People braved the severe cold to welcome a steamboat arriving from the West Indies.
This was a true steamboat, named "New Orleans," built by the New Orleans Steamboat Factory, jointly invested by Charles and the French colonial governor. Designed with a tonnage of six hundred tons, it used a combined steam paddlewheel and sail propulsion, and was prepared by Charles and the French side for long-distance navigation trials.
This "new orleans" was already the sixth of all experimental steam sea vessels. The previous five were either directly converted from original sailboats, or used only paddlewheels, or were small warships. Only this one was a true steam-sail powered ship capable of long-distance navigation.
The theoretical maximum speed could reach nearly twice that of a sailboat. Unfortunately, the technology of this ship was not very mature. Once the steam engine was started, it often could not sail with full sails, which greatly reduced its actual maximum speed, making it only about 30% faster than a sailboat.
Charles had long been preparing to establish an Atlantic Cruise Company. As soon as this New Orleans came out, he could immediately begin to implement his plan.
After discussing with the governor, to establish the steamboat brand, they decided to undertake a transoceanic steamboat voyage between Europe and America. Although French Ambassador Girard and French Navy Commander Count de Grasse had reservations about this matter, they were also very eager to see if this steamboat, which had been tested in coastal areas, truly had the ability to make long voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. So, they ultimately agreed to this promotional trip.
The "new orleans" was originally supposed to depart from the West Indies, cross the Atlantic Ocean, and head directly to Europe.
Although this route was longer, it was safer. There were no hurricanes in winter, and even without wind, it was very suitable for formal steamboat navigation. Relatively speaking, it was much safer than the Arctic route, which was full of icebergs. However, for the purpose of promoting this voyage, Charles specifically set the departure from Philadelphia. The route from Philadelphia, via New York, to Britain, and then directly to Europe, with the destination being the French port of Brest.
On the return trip, they would try the Arctic route.
Philadelphians had long seen various steamboats on the Pennsylvania Canal. This time, seeing the "New Orleans," although they were somewhat amazed by its size and dual-power structure, they weren't particularly surprised. However, such a novel steamboat making an oceanic voyage still made many people feel new. As soon as the ship arrived, it attracted a large crowd of onlookers.
All along, they had only seen steamboats with a maximum load of a hundred tons, and had never imagined that steamboats could be as huge as large sea ships and could also make transoceanic voyages.
"Hey, do you think this steamboat can really sail from America to Europe? What if the coal runs out halfway?" This person was good; he knew that steamboats needed to burn coal.
"It should be able to, right? Doesn't it still have sails!"
"Look! That paddlewheel. It's even taller than a two-story building. Hahahaha! The smallest steamboat in the canal doesn't even have one of its paddlewheels."
"Hehe! I'm looking forward to seeing the expressions of those hateful British when they see our amazing steamboat!"
The onlookers discussed animatedly.
After a few days of rest, the "New Orleans," loaded with a few passengers and a small amount of supplies, officially prepared to depart from Philadelphia.
Charles, French Ambassador Girard, some representatives of the Continental Congress, and other envoys from various countries stationed in America attended the farewell ceremony for this long voyage.
"Gentlemen! This is a historic moment. The steamboat 'New Orleans' will depart from Philadelphia, cross the Atlantic Ocean, and sail directly to Europe! Humanity will remember this day. We will no longer rely on wind and ocean currents, these natural forces, but will begin to use machines, invented by human wisdom, to challenge the ocean..."
Charles, Ambassador Girard, and Philadelphia officials successively delivered several brief speeches.
However, for Charles, the most important thing was not the speeches, but the announcement of the official establishment of his Atlantic Cruise Company. The port was filled with advertisements for the Atlantic Cruise Company. The company's office had already begun to accept business bookings. The slogan was that they were faster than the fastest sailboat.
Although currently, he only owned one dedicated cruise ship, the "New Orleans," Charles had already continuously ordered two improved New Orleans-class cruise ships and three one-thousand-ton new luxury passenger ships, preparing to launch express mail and express passenger services across the Atlantic Ocean.
Philadelphians were very enthusiastic about this Atlantic Cruise Company. They all knew that steamboats should be faster than sailboats now, and ships that combined both sails and steam should be even faster. They were eager to know to what extent they could be faster. However, passenger cruise tickets were expensive. Fortunately, for those who could afford to travel by cruise ship, what they cared about was not money, but time.
As for the one-thousand-ton ships, the cabins could not possibly be luxurious, so there was even less to worry about. The passenger cruise ship's hull, compared to the 21st century, was not luxurious at all, but it was still immeasurably better than the rudimentary sailboats. Anyone who had traveled in those sailboat cabins would be satisfied with the luxurious high-speed cruise ships of the Atlantic Cruise Company.
And the only service ordinary people could inquire about at the Atlantic Cruise Company was the postal service, which was also a business that demanded speed first. The speed of steamboats was not just talk.
Everyone was optimistic about the Atlantic Cruise Company's business in this area. Some people who were more proficient in finance had already started to inquire when the Atlantic Cruise Company's stock would be issued on the stock exchange.
Charles was well prepared and immediately had dedicated personnel answer these potential customers. Regarding the stock, he only said that it was still under research. He planned to consider this aspect only when the company had at least ten ships.
In fact, transoceanic business at this time was still relatively rare. Mail traffic would gradually increase as a large number of Europeans came to the United States after the victory of the war of Independence. As for luxury high-speed cruise ships, the business volume was also not very large. After several years of British blockade, many people were unlikely to choose to travel by ship between Europe and America.
And now, America only had three or four major coastal port cities in total. Business primarily revolved around these few cities. The Atlantic Cruise Company's business should actually be considered simple and quiet, and the profit might even be less than that of a super-large cotton mill Charles opened in Philadelphia before the New Year.
Relatively speaking, putting some smaller steam express ships into maritime passenger transport in Europe and the Mediterranean would yield better results. Charles was also preparing, through this transoceanic voyage, to promote the performance of steamboats to attract European shipping and shipbuilding companies to purchase his steamboat technology.
Amidst the roar of salutes, the steamboat "new orleans" sounded its iconic whistle and began its experimental voyage to Europe.
Looking at the "new orleans" about to disappear at the horizon, Charles' heart remained restless for a long time.
This was probably the biggest change since he came to this world. Not only in politics and economy, but also in such visible science and technology. Historically, steamboats would have appeared about a decade later, and direct steamboat navigation between Europe and America was even further away. But now, it was already becoming a reality. Judging from the ship's previous test voyages, this transoceanic voyage could also be considered basically certain to succeed.
Looking at the people around him, still discussing the farewell with godfearing excitement, and the painters and sketch artists holding brushes, quickly depicting the departure ceremony, Charles smiled slightly.
He must truly be considered a person of this era now.
Only when the smoke from the steamboat was no longer visible did the other envoys from various countries and representatives of the Continental Congress who attended the departure ceremony come forward one by one to congratulate Charles.
They congratulated him on his great invention and also congratulated his Atlantic Cruise Company on opening for business.
In the future, these envoys from various countries would likely be the main users of this cruise company. Not only did diplomatic mail need to be as fast as possible, but the travel of these Ambassadors, paid for by their respective governments, would naturally also be as fast and comfortable as possible. They would all like the services of the Atlantic Cruise Company.
Just as Charles was in a good mood and full of emotion about his life, a voice that made him very uncomfortable sounded.
"Your Excellency Godfrey, congratulations! Today's departure ceremony was very successful! I believe that in several years, people will definitely recall the grandeur of today."
"Hello, Mr. Adams. Thank you very much for attending this departure ceremony." Charles smiled and responded to Adams' congratulations, but his tone was rather cold.
Having just harmed him, and now expecting him to smile and make up, things weren't that easy.
"Haha! Everyone knows you're the wealthiest man on the American continent, and the Atlantic Cruise Company is definitely another venture that will make a lot of money." Mr. Adams began to flatter Charles.
"Thank you for your good wishes, Mr. Adams! However, every penny I earn is made through legal means and hard work; I would never waste a single bit." Charles immediately interjected, seizing the pause in Mr. Adams' speech.
"Uh…" Mr. Adams' expression turned awkward.
He kNew York was referring to the issue of customs duties. He had originally planned to use Charles' wealth-making ability and the guise of national interest to lobby him, hoping to convince Charles to share a portion of the customs revenue. Now, seeing Charles' obvious hostility, he knew it was unlikely he could persuade him alone. It seemed he would need to ask others to intervene.
"May your maritime trade flourish more and more!" Mr. Adams bowed and then left despondently.
Charles' attitude clearly showed he wouldn't be swayed by lobbying, so there was no point in staying. It was better to just leave.
Watching Mr. Adams depart, Charles felt a renewed sense of emotion.
This fellow's desire for customs duties certainly aligned with the future American Government's interests. However, people like him were actually quite easy to understand; if the situation were reversed, he would absolutely not agree to give up his own advantages. His current active pursuit was simply because the 'meat' wasn't being cut from his own body.
Charles' maritime transport now involved not only the Atlantic Cruise Company but also numerous other large sea vessels that helped transport cotton cloth produced by several textile mills in Pittsburgh, as well as expensive furs, ironware, and machinery to Europe. However, these merchant ships were all temporarily leased and couldn't be considered Charles' own property yet.
As Charles' newly built large textile mill in Philadelphia was about to commence operations, these ships would likely no longer meet his demands. He was actually in urgent need of new large merchant ships to assist him.
When Britain blockaded the American seas, many American merchant ships were either captured or sunk. The few that remained lay idle in ports for several years and had already become dilapidated. This resulted in a severe shortage of maritime transport capacity in the United States, and building new ships was a much slower process. Currently, many merchant ships still belonged to countries like France, Spain, and the Netherlands; the United States itself did not have many ships.
Charles greatly hoped that the contract with Britain could be signed soon, allowing the many merchant ships captured by the British to be released.
According to news from a fast ship that arrived a few days ago, Britain's new cabinet had completed its adjustments. The negotiating Ambassador was expected to arrive in the United States a few days earlier than originally anticipated.
It was likely that a protracted negotiation would ensue. Taking advantage of his free time today, Charles decided to visit the large textile mill he had established on the outskirts of Philadelphia. He had started planning this textile mill last year, after the French allies arrived, as he believed victory was clearly in sight.
After more than half a year, it was finally time for the mill to begin operations. Charles decided to invite Ambassadors from various countries and representatives from the Continental Congress to jointly cut the ribbon for the new factory.
In Philadelphia's high society, everyone kNew York was a highly skilled and profitable industrialist. Upon hearing the invitation, the dignitaries who had not yet departed readily agreed and traveled directly by boat from the send-off dock to the textile mill's dedicated pier.
This cotton mill was located at the confluence of the Pennsylvania Canal and the Delaware River. Both flat-bottomed steamboats from the canal and deep-keeled ocean-going vessels could navigate the waterways to the factory's dedicated dock.
Upon arriving at the factory by boat, the representatives were immediately greeted by several massive cranes specifically for cotton bales, and several long coal conveyor belts. Workers were bustling and shouting on the dock.
At this time, many ships were already unloading cargo at the port, stockpiling raw materials for the production that was about to begin. Cotton ships arrived from Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Virginia, while coal ships came from Pittsburgh.
Large cotton bales, several feet high, were easily lifted directly into the warehouse by cranes, and large quantities of coal were slowly transported by a series of connected conveyor belts to the side of the steam engine boiler room. Looking into the factory area from afar, it was filled with towering steam engine flywheels and smoke.
"This truly is a miracle of industry! A miracle of civilization! It's hard to imagine that workers will one day work in such an environment."
"Yes, this is completely different from the cotton mills I've seen before. I feel like I'm in a world of machines! I imagine workers won't have to do any heavy labor anymore."
"Such a large factory, the cotton cloth it produces might be enough for everyone in the world!"
Seeing the cotton textile mill, completely redesigned by Charles, all the visitors were stunned. It was completely unlike the old workshops with their low, cramped buildings and clattering looms.
Charles inwardly scoffed. It was a good thing these steam engines hadn't started operating yet. Once they did, the factory would be filled with the roar of machines, turning flywheels, operating looms, and thick smoke everywhere. That sight would truly astound people.
"Hahahaha! sirs, my textile mill extensively uses steam engines. From spinning to weaving, the entire factory can complete the process independently, and all using machines. For example, the British Jenny spinning machine, adapted to be machine-driven, our factory holds the full patent for it. Its daily output is more than five times that of hand spinning.
As for the looms, there's no need to mention them; my Pittsburgh cotton mill has been using them for a long time, but the equipment in this factory features the newest model looms, producing cloth that is not only of good quality but also has a higher output than before. Even those coal conveyor belts are driven by steam engines—now this is a true factory!" Charles was very satisfied with the factory's comprehensive adoption of steam engines.
If it weren't for the production and installation of the steam engines, this factory could have been put into operation in less than half a year.
"Mr. Godfrey, what about the output of this cotton textile mill? How many bolts of cloth can it produce in a year? Will there be surplus cotton cloth for export?" several Ambassadors asked with concern.
They had all seen the cotton cloth from Pittsburgh and knew it was of good quality and inexpensive. Even with transoceanic shipping to Europe, there was still a very large profit margin. Therefore, they were all very interested in its export potential.
"The entire factory currently has five hundred workers, but I believe that even a British textile factory with a thousand workers would not have a higher output than ours. The factory currently has forty thousand spindles, and this year is only a trial run, but I predict that its cotton cloth production in the first year will not be less than one hundred thousand bolts.
Moreover, I will continue to expand the project, and if I can recruit enough hands, I plan for the total number of workers in the factory to be no less than five thousand. I specifically established this textile mill for exporting cotton cloth; the cotton cloth used locally in the United States is mainly produced in Pittsburgh," Charles explained with a smile to the visitors.
This was the power of industrialized mass production.
At this time, in Britain, large factories exceeding five hundred people had only just begun to appear, also in the cotton textile industry, and also due to the use of the Jenny spinning machine. But compared to Charles' textile factory, they were simply incomparable.
Hearing that it was specifically for export, the Ambassadors from various countries all smiled with satisfaction.
"This is truly a miracle! Mr. Godfrey, I am certain that British cotton textile factories absolutely cannot compete with yours. Just think, when this factory has five thousand workers, what will its annual cotton cloth output be? A million bolts?" Ambassador Girard calculated for Charles.
"No, no, definitely more than a million bolts. This is only a trial run; once it enters formal mass production, I guess it might even be two million bolts! My goodness, how much cotton cloth does all of America consume in a year? Charles, you have officially freed our United States from the history of importing cotton cloth from Britain!" Franklin said to Charles with emotion.
"Oh, it's nothing. Actually, I'm just doing this to make money, hahahaha…"
"Hahahaha, Mr. Godfrey is indeed the best at making money!" The others also laughed and agreed.
In the textile industry, the most profitable sector was undoubtedly wool weaving. Woolen cloth once fueled the prosperity of Florence in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. At that time, Florence, primarily engaged in wool textiles, had an annual income almost equivalent to the combined total of several powerful European nations. Therefore, enclosing land for sheep farming became the most popular industry afterward.
However, relatively speaking, woolen cloth was not something the common people could use in large quantities. Although the profits were immense, the technical requirements were also very high. Later, Britain, utilizing machine weaving and the relatively simpler cotton textile industry, successfully rose to prominence, replacing Florence's position.
What Charles was currently focused on was precisely this simple cotton textile.
At this time, Britain's cotton textile industry was already very prosperous with the emergence of machines like the Jenny spinning machine. But wool textiles were equally powerful, and the enclosure movement had not yet fully ended, meaning Britain had not yet fully shifted its strength to cotton textiles. Historically, it was Watt's improved steam engine that allowed cotton textiles to develop rapidly, establishing Britain's position as an economic hegemon.
Since Charles developed a new type of "efficient" steam engine one or two years before Watt, he naturally had no reason not to use it to develop the cotton textile industry.
Ever since Pittsburgh's cotton textile industry got on track, it had already generated substantial profits for Charles. Machine-woven cotton cloth not only supplied the needs of Pittsburgh and the local United States but was also heavily dumped in coastal cities like Philadelphia. Even in places far from Pittsburgh, such as Louisiana and Georgia, Pittsburgh's machine-woven cotton cloth was a very popular commodity.
And with the development of machine spinning and weaving in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia's own cotton textile industry suffered a huge blow. The domestic cotton textile industry in the United States was not originally well-developed. Often, the South would grow large quantities of high-quality cotton, load it onto sea vessels, and sell it to Britain and other European countries.
Then, it would be woven into cotton cloth there and sold back to the American continent at a high price. The United States was rich in cotton, but only a few commercial cities like Philadelphia could truly spin and weave it. However, due to outdated technology and obsolete equipment, they basically could not compete with Britain's domestic textile industry.
They could only leverage the fact that British cotton cloth, which traveled across the ocean, was much more expensive, making local cotton cloth cheaper and serving as a supplement to the overall shortage of cotton cloth in the United States.
When Pittsburgh began producing cotton cloth that was many times cheaper, Philadelphia's original hand-operated cotton textile industry immediately suffered a severe blow. As soon as Charles announced his intention to establish his own cotton textile factory in Philadelphia, those hand-operated cotton mills were completely unable to survive.
However, while being cursed by those textile mill owners, the most enthusiastic people welcoming Charles' planned cotton mill in Philadelphia were not ordinary customers, but rather the workers from the former hand-operated cotton mills.
These skilled workers clearly understood that the opening of a cotton mill would certainly require a large number of skilled workers. Charles' opening of a new factory gave them, who were already facing unemployment, a better option.
Soon after, when Charles' new textile mill posted its recruitment advertisement, a large number of newly unemployed textile workers flocked to Charles' factory. This machine weaving was not much more complex than hand weaving. By hiring these skilled workers, Charles did not need to provide much additional training, and they could start working immediately.
Charles had already realized that the real money was in the cotton textile industry.
People might not wear high-end woolen cloth, but they absolutely could not go without even ordinary cotton clothes. In Western regions where men do not farm and women do not weave, whichever country mastered the strongest textile industry meant that country had the opportunity to become the leading power.
Charles originally considered it merely as one of several profitable industries, but as the cotton textile industry developed, it eventually became the industry that laid the foundation for national strength.
Cotton from the South was transported by sea to the giant textile factory by the port, processed into cotton cloth, and then sold worldwide. This not only created a large amount of wealth for Charles personally but also formed a good industrial chain and economic circle within the United States.
The textile industry has historically been one of the hallmarks of industrial strength. Even in the twenty-first century, all industrially strong nations still possess very sound textile industries, because it is not only a highly profitable industry but also a good industry for high-density employment solutions.
Even if Charles' cotton mill reached an annual output of one million bolts of cotton cloth, it might not be enough to meet the needs of the entire United States. After all, cotton cloth was not only used for clothing; there were many other applications. In this era, cotton cloth was used for curtains, for ship sails, and even for tents.
Moreover, with exports to Europe, production might need to increase to ten million bolts to satisfy the entire market's needs. It could be said that Charles' cotton textile factory was merely the key that opened the treasure trove; the true treasure had yet to be fully unearthed.