Now, only a few elite figures like Adams truly realized the need for the Continental Congress to take a leading role. If it were peacetime, Franklin and others would outwardly agree with him.
Unfortunately, this time he was trying to extract money from the Pennsylvania State Legislature, and even with Franklin agreeing to give half, Adams insisted on the remaining half. Any Pennsylvanian would be provoked, so Franklin couldn't help but express his opposition:
"Mr. Adams, I do not believe it is correct to arbitrarily claim the revenue of a particular place for the Continental Congress at this stage, without a formal resolution. If we collect land sale revenue from Pittsburgh today, we could collect from Virginia tomorrow.
This is indeed a dangerous precedent. Unless you can establish a unified financial institution to manage all of America, you will not gain everyone's support. Such temporary collection plans will only lead to local resentment."
Adams, of course, would not retract his idea just because Franklin also opposed it. He continued to use his rhetorical advantage, citing various historical allusions and precedents to explain the benefits of the money going to the Continental Congress.
However, there were too many people who opposed the money going to the Continental Congress. Previously, with the support of another continent, Pennsylvania, he could fight on equal terms, but without Pennsylvania's support this time, he was immediately at a disadvantage.
Even when Jefferson and others, who had initially not expressed an opinion, joined the debate midway, it couldn't change the reality of their weakened position.
Charles hadn't expected that the Continental Congress' discussion about the distribution of that money, which started with questioning whether he had engaged in any under-the-table dealings, would eventually escalate into a debate between the powerful state representatives of the Continental Congress and representatives from other states.
Moreover, judging from Morris' earlier prevention of him speaking, such incidents were not new. If he had taken Adams' bait then, the debate's focus would surely have shifted to whether he had secretly bought land.
Even if he cleared his name, his reputation would likely not have been good. Furthermore, since Morris was also involved in the speculative land and canal construction plan, he might have been implicated as well.
Thinking of the possible outcome, Charles couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Politics is indeed complicated. Fortunately, the Biddle family had secured Morris as an ally for him. Without his guidance today, he would definitely have been in trouble.
This is what they call the unwritten rules of officialdom, isn't it?
Franklin could teach him all sorts of explicit rules and regulations, but he hadn't told him about these unwritten rules. And from Franklin's attitude towards Adams just now, he should also be aware of these unwritten rules. Although he had actually helped him a lot in today's debate, he was supposedly his introducer but hadn't introduced him to this aspect. Charles felt a bit dissatisfied with him.
The debate continued, and Charles was no longer thinking about which side to support, but rather how to protect himself.
After much thought, only the hundred thousand acres of land he had temporarily bought remained. He had prepared for it to be a short-term investment, but few others likely knew his plan. If he were to transfer it at an appropriate price now, it would certainly bring significant benefits. He quietly pulled Morris aside, asking which representatives were most influential, preparing to sell the land to them.
The decision regarding the distribution of this money was finally made after two days of debate.
And the decision, as Charles and the others had expected, was that Adams ultimately had to accept the distribution plan initially proposed by Pennsylvania: the money belonged to Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, but a portion—one hundred thousand pounds—would be loaned to the Continental Congress.
The Continental Congress would then deduct a portion from the new currency to be issued in the future to repay the former two. As for whether Charles had engaged in any under-the-table land dealings, or whether the money Pittsburgh received would ultimately fall into someone's private pocket, these questions were no longer even mentioned.
Even if they were brought up, they couldn't be resolved; the Continental Congress could only be considered a coordinating body at present. It had no power, nor such an institution, to investigate the integrity of a state representative.
The insidious cunning of political struggle made Charles, the small tour guide, a little timid. Fortunately, the Continental Congress' power to kill was not great; if it were France during the Great Revolution, he would have already packed his bags and fled to the countryside. Even though he was safe for now, Charles had developed a fear of political struggle and was unwilling to get too deeply involved in it.
After a final decision was made on the allocation of funds, the Continental Congress, now somewhat flush with cash, began formally discussing how to reward the victorious Continental army.
On March 25th, the Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia and decided to allocate two thousand pounds to commend the officers and soldiers of the Continental army for their victory in recapturing Boston, and to bestow the honorable title of "Liberator of Boston" upon Commander-in-Chief Washington.
Immediately after this resolution passed, Charles stood up:
"Esteemed Representatives, to show respect for General Washington and for the Continental army, I propose that a Continental Congress Representative be dispatched to present the commendation."
"Agreed!" Many representatives immediately voiced their agreement.
"As for the candidate, I think the youngest and most available among us, myself, would be the best choice for you, gentlemen," Charles continued to propose.
He also didn't want to stay in this place of intense political struggle. Anyway, the fighting in Boston had ceased, and going there to see Washington was also a very good option.
"Hahahaha!"
After a collective laugh, they immediately voted to formally approve Charles' proposal, ordering Charles to lead a delegation to Boston to announce the Continental Congress' reward for the Continental army.
However, the subsequent discussion had considerable controversy.
Because the Continental Congress had previously demanded that Washington capture Boston, and now that the objective of taking Boston had been achieved, it was natural to consider the next strategic objective.
As the highest leadership body during the war of Independence, the Continental Congress had the final say in this regard. Although Washington was nominally given full authority over combat command, the direction of actions and military objectives were fundamentally outlined by the Continental Congress.
"gentlemen, based on my observations, although General Washington achieved victory in the Battle of Boston, the British army will never miss an opportunity to recapture America. They could attack us from other directions at any time.
On land, the threat from Canada is the greatest, but we have already made preparations in the north, so there's no need to worry too much. The remaining threat is from the sea; we all know the power of the British Navy.
Therefore, our next order to the Continental army should be to defend the major coastal cities, try to hinder British landings, and avoid direct combat with their army." Adams began speaking again.
He was a relatively knowledgeable military figure in the Continental Congress and General Washington's best friend. General military deployments and arrangements for the Continental Congress were usually made by him.
Sure enough, after this proposal, many people immediately responded with approval.
"We have defeated the British army several times, and even the Indians defeated the British army a few years ago. Her myth has long been shattered. I believe the Continental army will ultimately win the war!"
Perhaps carried away by a series of recent victories, many representatives stood up to express their belief that the war would ultimately be victorious. Yet, just a few days earlier, they had not held much confidence in the war of Independence.
Charles inwardly admired Adams' analysis that the British army would continue to attack, but he was somewhat skeptical of his approach to primarily defend major coastal cities and hinder British landings.
Although America had established a navy, those few merchant ships were fundamentally incapable of cooperating with the army to intercept the British Navy. At this time, Britain alone had dozens of battleships. As for the American Navy, its standard equipment consisted of merchant ships.
The only thing to hope for was that Britain's battleships were all stationed elsewhere, and at most, only cruisers could be deployed to America.
(Historically, when French battleships appeared in America, British cruisers fled.)
By the mid-18th century, warships were generally standardized into six "rates." The first three rates belonged to battleships: a first-rate had three decks and was equipped with one hundred or more cannons; a second-rate also had three decks and was equipped with about ninety cannons; a third-rate, which was the workhorse of the battle fleet, had two decks and was equipped with sixty-four to seventy-four cannons.
A fourth-rate was built as a compromise, equipped with fifty cannons (two decks), known as a cruiser, and sometimes used in naval battle lines. Like all warships built as compromises, its combat power was not very strong, so it could not play an important role in the fleet, and it was not flexible enough to truly serve as a cruiser.
The true cruisers were the smaller fifth- and sixth-rate warships, which had twenty-four to forty cannons, often all on a single deck. These warships were lighter and faster than battleships, making them suitable for raiding merchant ships, and performing reconnaissance, scouting, and escort duties. All rated ships, including battleships and cruisers, in authentic nautical terms, were three-masted square-rigged warships.
Below the rated ships were several types of brigantines (the term "brigantine" not referring to rigging method), which were typically two-masted square-rigged brigs or brigantines (two masts, with a square-rigged foremast and a fore-and-aft rigged mainmast), equipped with sixteen to twenty-four cannons. Finally, there were sloops or other small brigantines named after their rigging methods (such as single-masted sloops, two-masted schooners, two-masted cutters, etc.).
"...gentlemen, I propose that we should hold New York City and resist all attacks from Britain. Thank you!" An elderly representative bowed, ending his speech.
"Clap, clap..." The applause in response was enthusiastic.
But Charles was greatly surprised to hear this. Without naval superiority, how could they remain fixed in one place to defend? And historically, it seemed there was no record of the Continental army successfully defending New York City.
He turned to look at Adams, who had made the initial proposal. He was frowning and silent, clearly disapproving. Yet, this figure, who had previously enjoyed speaking and debating, now simply sat there silently after hearing the elderly representative's speech, without standing up to object.