Seeing the British Ambassador's retreat, Charles' confidence grew. "Heh heh, how can merchant ships of various countries on the high seas casually accept the command of another country's navy? Respected Ambassador, American merchants are not pirates! If the royal Navy dares to attack free merchant ships, that would be an act of piracy. Hmph, is the royal Navy preparing to revert to its old ways decades later? If this precedent is set, it will provide a very bad example for other countries, and America might even follow suit."
Charles' words were very harsh, not only expressing opposition but also indirectly accusing the British Navy of its pirate history. Even the sudden appearance of the term 'high seas' left the listeners no time to react.
The British Ambassador was furious and almost wanted to stand up and turn hostile. But in the end, he suppressed his anger, took a deep breath, and displayed a professional noble smile. As a seasoned diplomat, hearing Charles' tone just now, he had already made a clear judgment in his heart: Charles might not yield to his threats.
The Spanish Ambassador, facing Charles, had an angry expression, but when his gaze met the British Ambassador's, his eyes revealed undisguised anxiety. He hoped the British Ambassador could find a way to resolve the arms issue. Although the British were the strongest among the Anti-French Alliance Countries, the war was somewhat distant for them, and they had not dispatched many troops. Spain, however, was adjacent to France, and the revolution could spread to his country at any time, which was closely related to his own interests. Moreover, the troops that had invaded from southwestern France this time were mainly Spanish, and it was the Spanish soldiers who suffered the most from American-made weapons on the battlefield. Therefore, his anxiety was far greater than that of the British Ambassador, whose sole purpose was to weaken France.
"Honorable Speaker, in this regard, our Spanish Navy also stands on the same position as the British royal Navy. I can clearly represent Spain and state our attitude on this matter, which is to firmly oppose America selling any arms to those French rebels."
This Ambassador secretly took pleasure in Charles' Satire of the British Navy's pirate history, but he still firmly opposed it verbally.
Charles immediately gave a very clear answer:
"Then, my two respected Ambassadors. I think you can report back to your kings that America and American merchants will certainly not succumb to the pressure of your navies."
"Respected sir, aren't you afraid of losing the markets of Britain and other European countries because of this? If we jointly prohibit the entry of your country's goods, your losses would probably far exceed the profits made in France, wouldn't they?" The British Ambassador threatened again, but this time his tone was no longer as confident as before.
In fact, if Britain and other Anti-French Alliance Countries had issued such a threat to Charles at the beginning of the Anti-French war, Charles, for his own business interests, might indeed not have dared to sell arms and other sensitive materials to the French. But now, Britain and Spain and other countries' dependence on Charles' goods was already very high. Not to mention anything else, just the most urgently needed materials like gunpowder and explosives, as soon as Charles stopped supplying them, the Anti-French Alliance Forces' muskets and cannons on the front lines would not dare to fire indiscriminately. These countries and their Armies already had a very close relationship with Charles, and cutting ties would definitely not be achievable in one or two years. Charles was confident that they would not dare to truly sanction him within a few years.
"If Britain unilaterally wants to tear up the agreement made with America back then, we will not stand idly by. As for normal trade disputes, I believe we can certainly resolve them through negotiation." Charles replied very calmly.
"You..." The Spanish Ambassador wanted to say more.
Unfortunately, Charles no longer wanted to give them a chance and directly called out to Tom, who was attending to him:
"If the Ambassadors still intend to issue threats, then I think we don't need to talk anymore. Tom, see them out!"
"Sir, what do you think we should do?"
At the castle gate, the Spanish Ambassador eagerly consulted the British Ambassador.
"Heh heh! Respected sir, I think we cannot persuade Speaker Charles." This Ambassador showed no sign of the urgency he had displayed inside the castle.
"Do you even need to ask? He's already kicked us out! I've never seen such an ill-mannered official, not even allowing us to finish our words." The Spanish Ambassador muttered softly.
The British Ambassador raised an eyebrow, secretly chuckling to himself. We were kicked out because we threatened the other party several times, weren't we?
"Regardless, at least the Speaker just said that normal trade issues should be resolved through normal channels. We can convey this information back home. These matters should be left to the Trade Minister and the colonial Minister to resolve. We have done our duty; we are powerless to do anything else."
"What about other American merchants?" The Spanish Ambassador was unwilling to give up.
"Do you think the goods sold by other merchants can compare to Speaker Charles' arms?" The British Ambassador countered with a smile.
"Uh..." The Spaniard was momentarily speechless.
Although other American merchants also sold a large amount of supplies to the French Revolutionary Government, the Anti-French Alliance Forces did not care about those things at all. If Charles could not be persuaded, and his Pittsburgh Armory could not be prevented from selling arms, then even if all other merchants were persuaded, it would not be of much significance to the Anti-French Alliance.
"Alas! It can only be this way! That damned rude fellow, he will definitely regret it!"
The Spanish Ambassador angrily flung his sleeve at the castle gate and left dejectedly.
As for the British Ambassador, who had always been the leader, he actually wasn't very angry internally. It wasn't that he was magnanimous; it was simply that Britain had not intended to fall out with America too early in this regard, and now the main purpose was just to probe Charles' attitude.
Although Britain was now united with Spain and other European royal families, preparing to suppress the French Revolution, in reality, the Anti-French Alliance Countries were not united. At least Britain's position in this alliance was currently awkward. Because this later leader of the Anti-French Alliance Forces, her supreme position had not yet been accepted by other countries. On land, one side was led by Prussia and other German states, while the other was dominated by the Spanish. The British army could only cheer from the sidelines by the sea. As for the sea, although it was being used quite a bit now, the Spanish Navy had no intention of acting together with the British Navy. Fighting alone, the British were not that generous. Otherwise, the French Navy alone would be no match for the combined fleets of Britain and Spain.
This was also why Spain, as a traditional ally of France, did not want France's strength to be greatly damaged by this Anti-French war. If she were to join forces with the British Navy and destroy the French Navy, then after the Anti-French war ended, the greatly weakened Spanish fleet would simply be no match for the British Navy, and at that time, Spain's vast overseas Colonies would certainly be at risk.
Although the Spanish Ambassador had just blurted out that he would act jointly with the British fleet, this was not something an Ambassador could decide. Before receiving the official order to form a joint fleet, the British would not expend great effort in this area. The British were considering a continental balance of power strategy; as long as Europe was not unified and no absolute strong power emerged, they would be very satisfied. Their current enthusiasm for participating in the Anti-French war was, firstly, because the French had interfered with American independence earlier, making Britain want to seize the opportunity for revenge; and secondly, it was to maintain the dignity of the various royal families, a reluctant gesture.
Now, the more unyielding Charles was in this matter, the more anxious the Spanish monarchy became, and the more likely it was that they would truly lean towards Britain, leading to cooperation between the two navies. The British Ambassador and the Spanish Ambassador coming together this time was originally with the idea that if it succeeded, great; if not, then at least scare the Spanish Ambassador a bit. His strong performance when facing Charles was hard to say whether it was intentional or not. The current outcome did not disappoint the British Ambassador much.
Although Charles knew that historically, the French Navy stubbornly survived until the time of Napoleon, history had changed significantly now, and he didn't know if the Spanish would truly unite with the British to blockade the French coast. So, shortly after the two Ambassadors left, he immediately had Tom take his letters to invite representatives from the northern industrial and commercial circles and southern plantation owners, asking them to gather at his place tomorrow to deal with any potentially unfavorable situations.
The next day, the leading figures among Philadelphia's prominent merchants had mostly arrived at Charles' castle.
Although there was animosity between the North and South, and northern factory owners and southern plantation owners often disliked each other, with constant private rivalries and conflicts, they were still in the same country and often met and interacted. This time, upon hearing the summons from Speaker Charles, they naturally responded immediately, rushing over.
For them, Charles, known as the God of Commerce, was an angel who brought them wealth. Basically, every time they cooperated with Charles, they could make a lot of money, and they believed this might be another business opportunity, so they came with particular enthusiasm.
However, upon arriving at the castle and finding that virtually all of Philadelphia's prominent figures had come, many realized that things might be a little different from what they had imagined.