The Human Heart Is Hard to Predict

Primo merely nodded slightly at his subordinate's report, offering no words.

His gaze turned playful as he fixed it on the man, until the latter grew flustered under Primo's stare.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister Primo, Councillor Anrique instructed me to report important intelligence to you." Swallowing a mouthful of saliva and steadying his nerves, the man finally spoke slowly.

"Oh? What important intelligence?" Primo could see through these people's schemes easily enough—surely some inside the Basque rebel ranks had developed second thoughts, wanting to distance themselves before the rebels were wiped out.

"Councillor Anrique expresses his regret over the situation in the Basque Country. But please believe that Councillor Anrique never intended to betray Spain.

It was the rebel leader, Matías Anhaator, who used military force to coerce the Councillor into supporting him, thus sparking the Basque rebellion.

Yet Councillor Anrique has always remained loyal to His Majesty and to Spain. He is willing to provide you, Prime Minister, with all intelligence on the Basque army, and awaits the arrival of the government's pacification forces.

This is a letter written personally by the Councillor. Please take a look."

Primo smiled at the man, then took the letter and gave it a cursory glance.

"Heh, Councillor Anrique is truly loyal to the Kingdom!" Prime Minister Primo let out a light laugh, as if he had already forgiven the traitor who had betrayed the nation: "Go back and tell Councillor Anrique that His Majesty instructed me before I came that ordinary people caught up in the Basque and Catalonian rebellions would not be held accountable.

Since Councillor Anrique has voluntarily reported the enemy's situation, His Majesty will certainly not pursue the matter."

Carlo had indeed mentioned a pardon for the Basque and Catalonian civilians involved in the rebellion, since most had been brainwashed or forced into the rebel ranks.

And Primo wasn't wrong—Carlo's talk of amnesty had nothing to do with Primo himself, did it?

Though Primo was also a Catalonian, what he wanted was a strong, unified Spain.

For traitors like Anrique, who had harmed Spain's unity, the best course was to send them to meet God.

A man of military background, Primo harbored no pity. Those who dared to rebel must also be prepared for the reckoning that followed.

"Thank God, Your Excellency the Prime Minister. I will relay your words to the Councillor. I wish you a swift resolution to the Catalonian rebellion." Having received Primo's assurance of amnesty, Anrique's subordinate visibly relaxed.

He looked at Primo with a mix of fear and gratitude, as if celebrating that he could continue lording it over others alongside the esteemed Councillor.

After seeing off the nuisance, Primo's smile returned. He summoned several generals and said in a cheerful tone: "Time to move out, gentlemen.

The Basques are already divided among themselves. It's time to send all these rebels to meet God."

The letter Anrique had sent Primo contained not only the exact positions and sizes of the rebel forces in Vitoria-Gasteiz, but also a seemingly detailed list of the rebel high command.

Anrique had gone to great lengths to clear his own name.

Of course, the list wasn't entirely pure.

It genuinely included many rebel leaders, but also some of Anrique's rivals for the Basque regional councillorship, along with a few people he simply disliked.

Anrique's plan was simple: provide this list to exonerate himself while conveniently eliminating his enemies.

A list that was eighty percent true and twenty percent false was nearly impossible to verify—unless Primo interrogated every name on it and cross-referenced all intelligence.

But as Spain's Prime Minister, did Primo really have time to screen the list?

Even if Primo eventually discovered the discrepancies, Anrique had ample excuses ready.

After all, he had been forced to join the Basque rebels. It was only natural that the rebels would be wary of him and deliberately make him believe more people were among them, wasn't it?

Unfortunately, Anrique would never realize that Primo had never intended to forgive him from the start. For a politician with a military background, he had long since learned to remain cold-blooded toward everyone.

Primo breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Though the Basque population was small, the importance of the region's two cities—north and south—was considerable.

In the south, Vitoria was the heart of the Basque Country. If the assault caused heavy Basque casualties, it would undoubtedly accelerate the Basques' estrangement from Spain.

In the north, Bilbao was one of Spain's few industrial cities, and home to the critically important steel industry.

Damaging Bilbao's factories would be a devastating blow to Spain's already fragile industrial base.

Now, with Anrique voluntarily providing the deployment and scale of the Basque rebels, Primo could calmly deal with the remaining insurgents while doing his best to protect the civilians of Vitoria and Bilbao from the war's impact.

As for whether Anrique's intelligence on the Basque rebels was accurate, Primo was willing to trust it.

After all, Anrique needed a "letter of fealty" to atone for his crimes. If even the rebel intelligence were false, Anrique would find himself pleasing no one.

Matías Anhaator, the Basque rebel leader, still didn't know that after being betrayed by the Catalonians, he was now being betrayed by Anrique as well.

The two had planned this rebellion together. Matías Anhaator believed they were bound by a shared fate—success or failure together.

If the rebellion failed, neither would fare well. Anrique should have no reason to betray him.

Suffice it to say, Matías Anhaator underestimated human nature, and even more so, the depths to which a councillor like Anrique would sink when his life and interests were on the line.

Within a few days, the Spanish Army arrived in force at the small mountain range south of Vitoria.

It was not far from Vitoria itself, making it an ideal spot for a brief rest and the setup of artillery positions.

Primo's plan was to create chaos in Vitoria before the Basques could react, then force the army into the city to seize control.

Since he already knew the exact positions of the rebels, once the Spanish Army entered Vitoria, the insurgents would have nowhere to flee.

What came after was simple: impose military control over Vitoria, conduct a mass arrest of the rebel high command, and announce a pardon for all Basque civilians.

As long as the Basque populace didn't rise up again, those rebel leaders already on the wanted list wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.

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