The Rebellion Quelled

Although Vitoria was the second-largest city in the Basque Country, it was, when all was said and done, merely a small city with a population of under a hundred thousand.

For a city like this, the Spanish Army's artillery was a heaven-sent calamity. Coupled with the fact that they had long known the Basque rebels' positions, the offensive was fought with ease.

After enduring the Spanish Army's bombardment, the Basque rebels quickly lost their morale.

Some Basque rebels still did not understand how they had become rebels. Not long ago, they had merely been ordinary workers in a factory.

"Where is Councillor Anrique? The government forces have already reached Vitoria—why has there been no news at all?" Facing the Spanish Army's bombardment, Basque rebel leader Matías Anhaator looked utterly flustered as he ordered someone to find Councillor Anrique.

They had originally agreed that Matías Anhaator would lie low for the time being, while Anrique used his connections in the Senate to gather intelligence on the Spanish Army. Then, based on the situation in Zaragoza, they would decide whether to surrender or continue fighting.

But now that the Spanish Army had reached their doorstep, why was there still no word from Councillor Anrique?

About ten minutes later, a soldier hurried in, panic in his eyes. "General, Councillor Anrique is gone!"

"What?" Seven parts shocked and three parts panicked, Matías Anhaator sprang to his feet. He did not even notice the pain as his thigh slammed into the table. "What did you say? Councillor Anrique is gone?"

"Yes, General. We went to Councillor Anrique's residence. Not only was Councillor Anrique gone, but his wife and children were gone as well." After catching his breath twice, the messenger replied.

Bang!

Matías Anhaator dropped back onto his chair, seven parts despair and three parts hatred in his eyes. "That damned traitor! It's all over! He has ruined the Basque Country and betrayed us!"

Given the circumstances, how could Matías Anhaator fail to see that Councillor Anrique had prepared for this long ago? Even the arrival of the Spanish Army might have been Anrique's doing.

Surrounded by the Spanish Army, there was no way he could escape.

Moreover, because of the agreement he had reached with Anrique to remain still, there were more than three thousand Basque soldiers in Vitoria.

Once Vitoria fell to the Spanish Army, those three thousand Basque rebels, along with himself, would all fall into the Spanish Army's hands.

"General, what should we do?" His subordinates looked anxiously at Matías Anhaator, the panic in their eyes plain for all to see.

Matías Anhaator hesitated as well. Should he make a last-ditch gamble and fight the government forces to the death, or surrender early and try to earn Primo's forgiveness?

Although the situation clearly favored immediate surrender, would Primo forgive him?

Thinking of what awaited him after surrendering, Matías Anhaator could not make up his mind. Confusion and regret filled his eyes.

He regretted letting profit blind him and agreeing to launch a rebellion with Anrique to threaten the government. He regretted trusting Anrique so easily, and failing to keep watch over him, allowing Anrique's family to flee Vitoria.

"General, the government forces have entered the city!" Before Matías Anhaator could think it through, a soldier suddenly rushed in and said breathlessly.

"What? Where are our troops?" Matías Anhaator shot to his feet again, with nothing but despair in his eyes.

"The government forces seem to know our troops' positions. The outer defenses surrendered after only a few rounds of artillery fire, and now the government forces are coming for us," the soldier continued.

"It's over. Everything is over. Damn you, Anrique! You are a sinner of the Basque Country! You will go to hell!" After speaking through clenched hatred, Matías Anhaator seemed to lose all strength. He said to the two soldiers before him, "Surrender. Surrender! God is not on our side. God has abandoned us!"

After the two soldiers received their orders and left, Matías Anhaator's expression instead became calm. He stared blankly outside for a moment, then closed the door.

"Anrique, I wish you an early descent into hell! God, punish this sinner who betrayed the Basque Country!"

Bang!

Thud!

The Basques surrendered. Primo easily led his army into Vitoria and captured every Basque soldier who had rebelled.

After confirming that Basque rebel leader Matías Anhaator had committed suicide, Primo left five thousand soldiers behind to maintain order in Vitoria and seek an opportunity to retake Bilbao in the north. He himself led the remainder of the main force east toward Zaragoza.

Now that the Basques had been dealt with, it was time to fight the Catalans to the death.

Primo had participated in the First Carlist War. He knew that the Carlists were a scourge to present-day Spain, a source of instability.

Therefore, Primo decided to decisively eliminate the Carlists in this war and thoroughly sweep away the troubles of internal rebellion for Spain.

As the saying went, one must first settle the home before resisting outside foes. If Spain could not even resolve its own minor internal troubles, how could it speak of revival and reclaiming its seat among the European great powers?

Over in Zaragoza, an unremarkable battle of attack and defense was underway.

It was unremarkable because the Catalan army had little desire to attack, as perfunctory as a marriage grown stale with age.

Of course, the Spanish Army's artillery fire was also simply too ferocious.

Facing the enemy's dense artillery bombardment, the Catalans' morale had long fallen from its peak at the start of the rebellion into the depths.

After being held outside Zaragoza for so long, the Catalan army had not even managed to get close to Zaragoza.

Within the Carlists, discussions over this war had never ceased.

After being blocked at Zaragoza, Carlos VII knew that things had gone badly.

Originally, if Catalonia and the Basque Country joined forces, they could have affected more than half of northern Spain.

But now, the Catalan army had been directly blocked at Zaragoza, while the Basques were utterly unable to resist the government forces.

With the situation developing like this, victory was impossible no matter how one looked at it. Worse still, the strategies proposed within the army were each more absurd than the last.

For instance, marching south to Valencia, bypassing Zaragoza altogether, and driving straight toward Madrid.

Did they think the government forces were fools? Even if they could circle around to Madrid, could they capture Spain's capital within a few short days?

If they failed to take Madrid quickly, the army at Zaragoza would definitely return to reinforce it. Then, caught in a north-south pincer between Madrid's defenders and the forces coming from Zaragoza, they would die even more miserably.

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