June 20, 1836.
The engagement of Isabella II to Antoine, the younger son of Louis Philippe, was officially announced. They would marry when Isabella II turned sixteen.
Once Isabella II married, she would be able to take personal control of the government, making the position of Queen Regent unnecessary.
Queen Regent Christiana was eager to hold on to her position, but under intense pressure from France, she had no choice but to compromise.
The Northern Army's campaign against the bandits was going smoothly, but it was not the strongest force Queen Regent Christiana had sent out.
In the early days of the Carlist War, the Queen Regent had organized several much larger armies.
But the soldiers and officers were all low quality. Most officers had risen through bribery and the oppression of civilians, and their leadership could only be described as incompetent. The soldiers were nothing but bandits with legal permission to rob. They burned, killed, pillaged, and looted, leaving scorched earth in their wake.
This united the mountain folk and the Guerrilla Force. Familiar with the terrain, they repeatedly defeated larger forces with smaller ones.
The Government Army did well when the fighting went smoothly. But as soon as it fell into a disadvantage, its internal conflicts erupted at once. There were repeated brawls, firefights, refusals to help comrades in danger, and even the betrayal of fellow soldiers' intelligence to undermine rivals and secure one's own standing in the Government Army.
Meanwhile, under General Zumalacarregui's command, the Carlists' Guerrilla Force had once pushed the front all the way to Bilbao.
But Carlos's reckless commands had led to General Zumalacarregui's death in battle.
At the same time, the Queen Regent's Government Army had finally produced excellent commanders like Espartero and Count Zapir.
Espartero came from a humble family. His father