Chapter 193: Assassination and the Trump Card

"What a lively show this is." Looking at the content sent via telegram from mainland Spain, Gao Da wore a calm smile on his face, his mood seemingly unaffected.

"Your Majesty, do you need the garrison to be prepared?" the Viceroy of the South Morocco Colony, Count Antuoni, asked with a solemn expression.

Although the chaos in Ma Deli was currently limited to the workers' protest stage, no one could guarantee that these workers, blinded by anger, would not do something extreme.

Furthermore, the fact that such a large-scale workers' protest could form in such a short time meant that someone was definitely guiding it from behind the scenes.

From the perspective of conspiracy theory, perhaps the workers' protest in Ma Deli broke out precisely under the planning of certain people. Although it was unknown what their ultimate goal was, it was definitely not a good thing for the Spanish government and Gao Da.

The reason Count Antuoni was so worried was that he feared an unexpected incident would break out during the protest, causing a large-scale conflict between the government and the protesters, or even an uprising.

Letting the colonial garrison be prepared would allow the army to be transported to mainland Spain to suppress the rebellion at the first opportunity. Although there were also a large number of troops stationed in mainland Spain, they were, after all, not before Gao Da's eyes, nor within Gao Da's control.

"That won't be necessary." Gao Da shook his head, not sharing Count Antuoni's concerns, the smile on his face undiminished; he appeared very relaxed.

"What we need to worry about is not the protesting workers, but those rebels hidden among them. Only when these people take the initiative to jump out will it be time to close the net."

Gao Da still trusted Count Antuoni quite a bit. Although he was also a member of the nobility, as a count, Antuoni did not have much land and even belonged to the fallen nobility.

If not for Gao Da's heavy reliance on him, Antuoni and his family might have faced the crisis of bankruptcy long ago. When he gained Gao Da's trust, Antuoni also, as if to show his loyalty, sold the land under his name to the royal family at a low price early on.

Nowadays, Count Antuoni did not own much land, and the family's business had long since shifted to finance and industry; he was also a member of the Royal Council.

He had no reason to betray Gao Da; after all, he had already been heavily entrusted, serving as the Viceroy of the South Morocco Colony, one of Spain's four major colonies.

As long as he conscientiously completed his tasks during his tenure as Viceroy of the South Morocco Colony and accumulated his merits, it was not impossible to obtain a Duke title in the future.

With such a bright future ahead, to say that Count Antuoni betrayed Gao Da would truly be unreasonable.

Of course, even if Count Antuoni had betrayed Gao Da, it would not affect the progress of Gao Da's plan to lure the snake out of its hole in the slightest.

The current rebel nobles and the Bourbon family were already like an arrow on the bowstring, forced to be fired. Even if news was sent back from the South Morocco Colony, I am afraid that by the time the rebel nobles received the news, the rebellion would have already officially begun.

Moreover, a rebellion was definitely not child's play; it could not be canceled just because one wanted to. In the current situation, the rebel nobles had no choice; they either had to go all the way to the dark, seeking a chance of survival in the rebellion, or they could only surrender and wait for the judgment of fate.

This was not a small-scale operation, and the probability of Gao Da forgiving them was extremely low. Precisely because of this, even if they knew the chance of the rebellion succeeding was slim, the rebel nobles would still act recklessly, gambling on their own and their family's future fate.

In this era, there was still a time delay in the transmission of news. By the time the South Morocco Colony received the news via telegram, the situation in Ma Deli had already developed further.

The rebel nobles and the Bourbon family also knew that relying solely on workers' protests could not shake the Spanish government. In fact, the purpose of the workers' protest was not to overthrow the government, but to protest the capitalist class's exploitation of the workers.

Simply put, the workers still trusted the government; as long as the government made promises and let the workers see hope, the workers' protest would soon be dissolved.

However, it did not matter. The reason the rebel nobles launched the workers' protest was to attract the attention of the Spanish government.

The rebel nobles first took advantage of the massive scale of the workers' protest to attack several police stations in Ma Deli, making it impossible for Spain's security department to control the situation in Ma Deli in a short time.

Subsequently, the personnel responsible for the assassination lay in ambush for a long time on the road between the government building and the Prime Minister's residence, where Prime Minister Primo traveled back and forth, seeking an opportunity to assassinate him.

And it must be said, they really found an opportunity.

Although Prime Minister Primo had strengthened his defense forces after the last assassination, the distance between the government building and the Prime Minister's residence was not far, totaling only a few hundred meters, so there were not many guards following Prime Minister Primo.

This indeed allowed the assassins to find an opportunity. Because of the lessons learned from the failure of the last assassination of Prime Minister Primo, this time the assassination directly used a small-caliber artillery piece, preparing to first overturn Prime Minister Primo's carriage, and then swarm up to shoot Prime Minister Primo to death.

Boom!

With the roar of the cannon that shook the entire street, the shell landed one meter in front of Prime Minister Primo's carriage.

"Assassins!" The guard driving the carriage in front only had time to shout one sentence before being caught in the explosion of the shell, unable to make another sound.

Prime Minister Primo, sitting in the carriage, only felt a roar, and then the carriage was overturned by the aftermath of the shell explosion.

"Success, continue, blow him to death!" The assassin operating the artillery not far away looked happy and hurriedly continued to load shells to bombard.

Artillery and shells could not be transported into Spain from Falanxi; this artillery piece and a few shells were obtained by the Spanish nobles through every possible means from the army's logistics supplies.

In order not to attract attention, the caliber of this artillery was very small, and they only managed to get three shells.

However, it looked very effective at the moment; even if Prime Minister Primo's carriage was specially modified, it could not withstand the bombardment of a few shells.

Boom!

Although the assassins wanted to bombard continuously, this artillery was not the latest product of the Spanish Royal Military Factory, and the rate of fire of the artillery was relatively slow.

About ten seconds passed before the second shell was loaded and then fired.

Bang!

The accuracy of the second shot was obviously not as good as the first, but the aftermath of the explosion and the shell fragments still blew the wooden carriage cabin to pieces, revealing the steel plates embedded inside.

Even with the protection of the steel plates, the shape of the entire carriage cabin was already deformed, and it was no exaggeration to describe it as tottering.

"One more shot, it's best if we can blow Primo to death." The leader of the assassins ordered.

If they could blow him to death directly, that would naturally be the best way, and it would also allow them to retreat safely. If they had to go up and shoot again, no one could guarantee whether there were still people alive in the carriage cabin.

If the enemy made a desperate counterattack, then perhaps all of them would be planted here.

The assassin operating the artillery immediately continued to load the shell, but the assassin soon discovered something wrong.

In the distance of the street, Prime Minister Primo's guards were already rushing over.

Bang! Bang bang!

After vaguely seeing the figures of these assassins, the guards were not polite at all, firing their rifles continuously, forcing the assassins to find cover, unable to reload.

"Suppress the enemy, protect the Prime Minister!" the lead guard immediately gave the order, while calling out to Prime Minister Primo: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, are you alright?"

"Damn it, what is that idiot Jim doing? Can't he even stop these guards for five minutes?" The lead assassin was obviously caught off guard; they were pinned down under cover by the enemy's supporting fire, not daring to move at all.

The power of a rifle was no joke; if hit, even if one could escape, the probability was that they would only be waiting for death.

Not to mention that the medical technology of this era could not heal a bowl-sized gunshot wound, even if there was such medical technology, these assassins would not dare to go to the hospital to treat the wound.

A gunshot wound was too obvious; going to the hospital was equivalent to walking into a trap. This also meant that they had to ensure they would not get injured, otherwise, they could only wait for death in Spain.

Watching the assassins huddled under cover, the lead guard gave a new order: "Tuo En, take a team and go around, get behind them; I don't believe these assassins can fly away. Remember to leave one alive; I want to see which damn guys dare to assassinate the Prime Minister."

A guard beside him nodded and quietly left with a few people.

"Damn it, we must find a chance to retreat. If we don't leave now, there will be no chance." The lead assassin also knew the terrible situation he was facing; the sound of gunfire would definitely attract more support, and it would be even harder to leave by then.

"Thomas, Eric, you two cover the rear. The rest of you retreat with me, let's return to the manor in the suburbs first. With the bombardment of two shells, unless Primo has God's protection, he is dead for sure." The lead assassin also gave his own orders.

Their mission was indeed to assassinate Prime Minister Primo, but that did not mean they were willing to pay with their lives for it. Moreover, the carriage Prime Minister Primo was in had already been bombarded by two shells, and the carriage cabin was about to fall apart, let alone the people inside.

Even if he could luckily survive, he would definitely be seriously injured. Looking at the medical technology of this era, being seriously injured meant only waiting for death, which also meant that their assassination this time had a very high probability of achieving complete success.

Next, they only needed to consider how to retreat to perfectly end this assassination mission.

The two assassins called by name had quite complex expressions at this time. Although they were soldiers carefully trained by Queen Isabella, it wasn't said at the time that they had to pay the price of their lives for this!

Who would have thought that a very easy assassination would evolve into such a situation? Knowing that the two of them would definitely face death if they stayed behind, the two assassins called by name looked ashen, their faces pale.

"I will report to Her Majesty the Queen and provide the necessary compensation to your families." The lead assassin looked at the two subordinates called by name, his eyes without the slightest pity, and he made his guarantee without emotion.

To protect the retreat of others, someone had to make a sacrifice. These two people were just unlucky, but if they didn't sacrifice, should he, the captain, be the one to sacrifice?

Assassinating Prime Minister Primo was definitely a great achievement; if they could return alive, they would definitely receive a very generous reward, or even a title.

The lead assassin was not that stupid; he had to prioritize his own survival; after all, only by living could he receive the reward, and if he died, he would have nothing.

Hearing their captain say this, the two assassins forced to cover the rear nodded with pale faces, but did not refute.

If they volunteered to cover the rear, their families might still receive compensation. But if they refused to cover the rear and affected the retreat of others, then their families would not only not receive compensation, but would also face accountability from Her Majesty the Queen.

Queen Isabella herself was an autocratic and dictatorial queen, and her ruling methods were quite brutal. If they were hated by the Queen, I am afraid their families would not have a good future.

With the two of them sacrificing themselves to cover the rear, the other assassins did indeed escape.

But the ending for the two was also very tragic; they were shot to death by the angry guards, each of them having more than two digits of bullet holes in their bodies, and it was a river of blood.

After confirming safety, the guards then anxiously searched for Prime Minister Primo.

The good news was that Prime Minister Primo was not dead. Under the dual protection of the carriage and the guards inside, Prime Minister Primo was only seriously injured and fell into a coma, with no immediate threat to his life.

The bad news was that Prime Minister Primo's injuries were not light, and there was not even a sign of him waking up. This also meant that for a short time, the Spanish government would be leaderless; without Prime Minister Primo's presence to suppress and mediate, the workers' rebellion would become even more fierce.

The assassins escaped and also brought out the news that the assassination of Prime Minister Primo was successful.

This news immediately caused ecstasy among the rebel nobles and the Queen's guards. While rejoicing, everyone immediately decided to proceed with the next step of the plan, which was to rebel comprehensively, and take advantage of the period when the Spanish government was leaderless to control the Spanish government, and then use the name of the Spanish government to pacify this workers' protest, allowing Spain to restore stability.

It is worth mentioning that at the same time as the assassination of Prime Minister Primo, there was also an assassination of the Minister of Defense, Grand Duke Serano.

But because Gao Da had personally instructed Grand Duke Serano before coming to the South Morocco Colony, requiring him to temporarily move the office of the Ministry of Defense into the military camp, and not to take a single step out of the camp, waiting for Gao Da's next order at any time.

Although Grand Duke Serano was surprised by Gao Da's order, after Gao Da explained the seriousness of the matter, he immediately nodded to show that he understood.

It was not that Gao Da was cautious, but that history already had enough lessons. He had to make perfect preparations; at least Gao Da could only be at ease if he held the army in his own hands.

If the rebel nobles were really allowed to obtain part of the military power, then this would no longer be a small rebellion, but another civil war in Spain.

Spain had finally ended the chaotic situation in the country through reform and ushered in a golden period of development.

If Spain were to fall into the quagmire of civil war again because of these rebel nobles and the remnants of the Bourbons, it would be a loss that outweighed the gain.

Even if they could win the civil war in the future, it would cause a serious blow to Spain's infrastructure and industrial economic development. At best, it would set Spain's development back several years, and at worst, it would even make Spain completely lose the hope of becoming one of the hegemons.

Although the last assassination attempt on Prime Minister Primo failed, Prime Minister Primo's ending in history was to be assassinated and die.

To be on the safe side, it was necessary to ensure that one of the two pillars, Prime Minister Primo and Grand Duke Serano, was safe.

Grand Duke Serano's safety was the easiest to guarantee. As long as he stayed in the military camp, no one could threaten his safety.

But Prime Minister Primo was different. Under the influence of the rebel nobles and the Bourbon family, the situation in Spain was destined to fall into short-term chaos.

As the Prime Minister of the Spanish government, Prime Minister Primo would be extremely busy during this period and would have to appear in public on some occasions.

This would also make it easier for the enemy to assassinate Prime Minister Primo, which was also the reason why Gao Da chose to let Grand Duke Serano ensure his own safety and become the final pillar.

Currently, the effect was still very good. Especially when Grand Duke Serano learned the news that Prime Minister Primo had been assassinated and was seriously injured and in a coma, he was even more glad that he had followed Gao Da's order and had never stepped out of the military camp.

In the manor in the suburbs, the rebel nobles and the Queen's messenger also learned the news that the assassination of Grand Duke Serano had failed.

It was not even that the assassination failed, but that the assassination had never been launched. Grand Duke Serano had been living in the military camp, and it was impossible for assassins to infiltrate the camp.

And they could not rush into the military camp to assassinate him; after all, the soldiers in the camp were all armed with live ammunition and also possessed a large number of artillery pieces.

Unless they could form a numerical advantage, rushing into the military camp was just looking for death. Not to mention the assassination, I am afraid they would have been suppressed before even seeing Grand Duke Serano's face.

"Everyone, will the fact that Grand Duke Serano is still alive affect our plan?" Duke Osuna's face was a bit livid; he did not expect that an accident would occur in the link of assassinating Serano.

"I don't think it has much impact." The Queen's messenger still stood out and expressed his opinion: "

Primo is already dead, and the Spanish government has entered a leaderless state. We only need to control the situation of the Spanish government to control the entire Spain.

When we issue orders in the name of the Spanish government, does Serano dare to refuse? Haha, when we control the Spanish government, we will have more troops."

By then, whether it is Serrano or Kaluo, their fates will be in our hands. Gentlemen, the most important thing now is to quickly control the situation of the government and avoid interference from the parliament.

If we let the parliament elect an acting Prime Minister, it will be difficult for us to control the Xibanyazheng Prefecture again.

"Fellows, it is time for you to perform. As long as you can control the Xibanyazheng Prefecture, Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the King will be able to return to Xibanya," the Queen's herald said with a smile.

5, 00-word two-in-one chapter, seeking support! I have seen the additional update thread reach 300 posts; an additional update of no less than 3, 00 words will be delivered within three days. Thank you for your support!

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(End of chapter)