Chapter 233: Bloodbath of the Bangui Tribe

Heading north along the Congo River, along the banks of a tributary known as the Ubangi River, there lies a stretch of hilly land and plains not covered by tropical rainforest.

This is already the northernmost part of the Congo Basin, and likewise the northernmost end of the tropical rainforest. Further north from here, one leaves the scope of the Congo River basin; because it is far from the tropical rainforest, it is more suitable for development than the Congo Basin to the south.

Through the railway connection between the Guinea and Congo territories, Spain occupied the largest plains and plateau areas along the Ubangi River. However, due to insufficient numbers, a vast amount of land is still controlled by indigenous people, the most prominent of whom are the indigenous tribe known as the Baka.

After confirming the plan for retaliation against the indigenous people, Manuel Macias y Casado ordered the troops in the Congo territory to begin assembling.

Although the Colonial Garrison Regiment only had a scale of 2, 00 men, launching an attack on a single indigenous tribe was still no problem.

Although the indigenous tribe had a larger population and could even assemble an army of thousands or tens of thousands, these so-called armies had no resistance against regular Spanish troops; in the eyes of the Spanish army, indigenous troops armed with cold weapons were merely moving, living targets.

"This should be the largest tribe of the Baka people." On a hill a few kilometers away from the Baka tribe, Manuel's adjutant reported while looking at a map.

Manuel nodded and asked calmly, "What is the population of this tribe?"

"According to information we obtained by asking those explorers, the Baka tribe has a population of at least over 100, 00," the adjutant replied. "There are also many small villages nearby that are attached to the Baka tribe; these populations combined may already be close to a scale of 200, 00."

Manuel nodded with a plain expression and ordered, "Move out! It is time to let these indigenous people understand who the true master of this land is."

"Move out!" As the messenger relayed Manuel's order to the various companies of the troops, the Spanish army began to move in a grand and mighty fashion.

Although most of the soldiers in Manuel's Colonial Garrison Regiment were indigenous, these indigenous people came from southern Morocco and had no connection to the indigenous people of the Congo territory.

This was also the reason why Manuel resolutely launched the retaliatory action despite having only one Colonial Garrison Regiment in his hands; on the premise that the Colonial Garrison Regiment completely obeyed his orders, these indigenous people could not pose much of a threat to the Congo territory.

Under the leadership of Spanish officers, the soldiers composed of Moroccans marched grandly toward the foot of the hill. Their target was the Baka gathering place a few kilometers away, a massive tribe named Bangui.

Because the Moroccans were all white, this army looked more like a regular European army and had little to do with the colonial armies organized by various powers.

As they drew closer and closer to the Baka tribe, this European army of over 2, 00 men still attracted the attention of the Baka tribe's indigenous people.

Several indigenous soldiers ran quickly toward the interior of the tribe, appearing to be going to report the news. One indigenous person who clearly looked like a leader did not choose to run toward the tribe, but instead gradually approached the Spanish army, chattering away about something unknown.

Manuel walked forward slowly; he could not understand at all what the indigenous person before him was saying. Seeing Manuel frown, the colonial official responsible for translation hurriedly translated, "Your Excellency General, he is asking about the purpose of our arrival."

"Purpose?" Manuel sneered, looked at the indigenous person with disdain, and said in a cold voice, "Tell him that our plantation was looted a few days ago, and we have sufficient reason to suspect that the looting was carried out by the Baka people.

If the Baka people cannot provide sufficient evidence to prove that this matter has nothing to do with them, we will use military force to retaliate.

Tell him to go notify their high-level leadership; I will only give them 2 hours. Either tell us which tribe planned the looting, or wait for our army's attack."

After the colonial official relayed Manuel's words to the indigenous person exactly as they were, the indigenous person's face was filled with panic, and he fled back into the tribe in a helter-skelter manner.

At the same time, Manuel also issued an order for the army to blockade the several entrances and exits of the tribe.

Although he demanded that the indigenous people make a choice within two hours, Manuel clearly would not just wait for two hours.

As the soldiers blockaded the several main entrances and exits of the tribe, Manuel also issued further orders to first clear out the indigenous villages near the Bangui tribe.

Because the surrounding area is all tropical rainforest, the villages around the Bangui tribe are relatively dense, and they are all medium-to-large villages with large populations.

Among them, the smaller villages have populations of several hundred, and the larger ones have populations as high as one thousand or even several thousand.

These people are all good labor, and Manuel did not intend to let them go. Regardless of what choice the Baka people ultimately make, Manuel will clear out the surrounding indigenous villages and transport these indigenous people back to the Spanish colonial strongholds to serve as labor.

According to past Spanish colonial practices, the most valuable among the indigenous population are those adult male indigenous people. These male indigenous people are excellent labor; whether as miners or slaves on plantations, they can exert huge economic value.

Less valuable are the adult female indigenous people and some relatively young indigenous children. These indigenous people provide limited labor, but can ensure that the indigenous scale is maintained within a certain range, which counts as having some value.

Of no value are those older indigenous people. These indigenous people cannot exert any value, and Spain naturally does not need them to waste food.

The Bangui tribe and the nearby villages have a population of about 200, 00, but the young and able-bodied labor force is at most only a little over 100, 00.

Adding some children who have not yet grown up, the Congo territory can receive at most 120, 00 to 130, 00 people. As for the remaining indigenous people, they are naturally the target of Manuel's operation this time.

The operation against the Bangui tribe is not only to find the real culprit behind the looting of the Spanish plantation, but also to serve as a warning to others, letting the indigenous people around the Congo territory understand who is the true master of this land.

Only by thoroughly frightening these surrounding indigenous people can we ensure that similar attacks will not happen again. Of course, once the Congo territory expands its military, it will be unlikely for the indigenous people to want to plan any more attacks.

20, 00 troops are enough to ensure the safety of the Congo territory; even if all the indigenous tribes in the Congo territory were united, they could not defeat 20, 00 soldiers holding advanced rifles.

While Manuel was launching a siege on the peripheral indigenous villages, inside the Bangui tribe, the Baka people were also having a quite intense discussion.

After that indigenous leader fled back into the tribe, he not only relayed Manuel's original words to the tribal chief exactly as they were, but even added oil and vinegar to them, exaggerating Manuel's threat.

This made the indigenous tribe very angry; it was clearly their land that had been occupied, so how did the masters of the land turn into these outsiders instead?

After an intense discussion lasting an hour, the tribe reached a unified opinion, which was to gather the young men of the tribe and teach these aggressive European colonists a lesson.

The population of the Bangui tribe exceeds 100, 00, and there are many indigenous villages in the surrounding area. The total indigenous population adds up to nearly 200, 00, and they could easily mobilize tens of thousands of indigenous people to resist these European colonists.

This is also the source of the tribal chief's confidence; the Bangui tribe is the largest indigenous tribe within 100 kilometers nearby, and it is the largest indigenous tribe of the Baka people, bar none.

To find an indigenous tribe larger than the Bangui tribe on the land of the Congo, one would have to go to the land of the Congo Kingdom further south, or perhaps the Karawi Kingdom further east.

But whether it is the Congo Kingdom or the Karawi Kingdom, they are separated from the Bangui tribe by the entire Congo rainforest. And along the banks of the Ubangi River, the Bangui tribe is the most powerful indigenous force, and they will not allow European colonists to be so wanton and reckless.

After more than an hour passed, Manuel's patience was gradually worn away.

He led his troops back to the entrance of the Bangui tribe, looked at this quite massive indigenous tribe before him, frowned, and asked, "Is there no movement from these black-skinned indigenous people?"

"In the past hour, these black-skinned monkeys have had no movement," the adjutant shook his head and replied. "But in the last few minutes, the interior of the tribe has started to become chaotic.

They seem to be gathering men, and I was just about to notify you, General."

After all, it is a massive tribe with a population as high as 100, 00, and its occupied area is larger than some cities in Spain.

Some of the movements of the Bangui tribe could not be hidden from the Spanish army outside at all; their movements to gather men were, in the eyes of the Spanish army, actually just courting death.

"Since they have already made their choice, we can only send them to meet God." Manuel smiled; he was not surprised by the indigenous people's choice.

He raised his hand to look at his wristwatch, and then issued the order: "Attack, let these damn indigenous people go meet God."

"Attack!" Following Manuel's order, the Colonial Garrison Regiment, with a force as high as 2, 00 men, launched an attack on the Bangui tribe in a grand and mighty fashion.

In order to round them all up, Manuel had dispatched the entire Colonial Garrison Regiment. During the time the Colonial Garrison Regiment was dispatched, the safety of the colonial strongholds in the Congo territory would be protected by the armed squads of the original expedition team.

Although these armed forces were not enough to protect all the colonial strongholds in the Congo territory, the action of the Colonial Garrison Regiment would not take too long.

If the operation went smoothly, it would basically only take one day to completely conquer an entire massive tribe.

Bang! Bang-bang!

Boom! Bang!

A Colonial Garrison Regiment was equipped with three cannons, and these three cannons were the only heavy firepower weapons of the Colonial Garrison Regiment.

In order to conquer the Bangui tribe sooner, Manuel directly transported these three cannons to the front line.

Originally, attacking the tribe relying on rifles was relatively slow, and some indigenous people hiding in the dark to launch sneak attacks could also lead to soldiers being injured or even killed.

But under the first round of suppression by the cannons, these indigenous people quickly panicked and were unable to organize themselves to pose a threat to the Spanish army.

Although the Bangui tribe and the Congo Kingdom downstream both belong to the Congo River basin, the two are completely different.

Although the Congo Kingdom had been invaded by Portugal for hundreds of years, the Congo Kingdom had also obtained a certain amount of thermal weapons due to trade with Europeans.

Although the quantity of their weapons was not large, they also knew the power of thermal weapons.

But the Bangui tribe upstream is different. Because they are located in the upper reaches of the Congo River, they were in an extremely closed state before Spain established colonial strongholds.

These tribes had never come into contact with thermal weapons at all, let alone experienced the powerful might of cannons. This gave them very strong confidence, believing that organizing an army of tens of thousands could teach Spain a lesson.

But what they did not know was that in front of thermal weapons, the number of troops is just a simple casualty figure. Before the Spanish army's weapons and ammunition are exhausted, the army organized by the indigenous people is nothing more than targets that can jump around.

More importantly, because of Manuel's preemptive action, the Bangui tribe had not finished organizing its troops at all.

A tribe of 100, 00 people occupies a quite massive area, and it takes a long time to mobilize the able-bodied manpower of the entire tribe.

Information exchange between indigenous people relies almost entirely on manpower; after the Spanish army launched the attack, the Bangui tribe's information and communication system was almost paralyzed, and troops could not be organized at all.

Even, let alone organizing troops, after being bombed by Spanish shells for a few rounds, the mental state of these indigenous people was somewhat collapsed.

They did not know at all where these powerful shells came from, only knowing that if a shell landed nearby, not only would they be blown to pieces, but even their houses would be blown to pieces.

The houses of these indigenous tribes all have one thing in common, and that is that they are flammable. The indigenous houses are either thatched huts or wooden houses with thatched roofs enclosed by wood.

Regardless of which kind of house it is, after experiencing long periods of wind and sun, they have become extremely flammable.

And the Bangui tribe is a tribe with a bloated population, which leads to the tribe's houses being piled together; once they catch fire, it is a large area burning.

Manuel naturally noticed this point. He naturally would not have the slightest mercy for the indigenous people; at the first moment of launching the attack, Manuel ordered the soldiers to ignite the nearby thatched huts, letting these indigenous people taste the feeling of being burned by fire.

The Bangui tribe is located along the Ubangi River and is far from the Congo rainforest, so arson would not have any impact on the rainforest.

Although the thatched houses within the tribe are relatively dense, lighting them would not cause the entire tribe to burn up. Doing this would not only not cause too much impact, but could also cause panic among the indigenous people in the tribe, making the Spanish attack more convenient.

Although Manuel was determined to teach these indigenous people a lesson, these indigenous people still had great use, and Manuel did not intend to kill them all.

Especially those adult male indigenous people, they should be kept if they can be kept. These indigenous people are excellent labor; killing them now would be too wasteful.

At the very least, one must let them exert all their value before killing them, achieving the effect of making the best use of everything.

In front of the Spanish army's powerful thermal weapons, the African indigenous people had no room for resistance at all. Coupled with Manuel's fire attack strategy, the indigenous people who first faced the Spanish army were all in a panic.

Many indigenous people on the outskirts of the tribe fled toward the interior, which also made it very difficult for the tribe located in the interior to organize men to defend against the Spanish army's attack.

Often, the formation on the indigenous side had not yet been set up when the indigenous people from the outskirts fled in and destroyed the formation here.

The indigenous people whose formation was destroyed could only follow and flee, because if they did not run, they would be eating bullets in the next second.

Just like this, in a situation of you running and me chasing, the Spanish army quickly broke into the interior of the Bangui tribe.

Compared to the thatched huts of ordinary tribe members, the tribal chief's house appeared more luxurious. Not only did the house look larger, but it was also surrounded by a circle of wooden stakes, possessing its own courtyard.

And precisely because this house looked so conspicuous, Manuel's first choice after breaking into the interior of the tribe was to occupy this house.

As luck would have it, the tribal chief was in this house, along with some of the tribe's high-level members.

Calling them high-level is actually just some of the tribal chief's subordinates. The Bangui tribe did not form a political system similar to a state; the tribal chief possessed absolute sovereignty, and the other population and slaves were not much different.

"Now we should be able to talk properly, right?" Manuel looked at the tribal chief with a calm expression, saying with his expression completely devoid of ripples.

As the translator relayed Manuel's words, the tribal chief, who was being pointed at by several rifles, hurriedly nodded and chattered a whole lot of bird language.

"What is he saying?" Manuel frowned.

"He said the resistance had nothing to do with him, and the looting of the plantation also had nothing to do with him. He is willing to submit to your rule, only begging you to spare his life," the translator translated.

"So he knows the logic of being obedient now?" Manuel sneered, but he did not intend to kill the tribal chief right now.

To control the Bangui tribe, the tribal chief is still very important. The class differentiation within African indigenous tribes is still relatively deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and only the tribal chief can control the entire African tribe.

If there were no chief, the Spanish army would only be able to rely on endless slaughter to control the situation. Although the current Bangui tribe can no longer pose a threat to the army, wanton killing would waste labor, and the current Congo territory is very short of such labor.

"Tell him to make his tribe quiet down," Manuel instructed. "In addition, have all the adult male indigenous people gathered together; as compensation, they need to work for us for free for 1 year.

Of course, during the time they work for us, we will provide them with food and some supplies to ensure that their families will not go hungry."

Gather the adult male natives together; the remaining natives can also serve as a means to threaten them. Hearing that the work duration is only one year and that the Spanish will provide food and supplies, these natives will certainly agree.

Unless they are willing to lose their own families, they have no choice but to agree.

Once they enter the Spanish plantations or mines, it will no longer be up to them to decide when they can leave. Although Manuel promised they only need to work for the Spanish for one year, whether the plantation owners and mine owners are willing to let them go when the time comes will not be up to Manuel to decide.

Hearing Manuel's instructions, the leader of the Bangi tribe nodded repeatedly, indicating that he understood.

"Very good," Manuel smiled. "Tell him that as long as these natives behave obediently, I will spare his life. But if any accidents occur during the process of gathering the natives, I will have no choice but to send him to meet God and let God forgive him."

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(End of this chapter)