Chapter 308: Colonial Treaty

The Sultan of Bam ultimately chose to retreat.

A massive number of indigenous troops swarmed back in a retreat, with no order remaining; it looked extremely chaotic.

Qiaodi, of course, would not let such a good opportunity slip by. The moment he discovered the indigenous forces intended to retreat, he ordered his troops to attack, striving to completely disrupt the enemy's formation.

There is also technique in attacking; if they were to launch a blind, forceful assault, these indigenous people might abandon their retreat and hold their ground on the mountaintop to fight the Spanish army to the death.

Although the final result of doing so would certainly be a Spanish victory, it would waste more time and lead to higher casualties for the troops.

If a conservative offensive strategy is adopted, leaving the indigenous people a certain amount of room to retreat, they would fall into complete chaos due to scrambling to withdraw, allowing the Spanish army to easily harvest the lives of the routed troops.

If luck were a bit better and another army in the east could occupy Fuban before these indigenous people retreated back to it, then the Spanish army could attack from both sides and completely annihilate them.

Even if the other army failed to capture Fuban in a short time, they could still prevent this large indigenous force from returning to Fuban, destroying the indigenous morale.

When the Spanish army launched its attack, the evacuation movements of the indigenous people on the mountain became even more panicked. The Sultan of Bam had originally intended to organize his soldiers for a counterattack, but he suddenly discovered that the army was no longer listening to his commands.

In such a chaotic situation, the soldiers could not hear the Sultan's orders at all. Even if they could hear them, they would not necessarily be willing to execute them.

Watching the mighty Spanish army charging toward the mountaintop before them, a thought occurred to the indigenous people simultaneously: retreating might keep them alive, while staying here meant certain death.

Compared to the messy indigenous forces, the Spanish colonial army appeared orderly.

The soldiers steadily occupied every position, while incidentally executing every indigenous soldier within those positions with their rifles.

In just two and a half hours, the Spanish soldiers had already occupied the mountain terrain ahead, and looking out, it was all indigenous people lying on the ground, dead or alive.

On the other side of the mountain, there were still several thousand indigenous people fleeing non-stop toward the further north.

Because these indigenous people were already out of the range of the Spanish army's weapons, Qiaodi did not intend to let his soldiers continue the pursuit.

In any case, these thousands of indigenous people could no longer change the course of the war; what the Spanish army needed to do was to capture Fuban, the capital of the Bam Kingdom, as quickly as possible and fully occupy the entire Bam Kingdom.

On the side of the indigenous army, when the Sultan of Bam finally managed to flee back to the vicinity of Fuban, the troops at the front brought him bad news: their capital, Fuban, had already been occupied by the Spanish army.

This bad news immediately shook the already meager morale of the indigenous army and caused the Sultan of Bam, whose face had just shown a smile, to fall into despair once again.

With Spanish pursuers behind and the city ahead already occupied by the Spanish army, these thousands of fleeing indigenous soldiers were now caught in a pincer movement from north and south, with absolutely no hope of survival.

After a moment of despair, the Sultan of Bam suddenly remembered: the main force of the Spanish was fighting him in the south, so where would they have gotten the troops to attack his capital?

Even if there were troops attacking his capital, it must only be a small-scale force, and the numbers should not be large.

Thinking of this, a glimmer of hope appeared in the eyes of the Sultan of Bam. He no longer hesitated and immediately issued an order: "The enemy's main force is at our rear; the ones occupying Fuban are only a small-scale force."

"Retake our city! The Spaniards before us are only a small portion; they cannot possibly withstand our attack."

Hearing what the Sultan said, a glimmer of hope also appeared in the eyes of the indigenous soldiers.

These people had seen with their own eyes how the Spanish army slaughtered their compatriots. The city before them was not only the capital of the kingdom, but also the place where their families resided.

If they could not retake this city, the plight of their families could be imagined.

Therefore, whether for the Sultan or for their own families, they had to retake the city before them to have a sliver of a chance at survival.

Under the Sultan's order, the thousands of indigenous people did not rest for long before launching an attack on Fuban; a small number of indigenous people who were unwilling to fight anymore were also forced to pick up weapons and join the attacking ranks under the threat of the Sultan's supervisory squads.

Although the Sultan's most elite musket battalion had been wiped out, as the leader of the entire kingdom, the Sultan still had other troops willing to be loyal to him, including the supervisory squads.

Under the threat of these supervisory squads, neither the soldiers under the Sultan nor those under other tribal leaders dared to have any thoughts of resistance.

Although the Sultan's supervisory squads were few in number, they were all equipped with muskets. These supervisory squads would not be polite to ordinary indigenous soldiers; as long as anyone dared to be a deserter, the soldiers of the supervisory squad would shoot them on the spot—even more ruthlessly than the Spaniards slaughtering the indigenous people.

Under the coercion of the supervisory squads, thousands of indigenous soldiers launched a mighty attack on Fuban.

On the side of Fuban, over 6, 00 Spanish soldiers were already standing by in full battle array.

While Qiaodi was leading the colonial division in a head-on confrontation with the indigenous army, the 6, 00-strong force composed of three colonial garrison regiments had long since launched an attack on the Bam Kingdom from the east.

Because of the short distance, this army had already arrived in the vicinity of Fuban on the second day and launched an attack on the third day.

Originally, in order to cope with the Spanish army's attack, the Sultan of Bam had summoned the vast majority of the soldiers in the entire kingdom.

The Sultan's direct troops had all gone out in full force; currently, only a small number of troops from other tribal leaders remained in the Bam Kingdom, totaling only a few thousand people.

Facing the Spanish army's attack, these soldiers composed of different tribes scattered at the first touch and dared not confront the Spanish army head-on.

Under the bombardment of 20 artillery pieces, the defensive strength of Fuban was quickly destroyed, and the Spanish army occupied this city of hundreds of thousands of people without spending much effort.

After occupying Fuban, the Spanish army did not hesitate at all, immediately implementing militarized management and strictly forbidding any indigenous people from appearing outside their houses.

As long as any indigenous person dared to step out of their home, regardless of their purpose, they were to be executed without exception.

Under such high-pressure policies, the indigenous people dared not step out of their homes at all, cowering in their houses, trembling as they awaited their fate.

After dealing with the indigenous people inside the city, the Spanish army also freed up their hands to dig defensive positions south of Fuban, quietly waiting for the arrival of the Bam Kingdom's main force.

As the thousands of indigenous people drew closer and closer to Fuban, the hope in the heart of the Sultan of Bam gradually shattered.

Before his eyes was not an unprepared and small-numbered Spanish army, but a stretch of defensive positions that had already been dug; it was impossible to tell how many Spanish soldiers were in the positions.

Come to think of it, one must thank the indigenous people within the city for their contribution to the Spanish army.

The reason why the Spanish army had dug the defensive positions in such a short time was mainly because there was truly too much indigenous labor within the city.

With the help of these indigenous people, the positions took on a rough shape. Subsequently, after simple repairs by the Spanish army, they became the defensive positions before them that looked impossible to conquer.

Gradually, the indigenous soldiers slowed their pace.

They stared blankly at the positions before them, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Gulp!

Some indigenous soldiers could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, their eyes filled with terror and panic.

"Fire!"

Seeing that these indigenous people had reached the range, the Spanish army would not have the slightest hesitation, and the leading officer immediately issued the order to fire.

In an instant, the sounds of various rifles firing and artillery launching were continuous, like thunder.

Boom! Bang bang!

One artillery shell, as luck would have it, landed exactly 20 meters in front of the Sultan of Bam.

The indigenous soldiers standing there were instantly blown into fragments, and the shockwave from the shell's explosion reached the Sultan of Bam at a rapid speed, instantly leaving him with tinnitus and dizziness.

The Sultan of Bam was considered relatively lucky, as he was only affected by the shockwave of the shell's explosion.

Some soldiers were not so lucky; being within the range of the shell's explosion, they were quickly severely wounded by the shell fragments.

In an instant, wailing was everywhere on the indigenous side. After experiencing a long escape, the morale of the indigenous people had long since collapsed.

Now, having been bombarded by artillery once more, even those indigenous people who were lucky enough not to be hit could not help but feel despair.

With a strong enemy in front and pursuers behind, where was their path to survival?

The answer was that there was none at all.

To eliminate future trouble, the Spanish army would absolutely not be polite to these indigenous soldiers.

Spain was not short of manpower, so before the action, Qiaodi had communicated with all Spanish officers that this war was to root out these indigenous soldiers.

From the Sultan of the Bam Kingdom down to every indigenous soldier in the Bam army, all were on the Spanish army's kill list.

Even those ordinary civilians would be cleared out to some extent; after all, Spain did not have enough food to support them.

Of course, on the surface, Spain still had to disguise itself as a civilized nation.

The cause of death for these indigenous people on the surface would not be the Spanish massacre, but death from plague or other diseases.

A plague killing over a hundred thousand indigenous people should be quite normal, right? In any case, this was something other countries were doing, and Spain would not have any psychological burden doing so.

This war ended very quickly; the thousands of indigenous people did not hold out for long.

The Spanish army was well-equipped, and their reserves of bullets and shells were completely sufficient.

Under the suppression of firepower, the indigenous people could not lift their heads at all. What was even more fatal was that the high ground had already been occupied by the Spanish army, and the area where the indigenous people were was a flat, open terrain without any cover.

This was simply a living target, and the Spanish army would not let go of such a perfect target practice opportunity.

Coupled with the fact that the soldiers equipped with rifles in the indigenous army had almost all been wiped out, the only ones left with rifles were the Sultan's supervisory squads.

The supervisory squads were located at the very rear and could not get through under the suppression of artillery fire.

This also resulted in the indigenous army having no ability to counterattack; they were like fixed targets, only able to wait blankly for their own bullets to arrive.

After a day, Qiaodi led the main force and also arrived at Fuban.

Upon learning the news that the indigenous people had been completely wiped out, Qiaodi was overjoyed and immediately ordered soldiers to go to the Guinea colony to deliver the news, so that Ka Luo could learn of this good news as soon as possible.

At the same time, Qiaodi also conveyed the news to the Viceroy of the Guinea colony, requesting the Viceroy to dispatch officials to take over the entire Bam Kingdom.

Because the Guinea colony was directly adjacent to the Bam Kingdom, before Spain completely integrated all colonies, the Bam Kingdom would be incorporated into Spain's Guinea colony and temporarily implement militarized management.

Only after Spain completely dealt with the millions of indigenous people in the Bam Kingdom would the militarized management be lifted here, and immigrants would be dispatched for land development.

Of course, the laying of telegraph lines and the construction of train railways could begin immediately. Connecting the Bam Kingdom with telegraphs and railways could also facilitate subsequent operations against the Aro Confederacy and the Sokoto Caliphate.

The Aro Confederacy, the Nri Kingdom, and the further west Kingdom of Benin, Kingdom of Dahomey, etc., were all in Spain's conquest plan.

After completely conquering these countries, Spain's Guinea colony could connect with the Gold Coast colony, becoming a large-scale colony similar to the Congo territory.

In the future, there would only be four major colonies for Spain in Africa: the South Morocco colony, the West Africa colony, the Guinea colony, and the Congo territory.

Each of these four major colonies possessed development value and strategic roles, and they were also the foundation for Spain's future in Africa.

By the time Ka Luo received the telegram that Spain had fully occupied the Bam Kingdom, several more days had passed.

Upon learning the news, Ka Luo was very happy and personally issued an order to express encouragement to all Spanish officers and soldiers who participated in the attack, and demanded that the government timely guarantee the supplies for the combat troops, with weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, and food supplies all being fully provided.

After vigorously developing the West Africa colony, Spain was not short of food at all. Coupled with the developed domestic agricultural industry, vegetables, fruits, beef, and mutton had long been fully supplied to the army.

According to the original situation, colonial troops were supposed to be inferior and unable to enjoy such rich food supplies.

However, considering that the colonial troops would still experience many more wars, sufficient food supplies were still very necessary.

Of course, compared to the food supplies of Spanish officers, the food supplies for those ordinary indigenous soldiers were certainly several grades lower.

However, eating meat at least twice a week could still be satisfied, and even in cases of sufficient supplies, they could eat meat three or four times a week.

Ka Luo, in a great mood, also issued orders to other colonies, requiring each colony to prepare troops as soon as possible and transport them to the Guinea colony at the fastest speed to be trained by Qiaodi personally.

As the Guinea colony became larger and larger, the troops that could be mobilized would become fewer and fewer.

After all, these newly occupied lands needed troops to suppress them, and the current Guinea colony was short of soldiers.

Capturing the Bam Kingdom did not lose too many soldiers; this was good news, but in the short term, the Guinea colony should no longer have the ability to launch another war.

Firstly, there is a need to replenish weapons, ammunition, and other supplies from the Spanish mainland; secondly, the available troops are already insufficient, and with other indigenous nations on guard, it would be very difficult to achieve the same results as the attack on the Bamum Kingdom again.

As mentioned before, the Bamum Kingdom is the last indigenous nation in the Cameroon region that Spain has not yet occupied.

After occupying the Bamum Kingdom, according to the agreements currently reached at the Berlin Conference, Spain also needs a very reasonable justification to effectively occupy this region.

Actually, it is quite simple: that is to sign a treaty with all the local indigenous tribal leaders, clearly establishing Spain's ruling status over this land.

On this point, one can learn from the Germans; the Germans relied on force to forcibly conquer local indigenous tribes, and subsequently signed treaties with these tribes to clarify their colonial rule.

Regardless of whether these indigenous people can understand the treaty, as long as they sign their names and press their fingerprints, the treaty is legal.

There is also no need to fear that these indigenous people will go back on their word; after all, if they could be made to submit once, they could be made to submit a second time.

The signed treaty is not intended to restrain the indigenous people; its true purpose is to prove one's ruling status over this land to other European countries and prevent colonial competition from other nations.

As long as Spain has signed a treaty with the indigenous leaders in the Cameroon region, no matter how powerful Britain and Germany are, they will be unable to intervene in this region.

After all, the Berlin Conference is still in negotiations; if the Germans were to be the first to tear up the agreements already reached, they would be slapping their own faces.

Not only would they lose all face, but the Berlin Conference that Germany went to such great lengths to convene would instantly vanish into thin air. If Germany were to be the first to tear up the conference content, other countries would not abide by the agreements reached at the conference either.

To ensure that the agreements reached at the conference have a certain legal effect, Germany, as the initiator of the conference, must be the first to abide by the conference content.

Regarding this point about the treaty, Kaluo had long since instructed Qiaodi, and the Guinea colony also had corresponding preparations in place.

After the total conquest of the Bamum Kingdom, the Guinea colony had already been preparing for the signing of the treaty.

There is some bad news: the Sultan of the Bamum Kingdom has died in the war. However, his son is still in Foumban, and with the Sultan dead, the former Sultan's son has effectively become the new Sultan.

If Spain wants him to be the Sultan, no indigenous person would dare to stand up and object. Including this new Bamum Sultan, the leaders and Sultans of various indigenous tribes in the Cameroon region, large and small, gathered together, and with smiles on their faces, under the photographic record of a camera, they all signed their names and pressed their fingerprints on a Spanish document they could not understand at all.

There are three copies of the treaty in total: one will be kept in the capital of the Bamum Kingdom, Foumban; one will be transferred to the Guinea colony for safekeeping; and the third will be transported to the Spanish mainland as proof of Spain's control over this land.

After the treaty was signed, the Spanish government did not hide it in the slightest, publicly announcing this good news and declaring its colonial ruling status over the Cameroon region.

Five-thousand-word two-in-one chapter, seeking support!

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(End of chapter)