Chapter 324: The Death of the Caliph

Following Andrew's timely order, the First Colonial Division quickly moved up, buying enough time for the deployment of machine guns and artillery.

The ensuing battle was simple; these indigenous people had no means of resistance against the pouring firepower of Spanish machine guns and artillery.

It was true that they possessed firearms, but in the face of such a massive disparity in firepower, let alone a few thousand rifles, even tens of thousands would have been of little use.

After all, the Spanish colonial troops were equipped with standard-issue rifles; how could these indigenous forces possibly have the strength to resist when facing the Spanish army?

This skirmish with the indigenous people also proved to a great extent the power of machine guns in colonial warfare.

Because these indigenous people were unaware of the power of machine guns, they swarmed forward in a disorganized mass when launching their attack on the Spanish army.

The Spanish machine guns only needed to fire a single round of sweeping shots, and the indigenous soldiers fell one after another; it was a truly shocking sight.

Of course, only the Spanish colonial troops were shocked. As for the indigenous soldiers currently being baptized by machine-gun fire, their only feelings were panic and terror.

How could the soldiers of the Sokoto Caliphate have ever experienced such a war? The enemy used a weapon that looked somewhat similar to a rifle, yet it inflicted massive casualties on their side at an incredibly fast speed.

The loyal warriors of this Muslim state, founded through holy war, suddenly discovered that the Allah they worshipped did not seem so effective after all.

At this point, they could no longer care about their faith; the indigenous soldiers ran as fast as they could. Because those who ran slowly were all fed Spanish bullets—and it was worth noting that smokeless powder bullets were indeed less painful than black powder, which might have been the only good news for the indigenous soldiers.

The current Sokoto Caliph, Umar ibn Ali, was dumbfounded; he had not expected the Spanish army to possess such lethal weapons.

What he expected even less was that his pride and joy, the Imperial Guard, would crumble in just a few minutes before the Spanish army's overwhelming firepower.

Hey, you have to admit, the usual training for the Imperial Guard really did have an effect. Just look at the battlefield—the ones running the fastest were indeed Umar's Imperial Guards.

Because the Imperial Guard had a more abundant food supply, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard were physically stronger than the average soldier, despite both being under the Caliph's rule.

At this moment, Sokoto Caliph Umar ibn Ali did not know whether to cry or laugh. Because these Imperial Guards ran so fast, the force of over eight thousand suffered very few casualties.

But the problem was that the rapid flight of these Imperial Guards caused the entire front-line army to collapse quickly. Although the eight thousand Imperial Guards were preserved, the remaining tens of thousands of troops—especially the ten thousand or so on the very front line—looked like they wouldn't have many men left.

This ruler of the state, who had only inherited the Caliphate in 1881, was completely panicked when facing such a situation. He did not know whether he should rally the troops to organize a defensive line again, or bring these remnants back into the city of Wurno and use the capital's urban area to fight a street battle against the Spanish.

As everyone knows, street fighting is one of the deadliest types of battle maps. The complex terrain and layout of different urban districts can effectively drag out an enemy's offensive.

And the defending side, familiar with the terrain, can use it to launch effective counterattacks, causing massive casualties to the enemy.

In a better scenario, one could turn defeat into victory, forcing the Spanish army to withdraw and winning the war.

In a worse scenario, one could still increase the Spanish army's casualties, and while preserving one's own forces, gain leverage for negotiations with the Spanish army.

Before Umar ibn Ali could make up his mind, the Spanish army had already made the choice for him.

The moment he discovered the indigenous army had collapsed, Andrew ordered the indigenous state troops to launch a pursuit, further disrupting the order of the retreating indigenous soldiers.

Sure enough, as the pursuing troops drew closer to the enemy's position, the indigenous soldiers' pace of flight accelerated significantly, for fear of being left behind by their own side and becoming a scapegoat for the comrades beside them.

This made the Sokoto Caliphate's army even more chaotic, and it became almost impossible for Caliph Umar ibn Ali to issue any further orders.

No one can reorganize an army that has already collapsed and fallen into chaos in a short time, especially when the discipline of the indigenous troops was already poor to begin with.

A large group of defeated indigenous soldiers fled toward the capital, Wurno, like madmen; they scrambled to enter the city, some even running toward their own homes without looking back.

A few hundred meters behind these defeated indigenous soldiers were the pursuing state troops. Because both sides were local indigenous people, those pursuing state troops did not encounter any obstruction and entered Wurno with ease.

Upon seeing that the pursuers had already entered the capital, Caliph Umar ibn Ali understood that his country's fate was sealed.

Compared to the Spanish army, which was unfamiliar with the place, these state troops, who were their own people, would be even more familiar with the terrain of Wurno.

Plus, since everyone was a Muslim African indigenous person, it was very difficult to distinguish between the two sides. This also meant that the Sokoto Caliphate's hope of relying on street fighting for a final resistance had completely vanished; they could only obediently become fish on the Spanish chopping block, left to be slaughtered by the Spanish army.

"Is our country to perish in my hands?" Umar ibn Ali looked desperate, watching the distant pursuing state troops with a sense of unwillingness.

"Great Caliph, perhaps we still have one last way to salvage the situation." Just as Umar ibn Ali was in despair, someone stood out, still attempting to save their country.

"Speak quickly, what is the way?" Hearing that there was still a way to save the current situation, Umar ibn Ali's eyes held a glimmer of hope as he quickly looked at the person who had spoken.

"I have two ways to salvage the current situation." Seeing the Caliph's gaze upon him, the man was not nervous and spoke his suggestion unhurriedly: "Although the enemy has entered the city, these troops that have entered are our state troops.

The reason they oppose the state is also simple; the biggest reason is the originally harsh tribute. If you, the Caliph, can personally issue an order to reduce the tribute of these states by more than half, it is not impossible to make them rebel against the Spanish army.

Even if it cannot make them rebel against the Spanish, it will make the Spanish increase their suspicion of them, thereby buying us more time and opportunities.

The second way is to seek outside assistance to help us mediate this war. The British, with whom we have trade relations, and the French, who have contacted us, can both be targets for our plea for help.

If we can obtain their support, even if we lose a portion of our land and population, at least we can ensure our country continues to exist.

As long as we have a period of rest and reorganization, it is not impossible to fight back and regain our land."

"This... reducing the tribute of these states by more than half, will that not affect our tax revenue?" Umar ibn Ali was still hesitant at this moment; the tribute from these southern states accounted for a considerable proportion of the entire Sokoto Caliphate's fiscal revenue, and if he were to just give that up, it was truly painful to contemplate.

"Great Caliph, this is no longer the time to worry about this tribute. If we cannot obtain outside support, and these southern state troops are unwilling to support us, I fear we will only be left to be slaughtered by the Spanish.

Judging by the Spanish attitude toward handling other countries, our country will very likely be divided into several parts, and by then, your title of Caliph might also be abolished by the Spanish." Seeing the Caliph's pained expression, the person who made the suggestion felt a sense of frustration and continued to persuade him.

In times of national life and death, anything can be abandoned. As long as the country and one's own position can be preserved, there is always a chance for a comeback.

Umar ibn Ali could clearly understand this logic, and after a few seconds of deep thought, he nodded with great reluctance and ordered: "Then do as you say.

Contact those southern state troops for me and ask them how they ended up getting mixed up with the Spanish? Does their act of betraying the country do justice to the great Allah? Does it do justice to all their fellow Muslims?

Tell them that if they are willing to help us hold the city, I am willing to let bygones be bygones and forgive their faults in this war.

But if they are still unwilling to cut ties with the Spanish, they will be sinners against the country, shameful apostates! If they do not want to suffer the punishment of Allah, they should no longer collude with those damned Spanish."

"Yes." Although he was a bit surprised by the Caliph's still-hardline attitude, the person sent to deliver the message was not the Caliph himself, so the message delivered could be modified to a certain extent.

Therefore, the official who made the suggestion agreed quite readily. If they could obtain the support of these state troops, holding Wurno before the Spanish army arrived would be no problem.

This also meant they had to hurry; they had to successfully turn these state troops before the Spanish army arrived.

Regarding turning the state troops, the many officials present were quite confident. After all, compared to the outsiders, the Spanish, they and these states were truly their own people.

Although there had been a rift due to the high tribute, as long as the tribute issue could be resolved, repairing the relationship between the states and the empire would not be difficult.

As long as they could hold the capital, Wurno, and wait for reinforcements from dozens of northern states, this crisis could basically be solved.

They might not even need to seek support from European countries, including Britain and France; relying on their own strength alone might be enough to repel the Spanish offensive.

After confirming the plan, most of the Sokoto Caliphate officials, including Umar ibn Ali, clearly breathed a sigh of relief, and some hope returned to their faces.

But soon, the cruel reality slapped them in the face.

The official who went to turn the state troops never returned. It was not that he had also rebelled against the Caliph; the real reason was that before he could even turn the state troops, he was ordered to be executed by the commander of the state troops.

This poor official, who thought he could save the country, ultimately lost his life before he could even say a few words.

Why were these state troops so decisive?

The main reason was that they were clear about the cruelty and selfishness of the Sokoto Caliph, Umar ibn Ali himself.

Although he had only inherited the title of Caliph for four years, Umar ibn Ali had already shown a quite foolish and cruel side.

Originally, the tribute from the southern states was not that high, and everyone's life was still manageable, so there was naturally no major conflict with the Caliph's government.

After Umar ibn Ali became the new Caliph, the originally relatively stable situation underwent a huge change.

In his first year as Caliph, Umar ibn Ali expanded the original five-thousand-man Imperial Guard to eight thousand and equipped all of them with firearms.

Whether it was expanding the army or equipping them with firearms, it was a massive expenditure for the Caliph's government. Where would this money come from? Umar ibn Ali was certainly unwilling to pay from his own pocket.

He chose to let these relatively wealthy southern states bear the military expenses, and his method was to continuously increase the tribute of the southern states.

In just four years, the tribute of these southern states had almost doubled. Originally, the indigenous people of these southern states had the easiest lives; they weren't exactly wealthy, but at least they could fill their stomachs.

But as the tribute to be paid to the Caliph became higher and higher, the state governments had to increase taxes on the indigenous people.

This led to a sharp decline in the living standards of the indigenous people in the southern states; by now, a considerable number of them could no longer fill their stomachs.

One must know that the Sokoto Caliphate, with a population of nearly ten million, also possessed over a million non-Muslim slave laborers.

Relying solely on the labor of these million-plus slaves, they could obtain a large amount of food and income every year. Coupled with trade with European countries, the overall living standard of the Sokoto Caliphate's people was significantly higher than that of the surrounding African indigenous countries.

Under such circumstances, the southern states, which had been slightly wealthy, were actually experiencing starvation, which was enough to show how ruthlessly Umar ibn Ali exploited the southern states.

Having already risen in rebellion against the Caliph, the Emirs of these southern states had long since made their plans.

If the Spanish were even a little bit credible, then the words of the Caliph's government had no credibility at all.

Even if the conditions proposed by the Caliph's government were fulfilled now, after the war ended in the future, they—the states and their rulers who had once rebelled against the Caliph—would definitely be liquidated.

Since that was the case, it was better to rebel in a grand fashion.

If the Spanish kept their word, they could continue to exist within the Spanish colony as a protectorate.

Perhaps in the future, with the collapse of the Sokoto Caliphate, the territory of these southern states would even have a chance to increase, allowing them to turn around and partition the territory of the Sokoto Caliphate.

On the other side, when Umar ibn Ali heard that the envoy he sent had been killed before he could even state his conditions, the Caliph, who had still been wearing a smile, suddenly froze.

He had not expected the resistance of these states against him to be so resolute, not even giving the envoy he sent a chance to speak.

Right now, these southern state troops had all rushed into the capital; if they could not be dealt with, once the Spanish army also entered the city, the war would basically be over.

"Is there anyone else who has a way to salvage the current situation?" Umar ibn Ali looked at the officials, who were all bowing their heads in silence, with a hint of pleading in his eyes.

It was clear that the officials of the Caliph's government could not think of any way to salvage the situation at this moment.

Reinforcements from the northern states would take a long time to arrive, and seeking help from European countries would take even longer; it was clear that such methods could not quench a thirst with water from afar.

The fact that the southern state troops, the only ones who could quench the immediate thirst, were unwilling to help the Caliph meant what? It meant that the Caliph's government, which they viewed as supreme, had now become an object of universal loathing.

Looking at the officials who were all silent, how could Umar ibn Ali not know that the situation was already lost?

He fell silent, his gaze suddenly becoming very calm. After looking at all the officials, he said word by word: "Since none of you have any way to salvage the situation, then we might as well surrender to the Spanish.

I hope the Spanish can be a bit civilized and allow you to continue living. As for me, the great Caliph of Sokoto, I will perish with my country.

May Allah protect you, and may the people of Sokoto be spared the troubles of war!"

After speaking, Umar ibn Ali returned to his palace with a calm expression, where there was a pistol belonging exclusively to the Caliph himself.

Originally, this pistol was just an ornament, but now it had its own purpose: to allow the Caliph to end his life with dignity.

Hearing the Caliph's final farewell, a hint of emotion appeared in the eyes of the officials present; some people's throats moved, but they did not say a word.

Clearly, at this moment of life and death, they were also panicked. Although some wanted to save the Caliph, what could they possibly do?

Besides praying that the Spanish would not kill the innocent indiscriminately after entering the city, could they dare to hope that the Spanish would spare them, or spare the Caliph?

Clearly, this was impossible. Although Europeans prided themselves on being civilized, their colonization had always been cruel and bloody.

Let alone sparing the Caliph and these officials, if the Spanish killed fewer Sokoto people, it would already be considered the Spanish being merciful.

5, 00-word two-in-one chapter, seeking monthly tickets!

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(End of chapter)