Chapter 39: When Disaster Strikes, Everyone Fends for Themselves

While the Carlist rebels were being baptized by artillery fire, Primo was already clearing out the Basque rebels in the La Rioja region.

As one of Spain's administrative divisions, the La Rioja region ranks last in the entire country in terms of population.

However, La Rioja is still quite famous throughout Spain because this area is rich in wine and is a renowned Spanish wine-producing region.

Luo Si's wine enterprise currently has five large-scale vineyards, two of which are located in La Rioja, which is enough to show how famous this area is for wine.

Thanks to the sparse population, it was very easy to clear out the Basque rebels in La Rioja.

There are only a few population centers in the entire La Rioja region, so the movements of the Basque rebels in this area were quite conspicuous.

It took only a few days for the Basque rebels in the La Rioja region to be almost completely wiped out.

At this time, Primo also received a report from the army in Zaragoza.

Upon hearing the news that a branch unit had encountered Catalan rebels in Zaragoza, Primo did not intend to change his operational plan and ordered the army to continue north toward the Basque country and Navarre.

The garrison in Zaragoza has about 10, 00 men, and with advanced cannons for fire support, holding off the Carlist rebels is no problem.

Primo's mission is to quickly eliminate the rebels in the Basque country and Navarre, and then bypass Zaragoza from the north directly to Catalonia.

Once the rebellion in Catalonia is quelled, the Carlist rebels remaining in Zaragoza will naturally pose no threat.

Dozens of kilometers northwest of Logroño, the capital of the La Rioja region, lies Vitoria-Gasteiz, a key town in the southern part of the Basque region.

This is not only the base of the Basques but also where the main force of the Basque rebels is located.

Primo attached great importance to the attack on Vitoria-Gasteiz and specifically ordered the army to rest in Logroño for a day before marching north to the Basque country in a grand procession.

At this time, inside the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Basque rebels were already in a state of panic.

What none of the high-ranking rebels expected was that the government army would march north to the Basque country without hesitation, rather than first quelling Catalonia.

The Basques' idea was to threaten the government while the Carlist rebels and the government army were locked in a fierce battle, in order to win autonomy and more local power for the Basque country.

But now, with the government army marching openly toward the Basque country, this was completely outside the expectations of the Basques.

"Enrique, is this what you meant when you said we could take the opportunity to fight for Basque autonomy?" The main leader of the Basque rebels, Matis Anhatol, looked furious, his eyes fixed on Senator Enrique of the Basque region.

"This is not my fault, Matis." Senator Enrique spread his hands and said with slight helplessness: "Who could have imagined that Primo would come directly for us?

Logically speaking, shouldn't he have gone after the Catalan army, which has more troops?"

Although Matis Anhatol understood that all this was because Primo did not play by the rules, the losses of the Basque army still pained him deeply.

One must know that there are only so many Basques.

Every Basque soldier lost is a heavy blow to the Basques, who currently number only a few hundred thousand in total.

"Is there any good way to end this war right now? Damn it, when did the government army become so powerful? When did they buy so many cannons?" At this moment, Matis Anhatol's head was full of questions; he simply could not understand why the Spanish army had become so powerful in such a short time.

"There are two ways to end this war." Senator Enrique thought for a moment before speaking slowly: "The first way is to surrender directly to Primo."

"What? Surrender?" Matis Anhatol looked at Enrique in disbelief and asked: "Do you think Primo will let us go? He has long wanted to eradicate us and the Catalans; he will never let this opportunity pass, never."

"Then what else can we do, General?" Enrique asked back with a calm face.

"Tell me your other plan." Matis Anhatol was silent for a moment, but in the end, he could only remain silent.

The gap in strength between the Basque rebels and the Spanish government army was like a chasm; it was completely impossible to defeat the Spanish government army alone, without a shred of hope.

"Another way is to wait for the Catalans to bypass Valencia and reach Madrid." Enrique said: "As long as we can break through to Madrid, this Spanish army we are facing will be nothing to fear.

But the path from Valencia to Madrid is fraught with difficulties, and I don't think the current Catalan army can do it, unless God is willing to help them."

"Where is the Catalan army now? Are they still in Zaragoza?" Matis Anhatol had no trust in his partners; they were being blocked in Zaragoza by a small detachment of the government army—this was a huge joke!

"It seems so, General." Enrique shrugged and said helplessly.

"Damn it, these Catalans never intended to cooperate with us. Or rather, their strength is simply unable to threaten the government army.

God bless, let these damn Catalans go to hell; they have deceived the Basques, they are using us!" The seemingly reliable Catalans were actually not reliable at all, and the brilliance of Carlos VII seemed more like self-amusement.

"General, I suggest waiting another three days. If the Catalans cannot break through Zaragoza within three days, we will have no choice but to surrender to Primo." Senator Enrique stated his proposal.

"It seems that's all we can do for now. Senator Enrique, news from Catalonia depends on you; if there are any changes, please let me know in time." Matis Anhatol nodded, having no choice but to make a helpless decision.

"As you command, General." Senator Enrique nodded, appearing as if he were devoted to the Basque people.

Later that day, within the Spanish army.

"Marshal, while the cavalry were patrolling outside, they captured this fellow who claims to be a subordinate of Senator Enrique of the Basque region and has something to say to you.

I have already checked, and apart from carrying a letter, this fellow is not hiding any weapons." The commander of the cavalry division under Primo brought a Basque man dressed as a civilian to Primo.

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(End of chapter)