Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 42: Chapter 41: The Unyielding Carlos

At this moment, the chances of victory for the Carlo Faction rebels have significantly decreased, and Carlos VII himself is well aware of this.

He was torn between whether to continue leading the army in a meaningless resistance or to seek an opportunity to escape, remain in hiding, and look for a new chance.

Although escaping early is clearly a better choice, for Carlos VII, who had been patiently waiting for an opportunity for a long time, giving up this time might mean he would never ascend to the throne of Spain in his lifetime.

The Carlo Faction was established around the time Queen Isabella ascended the throne, a period of less than 40 years.

But within these less than 40 years, the Carlo Faction had already experienced four “monarchs”: Carlos V, Carlos VI, Juan III, and Carlos VII.

Carlos VII also understood that the reason the Carlo Faction continued to exist and was able to launch a series of three Carlos Wars in less than 40 years was due to Queen Isabella’s inept rule and the corrupt Government of the Kingdom of Spain.

The public’s growing dissatisfaction with the queen’s rule was the reason for the lasting presence of the Carlo Faction.

Any normal queen would have been accepted by the public after three to four decades of prolonged rule.

The current King of Spain, Carlo, aside from his capacities, is indeed skilled at winning people’s hearts.

Moreover, with Prime Minister Prim determined to implement reforms, if such a pair of monarch and minister successfully reforms, will there still be a place for the Carlo Faction in the future of Spain?

After all, the Carlo Faction was formed because the conservatives refused to see a queen on the throne and hence supported the male heir, Prince Carlos.

Now that the King of Spain has changed, doesn’t that mean the very reason for the Carlo Faction’s existence is nullified?

Thinking of this, Carlos VII suddenly realized, whether advancing or retreating, the Carlo Faction and he himself seem to have only one outcome, which is defeat.

So, to fight a final showdown with the government troops, or to escape abroad to enjoy a luxurious life?

Considered himself wise, Carlos VII quickly made a choice and secretly left the Carlo Faction rebels that very night.

By the time the Catalans noticed something was amiss, it was already noon the following day.

To their dying day, the Catalans never expected that even before their army was defeated, their supported king, Carlos VII, had long since fled.

The escape route of Carlos VII headed east, re-entered Catalonia, and then along the coastline fled into France.

It is worth mentioning that former Queen of Spain, Isabella II, was also seeking refuge in France, given that the Bourbon family originated from France.

Speaking of which, the Bourbon family had ruled Spain for nearly 170 years. If it weren’t for Queen Isabella’s self-destructive actions and the fact that the Carlo Faction was indeed a bunch of incompetent people, Carlo’s rule in Spain might not have been so smooth.

With the war halfway through, and the king they supported having fled,

it was a heavy blow to the morale of the Catalan rebels and directly announced the beginning of the final stage of the Zaragoza siege, with both sides shifting roles in attack and defense.

By the time Prim’s army rushed from the Basque Region to Aragon, the Catalan army had nearly disbanded.

The majority of the troops, after suffering heavy casualties, chose to surrender.

The flanks and rear Catalan troops fled in all directions, and the chaotic scene resembled a market day.

This altered Prim’s original plan from encircling and annihilating the Catalan army to cleaning up the remnants in the Aragon region.

Although the rebels successfully fled, small organized factions of rebels could still pose a significant threat to the security of the Aragon region.

If not completely cleared out, any mischief by these rebels would lower public confidence in the Aragon region.

Fortunately, with most of the Catalan rebels already captured, the cleanup, while troublesome, was not that arduous.

In just a few days, Prim led the Spanish Army in capturing nearly a thousand fleeing Catalan rebels, and most of the remaining rebels retreated into deep mountains, and there was no immediate need to pursue them.

Leaving a part of the army to guard the captives, Prim took the remaining large forces toward Catalonia to conduct the final cleanup.

There were still substantial remnants of rebel forces in Catalonia, including some Carlo Faction members who hadn’t had the chance to escape.

Prim’s intention was to completely eliminate these unstable elements and restore peace to Catalonia.

The good news is that there were indeed many forces involved in the rebellion in Catalonia, providing Prim the opportunity to conduct a thorough cleanup.

Just like in the Basque region, the majority of commoners didn’t have much identity concern.

Whether Basques, Catalans, or Spaniards, they were acceptable.

As long as the farmers could fill their bellies and the workers earn enough to support their families, they wouldn’t become destabilizing elements.

The real destabilizing factors were the upper echelons among the Basques and Catalans, such as nobles and factory owners, including politicians and clergy like Anrique.

Some of them sought greater power through Catalonia’s autonomy or independence, some purely opposed the government’s reform policies, trying to achieve their goals through Catalonian separatists.

Of course, there were also groups like the Carlo Faction, seeking the throne of Spain, but unfortunately, three consecutive wars had ended in failure.

The wrapping-up work lasted more than a week. During this time, Prim carefully screened and executed hundreds of Catalan insurgents.

The numbers were primarily made up of Carlo Faction and separatists, with fewer factory owners and clergy members.

As for the vast majority of rebel members, they were originally ordinary farmers and workers and were naturally pardoned by Prim.

After all, too many people had already died in this rebellion, and it was necessary to maintain local stability by pardoning ordinary rebel members while holding all rebel leaders accountable.

To reassure the public in the Basque and Catalonia Regions, Prim also posted notices granting amnesty to ordinary citizens.

Yet, at the same time, Prim publicly executed the rebel leaders as a reminder to the common people that rebellion came with a price, and that they should consider the costs of failure before fomenting rebellion.