Empire Rise: Spain-Chapter 42: Steadfast Carlos

At this point, the Carlist faction rebels’ chances of victory had already greatly diminished, and Carlos VII himself actually understood this.
He was inwardly conflicted over whether to continue leading the army in meaningless resistance or to find an opportunity to escape and continue hiding in the shadows to seek new opportunities.
Although escaping early was obviously the better choice, for Carlos VII himself, who had patiently waited for opportunities for so long, giving up this time might mean he would never ascend to the throne of Spain in his lifetime.
The Carlist faction had emerged from the ascension of Queen Isabella, and it had been less than 40 years until now.
But in these less than 40 years, the Carlist faction had already successively experienced four “monarchs”: Carlos V, Carlos VI, Juan III, and Carlos VII.
Carlos VII also understood that the reason the Carlist faction had been able to persist, launching three Carlist Wars in these less than 40 years, was because of Queen Isabella’s incompetent rule and the corrupt Spanish Kingdom Government.
The public was increasingly dissatisfied with the queen’s rule, and that was the reason the Carlist faction had endured for so long.
If there had been a somewhat normal queen, after three or four decades of long rule, the public would have long since accepted the queen above them.
The current King of Spain Carlo’s abilities aside, he was indeed skilled at winning popular support.
Moreover, with Prime Minister Primó single-mindedly intent on reform, if such a monarch and his minister succeeded in carrying out reforms, would there be any place for the Carlist faction in the future Spain?
After all, the Carlist faction had emerged because the conservatives were unwilling to see the queen take the throne, so they supported Prince Carlos, the male heir.
Now the King of Spain had long since changed, didn’t that mean the reasons for the Carlist faction’s establishment were no longer valid?
Thinking of this, Carlos VII suddenly realized that in the current situation, whether advancing or retreating, the Carlist faction and he himself seemed to have only one outcome: defeat.
So, was it to go all out against the government army, or to flee abroad and enjoy his luxurious life?
The self-proclaimed clever Carlos VII quickly made his choice and quietly left the Carlist faction rebels that very night.
By the time the Catalans noticed something was wrong, it was already noon the next day.
The Catalans never imagined until their deaths that their army had not yet been defeated, and the king they supported, Carlos VII, had already fled long ago.
Carlos VII’s escape route went eastward, re-entering Catalonia and then fleeing along the coastline all the way into France.
It was worth mentioning that the former Queen of Spain Isabel II was also in exile in France—who could blame the Bourbon family for coming from France?
Speaking of which, the Bourbon family had ruled Spain for nearly 170 years. If Queen Isabella hadn’t brought disaster upon herself, and if the Carlist faction weren’t truly a bunch of hopeless mud that couldn’t be helped up the wall, Carlo’s rule in Spain probably wouldn’t have been so smooth.
The war was only halfway through, and the king they supported on their side had run away.
This was a heavy blow to the morale of the Catalan rebels and directly announced that the siege of Zaragoza had entered its final stage, with the attackers and defenders switching roles.
By the time Primó’s army hurriedly arrived in Aragon from the Basque Country, the Catalan army had already mostly routed.
The main force, after suffering heavy casualties, had the remaining soldiers choose to surrender.
The flanking and more rearward Catalan troops scattered and fled, the chaotic scene like a market fair.
This also turned Primó’s plan from originally encircling and annihilating the Catalan army into clearing up the remnants in the Aragon region.
Although these rebels had successfully routed, organized small groups of rebels could still have a great impact on security in the Aragon region.
If not thoroughly cleared, any trouble these rebels caused would lower popular support in the Aragon region.
Fortunately, having captured most of the Catalan rebels, the cleanup work was troublesome but not overly arduous.
In just a few days, Primó led the Spanish Army in arresting nearly a thousand fleeing Catalan rebels, while the remaining few hid in the deep mountains, with no immediate need to pursue them.
Leaving part of the army to guard the prisoners, Primó took the remaining main force to Catalonia to carry out the final cleanup.
Catalonia still had quite a few rebel forces remaining, including some Carlist faction members who hadn’t managed to escape.
Primó’s plan was to completely eliminate these destabilizing elements and restore peace to Catalonia.
The good news was that many forces in Catalonia had participated in the rebellion this time, so Primó could carry out a major cleanup.
Just like in the Basque Country, most commoners actually had few thoughts about their own identity.
Whether Basques, Catalans, or Spaniards, they could all accept it.
As long as farmers could eat their fill and workers could earn enough income to support their families, they would not become destabilizing factors.
The real destabilizing factors were the elites among the Basques and Catalans, such as nobles and factory owners, including members of parliament like Enrique and church figures.
Some among them wanted to gain greater power for themselves through Catalonia’s autonomy or independence, while others simply opposed the government’s reform policies and wanted to achieve their purposes through Catalonia’s separatists.
Of course, there were also those like the Carlist faction, who wanted to obtain the throne of Spain, but unfortunately they had failed in three consecutive wars.
The cleanup work lasted more than a week. In that time, Primó carefully screened and executed hundreds of Catalan rebels.
The Carlist faction and separatists numbered the most, while factory owners and church personnel were fewer.
As for the remaining vast majority of rebel members, who had been ordinary farmers and workers before, Primó naturally let them go.
After all, this rebellion had already claimed too many lives; under the premise of holding all rebel leaders accountable, forgiving ordinary rebel members was also necessary to maintain local stability.
To reassure the public in the Basque Country and Catalonia region, Primó specifically posted announcements exempting ordinary civilians from punishment.
But at the same time, Primó publicly executed the rebel leaders, making it clear to the ordinary public that rebellion came at a cost and that they needed to carefully consider whether they could bear the price of defeat when launching a rebellion.
First update, begging for follow-up reads!