Chapter 41
California Crisis (3)
I rushed the army there, only to find that the Santa Barbara Mission had already been attacked. The missionaries were also dead. There was no time to console them.
I immediately turned the army around.
'They must have gone to the San Luis Obispo Mission.'
Considering the time, that's where the battle will take place.
It looks like a neighboring town, but it's over 100 km away. We ran all day, slept, and ran again.
"Your Highness, there it is!"
"We're not late."
I saw the weak defensive force of the mission, about to be overwhelmed by the Chumash's overwhelming force.
"The commanders of the 1st and 2nd cavalry regiments will flank left and right to attack their rear, and the infantry regiment commander will attack their rear as is."
"Yes!"
The elite infantry regiment dismounted and prepared to attack the enemy's rear.
The cavalry regiments split left and right as I instructed, attacking the enemy's flanks.
'There are a lot. Over 3,000.'
But their weapons and training were incomparable. It was an incomparable force. The infantry regiment commander skillfully gave orders to the company commanders.
"Open fire!"
Bang! Tatatatatat!
Chumash musket soldiers falling like rain. The Chumash, who were attacking the mission, only then noticed us.
Tatatatatat!!
A second volley of fire, flowing like water. The cavalry charged in from both sides. It was like hitting them in the back of the head and then slapping them on both sides.
The cavalry, charging with spears, drew their swords and cut down the Chumash warriors.
There was a force difference of over 30%, but our army was easily trampling the enemy.
"Hmm? What's that?"
"···Your Highness, it looks like natives."
There were hundreds behind them, and over a thousand more running towards us from further back.
"They attacked the mission and simultaneously went to rescue the natives who were captured at the mission?"
There were people who weren't warriors. Desperation drove them.
"Are they going to join the fight like this? That's insane."
They didn't even have muskets, let alone iron weapons.
They were recklessly charging at the sides of our cavalry, wielding wooden spears they didn't know where they got.
Our cavalry is a light cavalry. Even if it's a wooden spear, if they charge and stab you, you'll die.
'Ugh…'
"Order the cavalry to retreat for a moment and then charge again."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The signalman sent a signal, and the cavalry on both sides retreated in unison.
Tatatatatat!!
Meanwhile, our elite infantry was destroying the enemy's rear, based on their overwhelming training and weapon performance.
As the cavalry, who had been holding the enemy, pulled back, the enemy's movements began to change. They were reforming their ranks.
"The musket soldiers are retreating with only their muskets."
The enemy reformed their ranks, passed through the tattered mission defenders, and began to retreat.
"Your Highness, shall we pursue?"
I pondered for a moment.
We can catch them with cavalry and prevent them from escaping. But the enemy has 3,000 warriors and 4,000 civilians who were just freed, and they're all ready to fight to the death.
'This is crazy.'
We'll win if we fight.
Our elite infantry and cavalry are strong. But I could see a hellish battle in front of me.
Our cavalry will try to capture as many enemies as possible, but the enemy isn't stupid, so they'll do whatever it takes to get to our infantry.
Our infantry is elite, so they'll be able to maintain their formation and slaughter the enemy even in close combat, but the moment we allow them to close in, the exchange rate will inevitably plummet.
The future unfolding instantly flashed through my mind.
"···No, don't pursue. Just keep sending scouts to track the enemy's location."
That's how the first battle ended.
'We'll wait for a stronger whip. We'll just contain them for now.'
"Let's wait for the artillery. Meanwhile, we'll just contain the enemy so they can't attack other missions or settlements."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The cannons and artillery are coming by stagecoach. That's because I ordered them to.
They're slower than us on horseback, but time is on our side.
***
We continued to track the Chumash's location and blocked their path.
During that time, the missions and settlements strengthened their defenses.
"A total of 20,000? That many?"
"Yes, it seems like other Native American tribes who were at the missions have joined them."
"Ugh, how many warriors are there?"
"About 5,000 young men, and if you include middle-aged and older men, it's 8,000."
Even after the artillery arrives, we'll only have 2,400.
"Is there any room for dialogue?"
"No, they still attack if we get too close."
They seem to have a considerable grudge against us, and they're not giving us even a glimmer of a chance for dialogue.
"Where are they trying to move this time?"
"···Your Highness, they're not moving this time. It seems like they're preparing for a final showdown before they run out of food."
"It seems like we'll have to bring some of the defenders from the missions and the villages. If we bring about half, wouldn't that be about 1,000? Send a messenger."
"Yes!"
A week later.
1,000 soldiers from each mission and settlement, and 400 artillerymen with 40 cannons arrived. A total of 3,400 soldiers.
"Your Highness, the enemy is moving. Their destination is the Santa Cruz Mission."
"Let's move too."
The Chumash's final showdown is approaching.
The enemy army (warriors) is about 8,000 strong, but we don't know how the civilians will react.
What should I do if they join the battle?
I pondered that question as I marched towards the battlefield.
"Did they have that many muskets?"
"It seems like they've also looted the mission armories."
"Ugh, they looted them while they were escaping."
The enemy had about 1,500 musket soldiers, 1,000 cavalry, and 4,500 warriors armed with cold weapons. Their training was low, almost nonexistent, but they were a formidable force just in terms of size.
The two armies clashed on the plains of California, where there were no geographical features.
The Chumash infantry started.
"Wooooaaaah!!"
The Chumash warriors charged left and right, shouting, or screaming, it was unclear.
Bang! Tatatatatat!
Our ordinary infantry, armed with muskets brought from the missions, met them, 500 on each side.
Tatatatatat!
The elite infantry behind the ordinary infantry also spewed fire, almost simultaneously, with their Eduardo rifles.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
Half of the 40 cannons, 20 cannons, fired according to the artillery commander's order.
Boom! Kaboom! Boom! Kaboom!
The Chumash warriors, who had been charging towards the center and left and right to surround our infantry, were turned into minced meat.
Tatatatatat!
The enemy command, terrified by the power of the artillery, tried to flank the artillery with the cavalry, but they were blocked by our cavalry.
"Kill them!"
"Wooooaaaah!"
The Chumash musket soldiers avoided the front, which was blocked by the warriors, and spread out to the sides, firing at our infantry, but they were recording the worst exchange rate in a firefight with our elite infantry.
Tatatatatat!
Cough.
Our elite infantry fired two shots for every one the enemy fired, and the accuracy and range of their weapons were simply unmatched.
The enemy musket soldiers were like stationary targets, being slaughtered unilaterally.
"2nd company, deploy. Support the center of the left wing."
"Yes! Deploy!"
The 2nd company of the elite infantry regiment deployed to support the ordinary infantry, who were grappling with the warriors in close combat.
The Chumash warriors, who had barely created a small gap at the cost of huge sacrifices, could only watch helplessly as the elite infantry filled that gap.
Tatatatatat!
The battle was unfolding as planned.
The Chumash warriors, despite their overwhelming numerical superiority, couldn't surround our infantry.
This was because any troops that tried to surround them were killed by our elite infantry and artillery fire.
They were being pushed back, not even able to break through our infantry in a head-on fight, and even when gaps opened, the elite infantry filled them.
"Fire."
"Fire!"
Cannonballs were fired from 20 cannons again, according to the artillery commander's order, with an expressionless face.
Boom! Kaboom! Boom! Kaboom!
Over a hundred natives were turned into pieces of flesh.
"3rd company, deploy."
"Deploy!"
The army was skillfully crushing the enemy.
Victory was practically assured, but I wasn't at ease.
The battlefield where dozens of people were dying in the blink of an eye.
The Chumash warriors had lost their initial determination and were in a state of fear and panic.
"Wooooaaaah!"
"T..This is insane!"
They charged at us without warning, so we had no choice but to strike first. But,
'This isn't why I came all this way.'
If they had eyes and brains, they would clearly see how this battle was going to unfold.
In fact, it's clear that their morale is shattered.
Now's the time.
"Do as we planned."
"Your Highness, is that really necessary? We've already overwhelmed them."
The infantry regiment commander expressed his opposition. He wouldn't understand my order at all.
I pushed ahead, despite his opposition.
"Do as I ordered."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The signalman sent a signal.
"Push them back!"
"Wooooaaaah!!"
Our infantry and cavalry pushed back the enemy with all their might, starting with the signal.
"Retreat while maintaining formation!"
After pushing them back once, we started to retreat, taking advantage of the gap that had opened up.
The enemy musket soldiers couldn't get close enough because of the range difference between their muskets and our rifles.
As the infantry and cavalry started to retreat, they were instantly out of range of the enemy.
The Chumash warriors instinctively tried to chase us, but a harsh retaliation followed those who pursued.
"Fire."
"Fire!"
Boom! Kaboom! Boom! Kaboom!
Bullets and cannonballs rained down on those who tried to catch up.
The Chumash were confused by our army's movements, but they soon regrouped.
A standoff.
"Thank you. I'll reward you handsomely."
"Yes, Your Highness. Don't worry. We'll get it done."
The cavalryman who had volunteered for a potentially suicidal mission answered in a heavy voice.
He held a white flag and headed towards the enemy formation, but the white flag being a symbol of peace was a saying that only held true in Europe at this time.
Clack-clack.
From the enemy's perspective, a cavalryman was approaching with a flag, and they didn't know why.
'Please.'
Clack-clack.
He cautiously moved forward, step by step.
He entered the range of the muskets.
They didn't fire. The enemy also looked tense.
He approached the enemy warriors, who had been excited by the heat of battle a while ago.
The enemy commander stepped forward. Our cavalry relayed my words to him.
A demand for surrender.
Thousands of warriors were slaughtered at an absurd speed. They would know that the outcome was decided.
The enemy commander seemed to be pondering.
Our cavalry relayed the message and returned.
'Accept it. Please.'
Otherwise, only a horrific future awaits them.
The Chumash leader was lost in thought, and the warriors next to him were arguing about surrendering.
'Okay, defeat is certain. Will they fight to the death, or will they surrender?'
"Maintain formation and start treating the wounded."
Ten minutes passed in a standoff.
'It seems like there are more people who want to fight to the death.'
I sent the cavalry again.
After pondering, the enemy commander answered our cavalry.
The cavalry returned.
"The enemy commander has accepted."
"Good job."
As I mounted my horse, the officers all shouted at me.
"Your Highness, please reconsider."
"It's too dangerous. I'll go instead. Please send me."
"No, I'm going."
I rode towards the center of the battlefield.
The enemy commander was also coming to the middle.
'Is he suffering from hero syndrome? Or has he watched too many movies and dramas?'
Maybe.
'Is this crazy?'
That's right.
We had moved our armies far enough away from each other, but they could break their promise and attack us without warning.
We could be hit and die a pointless death.
In the middle of the battlefield.
There are bodies everywhere.
Most of them are the bodies of Chumash warriors.
I moved slowly through those bodies.
I don't know what will happen. Everything is uncertain.
'But there's one thing for sure.'
Why am I doing this here?
I'm here because the Mexican old man I met on my trip to Mexico sent me here.
What kind of country was Mexico in the first place?
It's true that the white population has been increasing rapidly recently, but at the time of independence, there were only 1 million whites, 1.3 million mixed race, and the rest were all natives.
It's not a single ethnicity or a single culture anymore.
Even the whites have different cultures depending on their country of origin.
The coexisting natives are also diverse, including Aztecs, Mayans, and Central Americans who joined after independence.
All of these things have been mixed together over hundreds of years, and that's Mexico.
Wiping out the natives now? If that's the case, would I have come all the way to California myself?
No, if there was no improvement compared to my previous life, would there have been any meaning to being possessed in the first place?
I don't remember the Mexican old man's face or his skin color anymore.
All I remember is his kind expression and smile.
He didn't give me any clear orders on what to do or how to do it. It's all just my thoughts. But,
'I'll do what I can.'
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