Chapter 21
Spain's Return (2)
'The Spanish fleet will land at Cabo Rojo, near Tampico. Tampico is a fairly developed port, so they probably decided it's better to capture it with the army and bring in the fleet, rather than ramming it with ships. They didn't bring many warships.'
Securing a port is essential in an expedition without land supply lines. Therefore, moving to capture a port is inevitable.
'In the original history, Mexico used a kind of scorched earth tactic in Tampico, evacuating the citizens and food. It was to prevent the possible joining of Spanish loyalists and to withhold supplies. But I don't need to do that.'
We have an overwhelming force, about twice the size of the enemy, all armed with rifles using Eduardo bullets. Plus, I brought 40 cannons. With this power, we can crush them head-on.
'It would be good to minimize casualties and capture as many prisoners as possible.'
In the original history, Mexico won after a fierce battle, but they didn't get proper reparations.
This was because they didn't have the power to force Spain to pay reparations and sign a peace treaty. A small victory for a country with no money and no fleet was meaningless.
Spain unilaterally invaded Mexico and, despite losing, didn't take any responsibility or pay any reparations, only recognizing Mexico's independence in 1836.
'This time, Spain has invested much more, so they won't let it go easily. No, I won't let them.'
Our defensive force consists of 12,000 soldiers, including 2,000 elite troops that Agustín I had cultivated since his days as a colonial army officer. The force composition is 9,000 infantry, 1,000 artillery, and 2,000 cavalry.
"General Sánchez, do you know the range of the Eduardo rifle?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I used it myself, and it was amazing. You don't have to worry too much about this battle. Our power is overwhelming."
General Sánchez wasn't nervous.
'It's not strange if he's experienced the power of the Eduardo rifle and bullets firsthand. But let's not be complacent.'
War is unpredictable.
I was leading the army towards Tampico, emphasizing to General Sánchez that Veracruz's defense was already strong.
'The enemy's naval power has also been strengthened, so they might directly attack Tampico. But they won't be reckless enough to ram Veracruz head-on, so I'll wait near Tampico for now.'
***
The Spanish fleet, having completed its resupply in Havana and taken a rest, set sail the next day.
It was a large expeditionary force, consisting of two ships of the line, five frigates, three battleships, and 45 transports.
General Isidro Barradas, who was promoted to general and took command of the expeditionary force, thought there was no way this expedition could fail.
'It's an army of 10,000. There's no way Mexico can withstand this.'
They might have a lot of numbers, but they're just natives who fought against natives. What do they know about war?
The reason the expedition was so large was not only because of the king's will, but also because of the voluntary participation of the nobles who had had their property stolen by those Mexicans.
There was a frenzy of volunteering among the sons of noble families.
Their ancestor, Cortés, destroyed the vast Aztec Empire with only about 500 soldiers, with the help of natives who harbored resentment towards the Aztec Empire.
This time will be the same.
With the help of countless loyalists in Mexico, they will destroy the Mexican Empire and make it a colony again.
After that, they will not only reclaim their confiscated property, but they will also collect interest on it.
'It seems a bit excessive, though.'
They accepted a few dozen people as officers at first, but they couldn't make hundreds of people into officers.
They had no choice but to assign all of them, except for a few sons of high-ranking noble families, to the cavalry.
Since they were nobles, they would have some experience with riding, so they were suited for the cavalry. The noble sons were disgusted to be ordinary soldiers, but they could tolerate being cavalrymen.
Thanks to that, they had some extra military funds.
They prepared plenty of military supplies to arm the loyalists who would flock from all directions when they arrived in Mexico.
'We can just requisition food locally.'
The prepared military supplies were 20,000 muskets and 50 cannons. They were mostly old weapons that had been used for over 10 years, but they were still a huge number.
With this kind of power, how could they possibly lose?
"Let's show those colonial bumpkins what a real battle is!"
They arrived at Cabo Rojo.
"We could have just gone straight to the port of Tampico and fought…"
"Yeah, isn't he being too cautious?"
The young officers from noble families were whispering like that, but General Barradas thought differently.
'We'll protect the lives of the army composed of Spaniards as much as possible. Those young fools think war is a game, but I can't let them die recklessly.'
They were precious lives. Loyalists will flock to us as soon as they see the Spanish flag.
***
The information brought by the scout was shocking.
"Not 6,500-7,000, but 10,000? Not 30 transports, but 45? Ugh…"
'What the hell is that second informant doing in Havana? He should have arrived at least two days ago.'
The 5,000-man force difference was suddenly reduced to 2,000. It's fortunate that we found out before the fight.
'We can still crush them with force, but that will result in significant casualties on our side. Most of the enemy's troops are veterans with more combat experience than us.'
The Spanish army had experienced the Napoleonic Wars and the civil war, so they would have quite a few experienced soldiers.
We also experienced the independence war, but it was a different level from a full-fledged war between European countries.
I revise the plan.
We evacuate Tampico as in the original history.
'They'll have to either attack surrounding cities for supplies or continue to bring supplies from Cuba. They have to do one of those.'
There will be a limit to continuously bringing supplies from Cuba. It's not easy to feed an army of 10,000.
"General Sánchez, let's move to Tampico. It seems like we need to change the plan."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The defensive force began to rapidly march to Tampico and evacuate the entire city.
"You need to evacuate now! Pack your bags!"
"The Spanish army is coming. Don't leave any food at home!"
"Don't leave a single corn kernel behind!"
"No, how can you tell us to leave like this suddenly?"
"It's a war situation. Please bear with it until we repel the Spanish army."
The citizens complained to the defensive force, who had suddenly appeared and forced them to pack their bags and leave the city.
The soldiers said that 10,000 Spanish soldiers were marching towards Tampico.
They were convinced and had no choice but to leave after being told that they would loot everything if they arrived.
I also went to the front lines to persuade the citizens.
"It's hard, but please bear with it for a few weeks! We will defeat the Spanish army and surely get revenge for invading our Mexican Empire!!"
"···I believe you."
"Please win!!"
Fortunately, the citizens were convinced by my words, probably because Agustín I was popular.
The defensive force retreated from Tampico, leaving behind not a single musket or a single grain of food.
***
"Tampico port is empty?
General Barradas sent scouts towards Tampico as soon as they landed.
The result was that Tampico was empty.
"They evacuated Tampico ahead of time, which means they knew we were coming. How did they know our destination?"
He felt uneasy that the plan had gone wrong from the start, but he had to capture at least one port.
"Thoroughly check for any surprise troops on the way to Tampico."
He thought that the Mexican Empire's defensive force might know their location and ambush them.
'I can't be caught by such a cheap trick.'
The young nobles were babbling about why they were stalling, but General Barradas ignored them.
After another half day, the scouts returned.
"···There are no surprise troops on the way to Tampico? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I checked carefully. There's no way that an army-sized force could be hiding, no matter how hard I look."
'···What? What kind of tactic is this? Are they just kids who don't know the basics of tactics?'
General Barradas was puzzled, but he had to go to Tampico to secure the port.
He led the expeditionary force to the port of Tampico.
It was empty.
"I heard it was empty, but they didn't leave anything behind, it's so thorough."
The city was eerie, more than just desolate.
There were clear signs that people had lived there, but it was like a ghost town, with no one around.
There were no people to conscript, and there were no weapons or food to requisition, no matter how hard you looked.
'···Well, I understand their intention, but we're not in a bad position because we secured the supply route easily.'
The Spanish fleet had already entered the port of Tampico and was unloading supplies.
It was a large supply of goods that would last two months if they saved it.
"Send scouts in all directions."
They're planning a long war. Then, they must be trying to block the cities around the port.
'The fatal flaw of this tactic is that you can't block everything. They're going to spread their troops to block everything? We'll just tear apart that loose siege.'
As General Barradas was thinking that, he heard a loud noise from afar.
"What is it? Why is it so noisy?"
"General! People who want to join our Spanish army have come!"
"Oh! Already! What loyal people they are. General! I'll give them weapons."
The young noble fools were eager to give them weapons right away. General Barradas stopped them.
"Wait a minute."
'It's only been two days since we arrived at the port of Tampico. They're already coming?'
It's suspicious.
General Barradas looked at their faces.
About 10 Criollos.
'Looking at their skin color, it seems like they don't have any Native American blood. But I can't be reassured by that alone.'
"Where are you from?"
"We are officers who deserted from the Mexican defensive force! The Mexican defensive force knows that the Spanish army will attack here! That's why we arrived so early."
They desperately insisted on their innocence, but General Barradas was cold.
"Why should I believe you?"
"We can give you information!"
"Information? I don't know if I can trust you, but tell me."
"The commander-in-chief of the Mexican defensive force is the crown prince, who just graduated from the military academy! He's only 21 years old."
"The crown prince. Is this reliable information?"
"Yes, the emperor has put a general named Jorge Sánchez by his side, but he just does whatever the young crown prince tells him to do."
"Hmm. It seems like he doesn't have much loyalty to the Mexican emperor."
"Our loyalty is only to Fernando VII, the rightful ruler of this land! Please believe us!"
"General! We can trust them now! Look at their faces. Don't they look truly sincere?"
General Barradas was annoyed that the young noble fool was butting in, but he couldn't ignore him completely.
This was because all the officers and cavalrymen from noble families who had gathered around had similar faces.
"If you were an officer, you would know about troop deployment, right? Tell me where the crown prince has blocked."
"The crown prince's defensive force is blocking the passage to the Mexican plateau!"
The east is blocked by the sea, so if the crown prince is blocking the south, then the west and northwest are open.
"Hmm. He's only blocked the south… I can't blindly trust your words, so I'll send scouts to verify the facts, and then I'll officially accept you. Is that okay?"
"Yes! Please verify."
'Hmm… Seeing them talk this much, they might really be loyal to Spain. Should I check one last time?'
"You said he didn't have much loyalty to the Mexican emperor, right?"
"Yes, that's right!"
"Then, you can insult him, right?"
"······Agustín I is a bastard!"
"Heh heh! General! After doing all this, it's not honorable to doubt them anymore! Accept them now!"
────────────────────────────────────