I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 171

Only Krnovel

“Exit to the right! March rapidly!”

Santa Anna did not give up even in the face of imminent danger. He demonstrated outstanding tactical ability.

The rebels he commanded carried out a rapid march to shake off the punitive forces advancing from the north and south.

Because it was a mountainous region, the central army’s cavalry could not be used properly.

‘If I get away with this again…’

As long as they have telegraphs and railways, the siege will continue. But what if they somehow manage to escape? Couldn’t they cross the border?

If the Confederacy, which had a strong grudge against the Mexican Empire and was in the midst of a civil war and needed troops and weapons, wouldn’t they be able to accept them?

In fact, it would not have been possible if they had not also wanted to start a full-scale war with the Mexican Empire, but Santa Anna was desperate. However, he felt uneasy when he saw the expression on the face of the messenger approaching from afar.

“General! Two divisions are approaching from the front line.”

The punitive force surrounded them on all sides as if they would never let them go again.

A desperate situation.

The officers’ faces also darkened.

“I have no choice but to break through one side.”

The enemy’s encirclement is not complete. The distances of the troops approaching from the north, south, and east are all different, probably due to the distances of the train stations they use.

If so, there is a gap.

“Break through to the northeast.”

Boom!

After moving a few more kilometers, the sound of artillery fire began to be heard.

The full-scale battle has begun.

“We just need to defeat the one division in front of us! There are 32,000 of us!”

The officers encouraged the soldiers.

I wanted to escape somehow, but in the end I had to deal with the enemy. The enemy was no fool, and two divisions were closing in on me while keeping a distance between us.

“The enemy’s size is at most 20,000! Break through quickly!”

Santa Anna personally commanded the troops on the scene and worked to quickly break through the divisions before him.

As if they knew that we were going to pass this way, they retreated a bit more and took advantage of the high ground, not approaching us.

It was a tactically disadvantageous terrain, but there was nothing we could do. If we stayed still, we would just get bombed, and there was no time.

“Charge! Charge while taking cover using terrain features!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wedge-

thud!

The shells swept down the steep slope, scraping away soldiers as they came up.

“Don’t stop! Charge!”

Even Santa Anna himself charged. If time were to be delayed, the enemy divisions on the right would join him.

As expected of the central army, they brought a large number of cannons, but they did not sweep away all the soldiers climbing the hill. Rather, most of the soldiers climbed the hill safely.

Bang! Tata tata tata tang!

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-

Kwaaak!

Ugh!

Fortunately, there was no barbed wire or trenches, but the central army’s firepower was still strong.

“Commence firing!”

They came up after being beaten up, but there were no defensive facilities. Since it was a gentle slope, if they rushed the entire army at once, they could break through.

Santa Anna’s army also had machine guns, because his army, which was imperialist and a garrison of the most important ports, was supplied on a par with the central army.

The 10,000 rebels who joined after the rebellion were also all armed with decent guns, as Britain was surprised by the Mexican Empire’s rifles and invested money to develop new firearms.

“Let’s check how far the eastern division has come.”

Santa Anna also did not forget to constantly employ scouts.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-

On the battlefield where bullets were flying, the lead group took up position and opened fire. After about 30 minutes, most of the troops took up position.

At the moment when Santa Anna felt a little relieved after receiving the scout’s report, he heard an order from the enemy.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

“hmm?”

It was too early to retreat. The enemy still had most of their forces preserved.

‘Are you trying to buy some more time by retreating? It won’t make much sense since we’ve already gotten close.’

Santa Anna hesitated for a moment, but he had already decided what to do.

“Advance! Don’t let the enemy retreat! Attack until the enemy collapses!”

It was at this moment that the enemy fell back and Santa Anna’s troops occupied the gently sloping terrain.

Click-

“huh?”

Kwaaaaang!

Suddenly there was a huge explosion.

The soldiers who stepped on the pressure mine and those around them were killed without even being able to scream, and a chain reaction began.

Kwaaaaang!

Dynamite buried in the ground exploded in a chain reaction without a detonator.

Red flames shot up from the dirt floor, accompanied by explosions, engulfing Santa Anna’s troops.

“Wh, what!”

It was a new weapon.

The chain of explosions that started at the front reached the center of the army, causing tremendous damage.

Santa Anna, who was following along and watching the situation from the rear, was astonished.

It was an explosion of the scale I had never seen before.

The aftershock of the explosion reached him. Fortunately, the flames did not hit him, but hot air blasted into his face. It was hot enough to cause minor burns.

“My legs! My legs aaaaah!”

“Eww!”

The screams of soldiers crying in pain from legs blown off in an instant and burns all over their bodies echoed from all directions.

“I, I have to break through···.”

Even Santa Anna was in a panic at the horrific sight and could only mutter, unable to respond properly.

“Blood, report the damage!”

He barely came to his senses and shouted, but the other officers were all stunned.

“Wake up!”

Crack-

Officers who came to their senses after being hit in the face went around the battlefield to deal with the situation, but the damage was serious.

There were thousands of casualties.

Their suffering did not end there. It was only natural. They were confronting the enemy right in front of them.

The enemy, who had pretended to retreat, returned and began to attack fiercely.

“Ah, we still have more! We’ve taken the high ground, so we can win!”

It was only Santa Anna’s wishful thinking. He and his officers in the rear were shocked by the explosion, so it was impossible for the soldiers closer to them to be in their right minds.

Soldiers with expressions that look as if they have lost their souls.

“What are you doing! Shoot me!”

Officers who had been slapped by Santa Anna went around doing the same thing to their soldiers, but there was no significant increase in fighting spirit.

Regardless of whether he was conscious or not, he had completely lost his will to fight.

Kwakwakwang!

As time went by, artillery fire finally began on the right flank. This was a clear signal that enemy forces were approaching.

Several cannon shots were fired, and gunfire began to hit the right flank of the formation.

“···That’s it.”

***

The punitive force suppressed the rebels who raised the white flag and arrested the rebel leader, Santa Anna.

They found a carriage with its doors locked in a corner of the battlefield.

“Leandro… it must be you. I hope you are alive and well.”

As the officer mobilized his men to break the carriage lock and open the door, a terrible smell and desperate cries were heard.

“That bastard Santa Anna kidnapped me and held me captive! I was really planning to travel abroad!”

“···Please come out first.”

The officer held his nose and spoke without even listening to his excuses.

The arrested Antonio López de Santa Anna and Leandro de Iturbide were immediately taken to Mexico City.

The trial of rebel leaders Antonio López de Santa Anna and Leandro de Iturbide took place in a court where even the Emperor was present as an observer.

According to several testimonies, Leandro’s participation in the rebellion was an active and voluntary act.

“This can’t be happening! I’m a royal! Let me see His Majesty the King! You’re going to execute his nephew right now!”

Leandro, who was treated as the leader of the rebellion and was tied to Santa Anna, shouted hysterically in fear just before the verdict.

The judge who had been instructed by the Emperor in advance to make that statement was also taken aback and looked at the Emperor, but the Emperor calmly waved his hand.

It means to keep going.

“Ahem.”

At the trial of the first rebel leader in the Mexican Empire, attended by the emperor, senators and journalists, Hernández, the most senior of the Supreme Court justices, cleared his throat.

“I hereby deliver the verdict on the defendant Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

The defendant led and organized an illegal armed rebellion, attempted to overthrow the Imperial Family and the Government, and thereby seriously threatened national security. This constitutes a clear act of treason and incitement of rebellion.

Additionally, during the rebellion, numerous innocent civilians and Mexican Imperial troops lost their lives, all of which were the result of the defendant’s crimes.

Despite the massive loss of life and property damage, the defendant showed no signs of guilt or remorse throughout the trial.

Accordingly, the court sentences the defendant to death in accordance with Articles 1, 2, and 31 of the Criminal Act. All of the defendant’s property will be returned to the national treasury, and the defendant will be hanged within 48 hours.”

Land, land, land-

The trial of Archbishop Ballesteros and the landowner Antonio, who had been arrested and detained for a long time, was similarly conducted today.

All were sentenced to death.

They were included among the four major instigators of this rebellion.

Finally, only the verdict of Leandro de Iturbide remained.

The reporters looked at Justice Hernandez’s face with tense nerves.

“I hereby deliver the verdict on the defendant Leandro de Iturbide.

The defendant conspired with Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to plan and execute an illegal armed rebellion, and acted on the premise that if the rebellion succeeded, he would ascend to the throne. This is a clear act of treason and a criminal act of usurpation of the throne.

In particular, the defendant took advantage of his special status as a member of the Iturbide family to disrupt national order and dealt a serious blow to the authority of the imperial family.

However, the fact that the defendant was somewhat forced during the rebellion and showed a certain amount of remorse in court will be taken into consideration in sentencing.

Accordingly, the court sentences the defendant to life imprisonment without parole in accordance with Articles 2 and 12 of the Criminal Act. All of the defendant’s assets will be returned to the national treasury.”

Land, land, land-

Life sentence without parole.

It could be said to be the next worst punishment after the death penalty.

The people were satisfied with this verdict, but the emperor did not stop there.

“Arrest all those who turned a blind eye to Leandro’s foolish actions. We must root them out now.”

“yes!”

It wasn’t just Leandro.

The emperor did not release conscription.

They also began to arrest all those who had not reported the rebellion despite being urged to do so by the landowner Antonio and Archbishop Ballesteros.

This was the beginning of a cold wind blowing throughout the Mexican Empire.

The executions took place in early June.

Those sentenced to death died cursing the emperor, but the emperor did not even observe their executions.

He was walking with his father through the empty Metropolitan Cathedral. Earlier this year, the building where the coronation took place had become the scene of an uprising. All the clergy who had belonged to this church were dead or in prison.

“In fact, I wonder if the secularization law was just a pretext, and the fundamental cause of this rebellion was not jealousy.”

“Jealousy?”

“Yes. Back then, the landowners and priests had absolute power over their lands, and the officers were either from wealthy families or were supported by such families. For those who remember those times, it must have been strange for me, a mere officer, to become the emperor.”

A person of the same or lower rank as himself suddenly became the emperor, and began to centralize the government and take away power from the landowners.

“The secularization law was the catalyst for them to vent the dark emotions they had been suppressing in their hearts for a long time. There must have also been a sense of desperation that if not for this opportunity, they would never be able to overthrow the imperial family. These days, young people, unlike them, take loyalty to the imperial family for granted.”

“I didn’t know you could feel that way.”

“Well, I don’t know exactly what it is, but considering the reforms you’re going to implement in the future, isn’t it just the right timing to throw it out? That’s why I pushed hard on purpose.”

“Well, it’s true that I pushed forward aggressively on purpose, but I didn’t know that they would prepare for such a full-scale rebellion. I thought that since everyone knew the power of the central army, no one would join.”

“Hahaha, people are always swayed by emotions. That’s why there’s a word called regret.”

While the situation and the Emperor walked and talked in the empty cathedral, a cold wind blew across Mexico and the executions of rebels were taking place.