Prim merely nodded slightly upon hearing his subordinate's report, saying nothing.
He looked at the man with a playful gaze until the man felt a sense of dread under his scrutiny.
"Prime Minister Prim, Senator Enrique has instructed me to come and report important information to you." After swallowing his saliva and calming himself slightly, the man finally spoke.
"Oh? What important information?" How could Prim not see through the intentions of these guys? It must be that some individuals within the Basque rebels had ulterior motives and wanted to distance themselves before the Basque rebels were wiped out.
"Senator Enrique expresses his apologies regarding the situation in the Basque Country. But please believe that Senator Enrique absolutely has no intention of betraying Spain.
It was the rebel leader, Matisse Anhatol, who used force to threaten the Senator into supporting him, which led to the rebellion in the Basque Country.
However, Senator Enrique remains loyal to His Majesty and Spain. He is willing to provide you, Prime Minister, with all intelligence on the Basque army and awaits the arrival of the government forces to quell the rebellion.
This is a letter written in the Senator's own hand, please take a look."
Prim looked at the man with a smile, then took the letter and quickly scanned it.
"Heh, Senator Enrique is truly loyal to the Kingdom!" Prime Minister Prim chuckled lightly as if he had already forgiven the traitor who had betrayed the country: "
Go back and tell Senator Enrique that His Majesty had already instructed me before I came here to forgive the ordinary people involved in the Basque and Catalan rebellions.
Since Senator Enrique has taken the initiative to report the enemy's situation, His Majesty will certainly not pursue the matter."
Carlo had indeed spoken about pardoning the Basque and Catalan civilians involved in the rebellion, as most civilians were brainwashed or forced into joining the rebels.
And Prim was not wrong; what Carlo said about pardoning had nothing to do with Prim.
Although Prim was also Catalan, what Prim desired was the strength of the entire Spain.
For rebels like Enrique who harmed the unity of Spain, the best course of action was to send them to meet God.
Prim, being from a military background, would not show the slightest mercy. Since traitors dared to launch a rebellion, they should also be prepared for the reckoning after the rebellion was suppressed.
"Thank God, Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, I will convey your words to His Excellency the Senator, and I wish you an early resolution to the Catalan rebellion." After receiving Prim's affirmative response regarding the pardon, Senator Enrique's subordinate visibly relaxed.
He looked at Prim with a mix of fear and gratitude, as if celebrating his ability to continue following the esteemed Senator and throwing his weight around.
After sending the troublesome fellow away, a smile reappeared on Prim's face. He called a few generals and said in a good mood: "Let's go, Generals.
The Basque people are already divided internally. It's time to send all these rebels to meet God."
The letter Enrique sent to Prim not only contained the specific location and size of the Vitoria-Gasteiz rebels but also a seemingly detailed list of the rebel high command.
In order to clear his name, Enrique had truly gone to great lengths.
Of course, this list was not entirely pure.
It did indeed contain many high-ranking rebels, but it also included Enrique's rivals for the Basque regional senator position and some people he simply disliked.
Enrique's plan was also very simple: to use this list to clear himself of charges and take the opportunity to eliminate dissidents.
A list that was eighty percent true and twenty percent false was impossible to discern unless Prim interrogated everyone on the list and compiled all the intelligence.
But as the Prime Minister of Spain, did Prim really have the time to sift through the list?
Even if Prim eventually discovered something was wrong with the list, Enrique had sufficient reasons to excuse himself.
After all, he was forced to join the Basque rebels, and the rebels had some reservations about him. It was quite reasonable for them to deliberately make him believe that more people were among the rebels, wasn't it?
Unfortunately, Enrique would never have imagined that Prim had never chosen to forgive him from the very beginning. For a politician from a military background, he had long since become cold-blooded towards everyone.
Prim breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the population of the Basque Country was not large, the importance of the two cities in the north and south of the Basque Country was very high.
Vitoria in the south was the core of the Basque region. If the attack resulted in heavy Basque casualties, it would undoubtedly accelerate the alienation of the Basque people from Spain.
Bilbao in the north was one of Spain's few industrial cities, and it was also a very important center for the steel industry.
If the factories in Bilbao were destroyed, it would be a catastrophic blow to Spain's already fragile industry.
Now, with the information on the deployment and size of the Basque rebels provided by Enrique, Prim could calmly deal with the remaining Basque rebels and protect the civilians in Vitoria and Bilbao from the effects of this war as much as possible.
As for whether the information on the Basque rebels provided by Enrique was accurate, Prim was willing to believe it.
After all, Enrique did indeed need a 'certificate of allegiance' at this time to atone for his crimes and gain merit. If even the situation of the Basque rebels was false, wouldn't that mean Enrique had become someone who pleased neither side?
The Basque rebel leader, Matisse Anhatol, did not know at this time that after experiencing betrayal by the Catalans, he would also experience betrayal by Enrique.
After all, the two had planned this rebellion together. Matisse Anhatol felt that he and Senator Enrique were in a state where they would prosper or suffer together.
If the rebellion failed, neither of them would end well, so Enrique should have no reason to betray him.
One can only say that Matisse Anhatol underestimated human nature, and even more so underestimated the depths to which a senator like Enrique would sink when faced with his own safety and interests.
Within a few days, the Spanish army arrived in force at the small mountain range south of Vitoria.
This was not far from Vitoria, and it was a good place for a brief rest and to prepare the artillery positions.
Prim's plan was to create chaos in Vitoria before the Basques could react, and then have the army forcibly enter Vitoria to take control of the situation.
Since the exact location of the rebels was already known, as long as the Spanish army successfully entered the city of Vitoria, these rebels would have nowhere to escape.
The rest would be simple. Militarily control the city of Vitoria, then carry out a large-scale arrest of the rebel high command, and announce a pardon for all Basque civilians.
As long as it was ensured that the Basque civilians would not cause further riots, the high-ranking rebels who were already on the main list would not be able to cause any trouble.
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