At this point, the Carlos faction rebels' chances of winning had significantly decreased, and Carlos VII himself actually understood this.
He was internally conflicted about whether to continue leading the army in a meaningless resistance or to find an opportunity to escape and continue to hide in the shadows, seeking new opportunities.
Although escaping sooner was clearly the better option, for Carlos VII, who had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, giving up this time might mean that he would never ascend the Spanish throne in his lifetime.
The Carlos faction emerged with the accession of Queen Isabella II and has existed for less than 40 years.
However, within these less than 40 years, the Carlos faction has successively experienced four "monarchs": Carlos V, Carlos VI, Juan III, and Carlos VII.
Carlos VII also understood that the reason the Carlos faction had been able to persist and launch three Carlist Wars within less than 40 years was due to Queen Isabella II's incompetent rule and the corrupt Spanish government.
The people's dissatisfaction with the queen's rule was growing, which was the reason for the Carlos faction's enduring strength.
If there had been a more competent queen, after three or four decades of long rule, the people would have long since accepted the queen above them.
Regardless of the current King of Spain Carlo's ability, he was indeed good at winning the hearts of the people.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Prim was determined to carry out reforms. If this pair of monarch and minister successfully implemented reforms, would there still be a place for the Carlos faction in the future of Spain?
After all, the Carlos faction was born because the conservatives were unwilling to see the queen ascend the throne, so they supported Prince Carlos VII, the male heir.
Now that the King of Spain had long since changed, didn't this mean that the very reason for the establishment of the Carlos faction no longer existed?
Thinking of this, Carlos VII suddenly realized that no matter whether he advanced or retreated in the current situation, it seemed that both the Carlos faction and he himself had only one outcome: failure.
So, should he fight it out with the government army, or escape abroad and enjoy his luxurious life?
Carlos VII, who considered himself intelligent, quickly made his choice and quietly left the Carlos faction rebels that very night.
By the time the Catalans discovered something was wrong, it was already noon the next day.
"The Catalans never expected that, even before their army had been defeated, the king they supported—Carlos VII—had already fled the battlefield."
Carlos VII's escape route was eastward, re-entering Catalonia, and then fleeing along the coastline all the way to France.
It is worth mentioning that the former Queen of Spain, Isabella II, also sought refuge in France. After all, the Bourbon family came from France.
Speaking of which, the Bourbon family had ruled Spain for nearly 170 years. If Queen Isabella II hadn't brought about her own downfall, and if the Carlos faction hadn't been such a bunch of useless people, Carlos's rule in Spain would probably not have been so smooth.
Halfway through the war, the king they supported had fled.
This was a heavy blow to the morale of the Catalan rebels and directly announced that the offensive and defensive battle of Zaragoza had entered its final stage, with the sides reversing roles.
By the time Prim's army rushed from the Basque Country to Aragon, the Catalan army had mostly dispersed.
After suffering heavy casualties, the remaining soldiers in the main force chose to surrender.
The flanking and rear Catalan troops scattered and fled, the scene as chaotic as a marketplace.
This also changed Prim's plan from the original encirclement and annihilation of the Catalan army to clearing out the remaining rebel forces in the Aragon region.
Although these rebels had successfully fled, small groups of rebels still posed a significant threat to the security of the Aragon region.
If they were not cleared out as much as possible, any actions these rebels took would cause a drop in the morale of the people in the Aragon region.
Fortunately, the majority of the Catalan rebels had been captured, so although the clearing work was troublesome, it was not insurmountable.
In just a few days, Prim led the Spanish army to capture nearly a thousand fleeing Catalan rebels. Most of the remaining few rebels had fled into the mountains, and there was no need to pursue them for the time being.
Leaving a portion of the army to guard the prisoners, Prim led the remaining main force to Catalonia to carry out the final mop-up work.
There were still quite a few remaining rebel forces in Catalonia, including some members of the Carlos faction who had not had time to escape.
Prim planned to completely eliminate these unstable elements and restore peace to Catalonia.
The good news was that many forces in Catalonia participated in this rebellion, so Prim could carry out a major cleansing.
Just like in the Basque Country, most ordinary people didn't have strong feelings about their identity.
Whether they were Basques, Catalans, or Spaniards, they could accept it.
As long as farmers had enough to eat and workers earned enough income to support their families, they would not become unstable factors.
The really unstable elements were the upper classes among the Basques and Catalans, such as nobles and factory owners, including parliament members like Enric and church officials.
Some of them wanted to gain higher power through Catalan autonomy or independence, while others simply opposed the government's reform policies and wanted to achieve their goals through Catalan separatists.
Of course, there were also those like the Carlos faction, who wanted to gain the Spanish throne, but unfortunately, they failed in three consecutive wars.
The mop-up work lasted for more than a week. During this week, Prim carefully screened and executed hundreds of Catalan rebels.
The largest numbers were from the Carlos faction and separatists, while there were fewer factory owners and church personnel.
As for the vast majority of the remaining rebel members, they were ordinary farmers and workers before, so they were naturally spared by Prim.
After all, too many people had died in this rebellion. While holding all high-ranking rebels accountable, it was also necessary to maintain local stability by pardoning ordinary rebel members.
To reassure the people of the Basque and Catalonia regions, Prim also posted notices specifically announcing the exemption of ordinary people from punishment.
However, at the same time, Prim also publicly executed the high-ranking rebels. This was to make ordinary people understand that rebellion also comes with a price, and they need to carefully consider whether they can bear the cost of failure when launching a rebellion.
---------------------------------------------------------
Please support my work and gain access to 15 advanced chapters at [email protected]/Dannycifer.