“It worked.
The cavalry definitely succeeded.”
In the distance, the Spanish Army was coming into view.
They were entering the forest northwest of Tampico.
“They really walked straight into the trap… Your Highness, how did you come up with a strategy like this?” General Jorge asked, visibly relieved after spending hours waiting anxiously in hiding.
“It wasn’t my achievement alone.
Credit belongs to the loyal officers who carried out the deception perfectly, and to the cavalry that intercepted the enemy scouts to the south.
They deserve the praise.”
“Even so, I never would have imagined a strategy like this.
It’s incredible, Your Highness.”
“The battle hasn’t even started yet.
Don’t act as though we’ve already won.”
“Understood.”
I answered calmly, but inside I was so nervous I thought I might die.
Once I learned that the enemy army numbered nearly ten thousand—almost as many as ours—I abandoned any thought of a straightforward confrontation.
‘Surprise is always effective, my son.’
I remembered something Emperor Agustín I had taught me.
Knowing that Spain expected loyalists inside Mexico to join its army had been crucial.
We selected some of our most trustworthy men, disguised them as Spanish sympathizers, and sent them into the enemy camp.
Still, I knew any competent commander would verify their information.
That was why our two thousand cavalrymen had been deployed to intercept every Spanish scout sent toward the south.
“At first I wondered whether committing all two thousand cavalry was excessive, but it turned out to be worth it.”
The cavalry had intercepted every enemy scout and waited patiently until they were certain the deception had succeeded before returning.
They should be approaching now.
“They’re coming.”
“Then it’s time for us to start moving as well.”
The enemy commander appeared cautious, continuously sending scouts ahead while marching.
We had deliberately hidden farther back than the ideal ambush position.
“It looks like they brought more cannons than we expected.”
“Yes.
Around fifty, from what I can see.”
“We’ll neutralize their artillery first.”
“Understood.”
Our army began moving slowly and quietly.
“Prepare to fire.”
“Yes, sir.”
The artillery officer organized his men.
Once both forces were within range and the Spanish scouts finally spotted us and signaled the main army, I gave the order.
“FIRE!”
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Twenty cannons roared together.
The ground shook as smoke spread across the battlefield.
I immediately turned to the infantry.
“INFANTRY, OPEN FIRE!”
Normally, we would have waited until we were much closer.
With Eduardo rifles and ammunition, we didn’t have to.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Immediately after the first salvo, our remaining twenty artillery pieces joined in.
The ambush was perfect.
***
PSSSH!
“General!
The scout’s signal!”
Barely two seconds had passed since the scout warned that the enemy had been sighted.
BANG!
BOOM!
BANG!
BOOM!
The earth suddenly trembled beneath the bombardment.
“AAAAH!”
“MY ARM!”
Cannon fire tore through the Spanish infantry.
Men who had been marching side by side only moments earlier were suddenly reduced to broken bodies, sending panic through the ranks.
Then another group began running.
They were the Mexicans who had supposedly joined the Spanish cause.
‘We’ve been trapped.’
General Barradas panicked for only an instant.
The moment he saw the supposed loyalists fleeing, everything became clear.
‘So it really was a diversion.
Damn it.
I knew something was wrong.’
“EVERYONE, GET A HOLD OF YOURSELVES!
REFORM THE LINES!”
His thunderous command cut through the chaos.
The veteran, disciplined Spanish soldiers began reorganizing.
Barradas surveyed the battlefield and immediately issued another order.
“THIRD INFANTRY BATTALION, PROTECT THE ARTILLERY!
MOVE!”
Mexican infantry, supported by covering fire, was advancing toward the Spanish guns.
They intended to silence the artillery first.
Thanks to Barradas’s quick response, Spanish infantry rushed forward to shield the guns in the rear.
BANG!
BANG!
They were still outside normal musket range.
Yet bullets were already raining down.
‘They’re firing from here?’
At that distance, they shouldn’t have been able to hit anything.
But Spanish soldiers were dropping like autumn leaves.
“KEEP MOVING!”
Despite the bullets falling around them, the veteran infantry continued forward in disciplined silence.
‘How can their weapons have this much range?
‘And that accuracy—from this distance?’
Before reaching their own effective range, the battalion had already lost around twenty percent of its strength.
Only after paying that terrible price did they finally establish a defensive line in front of the artillery.
The Spanish guns, meanwhile, had finished preparing their counterattack.
“PREPARE TO RETURN FIRE!”
“FIRE!”
All fifty cannons erupted together.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
“AAAAH!”
Carefully aimed under the artillery officers’ direction, the Spanish shots slammed into the Mexican lines.
“CONTINUOUS FIRE!
SHOOT AS SOON AS EACH GUN IS READY!”
There was no time for orderly sequential volleys.
They had been caught by surprise and were under pressure from every direction.
‘This is bad.’
“General!
Let us attack!
The situation is turning against us!”
“That’s right!
Watching our comrades die while we do nothing is dishonorable!
Let us defend our honor!”
‘These inexperienced fools…’
“They’re holding their cavalry in reserve too.
If I send you now, our rear will be exposed!
Hold your positions a little longer!”
The Spanish infantry managed to maintain its formation while advancing into effective range, but the overall situation remained grim.
Their only clear advantage was the larger number of cannons.
It was becoming a desperate battle.
***
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The elite regiments that Emperor Agustín I took such pride in were truly different.
Both regiments were composed of soldiers with more than fifteen years of service.
Armed with Eduardo rifles, they steadily swept through the enemy.
Like British Redcoats, they formed two long lines and maintained continuous fire.
“Your Highness, we’re gaining the advantage.
If this continues, victory is certain.”
“Stay focused until it’s truly over.”
He wasn’t exaggerating.
But the battle was not unfolding as cleanly as I had hoped.
The Spanish had sacrificed lives to protect their artillery, and those guns were still inflicting terrible damage on our lines.
‘When is the cavalry getting here?
They should already—
‘Well, at least the enemy hasn’t committed theirs either.’
RUMBLE!
RUMBLE!
RUMBLE!
As I watched the battlefield in frustration, the ground began trembling as though answering my thoughts.
Our cavalry had arrived.
“Your Highness!
The First and Second Cavalry Regiments are here!”
“CAVALRY COMMANDER!
ATTACK IMMEDIATELY!
TARGET THE ENEMY ARTILLERY!
FLANK THEM AND DESTROY THE GUNS!”
There was no time for celebration.
Bullets and cannonballs were flying everywhere.
“YES, SIR!
ALL CAVALRY, ADVANCE!”
The Mexican cavalry began its flanking maneuver toward the Spanish artillery.
Then the Spanish finally committed their own cavalry reserve.
BOOM!
The two cavalry forces crashed together.
Dozens of riders were thrown from their horses in the initial collision, and the fighting immediately became hand-to-hand.
CLANG!
CLANG!
“AAAAH!”
At first, the Spanish cavalry seemed to be fighting evenly.
Then the casualties mounted.
The first to break were the young nobles who had joined the expedition without real combat experience.
The same men who had arrogantly begged Barradas to send them into battle in the name of honor now panicked as lives disappeared around them.
‘Am I really going to die here?
Like one of those miserable common soldiers?’
From a distance, watching an infantryman disappear under cannon fire had seemed as trivial as losing a pawn in chess.
Now their fellow nobles were dying one after another.
For the first time, they understood what a battlefield truly was.
“STOP!” This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
“DON’T RETREAT!
PROTECT YOUR COMRADES!”
The cavalry officers shouted, but nobody listened.
The moment one rider broke formation and fled, nearly four hundred followed.
“HOLD THE LINE!
PROTECT IT WITH YOUR LIVES!”
The cavalry protecting the Spanish rear began collapsing.
Soon the artillery line began to falter as well.
General Barradas personally intervened.
“SHOOT THE DESERTERS!
I DON’T CARE ABOUT THEIR RANK!
YOU—STOP, YOU DAMN COWARD!”
BANG!
“GAH!”
They began firing on the fleeing riders.
But once fear had spread, it was impossible to contain.
The cavalry rout became unstoppable.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Even as the Spanish Army drowned in chaos, the Mexican bombardment never stopped.
‘Is it over?’
Many Spanish soldiers were still alive.
But retreat was almost impossible.
They were too close to an enemy whose rifles outranged their muskets several times over.
And how were retreating infantry supposed to escape pursuing cavalry?
Continuing the battle would amount to ordering his men to die.
General Barradas closed his eyes.
“…Raise the white flag.
There’s no point continuing.”
“…Yes, General.
Damn it…”
***
The battle ended after a short, violent confrontation.
Twenty-two thousand men had fought on that field.
“You made the right decision.”
“Hah.
If you came here to mock me, spare me.
Every time I think about your dishonorable tricks and deception, my blood boils.”
“I mean it.
Your decision saved many lives.”
“…”
“We’ll make sure the prisoners are treated properly.”
Because General Barradas surrendered instead of dragging out the battle, further loss of life was avoided.
The difference in weapon performance between the two armies had been enormous, but an old cannon was still a cannon.
The enemy’s fifty guns had inflicted hundreds of casualties in only a few volleys.
‘If we had continued fighting, we might have lost three or four thousand men.
‘At that point, I couldn’t even call it a victory.’
Our side had suffered nine hundred dead and fifteen hundred wounded.
The Spanish had lost nineteen hundred dead and twenty-eight hundred wounded.
An appalling number of casualties for a battle lasting only a few hours.
“Your Highness!
We’ve won a great victory!
Thanks to your brilliant strategy, we achieved victory with minimal losses!”
“…Major Jorge, you did well.
I’ll make sure Father hears about your contribution.
For now, reorganize the troops.”
“Yes, Your Highness!
Thank you!”
Major Jorge celebrated as though the casualties were merely numbers.
I couldn’t feel the same way.
While we cleared the battlefield and treated wounded prisoners, another piece of information emerged.
“What?
You’re telling me all those deserters were nobles?”
“Yes… Before the battle they wouldn’t stop talking about honor, but the moment things became dangerous, they ran like cowards.
Those bastards…”
A wounded Spanish prisoner bitterly revealed the truth.
‘So that explains it.
I was wondering why their cavalry suddenly collapsed.’
“Cavalry Captain, I know your men are exhausted, but I need you to go after those deserters immediately.
Capture every last one.”
“Yes, Your Highness.
Don’t worry.
Those cowards can’t have gotten far.
It’ll be like taking a leisurely ride.”
The cavalry captain left the tent confidently.
‘If those deserters really are sons of noble families, they’ll be extremely valuable prisoners.
‘As soldiers, they’re useless.
‘As bargaining chips in negotiations, though…’
I had just acquired a very valuable card for the coming negotiations.
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