Chapter 231: Bloodbath Of The Bangui Tribe |
Along the Congo River heading north, along the banks of a tributary called the Ubangi River, there is a mountainous and plain area not covered by tropical rainforest.
This is already the northernmost part of the Congo Basin, and also the northernmost end of the tropical rainforest. Further north from here leaves the scope of the Congo River Basin, and because it is far from the tropical rainforest, it is more suitable for development than the southern Congo Basin.
Through the railway connection between Guinea and the Congo Territory, Spain occupied the largest plain and plateau areas along the Ubangi River. But due to shortages in numbers, a large amount of land is still controlled by indigenous people, the most prominent of which is the indigenous tribe known as the Baka people.
After determining the retaliation plan against the indigenous people, Manuel Macías Ikadusa ordered the troops of the Congo Territory to begin assembling.
Although the colonial defense regiment only has a scale of 2300 people, launching an attack on a single indigenous tribe is still no problem.
Although the indigenous tribe has more population and can even assemble armies of thousands or tens of thousands, these so-called armies have no resistance in front of the Spanish regular troops. Indigenous armies wielding cold weapons are nothing more than moving sitting ducks in the eyes of the Spanish army.
“This should be the largest tribe of the Baka people.” On a hill several kilometers away from the Baka Tribe, Manuel’s adjutant reported while looking at the map.
Manuel nodded and calmly asked: “How large is the population of this tribe?”
“According to the information we obtained from questioning those explorers, the Baka Tribe has at least over 100,000 population.” The adjutant replied: “There are also many small villages nearby that depend on the Baka Tribe, and these populations combined may already approach a scale of 200,”
“Take action!” As the orderly conveyed Manuel’s order to each company of the troops, the Spanish army also began to move out in a grand manner.
Although most of the soldiers in Manuel’s colonial defense regiment are indigenous, these indigenous people come from South Morocco and have no connection with the indigenous people of the Congo Territory.
This is also the reason why Manuel resolutely launched the retaliation action with only one colonial defense regiment in hand. Under the premise that the colonial defense regiment fully obeys his orders, these indigenous people cannot pose too great a threat to the Congo Territory.
Under the leadership of Spanish officers, the soldiers composed of Moroccans advanced grandly toward the hillside below. Their target was the Baka people’s settlement several kilometers away, a massive tribe called Bangui.
Because Moroccans are all white people, this army looks more like a European regular army and has little relation to the colonial armies formed by the great powers.
As they got closer and closer to the Baka Tribe, this European army of over 2000 still caught the attention of the indigenous people of the Baka Tribe.
Several native soldiers quickly ran toward the interior of the tribe, apparently to report the news. One indigenous person who was clearly the leader did not choose to run toward the tribe but gradually approached the Spanish army, chattering in an unintelligible language.
Manuel slowly walked forward; he could not understand at all what the indigenous person in front of him was saying. Seeing Manuel frown, the colonial official responsible for translation nearby hurriedly translated: “Your Excellency General, he is asking about the purpose of our visit.”
“Purpose?” Manuel sneered, looking disdainfully at the indigenous person, and said in an icy voice: “Tell him that a few days ago our plantation was plundered, and we have sufficient reason to suspect that the plundering was carried out by the Baka people.
If the Baka people cannot provide sufficient evidence to prove that this matter has nothing to do with them, we will retaliate with military means.
Have him notify their higher-ups; I am only giving them 2 hours. Either tell us which tribe planned the plundering, or wait for our army’s attack.”
After the colonial official relayed Manuel’s words verbatim to the indigenous person, the indigenous person’s face showed panic, and he fled back to the tribe in a frantic manner.
At the same time, Manuel also issued orders to have the army blockade several entrances and exits of the tribe.
Although he demanded that the indigenous people make a choice within two hours, Manuel clearly would not wait the full two hours like that.
As the soldiers blockaded several main entrances and exits of the tribe, Manuel also issued further orders to first clear the indigenous villages near the Bangui Tribe.
Because the surroundings are all tropical rainforest, the villages around the Bangui Tribe are relatively dense, and they are all medium to large villages with larger populations.
Among them, the smaller villages have populations of several hundred, while the larger ones have populations up to a thousand or even several thousand.
These people are all good labor force, and Manuel has no intention of letting them go. No matter what choice the Baka people ultimately make, Manuel will clear all the surrounding indigenous villages and transport these indigenous people back to Spain’s colonial outposts to serve as labor.
According to Spain’s past colonial practices, the most valuable among the indigenous population are the adult male indigenous people. These male indigenous people are excellent labor force, whether as miners or plantation slaves, they can all exert enormous economic value.
Less valuable are the adult female indigenous people and some younger indigenous children. The labor they provide is limited, but they can ensure that the indigenous scale is maintained within a certain range, which has some value.
Of no value are those older indigenous people. These indigenous people cannot exert any value, and Spain naturally does not need them to waste food.
The Bangui Tribe and nearby villages have approximately 200,000 population, but the young and strong labor force is at most just over 100,
Adding some children who have not yet grown up, the Congo Territory can receive at most 120,000 to 130,As for the remaining indigenous people, they are naturally the targets of Manuel’s action this time.
The action against the Bangui Tribe not only aims to find the real culprit behind the sacking of the Spanish plantation but also to serve as a warning to others, letting the indigenous people around the Congo Territory understand who the true master of this land is.
Only by thoroughly intimidating these surrounding indigenous people can similar attack incidents be ensured not to happen again. Of course, after the Congo Territory expands its army, it will be even less likely for the indigenous people to plan attack incidents.
20,000 troops are sufficient to ensure the safety of the Congo Territory, even if all the indigenous tribes of the Congo Territory unite, they cannot defeat 20,000 soldiers armed with advanced rifles.
While Manuel launched a siege on the surrounding indigenous villages, inside the Bangui Tribe, the Baka people were also having quite intense discussions.
After that indigenous leader fled back to the interior of the tribe, he not only relayed Manuel’s original words verbatim to the tribal chief but even exaggerated the threat.
This also made the indigenous tribe very angry. Clearly, it was their land that was occupied, so how did the masters of the land become these outsiders instead?
After an hour-long intense discussion, the tribe reached a unified opinion: to summon the young men of the tribe and give these aggressive European colonizers a lesson.
The Bangui Tribe has over 100,000 population, and there are many indigenous villages around. The total indigenous population adds up to nearly 200,000, and they can easily mobilize tens of thousands of indigenous people to resist these European colonizers.
This is also the source of the tribal chief’s confidence. The Bangui Tribe is the largest indigenous tribe within 100 kilometers nearby and the largest indigenous tribe of the Baka people without exception.
To find an indigenous tribe larger than the Bangui Tribe on Congo’s land, one would have to go to the more southern Kingdom of Congo or the more eastern Kingdom of Kalavi and such.
But whether the Kingdom of Congo or the Kingdom of Kalavi, they are separated from the Bangui Tribe by an entire Congo Rainforest. And along the Ubangi River, the Bangui Tribe is the most powerful indigenous force; they will not allow European colonizers to act so recklessly.
After more than an hour had passed, Manuel’s patience was gradually worn out.
He led the troops back to the entrance of the Bangui Tribe, looked at this quite massive indigenous tribe in front of him, frowned, and asked: “Have these black-skinned indigenous people made no moves?”
“In the previous hour, these black-skinned monkeys made no moves.” The adjutant shook his head and replied: “But in the last few minutes, the interior of the tribe has started to get chaotic.
They seem to be gathering manpower; I was just about to notify you, General.”
After all, it is a massive tribe with a population of up to 100,000, occupying an area larger than some cities in Spain.
The movements of the Bangui Tribe could not be hidden from the Spanish army outside at all; their moves to gather manpower were, in the eyes of the Spanish army, simply courting death.
“Since they have made their choice, we can only send them to meet God.” Manuel smiled; he was not surprised by the indigenous people’s choice.
He raised his hand to check his wristwatch and then issued the order: “Attack, let these damned indigenous people go meet God.”
“Attack!” With Manuel’s order, the colonial defense regiment of 2300 people launched a grand assault on the Bangui Tribe.
To catch them all in one net, Manuel mobilized the entire colonial defense regiment. During the colonial defense regiment’s mobilization, the safety of the colonial outposts in the Congo Territory will be protected by the armed squads of the original exploration team.
Although these armed forces are insufficient to protect all colonial outposts in the Congo Territory, the colonial defense regiment’s action does not require too much time either.
If the action goes smoothly, it basically only needs one day to completely conquer an entire massive tribe.
Bang! Bang bang!
Boom! Bang!
A colonial defense regiment is equipped with three cannons, which are also the only heavy firepower weapons of the colonial defense regiment.
To conquer the Bangui Tribe as soon as possible, Manuel directly transported these three cannons to the frontline.
Originally, attacking the tribe with rifles alone would be relatively slow, and some indigenous people hiding in the dark for sneak attacks could also lead to soldiers being wounded or even killed.
But under the first round of suppression by the cannons, these indigenous people quickly panicked and could not organize at all to pose a threat to the Spanish army.
Although both the Bangui Tribe and the downstream Kingdom of Congo belong to the Congo River Basin, the two are completely different.
Although the Kingdom of Congo has been invaded by Portugal for hundreds of years, the Kingdom of Congo also obtained some firearms through trade with Europeans.
Although the number of their weapons is not large, they also know the power of firearms.
The upstream Bangui Tribe is different. Because it is located in the upper reaches of the Congo River, before Spain established colonial outposts, they were in a state of extreme isolation.
These tribes had never come into contact with firearms, let alone experienced the powerful might of cannons. This gave them extremely strong confidence, believing that organizing an army of tens of thousands could give Spain a lesson.
But what they did not know was that in the face of firearms, army numbers are just a simple string of casualty figures. Before the Spanish army exhausts its weapons and ammunition, the armies organized by the indigenous people are nothing more than lively targets.
More importantly, because of Manuel’s advance action, the Bangui Tribe had not even completed organizing its troops.
A tribe of 100,000 occupies a quite large area, and mobilizing the entire tribe’s able-bodied manpower requires a long time.
Information exchange among the indigenous people relies almost entirely on manpower, and after the Spanish army launched its attack, the Bangui Tribe’s information and transportation system was almost paralyzed, and the troops could not be organized at all.
Not to mention organizing troops; after being bombed by a few rounds of Spanish cannonballs, the mentality of these indigenous people was somewhat collapsing.
They had no idea where these powerful cannonballs came from, only knowing that if a cannonball landed nearby, not only would they be blown to pieces, but even their houses would be blown to pieces.
The houses of these indigenous tribes have one thing in common: they are flammable. Indigenous houses are either thatched huts or wooden houses enclosed with thatched roofs.
No matter which kind, after long-term exposure to wind and sun, they become extremely flammable.
And the Bangui Tribe is a tribe with an bloated population, which causes the houses in the tribe to be piled together; once ignited, a large area burns.
Manuel naturally noticed this point as well. He would have no mercy whatsoever toward the indigenous people, and at the first moment of launching the attack, Manuel ordered the soldiers to set fire to the nearby thatched huts, letting these indigenous people taste the flavor of being burned.
The Bangui Tribe is located along the Ubangi River and far from the Congo Rainforest, so arson would not have any impact on the rainforest.
Although the thatched houses in the tribe are relatively dense, setting fire would not cause the entire tribe to burn. Doing so not only would not cause too much impact but would also create panic among the indigenous people inside the tribe, making it easier for the Spanish attack.
Although Manuel was determined to give these indigenous people a lesson, these indigenous people still have great uses, and Manuel did not plan to kill them all.
Especially those adult male indigenous people; those that should be kept must still be kept. These indigenous people are extremely good labor force; killing them now would be too wasteful.
At least they should be allowed to exert all their value before being killed, achieving the effect of making full use of everything.
In the face of the powerful firearms of the Spanish army, African indigenous people have no room for resistance at all. Coupled with Manuel’s fire attack stratagem, the indigenous people initially facing the Spanish army panicked one after another.
Many indigenous people on the periphery of the tribe fled inward one after another, which also made it difficult for the tribe in the interior to organize manpower to defend against the Spanish army’s attack.
Often, before the indigenous side’s formation is set up, the fleeing indigenous people from the periphery disrupt the formation here.
The indigenous people whose formation is disrupted can only flee along, because if they do not run, the next second they will eat bullets.
In this way, under the situation of you chase and I flee, the Spanish army quickly penetrated into the interior of the Bangui Tribe.
Compared to the thatched huts of ordinary tribe members, the tribal chief’s house appears more luxurious. Not only does the house look larger, but it is also surrounded by wooden stakes, having its own courtyard.
And precisely because this house looks so conspicuous, after penetrating into the interior of the tribe, Manuel’s first choice was to occupy this house.
By coincidence, the tribal chief was in this house, along with some higher-ups of the tribe.
So-called higher-ups are actually just some subordinates of the tribal chief. The Bangui Tribe has not formed a political system similar to a country; the tribal chief holds absolute sovereignty, and the other population and slaves are not much different.
“Now we should be able to talk properly, right?” Manuel looked calmly at the tribal chief and said with an expression devoid of fluctuation.
As the translator relayed Manuel’s words, the tribal chief, pointed at by several rifles, hurriedly nodded and chattered a long string of bird language.
“What did he say?” Manuel frowned.
“He says the resistance has nothing to do with him, and the sacking of the plantation has nothing to do with him either. He is willing to submit to your rule, only begging you to spare his life.” The translator said.
“Now he knows the way of obedience?” Manuel sneered, but he did not plan to kill the tribal chief right now either.
To control the Bangui Tribe, the tribal chief is still very important. The class divisions within African indigenous tribes are still quite ingrained, and only the tribal chief can control the entire African tribe.
Without a chief, the Spanish army would have to rely on endless killing to control the situation. Although the current Bangui Tribe can no longer pose a threat to the army, indiscriminate killing would waste labor force, and the current Congo Territory is in great need of such labor force.
“Tell him to make his tribe quiet down.” Manuel instructed: “Additionally, have all adult male indigenous people gathered together. As compensation, they need to work for us for free for 1 year.
Of course, during their work for us, we will provide them with food and some materials to ensure their families do not go hungry.”
Gathering the adult male indigenous people allows the remaining indigenous people to serve as a means to threaten them. Hearing that the working hours are only one year, and Spain will provide food and materials, these indigenous people will definitely agree.
Unless they are willing to lose their families, they have no choice but to agree.
Once they enter Spain’s plantations or mines, coming out again will not be up to them. Although Manuel promises they only need to work for Spain for one year, whether the plantation owners and mine owners are willing to let them go by then will not be up to Manuel.
Hearing Manuel’s instructions, the chief of the Bangui Tribe nodded repeatedly, indicating that he already understood.
“Very good.” Manuel smiled: “Tell him, as long as these indigenous people obediently listen, I will spare his life. But if any accidents occur during the gathering of the indigenous people, I can only send him to meet God and let God forgive him.”
5200-word two-in-one chapter, seeking support!