The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1280 Post-war Processing
As for the specific details, that is something the War Department needs to consider. Franz only gave a general direction for solving the problem.

For those Spanish government soldiers who revolted on the battlefield, the promised rewards would definitely be fulfilled, but necessary inspections would also have to be carried out to prevent the emergence of spies and those who slipped through the net.

All surrendered Spanish government soldiers had to go to the colonies to atone their sins, and the Austrian Empire would also pay them wages like hired laborers.

However, the length of service and location will vary depending on the severity and number of crimes.

Some ordinary farmers who were forced to join the army and had not committed any serious crimes were sent to the colonies to farm, while those heinous criminals were sent to places with harsh environments to compete with the indigenous people for land.

Of course, they were allowed to see their families before that, and they were also allowed to leave the bounty with their families or take it to the colonies.

During this period, the emotions of both parties must be appeased. As for this kind of matter, it will be left to the church, the nobility, and the grassroots officials.

After all, the punishment of these people was also required by the church, and they had to do the follow-up work well, otherwise who would dare to surrender to the Austrian Empire.

In addition to the request made by the Spanish Church, Franz did this on the one hand because the colonies of the Austrian Empire really needed people, and on the other hand, these people would be an unstable factor if they stayed in Spain, especially letting them join the army was even more undesirable.

As the saying goes, "When you have a sharp weapon, you will naturally want to kill." This is true for ordinary people, let alone the rebels who have tasted blood.

Franz must consider the cost of maintaining stability, otherwise the war in Spain will never end.

The reason why the Spanish Church dealt with these surrendered Spanish soldiers was to maintain the authority of the church.

Varna could let its soldiers rob churches and massacre priests, and the church could also let the Austrians throw these guys to the colonies and the Black Continent. In their minds, this was the only way to save the church's face.

As for the so-called big victory, Franz didn't care at all, because he knew that there was still a long way to go before the final victory.

Moreover, the success of the Spanish campaign did not depend on the performance of the Austrian army on the battlefield.

When the news of the annihilation of the Gelton Corps reached Salt, Varner was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet. These were all his main forces. If the Austrian Empire attacked at this time, he would not even have a chance to fight back.

Fortunately, the Austrians still failed to eliminate the rebellion in the occupied areas.

But unfortunately, the Austrian Empire's occupied areas were constantly expanding, and after the war more and more people turned to the Austrian Empire.

In addition, Varna also received reliable information that the big families in Catalonia were secretly colluding with the Austrian Empire, and the middleman was the local Spanish church.

In particular, the involvement of the church is tantamount to fundamentally denying the legitimacy of the Spanish government.

The separatism in Catalonia is the most serious in the whole of Spain. Coupled with the rumored people-friendly approach of the Austrian Empire, the support for the Spanish government has dropped to freezing point.

The only good news is that the Carlists have become very powerful recently and even wanted to attack Salt directly. However, without the protection of the mountains, the Carlists were no match for the Spanish government forces and were wiped out halfway through their journey.

However, this victory could not change anything. The Spanish government forces in Catalonia were no longer able to drive out the vanguard of the Austrian Empire.

Madrid only sent a eunuch and a few hundred new recruits. In Varner's opinion, it was hard to tell whether they really wanted to drive the Austrians into the sea, or just wanted to fight with the Austrians to mutual destruction.

At this time, Varner felt that the conditions proposed by the Austrian Empire were not unacceptable. It would be nice to use the money to become a big landowner in Mexico. He heard that it would not cost much to buy an official position in Mexico.

"Adjutant, go and get Mr. Mario over here."

"No need to ask me, I'm right here. If you have anything to say, just tell me."

After saying that, Mario Alvarez Casal led his men into the room. Seeing Mario Alvarez Casal and his men walk into the room, Varna's adjutant reached for the gun on his waist.

Varner waved his hand. He didn't want to start a fight in the room. After all, this was Salt, his territory. Varner felt that he could still control the situation.

"Mr. Mario, do you know the news that Mr. Gordon was defeated?"

"I feel deeply unfortunate."

"The dead are gone, but Mr. Gordon's defeat did ruin our chances of a possible counterattack. I think someone should be held responsible for this."

Varner looked at Mario, who looked back at him.

"General Varner, I heard that it was the rebellion of your men that led to Mr. Gordon's death. I think you should come back to Madrid with me for investigation."

"What nonsense! Let me go back to Madrid with you? Then you don't want Catalonia anymore?"

Varner was so angry that he laughed. He didn't expect the other party to turn the tables on him. Varner wanted to get rid of Mario Alvarez Casal first and then think about what to do next.

"My people can take over here first. You don't plan to continue the attack anyway, right?"

"Are you laughing at me?"

"I'm telling the truth. You didn't have a decent offensive plan before I came, and your offensive after I came killed our country's best future general.

And the Austrians never launched a decent attack. Can you say that this has nothing to do with you?"

Varner snorted coldly and thought to himself.

"This has nothing to do with me."

"If I don't go with you, what can you do to me?"

Varner was obviously fearless, after all, the people outside the door were his. Unless Mario Alvarez Casal didn't want to live, no one could touch him today.

A gunshot rang out, and Varner covered his chest in disbelief and fell into a chair. The adjutant next to him was shot down just as he was about to draw his gun.

The guards outside the door never came in.
"Varna and his adjutant Gaudi have been conspiring with the Austrian Empire and have been executed. You will take over the defense of Catalonia immediately. I will return to Madrid to report."

In fact, Varna's guess was correct. Isabel II never trusted him. But Varna never expected that Mario Alvarez Casar would seize power at this time.

There was nothing wrong with Mario Alvarez Casal executing Varna, after all, it was not uncommon in Spain for colleagues to be shot in order to seize power or to unify opinions.

The First Carlist War ended when Rafael Marotto shot four Carlist generals in a council chamber and began private negotiations with the regent Queen Christiana.

However, the situation was different at this time. The army of the Austrian Empire had landed in the southeastern coastal area and defeated local aristocratic armed forces many times, and even defeated the Spanish government forces.

On one side was the brutal and ruthless Spanish government that shot local governors and the even more incompetent military government; on the other side was the Austrian Empire that claimed to be saving Spain.

It's easy for people to choose between the two.