As the starter of the entire catastrophe in Barcelona, ​​Commander Andrew of the Pyrenees did not expect to go around the city. In fact, there was nothing worth the commander's reverie. The empty streets and the broken courtyards were only a few figures swaying in the city. Once it was night, it became a dead city. The whole city was quiet, with only a few ghost fires dotted in the distance. More importantly, the soldiers almost emptied all the wealth in the city, and their highest commander had already greedily counted the amount of gold coins obtained from the auction of the trophy with his tongue.

In the auction of trophy and other wealth plundered by the city, Andrew privately received more than 1.2 million gold coins (Andrew stipulates that the Spanish local currency is not used as the trading unit), and the income of officers and soldiers is more than 6 million. Of course, this is only a part of the wealth, as the biggest beneficiary of the war, Andrew's real wealth comes from the secret vault of the municipality of Barcelona.

A liberal aristocrat who defected to the French, in order to protect his family's interests from harm, secretly contacted Andrew through the Jewish merchant channels and informed the Orientals of the Spanish royal family in the vault in the center of Barcelona. Upon learning such unexpected good news, Andrew happily signed a protection order for the liberal and his family, and ordered Colonel Cáde to rush to Barcelona immediately, and personally led and supervised the military police to preside over the on-site excavation work.

The treasure of the Spanish royal family was very hidden, and it was buried at the bottom of a 50-meter-high bell tower. In order to prevent the soldiers from being injured during the excavation process, Colonel Xiade directly ordered the engineers to blow up the bell tower first, but began to hunt for treasures. During the subsequent excavation, more than a thousand military policemen and engineers exploded three solid exterior walls in a row, and fought for two days and nights before finally entering the core of the treasure house. Almost everyone was stunned by the spectacular scene inside, with priceless treasures everywhere: ancient gold coins, jadeware, various gemstones, statues of precious metals, etc., all of them were included.

Colonel Shade said in his future description of Commander Andrew:

“…

Commander, I really don’t know what words to use to describe everything I see in front of me. At that time, my mind was blank and could not control any language, but countless shining things in front of me... After all, I have seen the farmers on the market. In 1791, I followed the revolutionary parade into the Louvre, visited the Palace of Versailles, and witnessed the various treasures of the Dharma King 16. But now I swear that everything before was not as brilliant as here...

I lay on the beach of ancient gold coins piled up like mountains, closed my eyes and felt the smell of gold. Occasionally I would look at the countless diamonds dotted around the walls. They were as brilliant as stars and looked at them a few more times, which would seriously damage my eyes; my hands were constantly playing with the golden power wars that were said to have been used by the Inca emperors, inlaid with hundreds of gems of various colors; a large number of oil paintings or other silver products that seemed extremely precious, so-called artistic treasures, could not enter my field of vision at all...

Alas, my dream was soon interrupted by the rude sound of the soldiers, because more than a dozen statues of Egyptian pharaoh made of pure gold, 5 or 6 meters high... The statues of gods were too bulky, and more than 100 soldiers could not move them out of the vault. As a last resort, the soldiers began to want to smash the pharaoh statue into small pieces with hammers and transport them out... But their speed was too slow. It was still me who thought of a famous decision later, and ordered the soldiers to blow them directly with zha medicine, so that this problem could be effectively solved...

It took 3 days and 3 nights to mobilize 500 military police and 700 engineers. We finally emptied everything in the vault... When your old butler saw so many treasures placed in front of him, he was excited first, then shouted, and then went crazy. He even pointed at my nose and cursed, blaming us for destroying the 12 huge and extremely precious golden statues, which greatly reduced their value... God testified, in front of Satan, my soldiers and I were really exhausted. Before he could say 3 words, I fell asleep again. This time I was sleeping in a comfortable camp bed, not on the pile of damn gold coins, they hurt my waist..."

No one knows how much the above secret vault is, because the value of the ancient gold coins alone is more than 30 million gold francs, which is more than the income from the conquest of Italy by Napoleon. As for countless other treasures, Andrew's old housekeeper Sandro suggested that the commander himself transport them all back to France and find a place to secretly collect them. After all, such a huge amount of treasures cannot be digested by more than a hundred merchants.

Andrew fully agreed with the old housekeeper's suggestion and ordered Sandro to handle the matter himself. He also dispatched 100 military policemen and 2,000 cavalry and infantrymen to escort huge treasures back to France and buried them secretly. In addition, he also asked Sandro to bring a large number of gold coins and some precious works of art to the power in Paris, including his father-in-law and fiancée. As for the part handed over to the treasury, it was only exchanged for more than 200,000 gold coins. The uncorrosive leader Robespierre and others were more interested in food, meat and military supplies, not gold coins that could not be eaten or drunk.

Human greed is always unstoppable, even Andrew, who has obtained huge wealth.

Before closing the account book, Andrew ordered Colonel Neck to let his fairly full infantry brigade continue to advance as the vanguard of the legion, and to draw 2,000 cavalrymen from the cavalry brigade to his command. His mission was to arrive in the town of Lerida and monitor the tens of thousands of Spanish soldiers in the city, which was the 30,000 miscellaneous troops left by Duke Sanchez before his expedition.

Neck seemed very happy to get the news of his departure, and his subordinates were even more excited. In order to reinforce the main force of the Legion, they were sent by General Dawu to the town of Manresa, but they lost the excellent opportunity to plunder the city of Barcelona. Although according to regulations, no matter which unit of the Legion received, there would be a share of the spoils, it was not as comfortable as the one I snatched by myself. Now that the commander let him take action, of course, he could not miss this good opportunity again. Although there was not much property waiting for him, a brilliant battle might also be exchanged for a general uniform.

Colonel Neck ran to the team to mobilize, but found that the soldiers were ready to go, and the 2,000 reinforcements were ready to put countless large pockets behind the horses. So, without saying a word, Commander Neck pulled thousands of subordinates and began to march overnight. But when the French arrived at the town of Lyrida, they did not encounter any unexpected battles. The Spanish generals who stayed in the town of Lyrida had already lined up and set up various positions, waiting for themselves to come and accept their surrender.

The town of Lerida is just a small town, with no good fortune. It has gained nothing except accepting the gilded sabers of the surrendered officers and the simple and unusual food. According to the commander's strict military discipline, the Spanish defenders who voluntarily surrendered against each other should retain their dignity and not wantonly plunder their private property. What's more, dozens of military police members were standing aside with a covetous eye, and if the violation of discipline is not to be said, it will be recorded immediately.

Neck was a loyal and honest man. He didn't want to stay in lockdown for a few more days, but the soldiers were not very happy due to the lack of spoils. At the strong request of his subordinates, Brigade Commander Neck had to separate half a regiment to guard 30,000 prisoners. The rest waited for several hours in the town of Lerida and continued to move southwest. This time his target was the fifth largest city in Spain, the capital of the Aragon province, and the city of Saracossa in the middle of the Ebro River.

Saragassa is the capital of the ancient Aragorn Kingdom, and its long history can be traced back to the ancient Roman period in 200 BC. The bustling city still retains the ruins of the city walls and gates of that period. In the seventh and eighth century AD, Saragassa was ruled by the Arabs. The Cathedral of San Carlos, which has a history of more than a thousand years, was predecessored by an Islamic temple. It is magnificent, with spires towering on the banks of the Ebro River, with a magnificent view. There are many ancient buildings from the Aragorn Kingdom era nearby.

At the end of the 18th century, the city of Saracossa had a population of only more than 80,000. As the capital of the Aragon province, it was an inland transportation center in northeastern Spain. The vast Ebro River in the north was used as a barrier, and the Juelva River in the east was available to support it, but the west and south of the city were open areas, and there was no danger to defend. In order to prevent the French from breaking into the city center from these areas, when the Duke of Sanchez was in charge of the northern defense, he also built more than ten fortress defenses, including wide and deep defense infantry trenches, as well as artillery groups attached to nearby areas, forming an extremely strong defense system. Before the French arrived, Saracossa still had more than 10,000 militias, more than 2,000 regular troops, tens of thousands of civilians, and a large number of nobles and rich people.

Although Andrew successfully captured the city's commander Duke Sanchez in the Battle of Manresa and completely dismantled the resistance of the Spanish army, he still did not dare to take the city of Saracoza lightly. In Andrew's memory, Saracoza was a brave city, resisting the two sieges of tens of thousands of Napoleon's army with only elderly, weak and remnants, for half a year. Parafox, Vionna, Selezo, Zamore... The soldiers and civilians of Saracoza led by these leaders made the three marshals of His Majesty the Emperor and more than 20 generals hate it.

Before the troops were assembled, Colonel Neck ordered his troops to pour into the city under the leadership of the nobles' guides. The soldiers used bayonets or sabers in their hands to drive away the mobs that were provoking trouble everywhere in the city of Saragossa, and the soldiers picked up some valuable things. In order to thank the rescuers for their hard work, the nobles booked all the brothels and restaurants in the city, so that their patron saints could be used for free. The officers were treated better. After enjoying the luxurious meal and tasting the perfect wine, they lay on the nobles' magnificent bed counting gold coins, or flirting with the nobles, ladies, and love...

“…

Report to the Commander, I promise that the above facts are true and there is no false concealment. My soldiers and I have not done anything that violates military discipline. In this regard, your military police captain can testify.

...

Haha, all the enjoyment is provided by the nobles for free, and of course there are larger and more expensive gifts left to you by the commander.”

Colonel Neck's report obviously made his colleagues who followed the commander later envious. They kept making slutty smiles on their faces. Several impatient guys actually made their little brothers swell up. The most exciting thing was Major General Massena. It is said that his speed at rushing towards the woman was as fast as he led his subordinates to pursue the enemy. Before they arrived at the city hall, a large number of nobles and their families held the reins of the officers' horse heads, nodded and bowed to invite the French officers to the humble house. However, Commander Andrew had been stern and did not speak, so everyone did not dare to act rashly.

Looking at Neck's extremely satisfied smile, Andrew knew the facts that the colonel said. Before entering the city, the gendarmerie captain who followed the vanguard had transferred the entire fact to the commander in advance. In the captain's record, all the sergeants only violated several small military rules.

Andrew nodded without comment, turned around and looked at the ugly officers behind him, gently pulled off his white gloves and went to the sofa, and slowly said to everyone:

"Okay, you can all retreat and do whatever you want, but don't break the law of military discipline."

As soon as the words fell, sure enough, the first of all the officers to break out of the gate was General Massena, and then General Mura... When they left, they didn't even say hello to the commander.

Andrew didn't blame much. After a slight smile, he asked Colonel Neck who was standing beside him, "Col. Do you still have the strength?"

"Of course, my commander! Neck is very energetic and can attack Madrid at any time." Colonel Neck straightened his body and replied loudly.

"Haha, it's not an attack on Madrid, but a request. Colonel Neck, please take the captain and see it. Captain, before you came to Chang, you were a military police officer, please remember your mission." Andrew said with a smile.

"Thank you, Commander!"

As soon as he received the approval of the commander, the military police captain put down his airs and stood aside with a smile, rubbing his hands with his hands silently. It was not until Colonel Neck's repeated urging that he quickly chased the group of officers who had run away.

When the two walked away, Andrew poured himself a glass of sherry and came to the window with a glass. While savoring the wine carefully, Andrew leaned against the windowsill and looked at the two most famous churches in the city of Saracossa in the distance: the Church of Our Lady of Pilar and the magnificent Cathedral of San Carlos. Listening to the sound of pious prayers from the church, and feeling the pleasure of the evening streets in the city, Andrew almost felt intoxicated.

Once upon a time, Napoleon I spent a huge price to seize the ruined city. Now, Commander Andrew, who is famous for his powerful and powerful, has occupied it without a single shot. While gaining great practical benefits, he also preserved a brilliant city for the future Queen Sofia.

Andrew swayed the wine in the glass and sniffed it under his nose. Well, the taste of victory was so great.

However, as the biggest winner, Andrew also shouldered the most important responsibility. Before he could finish drinking, a rapid knock on the door rang out of the door.

"Come in, Major!" Andrew could hear that this was his adjutant, Major St. Martin's habitual knocking method.

"My adjutant, hasn't anyone taken you to the noble family to visit?" Andrew said to St. Martin who was walking towards him.

"Of course there are too many, haha. Sorry, Commander, I'm here to report to you the news of Captain Tetri's return." St. Martin was a little embarrassed, and covered the Zhuhong left behind by the noble ladies under his neck with his hands.

"Oh, Teth? Captain Teth!" Andrew remembered that he was an officer in his guard camp. When Andrew's army was still stranded in the Vande area, he was secretly sent to the Basque gathering area in Spain to persuade the Basque elders to help the Pyrenees invade Spain.

However, Captain Teth had obviously not done well in his previous work. In addition to providing some information that was not very useful, he failed to persuade the hard and stubborn Basque elders, who were as hard as granite, to join the troops against the Duke of Sanchez. After Andrew led his army across the Pyrenees, Captain Teth also came to seek the commander's assistance. But Andrew did not greet him in person, but sent a cold message to Teth, telling the captain through St. Martin's mouth:

"Captain, the freedom and interests of the Basque people are not achieved by the votes of the elders' majority, but by iron and blood. Your own interests need to be won by themselves. If you want to rely solely on the French to solve the problem, then you and your nation must prepare for a high price."

Although he was speaking quite harshly, Andrew privately allocated 4,000 long and short guns, more than 30 artillery and a large amount of ammunition through Adjutant St. Martin to give to Captain Teth and the rebels he led. A few days ago, news from Guernica City came. Captain Teth joined forces with other rebel leaders to rush into Guernica City, the Basques' holy land. With his powerful force, he dispersed all the elders of the Presbyterian Church, reorganized the Presbyterian Church into a new style, and stipulated that the age of the candidates would no longer be limited to the age of the elected elders...

In a moment of memories, Captain Tede, who returned in triumphant success, had changed into a new French uniform and quickly came to Andrew. The captain raised his head and chest to the long-lost Commander Andrew, and gave a standard military salute.

"Report to the Commander, Captain is required to complete his mission and report to you!"

"Very good, my captain, commander saw another warrior return to the barracks. Very good, very good!" Andrew exclaimed repeatedly, and sent two punches to his subordinates' chest.

Just noticed that Tetri had changed into French uniforms again, Andrew continued to ask: "Captain, aren't you going to return to the holy city of Guernica and work with other Basque compatriots to defend and build your own hometown?"

"No, I won't go back! In fact, I have led 5,000 Basque warriors for you, Commander. Now they have been placed in the military camp outside the city, ready to wait for the commander's order at any time, and fight south and north, without hesitation!" Captain Teti replied excitedly.

"Very good, very good! My captain, no, it's the major. The 5,000 Basque warriors will be reorganized into an infantry brigade, and you will be the brigade commander to manage them. Well, it's up to me to command directly. I'm just going to transform the special brigade into a division, but it's just a shortage of manpower. Haha, please come here, my major! Let me tell you in detail how you force the stubborn and conservative elders to disband the damn Presbyterian Church. I believe it must be quite exciting. Also, you, Major St. Martin, don't cover the lipstick on your neck, come and have two drinks with us."

While speaking, Andrew asked the two majors to sit on the sofa and listened to Major Tede's recounting his experience of "forcing a palace". In the end, Major Tede assured Commander Andrew that he had successfully appeased his comrades and persuaded them to give up the idea of ​​Basque national independence, but only hoped that the Spanish future government would restore the situation of Basque self-management in the past.

This guarantee is obviously what Andrew wants. After all, Andrew does not want to divide or weaken Spain's strength, at least in the Iberis Peninsula. If the Basques are allowed to be independent, it will inevitably cause a strong backlash among all walks of life in Spain and destroy the good political pattern he has worked hard to create. At the same time, the success of the Basque independence and national establishment movement in Spain will inevitably affect the Basque confidence in independence in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees and France. This is definitely not a good thing for the French and Andrew.
Chapter completed!