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510 which obstructed communication with the mines and the outlet to the gulf, impeded the flow of supplies, and played havoc with the main resources of the government.

It was proposed, therefore, to direct every effort against the different headquarters along the line north of the capital, leaving only the necessary force southward to watch Morelos, and guard against any sudden inroad from his forces. To this end a main corps of nearly six thousand men was stationed south of Puebla, in connection with a semicircle of reënforced posts at Jalapa, Orizaba, Perote, Izúcar, Tasco, and Toluca; while other troops were massed northward, partly at Tula and other places, but mainly round Guanajuato.

Castro Terreño, who had been removed by Venegas for incapacity, under the guise of another motive, was reinstated in Puebla and made general of the southern army, which spread from Izúcar north eastward to Perote, a step which Calleja had soon to regret. Negrete held command in Guanajuato. García Conde succeeded Trujillo at Valladolid, although he soon yielded to General Sotarriba. Castillo y Bustamante was stationed in Toluca Valley, connected by strong detachments with Querétaro; and Armijo occupied the districts southward to the right banks of the Mescala, with his cavalry, the garrisons of Tasco and Iguala, and recruits from the estates, to which was added a corps of observation at