Help me get rid of 46 GB and 250k + "messages" and attachments in iCloud

I have looked everywhere and from what I can tell, Apple actually doesn't have a way for you to manage the storage of messages in iCloud.

How about this: give me access to the folder where all that data is stored in iCloud and I will remove it myself with a script or command.

I am so tired of the circular, useless instructions that tell you to go to devices and turn on or off iCloud and change retention settings.

No matter what I have tried, iCloud hangs on to more than 250k messages, going back, it seems, for a decade or more.

I just want a one year retention of messages and attachments and I want everything older than one year GONE PERMANENTLY WITH NO RETENTION ANYWHERE.

Why is this so hard for apple?