Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 180 Fair Election
Quetzaltenango, Lopez's villa.

All the past clamor and decadence could not withstand the devastating defeat at the front lines.

Even the number of people who used to line up to give "political donations" is much smaller than usual.

Iker and Grey were locked out, looking at each other with surprise and uncertainty—Lopez rarely left them both out like this!
They can even be present when communicating with the president!
This shows that it is indeed an extremely important matter.

What exactly is Lopez saying?
Soon, the door to the room opened, and Lopez walked out expressionlessly, glancing at his two trusted confidants, one a scholar and the other a warrior.

“Mr. Congressman…”

As Ikel spoke, he was secretly alarmed—Lopez had barely slept a wink these past few days, and was in a state of extreme rage every day.

But today, he suddenly calmed down!
This is definitely not a normal phenomenon.

Lopez glanced calmly out the window and said to the somewhat apprehensive Iker, "Are those people still demanding their wages? What's the situation in the city now? Tell me in detail."

Grey paused briefly for a few seconds before speaking, "The situation is very worrying. The biggest problem is actually the current shortage of various daily necessities."

"The shops are empty... People can't buy anything with their money, and even if they can buy food, it will cost a huge amount."

“A large number of people have fled to enemy-occupied areas, and Milton’s refugee camp is reportedly severely overloaded.”

"..."

One bad news after another, after being embellished by Grey, reached Lopez's ears.

With its ports and borders cut off, Quetzaltenango is now strangled and can only purchase supplies from other warlords.

How could they not cut off their own flesh?
After losing the port, everything had to be transported by land...

The frontline troops already faced huge food supply shortages, and now the situation has only worsened.

“We can’t buy any more.” Lopez said coldly, sitting on the sofa. “When there is a 20% shortage of food, it doesn’t mean that prices will rise by 20%, but that prices will rise until 20% of people can’t afford it.”

Grey opened her mouth, but finally gave a bitter smile: "After the port fell, your approval rating plummeted by 20% in a single day... Now, you are no longer the candidate with the highest approval rating."

"A large number of debts have defaulted."

"Tomorrow is the day of the snap election... It's possible that it's too late for us to help you salvage the situation."

To be honest, the situation is already worse than it could get.

All the taps in the Lopez Group's huge reservoir were turned on, but water was still leaking from underneath!

No matter how talented Grey is in singing and dancing, or how adept she is at manipulating public opinion, facts always speak louder than words. The front lines are there for all to see, and the fall of the enemy is an indisputable fact.

As for people fleeing, that was to be expected—defeat was just too terrible; whenever the victors entered a city, they would first burn, kill, and loot.
Quetzaltenango is the country's second-largest city; there's so much to rob.

Iker added at the opportune moment: "At Champelliport, we lost at least 1500 men. Milton didn't actually kill that many, but they all collapsed or surrendered and were unable to reorganize."

"Our newly purchased equipment has mostly arrived, but the port was lost at this time, and they can only drift at sea now."

"Also, the news of unpaid wages in the rear has reached the front lines, and the morale of the troops at the front seems to be somewhat agitated."

"The port has only been captured for two days, Mr. Congressman, this..."

"..."

Lopez silently listened to these words, opened his mouth, and explained, "This shows that the contradictions were already very, very sharp, and the defeat was just a fuse."

The fall of a port in two days was not enough to cause the situation to deteriorate to its current state.

"I understand the problem. Do you have any solutions?"

The two members of the think tank, who always seemed to have a solution and considered themselves incredibly clever, finally experienced Milton's prowess firsthand and began to truly sense that "something was about to go wrong."

They also wanted to work together, one intellectually and the other physically, to come up with solutions for Lopez, just like in the past.

But now, they can't think of any other way besides escaping.

“How about…” Iker said cautiously, “we pack our things and run away abroad?”

“There’s no escaping it.” Lopez’s voice was very calm. “The Cold War is over. The whole world needs a stable, or at least superficially stable, Latin America. The original military government will definitely be abolished. As remnants of the old era, we don’t need to say more about what we’ve done… those things are enough to send us to the guillotine.”

"If I win the election and become a member of the new government, everything will be wiped clean."

"On the contrary, they will die without a burial place."

At this moment, Lopez finally stopped being incompetent and cruel. In dire straits, he finally showed a trace of the temperament befitting his status.

Grey blurted out, "Then what do we do?"

“All the problems boil down to one word: ‘poverty.’” Lopez’s voice was cold. “Don’t those people want money? Doesn’t the army want money? Isn’t demanding back pay all about money?”

"give them!"

"To them, what is sacrificing oneself for the country, what are lofty ideals, what is giving one's life for righteousness? They are all just empty words. They only care about money. As long as they are paid, they will risk their lives!"

"Give it to them!"

"..."

Damn Milton, I'll fight you to the death!

Grey took a deep breath and reminded him more carefully, "Mr. Congressman, our current funds may be a bit insufficient."

Even the deep-pocketed Lopez Group has finally felt the pinch of financial difficulties.

“No, that’s enough.” Lopez looked at these two useless fools who were now asking for his opinion, without getting angry. “What did you think I was just making a phone call?”

“I’m not just asking for funds, I’m also trying to smooth things over – our equipment has to be brought ashore, it’s our last hope for turning the tide. The other warlords have sensed my sincerity, and they’ve agreed.”

"We still have one last chance to fight. In this battle, no matter what, we have the advantage in terms of equipment and numbers."

In just a few words, Grey couldn't even imagine how much benefit Lopez had given up!
Grey repeated the same question: "Mr. Senator, are you sure there's enough funding?"

“I’m sure—Arsu agreed too; he couldn’t resist the temptation of the money.”

Arzu is the current president of Guatemala.

Grey finally began to feel fear: "What...what did you do?"

What exactly did they betray to fill such a huge hole? Why didn't they even dare to tell their two closest confidants?

The only option left is to betray the country.

Moreover, this is not just a case of treason on a normal level.

Lopez raised his hand: "All you need to know is that, win or lose, we have enough funds to last until the end of the war, and that's enough."

"The equipment will be able to disembark at the Port of San Jose soon and travel along the highway to the front lines, which is expected to take three days."

“Ikel, tell me, how long until Milton completely occupies Champelli Port? I need to know the most accurate information.”

Iker thought for a moment and said, "Based on the scattered information we have now, I estimate we can hold on for another day or two."

Lopez's tone turned colder: "That's one day."

Iker was utterly helpless: "...Yes, no matter how fast the equipment is transported, it won't arrive before Milton consolidates his defenses. Now it's our turn to attack the port. This is going to be a tough battle."

Lopez shook his head and asked in return, "Why should we take back the port?"

What kind of question is this...? Iker subconsciously replied, "Because the port is our lifeline, because Milton's army is stationed here. If we can take it, we can catch our breath and severely damage Milton."

Lopez didn't answer, but asked again, "Tell me, why did Milton want to take over the port?"

Without hesitation, Iker said, "He wants to relieve the rebels by attacking enemy strongholds in the rear to force the attacking enemy to retreat."

“So Milton wants us to withdraw from the front lines to attack Champerico,” Lopez said. “Napoleon once said, ‘Don’t do what the enemy wants you to do,’ for a simple reason: because he wants you to do it… I think it was Napoleon who said that.”

"Let Milton set up defenses at Champelliport, give him that!"

Lopez finally revealed the plan Milton least wanted to see: "I want to go straight for the rebels, tear apart their crumbling defenses, and completely dismantle them!"

"Except for Quetzaltenango, all garrison troops in other cities shall be withdrawn and immediately go to the front line to provide support."

"If the enemy makes any move, blow up the road immediately."

"Only by defeating the rebels can we survive!"

It's true that Lopez's tap was turned off, but there was still a lot of water in his pool that hadn't leaked out, and it was still possible that it could kill the rebels and Milton!

Iker slammed his fist on the table and gritted his teeth, saying, "We will definitely win."

“I hope so,” Lopez said. “But even if we lose, I’ll leave Milton with a huge surprise—a surprise that will far surpass the one I had back in Malacan where I had his comrades’ graves dug up.”

Even if you win, don't expect to have an easy time!
Grey muttered to herself—this huge pitfall left for Milton is probably something Lopez betrayed.

However, she still offered a timely reminder: "Mr. Lopez, are you sure you want to withdraw all your defenses? There's a lot of opposition against you right now, and I'm worried that the police alone might not be able to suppress it."

Lopez's eyes flashed with murderous intent. He finally tore off his last mask and sneered, "Oh, is that so?"

"Order the tanks, order the armored vehicles, order the troops to go to the polling stations in the city before heading to the battlefield to ensure the fairness and justice of the vote... Forget it, anyone who dares not vote for me will be killed. Is this order clear and understandable?"

So, things have finally come to this worst possible outcome... Grey nodded and said, "I understand."

"Go."

"..."

……

On the streets of Quetzaltenango.

The war did not reach this city, but the city was still severely affected.

In just two days, prices have skyrocketed at an alarming rate!
No, actually, prices have been rising steadily ever since Lopez started his offensive against the rebels. And in the last two days, they've skyrocketed at an alarming rate, with most stores completely out of stock!

The famine had already occurred, but Ciampelli's fall was the final straw.

At first glance, there were long queues of shops everywhere, and everyone's face showed extreme anxiety.

"Mommy, Mommy...I'm hungry!"

A haggard-looking woman was walking aimlessly down the street with her child, trying to buy some canned goods from a store, or even some unwanted kitchen waste from the kitchens of some restaurants and hotels.

But even this approach had already been thought of by others.

You can't buy anything at all!
Prices in Quetzaltenango change almost every hour.

A tortilla that used to cost 0.5 qchar now costs more than 50 qchar!

The woman continued her search, even using her meager savings and taking out a loan from a loan shark.

But she would never know that food prices would rise to the point where 20% of people could no longer afford it.

And she was in that 20%.

The woman searched the streets for two whole hours but couldn't buy a single piece of food. She stared blankly at the banknotes in her hand, completely unable to understand why the money she had worked so hard to earn had turned into a pile of worthless paper in just two days.

They're like they're afflicted with some kind of curse, one they can never break free from...

Just then, the woman suddenly saw a car covered in slogans and flags driving by on the street.

The car loudspeaker blared a sarcastic, looping message from López Obrador's political enemies: "You 'heroes' who went to suppress the rebellion, where's our bread for tomorrow morning?"

"Invincible God of War, to whom does our beautiful port now belong?"

"Don't vote for that fraudster Lopez! He will only bring poverty, war, famine, and death!"

“If you vote for Keton, and he becomes a member of Congress, he will pressure the president to appoint a new senior official and a new governing team!”

"Mr. Keton promises you that he will eradicate poverty!"

"For bread! For your children! Cast your sacred vote!"

"..."

Most people don't actually understand policies or strategies; they can only understand the goals shouted out in campaign slogans.

The woman, as if seeing a glimmer of hope, gripped her child's hand tightly and exclaimed excitedly, "Just a little longer! Just a little longer! We can vote. Once he's in power, we'll have bread to eat!"

Soon, the woman, carrying her identification, arrived at the nearest polling station.

Just then, Senator Ketton, who had been on the news and almost got beaten up by Lopez, was also giving a passionate speech.

"Overthrow Lopez's tyranny! He's just a local legislator, what right does he have to decide the administrative affairs of the entire province, why should the appointment of officials be based on his will?! This is a new era, the era of tyranny is over! The era of deep state is over!"

"Lopez has retired from the military, so why does he still have the authority to command regular troops?"

“Our congressman is a deeply hidden warlord. The new government has no need for the old warlord!”

"He was corrupt; he could exchange a yacht for a tortilla for every single person in the city..."

"Why is there no food after two days? It's not that we've run out, it's that someone has secretly hidden it! Vote for me, and I'll make these people who are profiting from the national crisis hand over the food!"

The surrounding angry crowd joined in the shouting: "Give us back our bread! Give us back our money! Get out of the army! Get out of the government buildings!!!"

"These high-ranking officials are Lopez's puppets; they must step down!"

"Fuck all of you!"

"..."

The woman didn't participate in this catharsis—she just wanted the economy to return to normal as soon as possible, and just wanted to be able to earn enough each day to barely feed herself and her child, just like before.

Soon, it was her turn in the line, and a form was handed to her.

The woman picked up a pen and checked Keton's name.

Just as they put the ballot on, a loud roar of a high-powered engine suddenly came from not far away, heading straight towards the polling station.

Keton was hoarse from shouting. He had just taken a sip of water when he looked up and saw an AMX-13 tank with a 90mm rifled cannon turning around.

Their intentions were written all over their faces!
Keton yelled and jumped off the stage, trying to escape.

boom!
The 90mm shell blasted through the barrel, shattering the woman who was still filling out the voting form, and then turning Keton, who was also on the same line, into mincemeat.

Da da da da da…

The coaxial machine gun on the tank opened fire, sweeping across the crowd.

"what--"

"what!!!"

"Help……"

But the gunfire only gradually stopped when no one near the polling station stood up.

The machine gunner operating the machine gun on the turret nodded slightly and waved his hand: "Withdraw!"

Not long ago, Keton gave a speech here, and the cheers of the people around him were noticed by the soldiers who had received orders—they were in a hurry and couldn't check everyone one by one.

As for whether such indiscriminate shooting might slip through the net, whether it might miss some opposition members, or whether it might inadvertently harm voters who support López Obrador, they simply don't care.

As long as voters don't want to die, they won't, and dare not, vote for anyone other than López.

He killed my dad, he killed my mom, but I'll still vote for him.

The child, bewildered, got up from the ground and tried to find his mother, but he couldn't find her anywhere.

Half a minute later, the sound of gunshots and the smell of blood coming from the polling station attracted many people.

Originally, they came here out of fear to see what had happened and how to avoid getting themselves killed.

Upon seeing the corpses scattered on the ground, some people's expressions suddenly changed; hunger and the instinct to survive instantly overwhelmed their reason.

Many hungry people gathered around.

……

Port Champelli, forward command post.

Brandon and Ismail were giving Milton a report, while Flora watched curiously as she ate.

"Boss, we have basically taken over the port. We can finish all the finishing work in a day at most."

"According to intelligence from the front lines and information from our spy who was lying in ambush in Quetzaltenango, Lopez's equipment that was floating at sea has finally found a port and been unloaded. He may have reached some kind of compromise with other forces."

"The decisive battle may be imminent."

"The downfall of the SAD group has begun to unfold, but we haven't seen any news from the US yet. Perhaps the Democrats are still trying their best to suppress it to prevent this serious incident from reaching the midterm elections. But I think we'll see the full exposure of this matter in no more than three days."

“后勤补给非常健康，严格按照每位士兵每天450g面包、500g蔬菜水果、50g零食、30g脂肪、2枚鸡蛋和至少350g肉类供应。”

"The remaining food has been sent to the relief station."

"Judging from the current situation, it won't be long before we capture Quetzaltenango, the most crucial city. Once we take this city, we will have achieved a strategic victory and truly consolidated our power! We will no longer fear competing with any other forces!"

"..."

Milton listened to his subordinates report one piece of good news after another, and nodded slightly.

Only after Brandon and Ismaila finished speaking, and their expressions showed a hint of hesitation, did Milton continue, "What is it? Just say it."

Brandon hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yes, our people over there also sent us a message... Lopez drove tanks into the streets and shelled polling stations in an effort to win the election."

Even Milton, as composed as he was, had his pupils shrink: "Anything else?"

"According to intelligence and reports from our frontline outposts, the situation in Lopez is much worse than we thought, with far more refugees pouring in than we imagined."

"Their shortage of supplies has been going on for a long time, but no one could have imagined that the fall of Champelli Port would directly cut them off from supplies."

"I heard that there are no shops selling food in the whole city... because no matter how high the price is, it will be sold out in an instant, which makes it impossible for shops with some stock to sell."

"The most terrifying thing is the plague... I'm worried that if things continue like this, a plague will break out in that city."

"These are photos of the front lines and over there, taken a few days ago. It's said that the situation is much worse than it is up there these past two days."

“It looks like Lopez won’t be able to hold on for much longer, but… the pressure on our side is slowly increasing.”

In refugee camps, some food still needs to be distributed.

Milton glanced at the scene in the photo, remained silent for a full seven or eight seconds, and finally sighed inwardly before deducting some of his precious points from his account and exchanging them for food.

"So they're asking me for money and grain now?" Milton tapped the table. "Fine, approved. Starting tomorrow, more grain ships will dock."

Brandon and Ishmael were stunned... They hadn't expected Milton to actually agree!

“Boss, boss… this expense is considerable. We all know you're under a lot of pressure. Besides, if this news gets out, the number of refugees will definitely increase… it's really possible to abandon them.”

Milton revealed a rare, intense smile: "Didn't you just say that getting Xaltenango would be a strategic victory for us?"

He pointed to the grain piled up by the door, then to the photograph, and continued:

"I already have Quetzaltenango, why should I give it up?"

P.S.: Guys, it's not that I'm slacking off. After a day of work, I come home and write, and do all sorts of research. Six thousand words is really my limit. To write ten thousand words, I'd need at least six and a half hours a day. I just can't keep up.

(End of this chapter)