Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 187 Plague Tactics Have Arrived?
After confirming that it was absolutely safe, that the other side was indeed not hostile, and that everyone had laid down their weapons, Juan cautiously walked up and took a look at the troops in front of him.

There were nearly 30 men, which was indeed a platoon...

They were all tattered and battered, each bearing minor injuries from off-road driving, some of which were quite serious.

Judging from the severity of her chapped lips, even drinking water is a problem.

Another man was seriously injured, and it was obvious at a glance that he was not wounded in battle, but rather tortured.

After the soldiers had their weapons confiscated, Juan instructed his men to report the situation to headquarters via radio. He then stepped forward, surveyed the men before him, and asked with considerable curiosity, "Your army has begun purging spies? Why?"

There wasn't a single sign at all!

As he spoke, Juan began leading the nearly 30 people toward the rebel-held territory—with other fighters hidden around them throughout the process to ensure their absolute safety.

The leading soldier said angrily, "Because of that failed airborne operation a few days ago... they're using that as an excuse to arrest some kind of spy!"

Juan couldn't understand a single word: "That airdrop? What does it have to do with spies?"

"They thought the airdrop failed because a spy betrayed the information!" the leading soldier continued cursing. "Then the higher-ups used this incident as a pretext to start a massive purge within the military."

"They say they're catching spies, but in reality they're just arresting anyone they don't like or anyone who doesn't obey them."

“We simply refused the order to massacre the village a few days ago, and as a result, we became the first targets.”

"The officer is a good man. There was a period when the army was in arrears with wages for a large number of people, and he used his own savings to help us pay them..."

"..."

Juan felt utterly bewildered: "Don't your commanders think there are serious problems with their tactical arrangements and secrecy measures? Even if there are spies in an infantry brigade, there can't possibly be this many spies."

An organized defection!

If there are really so many spies, then the rebels might as well just take over the army directly. Why bother with all the effort of resisting with force?
"Perhaps the command headquarters isn't unaware of this either," a soldier said with a bitter smile, taking a difficult step forward. "By doing this, they can shift the blame for the defeat to the intelligence-related departments and absolve themselves of any responsibility."

"Now that we're leaving, the command center might not be angry at all; they might even breathe a sigh of relief."

"Because this, to some extent, confirms that there were indeed traitors within the military..."

“You may not realize how serious the loss of one helicopter and so many airborne units is for them.”

Juan was stunned.

In order to shift the blame for the defeat onto others, and to avoid being purged while also eliminating dissidents, they devised a plan to force a team to rebel.
The defection of such a unit is a perfect tactic, allowing them to both shift blame and get rid of those they don't like.
For the commander there, it was indeed a perfect tactic, but for the entire army, it was simply adding insult to injury!

The fact that this team was able to get here despite being unfamiliar with the terrain, lacking supplies, and carrying an injured soldier shows that their combat capability is quite good.

Can this be directly forced into rebellion?

Juan understood the crux of the matter and shook his head: "You say they're stupid? People who can think of this way to keep their jobs and shift the blame to others are definitely not stupid."

"But to say he's smart... he's incredibly stupid."

"..."

Not long after they set off, Juan's Special Operations Platoon returned to their occupied territory.

Many soldiers around looked at these traitors, their eyes flashing with resistance and vigilance.

The mutinous soldiers knew they were now prisoners of war and had no right to ask for anything, so they humbly pleaded, "Could you... give us some medicine to save our platoon leader?"

“He’s not a bad person…he was just following orders…”

At this point, he could barely speak anymore.

Juan waved his hand: "What you said before, the order to massacre the village a few days ago—there was only one village that was massacred during this period, and many people escaped. It is indeed as you said. They also said that the first wave of government troops did not carry out a massacre."

"Some survivors will be arriving soon; they should recognize you."

"If it's true, then you are friends, not enemies."

The soldier nodded, deeply moved. Suddenly, he had a feeling that the atmosphere here with the rebels... no, the resistance forces, was much, much better than that with the government forces, except that they were a little poorer.

The thought had just crossed his mind when he suddenly saw a group of soldiers eating around a campfire. Their bowls contained crispy, roasted flatbread, and a stew made with luncheon meat, sausages, various vegetables, and various animal offal was cooking on the fire.

The rebels used their knives to cut open the flatbread, stuffed the stew and broth inside, and chewed it, looking quite pleased with themselves.

The aroma of meat filled the noses of the government soldiers, but this smell not only stimulated their stomachs but also their brains.

Wait a minute, weren't the rebels supposed to be poor and starving? What are they eating?!

Why do these soldiers look so nonchalant?!
Not long after, the medical team from the resistance arrived. What they carried was simple, but it once again made the soldiers' jaws drop.

Antibiotics! Medical alcohol! Suture forceps and sutures!

The soldiers initially thought there was a high probability they would see a group of people dressed as Native American witch doctors, wearing straw clothes and hats, carrying a bunch of strange herbs.

It's good enough that the bleeding can be stopped; whether the patient survives is entirely up to God's will.

result?

Why do the rebels even have these things... They don't look any worse than the government forces.

"What kind of propaganda are we being given..." the soldier muttered to himself as he followed the guards into the inner sanctum for questioning, "Our propaganda says you're all starving to death."

It seems unlikely that the resistance fighters will starve to death, but it's quite possible that they'll be laughed at to death.

As Juan watched the soldiers depart, he suddenly recalled the scene from a few months earlier when his troops were separated by government forces and forced to flee to Milton's territory.

He originally just wanted a few cookies, a place to sleep, and then left, but he ended up getting a full set of roast chicken, hospital, and hotel supplies thrown at him, and Milton showed off his wealth to him.

They thought it was a very poor town, but Milton didn't even bother to collect their gold.

At the time, he was just as shocked as the soldiers.

Now he finally understood Milton's feelings back then—it was exhilarating, flaunting wealth is truly exhilarating.

"Alright, we've wasted enough time here. Let's leave them to Lak." Juan was in a good mood, and grabbed two cans of SPAM luncheon meat. "Let's go..."

The special operations platoon was deployed once again.

This time, they finally encountered no unexpected situations and successfully bypassed the enemy's position by following the planned route.

By this time, it was already getting dark, and there wasn't much time left before Lopez's final all-out attack, as indicated in the intelligence.

They could almost hear the rumble of the enemy's mechanized army launching a massive attack.

Juan picked up the walkie-talkie and said again to the team members who had no special operations experience but still joined the suicide squad without hesitation: "Remember, try not to make too much noise. There are heating packs in the food. Absolutely, never use open flames."

"After excretion, dig a pit at least 30cm deep, cover it with soil and compact it, backfill it and scatter fallen leaves to restore the original appearance of the ground."

"Bury everything that has been used on the spot."

"Before evacuation, cover the imprints with vegetation and gravel to simulate natural ground texture..."

"In short, we must not let the enemy discover us before we carry out the mission."

"If you feel you are at risk of exposure, use the techniques your instructors taught you during training to quickly evacuate. If you are unable to evacuate, use a 'glory bomb'."

Every member of the special operations platoon carried a grenade as a "glorious grenade" to end their own life in extreme circumstances.

"..."

"Roger that!"

"Even the enemy is turning against themselves; we are destined to win this war!"

After explaining everything, Juan sat down on the ground and began to unpack his bag of MRE rations.

"It's a pity that SPAM luncheon meat isn't sliced. It's not very tasty when it's cooked in soup with jalapeños and other side dishes." A soldier remarked unconsciously, looking at the self-heating MRE.

He then chuckled to himself, “Good heavens… I actually started saying that canned luncheon meat doesn’t taste good anymore, really! Not long ago we weren’t even able to get enough to eat.”

"After winning the battle, our lives will only get better and better!"

"..."

After dinner, the soldiers buried everything on the spot as required, restored the area, and withdrew to another area. They then took out their thermal blankets, wrapped themselves in them, and went to sleep.

midnight.

boom!
A deafening roar echoed through the sky!
The moment Juan's special forces team awoke, the radio crackled with the anxious voices of the rebel command.

The voices of the artillery reconnaissance unit then came through the radio.

"'Hawk Eye' is calling Juan."

This hard-won AN/TPQ-37 counter-battery radar was named "Eagle Eye" by the rebels.

"Juan, please speak."

"Target confirmed: enemy howitzer position, coordinates..." After reporting the coordinates, the radar operator, who wasn't particularly well-trained, said something else: "Juan, they launched a night attack, they're launching their final assault at dawn! It's up to you guys!"

"We will continue to monitor the situation and update the information every 5 minutes."

"Juan understands. Destroy the target. Call ended."

After hanging up, Juan addressed the soldiers around him: "Charge with me."

"..."...

Port Champelli, early morning.

Milton looked at the expanding refugee camp and couldn't help but sigh. He turned to Brandon and said, "Let's speed up the screening of refugees' identities. It's not good to let them eat for free. The important thing is to get them involved in normal work and construction."

With the panel-based screening system, the difficulty of refugee identity verification has been greatly reduced, but Milton still has to put on an act...

They simply didn't expect that the number of refugees coming would increase day by day.

Brandon smiled wryly, "Boss, we've already sent Luz and Veronica over to coordinate, but we're short-handed. We've already caught several enemy spies trying to cause trouble."

“I know what they’re trying to do,” Milton said, shaking his head slightly. “It’s nothing more than infiltrating the refugee population, infiltrating my city, causing a few shootings, robberies, and rapes, and then spreading the word to stir up chaos within our ranks.”

Brandon scratched his head: "They can't win wars, but they're quite creative when it comes to these underhanded tricks."

“They resort to these underhanded tactics because they can’t win in war.” Milton glanced at Flora, who was walking towards them from a distance. “If they could win, I can’t even imagine what they would look like.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Flora walked up to Milton.

“‘Tax collector,’ news has just come from the front lines of the resistance. The enemy’s offensive is very fierce, and the morale of Lopez’s army is higher than expected.”

Milton didn't inquire about the details of the other battles: "Tell me about our situation. Have the minefields been cleared? When can we attack Retaluleu City?"

"That's enough now, the mine-clearing vehicle has completed the mine-clearing work."

In order to complete the mine-clearing mission quickly, Milton exchanged several Soviet UR-77 mine-clearing vehicles. These vehicles can launch mine-clearing rockets, which will leave two explosive lines more than 90 meters long after they are launched, helping the armored forces to open up a safe passage about 90 meters long and 6 meters wide.

Enough for Milton's armored forces to pass quickly.

“Very good, prepare to attack,” Milton said. “Remember, it’s the same old clumsy tactics: artillery plows the ground, armored vehicles push forward, and infantry follow. Don’t think about using any complicated tactics. Our army doesn’t have that capability yet, and our enemy doesn’t need to use such tactics.”

"Don't worry, don't worry, I've arranged everything." Flora chuckled. "Then let's get ready to go!"

Twenty minutes later, Milton and Flora arrived at the front line.

Before officially marching forward, Milton glanced at his armored forces.

After the tanks were officially available for exchange, Milton immediately exchanged for 9 of the most cost-effective tanks he could get at the moment: the Type 59 Modified!
Specifically, it is the Type 59-2 tank. Although it is a medium-sized tank, it uses the same ammunition as NATO rounds. The 105mm rifled gun is somewhat of a shortcoming, but it can also fire APFSDS (armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot) rounds, which is sufficient for this battlefield.

Sufficient to penetrate any enemy armor.

It also comes standard with a military frequency-hopping radio, which is of paramount importance to Milton, who places great emphasis on information.

Finally, and most importantly, the points required for the Type 59-2 tank are quite attractive compared to other tanks.

For Milton, who is now already spending more than he earns but still needs to save enough credits to buy planes and build up his navy, this is a choice that can be said to have taken into account all aspects.

Nine tanks equipped with reactive armor formed an armored company and joined Milton's heavy combined arms battalion, which would significantly enhance their offensive capabilities once again.

With drones providing reconnaissance and intelligence, firepower can more accurately hit key units.

"Have the observers who have infiltrated to the front lines and are responsible for guiding the howitzers taken into position?"

Due to the high cost, Milton will not easily use the red earth laser-guided projectiles, but if he discovers a high-value enemy target, he will never hesitate to give it a precision strike.

Flora said with great certainty, "We're in position."

boom!
Led by mine-clearing vehicles, the army began its advance towards Retaluleu.

The terrain in this area is quite simple, and compared to the rebel front, it can be described as "flat as a pancake".

It is only when they approach Retalu Leu that they will encounter terrain that is "easy to defend but difficult to attack".

Lopez was clearly aware of this, so he did not choose to try to establish a defensive line in the flat area when the main force was not there.

He planned to set up layers of obstacles along the route between Retaluleu and Quetzaltenango to slow Milton's advance as much as possible.

Retalu Leu was the first line of defense, so Milton easily arrived nearby without encountering any significant resistance along the way.

After the previous crushing defeat, Lopez finally learned his lesson—many important strongholds, such as the command center, were all placed in the city.

It is difficult to discover high-value locations such as command posts and radar stations that can directly affect the outcome of a war using drones alone.

Flora clicked her tongue repeatedly: "Putting everything else aside, even when Lopez was about to die, his mind was still a little sharp. This time, the drones didn't find any particularly worthwhile targets to take down."

“It’s alright.” Milton didn’t seem to care. “Finding some minor equipment is enough. Don’t forget we have a powerful weapon that has never been exposed before.”

Flora knew exactly what he meant: "Radio listening system!"

Since Milton redeemed this item, although he has been using it, he has never actually used it.

It's not that it was useless, but the enemy was too weak, and the radio monitoring system collapsed before it even had a chance to be used.

This wasn't all bad—at least the enemy's intelligence had never known that Milton even possessed this thing.

This means that Lopez, who is also short of funds, is unlikely to, and does not have the awareness to, allocate his limited money to information security.

Now it seems it can finally come in handy.

"Yes, who knows, maybe this time it will bring us some surprises?"

At this moment, the first round of clashes on the battlefield had begun.

Despite the rocket artillery and howitzers failing to eliminate all targets, the enemy's EE-11 infantry fighting vehicles launched an ambush as nine tanks led the charge.

The machine gun and a low-spec anti-tank weaponry consisting of RPG-7s carried by soldiers on their shoulders ambushed a 59-2 tank that was at the forefront.

boom!
Rockets and machine gun shells exploded directly in front of the tank, creating several fireballs!
One of the rockets even blew off the tank's tracks.

However, almost at the same time, the 105mm rifled gun of the 59-2 opened fire!

APFSDS flew out, and the tungsten alloy "big thumbtack" broke free of the sabot and flew toward EE-11 with a terrifyingly high initial velocity, colliding head-on with the reactive armor!

The reactive armor's explosive layer had just detonated when the warhead penetrated the steel plate, shattering into pieces. The fragments, along with the armor fragments, swept directly through the entire vehicle crew!

The gunner was instantly swept away by the shrapnel storm and turned into a pile of minced meat. Almost simultaneously, the ammunition exploded, sending the gun emplacement and its crew to their deaths.

boom……

In a single encounter, one of the enemy's armored vehicles was completely destroyed!
Don't be fooled by the fact that armor-piercing rounds only have kinetic energy and no explosive charge. They can still cause a secondary explosion upon impact. After penetrating the armor, the fragmentation of the round itself and the fragmentation of the armor can also wipe out the entire crew.

Unless you wear too much.

If this EE-11 hadn't been equipped with reactive armor, the shell might have actually penetrated it and passed through harmlessly. But they never imagined that what was meant to protect them would actually harm them instead.

However, Flora's expression turned much more serious upon hearing the battle report: "Hmm... the crew is safe, but the tank's track broke and it's out of service. It can be repaired, but it can't participate in this assault."

"We've essentially lost a tank as well."

Milton was heartbroken, but outwardly he appeared calm and collected: "This is a battle of attrition. The enemy is not a sitting duck. It is normal to suffer losses."

"Don't worry about the losses!"

"I don't want to lose numbers, I just want Retaluleu!"

"Fight in!"

Milton didn't need to mobilize anything; the soldiers were already charging forward with the armored units under the cover of artillery fire.

This unit may be poorly trained, may not yet have any faith, or may just be a bunch of hotheads.

But they all had one thing in common—they both hated Lopez.

From civilians whose families were dismantled into pieces, to merchants who were plundered into bankruptcy by various inexplicable black industries, to former government soldiers who were owed wages and beaten... after witnessing Milton's rule, their morale soared to the highest level.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The sounds of large-caliber artillery shells and rockets were incessant, covering any area where enemy troops appeared after a relatively short flight.

Whether it was the enemy troops trying to ambush in makeshift trenches or the infantry intending to gather near armored vehicles to launch a counterattack, they all suffered heavy losses and were completely scattered before they could even organize themselves.

The enemy's mortar positions were under heavy fire; they had just been celebrating hitting Milton's armored units when they were hit by several high-explosive shells that came whistling through the air.

The dull sound of drums rang out, and flames engulfed the mortar position, eliminating one of the defenders' few remaining "heavy firepower"!

As the smoke cleared, the original mortar position was left with only charred limbs and broken metal fragments.

Use artillery to deal with the enemy's armored forces and anti-armor vehicles, use armored forces to deal with infantry, and use infantry to sweep the battlefield—even if some escapees occasionally, the remaining enemy will not be able to gain any advantage in armor-on-air combat.

Just over two hours into the battle, Lopez's defenses, still clinging to World War I thinking, were torn open by the heavy combined arms battalion, leaving them vulnerable everywhere.

The army will be able to enter the city soon.

“Their outer defenses are relatively weak,” Flora concluded. “They won’t be able to hold us off for long. The most difficult part is urban warfare… What’s more troublesome is that their rear is unobstructed, allowing them to continuously send people into the city to fight us in urban combat.”

Just as Milton was about to say something, a soldier suddenly rushed over and knocked on the door three times.

"Sir, our radio monitoring system has intercepted the enemy's deployment!"

Milton immediately looked at him and said briefly, "Speak."

"Due to the previous casualties, a plague had actually broken out in Retalu, but the news was suppressed..."

"They, they plan to organize these sick people and find a way to spread the plague in our cities and even our army!"

"It seems, it seems they're planning to coerce and lure a large group of people, saying we have food here, so that civilians and refugees carrying the plague will attack our army! If we encounter this situation, should we open fire?"

(End of this chapter)