Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 230 Battle of San Cristo (Thanks to the Alliance Leader)

Flora exclaimed in shock, "So you mean you're not going to provide food?!"

The Great Granary of St. Cristo, you think you can solve your own food problems through your wisdom?

“Yes.” Milton nodded without any attempt to hide his feelings. “Or rather, I will keep them trapped until the city is cleared out… As for food, we’ll deal with that after the city is cleared out.”

"Only in this way can they be motivated, energetic, proactive, and efficient."

Flora cautioned, "The city is controlled by drug traffickers, but there are definitely civilians left. Are you sure you want to do this?"

“Before attacking the city, I had already distributed countless leaflets,” Milton said seriously. “I repeated many times to tell everyone who was not involved to evacuate immediately. I also never hid the fact that there was relief food in Comitan City.”

"Drug dealers would love for civilians to get out of there as soon as possible, leaving food and other things for them to rob. Losing a few mouths to feed won't stop people from leaving at all."

"The two cities are so close together that there is no possibility of starving to death on the way to migrate."

“I have done everything I could. I can’t just stop fighting because there is one civilian, can I? Otherwise, the drug dealers will be invincible.”

Flora wholeheartedly agreed: "Yes...the moment they chose to believe the drug dealers, they were already dead."

“Let’s go, let’s take a look at the front lines.” Milton nodded slightly as he watched the soldiers enthusiastically driving corpses into the city. “The rear positions seem to be fine.”

"But the most important thing is the front line of defense."

That is the crucial juncture where the battle will soon be attacked from both sides, and it will determine the outcome of the entire campaign.

After informing the air defense forces and the air force of the flight path and the aircraft's appearance, Milton changed the filter on his gas mask and stepped into the cabin.

This time, Brandon did not come along—in such a dangerous place as the front lines, even though Milton had done his best to eliminate all possible dangers, he still wanted the higher-ups to be dispersed as much as possible.

If they hadn't been separated, the high-ranking officials of the Chiapas state government who were all wiped out by a single howitzer shell would have served as a cautionary tale.

As he flew past San Cristóbal from the side, Milton glanced into the city through the porthole.

After three days of continuous, high-intensity bombardment, the small city of San Cristó has been completely shrouded in billowing exhaust fumes.

Even from the sky, it was difficult to see the situation on the ground.

Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow by, revealing a truly terrifying sight.

As far as Milton could see, everything looked like the end of the world, reduced to wreckage, with cars having all their useful parts removed.

The land was so barren that even the grass roots had been uprooted.

A body lying on the ground, all its clothes removed...

All the remaining buildings had their doors and windows tightly shut, and there was hardly a living person to be seen on the streets.

If it weren't for the fact that there were still many soldiers, residents, and enough food to last a while longer in the city, everyone who saw this scene would have thought they had come to a dead city.

It was truly shocking.

Flora looked for a while, then shook her head and said, "Even the grass and tree roots have been dug up. Has the food shortage become this severe in just a few days?"

“If you don’t dig, someone else will dig up the grass roots. So, are you going to dig or not?” Milton shook his head and said, “If everyone has confidence in the food reserves, even if there are only a week’s worth of food left, the order can be maintained.”

"But if everyone loses faith, even if there is a year's worth of food stored up, all sorts of disasters will occur."

"This also shows just how poor CJNG's organization really is."

The helicopter was very fast, and it soon flew over the city and arrived at the front line.

Flora glanced at the map and couldn't help but nod: "They've directly taken control of the mountains on both sides of the road, excavating many temporary bunkers, machine gun emplacements, and anti-tank missile launchers... as well as mortar positions utilizing the reverse slopes. Impressive, really efficient."

Under Milton's financial offensive and with the guidance of professional engineers, the workers from Comitan quickly got to work and built simple but practical fortifications.

As for the larger caliber howitzers and rocket launchers, they were not deployed to the front lines, but continued to serve as long-range support firepower in the rear.

"A large number of observation posts and minefields have also been set up at the front line... The main defensive zone is no longer a series of backward trenches, but a network of support points."

"Firepower can support each other. Losing a defensive point will not cause a devastating blow to the entire defensive line, and it can also offset a lot of direct fire threats."

Milton continued, pointing to several other places: "Further to the side, there are also captured AMX-13 light tanks available for mobile support at any time."

Although Milton has the Type 59 modified version, light tanks are more tactically valuable in many complex terrains.

Just because Lopez, who has already been eliminated, wouldn't use these tanks doesn't mean Milton wouldn't.

As he spoke, the helicopter landed on a concealed helipad.

As soon as he got off the plane, Milton saw trucks, protected by tanks and armored vehicles, cramming massive amounts of supplies into those makeshift underground warehouses.

There is clean water, water purification tablets, staple foods that can be stored for a very long time, meat, dehydrated vegetables, and even canned fruit.

Fuel, ammunition, bulletproof vests, gas masks...

There are also smokeless coal, alcohol blocks, windproof stoves, and so on.

A massive amount of resources were sent from the rear to the front line almost day and night. In order to maintain combat effectiveness to the greatest extent, Milton even moved several makeshift operating rooms here!

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it an underground town hidden in the mountains.

Watching the soldiers, dressed in cotton-padded coats, enjoying a simple hot pot meal, Flora turned to Milton and remarked, "I almost forgot, it's already winter. I wonder how well CJNG is doing with their winter clothing?"

“No matter what they did, I’ve burned everything I could see that could burn.” Milton stepped forward slightly, glanced at the food in the hot pot, and continued, “I don’t know if they prepared anything for warmth… If not, the drug dealers only have two options left.”

"Either fight with tanks for fuel, or burn dollars."

"Hahaha!" Flora couldn't help but laugh. "CJNG would never have imagined that the dollars they worked so hard to earn would ultimately be worth less than a few pieces of wood by the roadside."

"Either freeze to death with this pile of dollars, or burn it for warmth. I don't think it's a difficult choice."

As Milton spoke, he randomly checked the food situation at the front.

Although the firepower wasn't particularly strong, and although most of what reached the front lines consisted of highly processed foods, this hot pot still smelled incredibly delicious.

The soldiers were thoroughly satisfied with their meal, which included a concentrated broth with spices, stewed beef bobbing up and down in the pot, luncheon meat, rehydrated dehydrated vegetables, instant noodles, and even cheese to replenish their energy.

Those workers who were willing to risk their lives to earn money were even more eager to drink the soup.

After a brief inspection, it was found that both the soldiers and the support staff were in extremely high spirits.

“Judging from this, even if you don’t pay them, they’d be more than happy to work here.” Flora followed Milton into the underground temporary command post. “They’re starving.”

“Yes, but even if they were starving, a large portion of these people were also extremely desperate when they saw the drug dealers leave.” Milton sat down at the table, opened the report, and continued, “This is enough to prove how terrible it is to have the United States as a neighbor.”

Working with drug dealers only leads to starvation, while signing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States will lead to starvation.

"Alright, let's do one last check and get ready for pre-battle tactical deployment."

"A lot of anti-tank trenches have been dug at the front, and they've all been concealed. Not bad..."

"Radio stations and backup radio stations..."

"..."

Flora finished reading and asked, "What's next? Should we send over as many supplies as possible in these last few days before they attack?"

Milton shook his head decisively: "Defense is only our strategic goal, it doesn't mean I have to be completely passive in defense... Don't forget, my plan is to besiege the enemy and attack their reinforcements."

"If we only focus on defense, how can we inflict maximum damage on the enemy?"

"If the state government and CJNG reinforcements fight for half a day and find that they can't break through the defense line, they will definitely retreat to preserve their strength."

Flora knew all this, of course. She paused for a moment and said, "So, you're planning to surround this reinforcement as well? It's not enough to just wrap San Cristo in 'pancake skin,' you also want to counter-encircle the reinforcements that are about to surround you?"

"Yes."

“Then we’ll have no choice but to take the initiative.” Flora tapped the table. “If we wait for them to attack us, you’ll never achieve your goal.”

Milton chuckled. "I've always been the one making the plans. This time, you tell me, how do you intend to achieve this goal?"

Flora lowered her head slightly, pondered for a long time, and then said, "It's possible. I can even come up with several plans, but they all require us to have a very strong information gathering ability..."

Milton looked at the battle map: "Then let's get straight to the point."

“First of all, we all know that these people’s combat thinking is still very backward, including their logistics and supply transportation, which is still stuck in the ancient era,” Flora said. “Their combat personnel are the core personnel, but the transportation personnel are not... Many of them are just outsiders who are paid to do things or come here to make a living.”

"This creates a huge loophole for them when they move to a new position. The unit responsible for combat and the unit responsible for logistics are not actually one entity—it's like having an outsourced company handling logistics. This is their huge weakness!" When a combat team moves from one place to another, especially in narrow terrain like near San Cristóbal, they generally use column formations, with vehicles arranged in a line along the road or axis, usually spaced 50-100 meters apart.

Combat forces consist of vanguard units, such as reconnaissance and mine-clearing vehicles, and lead tanks; as well as main forces and flank units.

The logistics column is typically located 500-1000 meters behind the main force...

Flora continued, “In our team, logistics is like the military… but CJNG’s isn’t. The main force is in chaos, let alone the ‘outsourced’ logistics. It’s basically a supervisory model, with one or two drug dealers watching over a large number of ‘outsourced employees’ and supervising their work.”

“Recently, the radio monitoring team has reported intelligence to us, and CJNG has now started using code words to communicate.”

"The code is kept secret, but the price is equally heavy—that is, communication efficiency."

"The coded communication between the main forces is barely acceptable, but what about those outsourced logistics personnel? Do you expect them to communicate in coded language?"

"Therefore, if we find a suitable opportunity to launch a surprise attack on their logistics team and take advantage of the chaos to attack their main force from the rear, we may be able to completely rout them."

"As long as we can break through the enemy's formation in one wave, or take down the command post, we can drive the remaining enemy into our defensive zone and wipe them out."

Milton nodded and chuckled, "Just like you said, it will be a huge test of our information gathering capabilities and the soldiers' willpower on the front lines. Are you confident?"

“In the past, this would definitely not have been possible,” Flora said with a smile. “But now, I think it’s very feasible.”

“We have drones, we have soldiers with unwavering faith who have participated in several battles and undergone modern training, and we have military frequency-hopping radios almost for every soldier. Orders from the top can be quickly transmitted to mid-level officers, and orders from mid-level officers can be transmitted to the rank-and-file soldiers in the fastest way, and vice versa…”

"We also have the most advanced equipment."

"Even with a 10-fold difference in numbers, the odds of winning are still quite considerable."

Milton nodded in agreement, "But there's another question—what do you mean by 'the right time'? What kind of time would be suitable for such a sneak attack?"

Without hesitation, Flora replied, "The fourth day, the day before the enemy's formal attack. At this time, reinforcements are on their way, and the defenders of San Cristo are preparing for their breakout attack on the fifth day of the formal attack."

"On the fourth day, the enemy's reinforcements were on their way and had not yet established a foothold; the garrison of San Cristóbal, which was besieged in the rear, also believed that the battle would take place on the fifth day... In other words, there was an information gap caused by the enemy's wishful thinking. As long as we were fast enough, we could prevent these two forces from coordinating and defeat them one by one."

"If we passively defend, we will not only face the reinforcements that have already established themselves, but also two waves of forces attacking from the front and the rear simultaneously—I believe we can still win in the end, but such a victory would be too costly."

"The enemy believes that we, being outnumbered, will be forced into a defensive posture. They think that the fifth day will be the peak of their power, the day of the decisive battle, and they hope to fight us on the fifth day. How can we let ourselves be led by the nose?"

Flora concluded, "Just like you said, we should be maneuvering the enemy, not being maneuvered by them."

Milton clapped his hands and said with great satisfaction, "Very good, then deploy it as you said."

"Well... of course, that's assuming our information is accurate and the reinforcements really intend to fight us on the 5th day; otherwise, the plan will have to be changed accordingly."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the information." Milton waved his hand. "Just deploy according to the current information. Whatever equipment or personnel you need, I can do my best to meet your needs."

Flora's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she rubbed her hands together, saying, "Since you've put it that way, then I won't be polite..."

"..."

……

Tustra Gutiérrez.

Governor Fidde was in his office talking to military figures who were fighting the insurgents.

The assassination of a high-ranking official has caused a huge uproar in Chiapas and even throughout Mexico. Everyone knew that a highly intense civil war had broken out in Chiapas, but no one expected that the intensity of the civil war had reached this level.

Before the uprising could be quelled, the CJNG emerged. While the CJNG was ostensibly appeased, the state of Chiapas declared the state government's cooperation with the CJNG unconstitutional and launched an uprising to uphold the constitution…

The shells have now landed in the capital!
Everyone was watching the war, everyone was waiting to see how Fiedt would perform, and everyone wanted to know how this civil war, which had broken out because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, would end.

Fied was now in a difficult situation.

Fortunately, after several days of chaos, Fede finally quelled the opposition and consolidated power. With weapons provided by the Mexican military, which was heavily corrupted by drug traffickers, he drew manpower from the state police and the Harris Cartel, which were under his direct jurisdiction, and temporarily formed a "counter-insurgency" team. They were armed with decent weapons and rode in various makeshift tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

aggressive.

Those civil officials who usually only had a few bodyguards and thugs under their command had never seen such a scene before. They were all filled with enthusiasm and wanted to volunteer for the battle.

With men and soldiers at his disposal, and a strong morale, Governor Fied, though still injured, spoke with a slightly rougher voice.

"That's right, with so many people and such good equipment, we could just charge straight through Milton's defenses and break through them."

An official who had been bribed by CJNG to become CJNG's agent stood next to the governor, a relieved expression on his face.

The drug dealers trapped in San Cristó, and their equipment, can finally be rescued...

Governor Fied looked at these drug dealers, who were so terrified of Milton and called themselves madmen, and chuckled: "Don't worry about your people, don't worry about your stuff. Milton is definitely finished this time."

"Take a look at this equipment..."

“We even have anti-aircraft missiles, so Milton’s helicopters and planes absolutely cannot get close.”

The official laughed and said, "If we can win this war, if we can capture more of Milton's equipment and more of his men, we might even be able to suppress the rebels!"

"Ha, those rebels see drugs like they've seen their father's killer... Don't they think about what the people of Chiapas would eat without us?"

Looking at his soldiers, Fede shouted, "I've already spoken with the commanders in San Cristó who are still fighting bravely to suppress the rebellion. There's only one day left until the agreed-upon attack time!"

"Today, brave warriors, we set out to defend our states' rights, our economy, our democracy, and our freedom!!!"

"Brave warriors, set off!"

"..."

These impassioned words elicited a very limited response from the army, a stark contrast to Milton's simple mobilization, which drew thunderous cheers.

First of all, there are the drug dealers in CJNG—they don't rely on state funds at all; on the contrary, the state funds depend on them. Who would buy into this kind of motivational rhetoric?
Secondly, there are the outsourced logistics and supply personnel who are just trying to make a living.

To put it nicely, it's really just manual labor of moving things around.

They didn't even receive wages; they were just homeless people or poor people who were on the verge of starvation due to the economic crisis, forced to sell their physical labor for food in the army.

It's a joke to expect these people to thank the state government for defending the economy and protecting the people.

It's considered good if they don't secretly spit on you.

Seeing this, the official corrupted by CJNG became worried again: "It seems like everyone's morale isn't very high. Can they beat Milton?"

At this point, those who had enjoyed the benefits of the military-based regional control finally realized its drawbacks.

Once the military engages in business, becomes self-sufficient, and no longer relies on government finances, they will immediately begin to spiral out of control.

Why do drug cartels always have a loose structure? It's because every small leader, and even every capillary in the group, has their own drug channels and customers to generate income, enabling them to afford guns, food, and support their own people.

From a small gang leader with only a few people, to a minor boss who commands several small gangs, and then to a major boss, the entire structure follows a partnership model. This structure is bound to be loose, so how can it be centralized?

Forming a group together is simply a way to maximize profits.

Kefed remained confident, and he laughed, "Don't worry, I've also borrowed a secret weapon! A secret weapon that will surprise Milton."

The drug trafficker official was very curious: "What secret weapon is it?"

Fied didn't hide anything, and he said smugly, "Shooting Star! AT-33A attack aircraft—Milton doesn't think he's the only one with a plane, does he?"

The Lockheed Martin AT-33 is a two-seat aircraft based on the P-80 Meteor fighter. It is an old aircraft that existed in 1948 and can carry two 12.7mm machine guns and two 500-pound (226 kg) aerial bombs.

It was very old, but that's precisely why Fied was able to get his hands on it.

Fide also put one of his trusted confidants, a former pilot, on the plane, intending for him to gain some merit in order to facilitate his future promotion.

The bombing of those high-ranking officials, especially the Minister of Public Security, gave Fied a glimmer of hope to consolidate power.

CJNG's drug dealers finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Then we should be able to win for sure..."

As the army gradually disappeared into the distance, Fede thought with a touch of wistfulness, "Perhaps the Battle of San Cristo will be the turning point of the entire war..."

Drive out Milton, quell the rebellion, subdue the CJNG... Governor Fied could perhaps become an emperor-like governor, indulging in the life of a warlord and a state within a state.

"Someone, set the table and tableware..."

"I'll be right here, waiting for news of victory!"

P.S.: Thank you to reader "Strange Train" for the generous donation! I'll add an extra chapter for the donor tomorrow!
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(End of this chapter)