Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 250: Did the enemy fabricate claims for us?
Boom boom boom!
"what!!!"

A light infantry convoy is firing furiously, using their machine guns to sweep the enemy's rear!
Just now, for some unknown reason, the defeated troops of the 31st Brigade, who originally seemed to be heading to Palenque, suddenly changed course, causing great chaos.

Milton's attacking force was already seething with anger because of the previous setbacks, and now that the enemy was in disarray, they were all eager to pursue them!
Boom boom boom!
"Quickly!" a company commander shouted, as he himself opened fire on the enemy's rear with the machine gun on the turret. "Fire! Don't let them escape!"

"They're in disarray and have lost all will to resist. Kill them!"

The soldiers at the front charged forward on orders, firing at the enemy and killing or wounding many soldiers who were unable to escape or were forced to stay behind.

After experiencing this great battle, Milton's soldiers suddenly realized something very important—they may have high combat capabilities, but they were far from being able to overwhelm the enemy. To a large extent, they relied on the information advantage brought by their advanced equipment to fight.

These advantages come from the "hellish tax collectors"...

"You'll need to train hard when you get back!"

After pursuing for some distance, running out of ammunition and unable to be resupplyed, the company commander could only sigh as he looked in the direction of Tustra, signaling a retreat before returning to the command post to report.

Just now, even the military radios ran out of power.

This was a very dangerous sign, meaning that supplies were nearing their limit. "Hell Tax Collector" had given instructions on this situation many times, so the company commander thought that the closer they got to Tustra, the closer they might get to enemy reinforcements, and decided not to pursue them any further.

It wasn't until nearly evening that the exhausted company commander finally settled his men, wrote a simple report, completed the necessary inspection procedures, and met Milton.

"Mr. 'The Godfather'!"

“The enemy suddenly changed course.” Milton nodded. “What were your results?”

"We killed at least 800 enemy soldiers! Maybe even over a thousand!" The company commander was somewhat excited. "Including the number of enemy soldiers killed in previous battles, the 31st Brigade has probably lost more than half its strength in this campaign! We fought against overwhelming odds and wiped out a whole brigade!"

Milton smiled: "But judging from Badr's appearance, he's probably an optimist—not only does he not regret losing half his army, but he's probably also pleased with himself for retaining half of his army."

A sudden turn of events caused enormous losses, but considering that this is, after all, the Latin American region, it is indeed something to be proud of that half of the population survived.

"Huh? Badr, what did he do?"

Milton waved his hand: "We'll let you know when the time comes. You've been playing all day, go back and get some rest."

The company commander immediately stopped being curious and said, "Yes, sir!"

After he left, Milton fiddled with the intelligence report in his hand.

“Badr seems to have really given up Palenque and moved to Tustra.” Flora finished reading the intelligence and a relaxed expression appeared on her face. “The oil you want most will probably be in your hands soon.”

"But I am very curious, what is Badr's purpose in going to Tustra? Are there more buildings there, making it more suitable for urban warfare? Does he intend to fight us to the bitter end?"

Milton sighed and shook his head: "Sometimes, war isn't just war, it's also politics—haven't you been seeing any news about Mexico lately?"

Flora sighed, "I don't have time! I'm lucky if I get six hours of sleep a day, how can I have time to turn on the TV?"

“Then we should establish a special intelligence team to gather relevant intelligence.” Milton first pointed out the problem before explaining, “Haven’t you noticed that the Mexican government, which should have been replaced long ago, still hasn’t been replaced, and it’s been almost a month… And look at their Minister of Defense’s remarks on the situation in Chiapas and his speech to the 31st Brigade, I guess the 31st Brigade may have been ‘abandoned’ by the Mexican federal government.”

"Give up?!" Flora looked up. "This is an entire infantry brigade. Can you just give up like that?"

"First, the president declared a national emergency, then the Department of Defense pressured the 31st Brigade, demanding that the troops fulfill their obligations, and so on... In short, isn't Salinas just trying to stay in power for a while longer, and since things haven't gotten big enough, not 'emergency' enough, so he wants to bury the 31st Brigade along with them?"

Flora rubbed her temples and said, "So, Bader went to Tustra to strengthen cooperation with Fied, with both sides helping each other in order to protect themselves?"

After all, the fall of the 31st Brigade would mean that Tustra would have to face Milton's forces directly.

Therefore, forming alliances seems to be the option that maximizes benefits.

“Unfortunately, based on the current situation, that’s not the case.” Milton shook his head again—his informant in Tustra had managed to pass on several messages: “As soon as the 31st Brigade entered Tustra, they began to massacre the city.”

“Those who are close to Badr can plunder the homes of high-ranking officials, those below can rob the homes of lower-ranking officials, and those below them will rob ordinary people.”

“The state government and Congress have been captured, and it’s hard to say whether Fid is alive or dead.”

Flora was very puzzled: "Has Badr gone mad?"

“I don’t think so…” Milton shook his head. “Although Badr isn’t very human-like, once you fight him, you’ll know he’s got some skills. I think it’s very likely that Badr wanted to team up with the state government, but the state government refused.”

"The state government refused?" Flora thought carefully. "I think I understand... This economic crisis has completely collapsed the state government's finances, leaving it with no choice but to rely on federal government funding. Hmm, I get it now. This is the consequence of not keeping the purse strings in your own hands."

Milton turned to look in the direction of the oil and gas fields, forcibly suppressing his excitement: "Now, the money is in our hands... After a short rest, once the army is ready, we'll go check on our oil."

"Now, let's go eat first. Everyone has worked hard."

“I rented a house in Palenque. It has water and electricity, so the soldiers can get some rest.”

"..."

With the situation settled, Milton felt much more relaxed. He took a shower, picked up his lunchbox, and went to the makeshift dining hall.

After emergency training, the quality of the army's rations has become extremely high, comparable to those of well-regarded restaurants.

Many soldiers, even on leave, would stay for an extra meal in the mess hall before leaving, rather than going out to find a restaurant.

Milton took a bite of fried noodles, then looked up slightly toward the television—he had asked the locals to tune the channel to the local one, partly for fun and partly out of curiosity about what Bader was up to.

"Zizi..."

The TV in the small hotel wasn't very good quality; you could always hear a static noise.

The content displayed on the television screen was also highly suspicious—the various items in the studio were very disorganized, as if they had been temporarily placed there.

It seems the TV station itself may have been ransacked...

A man in military uniform walked onto the podium, bent down to carefully examine his prepared remarks, and then began to speak, albeit somewhat haltingly:

"This is Tustra Gutiérrez TV. I am the deputy brigade commander of the 31st Infantry Brigade of Mexico..."

"Today, we are forced to take over the state government! The interim military council is hereby established! The federal and state governments are utterly corrupt!"

"We are eradicating the culprits and anti-state forces that have pushed the nation to the brink of collapse... defending the constitutional order... protecting the interests of the state... resisting foreign forces... traitors have emerged within the federal and state governments who intend to subvert the nation. Until they are completely eliminated, the military council will take over the reins of order..."

"All corrupt officials will be arrested and executed, and bread and order will be restored within 48 hours!"

"Starting today, the Provisional Military Council will take control of Parliament and implement the Provisional Martial Law, prohibiting all activities of Parliament and political parties, including legislative procedures and budget reviews by non-military councils."

"All news and publishing activities must be reviewed by the Military Commission. The remnants of the old forces are prohibited from fabricating fake news, manipulating public opinion, and engaging in false hype!"

"Strikes and slowdowns that incite social unrest are prohibited. Medical personnel who have left their posts must return to their posts within 24 hours, or they will be severely punished. The Martial Law Command is given the power to 'directly detain, imprison, and search' the premises, and can deal with violators without an arrest warrant!"

"Starting today, a curfew will be in effect every night after 22 p.m.!"

"..."

Milton looked on, took another bite of fried noodles, and nodded slightly: "It seems that Fide has indeed been killed, and Bader has even set up a provisional military council, which is a complete declaration of betrayal."

“That’s good. I was thinking about how to deal with the state government issue before—after all, he is the elected, legitimate governor. If I want to replace him, I need to handle it carefully.”

“Now I have no such concerns at all. The legitimacy of the Badr regime is negative, and it is definitely not as legitimate as Vic.”

Flora thought for a moment and said, "Aren't you heartbroken? Tustra has been robbed. So many corrupt officials, so many drug dealers... a lot of their money may have been taken by Badr."

“Those are all small sums of money with no clear source, windfall gains.” Milton shook his head. “Besides, Badr has some men. Our troops are already exhausted and need some time to rest. He’s determined to take this money, and there’s nothing we can do to stop him.”

“Right now, our most valuable asset…” Milton pointed towards the oil and gas field, “is over there, and unlike those windfalls we’ve made before, this money is a continuous stream, you know, 70 barrels of crude oil per day!”

Even if most of the Mexican crude oil is medium and heavy, it can still generate a profit of $1000 million per day!
"Of course we must protect the interests of the local people and not do the same things as the Mexican federal government, but even so, the amount that ends up in our hands is still a huge sum."

"More importantly, our future oil purchase costs will be very low, both in terms of purchase and sales costs. Profitability is secondary; with oil, we can carry out subsequent construction!"

Flora quickly finished her food and muttered, "I bet you've been itching to see your oil field for ages, haven't you?"

“Yes, let’s go.” Milton had long lost his appetite. He waved his hand, and the other officers, who had only often heard of “Middle Eastern oil tycoons” but had never seen them in person, excitedly got up and followed.

Who would have thought that one day they could also become so-called "oil tycoons".

Milton's military vehicle was driving on the road, and at any glance, one could see soldiers registering and collecting the guns that had been issued earlier.

Similarly, there are various relief stations distributing food.

However... what surprised Milton the most was the view of the city hall not far away.

Unlike other cities where almost everyone went to relief stations to eat, fearing that Milton's army might change its mind one day, Palenque was not besieged, its logistics were not cut off, and there was no large-scale famine yet.

At that moment, a large group of angry people pushed open the tightly closed gates of the city government building.

A large number of furious people rushed in, smashing doors and windows and dragging out one well-dressed official after another.

"Get out here! You're not fit to be our mayor!"

"Look at what Tapachula is like now! Look at how well Mayor Vic has governed! Do you even deserve to be our mayor?!"

“Milton is clearly a foreigner. He defeated Badr and can do whatever he wants now, yet he’s still willing to share his food with us!”

"You actually kidnapped my son right there on the street! Give me back my son... Waaah!" "It's not that we betrayed our country, it's that you betrayed us!"

“We don’t mind you taking the oil, but at least, at least leave some for the locals, right?”

"..."

Amid shouts and curses, the mayor of Palenque was bound hand and foot and dragged out of the government building, while the angry crowd threw garbage at his face.

The scene was so chaotic and violent that even the soldiers Milton sent out to maintain security were constantly urging the citizens to calm down and not be so extreme.

After capturing a city, the citizens went on a rampage, retaliating against the local officials, while the soldiers who had stormed in were doing their best to maintain order—a truly comical scene.

At this moment, many citizens heard the sound of an engine coming from afar.

"That convoy...is that the 'Hell Tax Collector'?"

"yes!!!"

Someone shouted, "'Hell tax collector,' will you take all our oil like the mayor?"

"You can take some, but please leave some for us... The federal government has been exploiting us for far too long!"

"We own 40% of the nation's oil production; if we only need a small fraction, we can all afford bread..."

"..."

They can't believe they even said something like that... It's clear that the locals are truly being exploited to the point of desperation.

These organizations clearly had internal discussions—they seemed to intend to maximize their own interests under the current circumstances.

Milton rolled down the bulletproof window slightly, looked at the eyes that were filled with longing mixed with a hint of fear, took out the loudspeaker in the car, and explained in the simplest language: "I will not take away your oil—you need to understand a basic common sense: the price of crude oil also includes the cost of transportation."

“We are very close, which means I can buy crude oil at a lower price, and you are willing to sell the oil to me unconditionally.”

“Unlike before, these profits will no longer be taken by that mayor and the governor of Tustra, but will belong entirely to you.”

"Don't worry, look at Tapachula in the distance, and my hell... Be friends with Milton, and you'll always have meat to eat."

"Starting tomorrow, you will be able to personally experience the feeling of benefits returning to your own hands."

Upon receiving the assurance, the citizens cheered, "Long live! Hooray!"

“Tell those lords in Mexico City that we are not paupers, we are not inferiors—we can do better without them!”

"Chiapas is not the poorest state!"

"Long live Milton!!!"

“‘Respected’ Mayor, take a good look. Even a foreigner knows better than you how to make concessions for us!”

Just as Milton rolled up his window, the excited crowd around him suddenly shouted:
"Kill the mayor who betrayed us!"

"Let the mayor's position go to the hero who helped us reclaim our oil!"

With a shove, several burly men pushed the dizzy mayor and his entourage onto the road.

"Crush him!"

"Run it over... crush the vampire to death!"

"Let him be the lubricant for the tracks!"

"..."

Click!

Milton's convoy "followed suit," with the armored car leading the way accelerating and running over the screaming people.

Bulletproof cars are not armored vehicles after all. Milton clearly felt a "thump," as if he had just driven over a speed bump.

"what!!!"

"..."

As they gradually drove away from Palenque, tanks and armored vehicles, fully fueled, immediately escorted the convoy as it headed towards the oil field.

The first oil field Milton inspected was the Cactus Oil Field.

When the army arrived at the oil field, the security guards had already fled, and many of the federal officials and employees directly responsible for the extraction had also run away.

The workers and some technicians stayed behind, all looking tense.

If it weren't for Vic in Tapachula repeatedly emphasizing that he would keep the oil interests in Chiapas and would not expel local workers and technicians from the oil fields, many people would probably have been terrified by the scene.

That's a tank!

"'Hell Tax Collector'... sir." A technician who looked like the foreman mustered his courage and stepped forward. "You, are you helping us build the oil field?"

“Not bad.” Milton glanced at the oil rigs that had stopped operating, exchanged only a casual greeting, and then asked, “Why are all these machines stopped? What happened?”

"Uh, because of a war?"

Milton couldn't wait: "The tests are all done now, we can go back to work... Did some people leave? If there are any vacancies, report to me immediately. The most important thing now is to resume production!"

Upon hearing that vacancies needed to be filled, the director became somewhat cautious: "Sir, you can arrange for someone, it's just that some key management and technical positions, could you... this would be good for your long-term development as well."

The director's cautious and vague statement appeared extremely humble.

Of course, Milton immediately understood what he was talking about—many warlords in Latin America and Africa, after gaining control of a region, couldn't wait to place their relatives and cronies in key positions in various key enterprises, ruthlessly leeching off their wealth.

In the end, without exception, these industries that could have generated profits quickly turned into losses and went bankrupt due to chaotic management and a deteriorating business environment.

The director's meaning was simple: Milton, as the military victor, was entitled to a share of the spoils, but positions requiring technical skills and a pragmatic approach should be left to professionals.

Milton looked at him and laughed, “Don’t worry, I have no relatives. My friends have no interest in such things either; they prefer cannons and airplanes.”

"what?!"

“For all key positions, you technical staff will form an examination team to create the questions. Only those who are fully qualified can be appointed.” Milton waved his hand. “Of course, I will supervise you. Don’t try to place your relatives and friends here, or you will face very, very serious consequences.”

“Didn’t you say someone left? Perfect timing. With those bugs gone, the oil fields must be short of staff. Give me a list of vacancies tomorrow so we can provide some jobs for those who lost their jobs due to the economic crisis.”

"My requirements for the oil field are simple—cleanliness and efficiency. In return, everyone who works here, whether they are managers or technicians who need to take exams or the most basic workers, can get a considerable raise."

The foreman and the workers were all very excited: "Good, good!"

"Alright, get back together quickly." Milton waved his hand. "Don't worry about me."

The workers left quickly.

Milton, looking at the oil spilled all over the ground, felt satisfied and opened the control panel.

After conquering Comitan, San Cristo, and Palenque, the panel unlocked new features once again.

[Controlled areas updated... New redeemable resources unlocked]

[Important resource node (oil and gas field) detected; special building unlocked]

[Dear Tax Officer, from now on you can exchange for complete railway construction documents and have the construction team start work directly.]

[Construction and exchange related to the oil refining industry are now open. Note that you will still need professional construction teams and skilled workers for construction, production, and maintenance.]

【…】

Petroleum refining!

The most crucial of all.

This is why Milton wasn't so concerned about crude oil profits; as long as there were channels to purchase them, he didn't mind letting the locals enjoy the benefits of the oil and gas fields.

Once Milton completes the refinery and connects it by rail, the interests of both parties will be completely intertwined.

Once Milton acquires full crude oil refining capabilities, he will be able to manufacture many things himself, reducing his reliance on exchanges and purchases...

"Those things are all too far in the past..."

"Now that we have crude oil, we still need one crucial thing."

"electricity."

"Sigh, Coca-Cola, even though you taste pretty good, I still have to take a bite out of you..."

(End of this chapter)