Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 282 "Iron Wall"

Tekpan.

Wow…

Under the supervision of their officers, the soldiers were digging trenches and setting up machine gun positions at top speed.

After the collapse of the Solora defense line, the government forces immediately retreated to the city, where they regrouped and rebuilt their defenses.

Milton's army did not press their advantage, which relieved Reggie somewhat—although Milton's supply lines would become longer and longer, and a prolonged battle would weaken his army, Arsu's words reminded him that war is not just about war itself.

If Milton catches up, just as Arsu said, it's hard to say who the winner will be, but the government forces will definitely be the losers.

Fortunately... perhaps that terrifying "hellish tax collector" didn't want to suffer too much loss, and the construction of Tekpan's defenses went very smoothly, without even encountering the sporadic artillery fire that was anticipated.

However, it was already the end of January, and something else was about to happen that would worry Reggie.

Military pay.

The government forces nearly went bankrupt due to the economic crisis and Milton's insidious actions, resulting in massive wage arrears. If it weren't for Reggie's exemplary leadership, leading officers at all levels to contribute some money from their own pockets to make up for the wages, the army might have suffered huge non-combat casualties.

This also caused the government forces to miss a good opportunity to launch a counter-offensive—a good chance to launch a counter-offensive while Milton's top brass and a large amount of equipment were fighting the regular army in Mexico.

The crisis was only barely resolved recently when the World Bank loan arrived.

What will happen this month?
Reggie thought for a moment, then waved his hand to call his adjutant over and instructed, "Please call the president's office. I need to ask about this."

Although it's not time for salaries to be paid yet, this matter must be clarified, otherwise, if the army is owed wages halfway through the battle... being completely annihilated by Milton might be lucky, and there's a very high probability that the army will defect on the spot.

The call was answered shortly afterward.

The president himself answered the phone.

"Mr President."

"Just tell me what it is."

Reggie hesitated for a moment: "Mr. President, it's already the end of January, and the army is about to go to war. I'd like to know how the financial preparations are going? After all, we can't tell the soldiers that they won't get paid when we're at war; that would be too demoralizing."

"Money, money, money!" Arsu said irritably. "As president... every day I wake up to a bunch of people asking me for money! Don't you know that World Bank loans must be used for their designated purpose?!"

"We've already allocated a significant amount of resources to the Ministry of National Defense to ensure the military's logistics. How is that still not enough?"

Reggie was also quite helpless: "There's nothing we can do. It's the individual soldiers who are fighting. If they don't get paid, they'll definitely defect to Milton... We can't just abandon the entire war effort for a little bit of pay, can we?"

"..." Arsu thought for a moment and said, "To put it bluntly, what the soldiers want is money. Aren't you in Tekpan right now? Can't one city satisfy their appetite?"

Reggie frowned: "Ask the city's finances directly? A city's finances probably can't support that many soldiers, and they'll definitely protest."

Arsu said coldly, "Who told you that the city's finances would pay for it?"

Reggie's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Our war is also fought for the citizens of Tekpan. Shouldn't they support us? Shouldn't they do their part? Do they want to be shrouded in Milton's reign of terror?" Arsu said casually. "If each family contributes a little money, wouldn't the soldiers' pay problem be solved?"

To put it bluntly, isn't this just looting the city?
You could even say that this was a massacre of the city in some way!
"This……"

Arsu interrupted him and continued, "Well, first find out if any of the soldiers have families in Tekpan. If so, make some tags and tell the army that families with tags can be exempted from supporting the front lines. Wouldn't that completely stabilize morale?"

"Alright, the plan has been given to you. Just execute it."

"If you don't want to comply, that's fine too. You can figure it out yourself. Don't you still have a lot of savings and gold?"

"Beep beep..."

"..."

Hearing the busy tone on the other end of the phone, Reggie opened his mouth.

The adjutant carefully observed the general's expression, making sure that speaking at this moment would not offend him, before cautiously asking, "General, are you planning to pay for it yourself?"

Bullshit! Why doesn't Arsu contribute his own money?!
Why don't so many corrupt officials pay for it themselves?
Moreover, Reggie's own money must be saved for crucial moments to boost morale, how could he use it for something like this?
“The president has given the order, and you still find out? Do you think my money grows on trees?” Reggie replied irritably. “Make some signs first, do some statistics, so that the soldiers whose homes are in Tekpan won’t be accidentally injured.”

"Tell your subordinates that once they've received their share of 'salary,' they should stop. Don't take more, and absolutely no one is allowed to hurt anyone, understand?"

"Yes!"

Not long after, the middle-ranking officers, who were still looking forward to next month's salary and the officers' promise to make up for the back pay, heard the order from their superiors.

"The general said that the country is currently in a state of emergency, and every citizen should fulfill their duty... Everyone should enter the city in an orderly manner the day after tomorrow. Each unit has its own designated area. Do not kill anyone! When a special gold plaque is hanging at your door, do not touch it, understand?"

"Roger that!"

Upon receiving their orders, the mid-ranking officers excitedly returned to their respective units, gathered all the soldiers, and announced some great news.

"Everyone, take your troops and come with me into the city tomorrow! All the wealth will be ours, we can loot as much as we want, do you hear me? We're going to get rich! I've said before, the army will not shortchange the soldiers who fight for the country! Ask your soldiers if they have family members in Tekpan, I will issue them a certificate."

"..."

"Great news! The general has ordered that we enter the city tomorrow, take whatever we want, kill whatever we want, hahahahaha! Brothers, we'll be rich tomorrow! All the money is ours, all the women can be taken, everything can be burned, no one can resist us, because we are fighting for the country!"

"Have you heard? The president has given us the whole city. We can do whatever we want... Damn, it's been so long since I've killed anyone. Let's team up for some killing tomorrow. Anyone want to join me?"

As expected, by the time they reached the grassroots level, Reggie's original orders had already been changed.

Moreover, there was absolutely no effective oversight to monitor the soldiers' actions in the city.

Once the door to "looting" is opened, no matter how many restrictions the officers above place, it will inevitably turn into a large-scale "massacre" when it is carried out.

Sure enough, the next day, from the moment the army entered the city, things began to develop in the most terrifying direction.

This day was originally the assembly time; the robbery was supposed to take place tomorrow…

However, the middle and lower-ranking officers didn't think that way—they believed that if they looted a day earlier, they could get more. And it was very easy for them to find an excuse to act ahead of time: they could just say that the locals were not cooperating and wanted to run away with the money.

A squad of soldiers had already arrived at the area designated for them.

By the afternoon, someone finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Hurry! Let's see how lucky we are this time!"

"Hey... our platoon leader is really smart. He split us into two teams, one to guard the downstairs and the other to rob. After we've robbed one floor, we'll switch sides to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos and escaping. Hahaha!"

"But I heard the order stipulated that it couldn't start until tomorrow, right?"

"Who cares about all that? If you don't take it now, the rest will just be taken by other units anyway. Why don't we just take it sooner rather than later?"

"Fire! Fire!"

boom!
A rifle that had never fired at Milton spat fire and shattered the lock on an old security door.

With a casual tug, the security door crashed down. A soldier kicked it, and the door frame instantly warped. The wooden door, along with the bolt, flew off, and fragments of the broken bolt scattered into the room, shattering the tranquility within.

At this moment, two elderly people, two adults, and a child are gathered around a table. A little girl wearing a handmade paper crown is sitting in a chair, trying to blow out a cheap cream cake with five candles stuck in it.

"what!!!"

The woman inside the house was the first to scream in agony!

The man instinctively stood up and grabbed the watermelon knife he had originally intended to use to cut the cake.

Everyone knew that the government forces had retreated from Solora and had come to their city... but they also received confirmation that, on either side, the fighting in Solora had not spread extensively to the city center.

After the legendary "Hell Tax Collector" took over the city, life quickly returned to normal.

Therefore, the vast majority of citizens did not leave the city—in their view, if the government forces won, life would continue as usual; if the "hellish tax collectors" won, they would welcome a new ruler, and their lives would not change much.

Moving is a burden that is so heavy that it is completely unbearable for most families.

Can……

What's going on? Why did the army storm their house?!

The soldier watched as the man instinctively picked up the knife, then raised his gun without hesitation and pulled the trigger.

Boom boom boom!
Flames shot from the muzzle of the Type 56 assault rifle.

A short burst of 7.62mm bullet pierced the father's chest, and he fell to the ground with the knife, blood gushing out from the hole in his chest cavity, instantly staining the floor red.

"Damn it, you dare to pull out a knife? What kind of idiot is this? Can't you see what we're holding?"

The other soldier continued forward, first kicking the woman whose eyes were filled with confusion and despair, then grabbing an old man's head and asking viciously, "Money, hand over all your money honestly... don't try anything funny."

The old man ignored him, staring at his son's corpse. His already frail body suddenly burst forth with immense strength, and he managed to break free from the soldier's control, lunging towards the watermelon knife that had fallen to the ground.

"Damn it, you old bastard..." The soldier raised his rifle butt without hesitation and slammed the old man to the ground, punching and kicking him. "You dare to resist!" After two punches, a letter fell out. The envelope had a cartoon sticker on it, clearly prepared for the birthday person of this party.

Without any hesitation, the soldier tore open the envelope, threw the message for the little girl on the ground, and shook out a few ghatsal banknotes.

"Haha! So the money was here all along!"

"Brothers, give them a good beating! These old bastards really do drop money after you beat them up."

"Have you ever played arcade games? It's like fighting monsters and getting coins, it's so much fun!"

"Damn it, this cake frosting got all over my hand, what bad luck!"

"..."

The old man was quickly beaten to death.

The soldiers also found a coin jar very easily.

As the tin box containing the coins was pried open with a comrade's bayonet, and the coins clattered and spilled, a soldier suddenly caught a glimpse of an old man struggling to crawl, trying to reach for the knife on the ground—their only weapon.

She has successfully picked up the knife.

The next second, gunfire rang out.

Boom boom boom!
The bullet was fired, and the old man, along with the props, fell into a pool of blood.

As he holstered his gun, his colleague suddenly exclaimed towards the kitchen, "What are you doing?!"

While the soldiers' attention was on the old man, the woman grabbed a kitchen knife from the kitchen, and, crying and screaming, rushed towards the soldiers.

The miracle did not happen. Before she could even encounter the soldiers, gunfire erupted from three directions. Under the fierce crossfire, the woman fell helplessly.

From the father to the elderly to the mother, this family startled the soldiers several times in a row.

They whipped the corpse with a mixture of rage and shame, while shouting curses:

"Damn it, this family is insane!"

"You guys go search for the money, I'm just here to vent!"

"Die! You dare to defy us? I risked my life to protect this city and keep those 'hellish tax collectors' out, and you still dare to defy us? You deserve to die! Your whole family deserves to die... Damn it, I'm going to find all of their relatives and kill them all too!"

"You guys... fuck!!!"

As the soldier was having his comrades search for money while he dealt with the kitchen, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back.

The soldier looked down and saw the little girl. She was holding a watermelon knife stained with her father's blood. She staggered over and stabbed him right in the buttocks.

She's not tall enough; she can only poke this far.

Swish!
The soldier raised his hand, pierced her body with his bayonet, lifted her up forcefully, walked to the balcony, found a pole to hang her up, touched his own buttocks, and watched maliciously as her blood slowly drained away.

"..."

Boom boom boom…

At the command post not far away, Reggie listened to the screams echoing throughout the city and watched the thick smoke rising everywhere, and could only sigh.

As expected, things got out of control.

The good news is that, at least the morale of the troops remains high.

The coalition forces have mobilized, American support is in place, Jaguar attack aircraft are ready, and the soldiers' situation is stable... Soon this place will become an impregnable fortress, and Milton will never be able to take a single step across it.

They may even suffer unprecedented and enormous losses.

All preparations are complete.

"Now, it's Milton's turn to worry."

……

The next morning, at the Solora temporary military command post.

"Eunice is coming to me on behalf of the Ubico family?" Milton stretched his shoulders and said with a hint of amusement, "They've been jumping around between the two sides for ages, and now that they're not getting much attention from either, they're finally going to choose sides?"

Although the Ubico family occupies a large area, its core area is in the northeasternmost port, and its control over other areas is not high.

Theoretically, it's possible to attack Milton from Vevetenango, the former stronghold of the rebels, but in practice, the feasibility is too low.

The Ubico family traveled a long and arduous journey, stretching their logistical lines, to attack Vevetnango, but there was only one outcome—they were completely annihilated by the local resistance veterans who had fought a decades-long civil war and now possessed a large amount of advanced equipment.

If they turn against us, they will most likely have to fight from another direction, just like the other coalition forces.

The threat is nothing special; Milton already has many enemies, so one more won't make a difference.

Flora gave her a teasing look: "Yeah... After talking on the phone for so long, the beautiful lady is finally coming to see you in person. How about it, aren't you a little touched and excited?"

"Do I look like a fool to you?" Milton said without any change in expression. "Let me be frank, no matter who the Ubico family chooses, they will not get anything out of me."

“If the Ubico family chooses to side with Alsuna, their bodies will float to the shores of Miami and pile up like mountains after the war; if they side with me, they will have to hand over the vast majority of their businesses. These are national assets, vital to the nation’s survival and strategic interests, and cannot be privately controlled.”

"So you can see that I'm actually quite perfunctory with them. It would be best if I could use them, and it would be best if I could keep them on the enemy's side. If all else fails, I don't care at all."

Flora sighed, "You show this to a beautiful woman who just comes over?"

“This is the inevitable trend, and it will not change even by my will,” Milton said slowly. “Anyway, she will come in a while. Maybe by the time she arrives, we will have finished this battle. There’s no rush. These opportunists are the easiest to handle… They might be terribly divided among themselves.”

After briefly explaining the situation of the Ubico family, Milton, Flora, Brandon, Ismaila, and everyone else in the conference room looked at the battle map.

This is the most important thing.

"Based on intelligence gathered from our informants, drone reconnaissance, and our inside man in Guatemala City, we can now confirm that the Monte family's private army is gathering in Escuintla, south of Guatemala City. Meanwhile, the mercenaries from the 'Northern Group' and Honduras are gathering in Zacapa, northeast of Guatemala City."

"They are all moving toward Guatemala City and have left troops at many checkpoints... This time they have learned to use their numerical advantage, and even though they have sent out many troops, they still have a significant numerical advantage over us overall."

"For example, the Monte family, who are closest to the combined forces, are currently setting up defenses in Escuintla to ensure the stability of their rear before joining forces."

"Clearly, they intend to fight a major battle with us."

"..."

After listening, Milton tapped the map: "Their overall numbers are greater... but there is a fatal problem: they haven't rendezvoused yet."

Flora immediately understood Milton's meaning: "So, you plan to wipe out one of the units before they reunite, breaking up a large-scale battle where the outnumbered forces are outnumbered into several battles where the disadvantages are not so great?"

“What era are we living in? Still thinking about strategic decisive battles.” Milton chuckled. “They still think I’m a fool, that I’ll fight an imaginary decisive battle with them in a place they’ve imagined.”

Flora clearly agreed with this idea: "Which target should we choose? The Alsu government forces that are confronting us, or the Monte family's private army further south?"

After a brief pause, Flora continued, "The former goes without saying. It is located on our only route to Guatemala City and is also the route we are best prepared for—logistics, equipment, and soldiers are all in Solora, ready to launch an attack at any time."

"The problem is equally clear: because they moved quickly, this garrison did not suffer too many losses in the defeat at the Battle of Solora, and their equipment could be continuously supplied from Guatemala City. The Americans are also very likely to be in this force."

"It's tough. Taking them down before they can regroup is a very difficult task."

"The latter has fewer troops, worse equipment, and is much less vigilant. But the problem is that after the defenses are set up, we have no way to quickly advance. We can either return to Quetzaltenango and take a long detour to attack from the front, or we can only cross the Atatnango volcano to the Atilante volcano belt. But we can't carry too many weapons over mountains. Even without the defenses, light infantry may not be able to take the target."

"No matter how we fight, we are always on the defensive."

After listening, Milton added calmly, "You've forgotten something very important."

Flora raised an eyebrow, looking eager to hear more.

"Have you forgotten that I was also frantically building defenses in Solora? Didn't you notice that this is quite different from my usual style?"

"Huh?" Flora was taken aback. "Isn't that because the enemy's losses weren't significant, and they're trying to prevent them from regrouping and launching a counterattack?"

“That’s not all.” Milton smiled. “Remember what I said: lure the enemy into a fight—the enemy wants us to fight them on their own lines, but I will not give them that wish. Not only will I not fight, but I will also force the enemy to abandon their strong lines and attack the lines I have built.”

Flora was taken aback—if she wanted the government forces to abandon their defensive advantage and launch an offensive, there was only one way.

The main force of the "Pan Madre Group" appeared with the Monte family's private army!
This means that Solola's main force is gone, creating an opportunity.

Given that the coalition forces wanted to win while also weakening their other allies, the government forces would not come to the rescue of the Monte family's private army if it were attacked, but would instead choose to attack the "empty" Solora!
Take Milton and watch your allies be torn apart.

Flora thought for a moment and pointed out the biggest problem: "That is to race against the government forces to see if we can take down the Monte family first, or if they can take down Solora first."

"But as mentioned before, we have to cross mountains and valleys... how will we resupply? We only have light weapons, how can we attack an enemy stronghold?"

(End of this chapter)