Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 296 Look! Our allies have arrived!

Trucks carrying luxury goods and two luxury cars are heading southeast along the highway.

They had just taken money from a warehouse and left—although the guards there were somewhat hospitable and even offered them a meal, they still needed to find another warehouse to spend more money and contribute to their plan to strengthen their forces.

So they didn't leave anything in that warehouse.

At first, the two brothers did feel something was wrong and almost thought the warehouse guards had betrayed them... But after failing to persuade them to stay, the guards did not use their superior strength to force them to stay, but reluctantly let them go.

Therefore, they believed that the reason why the guards of the warehouse were so enthusiastic was perhaps because they wanted to leave a good impression on the two lords so that they would not be exploited so harshly in the future.

After leaving Guatemala City and the first warehouse, the lieutenant colonel's brother even used the illegally obtained radio to contact the Ministry of National Defense to confirm that there were no problems at the front.

The joint command has completely collapsed, and the Arsu government has not yet taken any action to rebuild it. Command of the government forces has now returned to the Ministry of Defense.

The biggest problem is that many high-ranking officials in the Department of Defense, including the former Secretary of Defense himself, were killed in Milton’s bombing.

The remaining officials lacked sufficient experience and qualifications to systematically command an army, lacked sufficient authority, and even within the government army, no one had the rank and power to temporarily become the supreme leader, resulting in extreme chaos throughout the system.

But at least they can keep track of whether Guatemala City is in trouble.

While in the car, the older brother, a high-ranking official, subconsciously tuned the radio to the "Pan Madre Radio Military Channel," listening to information from the enemy while driving.

Seeing this, the lieutenant colonel's younger brother couldn't help but sigh, and he had even less hope for the future of the Arsu government.

He couldn't help but joke, "Do you know what people are saying now? 'Milton' has become a positive term, while 'Arsu' has become a negative term."

The older brother, who was driving, asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

“It’s very simple. If there’s a television here, and I want to say it’s good, I don’t need to go into too much detail about its advantages. I can just say it’s a ‘Milton Television.’” The lieutenant colonel shrugged. “After Milton’s televised address, I could clearly sense that the public no longer supported us.”

The older brother understood his younger brother's meaning perfectly.

Whether from the perspective of public opinion or military strength, Milton holds an overwhelming advantage... It's time to consider a way out.

"Zizi..."

After playing some routine information and introducing Milton's current armed forces, the female host on the loudspeaker changed the subject.

"Next, we would like to invite Major Ryan to explain the decapitation operation that happened not long ago... Let me tell you, Major Ryan was once an infantry officer who went to the front line with his unit. While defending the Solora Line, he lost part of his lower leg because he was among the last group to evacuate."

"These are our great officers... They always stand with the soldiers, just like Mr. 'The Godfather'."

Ryan's voice reached his brother's ears: "Many more people died directly on the battlefield; they were more valiant than I was. But let's not talk about that. I know many people have received news that we conducted an airstrike against the reactionary government of Arsu, but what specific objectives we achieved is still unclear to everyone."

The host immediately chimed in, "Won't this involve leaking secrets?"

“The fact that I can sit here and talk means that there is no leak of secrets.” Ryan laughed. “I can even talk about the details of this plan… First of all, the Raven Group is very certain that the Alsu government has colluded with external forces and gathered a large number of corrupt military officers and foreigners in the capital to establish a ‘joint command’.”

"This operation is specifically targeting this 'joint command'."

"And our pilots lived up to expectations, successfully dropping bombs and destroying the entire joint command post, killing all high-ranking enemy commanders, including the Minister of Defense of the reactionary government of Arsu."

"This operation is not the end, but the beginning... Every official who serves the Arsu government is a target of our strikes, and the decapitation operation will not stop until their government falls."

"At the same time, we also welcome our compatriots in enemy-occupied territories to provide us with relevant information. The 'Raven Group' will offer generous rewards after verifying the authenticity of the information; those who perform outstandingly or make significant contributions will receive additional rewards, including a property in Quetzaltenango..."

"..."

"Heh..." The lieutenant colonel couldn't help but sneer, shaking the banknotes he had just collected from the guards at the first warehouse. "Look at us now, reward money? Not only can we not give reward money, we even have to squeeze money out of the soldiers!"

The older brother asked with some curiosity, "I'm very curious... how did they manage to raise that much money? I did a quick check of the warehouse, and they didn't seem to have stolen anything, at least not on a large scale."

Without thinking, the lieutenant colonel joked, "Didn't you hear the broadcast? Didn't these soldiers have some crucial information? Milton openly bought it; if they collectively sell some, they can raise enough money."

Upon hearing this, the older brother was stunned and didn't even bother to look where he was going, turning his head to look at his younger brother.

Damn it, a lieutenant colonel, a high-ranking officer, how could he say something like that so casually?!

Selling military secrets to Milton, making money from Milton, and then using that money to fill various domestic gaps, right?

The lieutenant colonel's younger brother finally realized how terrible his words were—is an army that is always owed wages, and even when it is not owed wages, the treatment is very low, really that reliable?
Unless they are seasoned reactionary fighters, how many soldiers were forcibly conscripted, how many remained neutral, and how many opportunists would side with Milton?
This is no longer something that can be regulated.

At that moment, the lieutenant colonel suddenly wanted to report this matter, to tell the Ministry of Defense, to tell Arsu, to tell them that the most terrible crisis had spread within the military...

But considering the current state of the Ministry of National Defense, which is leaderless, the lieutenant colonel could only sigh.

"I don't think the situation is that serious yet." The lieutenant colonel thought for a moment and said reassuringly, "The supervisory teams at the front are still very loyal. Under their management, the front-line troops certainly can't defect."

“What secrets could these troops in the rear possibly know? Even if we gave Milton the location of the warehouses, he wouldn’t get them… Even if Guatemala City really falls, these warehouses will definitely be emptied to block Milton.”

"Even if he comes, he won't get anything."

"I don't think things are that serious... On the contrary, it might be a good thing. Using the enemy's funds to win over our allies, uh, it should be a good thing, right?"

The older brother sighed, "I hope so... You're right, Milton really can't come anytime soon. However, we still can't let our guard down. Once the 'Joint Command' is rebuilt, we should report the news as soon as possible. In any case, we must at least move the warehouse."

"The Americans, including the Americans of the 24th STS, have all been killed by Milton. His air power is too strong. If we don't move the warehouse, a lot of our things will definitely be blown up."

"And every time we move to a new address, a soldier might update Milton's location information and give him more money, which would allow us to replenish our funds... and it's in a valuable currency like 'Borderland Currency'."

Many Guatemalans are now secretly exchanging their currency for the "border currency," and are privately denying that the ghetta is depreciating rapidly.

Almost every month, the ghetta depreciates by more than 5%!

This level of devaluation cannot be explained by an economic crisis... It can only mean that more and more people believe that the Arsu government is likely to lose in the civil war, at which point the ghats in their hands will immediately become worthless.

No one dares to bet that a possible new government will recognize the old currency.

Only someone like my brother, a high-ranking official within the government, knew that the government's defeat was not only on the battlefield, but also on the issue of the right to mint currency.

The Arsu government is now trying to negotiate and hopes to obtain full military aid from a certain country, preferably the United States.

Otherwise, the internal battlefield would collapse even faster than the battlefield itself. The World Bank loans certainly wouldn't run out so quickly, but now it's not a matter of money anymore. No amount of money could withstand such intense losses—we had to bring in equipment directly to withstand Milton's offensive; money was no longer an option!
The lieutenant colonel's younger brother listened, glanced at the trucks ahead carrying countless gold, silver, antiques, and paintings, and chuckled self-deprecatingly: "...Listening to what we're saying, they'd think we're some good officials trying to save the nation from peril."

"We are trying to save ourselves."

"..."

As the two were talking, the convoy arrived at the second warehouse.

This warehouse is located near a small hill. It is semi-buried and covered with weeds and vines, making it very difficult to spot even from the sky.

Upon seeing the convoy approaching, the guards at the warehouse quickly came over as well.

The platoon leader was just as attentive as the platoon leader from the previous warehouse. After the two brothers got out of the car, he and his soldiers respectfully greeted them outside.

"Greetings, sirs! Are you here to inspect the warehouse?"

The lieutenant colonel dropped his nonchalant demeanor from the car, touched his favorite personalized gold-plated Desert Eagle with his right hand, and asked, "I put you in charge of guarding the warehouse, nothing's missing, right?"

"How could anything be missing!" The platoon leader hurriedly ordered his men to open the warehouse. "You can check anything you like, from the items to the invoices. I guarantee nothing will be missing!"

"Hmm..." After carefully inspecting the warehouse, the lieutenant colonel nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, well stored. Although Milton is still in Tekpan, it doesn't mean these supplies aren't important. Anyone who dares to lose them will die, understand?"

Upon hearing the words "Milton is still in Tekpan," some soldiers, including the platoon leader, wore strange expressions.

But the platoon leader nodded vigorously: "Don't worry! We guarantee that not a single item of these supplies will be missing!"

“Not bad.” The lieutenant colonel glanced at the soldiers. “Then… are you ready for the ‘war tax’ I’m demanding? The nation is facing a crisis, and everyone must make their contribution, including myself. I’ve also paid my share of the ‘war tax’.”

Upon hearing the word "war tax," almost every soldier's eyes flashed with anger, even murderous intent.

Because this is what it means to pay to work hard.

But they managed to control their emotions in a very short time, and the platoon leader said with a smile, "No problem, no problem, we have prepared the money you asked for."

The lieutenant colonel noticed their dissatisfaction and didn't rush to ask for money. Instead, he reminded them, "If you don't have money, it's okay. You can set up camp a little further ahead and use that to offset the 'war tax'."

"No need, no need!" The platoon leader took out a bag and said with a smile, "Sir, we've prepared the money... Please take a look."

The lieutenant colonel opened the bag and nodded in satisfaction when he saw it was full of Göchar.

The platoon leader rubbed his hands together and tentatively smiled, "Um, sir... have you eaten yet? Our meals are quite good today, we have imported Russian caviar, would you like to sit down and try some?"

"It won't take up too much time."

Another dinner invitation?
The lieutenant colonel subconsciously felt something was off... Why were the people in charge of the two warehouses acting so similarly? They were clearly angry inside, but their attitudes were so polite, and they both even offered to treat each other to dinner.

It's as if they want to drag them here.

But to say that these soldiers have betrayed us doesn’t seem quite right… because with their strength, they could easily have taken down the two brothers in a sudden and decisive situation.

"Alright." The younger brother, also a lieutenant colonel, finally became curious. He thought for a moment, realizing that Guatemala City was behind him and the Northern Group coalition was in front of him, so there was nothing to be afraid of. He nodded, "Let's have a meal then!"

Filled with curiosity, the two brothers followed their platoon leader to a makeshift camp outside.

Various foods and drinks were also served by soldiers who were also acting as waiters—in order to dispel any remaining suspicion, the platoon leader took the first bite of all the food and drinks.

The two were finally relieved and concluded that it must be some kind of "bribery".

They were very satisfied with this attitude and decided to give them a slight reduction when the "war tax" was levied next time.

They ate to their heart's content, drank until they were slightly tipsy, and then the sky gradually darkened.

As the sun set, the lieutenant colonel saw an armored convoy speeding towards them in the distance.

The older brother squinted: "Oh...look, hiccup, our allies are here? Those guys from the north and Honduras have finally arrived?"

“That doesn’t make sense…” Even after drinking, the lieutenant colonel still had some basic common sense. “They shouldn’t be coming from this direction.”

"Then, what kind of unit is this?"

Before the two could think of anything, the armored convoy had already stopped, and the soldiers ran off the vehicles in a very disciplined manner.

Upon seeing this, the platoon leader, who had been greeting the two men, suddenly put down his cutlery and gave a standard salute to a captain who was getting off the vehicle. His voice was impassioned, even more enthusiastic than when he had just greeted the two brothers, and he even seemed a little nervous.

"Good morning, sir!"

The lieutenant colonel was somewhat displeased upon seeing this—why should a mere captain be so obsequious?
Moreover, doesn't this captain recognize me? Why doesn't he come up and salute me?
However, the dissatisfaction only lasted for a short while, as the lieutenant colonel saw the captain walking towards him.

"That's more like it..."

Before he could finish speaking, the captain did not salute, but stepped forward, pulled the lieutenant colonel off the table, handcuffed him, and put a pair of handcuffs on him!
The lieutenant colonel instinctively blurted out a curse:

"presumptuous!"

“I’m a lieutenant colonel, your superior…”

At this point, the lieutenant colonel, taking advantage of the setting sun, finally got a complete view of the "friendly forces" in front of him.

Wait, military uniforms... military uniforms seem a bit different...

The lieutenant colonel's mind, which had been numbed by alcohol, suddenly cleared up!

This, this is not friendly forces, it's Milton's army!!

why?
Shouldn't they be in Tekpan, or at most, Chimaltenango?

Why are you here?!

The captain didn't give him time to think, coldly asking, "What about me? Speak up, keep going."

(End of this chapter)