Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 321 "Ascension to the Throne"!
With the liberation of Guatemala City, dealing with the remnants of the previous regime was a crucial task, and similarly, inheriting their "legacy" was equally important.

Although the old government had squandered most of the country, it was still a whole country, and what Milton left behind was still enormous.

Milton's occupied territory expanded from seven provinces to the vast majority of the country in an instant!

Except for four provinces near Honduras and El Salvador, all other regions ceased resistance after learning of the fall of the Alzu government.

Regions that had once been ruled by warlords were also broken up, breaking free from their control and awaiting Milton's takeover.

Some ambitious individuals formed guerrilla groups and resistance armies, hoping to gain the favor of the United States, receive aid, or even establish their own independent territories... But Milton's overall occupied territory was arguably only one step away from unification.

“Once Eunice returns, the province of Isavart, which is close to the Atlantic Ocean, should also submit soon.”

The remaining three provinces pose no threat to the core area.

Of course, they won't give in so easily...

Land, resources, and the ability to represent an entire nation are all interests that were previously unimaginable.

In addition to these, Milton also inherited the entire Ministry of Defense, as well as the army left over from the old government—which was Milton's most valued resource.

Administrative power has a panel for monitoring and can be handled by professional bureaucrats, but Milton is still facing military issues, and everything related to the military is of paramount importance.

He's not naive enough to think that taking over an entire country will solve everything.

If he makes a wrong move, he will face permanent economic sanctions and technological blockades... Given his geographical location, he will also face isolation from almost the entire world.

If they're lucky, they'll become the next Cuba; if they're unlucky, they'll become the next Syria.

A "Latin Union," a military organization similar to "NATO," will inevitably have many problems, just like the complicated European Union. But this is the most feasible solution to qualify himself for the game in the short term. Moreover, Milton will try to use future information and experience to avoid some problems as much as possible.

As Milton was pondering this, Brandon, who was temporarily in charge of defense affairs, knocked on the door of the president's office: "Boss, something's up..."

Milton looked up: "Come in and talk."

Brandon walked into the office, sat down in front of Milton, and sighed: "Boss, I suggest we just cut more than 90% of the old army and keep only the most elite ones, then distribute them among our existing forces."

"We recruit from our own territory to fill the gaps. Those who have just been captured must undergo at least six months of training before they are eligible to enlist."

"These old government troops are simply... their thinking is too backward! No matter how you teach them, it's useless. Some of them even think that the officers are their 'masters'. Such an army has no fighting power."

Milton tapped the table: "I remember, before the general mobilization, Arsu had a total force of over 3, right?"

"Yes...you feel it's not enough?"

“Of course not enough,” Milton chuckled. “Don’t think we’ve won now. Before long, you’ll know what the overwhelming power of a world hegemon is.”

“…I know, but I believe we can do it.” Brandon chuckled and leaned back, as if recalling something. “That was a long time ago, when you and I were in the basement. We had only offended a mere Fan Kang gang, and we were thinking about how to cash out the pharmacy and run off to America.”

As for now?

Their target is now the United States!
“Shouting slogans is useless. We only have a few years of window of opportunity, and we must complete our rise before the 21st century.” Milton didn’t mince words, rubbing his forehead. “Whether it’s military strength, economy, diplomacy, or technology, we must at least be in the second tier of the world.”

"First, the army will be expanded. The Guatemalan National Defense Force will consist of four armies, totaling 180,000 personnel. Each army will consist of 12 brigades, including two heavy combined arms brigades, two medium combined arms brigades, two light combined arms brigades, one special operations brigade, one army aviation brigade, one artillery brigade, one engineering and chemical brigade, and one service support brigade."

"I will allocate funds and provide equipment. You can make any requests. You don't need to worry about money or equipment. You just need to focus on education and training."

This is the advantage of being able to directly mobilize national power—no matter how powerful Milton was before, he could only muster the strength of one or two brigades.

Now it's time to formulate policies.

It's not that Milton didn't want a larger military force; 18 men was actually the limit he could achieve at the moment.

Including the recruitment from Chiapas, Milton currently has a population of nearly 2300 million. Even with the income from the panel, maintaining an elite force of 18 is the maximum that can be maintained without disrupting the normal economy.

"Roger that!" Brandon stood up, took two steps outside, paused slightly, and joked, "Speaking of which, it seems like it's been a long time since we've had a real rest, hasn't it?"

Milton waved his hand: "We don't have much time left."

After sending Brandon away, Milton glanced at his panel again—it showed the funds and points that Milton could use for military construction.

Previously, Milton was looking at the rewards for conquering Guatemala City and swallowing up the territory of Arsu. Now he wants to see what the rewards will be after truly unifying the country.

[Great tax official, you have practically ruled a country!]

Once you truly achieve unification and become the de facto ruler of this country, you will become the ultimate tax collector. Even the president will have to pay taxes for you!

[After expanding the territory nationwide, the value ratio of points to US dollars will change from 2:1 to 1:1; the exchange of most conventional land weapons will no longer consume red points.]

[An individual's ability is insufficient to cover many subtle details of smuggling. The panel will be connected to the air defense system of the tax officer's country. Once illegal smugglers or unauthorized smuggled goods enter the country by air, the air defense system will sound an alarm and report the location to the great tax officer's subordinates.]

[Trade Protectionism: The tax official's country is teetering on the brink of collapse, impoverished and weak, unable to cope with various international challenges. When levying tariffs, an additional 50% of points are generated.]

The next upgrade will be the last one for the control panel.

Looking at the fourth upgrade, Milton felt for the first time that the burden on his shoulders had lightened considerably.

Unfortunately, the information on the panel was only sent to Milton, who had to deal with various smuggling activities, officials and traitors who had left the alliance, spies who had sneaked in, and constantly watch out for planes that might cross the border. He was exhausted.

The first thing I do every day when I open my eyes is deal with a mountain of work.

Now that we don't have to worry about things in the heavens anymore, it's a good thing.

Even better, Milton's available funds suddenly increased dramatically.

The Milton government has seized 99% of the assets of many people, occupied the entire country, and privatized a large number of high-value industries that were sold off cheaply by the old government. In addition, it has taken advantage of the revenue and points earned from sharing oil during this period, and the points have been doubled... The Milton government's current financial situation is very good.

Converted to US dollars, even if you sell everything you own and take over Arsu's private accounts, you could probably scrape together 500 billion.

This figure is sufficient for the initial investment of many industries. However, given the possibility of future blockades by the country, Milton, lacking a complete industrial chain, will need to pay a premium to purchase finished products or raw materials for panels to maintain its production lines. Therefore, this portion of the funds cannot be used up entirely and must be reserved for emergencies.

Milton shifted to a slightly more comfortable sitting position, picked up a pen and paper, and began to proactively communicate the upcoming tasks to his capable subordinates.

First, establish healthcare as a core industry for Guatemala, and even for the future "Latin American Alliance"... If conditions permit, we can cooperate with Cuba, a country with a good reputation for healthcare; if not, we can discuss it later.

Olya's publicity department will also receive a lot of funding, at least for now, to vigorously promote the advanced nature of its medical devices in Latin America and instill the impression of "high-end" in the public.

Arms factories under construction... Warship purchases are underway globally... Commercial satellites being bought... More schools... All the advanced equipment available for purchase in Ukraine has been bought...

In addition to the University of Quetzaltenango, another university should be established to further strengthen education.

After issuing all the orders, Milton picked up the phone on the table and dialed Flora's office number.

Three seconds later, a weary voice, strained from working overtime, rang out: "'Tax collector'? Stop working overtime, you're exhausted..."

"Enough with the nonsense." Milton chuckled. "How's the negotiation progress with Ukraine and Russia? Can we buy the aero-engines, rocket engines, and fighter jet manufacturing technology that we desperately need?"

Milton has been discussing this project for several months.

After all, Milton has a lot of US dollars, and the other party is actually willing to sell. Ukraine is very willing to sell RD-33, but to satisfy both parties and complete the full process, it will take at least a year.

However, just now, Milton chose to resolve this matter using points on the panel.

"The negotiations are still ongoing, but they should be able to reach an agreement. As for the fighter jet blueprints, we should be able to secure the MiG-29. As for the others, well, we'll just have to keep negotiating."

“Not bad.” Milton nodded. “At least it will allow our air force to develop rapidly from scratch. Once the deal is reached, start building the production line immediately, and I will allocate the funds.”

"Large transport aircraft, bombers, attack aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, warships, and everything else that can be discussed."

"We must devour as much of the Soviet Union's corpse as possible before we have the strength to contend with the United States."

As for the Su-27 and related technologies... let alone Guatemala, even China only bought them in 1999, so it's unrealistic to buy them now.

Moreover, with the intervention of the air defense system, the MiG-29 is not completely incapable of fighting, as long as it is stronger than the current F-5.

"No problem...no problem~"

"Beep beep..."

After hanging up the phone, Milton glanced at his wallet again.

This is the benefit of extremely high administrative efficiency. If it were the old government, let alone so many procurements and such large-scale construction projects being carried out simultaneously, it would have taken months of debate in Congress before anything could be passed.

"Finally, the most important thing is about to happen."

Milton stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the presidential office.

Outside, Veronica, who had also come to the capital, saw Milton come out and blurted out, "Boss, are we going to the coronation?"

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Milton retorted. “It’s still a provisional government. I’m only in charge of the provisional government’s cabinet. I’m just the chief of the military council! I don’t want to be an emperor.”

In the future, a stable system that can be passed down from generation to generation will emerge, but that can only be considered after the country has achieved complete independence and autonomy.

“Okay.” Veronica was a little disappointed. “Who are you planning to see? I’ll make the arrangements.”

"Get me in touch with Jin Kang, that construction team... Seriously, they don't even have an embassy." Milton shook his head. "The old government didn't establish diplomatic relations with such a good partner, the new government won't make that mistake."

If there were an embassy, ​​the two sides wouldn't need to go through such unofficial channels to communicate.

"Okay, please wait for half an hour."

"..."

An hour later, Milton and King met at a restaurant.

"Congratulations." As soon as he came up, Jin Kang clicked his tongue twice. "I really didn't expect to witness the birth of a new country... But, your event, uh, I think it was a bit too much."

Cutting it into thousands of slices, that's so retro.

“These are extraordinary times, and given our level of education, I don’t have time for soft approaches.” Milton took a sip of tea. “Let’s get down to business. I intend to continue employing your team to extend the railroad network across the country.”

Jin Kang nodded, looking at the man who was famous in Latin America: "I can guarantee that there will be no problem at all. But you called me here, it shouldn't be just for something that your subordinates can do."

“Yes, I will soon assume supreme power, and at that time we will establish official communication channels,” Milton said. “Now I need you to help me convey one of my wishes—I intend to build a space launch site, and as before, both dollars and gold are acceptable. I hope you can convey my intention to cooperate as soon as possible.”

“You have similar cooperation with Brazil, but I hope that our cooperation can go further.”

This is Milton's ultimate plan.

In any case, we must possess the technology to strike North America strategically in order to at least ensure national security once and for all!
"You've ascended the throne, congratulations again." Jin Kang raised his teacup and joked, "No problem, I'll pass on the message."

Just as Milton was about to raise his teacup, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the door. A high-ranking intelligence officer entered the restaurant after giving his report.

He leaned close to Milton's ear and said in a serious tone, "'The Godfather'... the Honduran army has marched into their capital."

Milton's expression remained largely unchanged: "I understand."

Sure enough, the enemies finally began to gather all the forces they could and launched a frantic counterattack.

This "everything" includes the biggest boss on Earth.

After the intelligence officer left, Kim Kang asked curiously, "It doesn't seem like a simple matter. Aren't you worried?"

Milton looked up and said slowly, "No reactionary force can stop our progress. They won't be able to run rampant for long."

(End of this chapter)