Crossing through time 04, I blew up the American aircraft carrier.

Malan Town.

"Wow, what an adorable kitten!" Susan's eyes lit up.

"Yes, Brother Hassan, you brought back two more. Are they one for me and one for Susan?" Julia asked.

"If you like... then you can take care of them." Hassan glanced quickly at the two girls, then lowered his head: "I have to go to work, so I'll be leaving now."

"Brother Hassan, are you coming back for dinner?"

"I don't know."

He certainly has a lot to do.

The intelligence agency has not yet been formally established, the internal counter-infiltration plan has not been deployed, and the taxation plan for transit merchants must be implemented as soon as possible, since it is directly related to the Houthis' pockets.

The land here is barren. Imposing agricultural taxes would undoubtedly undermine the Houthi's rule. Besides, how much money do farmers have? It is most shameful to reach out to farmers! Hassan himself couldn't stand it.

That leaves commercial tax!

Although the city of Saada is still in the hands of the government forces, the roads along the way have all fallen into the hands of the Houthi rebels, so they can set up roadblocks at the intersections.

This road is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass, leave some money to pay the toll... No, no, that's not quite right, let's put it another way.

The toll station is 500 meters ahead. Please slow down!

That's right, toll booths will be built on several main roads around Sadar City! Goods entering Sadar City will all have to pay a fee!

When Hassan presented this plan, everyone present widened their eyes.

Badal al-Din al-Housse, the spiritual leader and finance minister, immediately expressed his support.

"That's right, we should have done it a long time ago! The money we earned last time has been almost used up in the past few months. If we don't bring in any more income, our Houthi armed forces will be unable to continue operating!"

Yusuf nodded in agreement: "Yes, the moment we started collecting taxes, it signifies that our Houthi armed forces have officially stepped onto the stage in Yemen, and will play an increasingly important role!"

Only Hamid frowned: "If we do this, it will definitely provoke a fierce retaliation from the Yemeni government forces. They won't just watch us turn Saada into an isolated island."

In the entire Saada province, only Saada city and Sughyinan are still under the control of the government forces. We can set up checkpoints outside and charge fees in normal times. Once there is a conflict, we can completely trap Saada city!

At that time, without even attacking, the city of Sadah will fall into our hands!

Saleh, unless he's an idiot, definitely has to solve this problem!

"How could that be? We're just collecting fees. We can reason with the Saleh government. We can guarantee that regardless of whether there's war or not, as long as you pay the fee, you can pass normally!"

Reasoning?

Hamid's expression was complicated: "Alright, let's give it a try."

The main transportation arteries in Saada province run north-south, passing through cities to the south to reach Sana'a, and north to reach Dhahran. The section from Saada to Sana'a is the Saada-Sana highway, which was built with Eastern aid.

A two-way single-lane, asphalt road—in a poor, remote mountain village like Yemen, this is definitely considered a high-standard infrastructure project!

Unfortunately, the trucks driving on them are all second-hand, with no windows in the cab, many patches on the tires, and rusted cargo beds are very common. As long as they can move, they are the most high-end transport equipment!

It's much more respectable than using donkey carts or camels to deliver goods!

Elsa Rice is such a truck driver. He drives a 30-year-old Mercedes NG73 truck, employs two child laborers, and is now a wealthy man in the surrounding area, with four wives!

At this moment, he was driving with his right hand on the steering wheel and his left hand holding a piece of cadaverine, which he stuffed into his mouth while chewing. He looked very dashing and carefree.

Ahead, a turn, and as soon as he turned the steering wheel, his eyes widened, and he quickly slammed on the brakes.

The tires rubbed against the ground, leaving several black marks.

My heart aches, it really aches! The wear and tear from that one brake application is enough to make you chew on caesarea for a whole day!

"Hey, get down!"

"Yes, yes, may I ask... what's going on?"

With guns pointed at him from below, Erza Rice looked extremely nervous.

"In order to develop the economy of our Saada province, in order to improve the lives of all the tribes, in order to..." The warrior below was clearly not very familiar with the script, and he stammered as he finished speaking, "Therefore, from today onwards, anyone passing through here will need to pay a fee of 10,000 rials."

It costs money!

This could be fatal for Ethan Rice!

He took a deep breath: "Could you please reduce the fee? I can't earn that much from just one trip! I have four wives and twelve children at home..."

"No money? What's in the truck? Unload enough cargo for us!"

As he watched the soldiers' unfriendly glances at the goods in his truck, he felt a cold sweat run down his back.

"Okay, okay, I'll give it to you, I'll give it to you!"

Once back in the car, Erza Rice looked pained, while his two assistants in the passenger seat trembled with fear and dared not utter a word.

That afternoon, after unloading the goods in the city, they loaded another truckload of construction waste into the city and saw the toll station again in the distance.

Having learned from experience this time, he put on a fawning face: "Brother, I paid when I entered the city, this is my payment receipt."

"That's what you paid when you entered the city, it has nothing to do with leaving the city, ten thousand rials!"

What?

Ilsa Rice was instantly dumbfounded: "I have to pay again? I already paid!"

"Did you chew khat grass yesterday?"

"Chewed."

"So, are you still chewing today?"

"How can these be the same?"

"Of course it's the same! Paying the fee is as easy as chewing khat grass! If you don't want to pay, go back!"

They won't let us unload this time; it's construction waste, worthless!

As Erza-Rice left, his face was filled with anger, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Damn it, I'm never coming to Sada again!"

That evening, in the town of Maran, north of Saada, Badar al-Din al-Housse was beaming with joy as he looked at his first day's earnings.

That's fantastic! In just one day, they've collected over ten million riyals! At this rate, the Houthi rebels will never have to worry about funding for their development again!

He was happy, but some people were dumbfounded.

Sana'a.

"What did you say? Multiple toll booths have appeared in Saada province?" Saleh's eyes widened. "We didn't have this administrative order, did we? Who's making money off us behind our backs?"

"It's... the Houthi rebels."

Countless alpacas floated above Saleh's head; the Houthi rebels had gone too far!

"Quickly, call everyone else over, we need to have a meeting!"

The Houthis are a cancer that cannot be delayed any longer; we must resolve them as soon as possible!

Soon, the other relatives came in.

"Now that the United States has ordered a global ban on the transport of ordinary fertilizers, the Houthi rebels are unlikely to continue manufacturing those high-powered weapons. They have no choice but to purchase ammunition from abroad, so they came up with this method to raise funds."

"Yes, that means they've reached a dead end!"

"Gentlemen, I've just received some new information: the current leader of the Houthis is named Hassan Yahya!"