Xiao Fan said just do it. John and the others brought Xiao Fan more than twenty thousand in funding this time.
Now Xiao Fan had a total of two hundred and eighty thousand funds, which was quite a bit of money, making it very easy to add another squad.
Xiao Fan continued to recruit foreign soldiers, producing two more squads of soldiers, as well as two snipers and a heavy machine gun.
Of course, these equipments looked foreign, but in reality they were the same as normal Red Alert soldiers.
Under Xiao Fan's arrangements, these foreign soldiers did not bear the insignia of the Army of Dawn.
Xiao Fan also equipped them with a Macho Terrain Vehicle, adding vehicular firepower to make them even more formidable in combat.
After completing all this, John's foreign soldiers had become a squad.
Driving their motley vehicles, John and his crew roared away.
They had a mission to carry out, a mission arranged by Xiao Fan for them.
Watching John leave, Xiao Fan then said to Xue Ninger beside him: "Let's go, let's go see the tax official outside. If we don't go now, the tax official will be hoarse from yelling."
The two of them drove vehicles directly along the winding road up to the city wall.
They went all the way to the south gate, where the tax official's voice had already become very faint.
"We resolutely guarantee... to respect the legitimate rights and interests of the survivors."
"You can fall in love and start families, you can have children under the protection of the Alliance."
"If you are capable, you can even take multiple wives, we will not interfere... cough cough cough."
Seeing the exhausted tax official, Xiao Fan climbed up to the watchtower.
After he came up, one of the soldiers handed Xiao Fan a loudspeaker.
This loudspeaker was for calling out, and every watchtower had one.
Taking the loudspeaker, Xiao Fan said to the tax official below: "I am Xiao Fan, the lord of the City of Dawn and the leader of the Army of Dawn. Who are you?"
Xu Qingshan, who had been about to give up, suddenly regained his spirit.
He straightened his suit, looked up, and shouted at the watchtower: "I am Xu Qingshan, a tax official from the Alliance, and I have come to collect taxes."
"But we have not joined the Alliance, why should we pay you taxes?"
"That's not how it works. Now all the survivors in Yunzhou are under the rule of the Alliance. I am speaking to you as an official representative. Since you are within the borders of Yunzhou, you must accept the Alliance's administration."
Xiao Fan smiled: "If I pay taxes, what can the Alliance do for me in return?"
"We will send people to inspect you. If you are strong enough, you can join the Alliance and live in the safe Film and Television City base."
"And what if we are not strong enough?"
"If you are not strong enough, as long as you pay taxes, the Alliance will provide you with protection and ensure that you are not threatened by other survivor factions or zombies."
Xiao Fan laughed loudly: "Mr. Tax Official, do you think my City of Dawn is not safe enough? Is the Film and Television City base better than here? What kind of zombies could threaten me?"
Xu Qingshan suddenly became speechless.
Indeed, if the City of Dawn was not safe, then perhaps there was no safe place in the entire Yunzhou.
But as a tax official, he was not so easily dismissed.
"You can't put it that way. Even if the City of Dawn is safe, will you never leave the city? In the future, as order is gradually restored, won't you need commercial interactions and trade?"
Leader Xiao Fan, in this apocalypse, no one can live in isolation. Everyone needs to communicate with the outside world in order to make progress together."
Xiao Fan nodded slightly: "What you say is not bad, but you must understand, resources in the apocalypse are extremely precious. Right now, I clearly don't need your protection, but I still have to pay you taxes. I personally agree, but my subordinates will not accept it."
Upon hearing this opening, Xu Qingshan immediately thumped his chest and said: "You can state your demands, and as long as they are reasonable, I will definitely meet them."
"How much tax do you want me to pay?"
"Well... generally speaking, the first tax payment requires five hundred kilograms of processed grain, five hundred kilograms of diesel or gasoline, and some daily necessities."
"I can give you those things, but you must give us some... gold and silver jewelry in return, right? As long as you hand over ten... fifty kilograms of gold and silver jewelry in exchange, I will agree."
Xu Qingshan calculated and felt that this was feasible.
What use did gold and silver jewelry have now?
Except for some idle noble ladies in the Alliance, no one cared about those things.
If he just collected them, he could definitely gather quite a lot.
"Okay, I will agree on behalf of the Alliance. But you must also promise that in the future, you will open up trade with the Alliance. If you encounter any threats here, the Alliance can also send troops to help you defend."
Xiao Fan nodded: "Okay, but are you bringing the gold and silver with you?"
"Not yet, you can give me the supplies first. I promise I will bring them to you. You have to trust my integrity and the Alliance's credibility."
Xiao Fan smiled: "Okay, but words alone are not reliable. Let's sign a contract."
He took out a contract that had been prepared in advance, signed and sealed it, then lowered it down the city wall in a basket.
Xu Qingshan received the contract and looked it over carefully. He felt that this was going too smoothly and was a bit uneasy.
But he couldn't find any flaws, so he signed and sealed it.
Afterward, Xiao Fan readily sent out all the supplies he needed.
Taking back the contract, now it was as if the Alliance owed Xiao Fan's City of Dawn fifty kilograms of gold.
Xiao Fan put away the contract. Xu Qingshan, having received the supplies, was very happy.
This trip had been extremely smooth. Even the City of Dawn, which seemed like a tough nut to crack, had been cracked. He was delighted.
Upon returning to the Alliance, this mission was considered a success.
The convoy left the City of Dawn. Xiao Fan watched them leave, snorted coldly, and returned to the base.
The road back to the Film and Television City for these Alliance tax officials would not be so smooth.
******
Yanshan Town.
Inside the middle school campus, the final adjustments were being made to the base vehicle.
This massive 30-meter-long metal monster had been completely constructed.
The vehicle head bore the emblem of the rising dawn, and it was colored in black and red.
On both sides of the vehicle were huge metal chain tracks that could ensure mobility on rugged roads.
There was no bulletproof armor, as the massive iron block itself was already very bulletproof.
Ma Dun came to the base vehicle's cockpit and started the ignition.
Roar~~!
After a humming sound, the base vehicle started up successfully!
On the computer screen in the cockpit, he selected the base vehicle simulation deployment.
Soon, the computer screen simulated the successful deployment of the base vehicle, with each component operating normally.
A smile appeared on Ma Dun's face: "Quick, report to the Commander-in-Chief that the base vehicle construction is a success!"
The communications soldier immediately reported this good news to Xiao Fan.
Xiao Fan, who had been bored in the base, suddenly sat up.
"Success! That's great!"