Chapter 32: Camp Seats! Regiment Seats?

The shooting drill ended, all rifles were returned, the ammunition in the rifles was checked to see if it was spent, after confirming everything was correct, everyone gathered in place for analysis and discussion.

Jiang Anguo went to the team that had earned a reward and said, "Congratulations, it looks like your shooting is pretty good; come up one by one to receive an apple."

Jiang Anguo constantly flaunted his superior rank!

There were 32 people in total; Jiang Anguo needed a sniper unit. If he couldn't pick anyone from these men, it would have to be purchased from the system, which costs 100 points for a Special Forces soldier—too expensive—while an Elite Infantry costs 50 points.

With the points Jiang Anguo had on hand, it was nowhere near enough; he tried to save wherever possible.

"Lin Yi, record each of them separately, and this afternoon handle another task: take a few people and photograph all the soldiers." Jiang Anguo said no more, just assigning Lin Yi to do it.

Lin Yi complied well with Jiang Anguo's instructions and didn't ask any further questions.

The four Company Commanders Jiang Anguo purchased were named Yao Quanyi, Changshan, Liu Guangsheng, and Liang Tiancheng; the other Platoon Leaders and ordinary soldiers also each had names.

The soldiers he exchanged had not undergone shooting drills; their static shooting training was extremely accurate.

Jiang Anguo moved his arm a bit; his physical condition was poor. Holding a four‑kilogram rifle in a standing posture, five rounds were no problem, but for sustained fire Jiang Anguo didn't think he could stay accurate.

The system's beginner pack gave him Gunmanship Proficiency but not a strong physique; daily training now seemed unavoidable.

"I hope anyone who has shooting insights shares them with everyone, because we'll be comrades in arms and there's no need to hold back; our opponent is Japanese, and Little Japan's shooting accuracy is still quite high," Jiang Anguo said.

Jiang Anguo had everyone share after the shooting drill; a big reason was that this quickly improves one's shooting accuracy.

Now it's just training; on a battlefield nerves are normal, so stability now doesn't guarantee the same performance in combat.

After three days of shooting training, all Squad Leader candidates were finally selected, with the most accurate shooter appointed as Squad Leader.

Thus most Squad Leaders still fell to the system soldiers.

During these three days, some deserters gradually arrived at Chanda, thirty‑six in total, and joined Jiang Anguo's unit.

The original deserters at Chanda had already joined Jiang Anguo's Independent Battalion.

Jiang Anguo's entire battalion now had a strength of over 1,663 men, a number that even exceeds that of some Infantry Regiments, while most domestic Infantry Regiments number only 1,500–2,000.

Jiang Anguo also stopped spending money to purchase system soldiers; for now he must preserve points to conduct a fire‑suppression battle, and if they run out, there will be none left.

Among all domestic units, no battalion's strength reaches over 1,600 men; they could already serve as a Regiment Commander.

Even if they gave him a Regiment Commander position, he wouldn't want to switch!

"Today, everyone, have you seen this Asian map?" Jiang Anguo held a pointer and gestured at a five‑by‑five‑meter large map.

The map showed Asia, highlighting major countries such as Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, and other Southeast Asian nations.

Over a thousand soldiers sat or stood, looking at the map.

"Does everyone know where Japan is?" Jiang Anguo asked.

Many soldiers shook their heads, because they had never seen a map in their lives and didn't even know where their own hometown was; they couldn't distinguish east, south, west, or north.

A soldier raised his hand, "Report."

"Go ahead," Jiang Anguo said, pointing a finger.

"Report, Sir, that the piece in the upper‑right corner is Japan."

Wow.

Many expressed amazement, not at Japan being "big," but at how unbelievably small its territory was—just a speck, far smaller than any surrounding country.

"You probably don't believe Japan is that tiny, but I tell you plainly: Japan is only that small. Do you know how vast China is? So vast." Jiang Anguo lifted the pointer and drew a huge circle, encompassing Outer Mongolia and a series of other territories.

The astonishment grew, because most of them had been farmers before enlisting and knew nothing about Little Japan.

But now they feel their worldview is collapsing; they thought the Japanese were very strong, always winning battles, while they kept running and running, ending up here.

"If you ask when the Japanese began to develop, it was after the Meiji Restoration,"

"Haha!"

Everyone was accustomed to Jiang Anguo's temperament, so joking around was fine; this was even during meals, with everyone eating while watching Jiang Anguo recount Japanese history.

"Look at this map, and see how close Japan is to the East Three Provinces. After the Battle of the Yellow Sea, Japan signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki with the Qing Government, which ceded Taiwan and its associated islands. In 1910, Japan also invaded Korea." Jiang Anguo pointed out the locations of Korea and Taiwan on the map.

Everyone was very interested; the topic was irresistible to the men, and holding their rice bowls they leaned forward.

"Why did the Japanese invade us? Because we were weak, and weakness invites attack. Up to 1931, Japan advanced into the East Three Provinces. Look at how vast the Northeast Three Provinces are—endless resources and vast lands, none of which Japan has. Japan's terrain looks like a worm; what can such a place produce?"

"Thus the Japanese could only invade us; from 1931 onward, massive supplies from the Northeast were shipped to Japan's mainland to produce weapons and ammunition."

"On July 7, 1937, Japan launched the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, trying to replicate the Mukden Incident. Could we tolerate that then? Could we keep retreating?"

"No, Little Japan wants to occupy our China. Have they ever asked our forty‑million compatriots? They want to conquer us; can we agree?"

"Disagree!"

"Disagree!"

Jiang Anguo waited until the shouts faded, then continued, "Yes, we disagree. What do we have to fight the Japanese with? Our weapons aren't as advanced as theirs; our unit has no artillery, and we have no aircraft in the sky."

"We have nothing, but when we Chinese face foreign enemies, our barrels always point outward. When friends arrive we treat them to drink; when wolves come, even without guns or cannons, a single big sword can still slay the Little Devil."

"Right, many say we have failed—from the East Three Provinces, Beiping, Shanghai, Xuzhou, Shandong, Wuhan, we keep failing. But the Japanese are also faltering; their logistics can't keep up. Now they aim to cut our supply line, the China‑Myanmar Road."

Jiang Anguo pointed at the map and said, "The China‑Myanmar Road is right here; see? As long as we control the China‑Myanmar Road, the Nanyang aid supplies can flow continuously into China."

"This is also our only remaining aid route, so we have no retreat. If we withdraw, the nation will perish. Can you say we can let the Japanese break through?"

"As long as we hold this road, Nanyang's aid supplies will keep entering China. This is currently our only international supply line! If it falls, the nation is in danger, the people in peril! Can you say we can let the Little Devil break through?"

In fact there is another route—from Xinjiang to Xi'an—the Soviet Union's aid line, but after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the Soviets were preoccupied and could no longer supply the Republic.

"No, no."

The crowd was exhilarated.