Chapter 497: Nobutada Oda

Jiang Anguo wants to use these Japanese Army POWs to handle those things that cannot see the light, to eliminate the hidden threats that endanger Nanko and the Chinese.

His hatred still has not faded, he still cannot fully accept the decision to arm Japanese Army POWs, yet he also understands that Jiang Anguo's decision must have its logic, must be for Nanko's future, for those suffering Chinese.

"I understand, Division Commander."

Lin Yi's tone became much calmer, but his eyes still hid a trace of complex emotion, "I will obey your decision, cooperate with Oda Nobutada, manage this South China Freedom Army well, never let them take the opportunity to cause trouble, ensure they become knives in our hands, not hidden threats that hurt us."

In fact Lin Yi does not know that Oda Nobutada and the officers assigned to him are absolutely loyal to Jiang Anguo, and will not betray.

Jiang Anguo looked at Lin Yi, gave a slight nod, a hint of approval flashed in his eyes: "Good, I trust you."

Remember, hatred may exist, but it must not cloud the mind.

Everything we do now is for Nanko, for those Chinese struggling on this land.

As long as we can free the Chinese from suffering, as long as Nanko can develop steadily, there are things we must do, there are costs we must pay.

Lin Yi nodded heavily, his gaze again fell on the Japanese soldiers training below, his emotions extremely complex.

He knows that from this moment, this South China Freedom Army formed from Japanese Army POWs will become an indispensable part of Nanko, bearing an unknown mission.

On this land, it will stir one storm after another unknown to the world.

And he also must set aside part of his hatred, obey Jiang Anguo's arrangement, guard Nanko, guard those suffering Chinese.

After resolving Lin Yi's doubts, Jiang Anguo's gaze fell again on the South China Freedom Army, but his brows gradually furrowed.

At present, there is a tricky problem awaiting resolution, namely the weapons equipment of this Freedom Army.

Forming a unit is easy, equipping it is hard, especially a special unit composed entirely of Japanese Army POWs; the choice of weapons and equipment gives Jiang Anguo a headache.

He sat at his desk, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the table, his mind repeatedly weighing two options: whether to equip this Freedom Army with the Expeditionary Force's active German equipment, such as Mauser rifles, MG42 General Machine Gun, or to directly use the American equipment provided within the WarSystem?

Both types have pros and cons; German equipment is stable in performance, firepower strong, Expeditionary Force soldiers have always used it, logistics supply relatively convenient.

American equipment is more refined, especially the semi‑automatic rifles and light and heavy machine guns, with fast rate of fire and sufficient power, can greatly boost the unit's combat ability.

But American aid is still on the way, so logistics supply must be arranged by Jiang Anguo himself.

The 201st Division equips only German equipment.

Jiang Anguo knows clearly that within his WarSystem, the weapons currently stored are all standard equipment of Germans and Americans, with no Japanese weapons at all.

This gives him a certain helplessness.

If there were Japanese equipment to give directly to these Japanese Army POWs, it would undoubtedly be the most hassle‑free choice, since they have long used their own country's weapons, can master them fastest, and can exert combat power to the greatest extent.

After pondering a moment, Jiang Anguo suddenly recalled something, turned to look at Lin Yi beside him, and asked: "Lin Yi, after the 56th Division marched north to Lashu and we defeated them, they were in full retreat, abandoning many weapons. Are those weapons still there?"

Lin Yi was stunned for a moment, then recalled: "Division Commander, they are still there. When those Japanese were defeated, they fled in haste, discarding a large number of rifles, machine guns and some artillery. When we cleaned the battlefield, we already transported all collectable weapons and equipment to the Lashu warehouse for storage."

"It's just that our Expeditionary Force has always used German and some American equipment; we are not accustomed to Japanese equipment, and it doesn't fit our combat style, so it has been kept in the warehouse, never used."

"Very good, as long as they're still there." Jiang Anguo heard this, a hint of relief appeared on his face, his brows relaxed considerably.

The reason he asked about the whereabouts of these Japanese weapons was considering the special nature of the Japanese Army POWs.

These soldiers have long used Japanese equipment, know their country's weapon performance and operation methods like the back of their hand; forcing them to use German or American equipment would not only require a lot of training time, but also might, due to unfamiliarity, affect combat effectiveness.

More importantly, Japanese soldiers are generally short and relatively slender.

The Mauser rifle in German equipment uses 7.92mm bullets, with larger recoil; for short Japanese soldiers, prolonged use would not only affect shooting accuracy, but could also cause bodily injury.

While Japanese equipment uses 6.8mm bullets, a moderate caliber with relatively smaller recoil, more suitable for Asian body types, and more suitable for these Japanese Army POWs.

After pondering for a long time, Jiang Anguo finally made up his mind: let these Japanese soldiers use the Japanese weapons they are familiar with.

This both saves training time, lets them quickly form combat power, and avoids combat power loss due to unsuitable equipment.

It also allows these POWs, while using familiar weapons, to reduce resistance emotions, and adapt to their new identity faster.

Afterwards, Jiang Anguo ordered people to notify Oda Nobutada, Lin Yi, and Zhuge Mingliang, who recently began handling logistics, to go to the temporary command post to discuss the weapon outfitting of the Freedom Army.

Regarding the issue of Japanese unit composition and equipment, Jiang Anguo did not broaden the discussion scope, only arranged three people to attend.

The Freedom Army's Regiment Commander Oda Nobutada, the assisting manager Lin Yi, and the observing staff officer Zhuge Mingliang, this way both ensures decision confidentiality and improves discussion efficiency.

The three quickly arrived at the command post, respectfully stood before Jiang Anguo, awaiting his instructions. Jiang Anguo gestured them to sit, got straight to the point, and asked directly: "Oda, does your Freedom Army need artillery?"

Oda Nobutada showed no hesitation, immediately nodded, his tone respectful and firm: "Commander, I need artillery."

"Considering the unit's composition and future operational needs, I request to be equipped with eight Type 92 Infantry Cannons, and corresponding pack horses or transport vehicles for moving supplies and artillery."

"The remaining light weapons can be outfitted according to the Japanese active equipment, so the soldiers can get up to speed faster and form combat power more quickly."

Jiang Anguo heard this, thought lightly in his heart.

The Type 92 Infantry Cannon is the Japanese standard infantry cannon, caliber 70mm, moderate power, highly mobile, suitable for mountain and jungle warfare, perfectly matching the battlefield environment of Northern Myanmar.

However, for Jiang Anguo, who always liked large‑caliber artillery and pursued strong firepower, this 70mm infantry cannon is somewhat of a chicken‑rib.