Chapter 5: M35: No Coward

Fifty M36 combat uniforms, one officer uniform, ten thousand dollars, ten medical packs, five hundred points.

"Host, the beginner gift pack has been fully opened, please check."

Jiang Anguo was still very satisfied with the items the system gave, especially the ten thousand dollars; although they couldn't do anything big, for the empty‑pocket Jiang Anguo they were truly much needed.

This M36 combat uniform, the system said, was from the German army; it's good, the style is nice, very classic, and the key is that it also came with a steel helmet. Jiang Anguo wasn't very familiar with uniform models, but the German‑type M35 steel helmet he recognized at a glance.

M36 paired with an M35 steel helmet looks a bit odd, but it doesn't matter; Jiang Anguo didn't care about that detail at all.

Besides the combat uniform there are also military boots, a belt, a water bottle, an engineer's shovel, a gas mask—only a pity that there are no weapons; it would be nice if there were weapons.

Five hundred points, if spent entirely on weapons, could buy fifty Kar98k Mauser rifles.

Ammunition is a huge problem; in fact, both the Hanyang rifle and the Zhongzheng rifle use 7.92 mm ammunition, so Nationalist Army ammo is interchangeable. This is because the Republic of China's ties with Germany were relatively close, and rifle production imitated Germany, so the weapons share some lineage with German arms.

The Hanyang rifle is effective up to about two hundred meters, the Zhongzheng rifle four to five hundred meters, but in practice they're around three to four hundred meters; theoretical ranges are unreliable. By contrast, the Japanese Type 38 rifle's effective range can reach roughly five hundred meters, far surpassing the Nationalist Army's range.

The Type 38 rifle is actually quite old; it only became a standard weapon after the Russo‑Japanese War.

"Reminder, Host: if you purchase a weapon, such as a rifle, the system will grant five rounds of ammunition; if you purchase artillery, it will also grant five shells."

The system is still very considerate.

It's a bit short; a gun only comes with five rounds, but in reality Chinese battlefield soldiers have only twenty or thirty rounds each. If they run out, what to do? Take ammunition from fallen comrades and keep firing.

Imagine an agrarian nation, even one just emerging from feudal thought, trying to fight a country that has airplanes, aircraft carriers, and big artillery; you can guess how difficult that is.

Jiang Anguo doesn't need a rifle right now; why? He has no one!

The entire Supplement Battalion is just two people: him and Xiao Si, so they don't need that many weapons; he already has a pistol.

He took out the pistol and its holster, emptied all the ammunition from the pistol, and asked, "Xiao Si, can you fire a gun?"

Xiao Si shook his head.

"Here, this gun is yours; I won't give you any ammo for now—if it misfires, when we go out to the countryside someday I'll teach you how to handle a gun," Jiang Anguo said.

Xiao Si was a bit uneasy, not sure whether to accept or decline.

"If I let you hold it, just hold it; don't worry, I've found someone and bought another pistol," Jiang Anguo said.

Now Xiao Si finally took the pistol; I must say, it looked really cool in his hand, and he got a bit carried away, pointing the barrel at Jiang Anguo.

Jiang Anguo, taking advantage of the moment, lowered Xiao Si's pistol, turned the grip toward Xiao Si, barrel pointing down, and said, "Xiao Si, remember one thing: never point the barrel at your comrades; you can keep the barrel pointed down."

Xiao Si nodded, not sure whether he understood.

It's normal; many recruits get overly proud the first time they handle a weapon.

"System, where are the gift‑pack items?" Jiang Anguo asked, though he didn't actually speak, just thought it.

"Host, items the system gifts or you purchase can be stored within the system; you can retrieve as much as you need whenever you have time."

Jiang Anguo was very pleased with this, because aside from the ten thousand dollars, those fifty sets of uniforms were something Jiang Weiguo and Xiao Si together couldn't have obtained.

Just the two of them, plus a thin western wind horse, that's all the property Jiang Anguo currently has.

"Xiao Si, do you know where we can recruit soldiers?" Jiang Anguo said.

Xiao Si thought for a moment; he'd been moving around Tengchong these past few days, so he was somewhat familiar.

"Young Master, I know a place called Chanda; I've heard it's a group of defeated soldiers, with a few thousand people."

"A few thousand people?"

Jiang Anguo wasn't sure, but there's a place with a few thousand defeated soldiers.

"Yes, Young Master, I haven't been there either, but there should be a few hundred to a thousand people; they're units that were defeated and abandoned, gathered here. I've heard there are many wounded soldiers, but I don't know the details, as I haven't gone."

Xiao Si said.

"Young Master, Chanda is not far from Tengchong, about twenty kilometers, apparently closer to Myanmar than Tengchong."

Why does Chanda sound so familiar yet a bit unfamiliar? Is there such a place? Jiang Anguo didn't recall; if it were a county or city he might know or have heard of, but if it's a small town or the like, he can't say.

Xiao Si relayed all the information he had gathered to Jiang Anguo, which was indeed useful; now they know there's a Defeated Soldiers Collection Center in Chanda, which makes things easier. Even if they're defeated soldiers, they're veterans, better than recruiting a bunch of civilians on the spot.

"Xiao Si, we'll rest for a night and then you'll go buy some supplies tomorrow; we'll go to Chanda," Jiang Anguo said.

With national grudges and family hatred, how could one possibly fall asleep!

Jiang Anguo left the house without taking Xiao Si along, and went to the walls of Tengchong. The Expeditionary Force held torches; the main body was still marching, though far fewer than in the morning.

Can you imagine? These are China's most elite soldiers, wearing straw sandals.

These soldiers at least have rifles to use, but it's precisely because the British won't cooperate—preferring to lock weapons and ammunition in warehouses rather than give them to the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

Thus the Chinese Expeditionary Force fighting in Myanmar faces great difficulty, not only confronting Little Japan but also dealing with duplicitous allies.

There is one commander, yet the Expeditionary Force has many officers commanding a hundred thousand troops; the losses in the fight against Japan aren't huge, perhaps around twenty thousand, and the Japanese losses are also significant.

But a single Wild Man Mountain caused the Expeditionary Force to lose thirty thousand, so you can imagine how terrifying Wild Man Mountain is.

If possible, Jiang Anguo really wishes to communicate directly with Du Lvming, urging him never to go through Wild Man Mountain.

The army has just set out, yet you speak of a retreat route; that undermines the Expeditionary Force's morale, shaking the troops, essentially delivering a sacrificial flaghead to Du Lvming.

Jiang Anguo is only a major; how can he make a low‑rank general listen to him, whereas Dai Anlan, at least, is his brother‑in‑law.

If the Expeditionary Force fails, the subsequent chain reaction will be huge.

Tengchong, Baoshan, Kunming, the whole Western Yunnan will be unprotected.

Directly threatening the rear area.

Jiang Anguo thought a lot, but he still didn't know what to do; the system only gave him some points—what can five hundred points accomplish?

His enemy is a Japanese division, at least twenty thousand strong, while five hundred points can only exchange for fifty rifles or a 150‑mm howitzer.

The enemy is strong and we are weak; the advantage isn't on our side!