You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

The old man's micromanagement skills and suspicious nature were well-known within the Nationalist army.

The "Provisional 8th Army" designation that Lin Feng held was just a casual move he made at the time.

The original intention was to have Lin Feng regroup the scattered troops that had retreated from Jiangnan; it would be good enough if he could make some use of their remaining strength.

But who could have imagined that this seemingly insignificant move would suddenly unleash such earth-shattering fighting power?

This left the old man feeling very conflicted.

On the one hand, Lin Feng has an impressive resume.

A genuine graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, and from Fenghua, Zhejiang Province, he truly possesses the double halo of being both a "disciple of the emperor" and a "fellow townsman."

But on the other hand, there was a thorn in his heart.

This kid, after all, rose through the ranks of a local security force; he had never worked his way up in the elite units of the Central Army.

Moreover, since the start of the war, Lin Feng has been leading troops in battle and has never personally come to Jiangcheng to pay his respects, nor has he presented the "pledge of allegiance" that represents absolute loyalty.

Deep down, he didn't want to promote a general who wasn't under his absolute control.

If Lin Feng were given the position of commander-in-chief of a regular army group directly...

What would those senior generals from the Central Army who had fought alongside him in numerous battles think?

Do you think he's unfair in rewarding and punishing people?

What's even more worrying is whether Lin Feng will become too powerful and difficult to control by amassing an army.

However, the credit is undeniable.

The complete annihilation of an entire Japanese brigade and the killing of a major general was an unprecedented and earth-shattering achievement since the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan.

Now is a critical moment for the united front of the entire nation in the War of Resistance against Japan, and the eyes of the whole country are on Jiangcheng.

If he fails to clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments and deliberately suppresses meritorious officials, how can he win the hearts of the people? How can he explain himself to the whole country?

I'm so conflicted.

"Wei Zhang, what do you think we should reward him with?" The old man passed the buck to Director Liu.

Director Liu, well aware of the old man's thoughts, pondered for a moment and offered a compromise:

"Chairman, Lin Feng is still relatively inexperienced."

If he were directly promoted to commander-in-chief of an army group, it would indeed be difficult to gain the support of the people and would easily make him a target of public criticism.

Instead, we should revoke his temporary designation as the "Provisional 8th Army".

He was granted an official designation as a "legion."

"A legion?" The old man's eyes lit up.

The corps organization was a unique organizational structure of the Republic of China during the War of Resistance against Japan, falling somewhere between an army group and an army.

For example, Lao Tang, the expert in electric shocks, is now the commander of the 20th Legion.

整个20军团下辖第13军、第52军和第85军，满编7.2万人。

"Yes, the Legion."

Director Liu nodded.

The old man tapped his cane and began to ponder.

Giving Lin Feng the position of corps commander is a great affirmation of his military achievements and officially puts him in the ranks of senior generals in the National Army.

However, it didn't elevate him directly to the level of a regional commander, like an army group commander.

It was just right.

Moreover, he has the final say on how many armies and divisions a legion can have.

Thinking of this, his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Okay, we'll do as you say, Weizhang."

The old man walked to his desk, picked up a brush, and quickly wrote down an order:

"To commend Lin Feng's troops for their outstanding achievements in the great victory in Jiangbei."

Effective immediately, the designation "Provisional 8th Army" is hereby revoked.

The unit was officially granted the designation "33rd Army Corps of the National Revolutionary Army".

Lin Feng was appointed as the commander of the 33rd Army Corps.

Awarded the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun.

------

While public opinion was raging, the commendation order from the Jiangcheng National Government arrived in Jiangpu County first.

However, the official appointment letter and organizational documents for the commander of the 33rd Army Corps are still undergoing procedures.

Therefore, Lin Feng was quite calm at the moment.

After all, in chaotic times, empty fame is meaningless; only the guns and cannons in one's hands are real.

With the Battle of Pengcheng imminent, all he could think about was how to use the system to prepare his troops for battle.

Lin Feng was delighted to see the more than 60,000 merit points on the system panel.

"It's time to give the entire army's artillery firepower a complete overhaul and upgrade."

Currently, he has three infantry divisions under his command: the Provisional 50th Division, the Provisional 51st Division, and the newly established Independent 1st Division.

In terms of organizational structure, Lin Feng decided to carry out sweeping reforms.

He wanted to completely abandon the brigade-level organizational structure of the National Revolutionary Army, which was stuck in the middle and neither high nor low.

The most elite German-trained divisions of the Central Army adopted an organization of 1 division, 2 brigades, and 4 regiments.

In Lin Feng's view, this organizational structure was simply too bloated.

Too many command levels lead to poor command transmission and dispersed troop strength, making it impossible to concentrate firepower.

He was prepared to fully adopt the classic one-division-three-regiment system of the Han Chinese army.

The division headquarters directly commands three infantry regiments.

In this way, although the number of infantry units charging on the front line decreased, the command structure became more flattened.

More importantly, the saved personnel quota can be used to increase the artillery configuration at all levels.

If there aren't enough infantry, artillery will make up for it.

This is the only cure for the fear of insufficient firepower.

The first issue to address is the support firepower at the regimental level.

Lin Feng opened the system exchange interface and focused his attention on the mortar section.

Compared to artillery, mortars have unparalleled advantages: simple structure, easy operation, easy-to-train gunners, and extremely fast rate of fire.

He skillfully operated the system.

The upgrade path follows the pattern of "Shanghai-made 82mm mortar squad" to "Hans GrW 34 81mm mortar squad" and then to "Hans GrW 42 120mm heavy mortar squad".

Without hesitation, Lin Feng spent 288 exchange points and more than 4,000 merit points.

Accompanied by a series of crisp system prompts, a total of 36 120mm heavy mortar squads materialized in the corner of the camp's parade ground.

This GrW 42 heavy mortar weighs approximately 280 kilograms per gun and has a maximum range of 6 kilometers.

What's most terrifying is its power.

A 120mm mortar shell weighs 16 kilograms.

It was heavier than the shells of the Japanese 105mm howitzers, with a substantial amount of propellant.

Lin Feng's plan was to equip each of the three infantry regiments under each infantry division with four of these 120mm heavy mortars, forming a heavy mortar company directly under the regiment.

Its tactical role is similar to that of the 150mm heavy infantry guns of the Hans infantry regiment.

Its main function is to accompany the advance of frontline infantry, providing extremely fierce and timely indirect fire support.

As for the 81mm and 82mm mortars that were phased out during the upgrade process, Lin Feng did not waste them.

They were all reassigned to supplement the machine gun companies of various infantry battalions.

Having dealt with his unit's regimental artillery, Lin Feng suddenly recalled Wang Tianlu's fat and greedy face.

"Since we're selling weapons, these mortars are a great find."