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

These soldiers were mostly very short, sallow-faced and emaciated, with prominent cheekbones, clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition.

What's even more worrying is that there are quite a few child soldiers in the ranks who look only fifteen or sixteen years old and still have a childish face.

It's the dead of winter now, a season when water freezes instantly.

These Sichuan soldiers were only wearing thin, coarse cloth uniforms, and many of them were even wearing tattered straw sandals.

My toes, frozen purple and cracked, were bare and exposed on the cold mud.

Each of them had bundles of heavy wooden-handled grenades tightly bound to their chests with rough hemp rope.

"Brother Wang, did you see that?"

Sun Zhen pointed at the soldiers, this tough, iron-willed man now had tears in his eyes and his voice choked with emotion:

"This is our 122nd Division's suicide squad, specifically designed to deal with Japanese tanks."

Our Sichuan Army was poor; we had no direct-fire cannons and no anti-tank rifles.

When the Japanese soldiers charged at us with their iron tortoises, our rifle bullets couldn't even leave a white mark on them.

In order to hold the position, I had no choice but to have these kids strap grenades to their bodies and lie in the trenches pretending to be dead.

"Once the Japanese tanks are close enough, they'll pull the fuse, roll under the tank tracks, and die together with the Japanese 'iron turtles'."

Sun Zhen turned her head, and tears finally welled up in her eyes:

"Now it's all good, thanks to this thing you sent."

Our Sichuan Army soldiers will no longer have to strap grenades to themselves and use their own flesh and blood to fill the Japanese soldiers' tracks.

Wang Tianlu took a deep breath, suppressing the bitterness in his heart, and said loudly:

"Commander Sun, just looking won't do any good. Let's pull one down and test it on the spot."

"Alright! Test fire!"

Several Sichuan soldiers hurriedly unloaded a PAK36 anti-tank gun and pushed it to the edge of the parade ground.

About 400 meters from the gun muzzle, on a small hill, lay the wreckage of a Japanese Type 94 light armored vehicle that had been towed back from the battlefield and destroyed by bombing.

"Load armor-piercing rounds."

One of the artillery instructors brought by Wang Tianlu personally stepped forward to demonstrate.

"Click."

A crisp locking sound rang out as a 37mm armor-piercing shell was pushed into the breech.

The instructor quickly cranked the elevation and directional controls, aligning the crosshairs with the distant armored vehicle wreckage.

"fire!"

"boom--!"

A sharp, short cannon shot suddenly rang out!

A burst of orange-red flame shot from the muzzle, and the cannon suddenly recoiled backward.

The trajectory of the shell is not visible to the naked eye.

Almost at the same instant the cannon fired.

A dazzling burst of sparks erupted from the wreckage of the Japanese armored vehicle 400 meters away.

"when--!"

A very crisp sound of metal shattering rang out.

The group raised their binoculars and saw a fist-sized, translucent hole with its edges curled inwards on the thin steel plate on the side of the armored vehicle.

The armor-piercing projectile not only penetrated the side armor, but also went straight through from the other side, kicking up a cloud of dust on the earthen slope behind it.

"It's through, damn it, one shot and it's gone right through."

Wang Minzhang jumped three feet high with excitement and slammed his military cap to the ground.

The hundreds of Sichuan soldiers on the parade ground were initially deathly silent, then erupted into a thunderous cheer.

"Rise up! Rise up, Sichuan Army!"

"We won't need to use dolls to pay for deaths anymore!"

"With this cannon, let's show the Japanese devils the might of our Sichuan Army and smash their iron shells!"

The soldiers hugged each other, some even bursting into tears of joy.

They weren't crying out of sadness, but of joy and relief.

Sun Zhen clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh, completely unaware that blood was flowing out between her fingers.

He turned around, faced Wang Tianlu, and bowed deeply.

"Director Wang, I am deeply grateful."

"I, Sun Zhen, on behalf of the 40,000 brothers of the Sichuan Army, thank you."

"Oh, Commander-in-Chief Sun, this is absolutely not allowed!"

Wang Tianlu quickly helped Sun Zhen up and said meaningfully:

"Commander-in-Chief Sun, you should thank me, not me."

To be honest.

The little money you gave me wouldn't even be enough to buy these shells on the black market.

These brand-new Hans and Shanghai-made goods were all personally allocated from the 33rd Army Corps' inventory by Commander Lin Feng and sold to you at a low price.

Commander Lin said that the Sichuan Army brothers had made great contributions in fighting the Japanese, and we must not let the heroes shed blood and tears.

This is all thanks to Commander Lin's heartfelt sentiments.

"Commander Lin..."

Sun Zhen was startled and turned to look in the direction of Jiawang County to the north, his eyes filled with extremely complex emotions.

There was shock, gratitude, and even more profound admiration.

Wang Minzhang and several other division commanders also gathered around, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Brother Wang, please go back and give Commander Lin a message for me."

Sun Zhen abruptly stood at attention, gave a solemn military salute, and said in a firm and resounding voice:

"Great kindness needs no words of thanks."

We are grateful that he thinks highly of our Sichuan Army and has sent us the tools to save our lives.

From now on, on the battlefield, all it takes is a word from Commander Lin.

"My 40,000 Sichuan soldiers in the 22nd Army will fight to the last man without flinching."

"Okay, please inspect the goods as soon as possible." Wang Minzhang nodded seriously. "Next, I still have to deliver goods to other units..."

At this time, Lin Feng was still in the Jiawang command post, strategizing and planning.

But he could never have imagined that Wang Tianlu's words, along with this batch of extremely sophisticated weapons, would lead to this.

This has already cemented his legendary status among the various miscellaneous troops in the Fifth War Zone.

This was not just an arms deal, but also the purchase of the unwavering loyalty of 40,000 Sichuan soldiers.

This laid the most solid foundation of public support for the subsequent Battle of Pengcheng, in which various irregular armies fought desperately in coordination with Lin Feng's armored forces to launch a major victory that shocked the world.

After all, who wouldn't want to fight the Japanese with a general who genuinely cares about his brothers?

-----

Time flies, and it's early February of the 27th year of the Republic of China.

The festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year has long since dissipated, and the chill of late winter is still biting.

Jiawang County, the headquarters of the 33rd Army Corps.

The charcoal in the brazier was burning brightly, making a soft crackling sound and dispelling the chill in the room.

Lin Feng sat behind his large desk, holding a Parker gold pen produced by the system in his hand, signing various appointment documents one after another.

Division commander, regimental commander, battalion commander...

Familiar or unfamiliar faces were officially given command as his pen fell.

After finishing the last document, he casually picked up the latest troop organization chart from the table, leaned back in his chair, and began to examine it carefully.

As he watched, Lin Feng couldn't help but smile, and finally he burst out laughing.

"Ha, a strong and well-equipped army..."

He muttered to himself, his fingers tapping lightly on the form, a real sense of security washing over him.

He hasn't had a moment's rest during this time.

The merit points he gained from the battle of Qingcheng Port, along with his previous scattered accumulations, donations from overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and various sectors of society, and the funds he brought back from selling arms from Wang Tianlu, totaling several million silver dollars, were all poured into the system in one go.

As a result, their wealth visibly increased.

First, there were two brand-new German-equipped infantry divisions, built from the ground up with the help of the system: the newly formed 16th Division and the Independent 1st Division.