Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

That evening.

The soldiers were exhausted after a day of training, and the village was shrouded in deep silence.

Only the occasional sound of the sentry's footsteps at the village entrance echoed in the night, quickly fading away.

Zhou Tianyang did not sleep.

He sat alone at the table in the regimental headquarters.

There were several sheets of paper in front of me.

The diagram above shows the current organizational structure and equipment list of the new Second Regiment.

The strength of the new Second Regiment has now exceeded 2,500 men.

The four infantry battalions were fully equipped and manned, and the artillery battalion had also begun to take shape.

But Zhou Tianyang's gaze did not linger on those numbers for long.

His gaze fell on the bottom column of the list.

artillery.

Although the artillery battalion now has a battalion commander, a formal organization, and several hundred promising artillerymen selected from various battalions.

However, the number of truly usable artillery pieces was pitifully small.

The only remaining assets are a few Type 89 light mortars captured from the Japanese, with a caliber of 50 mm and a range of over 2,000 meters.

Faced with a regimental-level unit of this size.

The firepower is far from sufficient.

If we were to actually go out to war, this level of firepower would be far from sufficient to hold our own.

It's okay for dealing with a small squad's stronghold.

However, if they encounter a target of Japanese battalion size, artillery support is essentially useless.

Zhou Tianyang leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

He closed his eyes and silently recited a sentence in his heart.

"System, open the points mall."

The familiar light screen in my mind slowly unfolded.

The list of items is arranged in categories before your eyes.

His gaze went straight past the section on firearms, ammunition, and equipment.

It falls under the category of artillery.

The artillery page in the system store had much more content than he had expected.

From light infantry guns to heavy howitzers.

From Japanese to German to American systems.

Various types of artillery were densely arranged on the screen.

Zhou Tianyang's gaze swept over the names and parameters one by one, and he quickly assessed the cost-effectiveness and applicability of each piece of equipment in his mind.

A cannon that's too heavy won't do.

The Second New Regiment currently has limited transport capacity, with few mules and horses, making it impossible to move heavy artillery.

Even if you redeem it with points, you still can't move with the troops.

Too complicated a cannon won't work either.

The soldiers in the artillery battalion were all novices who had just come into contact with artillery. Although Tian Guoqiang was technically skilled, it would take him time to train the team.

If you start by configuring artillery with complex operations.

The training cycle will be very long.

What he needs is a mortar that is lightweight, durable, easy to operate, has sufficient range, and moderate power.

Zhou Tianyang's gaze lingered on the several alternative models in turn.

He had several Japanese Type 89 mortars on hand. Although they were usable, their performance was outdated, and ammunition resupply was a problem.

German-made mortars have good performance, but their cost-effectiveness is not ideal.

Finally, his gaze settled on a page featuring an American mortar.

M2 60mm Mortar:

[200 points per course.]

[Diameter: 60 mm.]

[Barrel length: 730 mm.]

Weight: 19.2 kg.

Maximum range: 1800 meters.

Rate of fire: 18-30 rounds per minute.

Ammunition: 1 point/round.

Zhou Tianyang's gaze lingered on these lines of parameters.

He stared at those lines of text for a long time, his mind racing.

The standard equipment of the U.S. military, one of the most produced and widely used light mortars during World War II.

A 60mm caliber is more than enough firepower for a battle of this size.

It weighs 19 kilograms, which can be carried by one person and the entire operation can be completed by three people.

With a maximum range of 1,800 meters, it is sufficient to cover most of the depth of infantry combat.

More importantly, it's about the price.

Two hundred points for one cannon, one point for one shell.

This price is almost the cheapest among the artillery categories in the system store.

But he didn't rush to confirm the purchase.

I first quickly compared the parameters of the other mortars in the store.

The Japanese Type 89 mortar has a 50mm caliber and a similar range.

However, its power was slightly inferior, and the supply of shells was troublesome.

German-made mortars have superior performance, but their price is more than double.

Overall, the M2 60mm mortar offers the best value for money.

Zhou Tianyang tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table, his mind starting to calculate.

A standard artillery battalion.

If configured as a three-company system, each company would need six mortars, plus a reserve mortar crew.

A full set requires eighteen to twenty courses.

Twenty mortars, six hundred shells.

Each cannon is equipped with thirty shells, enough for a medium-sized battle.

In addition, there's the subsequent training and real-world experience required to replenish the energy.

This number is reasonable.

Zhou Tianyang mentally reviewed all the data again to make sure nothing was missing, and then made a decision.

"System, exchange for twenty M2 60mm mortars and six hundred rounds of ammunition."

[Confirmed redemption of 20 M2 60mm mortars, consuming 4000 points.]

[Confirmed redemption of 600 60mm mortar shells, consuming 600 points.]

[Confirm?]

"confirm."

[Redeem successful.]

[Host's current remaining points: 267477.]

[20 M2 60mm mortars have been deployed to the system.]

[600 60mm mortar shells have been distributed to the system storage.]

Zhou Tianyang's gaze lingered on the points balance for a moment.

Of the 274,000 points, 4,600 were spent, leaving a considerable amount remaining.

This price buys twenty mortars and six hundred rounds of ammunition.

In any military unit of this era, that would be considered dirt cheap.

He turned his gaze away from the panel and back to the paper on the table.

I picked up a pencil and added a line of text below the artillery battalion column.

"Twenty M2 60mm mortars, with 600 rounds of ammunition."

Then he added a note at the end.

"Each cannon is equipped with thirty shells, with the remainder kept as combat reserves."

After he finished writing, he looked at it again to make sure there were no problems before putting down his pencil.

With twenty mortars, the firepower configuration of the artillery battalion of the new 2nd Regiment has been initially formed.

Although it still falls short of his ideal standard for artillery firepower.

But it's much better than the previous situation where we only had a few broken cannons.

With this configuration, each company can independently undertake fire support missions, and the battalion headquarters can also maintain a reserve fire force that can be mobilized at any time.

If a target requires concentrated firepower.

The three mortar companies can fire simultaneously, creating a short-term fire coverage.

In battles requiring dispersed support, each company can fight independently, demonstrating great flexibility.

Zhou Tianyang mentally reviewed several possible battle scenarios and confirmed that this configuration was sufficient to handle the vast majority of situations.

He picked up a pencil again and drew a simple diagram of the artillery battalion's organization on the paper.

The allocation plan for the twenty mortars was roughly marked out.

After finishing writing, he put down his pencil and let out a long sigh of relief.

With this equipment, the firepower deficiency of the new Second Regiment can be greatly compensated.

Although it is not yet able to confront the Japanese regimental-level artillery.

But it's more than enough for taking down large-scale targets.

Zhou Tianyang's gaze returned to his points balance.

The 270,000 points, although some have already been spent, are still enough to support the development of the new Second Regiment in the short term.

If there is a greater need for combat operations in the future, he can continue to exchange for more.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The night outside the window was as dark as ink, and the outline of the Taihang Mountains in the distance was faintly visible in the moonlight.

Once Tian Guoqiang's artillery battalion has mastered these cannons, the combat effectiveness of the new Second Regiment will be able to reach a new level.

At that time, even if he faced a Japanese regiment, he would have the confidence to confront it head-on.