1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 327 It's the person, not the tool (Bonus chapter for the leader, I want to eat spicy food!)

The soldiers who received the new guns all praised them highly.

Previously, they mostly used matchlock guns, and even crudely made imitation flintlock guns were only available to a portion of elite units like the training battalion.

Now, everyone in the training camp is using flintlock muskets and percussion cap muskets from the Springfield Armory, many of which are brand new.

It leaped from the era of matchlock guns to the era of percussion cap guns, achieving a technological leap of three centuries!
Even Lu Qin, the usually composed regimental commander standing next to Peng Gang, couldn't hide his burning eagerness and desire. His tone was almost pleading: "Your Highness! You are a man of great ability and vision. Since you were able to get these two thousand treasures from the foreigners, you can certainly get even more!"
If all our soldiers in every regiment and battalion could be equipped with these precious weapons, it would truly be like adding wings to a tiger! We could sweep away the Qing army with ease, like cutting through melons and vegetables! Restoring the Han dynasty's land and conquering the capital would be just around the corner!

“Lu Qin.” Peng Gang seemed to have thought of something and turned his head thoughtfully to look at Lu Qin beside him.

"And my brothers, you have received new guns and your morale is high. This is a good thing, and I am very happy for you."

Then, Peng Gang changed the subject and emphasized his tone: "But what you just said, that if we had thousands of such weapons, we could easily sweep away the Manchu barbarians and restore our land, is only half true."

Upon hearing this, the generals composed themselves slightly, revealing a hint of confusion.

Peng Gang took the percussion cap pistol from Huang Dabiao's hand and examined it closely. His fingers ran over the still-warm barrel and the smooth hammer. The gun made by Yang Jilao was indeed beautiful.

"While powerful weapons are certainly important, the newly purchased foreign guns are indeed much better than the muskets, and even the imitation muskets we made. The Westerners are ahead in technology, and we need to learn from them, purchase their weapons, and learn from their superior skills so that we can make our own guns, just like theirs, or even better, in the future, so that our soldiers can be equipped with the good guns we make ourselves."

At this point, Peng Gang slammed his rifle butt on the ground with a thud, his gaze suddenly sharpening as he swept over the generals: "But! You must understand that the outcome of battle is never, and can never be, decided solely by a single weapon!"
I ask you, if these muskets were given to a cowardly, untrained rabble, could they possibly withstand an enemy charge? In the Battle of Jiangning, the Jiangnan Admiral Hong Zhufu'a and the Jiangning General Xianghou had purchased just as many foreign guns and cannons from foreigners before the battle as we did; what was the outcome?

During the Zulu Wars, the Zulus fought against the British army, which was equipped with Martini-Henry rifles (single-shot, breech-loading, metal ammunition, drop-bolt rifles), using short spears and cowhide shields. The casualty ratio between the British and Zulu armies was 1:6.

The Zulu army even ambushed British troops during the Battle of Isandlwana, inflicting thousands of casualties on the British.

Twenty years before the Zulu War, in the Second Opium War, the Qing army's weapons were more advanced than the Zulus'. At least the Qing army used firearms, while the Anglo-French allied forces used percussion caps that were a whole generation behind Martini-Henry.

Throughout the war, the casualty ratio between the Qing army and the Anglo-French allied forces was between 1:30 and 1:50, with most of the Anglo-French allied forces suffering non-combat casualties due to illness caused by acclimatization issues.

Equipment was the least important factor in the Qing army's repeated defeats in foreign wars.

Peng Gang did not want the idea of ​​prioritizing weaponry to spread in the army, believing that having good guns and cannons would solve everything and ensure victory in every battle.

Peng Gang's question was not loud, but it struck the hearts of the soldiers every week like a heavy hammer.

The excitement on the generals' faces gradually faded, and they fell silent.

“No!” Li Qi said after a moment of contemplation.

"Even the best gun needs a brave warrior with the courage to fight to the death to wield it! It needs generals who know how to deploy troops and are good at seizing opportunities to command it!"

As he spoke, Li Qi pointed to his heart, then to his head: "What determines victory or defeat is first and foremost this place—the noble spirit of daring to be the first in the world and saving the people from suffering! Then it's this place—the strategic wisdom of planning and adapting to changing circumstances! Finally, it's the weapon in your hand!"

Peng Gang was very satisfied with Li Qi's answer. This kid was not only becoming more and more aware, but also speaking more and more eloquently, and was becoming more like a cultured Confucian general.

His gaze became distant, as if he had returned to the glorious years at the beginning of the uprising: "Victory or defeat depends on people, not weapons. Think back to the beginning of our uprising, what weapons did we have? We only had slightly better weapons than the Qing army. The troops of other palaces used bamboo spears, sickles, and even farm tools and wooden sticks. How could we have repeatedly broken through the Qing army's camps?"
It wasn't weapons that mattered, but the spirit of fighting against the Qing Dynasty, the brotherhood of sharing life and death, and the ruthlessness to smash this dark world even at the cost of one's life!

Even if one day in the future I am reduced to having nothing to show for it, I will still fight against the Qing without hesitation, not for anything else, but just to prove myself.

Now we have a foundation, a stable base, and channels to purchase Western arms—this is icing on the cake, making us even stronger. But we must not put the cart before the horse!

If one thinks that having good guns and cannons means one can be complacent, neglect training, ignore morale, be lazy in strategy, and fight without using one's brain, then that is the path to defeat. Even the best equipment is nothing but a pile of scrap metal in the hands of cowards and fools.

Our pursuit of more advanced and effective weapons is to reduce the bloodshed of our brave soldiers and to accelerate the success of the anti-Qing cause, not to make us dependent on external resources and lose our original courage and fighting spirit.

Finally, Peng Gang looked at Lu Qin and Huang Dabiao with burning eyes: "Lu Qin, Dabiao, I'm issuing you new guns in the hope that you can train an iron army that is not only well-equipped, but also resolute, tactically skilled, and daring to fight! You must make weapons serve people, not make people slaves to weapons. Do you understand?"

Lu Qin stood solemnly, took a deep breath, and spoke in a strong and resonant voice: "Your subordinate is foolish! Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness! I understand! A good gun must be paired with a good soldier, and a good soldier needs a good spirit! I will strictly manage the army, not only to ensure that the soldiers are proficient in using the new gun, but also to forge their fighting spirit, and I will never fail Your Highness's expectations!"

Peng Gang nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the generals: "You must all remember this: the advantage of weapons is useful but not to be relied upon. Whether we can achieve great things depends on the hearts of the people, on morale, and on strategy. Weapons are merely boats to help us reach our goals faster; do not be foolish enough to buy the box and return the pearl."

I'm equipping you, especially the training battalion, with new rifles because your troops are the face of my Northern Army. You must not only ensure your units are proficient in using these rifles, but also discover the most suitable tactics and formations for them. Just like when we were at Pingzai Mountain, record every detail of your training, compile it into a manual, and promote it throughout the entire army in the future.”

In mid-April, news finally came from Tianjing that the Taiping Army was launching a northern and southern expedition.

Yang Xiuqing appointed Wei Changhui, the Assistant Prince, as the commander-in-chief, with Lin Fengxiang, Zeng Shuiyuan, Li Kaifang, Wei Zhijun, Ji Wenyuan, Zhu Xikun, and other brave generals from the Western and Auxiliary Palaces as the main commanders.

The elite troops of the Western and Auxiliary Palaces, numbering 50,000, marched north in a grand procession, passing Liuhe, crossing Pukou, and heading straight for Chuzhou.

By the time Peng Gang received the news in Wuchang, the Northern Expeditionary Army should have already captured Chuzhou.

The fact that the Northern Expeditionary Army marched from the direction of Chuzhou indicates that Yang Xiuqing did not heed Peng Gang's advice and instead chose to launch the Northern Expedition from northern Anhui. Instead of bypassing the Qing army's heavy defenses in northern Jiangsu and using the Grand Canal to steadily advance northward, he intended to take a roundabout route to Beijing, attempting a swift victory and capture the Qing capital.

Yang Xiuqing is ultimately too eager for quick success and instant benefits, and too impatient and arrogant.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Yang Xiuqing had other purposes in arranging the Northern Expedition.

Regarding the southern expedition, Yang Xiuqing dispatched Feng Yunshan, the Prince of the South, and Qin Rigang, the Marquis of Dingtian, to lead 20,000 troops to conquer southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang, in order to eliminate the threat posed by Qing troops from southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang to Nanjing.

When Peng Gang noticed that Hu Yihuang's name was not on the list of those sent to the south, he initially thought he had either missed it or written it down incorrectly.

Hu Yihuang was the right-hand man of Feng Yunshan, the Prince of the South, and was also a Heavenly Marquis. Hu Yihuang's troops were the most capable fighting force in the Southern Palace.

When Feng Yunshan led his southern expedition to southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he inexplicably did not take Hu Yihuang with him.

It wasn't until he contacted the messenger that Peng Gang learned the letter was indeed without error.

Hu Yihuang was left in Tianjing by Yang Xiuqing and did not join Feng Yunshan in the southern expedition.

In late April, the grain supplies promised to Peng Gang for the western expedition—30,000 shi of aged grain and miscellaneous cereals—finally arrived in Wuchang. Yang Xiuqing then urged Peng Gang to embark on the western expedition, citing the fact that Wei Changhui and Feng Yunshan had already launched their northern and southern campaigns.

Peng Gang replied to Yang Xiuqing, promising to immediately embark on the western expedition after their wedding on the fourth day of the fifth lunar month.

This wasn't Peng Gang trying to appease Yang Xiuqing; he genuinely planned to launch a westward expedition to northern Hunan in mid-May, just as his wedding would be over.

"Thirty thousand shi of grain, all of it old and mixed grains, not a single tael of silver. The Heavenly King and the Eastern King are getting richer and more stingy."

After inspecting the Northern Expedition provisions provided by Tianjing and putting them into storage, Peng Yi, who had been full of expectations, was greatly disappointed and coldly mocked.

"We would rather use the money and grain to build the Heavenly King's Palace and the Eastern King's Palace than to support the Western Expedition. Back then, Jiang Shoumin, a wealthy merchant from Yangzhou, once presented the Eastern King with a full 150,000 taels of silver and 80,000 shi of grain!"

The month after Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing established their capital in Tianjing, they found the original offices of the Governor-General of Liangjiang and the Provincial Administration Commission of Jiangning too old and too small, unworthy of their status as "Long Live the Emperor" and "Nine Thousand Years Old," and began to renovate and expand the Heavenly King's Palace and the Eastern King's Palace.

The northern and southern campaigns in Tianjing involved 70,000 troops, which was extremely costly in terms of money and supplies.

However, the main force of the Taiping Army currently occupies the most prosperous areas in the country, and there is no record of any granaries being burned down when they attacked any major city in Jiangnan.

The Tianjing region certainly didn't lack money and provisions; otherwise, Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing wouldn't have had the funds to expand their palaces.

"This battle to conquer Xiangbei is for ourselves, not for Tianwang and Dongwang," Peng Gang said. "Relying on heaven, earth, Tianwang, or Dongwang is not as good as relying on ourselves."

Peng Gang wasn't as emotionally affected as Peng Yi; he hadn't held any expectations for Tianjing to begin with.

As for his group of brothers, Feng Yunshan was hard to say, but the others were people who could share hardship but not happiness, especially Yang Xiuqing.

They are very united during difficult times, helping each other without hesitation.

It's best to keep some distance after becoming wealthy.

Even if the Tianjing authorities don't provide him with a single grain of rice, he will still fight this battle.

"What should we do with this batch of 30,000 shi of old grain?" Peng Yi looked up at Peng Gang and asked.

“I personally inspected this batch of grain, and at least 30% or 40% of it was moldy and infested with insects. It definitely cannot be used as military rations. If this kind of grain is distributed, the soldiers will definitely have complaints.”

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

Peng Gang always prioritizes supplying the best food to the combat troops.

If stale grain and rotten rice are distributed, given the current morale of the soldiers in the Northern Palace, a mutiny is unlikely.

However, it's inevitable that the soldiers who received this stale grain would feel disheartened and resentful.

“We’re not at our wits’ end yet, and we don’t lack military rations,” Peng Gang said.

“Let’s use it as disaster relief grain. Doesn’t Yang Xun, the magistrate of Huangmei County, often complain about the lack of grain in Huangmei County? Let’s send 10,000 shi to Huangmei County first.”

Hubei is a major grain-producing area, and Peng Gang was not short of grain to begin with. The battle of Junshan in Dongting Lake a few months ago yielded another 80,000 shi of new grain, so he was even less short of grain.

(End of this chapter)