1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 43 Work Points [Bonus Chapter, Please Read and Vote!]

"Luo Dagang and Tian Fang, nicknamed 'Big Carp,' have been beheaded? Is this news true?"

Upon hearing that Luo Dagang and Tian Fang had been killed by the Qing army, Peng Gang nearly spat out the rice wine he had just taken a sip of.

Peng Gang couldn't definitively say whether Tian Fang, nicknamed "Big Carp," was dead or not. After all, Tian Fang wasn't very famous in history; he was just an ordinary leader of the Heaven and Earth Society's boatmen. Peng Gang knew very little about him.

The fierce and shrewd Lisu general Luo Dagang, who gave the Xiang Army a headache, surely couldn't have had such a drastic change in his life after just one encounter with him on the Qianjiang River, and been killed by the Qing army?
If he truly possesses this ability, then he is even more of a jinx than a jinx.

If he truly possessed the ability to spread bad luck, Peng Gang wouldn't mind meeting with all the Manchu and Mongol nobles in the capital and ensuring their lineage would be wiped out.

"Ahem, in the war against the British in the 21st year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign (1841), the Imperial Minister and General Yishan reported to the Emperor that he had defeated the British and recovered Guangzhou." Fueled by alcohol, Xie Bin became increasingly talkative and his mouth became loose.

"And what was the result? The British were defeated all the way from Guangdong to Fujian and Zhejiang."

Xie Bin felt a great deal of resentment and indignation about this battle that changed his life.

"From the General of Youjiang Town to the Governor of Guangxi, and then to the Governor of Guangxi, did they all have complete faith in Li Dianyuan's battle reports?" Peng Gang asked.

Officials who can rise to the rank of governor-general or military commander are generally shrewd and not easily fooled.

"Since the Guangdong naval and land forces infiltrated Guangxi to carry out robberies and joined forces with the Heaven and Earth Society, the Heaven and Earth Society in Guangxi has gradually become more powerful, especially in Xunzhou and Wuzhou prefectures," Xie Bin said.

"The imperial court has always regarded the Heaven and Earth Society in Guangdong and Guangxi as a major threat. Whether it is the governor, the military commander, or even the deputy commander of Xunzhou, they all need this victory report. As for the authenticity of the contents of the victory report, that is secondary."

"If that's the case, why not include Zhang Zhao, the big-headed sheep, as well?" Peng Gang still had a question.

Since all the battle achievements are fabricated anyway, it doesn't make a difference if Zhang Zhao is included. Why not include Zhang Zhao as well?
Zhang Zhao was also a leader of the Heaven and Earth Society's boat army, and his influence in Xunzhou Prefecture was no less than that of Luo Dagang.

“Zhang Zhao was once granted amnesty by the imperial court, and many officials in Guangxi Province know him. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to claim credit for someone else’s work?” Xie Bin laughed.

"Furthermore, Zhang Zhao's birth mother was a Western prostitute, and her appearance was very different from ours, so it was difficult for her to claim credit."

It seems Zhang Zhao is a mixed breed; no wonder he has such an unusual appearance, with brown hair and gray eyes.

Luo Dagang doesn't seem like a brainless person. Since Zhang Zhao has a history of accepting the Qing government's offer of amnesty and betraying his accomplices, why would Luo Dagang still cooperate with Zhang Zhao to attack Jiangkouwei?
"Does Commander Xie know what kind of person Zhang Zhao is? I've heard that Zhang Zhao was once recruited by the imperial court?" Peng Gang recalled Zhang Zhao, whom he had met once before.

“Zhang Zhao is greedy for money. I can only receive 60% of my salary from the Guangxi Provincial Governor every year. How much can a bandit like Zhang Zhao, who is not well received, receive?” Xie Bin said.

“It’s not surprising that a bandit like Zhang Zhao, who is used to being undisciplined, cannot be bound by military regulations and the government cannot trust him. He surrendered and then rebelled again, and then surrendered again.”

Greed for money—this explains everything and aligns with Peng Gang's first impression of Zhang Zhao.

When he first met Zhang Zhao, he even tried to take away Zhang Zhao's business, even from him, a charcoal burner.

Jiangkou Market was the wealthiest place in Xunzhou Prefecture, comparable to the prefectural city.

Luo Dagang likely believed that Zhang Zhao would cooperate with him to capture Jiangkouwei for the sake of the money.

After seeing Xie Bin off, Peng Gang, clutching a thick stack of work point cards, called the four group leaders and deputy group leaders over.

After two months of study, with the help of Li Qi and Peng Yi, the two brothers, Lu Qin and Lu Qian, have learned all the names of the members in both groups.

Chen Sanshui, who had zero cultural background, struggled for two months but still couldn't recognize all the names on the roster. This infuriated Li Qi, who cursed Chen Sanshui for being too stupid.

If Li Qi can't teach Chen Sanshui, he won't be able to get the six jin of smoked meat that Peng Gang promised him.

That's a whole six pounds of smoked meat!

"Li Qi, Lu Qin, Lu Qian, you all performed very well!"

After testing the literacy skills of the group leader and deputy group leader, Peng Gang praised Li Qi, Lu Qin, and Lu Qian, while also criticizing Chen Sanshui.

"Sanshui, out of the four group leaders and deputy group leaders, you're the only one who can't even recognize all the names of your own group members. You need to work harder!"

"Yes, boss." Chen Sanshui looked ashamed and lowered his head in apology, like a primary school student who hadn't finished his homework. "You've been with me for over two months now. Are you familiar with the work in the mountain area?" Peng Gang asked.

"We're already familiar with it," the four nodded hurriedly.

“These are work point cards.” Peng Gang showed the four group leaders and deputy group leaders the work point cards he had cut and made himself, and patiently explained to them that he would be implementing a work point system in the mountain area.

Starting tomorrow, the members of both groups will have their work points calculated based on their daily labor and training performance.

The work points are recorded in tally by the group leader and deputy group leader on the roster after the work is completed each day. Finally, they are handed over to Peng Gang or Peng Gang's siblings for verification. After verification, the work point card for the day is issued.

Each person can receive five basic work points after completing their daily tasks and training. If they exceed the target, they can receive corresponding work point bonuses.

"Breakfast is worth two work points, lunch is worth one work point, and dinner is worth two work points. In other words, as long as you earn five work points a day, you can have a full meal for the whole day." Lu Qin quickly understood what Peng Gang meant.

Honglianping Mountain area has an unusual three-meal-a-day system. Breakfast and dinner are the main meals, while lunch is much simpler, usually consisting of two sweet potatoes, two cornbread buns, dried sweet potatoes, and occasionally a bowl of salted rice balls.

“Work points are equivalent to money in our mountain area.” Li Qi, with his broader knowledge and stronger comprehension, couldn’t help but think of the banknotes he had seen more than ten years ago when he saw those work point cards in Peng Gang’s hand.

“Yes, you can use the work points you accumulate to exchange for things in the warehouse, such as grain, vegetables, tea oil, lard, eggs, meat, etc. You can exchange for anything that is available in the warehouse,” Peng Gang nodded and said.

"Master, can I exchange my books and writing materials?" Li Qi asked, making a request that seemed utterly absurd to the other young men.

Now that he has the opportunity to eat his fill, Li Qi wants to pick up his writing skills again, which he has been gradually forgetting.

"Of course, you can tell me what you want. As long as it's reasonable, I'll try my best to meet your needs." With that, Peng Gang gave each group leader and deputy group leader a work point card with five work points and registered it on the roster.

"These five work points are your reward for being team leaders. Let me make this clear: anyone who engages in favoritism or cheating will not only have their team leader and deputy team leader removed, but they will also be expelled from the mountain area and left to fend for themselves. Understand?"

The four nodded respectfully and took the work point cards from Peng Gang, which had the character "伍" written on them and other words and pictures they couldn't understand.

Finally, Peng Gang brought out a copy of the Honglianping Mountain Area Rules and handed it to Li Qi.

The rules are nothing more than prohibitions on private fights, prevention of wildfires, prohibition of intentional damage to public mountain property, prohibition of urinating or defecating in living areas, and handwashing before meals and after using the toilet, as well as corresponding penalties.

"These are the rules of the mountain area. Take them back and study them carefully, and explain them to your team members."

"Yes, boss." Li Qi took the mountain area rules from Peng Gang.

After giving these instructions, Peng Gang adjourned the meeting and told them to go back and rest.

Li Qi, Lu Qin, and Lu Qian left one after another, but Chen Sanshui remained in the same place, showing no intention of leaving.

"Master, could you give me a name as nice as theirs? My name is too rustic. The Lu brothers' names are much nicer than mine. They said their names were given to them by the master's father." Chen Sanshui looked up at Peng Gang expectantly.

“In that case, from today onwards, you shall be called Chen Miao.” Peng Gang granted Chen Sanshui’s request, and after a moment’s thought, he neatly wrote the two characters Chen Miao on the paper.

Peng Gang took the information provided by Xie Bin very seriously.

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society were of mixed quality and diverse backgrounds.

There were indeed members of the Heaven and Earth Society like Luo Dagang, who robbed the rich to help the poor, cared about their reputation, and wanted to make a name for themselves.

However, many members of the Heaven and Earth Society openly claimed to rob the rich and help the poor, but secretly engaged in indiscriminate plundering, making them no different from bandits and outlaws.

The remnants of the Heaven and Earth Society had already entered Pingzai Mountain, and Peng Gang dared not relax his vigilance.

He dug more pits and laid more barbed wire around the charcoal burning area, especially on the mountaintop. At the same time, he intensified military training and used precious gunpowder to teach his two uncles and the young men how to fire muskets and cannons.

The number of people on night duty has also increased from two people in one group to four people in two groups.

(End of this chapter)