1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 65 The Mule
Unable to capture Luo Dagang for a long time, the Qing troops from the Patrol Office and the Xunzhou Green Standard Army withdrew to Jiangkouwei and Guiping City.

Seeing that the situation had eased, Luo Dagang became restless and prepared to go to Guangzhou and Hong Kong to purchase goods, using the Heaven and Earth Society's smuggling channels to continue his smuggling trade to support his boat army, and also to purchase some weapons.

Upon learning that Peng Gang was about to lead his troops north to attack Dachong, Luo Dagang also intended to have Wang Zuoxin and the old brothers in Su Sanniang's team, along with the newly joined boatmen, accompany Peng Gang to Dachong to broaden their horizons and see how Peng Gang fought.

Luo Dagang was always curious about how Peng Gang had defeated Zhang Zhao.

Although Peng Gang had already told him the cause and effect of Zhang Zhao's battle, Luo Dagang was not very convinced.

After all, Luo Dagang and Zhang Zhao had known each other for over a decade, and Luo Dagang knew Zhang Zhao's capabilities very well.

If it weren't for the urgent need to purchase supplies in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, Luo Dagang would have preferred to personally lead the team to observe the process.

Luo Dagang admitted that Peng Gang was skilled in marching exercises.

He was a well-informed man who had seen many armies.

Seeing that the militia under Peng Gang's command were marching more and more neatly, Luo Dagang immediately thought that the army he was comparing them to was not the army of the Qing Dynasty, but the British army he had seen when he participated in the Pingyingtuan (anti-British militia) in Guangzhou.

However, Peng Gang's marching drills were not as neat, skillful, or imposing as those of the Englishmen.

English soldiers like to swing their arms and lift their legs high during marching drills, making exaggerated movements. Peng Gang's regimental drills, on the other hand, have much smaller movements; his arms don't swing above his chest, and his legs don't lift more than a foot high, making them more composed than the English soldiers.

Luo Dagang was very curious about where Peng Gang had learned this marching style and how he had mastered it.

Of course, he was even more curious about whether the Zijingshan militia, which marched so well, was just all show and no substance, and whether they could actually fight.

After all, Peng Gang mainly bought refugees and displaced people who didn't know martial arts.

His opponents were local militias with experience in suppressing bandits and oppressing civilians.

"You're going to Guangzhou? And you want these people to come with me to fight in Dachong?" Peng Gang stared at Luo Dagang and said.

"It's fine to let your men join my team to fight and broaden their horizons. Afterwards, I will also give your men some wealth based on their performance. However, they must listen to me, and you must promise me that you will bring some things back from Guangzhou."

Peng Gang's team wasn't very large, and since Luo Dagang's people wanted to work together, and it was a team of experienced people mentoring newcomers, not just a group of complete novices, Peng Gang naturally welcomed them.

Most of the old men in the boat army are highly skilled in martial arts. It is said that their one-on-one fighting ability is no less than that of Li Dianyuan and Min Zhengwen's personal guards, and they can also be put to use.

However, Peng Gang was more concerned about the news that Luo Dagang was going to Guangzhou to purchase goods.

Many of the imported goods that Peng Gang wanted were not available in Guangxi; they could only be bought in Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Although the Heaven and Earth Society wasn't very good at fighting, their logistics channels were indeed very powerful. Several of the brown basses in Luo Dagang's team entered Guangxi through the Heaven and Earth Society's underground logistics channels.

During the heyday of the submarine force, the uprisings even involved small foreign cannons, which were probably smuggled from Guangdong into Guangxi.

"What are you bringing?" Luo Dagang asked.

Peng Gang wanted many imported goods, too many to list in a short time, so he found paper and pen and made a list:
The more barbed brown basses, the better.

Spring steel, the more the better.

Dark flint of moderate hardness, the more the better.

The more gunpowder the foreigners use, the better.

Fifty bronze whistles.

One pendulum clock, fifteen copper-cased pocket watches, and two silver-cased pocket watches.

Quinine (cinchona bark), the more the better.

Five fountain pens.

A set of metric systems.

Five vernier calipers.

Three sets of rulers, set squares, compasses, and protractors.

The more refined steel from Suzhou or foreigners, the better.

Seeing that Peng Gang's list was getting longer and longer, and that Luo Dagang didn't even know what many of the items on it were, he couldn't help but interrupt Peng Gang, saying with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "Do you think I'm a mule? How did you bring back so much stuff at once? And there are many things written on it that I don't even recognize. For example, what is this metric system of weights and measures?"

"It's about the weight and size of the foreigners. You have to buy this from the French guys in the Guangzhou trading companies. They use males, while the English guys use females."

"Don't the foreign firms in Guangzhou fly foreign flags? The flags are white in the middle, blue on the left, and red on the right; those are French foreign firms," ​​Peng Gang explained to Luo Dagang, trying to use simple and straightforward language.

"You've been to the foreign firms in Guangzhou?" Luo Dagang was surprised that Peng Gang knew the details of how the flags were displayed at the foreign firms in Guangzhou, and suspected that Peng Gang had been to the foreign firms in Guangzhou before.

“My father went there, and he told me all this.” Peng Gang came up with an unfalsifiable reason to appease Luo Dagang, and then had Peng Yi bring sixty taels of gold to Luo Dagang. “Brother Luo, take these sixty taels of gold first. If it’s not enough, lend me some, and I’ll make up the difference when I get back.”

"Heaven knows why you want so many strange things, and what use they are to you. Considering how much you've helped me, I'll try my best to buy these things for you," Luo Dagang said, taking the gold.

"But let me be clear from the start, what you want is too strange and unusual, I may not be able to buy it. Foreign guns and gunpowder are hot commodities in Guangzhou, and the Heaven and Earth Society in Guangzhou is also scrambling to buy foreign guns and gunpowder. As an outsider, I can't buy many. I will try my best to find you a foreign gun with a bayonet."

Before leaving, Luo Dagang told Su Sanniang and Chen Ajiu that if Peng Gang used them as cannon fodder, they could simply ignore Peng Gang and go back to Lema, and then deal with him when he returned.

In other cases, listen to Peng Gang and try to get some money and food from Dachong afterward, especially rice, to take back to Lema.

Su San Niang and Chen A Jiu nodded in agreement.

After explaining these things, Luo Dagang led more than a dozen of his old brothers down the mountain and took a boat to Guangzhou and Hong Kong to purchase supplies.

Taking advantage of this trip to Dachong, Peng Gang was able to train the young men's ability to march long distances.

An army marches on its stomach.

Before setting off, Peng Gang made thorough preparations, buying four mules from Bitanxun and bundling up all the supplies he had prepared beforehand, including bamboo rice, fried rice, salt blocks, pickled vegetables, dry rations, cured meat, dried fish, strong liquor, gauze, mugwort, and realgar, and placing them on the mules' backs.

If a mule simply cannot carry it, it will be carried by manpower.

The gunpowder was wrapped in oilcloth and protected from moisture before being carried by manpower. It was not allowed to be placed on mules, so as to prevent the mules from getting lost and leaving the country without gunpowder.

Each group shall bring its own cooking pots, crucibles, lead bullet molds, and files for melting lead and casting bullets, as well as for the musket group.

Personal rain gear: raincoat, straw hat, and bedding such as straw mats and thin blankets should be brought by the individual.

The fourth group faced significant transportation challenges due to the need to carry a 400-pound mountain-splitting cannon along with its shells and gunpowder. Group leader Chen Xuyuan came to Peng Gang to complain.

The fourth group's request was reasonable, and Peng Gang specially approved one mule for the fourth group and a rifleman for the fifth group to assist the fourth group in transporting the mountain-splitting cannons and ammunition.

After doing all this, Peng Gang asked Qin, a trusted local carpenter who knew the way, to act as their guide and lead them to Dachong.

Looking at Peng Gang and his group of young thugs carrying large and small bags.

Chen Ajiu couldn't help but complain to Su Sanniang: "Sanniang, with them carrying big bags and small packages like mules, each of them carrying at least forty pounds of miscellaneous things, wouldn't that waste time and cause delays?"

The journey to Dachong is along rugged mountain paths, but if traveled light, it should only take a day at most. With so much stuff, it will probably take them two days to reach Dachong.

Chen Ajiu felt that Peng Gang was going to unnecessary trouble, carrying so much stuff for a journey of only one or two days.

The rations they carried were enough to last them almost half a month.

Although Dachong is remote, it's not a desolate wilderness. If you don't have enough food, you can just buy some from the people of Dachong. If you can't buy it, you can just rob them.

Peng Gang had considered Chen Ajiu's idea.

The Wang brothers had been terrorizing Zijing Mountain for many years, and the locals depended on them for survival and feared them.

The people of Dachong might not dare to sell food to Peng Gang and his group.

Of course, Peng Gang could also force a sale, or even rob the seller.

However, doing so would inevitably lose the support of the local people and bring unnecessary trouble in the future.

At this stage, Peng Gang only wants to deal with the Wang brothers and doesn't want to make too many enemies.

Peng Gang has not yet considered harming anyone else, not even the small landlords and rich peasants in the Zijingshan area.

After all, you won't get much profit from making changes, so there's no need to lose more than you gain.

“They must have their reasons for doing this. They didn’t ask us to carry anything. Remember what Brother Luo told us before he left. Listen to him. Let’s go.”

Su San Niang couldn't understand why Peng Gang was going to Dachong, making such a big fuss as if he were about to launch a long march to attack Guilin, the provincial capital.

However, since Luo Dagang told them to follow Peng Gang's instructions before he left, they should just do as he said.

"In my opinion, that bastard Big Head Sheep was dealt with by Xie Bin. That kid exaggerated and tried to make himself look good, but Luo Dagang actually believed him."

Chen Ajiu only respected Luo Dagang. Luo Dagang made him take orders from a half-grown boy, which made Chen Ajiu somewhat resentful.

"Say less. They at least helped us. We should remember their kindness." Su Sanniang rolled her eyes at Chen Ajiu, seeing through Chen Ajiu's thoughts. He was just resentful because Peng Gang was young.

“You’ve been following Brother Luo for ten years now, why are you still so ignorant? Two months ago when we passed through Honglianping, if it weren’t for the food and medicine he gave us, we would have lost several more brothers. Ah Jiu, don’t judge a book by its cover. When your Brother Luo was traveling the world, robbing the rich to help the poor, he was about the same age as him.”

(End of this chapter)