GBP Chapter 60: Qing Dynasty Military Strength Before the Opium War
Chapter 60: Qing Dynasty Military Strength Before the Opium War
Military Strength
Let’s first take a look at the weapons of the Qing army. Well... they were still using old-fashioned guns and cannons, which were more than 200 years behind the British... The prototype was from the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and it was later improved to its final appearance.
If a dynasty is peaceful for too long, its military will also weaken. The Qing army had no regulations on regular replacement of its muskets. Some were used for decades, and some were used for 166 years. When the war came later, various places hurriedly made a batch, but how good could the quality of the rushed products be?
理论上来讲最佳的火药配方是：硝74.84%、硫11.84%、炭11.32%。当时英国的枪用火药配置是：硝75%、硫10%、炭15%，炮用发射火药配置是：硝78%、硫8%、炭14%。
The Chinese gunpowder configuration is: 80% saltpeter, 10% sulfur, and 10% charcoal. The saltpeter content in this formula is too high, it easily absorbs moisture, is not convenient for long-term storage, and has low explosive power.
【 Boat
Britain is a "strong ship and powerful gun"
What about the Qing Dynasty? In the early Qing Dynasty, there were Zheng Ming forces on the southeast coast. Later, Zheng Ming surrendered, and the navy was not so important. As long as it could crack down on coastal smuggling ships and Japanese pirates, it would be fine. There were also many restrictions on civilian ships. They all hindered progress.
Let’s look at the strength of the Qing army’s soldiers.
At that time, the main forces of the Qing army were stationed in the northeast, northwest, and southwest. Although there were troops in the local areas, as a foreign race, after entering the Central Plains, they still had to be on guard against the Han people at all times. There were certain troops in various places to monitor the people. These people were not soldiers, but a bit like today's police?
In order to support the war, except for Xinjiang and Mongolia, troops were mobilized from all provinces within the Great Wall and the Northeast. In the end, a total of about 10 people were mobilized in the Opium War.
Do you think the real legitimate part of an army will be withdrawn?
And can these hastily assembled troops defeat the modernized Britain? 】
【 In terms of numbers, 10 vs , we have the advantage. But Britain has the advantage of ships, and the British have the initiative on the battlefield. And every time the Qing Dynasty fights, it has to deploy troops in advance in every place where there may be British troops, and many soldiers can only rely on their legs to get to the next place.
The Qing army had no advantage in fighting on its own land.
Not to mention that the Qing army's soldiers were recruited and there was no clear retirement system. Although there were actions such as "eliminating the old and weak and replacing the strong and fit", there had never been clear regulations.
Soldiers' income is not high, so other professions emerge. When other professions become prosperous, being a soldier becomes a "second profession."
[ Firearms won’t work, ships won’t work, soldiers won’t work, so will relying on generals be enough?
I have found out from some data that the origins of military officers in the Qing Dynasty can be divided into two categories: those who came from the military and those who came from the military imperial examination. In addition, there are hereditary positions, those who were born under the influence of imperial family patronage, and those who donated money.
The content of the military examination is divided into the outer field: archery on horseback, archery on foot, drawing the bow, lifting stones, etc. After passing the outer field, you enter the inner field: write two policy essays on the topic of "Wu Jing".
It looked quite formal, but due to frequent mistakes made by candidates, the internal examination was changed to memorizing a hundred words of the "Wu Jing" after Jiaqing. The internal examination was a mere formality, and the external examination became the real competition venue. During the Daoguang period, there was no more appearance, and the martial arts examination was mainly based on the external examination. As long as you were strong, you would be a military officer!
As a military attaché, there are actually some who are illiterate? Those who are selected based on strength are capable soldiers, not military attachés who can lead troops in battle! Especially in the era of hot weapons, whether a military attaché is brave or not is no longer very important.
In theory, the income of military officers is higher than that of civil officials, but military officers still eat empty salaries, underpay soldiers, and accept bribes. It is not to say that civil officials are not greedy. After all, the folk song "Three years as a clean magistrate, 100,000 silver coins" is well known.
The high-level command of the Qing army was once again in the hands of civil officials, who had no military career and were proficient in eight-part essays. This operation is familiar to you, and you still remember how the previous dynasties fell.
When a dynasty's army begins to become corrupt, the dynasty is irreversible. The Opium War was the first large-scale invasion of China by Western powers. The Qing army was completely confused about its tactics, and people at the time also misjudged the British army's combat capabilities.
"So the Qing army during the Opium War was a dark world where light was seldom seen."1
What was even more terrifying was that everyone in the Qing Dynasty, from the emperor to the common people, was not aware of Britain’s strength, and some did not even know where Britain stood. The entire country was still intoxicated by the dream of the “Heavenly Kingdom” and did not take anything outside of the “Heavenly Kingdom” seriously.
＜In fact, Chinese gunpowder is also worth discussing. It was accidentally discovered by a Taoist alchemist and has been shrouded in mystery since the beginning＞
＜Every time I read modern history, I feel suffocated＞
＜ Due to inconvenient transportation, the British army can go to the next place at any time when fighting at sea, but the troops on land are limited to begin with, and deploying defenses everywhere would be too scattered. ＞
＜ Isn’t this just like nomadic people, they fight here and then go to the next place, coming and going like the wind, and it’s hard to find…＞
＜Most of the Qing army’s troops were used for the uprising. At that time, there were many uprisings in various parts of the Qing Dynasty, so they had to be drawn out＞
＜I have seen the issue of troop withdrawal before. The troop withdrawal during the fight against the Taiping Rebellion was much greater than that during the Opium War. The Qing dynasty valued its own "rule" far more than the "country"＞
＜The Qing Dynasty was a feudal dynasty, so of course their own rule was more important to them＞
＜In a word, at that time, the Qing Dynasty was in trouble both internally and externally, and it would have come to an end even without the Opium War＞
＜ Don’t have any expectations of the Qing Dynasty. People of different classes think differently. ＞
＜Is the Qing Dynasty eating up the capital left by the Ming Dynasty?＞
＜ What did the Ming Dynasty have? A maritime ban? Or was it the exploitation of tenant farmers? Hahahaha, I laughed to death. ＞
＜No, I mean that the Ming Dynasty also produced many talents, Cheng Dawei, Song Yingxing, Xu Guangqi, Zhu Su, Zhu Zaiyu, Tu Benjun, Ma Yilong, Li Shizhen, Wang Wensu, Yu Benyuan, Yu Benheng, Chen Shigong, Zhang Jingyue... all of them left rich materials for future generations＞
＜ The late Qing Dynasty was backward, but it also produced many scientists…＞
＜Image Comment: List of Qing Dynasty Scientists.jpg＞
＜To put it bluntly, the thinking and technology are not proportional. In the late Ming Dynasty, many thinkers emerged. In the Qing Dynasty, the ruling class did not dare to allow these people to have ideas. Later, not only did their thinking lag behind, but their technology was also not good.＞
＜“Weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival, arrogance is”＞
……
Indeed, one cannot be arrogant all the time, as arrogance is the easiest way to make mistakes. Li Ranran casually read a few comments and then went to the next video.
Emperors of the Light Curtain: The ocean seems to be very important?
The great talents of the Ming Dynasty who were cueed: [Surprised]
Zhu Yuanzhang: How did the previous dynasties fall? They valued culture over military power! Was the Ming Dynasty also like this? ? ?
Zhu Su looked up in surprise and boasted to his brothers: "See? I will be a great talent in the future!!!"
Those who have not used gunpowder in military affairs: Alchemist, right? Take it.
Suddenly, alchemists became popular again.
The more Qianlong watched, the angrier he became: "A hundred thousand men are still not enough to defeat us! Who made up the content of the martial arts exam? How come the Qing Dynasty has raised a bunch of rubbish! How could I not know where Britain is!"
----
Qing Dynasty, the 18th year of Daoguang
Seeing that Guangmu described the Qing army as so vulnerable, Emperor Daoguang was furious but could not find someone to settle the score with, so he had to vent his anger on the eunuchs who were accompanying him.
Emperor Daoguang calmed down after a while and said: "Britain!"
"Summon the military minister to the palace."
Mu Zhang'a, Pan Shien, Wang Ding, Kuizhao, Wen Qing and others who were still at home were also ready to enter the palace later.
"Well, what else can we do besides taking precautions and strengthening military operations in coastal areas?"
Hubei Province
Lin Zexu, the governor of Huguang, carefully analyzed Guangmu's words, trying to find a real solution from them.
"What role will these scientists play?"
"According to what the light curtain says, the Qing Dynasty is really in danger? But, is Britain really that powerful?"
The light curtain has been emphasizing [Heavenly Dynasty], as if to say that the Qing Dynasty had been in a false prosperity and was finally defeated because of arrogance...
Lin Zexu was deeply worried about opium. The emperor also ordered a strict investigation many times during his reign, but alas, the efforts were still not strong enough.
"There are no soldiers available!"
……
Many illiterate people from the lower classes were surprised to find that they could understand the words on the light curtain!
After overcoming their fear, everyone gathered in rows to look at the light screen.
"It actually said something bad about the emperor!"
"Hey, don't say that, you'll be beheaded!"
"That's what this ball of light said..."
"Hush, this world belongs to the emperor, and the emperor is in heaven! If people find out what we said, we will be punished..."
"What's that weird-looking thing?"
"I don't know, devil!"
"It said we were defeated by these devils."
"Nonsense, it's impossible, the emperor is invincible!"
"Don't say any more, be careful someone might hear you..."
……