Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

The Heavenly Kingdom Guard already has three battalions, although they are all raw recruits who have never been on the battlefield.

They are hardworking, well-equipped, and have a strong fighting spirit.

Most importantly, these guards were extremely loyal to Hong Tian.

"Your Highness, another batch of children will come of age in the latter half of this year. At that time, we can organize the fourth and fifth battalions. Next year, we can form three more battalions."

Chen Yucheng, deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, was very excited.

Watching the troops loyal to His Highness the Young Heavenly King grow from nothing to something, little by little.

Chen Yucheng also felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Keep in mind that Chen Yucheng is only nineteen years old now. In later generations, he would still be just a child.

But in this era, he was already a general commanding thousands of troops. Moreover, long before joining the orphanage and assisting Hong Tian, ​​he had already distinguished himself on the battlefield.

Hong Tian nodded repeatedly.

However, in Hong Tian's plan, the soldiers of the future Imperial Guard will not only come from orphanages.

After the suppression of the Tianjing Incident, the Imperial Guard needed to expand on a large scale in order to deal with the threat from the Tartars.

The orphanage alone cannot provide enough soldiers.

Fortunately, there were still scouts in the various units of the Taiping Army.

The Imperial Guard could recruit soldiers aged sixteen and over from the Boy Scouts. Soldiers from orphanages served as the core and junior officers, enabling the Imperial Guard to expand rapidly.

In this way, the three battalions of the Imperial Guard can be quickly expanded into three regiments. Then, artillery, cavalry, engineers, and supply troops can be formed to create an infantry division.

Then, we will continue to expand in this manner.

With their equipment and training methods, the Imperial Guards were virtually invincible on the battlefield.

As long as the Imperial Guard can form several infantry divisions, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be absolutely safe.

Once the production capacity of the arsenal has been continuously increased, the other troops of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be gradually reorganized.

Perhaps in a few years, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be able to truly possess the strength to fight a decisive battle against the Manchu Qing regime.

The goal of expelling the Tartars and restoring the Han dynasty is no longer just a dream.

"Come with me to the arsenal. The Imperial Guard is going to continue expanding, and the supply of weapons and equipment must keep up!" Hong Tian said.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Chen Yucheng nodded.

Chen Yucheng, having led troops and fought battles, was well aware of just how advanced the weapons equipped by the Imperial Guards were. Even the legendary weapons of the foreigners couldn't compare to those of the Imperial Guards.

Once on the battlefield, the Imperial Guard will definitely be able to demonstrate extremely formidable combat power.

Chen Yucheng was also very much looking forward to this day.

The arsenal was located north of the orphanage, and had a small dock. It was connected to the Yangtze River via a water gate.

Every transaction with the British and Gauls involved their merchant ships anchoring at the riverbank. The orphanage would then dispatch small boats to ferry the goods back.

"Hurry up, and be careful. His Highness said that we need to further expand the production capacity of our arsenal."

Hong Tian and Chen Yucheng had just arrived at the arsenal when they heard the sounds coming from inside.

"Fatty, His Highness is here!" Chen Yucheng shouted.

The next second, a round, fat man suddenly jumped out of it.

In the resource-scarce Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it was extremely rare for someone to grow up to be fat.

The fat man's name is Niu Yusheng. He is exactly twenty years old this year, a year older than Chen Yucheng. His ancestors and father were all blacksmiths, and he has some skill in blacksmithing.

However, Niu Yusheng's ancestors and father were also soldiers of the Taiping Army, and they died in battles against the Tartars.

When Hong Tian first started improving the steam engine, Niu Yusheng was his assistant.

It must be admitted that although Niu Yusheng is fat, he does have some talent in mechanics.

Hong Tian also passed on some of his skills to him and appointed him as the supervisor of the arsenal.

Now, Niu Yusheng is in charge of managing everything at the arsenal.

Besides the production of some weapons, there is also the research and development of new weapons. It usually involves Hong Tian proposing ideas and then providing some technical guidance.

"Your Highness, what brings you here?" Niu Yusheng asked with a broad smile.

He always considered himself Hong Tian's apprentice.

Even though Hong Tian is only six and a half years old.

"Come and see! How's the arsenal doing? How many weapons and ammunition can it produce each day?" Hong Tian asked.

"Your Highness, the arsenal is still short-handed. In addition, there is a shortage of machinery. There is also a significant gap in the supply of raw materials. If we can recruit more people and purchase another batch of steam engines from the British and the Gauls to ensure a sufficient supply of various raw materials, the arsenal's production capacity can be greatly increased."

Niu Yusheng's smile faded, and he became serious.

When discussing work, Niu Yusheng was no longer as carefree and jovial as before.

"Currently, the arsenal can produce 100 Type 5 rifles, one Type 5 heavy machine gun, and one Type 5 80mm mortar every day. It can produce one 120mm mortar every two days."

As for bullets, we can produce 10,000 bullets, 100 80mm shells, 50 120mm shells, and 500 hand grenades every day.

Other weapons, such as bayonets, were also present, in varying quantities.

Niu Yusheng then reported.

Hong Tian nodded: "Production capacity is still insufficient. The Imperial Guard will need a large-scale expansion in the second half of this year. We might also need to provide some equipment to other units. Therefore, the arsenal's production capacity needs to be further expanded!"

"Yes, Your Highness, I will find a way. However, we must ensure the supply of raw materials!" Niu Yusheng said solemnly.

Without enough raw materials, even the most skilled cook can't make a meal without rice!

"Alright, I'll ask the British and the Gauls for a solution!" Hong Tian said.

"How's the development of the new artillery going?" Hong Tian asked.

The new artillery currently being developed at the arsenal consists of 75mm mountain guns and 75mm field guns.

In Wang Jun's plan, 75mm mountain guns would be equipped in the artillery companies of infantry regiments, while 75mm field guns would be equipped in the divisional artillery regiments.

"Your Highness, progress is going smoothly so far. We expect to be able to start mass production in another two or three months," Niu Yusheng replied.

Hong Tian nodded repeatedly, very satisfied.

Subsequently, Hong Tian went deep into the various workshops of the arsenal to inspect the weapons being manufactured.

He had friendly conversations with the managers and workers in each workshop.

These people were all recruited by Hong Tian from various places around Tianjing.

When the arsenal was first established, Hong Tian spent almost all his time there. He became very familiar with the workers.

Everyone has great respect for the young Heavenly King.

Even though the young star is very young, his skills are absolutely top-notch. These craftsmen naturally have great respect for their skilled masters.

It was almost noon when we came out of the arsenal.

Lunch has already begun at the orphanage.

Children of all ages, carrying bowls and chopsticks, headed to the cafeteria.

The children's faces were full of smiles.

For them, this is undoubtedly the happiest and most blissful time.

In this era, apart from the homes of princes, nobles, and officials, most people ate only two meals a day.

But at the orphanage, they were provided with three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

On one hand, it was Hong Tian's habit. On the other hand, most of the people in the orphanage were children, who were at the age of growth, and Hong Tian wanted to make sure they had enough to eat.

Even if the food isn't very good and doesn't have much oil or fat.

But being able to have a feast twice a month is considered quite good in this era.

After all, there are tens of thousands of people in the entire orphanage.

For this reason, Hong Tian spent a lot of money to buy grain from the British and the Gauls.

Even when Tianjing was besieged by the Tartars, they dared not obstruct the foreign merchant ships.

Although the price is a bit high, at least it can guarantee the food supply and ensure that everyone has enough to eat.

Being able to ensure the healthy growth of so many children in the orphanage, even if they might sacrifice themselves for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the future, at least gives them a happy childhood. This makes Hong Tian very gratified and gives him a great sense of accomplishment.