Are Jade Warriors and Jade Lancers worth it, or are Peasant Spears and Bows better?

I'm looking to get back into The Old World after taking a small break from it, and I'm trying to decide if I wanna use Jade Warriors and Jade Lancers or go with Peasant Spears and Bows for the normal rank-and-file. The few times I played, I was utterly underwhelmed by both the Jade Warriors and Lancers.

Ideally, I'd only wanna use the Peasant Spears as a blocker so my Shugengan(s) can flank my opponent's units.

How effective are Cathay gunlines? Can on-foot Crane Gunners and cannons be used to whittle down an opponent's army and then mop them up with Miao Ying and Shugengans, or do I need to field actual warriors too?

I'd prefer not to take any warriors, lancers, or peasants and instead have a gun line of Crane Gunners, six cannons, Miao Ying, and 3 Shugengans. Would that be a viable list, or would it be an illegal list?