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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 650: Changlu Salt Merchant

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    Baodi County is located in the northern part of the North China Plain, and nearby villages are still located on a plain.  ¡ÜThe word "Di" in Baodi District originally read only "chi", which means high ground in the water.  It is said that when Qianlong visited this place during his tour, he blurted out the words "di" in Baodi, and it became a golden saying from then on.  Baodi, also known as Quyang, is second only to Yuyang (Jixian) and Yongyang (Wuqing). It has been an important commercial place since ancient times.  In the 1020s, a salt-selling courtyard was set up because Gaofu was flat and wide. It was called "Xincang" at the time and became a salt storage base for the feudal court.  Two and a half centuries later, due to the large population and prosperous trade, it was changed into a county.  At that time, the income from salt production here accounted for 1/10 of the national salt profit. The Chinese people regarded salt as a national treasure, so "wealthy merchants and wealthy merchants have a lot of goods."

    Most of the wealthy households in Baodi are Changlu salt merchants. Among them, the one with the largest industry in Baodi is Zhang Jinwen, the most famous salt merchant among the last Changlu salt merchants.  Zhang Jinwen was originally from Jinghai and ranked first among the eight wealthy businessmen in Tianjin. He was nicknamed "Hai Zhangwu" and his business name was "Yizhaolin".

    When Seng Gelinqin fought a fierce battle with the foreigners in Tanggu, Zhang Jinwen, together with Hengfu, the governor of Zhili, went to Dagu to donate food and salary. When Seng Gelinqin was defeated, Zhang Jinwen also donated money to Seng Gelinqin. When Tianjin fell  , Zhang Jinwen was also forced to flee with his family.  In troubled times, wealthy businessmen cannot guarantee the safety of their property, let alone other ordinary people?

    In the face of the ferocious Fan soldiers, Zhang Jinwen fled to Baodi early with his family and shop clerks to avoid the war. Here he gathered two thousand salt soldiers to protect themselves, which was more than the Manchu Qing army in Baodi County.  At this time, there were actually not many Manchu soldiers in Baodi County. Tianjin fell, and Hengfu and others defected to the British and French forces.  The county magistrate of Baodi County also signed off early and fled. Baodi County is actually maintained by Zhang Jinwen.

    Two thousand saltmen guard Baodi.  A small group of British and French allied forces will not come to harass them, and they will be enough to maintain local security.  But Zhang Jinwen was afraid that one day the Fanbing Brigade would attack, and his two thousand salt soldiers would not be able to withstand it.  But fortunately, after hearing that the Fan soldiers had occupied Tianjin, they all rushed to the capital. They seemed to have no interest in coming to a small place like Baodi, but they could still maintain peace for a while.

    But last night, Yan Ding, who was out on sentry duty, reported that a large group of people were coming towards Baodi. Zhang Jinwen was very frightened.  He quickly sent people to find out what kind of army was coming.

    At night, several agile saltmen who were born as hunters came to investigate and report back. It was said that there were two troops, one was the Fan soldiers, with tens of thousands of people in total, and the other was the Taiping army under the banner of the Taiping Heavenly Flag.  The army also has tens of thousands of troops.

    Zhang Jinwen collapsed to the ground all of a sudden. The soldiers looted but not a blade of grass grew, and those Taiping soldiers with long hair listened to the government propaganda.  They also targeted wealthy households, and the two troops that came were not good enemies. Could it be that the Zhang family's foundation was ruined?

    Just when Zhang Jinwen was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, one of Zhang Jinwen's staff, Mr. Wen, said: "My boss. I heard that Changmao has a good relationship with foreigners in the south. He also protects private property and encourages industry and commerce. Why not first?"  Contact the Changmao Army. He is still a Chinese, so he should be able to speak. If you can spend some money and food to ask for their protection, you may not be afraid of the disturbance from the foreign soldiers." Mr. Wen Wen has traveled extensively.  He had some knowledge, and knew that the Taiping Army had good relations with foreigners in Jiangnan, but he did not know that the Taiping Army had fallen out with the foreigners at this time, and said that as long as they could get through the long-haired joints, there was no need to fear the foreign soldiers.

    Zhang Jinwen has run out of ideas. He has heard some rumors before about Changmao's various deeds in Jiangnan, but before that he thought they were rumors from ordinary people and could not be trusted. But now that things were urgent, he could only choose to believe them.  .  At that moment, Zhang Jinwen ordered Mr. Wen to bring more than a hundred salt men, fifty carts of grain, dozens of pigs and sheep, and hundreds of jars of fine wine to contact Changmao.

    Changmao arrived very quickly. The saltmen of the Zhang family at the south gate of Baodi County were still raising fire in preparation for the meeting ceremony, but Changmao's forwards had already arrived at the gate.  Mr. Wen climbed up the short rammed earth city wall of Baodi County and looked up. He saw sparks on the plain as bright as the stars in the sky. There seemed to be soldiers and horses of the Taiping Army from far and near. He was so frightened that his legs became weak, but he thought about his boss's instructions.  , had to take several followers out of the city to contact the Taiping Army.

    We came to the Taiping Army formation with a white flag and saw that the Taiping Army was not in a hurry to attack the city when they arrived outside Baodi City. Instead, they collectively dug trenches on the ground. When they saw Mr. Wen and others coming out of the city, several sentry soldiers had already come up.  Asked about the origin before drinking.  Mr. Wen tremblingly expressed his intention, and the leading sentry of the Taiping Army took Mr. Wen into the formation.

    Along the way, I saw that all these Taiping soldiers were strong and strong, and all of them had muskets. You must know that muskets are expensive. How much money the owner spent, only fifty of the two thousand salt soldiers were equipped.  The musket is indeed the long-haired thief who caused chaos in Jiangnan. It is indeed a big deal.  It's just that their clothes look too weird, they are all colorful clothes. At first glance, they look like beggars, and they are not very heroic, but they look like a general in these clothes.??Reduced the inferiority ratio.

    Mr. Wen secretly cursed and was taken to a slightly higher mound. He saw that the place was surrounded by soldiers and horses. The densely lit torches made the surroundings look like daylight. Among them was a general. This man was wearing a bright red military uniform and his face was bright.  Like a crown jade, he has the demeanor of a Confucian general.  Mr. Wen stepped forward and knelt down and said, "Wen Qianhe, a humble citizen below, has seen the general."

    This Taiping Army general was Li Xiucheng. He personally led his troops to Baodi for a big gamble. Fortunately, halfway through, he had already discovered through investigation that the coalition brigade was also heading towards Baodi. Li Xiucheng got this  I was relieved by the news.  After arriving at Baodi, he concentrated on ordering the soldiers to build fortification positions, just waiting for the British and French forces to come and fight.

    Originally, after the Taiping Army landed at Shanhaiguan, they passed through many Manchu counties along the way. However, due to the emergency of the war, the Taiping Army did not pay too much attention to the local wealthy gentry. After the capture of Tianjin, the city  The wealthy families fled and died without ever having any contact with them. I didn't expect that there would be local wealthy families in Baodi who would come to donate money, food, labor and troops. It was really a surprise.

    At that moment, Li Xiucheng helped Mr. Wen up in a very amiable manner and said, "This gentleman looks like a scholar. Sir, please get up. We in the Taiping Army don't want to kneel down and worship." Wen Qianhe thanked him a few times and stood up. After Li Xiucheng asked the purpose of his visit,  He smiled and said, "Mr. Wen, please go back and tell Shopkeeper Zhang that our Taiping Army came to Baodi to annihilate foreign soldiers and horses and will not disturb the local area. Please close the city gate and guard Baodi County and don't let a single foreign soldier in."  Our Taiping Army can just annihilate the enemy outside the city."

    Wen Qianhe was surprised. Didn¡¯t the Taiping Army have good relations with foreigners?  Why did you fall out and start a fight?  I couldn't figure it out for a while, but after listening to Li Xiucheng's words, I felt relieved and vowed never to let a foreign soldier pass.

    Li Xiucheng added: "We don't want food, cattle, sheep, wine, etc. There are medicinal materials in the city. There is a shortage of medicinal materials in the army. Can we get some more? Our Taiping Army will pay according to the price. There will be a fight at dawn. Can the city  Send more manpower to take care of our wounded soldiers, we have military doctors, and we are thinking of opening a temporary rescue center in the city, I don¡¯t know what to do?¡±

    Mr. Wen did not expect that the Taiping Army did not want money and food, and the army did not enter the city. He only offered to let the wounded soldiers enter the city. Of course, he agreed without any excuse. Of course, he did not dare to ask for the money for the medicinal materials anyway, but Li Xiucheng asked the quartermaster  Following Mr. Wen into the city for shopping, he had to pay him no matter what, and in the end Mr. Wen had no choice but to let him go.

    After returning to the city to report, Zhang Jinwen was still uneasy, but he felt a little relieved when he saw that the quartermaster who followed him into the city was very polite. Then he saw that the quartermaster paid according to the price when purchasing medicinal materials in the city. He thought to himself:  Huo Junwu actually paid the price, which was a rare sight in a hundred years. He felt even more relieved about the Taiping Army, so he set up a temporary rescue center next to the south gate and summoned some doctors and helpers in the city.  spare.

    After a busy night, Zhang Jinwen lay down and slept for a while with his clothes on at midnight. When it was dawn, Zhang Jinwen was awakened by the rumbling sound of artillery outside the city. He was so frightened that he hid under the bed, but he listened to the artillery fire for a long time.  The sound is always outside the city.  At this time, the door opened, and Mr. Wen came into the room and said happily: "My boss, it is exactly what General Li of the Taiping Army said. They are fighting with foreign soldiers and horses outside the city."

    Zhang Jinwen was completely relieved. It would be best if the two sides could not fight with each other. However, he vaguely hoped that the Taiping Army could win. Although they were still rebellious against the imperial court, they were still their own countrymen. They could win.  Foreign devils, my countrymen also feel that they are glorious.

    After Zhang Jinwen changed his clothes and left the house, he comforted the panicked family members for a few words, and then took Mr. Wen and others to the top of the city to watch the two sides fight.  The Taiping Army concentrated in the southwest of the South Gate to fight with the foreigners. The city walls around the South Gate had long been crowded with people who heard the news and came to watch the excitement.  After Zhang Jinwen came to Baodi, he formed a salt corps to protect the environment and the people, which won the support of the people in the city. When they saw Zhang Jinwen coming, they gave way early.

    Zhang Jinwen climbed to the top of the city and saw that more than two miles outside the city, the flag of the Taiping Army was erected there. The soldiers of the Taiping Army were hiding in the dug trenches. Farther away, the soldiers of the British and French allied forces were  The colorfully dressed and angry horses formed a tight formation and pressed neatly towards the Taiping Army position amidst the sound of drum music.

    Ten thousand people are boundless, and the British and French allied forces have dispatched thousands of people. The horizontal formations are so dense that it makes people feel very imposing. However, the Taiping Army has been curled up in the trench, with their beggar-like clothes.  The clothes looked very ugly.

    "Oh, what can we do? It seems that the long-haired soldiers dare not come forward to fight, and why are they dressed so shabby? Mr. Wen, if you had told me earlier, I would have asked the butler to remove those salt in the warehouse.  Bring out Ding's uniforms for them." Zhang Jinwen rubbed his hands anxiously when he saw that the Taiping Army was not as powerful as the Allied Forces.

    artsThe gentleman said in a low voice: "My boss, it's the Taiping Army, not the Longhair. As for those clothes, the Taiping Army themselves said they were camouflage uniforms. Look, boss, those Taiping soldiers are bravely lying on the grass in the ditch wearing these clothes."  , you really can¡¯t find them if you don¡¯t look carefully, and if you can¡¯t see them, it¡¯s hard to be hit by a musket.¡±

    "It turns out there is another wonderful use. These commanders, oh, the Taiping Army are really smart. OK, I will watch them defeat the foreign soldiers at the top of the city today" (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature, novels are better  Update faster!
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