Baodi County is located in the north of the North China Plain, and nearby villages are still located on a plain. ≤The word "六" in Baodi District was originally only read "chi", which means highlands in the water. It is said that when Qianlong visited this place, he blurted out the word "di", which has become a golden and jade word. Baodi is also known as Quyang, second only to Yuyang (Ji County) and Yongyang (Wuqing). It has been a commercial place since ancient times. In the 10th century, a specialty salt courtyard was set up because of its "high and flatness", which was called "Xincang" and became a salt storage base for the feudal court. After two and a half centuries, due to its extensive population and prosperous trade, it was changed to a county. At that time, the income from salt production here accounted for 1/10 of the national salt profit, and the Chinese people regarded salt as a national treasure, so "rich businessmen and giants with large goods."

Most of the wealthy households in Baodi are Changlu salt merchants. Among them, the one with the most industries 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 merchants in Tianjin. He was nicknamed "Hai Zhangwu" and his business name was "Yizhaolin".

When Senggelinqin was fighting fiercely with foreigners in Tanggu, Zhang Jinwen, the person who went to Dagukou to donate grain and pay, was Zhang Jinwen, when Senggelinqin retreated, he was Zhang Jinwen, and when Tianjin fell and his family was forced to flee, he was Zhang Jinwen. In the troubled times, wealthy businessmen could not guarantee the safety of their own property, let alone other common people?

In front of the fierce foreign soldiers, Zhang Jinwen fled to Baodi early with his family and businessmen to avoid the war. Here he gathered two thousand salt dynasties to protect himself, and there were more than the Qing army in Baodi County. At this moment, there were actually not many Qing soldiers in Baodi County. Tianjin fell, and Hengfu and others defected to the British and French coalition forces. The county magistrate of Baodi County also fled early, and Zhang Jinwen was actually standing up to maintain it.

Two thousand salt dings guarded Baodi. A small group of British and French forces would not come to harass him, and it would be enough to maintain local public order. But Zhang Jinwen was afraid that one day the foreign troops would attack, so his two thousand salt dings would not be able to withstand it. But fortunately, after the foreign soldiers occupied Tianjin, they went to the capital in one go. It seemed that they were not interested in coming to the small place Baodi, and they could maintain temporary safety.

But last night, the salt dick who went out to watch out for the return, and a large group of troops came to Baodi. Zhang Jinwen was very scared. He quickly sent someone to find out what army was coming.

At night, a few hunters were born in the hunter and the agile Yan Ding came to find out the rewards. There were two soldiers, one of which was foreign soldiers, with tens of thousands of people, and the other was the Taiping Army under the banner of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, with tens of thousands of people.

Zhang Jinwen collapsed to the ground all at once. The foreign soldiers plundered but no grass grew. The Taiping Army Chiefs were also specialized in attacking the rich families. The two soldiers and horses that came were not good at it. Has the Zhang family's foundation been ruined?

Just when Zhang Jinwen was anxious like an ant on a hot pan, Mr. Wen, a staff member of Zhang Jinwen, said, "Boss. I heard that Changmao has a good relationship with foreigners in the south, and also protects private property and encourages industry and commerce. It is better to contact the Changmao Army first. I have always been a Chinese person and should be able to speak. If I can spend some money and food, I will ask for their protection, and maybe I will not be afraid of foreign soldiers." Mr. Wen has a wide range of travels. He has some knowledge and knows that the Taiping Army has a good relationship with foreigners in Jiangnan, but he doesn't know that the Taiping Army has turned against the foreigners at this time. He also said that as long as the Changmao joint can be opened, there is no need to be afraid of foreign soldiers.

Zhang Jinwen had no idea. He had heard some rumors before and talked about Changmao's deeds in Jiangnan. However, he had previously thought that it was a rumor among the common people who were not trustworthy, but at this moment, he could only choose to believe it. At that moment, Zhang Jinwen ordered Mr. Wen to bring more than a hundred salted dicks, load fifty carts of food, dozens of pigs and sheep, and hundreds of jars of good wine to contact Changmao.

Changmao came very quickly. The salt of the Zhang family at the south gate of Baodi County was still raising a fire to prepare for a meeting ceremony. Changmao's vanguard had already arrived at the city. Mr. Wen climbed up the short rammed earth wall of Baodi County and looked up. He saw that the sparks on the plain were like stars in the sky. It seemed that the Taiping Army soldiers were weak from the distance. However, thinking of the boss's instructions, he had to take several entourages out of the city to contact the Taiping Army first.

He came to the Taiping Army formation with the white flag. He only saw that the Taiping Army was not in a hurry to attack the city outside Baodi City, but instead dug trenches on the ground. When he saw Mr. Wen and his men leaving the city, several sentry soldiers had already come forward to ask about their origins. Mr. Wen said his future intentions with trembling fear, and the sentry led by the Taiping Army took Mr. Wen to the formation.

Along the way, I saw that all these Taiping soldiers were strong and had muskets. You should know that the muskets were expensive and how much money the boss spent. The two thousand salt pupils were only equipped with fifty muskets. As expected, they were worthy of being a long-haired thief who had turned upside down in Jiangnan. It was indeed a big deal. But their clothes looked too weird, and they were all colorful clothes. At first glance, they looked quite like beggars, and they were not very heroic. The general was so handsome that he was so handsome.

Mr. Wen secretly complained that he was taken to a slightly higher mound. He saw that the place was covered with soldiers and horses, and the torches were densely illuminated like daytime. A general was surrounded by a warrior. He was wearing a big red military uniform and had a jade-like face, with a kind of Confucian general. Mr. Wen stepped forward and knelt down and said, "The little people below Wen Qianhe have seen the general."

The Taiping Army general was Li Xiucheng. He personally led his troops to Baodi just for a big bet. Fortunately, on the way, he had already investigated and learned that the coalition brigade was also coming towards Baodi. Li Xiucheng felt relieved after getting the news. After arriving at Baodi, he concentrated on ordering the soldiers to build fortification positions, waiting for the British and French coalition forces to come and fight.

Originally, after the Taiping Army landed from Shanhaiguan, although there were many prefectures under the Qing Dynasty along the way, due to the urgent war, the Taiping Army did not pay too much attention to the local wealthy gentry. After capturing Tianjin, the wealthy families in the city fled again, died and had no contact. Unexpectedly, there would be local wealthy families coming to donate money, grain and labor for the army in Baodi. It was a bit surprising.

At that moment, Li Xiucheng helped Mr. Wen very kindly and said, "This gentleman looks like he is a scholar. Please ask him to get up. Our Taiping Army kneels down and bows down." Wen Qianhe thanked a few words and stood up. After asking about his purpose, Li Xiucheng smiled and said, "Mr. Wen asked him to go back and tell Zhang Zhang that our Taiping Army came to Baodi to annihilate foreign soldiers and not disturb the place. Please close the city gate and guard Baodi County. Don't let a foreign soldier in. Our Taiping Army can annihilate the enemy outside the city."

Wen Qianhe was surprised. Didn’t the Taiping Army have a good relationship with foreigners? Why did they turn against each other? They couldn’t figure it out for a while, but after hearing Li Xiucheng’s words, they felt relieved and swear to agree not to let a foreign soldier go.

Li Xiucheng said again: "We don't want food, cattle, sheep, wine and other things. There are medicinal materials in the city. There are lack of Chinese medicinal materials in the army. Can we get more? Our Taiping Army pay at the price. There are also fighting tomorrow. Can we send more people to take care of our wounded soldiers in the city? We have a military doctor and think about opening the temporary rescue center in the city. I don't know what?"

Mr. Wen did not expect that the Taiping Army did not want money and grain, and the army did not enter the city. He just proposed to let the wounded soldiers enter the city. Of course, he had no idea. Of course, he did not dare to ask for the money for the medicinal materials, but Li Xiucheng asked the quarantine officer to follow Mr. Wen to go to the city to purchase, and he had to give money no matter what. In the end, Mr. Wen had to follow him.

After returning to the city to report, Zhang Jinwen was still worried, but when he saw the military officer following the city, he felt relieved. Then he saw that the military officer was always paying at the price when purchasing medicinal materials in the city. He thought that this group of troops would pay at the price. This was a rare strange thing in a century. He felt even more at ease with the Taiping Army, so he set up a temporary ambulance next to the south gate and summoned some doctors and assistants in the city to spare.

After a busy night, Zhang Jinwen lay down and slept for a while with his clothes. When the sky was shining, Zhang Jinwen was awakened by the rumbling cannons outside the city. He was so scared that he hid under the bed, but after listening to the cannons for a long time, he was always outside the city. At this time, the door opened, and Mr. Wen came into the house and said happily: "The boss, it is true that General Li of the Taiping Army said, they fought with foreign soldiers outside the city."

Zhang Jinwen was completely relieved. It would be best if he couldn't fight with Luo Yan, but he vaguely hoped that the Taiping Army would win. Although they were still rebellious against the court, they were still their own people. They could defeat the foreign devils and their own people felt glorious.

After Zhang Jinwen changed clothes and left the house, he comforted his panicked family for a few words, and then took Mr. Wen and others to the city to watch how the two sides fought. The Taiping Army concentrated in the southwest of the South Gate to fight with foreigners. The city at the South Gate area had long been filled with people who had heard the noise and watched the bustle. After Zhang Jinwen came to Baodi, he formed the Yanding area to protect the country and safe people, which was very supportive of the people in the city. When he saw Zhang Jinwen coming, he made way early.

Zhang Jinwen climbed to the city and saw that the Taiping Army's banner was erected more than two miles outside the city. The Taiping Army soldiers were hiding in the dug trenches. Further away, the foreign soldiers of the British and French Allied Forces were lined up in tight formations, and amid the drums and music, pressing towards the Taiping Army's position neatly.

The people were boundless. The British and French coalition forces dispatched thousands of people, and the squad was densely formed, making people feel very imposing. However, the Taiping Army kept curling in the trench, and with their beggar-like clothes, they looked very ugly.

"Oh, what should I do? The long-haired soldiers don't dare to go up to fight, and why are they so shabby in their clothes? Mr. Wen, if you told me earlier, I will ask the butler to take out the salt-die clothes in the warehouse for them." Zhang Jinwen saw that the Taiping Army was not as powerful as the coalition forces, so he rubbed his hands in a hurry.

Mr. Wen whispered: "The boss is the Taiping Army, not the long hair. As for the clothes, I heard from the Taiping Army themselves that it was a camouflage uniform. Look at the boss, those Taiping Army soldiers were wearing these clothes and lying in the trenches and grass. If you don't look closely, you can't find them. If you can't see them, it will be difficult to be hit by muskets."

"It turns out that there is another wonderful use. These are the Taiping Army. I am really smart. OK. Today, I will be here on the city wall to watch how they defeat foreign soldiers..." (To be continued, please search Piaotianwen, the novel is better, updated and faster!
Chapter completed!