On September 28, the city's defense team and officials of all sizes gathered in the school grounds. Xie Zicheng, who was promoted to be the leader, "dressed in short robes and mounted a horse with a gun."
I just received a report from an old villager, saying that the Taiping Army was cooking in Huangjiafen in the west of the city and would attack the city after the meal. Soon after, Xie Zicheng came to the city wall to take a look, and sure enough, the Taiping Army was swarming in. He ordered Lu Tuan
Taking advantage of the situation, tens of thousands of county residents took advantage of the situation and took weapons to defend the city. For a time, the sound of drums, gunfire, and shouts of killing continued in the city, making it impossible to explore the real situation.
However, the Taiping Army did not back down and began to attack fiercely. Among the Taiping Army, there was a vanguard leader who was bald and very tough. He was known as the King of Founders. He was seen holding a yellow flag in his hand, commanding left and right, and rushing with great speed. The soldiers on the city used
The muskets shot at him, but "when the gun hit him, the rats ambush, when he hit them down, they roared, and when the gun stopped, it followed the smoke."
At this time, there was a veteran from Dagu beside Xie Zicheng who suggested: "This thief is cunning and must be clever." He asked Xie Zicheng to call in some powerful gunmen, divide them into two rows, and shoot alternately. Sure enough, the founder of the Taiping Army, Zhong Zhong, was the founder of the Taiping Army.
The gun fell to the ground and never stood up again.
This frustrated the Taiping Army's attack, so they changed their strategy and detached a main force from the west of the city to raid from the shallow water. The Taiping Army did not know that the Yanhu in the water was deceitful, and even asked them to help with the extradition. The Yanhu pretended to agree and waited until
As they approached, they suddenly launched an attack. More than 500 guns opened fire at once. The Taiping Army was caught off guard, and two to three hundred people immediately fell into a pool of blood.
The Taiping Army suffered setbacks one after another and had to retreat. The next day, the Taiping Army tried to attack Xiaoshao Zhikou again, but Xie Zicheng had already ambushed the troops, causing nearly 500 casualties to the Taiping Army.
At this time, the Taiping Army's Northern Expedition had lasted half a year. They were running out of food and grass and had no backup. After winter, the weather began to get cold again, and they were frustrated in their attack on Tianjin. They mistakenly believed that the main force of the Qing army was in Tianjin, so Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang
We decided to retreat to the Jinghai Duliu Town area first, intending to wait for reinforcements before making any plans.
However, as soon as the momentum of the Taiping Army weakened, the Qing Army took the initiative. On October 17, the Superintendent of Divisions won the victory and unified the army from Shenzhou to Tianjin. They went to Duliu Town and transferred Xie Zicheng to the camp to handle food and wages.
, lead training to help suppress.
Xie Zicheng defeated the Taiping Army in Tianjin and made great achievements and became famous. After arriving at Shengbao Camp, he actively participated in the battle and assisted Tong Jian, the deputy commander of the capital, to win a victory, but Tong Jian was a little arrogant.
In a battle, Tong Jian rode alone towards a group of Taiping troops on the edge of a deep trench, trying to cut off their retreat. Unexpectedly, his horse stumbled. The leader of the Taiping troops, Gao Gangtou, surrounded him with his men and stabbed Tong Jian several times.
Xie Zicheng came to the rescue on his own, but Gao Gangtou was about to surround him and kill him. When he was about to be surrounded, Xie Zicheng jumped into the deep trench and was drowned.
After Xie Zicheng's death, the Qing court generously granted him the title of envoy, gave him the posthumous title of Zhongmin, and built a special temple.
This time, two talents emerged in Tianjin's local fight against the Taiping Army. One was the county magistrate Xie Zicheng, but unfortunately he has died.
Another particularly outstanding figure was Liu Jinwen mentioned in the intelligence. From this Liu Jinwen, Tong Shuheng seemed to see his own shadow. However, this person was still too small and did not see the general trend, otherwise he might not be able to make it big.
This time Dong Shuheng came to Tianjin, I wonder if Liu Jinwen still has the same vision as before.
If he is ignorant and uses his talents to deal with Huai Haijun, then Dong Shuheng will not mind killing him. Of course, if he is willing to join Huai Haijun, Dong Shuheng will not hesitate to help him rewrite his life.
Since the Taiping Army moved north, Tianjin City has relaxed a lot, but it has not been fully opened. Only one or two city gates will be opened during the day to facilitate the flow of goods inside and outside the city.
Li Guangzao, the prefect of Tianjin, and Liu Jie, the new magistrate of Tianjin, were discussing matters in the government office. A government servant panted to report.
"No, sir, a fleet has come up the Haihe River outside the city."
"What, where did the fleet come from?" Magistrate Li suddenly stood up.
Li Guangzao's first reaction was that the foreign fleet was coming. Now that the capital was being attacked by bandits, it was a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters. However, the reaction of the foreigners was too fast. It had only been a few days since the bandits went north to the capital.
"Reporting to the magistrate, this is the fleet of the Nanyang Navy, and the warships are flying the dragon flag!" the Yamen officer added.
"Come on, take me with you to have a look!" After a while, the prefect and the county magistrate arrived at the city gate. At this time, the gentry and businessmen in the city also followed. Liu Jinwen has now become the leader of the gentry in Tianjin, so naturally he also
Be present.
No one will look down on Liu Jinwen because of his status as a businessman. On the contrary, the gentry in Tianjin City now look up to him. The most important thing is that he still holds three thousand regiments in his hands, which is the main force of Tianjin City's defense.
"Liu Xingshou, when did this Nanyang Navy appear?" Magistrate Li asked Liu Jinwen.
When the Nanyang Navy was first established, the imperial court paid little attention to it and only issued an approval document. I originally thought it was a small patrol fleet established by the Governor of Liangjiang and Shanghai Customs.
As a local official, Magistrate Li would naturally not pay attention to this trivial matter.
But Liu Jinwen is different. He is a businessman who has traveled extensively and is well-informed and well-informed.
"Reporting to the prefect, in the third year of Xianfeng's reign, the Liangjiang Governor's Office and the Shanghai Customs paid for the establishment of this navy. I didn't expect it to be so large in scale. Only the foreign navy has such a scale." Liu Jinwen praised.
"What are these people doing in Tianjin?" Everyone was confused.
At this time, a team of people was sent down from the ship. Why didn't Dong Shuheng directly give Tianjin a show of strength first?
Because he had just received the imperial edict from Jiangsu, Xianfeng was scared.
This time, the Qing court once again appointed the captain of the official delivery team. Unfortunately, although these titles were useful, they were not what Dong Shuheng wanted most.
What he wants is money, a port, and a sphere of influence.
He is not a novice who can be fooled by just a few official positions. But since the Qing court said so, Dong Shuheng's methods must be gentler.
Therefore, he sent a team of representatives ashore, and his strategy for the city of Tianjin was changed to one of courtesy first and then troops. Originally, his plan was to use troops first and then courtesy, and to use naval guns to give these local snakes a little power.
After a while, a group of uniformed Nanyang Navy officers and soldiers were led to the tower.
"Du Desheng, a member of the Nanyang Navy, has met with all of you. Your Excellency, our fleet is heading north to King Qin on the orders of the Governor of Liangjiang, Mr. Dong. The Admiral of the Navy, Mr. Liu, is commanding 3,000 sailors and 6,000 troops and is preparing to land in Tianjin. Please open the city gates and let us
I, the Huaihai Navy, went to the city to do some repairs." Du Desheng said in a polite manner that was neither humble nor overbearing.
"What, open the city gate and enter the city? No, you can only camp outside the city." Magistrate Li shook his head and said.
Du Desheng changed the subject: "This is Governor Li, I guess. I am just telling you the order of the Huaihai Navy. I am not asking for your opinions. Our admiral has said that if you don't open the city gate, it will prevent our army from annihilating the bandits.
If there is any suspicion of being a bandit, our army will naturally deal with it by handing over the bandits."
"Who are you talking about, Master Dong? Has the Governor of Liangjiang been replaced?" Magistrate Li thought he heard wrongly. When did the Governor of Liangjiang change his surname to Dong?
"Oh, your Excellency, didn't you receive the imperial report? Lord Qishan is seriously ill, Lord Wei Yuan resigned, and now our Lord Dong serves as the governor of Jiangsu and the governor of Liangjiang." Du Desheng deliberately removed the word "acting". There are people in Liangjiang
The absence of the word "agent" has no impact on Dong Shuheng at all.
"Hmph, can a warrior be the governor?" Magistrate Li said unceremoniously, "I have the final say on Tianjin City. You have no way to enter Tianjin City!"
"Come on, let's go back. Magistrate Li, please wait for the good news! In addition, move the people beside the city wall back inside to be careful not to be accidentally injured by naval guns."
Magistrate Li didn't know why Dong Shuheng was able to serve as governor or governor, but as a traditional civil servant, he had his own pride. It was impossible for him to bow his head and fawn over and listen to a warrior.
Liu Jinwen quietly moved his body back. This Magistrate Li was far worse than the previous Magistrate Xie.
When Chang Mao attacked before, he escaped without a trace. It was all Xie County Magistrate Li Xian, regardless of his origin, who led the gentry and common people in the city to repel Chang Mao's attack.
Liu Jinwen was able to rise to prominence and achieve his current status thanks to the support of Magistrate Xie. He used to be just an ordinary salt merchant, but now every gentry businessman in Tianjin would jump three times when he sneezes.
Liu Jinwen is a smart businessman, and he is not willing to be just a businessman. As a salt merchant, he naturally knows Dong Shuheng, who is rising in Jiangsu.
The rise of Dong Shuheng made him realize that now may be a good time for his Liu family to change its appearance. The Qing Dynasty's policy of focusing on agriculture and suppressing business made businessmen feel insecure, and every businessman wanted to be an official.
Therefore, those big businessmen in the south are willing to spend hundreds of thousands or millions of taels of silver to donate an official title that is not actually vacant.
Now that Magistrate Xie is gone, Magistrate Li has become bolder again for some reason. It may be that Magistrate Xie's illustrious reputation before leading the people of Tianjin has given him confidence.
Liu Jinwen could vaguely see the dark muzzles of the warships on the river.
Poor Magistrate Li really thought that people would not dare to fire cannons. How could the Qing court still have its original intimidation power? Liu Jinwen had already made up his mind that he would never be a pawn or scapegoat for Magistrate Li.
"Don't worry, everyone, the Nanyang Navy doesn't dare to fire cannons. They are also soldiers and horses of the imperial court. If they attack Tianjin rashly, wouldn't it be a rebellion, and the imperial court will not let them go." Magistrate Li said confidently.
.
However, none of the gentry and businessmen on the side had his confidence.
Everyone said goodbye and left. In fact, they all went back to make arrangements in advance.
"Master Magistrate, I don't think this Huaihai Navy follows the rules, so we should make plans in advance." The county magistrate Liu Jie on the side said. He was relatively timid. Just now he clearly saw the Nanyang Navy joining the army.
A fierce cold light flashed in his eyes.
"It doesn't matter, just let the soldiers on the city wall take strict precautions. In addition, notify all the families in the city to organize their servants and prepare to go to the city to support at any time. Come on, let's go back!" Magistrate Li said nonchalantly, as if he was deliberately intimidating Liu.
He showed his calmness and calmness in front of the county magistrate.