Although An Lin had borrowed a lot of money from Zhang Deshui, he didn't intend to be grateful. On the contrary, he felt that Zhang Deshui wasn't tactful enough. He was the sect leader of a sect, a figure that even ordinary officials and commoners would be afraid of, yet Zhang Deshui couldn't take the initiative to offer up a large amount of gold, silver, and jewelry for him to squander. He was a stubborn master who didn't understand the rules of life.
Furthermore, Zhang Deshui was known as the richest man in Fenghua, and he was extremely wealthy. He could completely ignore An Lin's extortion, but Zhang Deshui didn't want to give An Lin the chance to do as he pleased. He only asked his family members to send him gifts during festivals, which made An Lin extremely furious.
Thus, in his anger, An Lin deliberately borrowed money from Zhang Deshui. Zhang Deshui knew that An Lin had the time to pester him, and he had no energy or time to fight An Lin to the death.
In addition, An Lin had secretly colluded with the bandits in Fenghua and Hangzhou. Even if Zhang Deshui wanted to put up a fight, he was afraid that An Lin would secretly bribe assassins to kill him.
Thus, Zhang Deshui could only turn a blind eye to the situation and lend money to An Lin against his will. However, he was very stingy with the amount of money he had. Every time An Lin was short of money and asked him for money, he would spread his hands and tell An Lin that his business had been bad recently and that he didn't have any cash flow. He would apologize to An Lin and let him spend whatever he wanted when he earned money in the future.
Hearing Zhang Deshui's excuse, An Lin was itching to rush up and give him a few tight slaps on the face. He was cursing at Zhang Deshui for daring to oppose Grandpa An. He was simply courting death.
An Lin was infuriated, and he was about to spill out the biggest secret he knew to scare the arrogant and unruly Rich Man Zhang into revealing that he was a secret envoy sent by King Gong to Fenghua, and that anyone who dared to oppose him would be going against King Gong.
However, at this critical moment, An Lin recalled the brutality of the people in Prince Gong's residence and didn't dare to say anything. If he was reported by some hidden informant, Prince Gong would definitely kill him. Being a traitor was even more troublesome, and An Lin's entire family might be implicated.
Thus, An Lin bit his lips as he thought of the many stakes involved. He was secretly glad that he was smart enough to not cause any trouble.
Fortunately, Zhang Deshui didn't disappoint An Lin every time he borrowed money. He gave An Lin some benefits, so even though he was angry, he couldn't show it on his face.
Today, An Lin had met the powerful General Fan, and he had someone to rely on. In addition, he had drunk a few glasses of alcohol, and his blood circulation had increased. He didn't want to care about the reactions of others at all, and he just wanted to vent his anger to the fullest.
Thus, An Lin wanted to use Fan Ruzeng to get rid of Qu Zhixian and help him clear an obstacle in his political path, while also taking revenge on Zhang Deshui. Who asked him to be so unhappy about borrowing money from him?
An Lin continued to speak to Fan RuZeng. Do you know who the richest person in Fenghua County is?
Fan Ruzheng was stunned by his question and casually replied," Isn't it Qu Zhixian?"
In General Fan's impression, officials were all cruel and corrupt officials. They were born beasts who ignored the power of the common people. Other than power, they were rich. How could ordinary people have the opportunity to get rich and be promoted?
An Lin chuckled, but he quickly warned himself that he mustn't get carried away and reveal that he had materials that surpassed Fan Ruzheng's. If that happened, he might really take revenge on him in the future.
So, he quickly stopped laughing and bent down again. A flattering smile appeared on his face. He told Fan RuZeng that the richest person in Fenghua County was a distant relative of Qu Zhixian, Zhang Deshui. He opened a silver shop in the city and his business was very good.
At this point, he smiled again and reminded Fan Ruzheng in a mysterious tone that this kid was rich. He had a lot of gold, silver, and jewelry at home, enough to support General Fan's army for several years.
Fan Ruzheng's spirits were lifted upon hearing An Lin's words. He wanted to earn money right now. An army of tens of thousands of soldiers cost a lot of money every day, but Hong Xiuquan in Nanjing only gave him a little money, so he had to rely on Fan Ruzheng for most of his expenses.
Therefore, even if Fan Ruzeng did not think for himself, he had to worry about the food and drink of his soldiers. Everywhere he went, the first thing he did was to earn money.
He was just about to ask An Lin what method he had used to obtain Zhang Deshui's money when he suddenly felt that the name Zhang Deshui was familiar. It was as if someone had mentioned this name to him before.
Thus, Fan Ruzheng hurriedly waved his hand, signaling An Lin to stop talking. It wouldn't be too late for him to think about it first.
Fan Ruzheng cupped his head and thought for a moment. He remembered that when he had just entered the city yesterday, one of his subordinates had run up to him and said that he had an informant friend who ran a silver shop in Fenghua City. He was relatively rich, but he did not belong to the bad guys like Grandet and Shi Chong. He was righteous and forthright, sympathized with the weak, and hated the domineering Manchu nobles. He was considered one of them.
After saying this, he was afraid that Fan Ruzeng would be distracted and take his matter lightly. Without waiting for Fan Ruzeng to reply, he hurriedly continued. He hoped that after the general took charge of Fenghua, he would not harm the informant's family.
Fan Ruzheng smiled. He still wanted this subordinate to work for him, so he promised his subordinate on the spot that his friends were his brothers and sisters. Leave this small matter to me, and you just need to fight in peace.
Zhang Deshui's name was mentioned by his subordinate, and hearing An Lin mention Zhang Deshui's name immediately evoked his memories.
Thus, Fan Ruzeng told An Lin that Zhang Deshui couldn't be touched and was considered one of his own. He told An Lin to stop harassing him and change the topic to someone else.
An Lin faltered for a moment, thinking that he had misheard. He quickly asked General Fan, who was the lackey of the Qing Dynasty, Qu Zhixian. He had plundered a lot of the people's wealth, so it would be a waste if he didn't do something about it. If Qu Zhixian was allowed to take a breather, General Fan might not be able to stabilize the situation in Fenghua.
At this point, An Lin couldn't help but think of the power of the Heaven and Earth Society. If he were to deliberately create trouble in Fenghua and take care of the Taiping Country Army, then he would frame Qu Zhixian and Zhang Deshui, saying that their hidden forces were plotting against them, General Fan would definitely be enraged.
As expected, Fan Ruzheng was very afraid that Qu Zhixian would turn the tables and represent the Qing government to suppress the Taiping Army. He quickly asked An Lin if he could capture Qu Zhixian and lock him up. Only Zhang Deshui was left behind. He needed to give his generals some face.
An Lin knew that Zhang Deshui wasn't someone to be trifled with after hearing Fan Ruzheng's words. Even without his connections, Zhang Deshui was still able to rely on the Taiping Country Army. An Lin was filled with jealousy and hatred, but he couldn't continue to slander General Fan. If General Fan really valued Zhang Deshui's connections, he might end up being killed by Zhang Deshui.
Thus, An Lin could only compromise and sacrifice Qu Zhixian while keeping Zhang Deshui alive. He could count himself lucky and slowly settle the score with him in Fenghua City. After all, the Heaven and Earth Society's influence was spread throughout every segment of society.
An Lin could totally use the wolf pack tactic and make use of Zhang Deshui's employees to incite their hatred for the rich. He would then have them think of ways to destroy Zhang Deshui's foundation of wealth and slowly dig out his silver shop from the bottom. He would then see the day when the most wealthy person in Fenghua City would become the most indebted person.
Of course, An Lin wouldn't let go of such a golden opportunity to strike it rich. He would use all means available to him to directly or indirectly control the workers in Zhang De's Quicksilver Shop and make them pay protection fees for his expenses.
If any of the workers were to try to compete with the Heaven and Earth Society over some improper benefits, An Lin would send them straight to hell without even blinking.
Since society was in such chaos, officials weren't like officials. Other than collecting money and playing with women, they didn't care about the affairs of the people. This gave An Lin's Heaven and Earth Society a chance to use the opportunity to exercise government power.
Thus, whoever An Lin wanted to kill could only go to hell. The victims couldn't even utter a single word of complaint, let alone resist. A great life could be instantly vaporized by the abnormal power of the human world.
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