As soon as the advisor finished speaking, Fan Ruzeng walked out of the hall. He was in a hurry to catch Qu Zhixian. Suddenly, he heard the noise in the courtyard. He couldn't help but be shocked. He thought that Qu Zhixian was leading the Qing army to attack. He called out to the advisor and remembered that the advisor had just passed the order.
Thus, General Fan couldn't be bothered to explain himself to An Lin. He quickly strode out and looked around the courtyard to see that his grand advisor was chatting with a group of people. He was puzzled. Why was his grand advisor still in the courtyard?
He shouted at the Grand Master, Master Zhang! What are you doing? Are General Guo and General Wan here?
The advisor was shocked. He knew that it would delay the general's important matter, but he quickly thought of something and put on a smile on his face. General Fan, I was about to go, but I met Zhang Deshui, a big merchant in Fenghua City. He was a relative of Qu Zhixian.
The advisor deliberately mentioned Qu Zhixian to reassure General Fan that it was fine if he couldn't catch Qu Zhixian, but at least he could catch an insider who could hear the new movements of that Manchu lackey.
When Fan Ruzeng heard Zhang Deshui's name, he couldn't help but roll his eyes at Zhang Deshui, who was beside the advisor. He was about to ask," Are you Zhang Deshui?" However, the advisor, who was eager to curry favor, interrupted him by saying that this guest was Zhang Deshui. He had just contributed ten boxes of silver to our army. I counted them and found a total of 100,000 taels.
When Fan Ruzeng heard about money, he felt a little relieved. He couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. He felt that Qu Zhixian was probably nothing. His relatives had donated so much money, which meant that everyone had given in and acknowledged the fact that the Taiping Army had occupied Fenghua City.
Therefore, he had to put on a friendly front to comfort Zhang Deshui, indirectly stabilize Qu Zhixian, and gradually dispel their attempts to make a comeback.
Fan Ruzeng did not know Zhang Deshui. He had only heard from his subordinate General Guo that Zhang Deshui was one of his own and needed protection. In addition to Zhang Deshui's influence in Fenghua, he could use him to stabilize the situation in Fenghua.
Fan Ruzheng hurriedly opened his right hand. He wanted to open both hands at the same time, but he suddenly remembered his identity as a general. If he was too warm and friendly in front of a rich man, he was afraid that outsiders would take him as a tyrant and hate him.
Therefore, General Fan hesitated for a moment and could only open one hand. He did not dare to bend down too much, afraid that he would be misunderstood as flattering the exploiter. He only swayed his body slightly, and his open right hand stopped before reaching Zhang Deshui's side. He waited for the other party to take the initiative to reach out and hold it to show his position as the winner.
Zhang Deshui's life was more important, so he didn't dare to think too much about it. Even if he knelt in front of Fan Ruzheng at this moment, he would do it without hesitation. General Fan's ability to open his hand to express his friendliness had touched his enthusiasm.
Since ancient times, people who were in a weak position, as long as they could survive, could basically be excited by the instinctive gratitude in their bodies.
Therefore, Zhang Deshui, who knew his current situation, could not help but feel grateful in his heart. He was grateful that General Fan did not confiscate his property or even kill him.
He really wanted to kneel in front of Fan RuZeng and kowtow. No! It would be best if he kowtowed three times in a row. If he could save Qu Zhixian at the same time, it didn't matter if he kowtowed a few more times.
However, Zhang Deshui would definitely curse Fan Ruzeng and Qu Zhixian in his mind after the incident. He would blame them for being caught in the middle because one of them wanted to oppose the government while the other wanted to be blindly loyal to the government. He would not be able to mediate the situation and resolve the dissatisfaction between the two parties. He would only be bullied by both parties and admit that he was unlucky.
Zhang Deshui hurriedly spread out his hands and held one of Fan Ruzeng's hands. He nodded and bowed to show his submission.
Fan Ruzeng did not wait for Zhang Deshui to be humble and mushy. He quickly comforted him. They were all family, so there was no need to be polite! Come in and sit.
As Fan Ruzheng spoke, he took Zhang Deshui's hand and walked into the hall. At the same time, he did not forget to mutter a few words about his urgent matter. He wanted to give Zhang Deshui a warning in advance that he would immediately take action to capture Qu Zhixian. He hoped that Zhang Deshui would not help Qu Zhixian escape for the sake of the overall interests.
Zhang Deshui's main concern was his own safety. When he heard General Fan mention his relative, Qu Zhixian, his heart clenched. He was not worried about Qu Zhixian's life, but he was afraid that the fact that he was hiding Qu Zhixian would be exposed and he would be in trouble with Qu Zhixian.
Zhang Deshui wanted to say a few words to prove that although he and Qu Zhixian were relatives, they weren't close to each other. They were just getting by on the surface. Even if he caught Qu Zhixian in his own house, he had to explain that Qu Zhixian wasn't invited by him, but he shamelessly begged him to come.
In order to wash away the fact that he had protected Qu Zhixian, Zhang Deshui had to exaggerate the truth and tell a lie. At the same time, he had to sell everything about Qu Zhixian to show that he had broken away from the past and was willing to be loyal to the Taiping Country Army.
However, Zhang Deshui would curse the Taiping Army in his heart for being a bandit army that only colluded with the bandits and the underworld. They only knew how to eat the rich, as if they were killing the goose that laid the golden eggs, which violated the natural law of social and economic development.
Before Zhang Deshui could think further, General Fan took his hand and walked into the hall. As soon as he sat him down, he went straight to the point and asked if Qu Zhixian was at his house.
Zhang Deshui's heart was beating so fast that it was hard for him to say anything. General Fan's question was so urgent that it was too late for him to make up a lie.
In desperation, Zhang Deshui gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, but he stomped his foot in his heart. He really didn't dare to stomp his foot. If he angered General Fan, he could only accompany the damned Qu Zhixian to his death.
However, he did not want to die at all. There were still many things that he was worried about. Things that could not be completed in the Yang Realm would be blocked in his heart even in the netherworld.
Zhang Deshui had always believed that after a person died, their soul could be reincarnated into a living person's body. Therefore, ghosts were living spirits. It was just that the human world could not communicate with them.
It seemed that he could only betray the unlucky Qu Zhixian. His close friend Lord Zhang was right. Qu Zhixian was fated to meet this calamity. He could only blame himself for blindly following the Manchu nobles and angering countless people who were oppressed by the Manchu Dynasty. It was only natural for him to receive punishment.
Therefore, the Taiping Army, which had the banner of revolution, needed to use a prominent figure like him as a sacrifice to please the majority of the people who had a one-track mind to protect the fruits of power they had just obtained.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。