On the table, there is still a plain bowl, the lid is pinched in the hand of the Guangzhou general Qingchang, the tea in the bowl is not cold, smoking curling, and his other hand is holding a book.

He had read it several times, but he hadn't put it down.

After a long time, the Guangzhou general said to Tan Donghua, who lowered his head: "Be kind to that kid in prison, and try to meet all his needs before giving it to foreigners." ”

Tan Donghua raised his head in some astonishment, but quickly lowered his head, never thinking that it was General Guangzhou who captured this subtle change.

"What? Do you think this official is not such a person? ”

Where did Tan Donghua dare to pick up the stubble, he just buried his head lower.

Qing Chang snorted, didn't explain much, waved his hand and said: "Let's go down, let someone come over to pick up a letter in a while, and send it to Guangzhou urgently, and be sure to send it to the prime minister himself!" ”

Tan Donghua nodded and took orders, and after saluting, he took three steps back before he dared to turn around and leave.

This yamen should have been his nest, but now it is occupied by Qingchang's "magpie's nest dove", this Guangzhou general does not like to live elsewhere, he likes to live in the inner house of the county yali, which clearly means to oppress Tan Donghua.

But Tan Donghua honestly moved out with his wife and concubine, and he didn't dare to say anything disobedient, and he didn't even dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction.

Walking out of this county office, he seemed to have let go of a thousand catties of burden, and he was at ease and relaxed, wishing that he would not take half a step back.

was about to go back, but Tan Donghua stopped, asked people to go to the cross street to cook a few dishes, and then went to the prison.

Chen Mu still sat cross-legged, like an old monk, this posture really did not match his age.

Seeing that Tan Donghua was coming to visit, Chen Mu also slowly opened his eyes, smiled at Tan Donghua and said, "Is the county master here to give me a severed head meal today?" ”

Tan Donghua frowned slightly, shook his head and said: "If you want to cut off your head, it won't be with me, I heard that foreigners like to use guillotine, it's very troublesome, the guillotine is sharp, I heard that the head rolls to the ground, the eyes can still blink, and some heads can even shout words......"

Chen Mu was also slightly stunned when he heard this, but Tan Donghua soon realized that the joke was too big, coughed dryly twice, and changed his words: "But these foreigners are capricious, and they will change when they say they change, with your friendship with Miss Isabella, maybe they will let you go, and it is uncertain to hire you as a son-in-law." ”

Chen Mu shook his head and smiled bitterly, but said no more.

The cell boss opened the iron door, took the dishes and a small pot of wine out of the food box, placed them on the small table, and then stooped down.

Tan Donghua walked in, he was not too dirty, sat down cross-legged, poured a glass of wine for Chen Mu, pointed to the front, and waited for Chen Mu to sit down before he spoke.

"That year, Zeng Guoquan laid down Jinling and reported to Beijing, Lafayette was very happy, and planned to reward the two brothers of the Zeng family, but Prince Gong said that these two brothers will be highly meritorious, and they will fight Nanjing today, maybe they won't be able to hold it one day, and they will hit Beijing......"

Although this was many years ago, Tan Donghua, as an official of the imperial court, was inevitably a little inappropriate to talk about these things with Chen Mu.

Chen Mu became interested and listened attentively.

Tan Donghua glanced back, and saw that the cell head was far away, so he was unscrupulous and let go of his words.

"Lafayette listened to Prince Gong's words, and issued a holy decree, instead of praise, but reprimanded, saying that he did not lead the troops in battle, and only later did he make Zeng Guofan a marquis and Zeng Guoquan an earl."

"Zeng Guoquan is a fiery person who explodes at a moment, and he is full of complaints, but Zeng Guofan often dissuades his younger brother and tells him a story."

Tan Donghua raised his glass to Chen Mu, and the two of them drank a glass, and he continued.

"The story is that there was an old man who wanted to feast on guests, so that his son went to buy vegetables, and he didn't come back for a long time, so he went out, but he saw that his son was blocked on the bridge, and there was a merchant on the opposite side, and the bridge was too narrow to be parallel, and the two did not let each other, so they confronted each other in the middle of the bridge, and no one could go."

"Zeng Guofan asked Zeng Guoquan, if you are the old man, how should you deal with it, Zeng Guoquan waved his fist without thinking and said, of course, it is to beat the merchant and kick him into the river."

Zeng Guofan had expected it, shook his head and said to his younger brother, if you want to eat a lawsuit like this, there will be trouble, and you can't rush back in time to entertain guests.

"Zeng Guoquan is not a person who uses his brains, he suddenly became irritable, Zeng Guofan said, the old man also thought of a way, and said to the merchant, there are guests in my house, wait for the rice to be cooked, wait for the dishes to be served, if the merchant's brother goes into the water first to avoid it, my son has passed, and you can cross the bridge, which is considered a great joy."

"The merchant didn't obey, and retorted, why don't you let your son go into the water, am I a bully or a liar?"

"The old man said that his son is too short, and if he goes into the water, he will wet the vegetables he carries on his shoulders, and the merchant is taller and will not wet the goods."

"But the merchant said again, my goods are much more valuable than your dishes, and if they get wet, can you afford to pay for them?"

"When the old man saw that this method did not work, he said to the merchant, 'It is better to go into the water, you put the goods on my head, you pass by my son's side, and I will return the goods to you, and then the problem will be solved."

"The merchant saw that the old man was incapacitated, and if he let him go into the water and drown, he would get into a lawsuit, besides, the old man was a lot old, if people saw it, it was inevitable that he would say that he didn't respect the old, so he took the initiative to go into the water and let the old man's son pass first."

After telling the story in one breath, Tan Donghua took another drink, and then said to Chen Mu: "Do you understand?" ”

Chen Mu pondered for a moment before he nodded, but quickly shook his head.

Of course, he understood Tan Donghua's meaning, the Zeng brothers have made great contributions, but they can't get the rewards they deserve, if they follow Zeng Guoquan's temperament, they will really hit the city of Beijing.

But Zeng Guofan didn't think so, he endured the anger for a while, knew how to bow his head appropriately, and straightened his waist, and his future future was limitless.

Just like the old man, he endured this breath and preferred to go into the water by himself, which seemed to be a loss, but from the final result, it seemed that it was the merchant who went into the water in the end, and he and his son actually took advantage.

Sometimes, this breath is really not as precious as imagined, nor is it as unswallowable as imagined.

Tan Donghua's story is to tell Chen Mu that Chen Mu will temporarily endure humiliation, and even violate his principles and make some decisions that seem to be a loss, but in the end, it will definitely be Chen Mu who takes advantage.

If Chen Mu's situation at this moment is considered, he should agree to Isabella's proposal, anyway, it is the court that is weak, and it is the court that compensates, and it is the court that is anxious, why not let the court have a headache about foreigners? Why stick to your own principles, and would rather have your head cut off by foreigners?

Tan Donghua may not know Isabella's proposal, maybe his story is just to persuade Chen Mu to be more open and think more about the current situation.

But in Chen Mu's opinion, this is by no means a matter of compromise, he is not Zeng Guofan, he will not be a supreme minister, and he will not play with these tricks, he just wants to have a clear conscience.

So Chen Mu nodded, indicating that he understood Tan Donghua's story, but shook his head, indicating that he did not agree with his point of view.

However, Chen Mu understood Tan Donghua's kindness, otherwise he would not have drunk his glass of wine.

Tan Donghua saw Chen Mu's statement, and sighed softly.

"I am an official, I act according to my duties, and I have a clear conscience, the case of your Chen family is ......"

Although Tan Donghua just started talking and didn't continue, Chen Mu also understood that he was the county master, and there was no need to explain these things to Chen Mu, but when he opened his mouth, it was enough to explain the problem.

Moreover, Chen Mu's current identity is the distant nephew of the Chen family, and it is Lin Sheng's adopted son Chen Youren, and there are not many people who know Chen Mu's true identity.

Although Tan Donghua did not point this out, when he mentioned the old case of the Chen family, he had already shown that he knew Chen Mu's true identity and accepted it.

It seems that after He Huyong was removed, the problem of Chen Mu's identity was really solved.

Of course, Chen Mu is not worried about his name and identity now, if he can't come up with a solution, he can only accept the judgment of foreigners, maybe it is really as Tan Donghua said, he will be guillotined by foreigners and cut off his head.

"County master, I understand......" Chen Mu raised his wine glass and gave Tan Donghua a glass in return, and the latter solemnly raised his wine glass, feeling a sense of relief.

"That's good...... That's good......"

After drinking this glass of wine, Tan Donghua was also in a good mood, and he didn't hide it, and said to Chen Mu: "The secret letter you sent, General Guangzhou seems to be very satisfied, and tells me to try my best to meet your requirements. ”

Chen Mu also knew that that letter was not enough to exchange his life, and it was impossible for the imperial court to give up the idea of giving him to foreigners, but it was not bad that Guangzhou General Qingchang could make such a response.

Chen Mu thought about it, and then said to Tan Donghua: "Don't hide it from the county master, I do have a reluctant request......

"I was escorted to a foreigner this time, but I am afraid that if I go and will not return, my Chen family will have a son like me, I think...... On the day I was escorted, can I take a secluded road, preferably past my ancestral grave, and I can also take one last look, and if so, I can kowtow far away in the prisoner car......"

Tan Donghua thought about it, and there was no big problem, he wanted to keep a low profile when he was escorted, so as not to cause turmoil, and it was also a good favor, so he said to Chen Mu: "Don't worry, I will accept this first." ”

After receiving such a reply, Chen Mu was relieved, and after Tan Donghua left, he said to the cell leader.

"I've been working hard for the past few days, brother, how many drinks and some meat together?"

The cell boss already respected Chen Mu, and he didn't shy away from suspicion, so he sat down immediately.

Chen Mu saw that there was no one around, so he said to the head of the cell: "The prince of Shicai County promised me, and on the way to the concession, he will pass by my ancestral grave, and let me kowtow to my father and mother in the prisoner car, can my brother take the time to inform my old mother and ask her to prepare some sesame oil paper money in advance to sweep the tomb for me?" ”

The cell boss didn't answer, but just took a sip of wine, and Chen Mu didn't say this.