General Fan, originally indeed a general and a distinguished one celebrated for his military exploits, had a habit of speaking his mind and a fiery temper. He was close to his soldiers but disdainful of superior officers. As a result, he was entangled in schemes and falsely accused, eventually leading to his demotion to this sea defense station near Shanghai County.
Perhaps some might wonder, how could a general, even one who offended others, fall so low?
Alas, in those days, if you crossed the wrong person in the court, "falling so low" was relatively lucky compared to worse fates that were all too common. After all, what did being a general mean to the Zhu family? You were just an outsider, and instances of entire families executed for crimes they didn't commit were not unheard of. In their eyes, what were you?
