After only staying in this town for one day and letting the three members of the Xiao family rest for a while, Jiang Chuan took them back to Ancheng.

Anseong is on the edge of the river, and the traffic is endless, and it can be regarded as a prosperous place.

After replenishing some fresh water, food and other supplies, Jiang Chuan and his party went down the river to Yangzhou.

After arriving in Yangzhou, Jiang Chuan did not go to Gaoyou County to find the Liu Yong brothers and sisters. Liu Yong has just arrived in Gaoyou, and there are many things to do, so there is no need to disturb him, so as not to mobilize the people.

By then, Liu Ru had already received the news of Jiang Chuan's return, and quickly came to Yangzhou to see Jiang Chuan.

"Childe, where is my master?" Liu Ru looked left and right, and asked with wide eyes.

Jiang Chuan was stunned for a moment before realizing that what she said was that the master meant Bai Jinxiu, and under her own words, Bai Jinxiu had agreed to teach her swordsmanship.

"She still has some things to deal with, and she will return to Beijing in a few days."

"Master is not here, who will teach me to practice swords?" Liu Ru asked this question, and his expression was very calm, as if he was worried that his learning skills would be affected.

Jiang Chuan didn't think much about it, "I'll teach you first during this period of time, and my swordsmanship is also taught by her." ”

"Then I'll thank Childe first." Liu Ru thanked him, but a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes.

"Hey, isn't this Sister Xiao? We meet again. Seeing Xiao Ran's family of three, although Liu Ru was a little surprised, she quickly showed her enthusiasm and closeness.

When they were in Jining City, they were already acquainted.

Seeing this time, although Liu Ru had a lot of surprises in her heart, she didn't ask anything.

Jiang Chuan didn't explain much.

Although he had the intention to stay outside for a while longer, Jiang Chuan also knew that it had been more than a month since he came out, and if he didn't go back, those people in the capital would probably be in a hurry.

I changed a big boat in Yangzhou, went up the canal, and arrived at Jining City in about ten days.

Xu Qinglang, who had been promoted to the official of the 100 households of the Black Ice Terrace in Jining City, came to meet him.

"Childe, all the rebels around Jining City have been swept away, and all the bandits and robbers have also been exterminated. All the underground gangs in the city were also banned. On the one hand, he vigorously presided over the suppression of bandits, on the other hand, he appeased the people, rectified the order in the city, and made clear the moths among the yamen at all levels, which was very popular. ”

When he heard Li Yan's name, he was a little surprised, and then he learned that the cabinet had sent Li Yan to be the prefect.

However, after the accident, and after listening to Xu Qinglang's report, I felt that Liu Ji did have a vision, and Li Yan was really the most suitable candidate.

He did not have the decadent style of the old bureaucracy, nor did he have the impulsive and naïve nature of the newly selected young officials, and he also led the troops into battle, and he was strategic, but not bold.

And as a subordinate, Jiang Chuan not only did not treat her differently, but trusted her, and with Li Yan's temperament, he would inevitably give birth to a kind of gratitude for the death of a confidant.

In the past, Li Zicheng only praised him a few words, and he didn't really trust him.

In this way, he is willing to faithfully repay Li Zicheng. Even after being captured, he did not surrender immediately, and it was not until the news of Li Zicheng's death came that he was willing to become an official in the imperial court.

"While doing your duty, you might as well help the prefect more." Jiang Chuan told Xu Qinglang.

Xu Qinglang bowed down to receive the order and said another trivial matter.

After being caught, the anti-thief Qin Mu couldn't stand the torture, and finally confessed to the secret room behind the study of the prefect's yamen.

The Black Ice Platform found a large number of gold, silver, jewelry, jade, as well as a number of weapons, armor and other items from the secret room.

These became more direct evidence of Qin Mu and others' intention to cause chaos, and they were now sealed in the Jeju treasury, waiting for the imperial court to dispose of them.

Jiang Chuan thought that he had searched for it in the study that day, but in the end he found nothing, but he didn't expect to be dug up in the end.

"How many?"

"After the subordinates found someone to value those jewelry, jade and other items, plus gold and silver and other things, the preliminary estimate is about more than three million taels of silver."

Jiang Chuan raised his eyebrows, he didn't expect that there would be so much, this Qin Mu had been a fake prefect for three years and had collected so much money.

"Leave it as your reward and funds, and leave it for Li Yan. He just took over this mess, and there are a lot of places to use the money. All the others were loaded and transported to the capital and handed over to the household. Jiang Chuan pondered for a moment and made a decision.

Xu Qinglang was overjoyed, bowed down and thanked him and left quickly.

There was no stop in Jining City, and the big boat continued to go up the canal.

After another three or five days, the big ship arrived in Tongzhou, abandoned the boat, and hired a few big carts, allowing Liu Rushi and the mother and daughter of the Xiao family to ride in the car, while Jiang Chuan and others rode forward.

It's early June, and it's already hot. There is an endless stream of people and vehicles coming and going on the official road, and sometimes there is even a jam.

Jiang Chuan rode on a horse, but he was not in a hurry, and looked at the surrounding customs and customs as he walked.

Tongzhou is the northern starting point of the Grand Canal, and the goods transported from the south to Jingshi through the canal must be landed in Tongzhou and then transported to Jingshi by cart.

Therefore, the most on the official road are all kinds of carts full of goods, and each car is full.

However, Jiang Chuan noticed that these big cars basically had a small pennant with red background and black edges, and the men who were driving the cars also looked proud with their heads held high.

Wherever these big cars passed, many people gave way.

Occasionally, someone was slow and got in the way of these people, and those people just whipped them over.

Of course, there are also some chariots and horses that seem to be dignitaries and nobles that they dare not collide with, but those dignitaries also seem to have the intention of not clashing with these people.

Jiang Chuan looked strange, and handed over Ji Biao to ask him to inquire about it and see what was going on.

Ji Biao turned around and came back quickly, and said, "Childe, these people are said to be from the Cao Gang. The Cao Gang is said to be the largest gang in the world, as long as the forces are distributed in the north. All the great rivers in the north can be regarded as the strength of the Cao Gang. Whether it is a boatman begging for a living on the river or a coolie on the dock, they are basically members of the Cao Gang. It can be said that the Cao Gang monopolized shipping and freight transportation on the northern rivers, and the gang is said to have reached tens of thousands. ”

"Moreover, it is said that the reason why the Cao Gang is so big is because there is a big backer on it, and the energy is all over the sky, and it is said that they have a lot of face in front of the regent."

After Ji Biao finished speaking, his expression was a little weird.

Jiang Chuan understood Ji Biao's expression, and his weirdness was because this supposedly big backer of the Cao Gang had something to do with him.

But Jiang Chuan didn't know anything.