I slaughtered my way through the border at the start, I am the Great Ming's Night Raider!

The 20th day of the first lunar month, at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM).

Tongzhou Wharf was shrouded in morning mist, like a watercolor painting with water seeping into it.

The waterways were crowded with cargo ships, passenger ships, and freight ships, their masts like a forest and their sails billowing.

The boatmen's chants, the towingmen's shouts, and the porters' panting, mixed with the fishy smell of the river, wafted towards us.

Chen Yuan stood on the dock, looking at the major artery that ran north to south.

The canal converges with the Chaobai River here, and then flows south, passing through Tianjin, Dezhou, Xuzhou, and Huai'an, before reaching Yangzhou and Hangzhou.

This was the lifeline of the Ming Dynasty; the transport of grain from the south to the north and salt from the north to the south all depended on this river.

Of course, this was also Zhu Zhanqi's money bag.

"Sir, the boat is ready," Uncle Zhao said in a low voice as he approached.

Chen Yuan nodded.

This time when he went south, he only brought twenty people with him—ten skilled members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and ten night watchmen selected from the old troops of the border army.

It's not about the quantity of people, but their quality.

Everyone has a special skill: some are good at tracking, some are masters of disguise, some are excellent swimmers, and two are firearms experts.

The ship was an ordinary passenger vessel, but it had been modified. Iron plates were added to the bottom for impact protection; there were hidden compartments in the cabins to conceal weapons; and the boatmen were all undercover agents of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, making them reliable.

Just as I was about to board the ship, I heard the sound of horses' hooves behind me.

Chen Yuan turned around and saw Chen Jin riding up on horseback, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, with a bow on his back and a sword at his side.

"Why are you here?" Chen Yuan frowned.

"The Empress Dowager sent me." Chen Jin dismounted and took out a letter from his bosom. "The Empress Dowager has issued a secret decree, ordering me to accompany her to Jiangnan to assist in the investigation."

Chen Yuan took the letter; it was indeed the Empress Dowager's handwriting, and it bore the official seal of the Cining Palace.

The letter stated that Chen Jin would accompany the group as a junior officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and would be under Chen Yuan's command.

"Nonsense." Chen Yuan shoved the letter back to Chen Jin. "Jiangnan is dangerous, you..."

"Brother Yuan, I'm not a child anymore." Chen Jin straightened his back. "In the past six months in the palace, I've learned a lot from Consort Qin. My martial arts haven't suffered either; Uncle Zhao can testify to that."

Uncle Zhao nodded in agreement: "Young Master, Young Master Jin has indeed made great progress. Ordinary men, three or five at a time, can't even get close to him."

Looking into his younger brother's determined eyes, Chen Yuan finally sighed: "Get on the ship. But remember, follow orders and do not act on your own."

"yes!"

The passenger ship set sail and headed south along the canal.

Chen Yuan stood at the bow of the boat, watching the Tongzhou Wharf gradually disappear into the distance, a complex feeling welling up in his heart.

This is the third time he has left the capital.

The first time was back to Yingchuan, and the Chen family was gone; the second time was to Nanjing, and I almost didn't make it back; this time I'm going to Jiangnan...

He didn't know what he would face.

"Young master, let's go inside. It's windy." Uncle Zhao brought over a cloak.

Inside the cabin, Chen Yuan spread out a map.

The journey from Beijing to Yangzhou by water is 2,000 li (approximately 1,000 kilometers) and normally takes 20 days.

But they didn't have much time—the Empress Dowager had given them two months to find out Zhu Zhanqi's background and obtain evidence before the Qingming Festival.

"Where will we stop along the way?" he asked.

"According to the plan, we'll stop for a day each in Tianjin, Dezhou, Xuzhou, and Huai'an to replenish supplies and gather information," Uncle Zhao said, pointing to the map. "But young master, the journey... is probably not going to be peaceful."

"How so?"

"The Green Dragon Society sent word that Zhu Zhanqi has spies along the Grand Canal," Uncle Zhao said in a low voice. "He must know we're making such a big show of going south. I'm worried... he might set up ambushes along the way."

Chen Yuan nodded: "Tell the brothers to be vigilant. They should take turns on night duty and keep their weapons with them at all times."

"Yes."

After three days of sailing, they arrived at Tianjin.

Tianjin was a hub for canal transport, and its wharves were larger and more bustling than those in Tongzhou.

Goods from all directions gathered and distributed here, with salt, grain, cloth, and tea piled up like mountains. By the time the passenger ship docked, it was already evening, and the setting sun had dyed the canal a golden-red hue.

Chen Yuan didn't disembark. Instead, he sent Uncle Zhao with a few men to buy supplies and gather information.

He stood by the cabin window, observing the flow of people coming and going on the dock.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.

On the west side of the dock, several men were moving goods swiftly, but a closer look revealed that their temples were bulging and their hands were calloused, unlike ordinary laborers. Moreover, while moving the goods, their eyes kept glancing towards the passenger ship.

"Chen Jin," Chen Yuan called softly.

"exist."

"See those guys carrying goods over there? Go try them out."

Chen Jin understood, disembarked, and pretended to stroll around as she approached the group.

As he approached, he deliberately stumbled and bumped into one of the men.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" Chen Jin quickly apologized.

The man was bumped into and instinctively reached out to help him, but when his hand touched Chen Jin's shoulder, Chen Jin felt a great force—this man knew martial arts, and he was not weak at it.

"It's nothing," the man said in a muffled voice, and continued moving the goods.

Chen Jin returned to the ship and reported in a low voice, "Brother Yuan, he's a trained fighter. He has thick calluses on the web of his right hand, a skilled knife user. And... he has a certain odor."

"What does it taste like?"

"It smells like sulfur," Chen Jin said. "Like someone who's been in contact with gunpowder a lot."

firearm?!

Chen Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

The Ming Dynasty had extremely strict control over firearms, and it was a serious crime for civilians to possess firearms.

These people...

Just then, Uncle Zhao returned, his face grave.

"Young master, I've found out." He pulled Chen Yuan into the cabin. "Tianjin has been quite unsettled lately. About two weeks ago, a batch of firearms was smuggled out of Tianjin Port, supposedly to be sold to... Japanese pirates."

"Firearms? What firearms?"

"At least fifty muskets," Uncle Zhao said, "and five hundred catties of gunpowder. The commander guarding the port has been arrested, but he refuses to say who the buyer is. I suspect... it's related to Zhu Zhanqi."

Chen Yuan pondered.

If Zhu Zhanqi was smuggling firearms to Japanese pirates, then his plot was not just rebellion, but possibly... colluding with foreign enemies.

"Anything else?"

"Yes," Uncle Zhao said. "There are rumors at the docks that a group of 'distinguished guests' are coming from the south and will change ships in Tianjin to go north. We don't know who they are, but they're making a big fuss, chartering three large ships."

Distinguished guest? Coming from the south? Chen Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

"Find out which day it will arrive."

"the day after tomorrow."

Chen Yuan nodded: "Let's stay one more day."

The next day, Chen Yuan had most of the people wait on the ship, while he, along with Chen Jin and two night watchmen, changed into civilian clothes and entered the city.

Tianjin is a small city, but it is very prosperous.

Shops lined both sides of the street, selling seafood, silk, and general merchandise from all over the country... their shouts rising and falling.

Chen Yuan appeared to be strolling around, but in reality, he was observing the pedestrians, shops, and seemingly inconspicuous corners on the street.

When he reached the east side of the city, he suddenly stopped—there was a pawnshop ahead. The storefront was small, but the signboard was old, a black plaque with gold lettering that read "Huitong Pawnshop".

This is a spy for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Chen Yuan went inside.

Behind the counter was an old shopper wearing glasses, fiddling with an abacus.

Seeing him enter, she glanced up at him, then looked down again: "What would you like to do, sir?"

"To be a piece of jade."

Chen Yuan took out the jade pendant belonging to the King of Zhao from his bosom.