After hearing Li Ling's inference, the two women's faces changed again, and Yue'er even exclaimed softly, with a worried look on her face: "Brother, then Brother Yang... He won't be in trouble, right?" A few months ago, she had been by Yang Qinghou's side and became more close to people.

Yang Qingxiao also looked at Li Ling nervously. Although she had enough confidence in the Cao Gang and her brother, she was still worried when she thought about the surprise attack that day and when her brother had lost her ability to protect herself due to injuries, she was still worried. After all, I was in the open and the enemy was in the dark, and I didn’t even know how much strength my opponent had.

Li Ling pondered for a moment and said his inference: "Nothing should happen. Brother Yang is the leader of the Cao Gang after all, and there are always master guards around him. Besides, isn't Senior Mu still there?"

Yang Qingxiao thought about it carefully and admitted this inference, and felt a little relieved. But after Li Ling's reminder, she had some questions in her mind. More than a month has passed. According to the truth, the people of the Cao Gang should have come back long ago. After all, Yangzhou is the focus of the entire Cao Gang, but why are there no relevant people until today?

Li Ling also thought of this and suggested: "Or you will try to contact others in the past two days so that we can be prepared."

"Yeah." Yang Qingxiao nodded and replied, "Then what are your plans next?"

"Me? It is important to implement the tax matter as soon as possible. After paying the payment, I can only hold the position of the prefect of Yangzhou and then help you solve the troubles of the Cao Gang." Li Ling said with a clear thought, and at the same time he lamented that the enemy could really take the time. If it was two or three months late and when they took the power of Yangzhou, they would dare to attack the Cao Gang again, which would be a fate that would never come back.

After arose this idea, he thought of another key - why did the Dajiang Gang launch a surprise attack on the Cao Gang so carelessly? Is it because of his own? Because of the incident in Huating some time ago, he got the help of the Cao Gang and caused many brothers to be damaged, so they held a grudge.

But because he knew that his strength was limited and he did not dare to be an enemy of the government, he exhaled his anger on the Cao Gang?

No, Li Ling suddenly had a flash of eyes and thought of an unreasonable place. The Renmin River Gang could win over the government of Lianghuai with one move. Will they still worry about being a small county magistrate? Even if he became a prefect now, it was still pale in comparison with the real power figures who could capture the Cao Gang Gang at will in the Lianghuai side.

So, there is something strange about it!

Seeing Li Ling suddenly fell into deep thought, his expression changed a lot. Yang Qingxiao and Yue'er did not disturb him, but just waited quietly. Until he opened his eyes again, they asked, "Li Lang, what did you think of?"

"Qingxiao, let me ask you, how much do you know about the Dajiang Gang? How powerful is this gang compared to the Cao Gang?" Li Ling spoke without answering a question.

Yang Qingxiao pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "The Dajiang Gang I know is not very strong. Although their name is loud enough, it is actually far from our Cao Gang. Our Cao Gang almost occupies the entire Cao River, with hundreds of thousands of brothers in the gang, but the Dajiang Gang is only entrenched in the Jianghu Gang in the lower reaches of the Dajiang River. All of them may not be as strong as a thousand. In addition to the bitterness of ferrying and fishing on the river, there are also some robbers in the Jianghu who cannot reach the top."

Li Ling listened carefully, and based on his own experience, he still agreed with this statement. Just look at the Dajiang Gang who was ordered to assassinate him by the Xu family in order to make some money, you can know how loose the gang is and how difficult the people in the gang are, and they all need to make extra money.

But this is how the question just now seems even more prominent: "Since that's the case, how dare the Dajiang Gang go to war with the Cao Gang?"

"This is the key to our being caught off guard. Both of us said that the well water did not interfere with the river. In fact, it is more because our Cao Gang was too lazy to pay attention to them. As long as they did not put their hands into the Cao River, it was not our target. But the strength of the Dajiang Gang is still on the surface. Normally, they cannot and dare not attack us. In the whole Jiangnan, no one can threaten our Cao Gang except the government. So when a brother in Lianghuai had an accident, the eldest brother would take people over without thinking, and then he would only bring a small number of people back, leaving the main steward empty."

Li Ling nodded. The Cao Gang was the tiger in the mountains. He had always been undermining the Jiangnan gangs. He had long been used to no one dared to provoke them, and even his vigilance was reduced to the lowest point. Then, the Dajiang Gang, which seemed to be just an ordinary jackal, came to attack because of his previous grudges, and behind it, there was a powerful force of another mountain hidden.

But the question is, how do the two collude together?

The government and the Jianghu have always belonged to two worlds. Even if the governments in the two Huaihe River have no good feelings for the Cao Gang, they will not have friendly feelings for the Dajiang Gang, which is also a Jianghu Gang, right? He could not accept this without the mercy of other forces.

"The Cao Gang's change is not accidental, but someone has been planning it." Li Ling expressed his final conclusion, "It's a pity that with the clues we have now, it is impossible to find out who will protect the Dajiang Gang and the government, and I don't know what their ultimate goal is."

"Li Lang, then, what should my elder brother and the others do? Will they be in danger?"

"With the strength of the Cao Gang and Brother Yang's brains and methods, as long as the first raid fails to force them into a desperate situation, I believe they can protect themselves, although we don't even know where they are..." Li Ling patted Yang Qingxiao's hand as if comforting, "I even suspect that their original purpose was to take you down to threaten Brother Yang. But now, this plan has failed because the Xie family took action.

"Maybe this is also the reason why Jiangnan has continued to remain calm in the past month. For the time being, they are still planning their next action. As long as the brothers of the Cao Gang are alert, they will no longer be defeated by the enemy with stronger strength.

"That's why I think that contacting them as soon as possible and learning more about the inside story is the key to unlocking the truth of this incident."

Yang Qingxiao thought for a moment before nodding: "You are right, then I will want to contact the people in our gang tomorrow. There are always brothers who are still staying in Yangzhou."

"Well. But the most important thing is to ensure your own safety. I don't want to take risks when I see you again." Li Ling said, holding Yang Qingxiao's hand and looking at her deeply.

Feeling the care from her lover, Yang Qingxiao felt sweet in her heart. Looking back at him, Zheng pointed: "Well, I will definitely pay attention."

After instructing the two girls to have a good rest, Li Ling returned to the front yamen again. There were too many things to deal with. The most important thing was to pack the silver that had been delivered one after another and ship it to Jinling as soon as possible. After all, there was not much time left for him.

While busy with official business, Li Ling still felt a little uneasy in his heart from time to time. It seemed that some threats were ignored by him, but if he wanted to capture the source, he could not catch it for the time being...

...

This is the most ordinary small fishing village that can be seen everywhere in the south of the Yangtze River. It is quiet and simple. There are only a few small fishing boats floating on the river, and a few fishermen cast nets to fish in the river. When the sun sets, there are still smoke rising in the village, chickens crowing and dogs barking, calm and natural.

However, if someone can sneak into the village and look carefully at the courtyards, you will find that many of the villagers here are very different from ordinary simple and hardworking villagers. They are more fierce in appearance and expression, and even have fatal weapons at hand.

This is the headquarters of the Dajiang Gang, a hidden village that cannot be easily found in the government. Generally speaking, except for the important figures in the Gang, there are very few outsiders here, let alone outsiders. But today, in the lobby that seems to be a ancestral hall in the middle of the village, a few completely strangers came to the lobby where the seemingly ancestral hall was actually a gathering of gangs.

These people are dressed in ordinary style, no different from ordinary businessmen or people. But if you feel it carefully, you can see the edge from them. The person sitting at the top was a gray-haired half-old man. At this time, he was slowly drinking the cup of coarse tea, as if drinking the rare fragrant tea in the world, with relish. He was not dissatisfied with the important figures of the Dajiang Gang for a long time, and he still looked like he was smiling.

However, the men behind him had accumulated a lot of impatient emotions in their eyes. When they wanted to speak several times, they were stopped by this person with a look.

After waiting for most of the day, a man wearing short clothes, naked feet, and holding a fish basket in his hand smiled and entered the hall: "Haha, I have been waiting for a few distinguished guests today, and I have nothing good to apologize. There is a basket of live crabs here. Let us prepare a pot of drunk crabs for you later to try it."

"We are not interested in what drunk crabs. We just want to see your gang leader. Where are others?" A man finally couldn't help it and asked directly.

"Xu Zhou must not be rude. Isn't the leader Fan we are going to meet now?" The man suddenly started to drink, and then smiled and looked at the crude man who seemed to be an ordinary gang or fisherman than a powerful person.

The thick man raised his eyebrows slightly, and then laughed again: "You have such a good eye. It's not bad. I'm the leader of the Dajiang Gang, Fan Tianjiao." As he revealed his identity, his aura suddenly changed and became domineering, which made the foreign men who disdained to look at him breathe a lot.

He did not ask the other party how he saw his identity, and then went straight to the scene: "Tell me, what's the purpose of your purpose in joining my headquarters this time?"
Chapter completed!